July 9, 2012

Jul 9, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • There is a most interesting editorial from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in America. A formerly-antinuclear writer has changed his mind, despite the apocalyptic press reports circulating liberally among the international news media. Please click the link and find out for yourself… http://hamptonroads.com/2012/07/changing-minds-changing-world
  • Dr. Kiyohiko Sakamoto made a stunning presentation at America’s annual American Nuclear Society meeting. A PhD who has studied the effects of radiation since 1975 and resident of Sendai, Sakamoto asserts that the radiation exposures from Fukushima are essentially harmless. He says “Based on my experience in treating many patients the radiation level near Fukushima is not a cancer risk.” Through esteemed colleague Rod Adams, Dr. Sakamoto has asked that his presentation slides be made available to everyone… http://atomicinsights.com/2012/07/dr-kiyohiko-sakamoto-low-dose-radiation-used-as-cancer-treatment.html
  • Unit #3 at the Oi nuclear facility has reached 100% power without incident. Senior vice industry minister Seishu Makino gave thanks to the hosting governments’ cooperation. Oi town mayor Shinobu Tokioka said the government should share any future operational abnormalities with the town to prevent trouble. The mayor added that he hopes to see a smooth restart of the plant’s No.4 reactor later this month. Kepco’s target date for unit #4 full power operation is now July 25th. Since Oi #3 has lowered the region’s power saving restrictions, it is felt unit #4 operations will reduce them even more. (NHK World)
  • The NAIIC cites F. Daiichi plant manager Masao Yoshida concerning the Prime Minister’s interference from the start of the crisis. He testified, “The chain of command was a total mess. In principle, if [TEPCO’s] head office had told me to stop [injecting sea water into the reactor], we could have discussed it at that point. But what actually happened was that I was called by [the Prime Minister’s] Office, which was not directly involved in the accident response, and was told to stop [the injections]. I thought, ‘What the hell is going on?'” NAIIC concludes, “The direct intervention by the [Prime Minister’s Office]…disrupted the chain of command and brought disorder to an already dire situation.” However, NAIIC says the group most responsible for PM Kan’s meddling was the Tepco home office in Tokyo, “…while TEPCO’s headquarters was supposed to provide support to the plants, in reality it became subordinate to the [Prime Minister’s Office], and ended up simply relaying the [Prime Minister’s Office’s] intentions.” (Yomiuri Shimbun) In other words, the two most responsible culprits for interfering with the accident recovery actions at F. Daiichi were the government and Tepco’s home office. The report supports the opinion that they should have left the operating staff at Fukushima alone so they could do the jobs they were trained to do.
  • Here’s some more information on F. Daiichi unit #1 Torus room. In addition to the extremely high radiation levels, it appears the water surrounding the pressure suppression chamber is deeper than what was discovered in unit #2. The water seems to be about three feet deep, covering the donut-shaped torus half-way up the sides. As for the detected radiation levels, in addition to the more than 10 Sieverts/hr level found at the water surface, Tepco discovered the radioactive intensity dropped as the probe went deeper and deeper into the volume. Suddenly, the detector shorted out as it approached the basement’s floor. (Tepco)
  • The first gubernatorial election pitting an incumbent against an antinuclear challenger is over. Incumbent Kagoshima governor Yuichiro Ito defeated publishing president/antinuclear group secretary-general Yoshitaka Mukohara. Ito’s platform called for a cautious restart of the two-unit Sendai facility while Mukohara advocated blocking all attempts for restarts for immediate dismantling of the facilities. While the Sendai restars was not the only major issue on the docket, it was the one that garnered the most press coverage both inside and outside Japan. (Japan Times).
  • Fukui Prefecture now believes nuclear power should be an indispensable source of electricity, and all their nukes should be restarted. Fukui included this in their proposed budget for 2013. Their support for the Fukui nukes is a total reversal of the Prefecture’s position on nuclear energy prior to the last-minute events that preceded the resumption of Oi unit #3. Governor Issei Nishikawa wrote in the budget projection, ”It is necessary for the state to be responsible in maintaining the vitality of areas hosting (nuclear power plants) that have contributed to the nation’s energy policy and supported the Japanese economy.” (Kyodo News)
  • The weekly Tokyo protest against the Oi restarts continued Friday. The focus changed from “don’t restart” to “shut it down” since the nuke approached 90% power during the demonstration. The protest organizers have been calling on people to join the weekly event through the internet and word of mouth. A 41-year-old Fukushima woman said she is exasperated with the government’s handling of nuclear power after the serious accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Meanwhile, the Oi unit quietly and safely reached full power on Saturday. (NHK World) At the demonstration, a Tokyo college lecturer said, “The processes that the government made toward the reactivation (of the Oi plant) were incoherent. I’ve rushed here today thinking nothing will be changed if things remain as they are.” The Prime Minister’s office building was the main focus of the protest with many demonstrators calling for Yoshiko Noda’s resignation. When asked if he took the protests seriously, Noda responded, “We’ve received many opinions, various opinions.” (Mainichi Shimbun) Protest leaders estimated the crowd to be around 150,000, but metro police said it was more like 21,000. As with last week’ size estimates , no explanation for the disparity has been given.