November 12, 2012

Nov 12, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tokyo will review the money being spent on the Tohoku region’s reconstruction. This is due to this fall’s discovery that 25% of the government’s Tohoku earthquake/tsunami funds were diverted to other projects not directly a part of the region’s recovery. Many of the non-Tohoku pay-outs were spent on the pretext they might contribute to Japan’s economic revival; a strategy the government now says was a mistake. Japanese law allows such fund diversions, but the slowness of the Tohoku region’s recovery indicates the law might be amended. The questionable diversions include; prison vocational training across Japan, subsidies for a contact lens factory in central Japan, renovations of government offices in Tokyo, aircraft and fighter pilot training, research on rare earths, a semiconductor research project, and funding to support whaling research. ~30 million yen was also diverted to promote “Tokyo Skytree”, the tallest transmission tower in the world. Nearly a third of a million people had to evacuate their Tohoku homes due to the quake/tsunami cataclysm, 96% of which have yet to return because they have nothing to return to. Included in these numbers are the 80,000 forced by the government to evacuate due to the Fukushima Accident, 65,000 of which remain in displaced. Virtually nothing has been done along the Fukushima Prefecture coastline for tsunami recovery due to radiation fears. A quarter of a million Tohoku residents,forced to evacuate due to the quake and tsunami alone, also remain expatriated from their homes. To date, 11.7 trillion yen has been appropriated for Tohoku reconstruction, about 3 trillion of which has been diverted. It should be mentioned that about 40% of the remaining funds have not been used largely because of radiation fears voiced by Tohoku residents who were not evacuated and remain in their homes. (Japan Today)
  • The Nuclear Regulatory Authority has essentially withdrawn its recent nuclear emergency contamination projections because of numerous flaws in the prognostic system. NRA spokesman Hideka Morimoto said “We would like to be sure that there will be no more errors, so the simulations are being thoroughly checked again.”The projections are literally riddled with mistakes, far more than those already reported in the Press. The NRA planned on disclosure of new, correct projections last Thursday, but was asked to stop by the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization.JNES was the body that drafted the initial report October 24. They are now saying there is further data-input available which is critical to projection correctness. There is no time-table for when the more-correct version will be completed. (Japan Times)
  • The NRA’s study group for the Oi geologic fissure continues to makes headlines; more correctly, one persistent voice on the team. Professor Mitsuhisa Watanabe refuses to accept the consensus decision to delay judgment on the seismic potential for the seam in the bedrock. He continues to say “It is an active fault. The plates shifted some 120,000 to 130,000 years ago for sure.” Meanwhile, others on the panel stress that it is too early to reach any firm conclusion because the evidence equally points to the possibility that the seam is not seismic. Group leader Kunihiko Shimazaki continues to hold that the geological scar may have been caused by an ancient landslide. Watanabe admits his opinion on the anomaly is not conclusive, but he feels the Oi nuke’s continued operation makes no sense to him. In fact, when asked if the Oi reactors should stay on line, he answered “It would be a very silly option.” He believes that if the fissure is actually seismic and if there is a severe earthquake, it could “cause a very serious problem…similar to the Fukushima one.” Finally, Watanabe points out “We are not seeking to decommission the plant. We should first stop [Oi] operation and then carry out underground investigation thoroughly before reaching a conclusion.” He feels we should proceed with and “abundance of caution…We have to sound the alarm as soon as we find the possibility of active faults.”  (Japan Today)
  • The Fukushima accident aftermath has evoked visions of the Chernobyl accident, more than 25 years ago. Fears proliferate that the most contaminated areas near F. Daiichi will remain uninhabitable, just like those near Chernobyl; but, it turns out there are people living healthy lives in the Chernobyl “no-man’s-land”, despite the radioactive contamination. Rather than summarize a lengthy report in the UK Telegraph, read The women living in Chernobyl’s toxic wasteland for yourself… http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/9646437/The-women-living-in-Chernobyls-toxic-wasteland.html
  • Lastly, a non-nuclear chemical engineer in America feels energy decisions should not be based on “phobias”. Scientist Peter Roth made a presentation at a public hearing on whether or not to extend the operating license of the Vermont Yankee nuke. His opinion is explained in a guest post on the Yes Vermont Yankee blog site…  http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2012/11/phobias-should-not-determine-policy.html#.UKDbCuOe_Po