September 3, 2015

Sep 3, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • The IAEA released its final report on the accident at F. Daiichi. The main focus of the report seems to be with the accident itself, its causes, and its physical impacts. Director General Yukiya Amano’s statement on the document admonishes Tepco and Tokyo for not taking worst-case accident possibilities seriously enough. He says, “A major factor that contributed to the accident was the widespread assumption in Japan that its nuclear power plants were so safe that an accident of this magnitude was simply unthinkable…There can be no grounds for complacency about nuclear safety in any country…Safety must always come first.” He added that since the accident, Japan has reformed its regulatory system to better meet international standards, giving the NRA the authority to enforce the new safety standards. https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/fr-brochure.pdf  Japan’s Press made the report a lead story, with major focus on uncertainties and doubts relative to child thyroid cancers and the long-term health effects of radiation. NHK World said that although no early radiation-induced health effects were observed, it can take decades before discernable increases can be expected. It adds that the report says child thyroid anomalies found to date are unlikely to be the result of the accident. The Japan Times, however, made the child thyroid situation their lead topic, based on the report saying the exact exposure to children can only be estimated from the thyroid examinations now taking place in Fukushima Prefecture. The IAEA report says, “Because the reported thyroid doses attributable to the accident were generally low, and increase in childhood thyroid cancer attributable to the accident is unlikely.” Immediately after posting this quote, the Times posts the IAEA’s qualifier, “However, uncertainties remain concerning the thyroid equivalent doses incurred by children immediately after the accident.” The Times adds to the uncertainty angle by ruing delays in dispersal of Potassium Iodide tablets and “lack of detailed arrangements” to protect children. It should be noted that brief mention of the greater body of the IAEA report was buried at the end of the Times’ article. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/01/national/science-health/iaea-fukushima-linked-child-cancers-unlikely-rise-extent-radiation-exposure-unclear/#.VeWUQpDosdU
  • A new case of child thyroid cancer has been discovered. The Fukushima prefectural government says it is unlikely that the cause was the nuke Accident. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509010056
  • Fukushima University Medical School will study whether or not the prefecture’s children have a higher-than-natural thyroid cancer rate. Researchers will compare their data with national data, taking into account factors like the latency period before thyroid cancer develops. They also intend to look into differences based on age and location. The team will also include researchers from Osaka University, Nagoya University and the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. The prefecture plans on having the results by the end of March, 2016, which is the end of the current fiscal year. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150901p2a00m0na002000c.html [Comment – A similar survey was run two years ago, comparing Fukushima thyroid cancer incidence with three other far-away prefectures. It showed that Fukushima’s rate of child thyroid anomalies was the lowest of the four. (see… http://www.hiroshimasyndrome.com/fukushima-child-thyroid-issue.html) The results were not posted by Japan’s Press back then, so there is no reason to think it will be done this time.]  
  • More information on the release of treated groundwater from F. Daiichi. Japan’s Atomic Industrial Forum says all subdrain waters will be purified to remove all radioactive contamination except Tritium. Once below Tepco’s self-imposed limits and verified by an independent third party, the waters will be released to the blockaded inner port. The limits are: Cs-134 1Bq/L, Cs-137 1Bq/L, Gross Beta 3Bq/L, and Tritium 1,500Bq/L. All data will be provided to the public and publicized extensively through the Press. Tepco has agreed to compensate fisheries for damages as long as a causal relationship is proven between the accident and developments such as depressed market prices caused by unfounded fears and rumors. The fisheries asked Tepco to not release the waters until the fisheries and Japanese people reach an understanding on the matter. NRA Chair Shunichi Tanaka said, “I think that using the subdrain is a big step forward, especially in terms of increasing overall safety.” http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/local-fishermens-groups-approve-the-release-of-treated-groundwater-at-fukushima-daiichi-into-the-ocean/  Tepco has made a graphic description of the drain locations and the process of preparing the waters for release. The process has six steps: water “pump up” (out of the numerous drains), collection in tanks, purification, temporary storage, water quality tests (including 3rd party verification), and finally release to the inner port. One possibly significant caveat is that step #6 requires agreement by local officials and the fisheries for each release. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/planaction/sub-drain/index-e.html Tepco began the first “pumping up” of subdrain waters today (Thursday). About 200 tons of water will be pumped out of 20 of the 41 subdrain wells and stored in “special tanks” before being purified. Tepco has 4000 tons of “already decontaminated” water from prior test runs that they would like to discharge by mid-month. If and when this is successfully completed, work will begin to complete the impervious wall just off-shore, within the barricaded inner harbor. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150903p2g00m0in042000c.html  (Comment – Most of Japan’s Press continues to refer to the waters building up in the hundreds of F. Daiichi storage tanks as “toxic”. It might be appropriate to use this descriptor for waters taken from the turbine basements before purification. However, about 97% of the stored waters have been purified down to levels at or below international drinking water standards! Calling these purified liquids “toxic” is ill-defined and massively misleading.)
