March 13, 2013

Mar 13, 2013 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • It seems Tokyo is seriously considering raising the former regime’s radiation exposure limits inside the Fukushima Daiichi exclusion zone. Locations now known to have annual exposure levels below 20 millisieverts will be affected. The new standards will be set by the end of the year. New guidelines will probably expedite returning thousands to their homes, if they want to. Residents will be able to return once the evacuation directive is lifted, but many are afraid to due for fear of radiation exposure, no matter how small. The current 1 mSv per year standard is now considered hasty and “de-facto”. De-facto means “Existing in fact, or having actual effect, force, or possession whether or not it is formal, legitimate, moral, or rightful.” The regime of former PM Naoto Kan may have over-reacted and panicked when setting the one mSv goal for repopulation. The international standard is 20 mSv and the United Nations Scientific Committee on Atomic Radiation says there are no adverse effects with exposures up to 100 mSv. Making 20 mSv per year as the new, official goal is questionable. Some radiological experts in Tokyo are pushing for a 10 mSv standard. Tokyo Hospitals says that a full physical examination results in seven mSv, which has shown no negative health problems. (Yomiuri Shimbun) It should be mentioned that Bloomburg.com says, “Rather than stand as a warning of the radiation danger posed by nuclear power…Fukushima has become a reminder that uninformed fears aren’t the same as actual risks.”
  • Prime Minister Abe says that existing nuke security programs do not meet international standards. Addressing the Diet, Abe said round-the-clock security measures currently address only reactor building areas. He wants the entire stations around nukes to be covered. Previously, guards have been unarmed, but that will change. Abe desires to have armed security crews on site, 24/7, to protect against a 9/11-type terrorist attack. “In order to ensure safety at nuclear power plants, it is extremely important to acquire an ability to respond to risks such as terrorist attacks,” Abe told the congress. “We are aware of the problems, and will do our utmost to improve the security around nuclear plants in the meantime.” In the past, the government felt that Japan did not face a significant terrorist threat and dismissed beefing up nuke security staffing. Since the Fukushima crisis, critics have charged that Japanese nukes are even more terrorist-prone than American atomic plants, and have pressured Tokyo to make substantial upgrades. (Japan Today)
  • A third-party panel says the misleading information given to the Diet’s investigative committee (NAIIC) by Tepco was not intentional. The panel consisted of three independent lawyers. They concluded that the remarks of a TEPCO official were the result of him misunderstanding the situation inside the unit #1 reactor building. The lawyers also rejected the rumor that his superiors told him to lie about the situation. Tepco President Naomi Hirose apologized after he received the report of the panel and promised to ensure that this will not happen again. (Japan Daily Press; Kyodo News)
  • Tepco has posted three new picture “handouts” from F. Daiichi. The first shows the interior of the suppression pool “torus” inside the Primary Containment of unit #2. It has been assumed by Tepco that the massive donut-shaped tank and/or the attached piping leaked during the first few days of the accident, and continues to leak. Everything looks dry and there is no evidence of either prior leakage or a compromise of structural integrity. (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130313_03-e.pdf) The second package covers the closure of the “blow out panel” opening for unit #2. The panel was found open on the third day of the crisis. Who or what caused it to open has not been reported. The large opening (about 10 square meters) is believed to have let gas and steam escape and prevented a hydrogen explosion. (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130311_01-e.pdf) Finally, the third package shows the completed third level frame of the massive cover being built around unit #4. (http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_130313_01-e.pdf) (Tepco Photo and Video Library)
  • Data from Japan’s Reconstruction Agency reveals the earthquake-related mortality from 3/11/11 is worse than previously thought. Now included in the total are 2,601 deaths attributed to the 9-Richter scale earthquake itself. The tsunami is known to have killed about 19,000. Thus, the total number of deaths is now believed to be about 21,500. The quake deaths are blamed on fatigue, mental stress and lack of adequate medical attention following the temblor. “Fatigue at evacuation centers” heads the list with 33% of the mortalities, followed by evacuation transportation problems at 21% and inadequate medical attention at 15%. Mortal “fatigue” due to seeing dead bodies and amplified pre-existing mental disorders is next at 8%. Fukushima Prefecture had 51% of the quake-related deaths, 33% from Miyagi and 14% from Iwate. For comparison, after the great earthquake of 1995, 919 deaths were certified as earthquake-related. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
  • Former PM Naoto Kan cites “God’s help” in stopping the Fukushima accident. In a videotaped message shown at an antinuclear symposium in New York, Kan asserted that the crisis was “one step away from the worst situation” and apocalyptic catastrophe was only avoided with “God’s help”. His worst-case nightmare of all six reactors at F. Daiichi melting down and all spent fuel pools going dry and burning would have forced the evacuation of 50 million Japanese, including metropolitan Tokyo. If this had happened, he believes “Many casualties may have resulted in the process of evacuation, and Japan consequently would not have fully functioned as a state over the long-term.” He added, “Nuclear arms and atomic power represent a technology in which coexistence with man is extremely difficult. The safest nuclear power or energy policy is to realize zero nuclear power.” He also said Japan also needs the burning of fossil fuels, replacing them with renewables. (Japan Times; Kyodo News)
  • The antinuclear symposium in New York condemned the recent WHO report on the cancer risks of Fukushima residents from radiation. Professional activist, Australian pediatrician Helen Caldicott, said “It’s a report that was meant to reassure people who, almost certainly, many will develop leukemia and cancer. (sic) What is going to happen is there will be a high incidence of cancer and leukemia and genetic disease.” She asserted that the most important issues with low level radiation exposure were either “ignored” or “glossed over”. She added that since there were no actual radioactivity measurements used by WHO, their estimates are unfounded. She further claimed that children will be harmed by even those radiation levels below the Japanese limits. She stressed her belief that matter how hard they try, the foods of Japan will always contain radioactive Cesium isotopes which will harm the children. Further, she said that Fukushima released three times more radiation than Chernobyl, so three times the cancers of Chernobyl should be expected. Caldicott concluded her angry speculations by saying, “As a physician, I abhor what they’ve done.” (Japan Today)
  • The new, previously-announced lawsuit against Tepco and the Tokyo government was filed on Monday. More than 1650 people are listed as “injured parties”. While the new suit makes many claims similar to the dozens of others that came before it, this one is the first to seek compensation due to psychological damage. The suit calls for nearly $60 million in damages. All plaintiffs were living in Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata, Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures on 3/11/11, but many have re-located to Niigata, Aichi and Okinawa Prefectures. The suit also says all Fukushima contamination should be removed so that the Tohoku region can return to its pre-accident condition. The filing added, “This case is not only aimed at saving victims, but also at pushing the government to thoroughly change its pro-nuclear policy and therefore prevent people becoming victims in the future.”(Mainichi Shimbun; Japan Today; NHK World)