October 2, 2014

Oct 2, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Another no-go zone village is re-opened. Tokyo has lifted the evacuation order for part of Kawauchi Village which is inside the mandated exclusion zone. This give unrestricted residence 274 persons in 139 households. Decontamination has been completed, roads have been rebuilt, and utility services have been restored. Local restaurants and other businesses can now be reopened. Of the 274 people allowed to return, only 54 are expected to go home immediately. They have been staying in their residences for the past three months under the “long-stay” provision. Those not returning say it is because not all living conditions, such as local stores and medical facilities, are convenient. Other dissenters say they remain concerned about existing radiation levels being safe. On a related note, another part of the village has been re-designated to prepare for lifting of its evacuation advisory. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141001_13.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014093000872
  • A young Fukushima rheumatologist says radiation is not the real health issue. Board-certified Sae Ochi (MPH, PhD) says, “What is happening in the coastal area of Fukushima is not an exceptional situation called radiation. ‘Invisible threats’ are causing health problems almost every day, all over the world.  Ebola, bird-flu, sarin and anthrax attacks also threat social disturbances because of their invisibility.  Unless we learn from the cases in Fukushima to develop more resilience in our society, we may yet again see unnecessary victims suffer if we should ever face a similar threat.” She addresses three major areas of health problems not caused by radiation; the effects of overreaction to the evacuation order, the impact of the evacuation itself, and the concerns caused by child thyroid screenings. Ochi adds that health problems not due to radiation are primarily caused by good intentions on the part of local and national officials being overly cautious. She believes “most of the people who magnify the fear of radiation in Fukushima are good-hearted people who genuinely worry about the children in Fukushima. In the same way, no policies or plans were aimed at harming people: the planning of evacuation zones, order of evacuation and thyroid screening… none of this was done with ill intent…As long as we are trapped in a narrow-minded state, searching for targets of accuse, blame, and criticize, the suffering in Fukushima will only increase and spread.” Her insights are thought-provoking and illuminating. Reading her entire report is highly recommended. http://www.gepr.org/en/contents/20140901-01/
  • Last weekend’s deadly volcano eruption spurs new nuclear fears. Nuclear regulation Authority Chair Shunichi Tanaka says it is “unscientific” to compare the eruption to possible, albeit unlikely eruptions near the Sendai Station in Kagoshima Prefecture. He explained that the volcanic potential near Sendai has been included in the station’s restart requirements, with possible eruptions predicted to be many times worse than what happened this past Saturday with Mount Ontake. Some volcanologists believe that lava flows from the active-but-currently-quiet volcanos near Sendai could stretch as far as 100 kilometers, which could engulf the nuke plant. Because of these concerns, the NRA will upgrade the surveillance system around Sendai. Sendai’s regulations call for complete removal of all fuel from the site if concrete signs of an impending eruption are detected. Kyushu Electric has identified 14 volcanoes within 160 kilometers of the Sendai plant that “may become active in the future” and “cannot be ruled out over the possibility of becoming active volcanoes.” However, Kyushu Electric maintains that none would adversely affect Sendai. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20141002p2a00m0na009000c.html — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • Part of the unit #2 suppression chamber (torus) has been inspected and no leaks were found. Using a new, magnetic-wheeled robot, a bottom section of the torus was inspected below the water level in the room. The robot was lowered to the top of the circular chamber and its magnetic wheels allowed it to navigate most of underside of the torus. This proved the new robot could be used to inspect the underside of hard-to-reach places outside the Primary Containment Vessel and possibly find leaks. The entire circumference could not be inspected because the robot lost traction three times as it was climbing the farthest submerged side of the torus. The reason for the problem is being investigated and will lead to device improvement. Another issue is the cloudiness of the water under the torus. The robot’s field of vision is only about 350 millimeters (~14 inches). Regardless, the success of the investigation allows planning to observe the rest of the torus over the next two weeks.  http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2014/images/handouts_140904_04-e.pdf
  • Tepco has an agreement with Sellafield Ltd about Fukushima clean-up. Tepco wants to share expertise with overseas companies having decommissioning experience, like Sellafield. The prospective deal was announced in May, but the final agreement was not inked until September 29th. The contract stipulates the agreement on information exchange, site management, environmental monitoring, radiation protection, and design engineering. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2014/images/handouts_140930_04-e.pdf
  • Tepco finished the absorbent barrier surrounding the tank that leaked last August. The tank, designated H4, lost about 300 tons of water to the surrounding environment. The tank’s water contained a Strontium activity of 10 million Becquerels per liter. The downstream side (seaward) of the area was excavated and filled to a 20 meter depth with an aggregate of apatite, zeolite, and crushed stone, in order to absorb any Strontium that might be entrained in the groundwater flowing through. 39 aggregate “piles”, each 1.5 meters in diameter, were placed in the ground. Groundwater flow in the area has been measured at about 100 centimeters per day. It is estimated that the groundwater exiting the matrix of “piles” will be much less than 1 Bq/liter for ten years or more. The detailed handout with excellent graphics, explanations, and photo images can be found here… http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2014/images/handouts_140911_05-e.pdf
  • A city 12 kilometers from Sendai Station tries to bar its restart. The two-unit Sendai nukes in Kagoshima Prefecture have met the safety requirements stipulated by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. In order to restart, the plans must be approved by the Kagoshima government and host city Satsumasendai. However, Ichikikushikino City, located southeast of Sendai, has adopted a statement urging the governor to also seek its approval. The alleged reason is a number of Ichikikushikino residents have submitted petitions against the restart. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2014/09/314628.html Meanwhile, The NRA says the Sendai units will probably not be restarted before December. The problem is a huge body of paperwork to be reviewed. On Sept. 30th, Kyushu Electric submitted 600 pages of documents covering equipment and devices in use. Additional paperwork for unit #1 will be submitted in the next two weeks. The same amount of pre-operational paperwork for unit #2 will be submitted by the end of October. The NRA must assess the documentation and inspect the new equipment before the station can restart. This will push the restart schedule into December, and may hold things up until early next year. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • Tokyo explains its landowner compensation plan for rural waste storage to Futaba and Okuma. The Environment Ministry met with about 150 interested parties on Monday. It was the first in a series of sessions aimed at outlining compensation plans for landowners. Fukushima Prefecture has approved the facility plans in principle, but getting the people who own the land to agree might be another story. Ministry officials said they want to buy the land at around half of its pre-accident value. Housing compensation will depend on the age of buildings. Tokyo says landowners who decline to sell but allow usage of their property would be paid 70 percent of the purchase price. The prefecture says they will cover the difference between pre-accident value and current worth. Many of the landowners in attendance did not like the plan. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140930_10.html