  • Less than 10% of eligible residents are preparing to repopulate Kawamata, Katsurao, and much of Minamisoma. 14,000 people have been told they may remain in their homes over the next three months to prepare for the official lifting of the evacuation order, but only 1,265 have applied for eligibility. Prefectural officials say they hope the order will be lifted by this-coming spring. Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori explained, “What is most important is to provide a sense of safety and security. Evacuees will not readily join the program unless they have easy access to health care, education and shopping areas.” Uchibori notes that many former residents have chosen to settle elsewhere during the long evacuation. (Aside – the generous compensation payments of about $8,000 per month per person has certainly made this viable, but the Press fails to mention it. – End aside) One Katsurao resident says he is getting his home ready, but “Even though the authorities say we are safe, I am still anxious because we cannot see radiation.” Another problem is that many general contractors will not accept assignments in the evacuation area. But, authorities hope repairing local infrastructure and homes encourage evacuees to return home permanently. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509010062
  • A Former contract worker at F. Daiichi files for damages due to cancer. The person’s lawyers say he has developed multiple cancers since October, 2011, and blames the radiation he was exposed to while on the job. The suit names Tepco and a subcontractor (Taisei Corp.) as the responsible parties. The suit is for roughly $541,000.  The man was diagnosed with bladder cancer in June 2012, stomach cancer in March 2013, and sigmoid colon cancer in May 2013. He has previously filed claims with Tomioka Labor Standards Inspection Office and Fukushima Prefectural Labor Bureau, but was rejected both times. The suit states that the government uses 100 millisieverts as a threshold for a causal link between exposure and cancer, but the claimant’s work record shows only a total of 56.41 mSv. The suit then claims the man was actually subjected to more than 100 mSv because he didn’t always wear a dosimeter in order to remain below the exposure limit for employment. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/02/national/ex-fukushima-no-1-worker-sues-tepco-cancer/#.VeblsZDosdV — http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509020039
  • In order to have less-costly power supplies, Tepco has contracted for 1,450 MWe of coal-fired electricity. This will be provided by four companies: Tonen General Sekiyu K.K., the Electric Power Development Co. (J-Power), Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, and the Hitachinaka Generation Co., Inc. Most of the electricity will come from plants being built, and some from an existing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture. Tepco is also inviting offers for gas-fired power. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/tepco-to-get-1450mwe-of-coal-fired-power-from-four-companies/
  • (On a Fukushima-related note) 80% of the anti-tsunami seawalls planned for the eastern Honshu coast have not been built. Of the more than 300 seawalls along the Tohoku coast (Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi Prefectures), two-thirds failed to hold back the tsunami on March 11, 2011. Tokyo has allocated more than $250 billion for recovery over a ten year period. Most of the money is scheduled to be spent by the end of March, 2016, but only 109 of the 677 planned seawalls (covering six prefectures) have been built to date. 356 are under construction and 212 have not yet started. It is important to note that 152 of the wall heights have been reduced because of local resident’s complaining that their view of the ocean is impaired. Also, 35 of the planned walls may not begin construction for a long time because a local consensus is lacking. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150902p2a00m0na017000c.html  (Comment – While the failed seawalls at F. Daiichi get almost all of the Press’ attention, the failures of the more than 200 other Tohoku seawalls, resulting in roughly 20,000 deaths and 250,000 refugees, have been virtually ignored.)