April 2, 2015

Apr 2, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tepco’s American advisor Dale Klein says tritiated water is safe to release. Klein is the former Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He says, “Most people don’t know what tritium is, so what they will think about is that it’s bad, something that’s really dangerous. But tritium is an element that we know a lot about. It can be released safely into the ocean. We know worldwide what the safe limit for tritium release is.” Tepco says much of the wastewater stored at F. Daiichi contains 1-5 million Becquerels per liter of Tritium. Japan’s limit for unrestricted release is 60,000 Bq/l, so much of the wastewater would have to be diluted. Tepco is awaiting the decision of a government panel on what to do with the several hundred thousand gallons which are already processed, but contain Tritium. Klein said he understands the issue of a release “is intensely emotional” with local fishermen, but he feels they will eventually agree to let it happen. Klein also said that the news media’s role in covering Tepco and the government is indispensable, but, “I can tell you it isn’t always fun to be on the receiving end [of the scrutiny]”.  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/31/national/former-u-s-nuclear-chief-says-tritium-water-at-fukushima-no-1-can-safely-be-dumped-in-sea/#.VRr0T6McQdW — http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2015/1249327_6844.html  (Comment – This writer has no idea where the 1-5 million Bq/l numbers have come from. Regular testing of the raw waters in the turbine building basements register about 630,000 Bq/l of Tritium. Regardless, even at 5 million Bq/l, someone would have to drink nearly two gallons of the basement water to reach the lowest amount of Tritium ever shown to cause actual, but non-lethal harm…37,000,000 Bq/l. But, the problem is not the Tritium itself. The real issue is a nigh-mortal fear of radiation that grips millions, if not tens of millions, of Japanese. This fear has its historical roots in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945… the core reason why the Hiroshima Syndrome runs rampant through the island nation, inflicting significant psychological harm.)
  • The IAEA will investigate the Fukushima rainwater run-off issue. On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced they will send a mission to Japan April 17-21 at the request of Tokyo. The reason is the mildly radioactive run-off that occurs when it rains at F. Daiichi. Tepco has been aware of the situation for a year, but only reported on it when a drainage ditch monitor alarmed last month. Tepco has been castigated my local fishermen and blasted by the Japanese Press for not publicly disclosing the relatively minor fluctuations in the run-off earlier. The IAEA will look into the situation and the Press says they will discuss how relevant information should be disclosed to the public when any trouble hits the plant. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • A former British safety expert becomes Tepco’s Chief Nuclear Safety Officer. Dr. John Crofts will be the first foreign executive with any Japanese utility. He has spent the past two years as advisor to the Company’s Board of Directors. His move to the executive level will be effective today. However, he will not take on his new Safety Officer position until it is approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Crofts said, “The last two years have been a deeply rewarding experience, and I very much appreciate the trust the company has placed in me. I look forward to the challenges ahead and to helping TEPCO continue implementation of the Nuclear Safety Reform Plan.” Deputy Chair Lady Barbara Judge, also from Britain, said, “Dr. Crofts has done a superb job in creating the NSOO [Nuclear Safety Oversight Office] and making it a truly effective instrument in TEPCO’s growing embrace of safety culture. Giving him executive authority to implement the recommendations the NSOO makes will help TEPCO take the important next steps on its safety journey. I congratulate both John and TEPCO on this appointment.” http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2015/1249307_6844.html
  • Tepco announces its new Fukushima meal service center to the Press. The two-story facility is 9km southwest of F. Daiichi, in Okuma Town. It is scheduled to begin operation by mid-April. The center will cook warm meals for the thousands of workers at F. Daiichi. Currently, about 7,000 bring in their own meals in lunch boxes and/or prepared packaging, every day. The new facility will hand-prepare as many as 3,000 lunches daily, and as many other meals as needed throughout the day. The food will be meticulously prepared in the facility kitchen, loaded into insulated boxes, and transported to the worksite in food-service trucks.  The meal service center will employ 95 people, 19 of which are from Futaba County. This will surely improve the F. Daiichi work environment and worker morale. It is planned to use Fukushima-produced cooking ingredients in the hope that it will dispel harmful, unfounded rumors about locally-produced foods and the safety of the prefecture’s work environment. Further, the center will be opened to local schools for tours, again in the interest of quieting harmful rumors. A pictures and graphics of the center are contained in the attached link. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2015/images/handouts_150331_01-e.pdf
  • Minamisoma residents plan yet another lawsuit, this time against the Tokyo government. They allege that lifting of evacuation advisories endanger their lives because of supposedly high radiation levels. Specifically, removing the advisories allegedly violates the government’s Law on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness, which states that its purpose is to “protect the lives, bodies and properties of citizens from a nuclear disaster.” The attorney who will represent the plaintiffs says the government arbitrarily raised the annual dose limit from one to 20 millisieverts per year. Lawyer Kenji Fukuda said, “ “The government has selfishly raised the limit on annual public radiation exposure from 1 millisievert set before the nuclear crisis to 20 millisieverts, having residents return to their homes still exposed to high doses of radiation. This is an illegal act that violates the residents’ right to a healthy environment guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights laws.” One government official responded, “With the radiation levels [20 mSv/yr] unlikely to have a significant effect on the residents’ health, we have called off the advisories by going through legal procedures.” On the other hand, chief plaintiff Shuichi Kanno, age 74, said, “Radiation levels have even increased in some areas. There is no way our children and grandchildren will be returning to their homes like this.” http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201504010062  (Comment – Either the attorney for the plaintiffs has not done his homework, or is perpetrating a bold-faced fabrication. There was no official annual limit on exposure in Japan prior to 3/11/11. In addition, the 1 mSv/yr level is a long-term goal for decontamination purposes, not a legal limit on exposure to residents.)