- Eighteen months after the Fukushima accident, many challenges still remain. The Japanese Press continues to say that “tainted” water continues to leak from the four severely stricken units at F. Daiichi, which places in question the reliability of the waste water clean-up and reactor cooling systems were “hastily” thrown together. In addition, there have been 56 instances of “tainted” water leaks within the crippled power complex and the decontamination systems have stopped 12 times due to either the leaks or power supply problems. Further, on August 30th the reactor vessel coolant flows fell below desired levels for a few days until Tepco found that clogged filters were the cause. And, only 16 of the 41 thermometers installed on the unit #3 reactor pressure vessel are still working, and cannot be replaced due to the high radiation levels inside the unit’s containment structure. What’s more, Tepco does not yet know if they can fill the internal containment structures of units#1 through #3 with water to facilitate removal of the melted fuel cores. The water volume would also significantly reduce the higher radiation fields in and around the three reactor buildings, which would greatly facilitate the core removal process. There is also a concern about finding enough qualified workers over the next five years. Finally, some 400 tons of groundwater is flowing into the plant buildings, mixing with the partially-decontaminated water already there and adding to the total waste water inventory. All the above are purported to be unsolved challenges that need to be resolved. On a positive note, Tepco says that most work areas around the four buildings of concern have radiation fields below 3 millisieverts per hour, compared with the level of 100 mSv/hr measured the first week after the accident. The one major exception is near the unit #3 buildings. (NHK World)
- None of the Fukushima children who have been medically screened since 3/11/11 show any evidence of thyroid cancer due to the Fukushima accident. Earlier this week, one child was diagnosed with a form of thyroid cancer, but medical experts say it could not possibly be due to the F. Daiichi radiological releases because it will not develop until 4-5 years after exposure. Shinichi Suzuki, professor of thyroid surgery at Fukushima Medical University, said, “Based on the experience of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, it is inconceivable that cancer would develop within four years of exposure to radiation.”He added progression of the disease is slow, treatment is effective and the 30-year survival rate for children who have been diagnosed is about 99 percent.The testing has been done on approximately 80,000 Fukushima children. In addition to the child thyroid announcement, Fukshima Prefecture says the highest exposure to any member of the public has been a bit more than 10 millisieverts and this for only 18 individuals out of nearly 100,000 radiologically surveyed. There were 44 exposures between 5 and 10 mSv. All others were below 5 mSv. It should be noted that a typical CAT scan exposes a person to about 5 mSv and the typical resident of Denver, Colorado receives 6 mSv per year due to natural background. (Asahi Shimbun)
- The Tohoku region’s fishing industry is slowly recovering after the ban on fishing instituted soon after 3/11/11. The fishing being done is mostly on a trial basis to see what the possible contamination levels are with respect to 10 species not previously monitored. Three species were cleared of the ban in June; one type of shellfish and two kinds of octopus. On the other hand, cod, rock-trout and black sea bream fishing has been banned because of Cesium above the nation’s exceedingly strict 100 Becquerel per kilogram limit. One good thing, the level of cesium in the seawater itself is barely detectable, indicating that there is little further contamination being introduced to the marine environment. Tests show that most of the Cesium now entering the sea is coming from river flows, and not from the Fukushima Daiichi power complex. Professor Takashi Ishimaru at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology says the contamination is being closely studied according to the fish species to understand how it has spread. NHK World)
- Half of the mayors of communities affected by the 3/11/11 earthquake/tsunami fear that their plight is becoming a “fading memory” across Japan. The latest poll taken by the Mainichi Shimbun covered 42 towns and villages in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures. All of the mayors responded to the newspaper’s query. “Our recovery process has just begun. I want people to continue to take an interest in the quake disaster so it won’t be forgotten,” said Shigeru Sugawara, mayor of Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture. Sugawara’s statement echoed the majority of concerns made by mayors outside Fukushima Prefecture. Some of the biggest issues affecting Iwate and Miyagi are declining financial resources and “flaws in the legal systems”. 14 of the 15 mayors from Fukushima said the greatest impediment to recovery is “the nuclear disaster” itself. Mayoral opinion inside Fukushima Prefecture might best be understood in the words of Kawauchi mayor Yuko Endo, “I don’t want people to assume that the nuclear disaster is an issue peculiar to affected areas alone. The memory of the nuclear crisis is fading away, but this is a crisis for Japan as a whole.” (Mainichi Shimbun)
- Most of the tsunami debris in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures has not yet been cleared from where it has lain since 3/11/11. It is estimated the tsunami left 5.25 million tons of debris in Iwate Prefecture and 18.73 million tons in Miyagi Prefecture. By the end of last month, only 20 percent of the total amount had been incinerated or recycled. The number of temporary storage sites for the debris has fallen to 184, or about 70 percent of its peak. Despite the staggering volume of rubble to yet be handled, the government insists that 53% will be removed by March, 2013, and 100% by March, 2014. However, Disaster Minister Goshi Hosono cautions, “To meet these goals, we have to step up disposal efforts.” Miyagi now has 17 incinerators working daily, with another 12 being built. Tokyo hopes this will influence the precious few other Japanese prefectures presently accepting small volumes for incineration to increase their capacities as well. Perhaps the worst issue is disposal of non-burnable material. Miyagi now has 420,000 tons of non-burnables in storage. Municipalities outside of the waste-swamped prefectures are reluctant to assist in non-burnable disposal because of public fears that the material might be radioactive. Kanagawa Prefecture says they could be ready to accept fishing industry debris soon, but they say they are not ready to take on any other waste material. Regardless, Tokyo says 4 million tons of non-burnable tsunami debris must be disposed of outside the Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures in order to meet the optimistic goals. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- Several citizen groups in Japan are protesting the pending appointments to the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC is set to begin operation next week. Hundreds of demonstrators held up banners in front of the Industry Ministry saying PM Noda’s decision to appoint during the Diet recess is unacceptable to them. They are especially upset with the decision to make Shunichi Tanaka the chairman because of his previous ties to the Japanese nuclear community. A woman from Fukushima Prefecture says the groups have been calling for the repeal of the appointments for the past month. A Tokyo resident says he is against all 5 appointments because nuclear professionals are promoters and cannot adequately regulate the industry. Tuesday evening the protestors formed a human chain around the ministry building. They say they will not stop their demonstrations until their demands are met. (NHK World) comment – It seems the protestors want the people who will run the NRC to have no nuclear experience. That makes no sense to this writer.
- The Science Council of Japan says the government’s spent fuel disposal policy needs complete revision. They advise that the country should reduce the potential future waste volume by shutting down all nukes when they are 40 years old and build no others to replace them. Further, the plans for a permanent geological repository should be scrapped and instead use temporary storage for as long as it takes to get a public consensus on final disposal. The Council says Japan is one of the most seismically active nations on earth, so it will not be possible to find a geologic formation that will safely hold high-level nuclear wastes for at least 10,000 years. They feel it would be better to store the material above ground for a century or more until a rational public consensus can be achieved. The council wants the material temporarily buried underground at a depth that is shallow enough for them to be dug up after technologies to reduce radioactivity and make reliable containers are developed. They also feel the materials should be moved to various sites on a regular basis to insure that no one site will become a de-facto permanent repository. Immediately, critics attacked the Council’s decision saying nobody will consent to having a temporary facility located near them. In response, the council called for building nuclear storage facilities in local municipalities near the nuclear power plants in exchange for huge amounts of compensation. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
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