July 7, 2014

Jul 7, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Many Okuma evacuees still choose to not go home. Last October, 67% of the Okuma evacuees said they do not wish to return. The dissenting residents of Nogami district of Okuma, 8 kilometers west of F. Daiichi, say they want more state compensation to buy homes outside of the area because the money they already receive is not enough. The Nogami residents say their abandoned homes and properties have been ruined, plus they are concerned about the short term storage of decontamination residues at the planned Okuma waste storage facility. Since they no longer want to go home, the residents want district decontamination stopped and the money shifted to more compensation. NHK World; Some Fukushima evacuees give up returning home; 7/3/14 
  • Cooling for the unit #5 spent fuel pool (SFP) has been stopped. Tepco halted the system on Sunday when a small seawater leak in a heat exchanger was discovered. Russia Today says the leak was 3 millimeters in size. The outflow was from a valve used to adjust seawater flow through the heat exchanger. Plant staff covered the hole temporarily while considering what permanent repair is to be effected. Tepco cannot yet say when the repair will be made so that seawater flow can be restored. The temperature in the pool was at 25.7oC on Monday, up 2 degrees from Sunday. It will be more than a week before temperature might reach the technical specification of 65oC. In a worst case, seawater will be pumped directly into the SFP to keep temperature below the operating limit. NHK World; No prospect to resume cooling of no.5 pool; 7/7/14
  • Local Fukushima seafood is eaten in Iwaki City. On Sunday, 500 servings of test-caught fish were cooked and handed out for free by local wholesalers. A fish called “mehikari” and crab soup were served. All of the seafood was below Japan’s strict radiation limits for public consumption. Wholesaler’s Association head Hiromitsu Endo said he wants the people of Iwaki to rediscover the great flavor of Fukushima-caught seafood. NHK World; Local fish enjoyed by people in Fukushima; 7/7/14  
  • A Hokkaido Mayor calls the construction of an Aomori Prefecture’s nuke “extremely high-handed”. Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo wants an indefinite freeze on construction of the Oma Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, due to his deep suspicions of the technology after the Fukushima Accident. The southern part of the community is inside the mandated 30 kilometer nuclear evacuation zone, across the Tsugaru Strait from the Aomori Prefecture site. Testifying at a hearing for a suit brought against plant owner J-Power, Kudo said, “…construction (at the Oma site) resumed without any explanation to, or consent from, Hakodate city or the southern Hokkaido region,” and added, “If a severe accident were to take place, the very existence of the city of Hakodate would be put at risk for many years to come. Even though we are located so close, we have been ignored and have not been asked for our consent. No attention was paid to our region’s fears, and there was no other course for us but to file a lawsuit.” He also said that the plan to use MOX fuel containing some recycled Plutonium increases the risk to the surrounding population. He further doubts that the Nuclear Regulatory Authority safety standards are any better than those existing before 3/11/11. The government and Tepco argue that Japanese law forbids any city from filing a lawsuit to halt a construction project outside the community’s jurisdiction, thus the case should be dismissed. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140704p2a00m0na004000c.html — http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/hakodate-makes-legal-bid-to-prevent-nuclear-plant-from-being-built?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2014-07-04_AM
  • 15,000 Ichikikushikino residents have petitioned to oppose restarting the two Sendai Nukes. The Sendai units are thought to be the first Japanese nukes to be restarted. Ichikikushikino is 5 kilometers from the station in Kagoshima Prefecture with a population of about 30,000. Since it is not a host community to the nuke, the citizens do not have any say in the restart decision. They feel this is wrong. Buddhist monk Zenyu Niga was at the forefront of the petition drive, and says, “The evacuation plan itself is very sloppy, just slotting bits and pieces into a manual without giving any consideration to the special features of the area.” Among the complaints are a road that regularly floods, a day-care facility lacking evacuation plans, and a designated evacuation center said to be run-down. Kiyoko Kojima, 75, who works at the day-care center 13 km from the plant, said the facility has no evacuation plan, “I haven’t heard anything about an emergency plan. I’m not even sure whether we wait for the parents to come pick up the children or we evacuate right away.” Hirotada Hirose of Tokyo Woman’s Christian University says, “There aren’t enough people at the state and local level doing simulations of evacuation plans. This plan is based on a set of highly unrealistic assumptions and I have to question whether this is a true simulation.” Niga adds that there is no guarantee that residents will not panic, thus Fukushima-like chaos is possible. He said, “I feel very worried after seeing what happened in Fukushima.” Sendai could gain restart approval for its two units as early as September. The governor of Kagoshima and the mayor of host city Satsumasendai strongly favor restarts. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/evacuation-plans-stir-fresh-doubts-over-reactor-restarts?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2014-07-05_PM
  • Former PM Junichiro Koizumi condemned the Abe government over nuke restarts. His rationale seems to come directly from long-standing antinuclear claims voiced internationally. The openly-radical antinuclear Koizumi says nuclear power can never be safe enough. He incorrectly asserts that it is the most expensive form of electricity, while completely ignoring the skyrocketing cost of electricity due to the current moratorium. He also alleges that not enough evacuation routes have been identified at any of the nukes and current anti-terrorism measures are inadequate. Finally, Koizumi says it is unreasonable to ask communities to have disposal sites for nuclear waste. For all these reasons, the former PM says none of Japan’s nukes should be restarted, even if they meet the new, stricter regulations. NHK World; Ex-PM Koizumi criticizes nuclear plants restarts; 7/7/14