June 1, 2015

Jun 1, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Some mildly radioactive water has leaked into the barricaded F. Daiichi inner port (quay). The source of the leak was a hose connecting the storage tank holding radioactive rainwater run-off to a building which housed a decontamination system. The hose developed a crack about one centimeter long. Tepco says the small leak may have continued for two days before discovery. The leakage made it to a nearby drainage ditch that outlets to the quay. Water in the ditch registered 22,000 Becquerels per liter of Beta activity. Activity in the main channel leading to the quay was 6,600 Bq/l, and the levels at sampling points inside the quay nearest the channel outlet ranged between 190-320 Bq/l.  (Aside – The Press incorrectly reports that these are the highest levels ever recorded inside the quay. Actually, these are the highest since Tepco began including gross Beta activity in late 2013. Gross Beta in the quay was reported to be much, much higher in 2011 and 2012, but was not formally posted and archived. The fact there is no increase in Cesium detectible within the quay further belies the NHK statement. – End Aside) NHK describes the contamination levels as “Comparatively highly radioactive” but other news outlets exaggerate the concentrations as “high level radiation” (such as Jiji Press). It should be noted that Jiji Press’ posting that the waters contained 1.1 million Bq/l cannot be verified, and must either be a misprint or have come from an irresponsible source. There is nothing like this in the actual postings of sampling data. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150529_41.html — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150530_09.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2015053000175
  • PM Shinzo Abe says he will promote geothermal power for Fukushima Prefecture. He advised that Tokyo will have to ease regulations in order to do this because most geothermal locations are in national and local parks. The PM said he will make the recommendation as a part of the Fukushima revitalization policy package to be unveiled later this month. Abe also said he will promote increasing subsidies to geothermal power development, and take into account the concerns of the prefecture’s many hot springs operators. He said, “Japan must harness the possibilities that geothermal energy offers us.” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150601p2a00m0na008000c.html
  • Japan’s Atomic Industrial Forum says Sendai unit #1 could begin loading fuel as early as June 18. The unit has passed all formal NRA examinations for restart. The current “pre-service” inspection period is being used to test all systems for operability before fuel is loaded into the reactor. The fuel loading should take about four days. Initial low power operation (restart) is planned for the end of July. Sendai unit #1 should be in full-power operation by the end of August. Pre-service inspections for unit #2 should begin on June 10, with fuel load happening about the time unit #1 reaches full commercial operation. Kyushu Electric Co. says they expect unit 2 to be in full commercial operation by the end of October. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/nra-completes-examination-of-sendai-reactors-allowing-unit-1-to-restart-by-july-31/
  • To no-one’s surprise, the IAEA’s report on the Fukushima accident blames both Tepco and Tokyo. Tepco is chastised for failing to consider the possibility of an 8.3 Richter scale quake and resulting 15 meter tsunami. The UN watchdog argues that sufficient evidence existed to show that just such a natural calamity had happened in the past. Contrary to the evidence, Tepco protected against a much weaker quake and a tsunami of 5.7 meters. The IAEA also says that Fukushima Daiichi’s staff was inadequately trained for an ongoing crisis, and there was not enough emergency equipment available to support the emergency. The report also criticizes Tokyo’s now-defunct Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency for allowing Tepco to postpone plans for protecting against the worst-possible tsunami. Tokyo’s standards and policies for accidents were below those of other countries. In addition, Tokyo had no plans for evacuating large numbers of people to prevent radiation exposure during a major natural disaster. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano says that some of the factors leading to the accident are not unique to Japan and lessons learned should promote a better international safety culture. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201505290052
  • The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has posted a page on nuclear emergency actions. The main points include – the health impact of exposure is well understood, there is no actual evidence of adverse health effects below 100 millisieverts, and exposure limits are intentionally set well-below levels that are actually harmful. The CNSC then stresses (as posted), “Dose limits have mistakenly been regarded as the line between what is safe and what is not safe.The dose limit of 1 mSv per year is a regulatory limit – not a health limit.” The posting also includes the statement, “… [Intervention guidelines] are based on the assumption that actions taken will result in more good than harm.” As we all should know by now; Japan’s public protective actions did far more harm than good.  http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/resources/fact-sheets/managing-public-doses-during-nuclear-emergency.cfm (Comment – These facts concerning regulatory and health limits should be widely disseminated to the Fukushima evacuees. They have suffered unnecessary psychological damage for far too long.)
  • The British Columbia CDC has created an informative website on radioactivity. Here’s the link to the BC Center for Disease Control page “frequently asked questions” concerning Fukushima… http://www.bccdc.ca/healthenv/Radiation/JapanFAQ/default.htm