June 5, 2014

Jun 5, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tepco has found a leakage point out of unit #1 primary containment (PCV). The general location of the leak was discovered in November by a robotic boat floating on the water in the suppression pool (torus) basement. The specific location is from a “flexible joint” in a pipe coming out of the PCV wall above the torus. Tepco feels the cause is corrosion. The leak rate is estimated to be between 190 and 375 gallons per hour. The precise location of the leak was discovered using a high-tech Hitachi/GE-Nuclear robot which was lowered to the suppression chamber’s catwalk and remotely operated from a building hundreds of meters away. The search continues in unit #1 for other possible PCV leaks. The attached Tepco link includes links to two graphic handouts on the discovery. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1237151_5892.html
  • Construction of the “ice wall” at Fukushima Daiichi has begun. Some Japanese Press, such as the Mainichi Shimbun, focus on local concerns. Other news media, e.g. NHK World, appear to take a more objective approach. The Mainichi posts that some local fishermen express uncertainty with notions such as “We can’t tell if it will be truly effective until it is completed”. Kenji Nakata of the Fisheries federation said, “In any case, fishery operators are praying that it will not move in a worse direction. We want them to carry out the work with no mistakes first.” The newspaper suggests this worry is based on recent Nuclear Regulatory Authority concerns about removal of groundwater from around the basements and whether or not the structures might sink into the ground and cause the reactor buildings tilt. However, the article fails to mention that all four units are firmly grounded on sedimentary bedrock and any possible soil subsistence around the basements will have little or no effect. Meanwhile, Tepco points to concern resolution. Some cited evidence includes last month’s successful testing of a 10 meter stretch of soil, the ice wall being designed to survive a two month power outage while maintaining enough integrity to block groundwater, and the advantage of not needing to build a conventional wall around tunnels, pipes and cables. NHK World focused on the initiation of work while mentioning that a few open technical issues are being addressed, due to the unprecedented nature of freezing a 1.5 kilometer-long stretch of soils. One issue is whether or not lowering groundwater levels around the basements will cause the contaminated water in them to leach out and into the surrounding soil. NHK also mentions concerns about the stability of cable and equipment tunnels outside the basement walls after freezing.  http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140603p2a00m0na007000c.html — http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1237060_5892.html — NHK World; Work of frozen wall begins at Fukushima Daiichi; June 3, 2014
  • The on-going sea discharge of uncontaminated groundwater goes virtually un-noticed. In fact, the only mention of the third release on Monday is at the very end of Tuesday’s Japan Times report on the start of the ice wall project. Regardless, the three uncontaminated groundwater discharges have totaled 2,035 tons (more than 500,000 gallons). In addition, there has been no mews media mention of the on-going analytical results of the waters discharged or the radioactivity at the immediate point of release to the ocean. An example of the total safety of the operation is Tepco’s posting of June 4th, showing no impact whatsoever on the sea. In addition, the data chart includes the massive difference between Tepco’s self-imposed target for discharges and the national standards in Japan, which are the lowest in the world. Relative to recent “high radiation” headlines in Japan concerning Tritium in one of the wells from which the groundwater is pumped, we can see that the 1,700 Becquerel per liter concentration is just a bit more than Tepco’s target value (1,500Bq/l), but 35 times lower than the national limit (60,000 Bq/l). Tepco also posts Japan’s drinking water standard for Tritium (10,000 Bq/l), although the release is not into a potable source and no sane person drinks seawater.  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/06/02/national/work-on-giant-underground-ice-wall-begins-at-fukushima-plant/#.U42XU6NOUdU —  http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2014/images/pump_well_14060402-e.pdf
  • The Asahi Shimbun says that government inspectors were the first to flee the Fukushima accident. The article says the exodus of Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) officials from the site unnecessarily compromised communications between the government and Tepco. The NISA inspectors traveled to what is termed a “makeshift” facility located 5 kilometers from F. Daiichi. The Asahi says, “With all government safety inspectors absent from the No. 1 nuclear power plant, the government had no direct means to grasp what was happening there. As a result, it was forced to depend entirely on TEPCO for information,” and prompted then-PM Naoto Kan to set up a joint government/Tepco task force in Tokyo. The Asahi then attacks post-Fukushima NRA regulations requiring inspectors to stay at the accident site in an emergency office, saying the rules are unclear and do not prevent inspectors from leaving. What the Asahi fails to mention is that NISA officials at the accident site were doing exactly what they were supposed to do! The 5 kilometer-distant facility was supposed to be a communications’ hub, but could not be run due to the regional blackout caused by the massive earthquake. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201406030026
  • Tokyo says they will release transcripts of 772 interviews recorded during the Diet’s accident investigation in 2012. The document releases will depend on permission from each person who was interviewed. Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, “I’ve ordered (staff) to quickly carry out procedures to confirm the intention of [the interview subjects]. We will disclose the records if they agree, based on the Information Disclosure Law.” Additional information may be redacted if deemed it would violate the rights or interests of third parties, or harm “the safety of the nation,” Suga added. Until now, Tokyo had refused transcript releases because many persons — including government officials and Tepco employees — spoke on condition that their testimony would not be publicized. The panel granted them confidentiality to encourage honest answers. It has also been reported that a minority group of Tepco shareholders plan a lawsuit to force full transcript disclosure. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/06/05/national/772-fukushima-no-1-interviews-slated-for-release/#.U5B5jqNOUdU – NHK World; TEPCO shareholders ask for interview release; June 5, 2014
  • The latest international nuclear plant issue is volcanic eruptions. The focus of the concern is the Sendai nuke station in Kagoshima Prefecture. Two Sendai units are at the head of the NRA list for possible restarts. The station is near the ancient undersea caldera of a long-dormant volcano. Kyushu Electric Co., owner of the facility, has run simulations on possible volcano eruptions and their potential impact. Kyushu’s worst-case scenario results in a station coating of volcanic ash 15 centimeters deep. The company has taken provisions to clear the ash and maintains the station would not suffer an accident. Critics charge that a caldera eruption could smother the plant under 60 centimeters of ash with devastating consequences. Tokyo volcanology Professor Setsuya Nakada, says, “No-one believes that volcanic risks have been adequately discussed.” Toshitsugu Fujii, a Japanese meteorological expert, added to the uncertainty notion by saying, “It wouldn’t be surprising for any part of Japan to experience earthquakes or volcanic eruptions at any time. The question is when, and we don’t have the technology to predict that.” On the other hand, Professor Charles Connor of the University of South Florida’s School of Geosciences said the risk of a caldera-forming eruption near the Sendai plant was “very low on the time scale of the human experience”. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/04/us-japan-nuclear-volcano-idUSKBN0EE2BF20140604
  • Oxford Physics Professor Wade Allison has been interviewed by TCEtv of The Career Engineer organization. The topic is why we should not fear radiation, and Allison proposes a concerted public education program on the realities of radiation as the only way to overcome radiophobia. http://vimeo.com/97112852