August 27, 2015

Aug 27, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Fukushima Fisheries officially approve decontaminated water releases. On Tuesday, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations approved the plan on conditions that their release rulings are followed and compensation is paid for damages due to harmful rumors. Federation chairman Tetsu Nozaki said the approval was unanimous, adding, “I don’t know if it’s acceptable for all fishery operators, but stable work of decommissioning (of the Fukushima plant) is necessary for the revival of Fukushima’s fishery industry.” Further, he wants Tepco to make sure no waters are released to the sea that exceed the legally-allowed limits. However, Tepco’s self-imposed limits are far more exacting than Tokyo’s; e.g. Tokyo’s release standard for Cesium-137 is 90 Becquerels per liter, but Tepco has restricted their releases to below 1 Bq/l for Cs-137. To exemplify the ridiculously low level Tepco is committing to; the WHO limit for Cs-137 in drinking water is 10 Bq/l. Nonetheless, groundwater will be pumped out of 41 wells that surround the damaged turbine building basements, before the groundwater can seep into the buildings and become contaminated. These waters will be run through the station’s highly effective purification system before release. Tepco says this will cut the inflow of groundwater into the plant by about 50%. Fukushima fisheries headquarters Chief Yoshiyuki Ishizaki said the plan could lead to rebuilding of Fukushima’s fishing industry. The date the releases will begin is speculative, but it could happen soon. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150825p2g00m0dm075000c.html
  • Three of the four unit #3 equipment trenches have been filled with concrete. Removal of the contaminated water from the shafts was completed on July 30th. The filling of shaft “B” was finished today (August 27th). Shafts “A” and “C” had already been filled. Most of shaft “D” is now filled, except for the very top which is connected to the turbine building at the basement’s contaminated water level. Once the “ice wall” is completed and water level in the basement has been lowered sufficiently, the top of shaft “D” will be filled. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2015/images/handouts_150827_01-e.pdf
  • The Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee says significant progress has been made in Fukushima water management and public disclosure. Committee members praised the company’s most-resent commitment to a much more intensive disclosure of radioactive contamination data, no matter how miniscule it might be. Tepco has raised the number of reported data points from 50,000/yr to 70,000 /yr because “questions had been raised about the adequacy of disclosing certain data that resulted from testing water quality in a drainage channel.” Committee Chair Dr. Dale Klein said, “In addition to fulfilling its disclosure promises, TEPCO has made important advances in water management and safety culture.” Deputy Chair Lady Barbara Judge said, “At our last meeting, a great deal of attention was given to issues of water and disclosure, and I am very pleased to see great progress in both of those areas.” On a contrary note, subcommittee chief Masafumi Sakurai provided a report that sternly rebuked Tepco for “organizational issues” and lack of “the spirit to satisfy the expectation of general public concerning information disclosure.” Unfortunately, the subcommittee paper has been the only part covered by the Japanese Press. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2015/1258281_6844.html — http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201508250044
  • Sendai unit #1 plugged five leaking condenser tubes and continued the ramping-up of power. Kyushu Electric Company says the plant staff pinpointed the location of five cracked metal pipes (tubes) which allowed small amounts of seawater to mix with the non-radioactive steam plant condensate waters. There are multiple sets of tube sheets inside the condenser. The one with the leaking tubes was isolated from seawater flow. Tiny holes were discovered electronically in five of the tubes after flow was stopped. There are a total of 26,000 such tubes in the three condensers, located on the exhaust (bottom) of the steam-driven turbines that spin the rotor inside the generator that produces electricity. The low-concentration of salinity in the condensate was removed by the unit’s desalination system. Tepco plugged the cracked tubes and the Nuclear Regulation Authority inspected the work, allowing the power increase at the unit to resume.  http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2015/08/371322.html — http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201508250046 — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
  • The NRA has revised guidelines for medical treatment during a nuclear emergency. They are putting together a national network of medical institutions that can provide emergency treatment for contaminated patients. The NRA identified five hospitals as treatment facilities for large numbers of people exposed to high levels of radioactive materials. The new guide also calls for advanced education on radiation treatment for local medical staffs plus organizing teams of doctors, nurses and medical experts to support local hospitals in the event of a nuclear emergency. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2015/08/371077.html  (Comment – The reports in the Japanese Press seem terribly confused, based on this reporter’s professional experience in Health Physics and the exposures associated with the Fukushima accident. Here in the United States, local hospitals have modified emergency facilities so medical staff can treat sick and/or physically injured patients who are contaminated. Thorough cleansing in a shower removes the contamination. While persons can be exposed to very low levels of radiation while contaminated, nuke accident contamination levels have never been great enough to cause exposure injury. I firmly believe that the NRA guidelines refer to contamination, its removal from otherwise sick or injured patients, and prevention of the medical staff from becoming contaminated while treating these individuals. The Japanese Press is confusing contamination with injurious levels of exposure itself, which is terribly incorrect. The Press seems to be referring to exposures related to nuclear weapon detonations – another example of the Hiroshima Syndrome at-work in Japan.)