December 4, 2014

Dec 4, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • An esteemed radiation expert is snubbed by the Japanese Press. Dr. Wade Allison of Oxford University made a science-based plea to the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) yesterday, 12/3/14. There has been nothing in the Japanese Press about this…not even in the typically-balanced Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan’s largest newspaper) and NHK World. The reason? Dr. Allison said nothing scary or frightening about radiation! In fact he contradicts Japan’s ridiculously low, assumption-based radiation standards and instead calls for science-based realism. If something this different from the norm had been spoken by an antinuclear prophet of doom, many (if not most) Japanese press outlets would have made this a top story of the day. I am proud to be an internet colleague of Dr. Allison, and take distinct umbrage with Japan’s Press due to their complete lack of coverage. Dr. Allison has shared a summation of his presentation and graciously allowed me to post it here… http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/time-for-the-scientific-environmental-and-economic-truth-about-nuclear-power.html A YouTube video of the presentation can be viewed here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2syXBL8xG0&list=UUaY31Acbdk1WUQfn304VCZg  A report on Dr. Allison’s presentation has been posted by fellow colleague Rod Adams at Atomic Insights… http://atomicinsights.com/wade-allison-foreign-correspondents-club-japan/
  • A global eco-radiation institute opens in Fukushima University. The Institute was formally established in July, 2013, to study the impacts of radiation from F. Daiichi, but was not in full operation until Wednesday. Takayuki Takahashi, director of the institute, explained its purpose, “With varying factors such as terrain, soil composition, water flow and vegetation, each region is influenced differently by radiation. Rather than conducting symptomatic treatments, we aim to take part in the recovery efforts by clarifying what effects radiation has in a scientific scope.” The Institute has 13 researchers, nine of which are from other countries. The facility has nine highly-sensitive germanium semiconductor units that can detect the most minute concentrations of radioactive isotopes, and an electron microscope that can magnify up 3 million times. Takahashi said, “When we make progress, we will inform the public to give them a better understanding of our work.” http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201412040069
  • JAIF releases details on filling equipment trenches with mortar. The report is posted by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum. In April, 2014, Tepco began trying to freeze the water in an equipment trench leading from unit #2 to its sea=side water intake structure. It turns out it was not a total failure. 90% of the water did in fact freeze, but about 10% remained liquid. The company next injected filler material into cracks in the trench walls, but that did not stop the water inflow keeping the remaining liquid from freezing. Thus, on November 25th, Tepco began injecting a special mortar that will congeal under the water, while removing contaminated water that is displaced. The mortar takes about 12 hours to harden. It is believed this will eventually seal off the trench from further contaminated water in-flow. http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1417428481P.pdf
  • American Dale Klein says Tepco needs to have a foreign-based safety review. He feels that bringing in nuclear plant operators from outside Japan would provide the added assurance the company needs in order to regain trust. Klein told Reuters, “I would like to see what I call a readiness review. You’ve got regulatory aspects – Do you meet everything? Do you have right training? – and then, I think, because of Fukushima Daiichi, the Japanese public would feel better if another group came in and said operationally they are ready. I have been pushing for that.” Klein added that Tepco is making progress in developing a safety culture modeled after such companies as Toyota to ensure quality. Klein lamented that “it’s going slower than I would like.” http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-needs-safety-review-from-foreign-nuclear-operators-adviser?utm_campaign=jt_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jt_newsletter_2014-12-03_AM
  • Conditions remain severe in the Japanese nuclear industry. JAIF has posted its annual fact-finding survey of the Japanese nuclear power industry for FY13 (April 2013 to March 2014. JAIF distributed questionnaires to 446 private companies in Japan that have nuclear-related expenditures, sales and workers, and had responses from 263 of them, including 11 utilities, 240 mining and manufacturing companies and 12 trading companies. The comprehensive summary can be found here… http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1417509837P.pdf.
  • Some evacuees fear politicians don’t have their interests in mind. Poet Chikara Kojima, a Katsurao village evacuee, writes, “The senseless radiation that falls on the Futaba region residents robbed them of their homeland, and the people, dispersed with ease, wander aimlessly under far away skies.” His wife says that Prime Minister Abe cares more about money than evacuee needs, “The economy is more important to him than what is happening to us evacuees. The politicians have forgotten about Fukushima, about the disaster-hit areas.” Katsutoshi Sato, 53, who heads a Shiga Prefecture association for evacuees, says, “Even now there are many people who cannot return to their homes. I want the candidates in this election to face that fact and debate about support policies.” There are 235 evacuees living in free housing Shiga Prefecture, which is more than 300 miles from F. Daiichi. Many are concerned they will lose the prefecture’s housing stipend when it comes up for annual renewal after the impending House of Representatives election. One of them, voluntary evacuee Katsutoshi Sato from Soma, says, “Even now there are many people who cannot return to their homes. I want the candidates in this election to face that fact and debate about support policies…In the election [later this month], I want the candidates to clearly lay out what the issues are and specifically say how they will address them. Just chanting ‘recovery from the disaster’ will not bring our lives back to how they were.” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20141202p2a00m0na028000c.html (Comment – I think the interview with the two people above is the result of seeking out and finding evacuees that fit the Mainichi Shimbun’s journalistic agenda. If this was really a major issue, other news outlets would be covering it, as well. In addition, voluntary evacuee Katsutoshi Sato could have gone home long ago, but has decided to stay in Shiga Prefecture. Is his complaint really worthy of Press coverage? I think not.)
  • A British scientist tells Japanese antinukes that the United Nations cannot be trusted. Keith Baverstock has a long history of denouncing UNSCEAR and WHO reports on the biological effects of low level radiation exposure. He was brought to Tokyo by a local citizens group. Baverstock told the Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s most popular newspapers, that last April’s UNSCEAR report on Fukushima exposures was “not qualified to be called scientific” because it allegedly lacked transparency and independent verification. He called for UNSCEAR to be disbanded.  He argued that exposures to F. Daiichi workers will cause about 50 cancers in the group. Baverstock also suggested an internal conspiracy within the UN to cover up what he calls the truth. http://fukushimaupdate.com/british-researcher-blasts-u-n-report-on-fukushima-cancer-risk-as-unscientific/ (Comment – The wild speculations of a hardened critic of international agencies, such as Baverstock, gets Press coverage in Japan, while the science-based words of an internationally-respected scientist such as Wade Allison gets no coverage at all. This is so wrong that it defies finding words to describe it.)