November 27, 2014

Nov 27, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The pouring of cement into a contaminated trench began Tuesday. 80 cubic meters of cement was poured into the trench, but did not increase the water level enough to required removing any of it. Work was then suspended for a month to allow the cement to harden and see if the measure has stopped the inflow of water from the turbine basement. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • Analysis for Strontium will be greatly sped up. A new water analytical technique has been developed by the combined efforts of Fukushima University, PerkinElmer Japan, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. Currently, analysis for Sr-90 takes at least two days, but the new technology will reduce that time to as little as 30 minutes at a minimum detectability of one Becquerel per liter. Professor Yoshitaka Takagai, team leader at Fukushima University, said, “This system is really quick and handling is very simple as compared with the traditional method. Indeed, we hope it to be useful in preventing the discharge of contaminated water and accelerating the decommissioning of the reactors.” new technique is called “inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry” (ICP-MS) which measures differences in mass rather than Beta emission. It will be used in areas where prompt assessment of Strontium90 presence is important. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1244484_5892.html
  • JAIF says the NRA finding of the fault (K) under Tsuruga-2 as active is based on “thin reasoning”. Last week, the Nuclear Regulation Authority judged a fault line running under the nuke unit to be technically active because no one can conclusively prove that it has not moved in the past 120-130,000 years. Japan’s Atomic Industrial Forum sided with Japan Atomic Power Company’s rejection of the finding. The NRA announced the decision without any JAPCO representatives present, which appears like a convenience tactic. JAIF says the NRA finding completely ignored “the massive amount of survey data presented by the JAPC to show no active fault exists.” Further, “…there was scant demonstration of supporting data and interpretations at the meeting indicating the existence of an active fault, casting huge doubt on the ‘scientific fairness’ and ‘open decision-making’ espoused by the NRA.” JAIF makes three key points; (1) K fault includes volcanic ash from around 127,000 years ago representing a clear difference in era, (2) test borings confirmed that the ash accumulation corresponds to the era in which the rock stratum formed, and (3) an intermediate layer exists that has not been affected by the fault line. JAIF adds that the NRA used no evidence to reinforce its decision, although considerable geologic evidence exists to show there has been “no seismic activity there since the Late Pleistocene”. Further, JAIF says the NRA assumption of the K fault connecting to the distant D-1 fracture zone is incorrect. They are entirely different faults which indicates they are not connected. Thus JAIF concludes, “The NRA only mentioned “possibilities” and “inferences,” while failing to demonstrate any concrete evidence or supportive data that would be sufficient to overturn the evaluation that the JAPC had made based on its survey data,” and “All of the NRA’s judgments can be sufficiently rebutted and disproved, and can hardly be described as ‘scientific judgments’ based on the regulatory standards.” http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1416877039P.pdf
  • Rice fields 20 km from F. Daiichi were not contaminated by unit #3 debris removal. Some media reports in Japan speculated that detectible activity in the paddy fields of Minamisoma were “tainted” by radioactive dust stirred up by rubble removal with unit #3. The NRA reports that the levels of radioactivity in the fields were at most 30 Becquerels per square meter, which is far below the limit for arable soils. It is possible the detectable activity came from surrounding soils and trees that remain contaminated by the March 2011 releases from the nuke accident. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141126_31.html
  • Kepco shares some of the requirements for licensing extensions. As we have reported earlier, Kansai Electric Company is considering applying for 20 year extensions of the operating licenses for two Takahama Station units nearing the new 40 year limit. Kepco has revealed some of the inspections required by the NRA’s “stringent” regulations for licensing extensions. The special inspections will include ultrasound tests on the reactor vessels’ welds and eddy current tests on the primary coolant nozzles to identify cracks. There will also be an inspection of the reactors’ containment vessels and their concrete barriers, also for cracks. All monitoring sensors inside the reactor vessel will also checked. The inspections are expected to take several months and the results could be known by early spring. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/11/26/national/kepco-wants-extend-lifespan-40-year-old-takahama-reactors-60-years/#.VHXsJqN0wdV
  • A lawsuit against Takahama and Oi restarts has been rejected. About 180 residents in the nearby prefectures of Shiga and Kyoto and elsewhere had filed the petition about 4 reactors at the Ohi and Takahama nuclear power plants. They pled that Otsu District Court says quakes and tsunami can be worse than anticipated and nukes should not be allowed to restart. Judge Yoshihiko Yamamoto said it is unlikely the NRA will be overly hasty in allowing the reactors to resume operation, dismissing the residents’ claim. He said here is no need to bar the restarts. Yamamoto added that the units will not be restarted until all NRA screenings are finished and emergency plans are completed. The Otsu court decision contradicts an earlier Fukui court decision that the Oi units should not be restarted because electric plants are “merely a tool for generating electricity and thus inferior to people’s fundamental rights.” One petitioner said the court’s finding to leave the restart decision to the NRA is unjust. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/11/27/national/suit-against-fukui-reactor-restarts-fails/#.VHcZ0KN0wdU —  http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html