- Tepco reports that 220 of the unit #4 fuel bundles have been safely transferred to the common facility pool. 22 of the relocated bundles are unused (unirradiated) and 198 are spent (used/irradiated) fuel bundles. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/removal4u/index-e.html
- Tepco has posted the evacuee compensation criteria of increases for special cases, such as long term care (LTC). The raises are for mental anguish due to an out-of-court settlement mandated by the government’s Nuclear Damage Compensation Dispute Resolution Center. The LTC order lists the criteria: those receiving LTC insurance payments at nursing homes, persons with physical disability certificates, those with mental disability documents, people with specific rehabilitation certificates, and others with conditions confirmed by equivalent documentation. Pay-outs are also mandated for those who can document being caregiver to persons “requiring constant nursing care in their daily life.” These per-person pay-outs vary between $100 and $200 per month, in addition to what is already being received. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2014/1233808_5892.html
- 26% of Tohoku-region toddlers suffer on-going tsunami-caused psychiatric problems. A team of researchers from Tohoku University School of Medicine looked at nearly 180 children, ages 3-5, whose parents agreed to the study. An internationally-recognized checklist was used. The team analyzed the kids between September, 2012, and last June, in Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The physical symptoms included vertigo, nausea and headaches. Unacceptable behaviors were also noted, including violence, nail-biting and withdrawal. Some exhibited developmental disorders and learning disabilities that could result in life-long problems. The team says the affected children need psychiatric care, and the rate is three times that found in other Prefectures unaffected by the 3/11/11 quake and tsunami. The reasons for the negative impacts include losing friends, seeing their homes destroyed, temporary separation from parents, and watching the huge tsunami devastate the shoreline. The on-going nature of the problems have caused some concern among child-care professionals. Team member Makiko Okuyama of the National Center for Child Health said, “It is known that children need (psychiatric) care right after an earthquake disaster, but this study was done more than a year and half after the fact, so that concerns me.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/01/27/national/tsunami-left-mental-scars-on-1-in-4-kids/#.UuZfjMso4dU — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014012700555
- Alaska’s government says their fish are safe to eat. The Department of Environmental Conservation has been criticized by a few Washington politicians because they do not test seafood for Fukushima contamination. On Wednesday, DEC Commissioner Larry Hartig told the Senate Natural Resources Committee they are following the data posted by numerous other organizations along the Pacific coast and it seems there is nothing worth worrying about. He said, “We try to test for things that we think present real risk, like mercury.” Hartig added that people who claim that Alaska’s seafood is unsafe are mostly people from “outside”. He’s concerned that the public is being misinformed and not considering scientific research, “When I see things thrown out there, it worries me that not only will it affect our fisheries markets but also that it can affect people’s decisions on what they eat.” Tyson Fick, spokesman for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, said he has the same concerns, “If you check it against any kind of credible source, any kind of peer-reviewed science, they blow it out of the water as completely unfounded.” http://juneauempire.com/state/2014-01-23/dec-says-alaska-fish-are-safe-eat#.UuPA0Mso4dV
- A remote-controlled radiation monitoring drone has been tested in a Fukushima city. It made its maiden flight from Namie on Friday and circled the area for about 30 minutes, measuring ground-level radiation. No results have been posted as this was only for test purposes. The device was developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Manned helicopter readings are taken from a 300 meter altitude for safety reasons. But, the drone can fly much lower and follow topography closely, theoretically providing much more accurate readings and more detailed mapping. Further test flights are planned. JAEA and JAXA want the drone fully operational by 2015. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html
- The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has posted its latest report on Fukushima’s rural remediation. It says important progress has been made in the area of decontamination. Director Juan Carlos Lentijo, who headed the investigative team, said, “The Mission Team was impressed by the amount of resources allocated and by the intense work that Japan is carrying out in efforts to remediate the affected areas and promote the return of evacuees to their homes, together with efforts for reconstruction of those areas.” The team observed remediation of farmland and forests, efforts with establishing temporary storage facilities, and the extreme measures used to insure food safety. The team urged Japan to enhance communicating the fact that exposures in the 1 to 20 millisievert per year range are acceptable. The IAEA recognizes the effort to decrease exposures below 1 mSv/yr, but the message that it is a long term goal needs constant re-emphasis. http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2014/report-on-remediation.html For the complete report, click here… http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/final_report230114.pdf
- The Mayor of Nahara wants temporary waste storage plans revised. Nahara is one of the three communities near Fukushima Daiichi designated as a candidate site for a low level waste facility. Of the three, Nahara is the one that does not border on Fukushima Daiichi. The town lies between 13km and 27km south of the accident site and borders on the undamaged Fukushima Daiini station. Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto says his constituents feel the 100,000 Becquerel per kilogram criterion for storage constitutes high level waste and they don’t want it. The mayor added that residents fear that if the facility will impede the town’s restoration. The mayor submitted the town’s position to Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato. Matsumoto mentioned that some residents are opposed to storing much lower activity materials, and others feel only rural wastes from Nahara should be in the proposed facility. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140127_21.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014012700369
- Some Tohoku tsunami refugees are going to have “distinctive” government housing projects. Models of the various schemes are posted on the Reconstruction Agency website. The residences will be public apartment buildings and houses. The plan is for enough residences to accommodate 20,000 of the more than 75,000 households who lost everything to the tsunami and quake of 3/11/11. The three intended Prefectures are Fukushima, Iwate, and Miyagi. There are 20 different designs proposed to reflect the local environment and provide for a “vibrant elderly society” or a “society that protects growing children”. Some residences were completed in August in the devastated Ogakuchi District of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture. The Otsuchi residences harmonize with the local area and 60% of the construction materials came from the town. A site under construction in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, will have seven four-to-six story apartment structures. “According to resident surveys and preliminary applications, these residences are popular among the elderly,” a city official said. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000960579 (comment – at least 18,000 households have left Tohoku and moved to other parts of Japan out of frustration. What will Tokyo do to try and get them to return?)
- Another worst-case-scenario for F. Daiichi groundwater contamination has been issued by the NRA. The Nuclear Regulation Authority and Tepco agree that there has been a relatively sudden rise in Tritium activity with water taken from a unit #1 sampling well. The activity is currently 5,600 Becquerels per liter. In November, water from the well had no detectible Tritium. NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa said that the contamination may have come unit #1 turbine building. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014012401038 — http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2014/images/2tb-east_14012401-e.pdf (Comment – Apparently, the sampling well is the one designated “0-2” on the Tepco analysis chart, linked above. There is no Cesium activity detectible and very low “total Beta” is at 22 Bq/liter. The water in unit #1 turbine basement has more than 10,000 Bq/liter of Cesium and an even higher activity due to “all Beta” emissions. Thus, the NRA speculation must be questioned. The high Tritium reading is probably from some other source. Commissioner Fuketa appears to have spoken “off the cuff”.)
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