June 22, 2015

Jun 22, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • A fully-contained Fukushima water leak gets headlines in Japan. Tepco reported that 20 liters of mildly contaminated rainwater leaked from a pipe joint and into an underlying receptacle. It is possible that the leak was spawned by incorrect valve positioning. There was no release to the environment. The leaked water measured 24,000 Becquerels per liter of beta activity. As usual, this relatively low concentration was billed as “highly radioactive” and “tainted” by the Japanese Press. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html Tepco has posted pictures showing the leaky flange and piping area. It is inside the Rainwater Treatment Facility on the Desalination Reverse Osmosis Membrane System. http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2015/201506-e/150622-01e.html
  • The number of Fukushima child evacuees has dropped 5.5% in six months. This was for both mandated and voluntary evacuee kids. In October, the number of child evacuees aged 18 and under, stood at 24,873. As of April 1st, the number had dropped to 23,498. 12, 006 were still inside the prefecture, and 11,492 were living in other prefectures. The percentage inside the prefecture dropped by 3.6%, while those in other prefectures dropped by 8.2%. Minamisoma City had the largest number of child evacuees at 4,729. Fukushima City had the largest number of children evacuated outside the exclusion zone at 2,034, followed by Koriyama city with 2,001. The number of child evacuees inside and outside Fukushima Prefecture has been on the decline since 2013. The greatest decrease seems to have been with those living outside the prefecture, apparently due to parents overcoming their fear of relatively innocuous low level radiation exposures and returning home. The lower radiation levels were largely due to decontamination work reducing airborne releases, natural isotopic decay, and childrearing support measures such as providing medical treatment at no charge for children aged 18 and below. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=522
  • Tokyo’s nuke watchdog confirms exposure reduction at the F. Daiichi site boundary. The NRA acknowledges that effective doses were reduced due to treatment of contaminated water, as of the end of March 2015. The NRA says the highest measurement location 1.44mSv/year, and the average for all nine boundary monitors was less than 1 mSv/yr. Although the data was initially supplied by Tepco, the NRA found that their independent monitoring conforms to the Tepco data. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/nra-confirms-additional-effective-dose-reduction-at-fukushima-daiichi-boundaries/
  • The exposure limit for nuclear emergency responders can be raised to 250 mSv/yr. The Ministry of Health has approved a proposal to revise the Ordinance on Prevention of Ionizing Radiation Standards which would set a “special emergency dosage limit” for nuclear emergency response personnel. The next step is a review by the Radiation Council in April, 2016. The proposed regulation also calls for special education on radiation exposure for the workers and post-exposure health care. In May, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said the new limit ought to be set at 250 mSv/yr. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/dosage-limit-for-emergency-workers-to-be-set-at-250msv/
  • Nahara Town Assembly holds its 1st regular meeting since the Fukushima accident. The meeting was held on June 9th at its regular location in the town itself. Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said, “Evacuees from the town have been practicing preparatory lodging at their homes since April ahead of permanent returns. We decided to hold the regular June meeting at the usual chamber as a way to proceed with preparations to welcome townspeople back.” Motoi Aoki, chairman of the assembly, said, “It is deeply emotional to be able to meet at the usual chamber in our hometown Naraha.” http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=521
  • Essential businesses can now operate in the F. Daiichi exclusion zone. Specifically, those businesses needed to rebuild infrastructure and provide needed reconstruction. The government completed a review of the existing guidelines on Friday. Under the revised guidelines, businesses will be allowed to operate in the no-entry zones if they are certified as indispensable for establishing infrastructure or waste disposal. In residential zones, growing and distributing farm produce will be allowed, except for rice, if approved by Tokyo and local authorities. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • Fuel loading at Sendai unit #1 is scheduled to start on July 7th. It was hoped that the process would begin on July 4th, but re-examination of procedures has forced Kyushu Electric Company to move the schedule back three days. It is expected that the loading of new fuel into the core will take about four days. Once the fuel is installed, containment vessels and pipes will be examined to verify integrity. The fuel loading schedule change has not affected the anticipated mid-August restart of unit #1. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • A Fukushima river’s radioactive Cesium levels fluctuate with the seasons. Researchers from Tokyo University suspect the changes are due to leaves and animal carcasses falling into rivers during the spring season. The team took samples of sediments from 35 locations in the Abukuma River, Fukushima Prefecture. Average Cesium concentrations were 1,450 Becquerels per kilogram in the spring of 2012, 1,270 Bq/kg in the fall, and back up to 2,700 Bq/kg the next spring. The highest reading at one of the 35 sampling points was 22,888 Bq/kg in the spring of 2013. Team leader Hirokazu Ozaki said, “There is a possibility that radioactive substances are concentrated in the bodies of fish through the food chain, so it’s important to grasp what’s happening in the rivers. This study is unprecedented, and we’d like to continue.” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150620p2a00m0na003000c.html
  • Reuters rues the lack of a permanent nuclear waste storage locations around the world. Finland and Sweden appear nearest to putting High Level Wastes (used fuel bundles) in deep geological repositories. But elsewhere, the issue of public acceptance has effectively stopped progress. Antinuclear groups allege that the materials will remain toxic for more than 100,000 years. Johan Swahn, director of a Swedish non-governmental organization known as MKG, says, “…it will be difficult to prove a safety case for 100,000 years.” On the other hand, Stefan Mayer, team leader of the IAEA’s waste technology section, says, “If we can provide socially and politically accepted approaches, we can implement solutions.” The Reuters article was posted verbatim by the Japan Times. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/19/us-nuclear-waste-idUSKBN0OZ1A020150619