March 6, 2014

Mar 6, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • A small fire has occurred at the idled Takahama nuclear station, Fukui Prefecture. One of the transformers for Takahama unit #3 caught fire this morning, and was rapidly put out by station staff. A Kansai Electric Co. spokesperson said, “No one was injured and there was no impact from the incident—such as a radiation leak—on the outside environment.” The incident was covered by Japan Today, but most of the article was used to explain why they were covering it, saying “Japan has become increasingly nervous about nuclear power” and pointing out that Takahama is a nuclear station “viable” for restart. As is the case with all nuclear reports, a summation of the Fukushima accident ends the posting. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/fire-hits-fukui-nuclear-plant-but-no-radiation-leaks
  • The world’s first whole body radiation scanner for babies is now operating, called Babyscan. It allows babies to be lying down and playing with toys, keeping them in place long enough for the scan to be run. Plus, the baby scanner can measure lower isotopic content, which is the case with the much lower body mass of babies. Scanners used for adults cannot do these things. Babyscan was created by Tokyo University to detect radioactive Cesium, in the hope it will ease concerns of worried parents. It can also detect naturally-radioactive potassium 40. The first unit has been installed at the Hirarta Central Hospital in Fukushima. So far, the only isotope of interest to be detected has been K-40. A research paper about the machine has been published in the Open Journal of Pediatrics, and says, “We are happy to report that radiocesium was not detected in any of the 100 subjects.” The report in International Business Times has some data that needs more detailed explanation, but for the most part the article seems to be remarkably balanced and correct. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/fukushima-fallout-japanese-scientists-develop-worlds-first-radiation-baby-scanner-1438856
  • The Yomiuri Shimbun reports on the current status of the removal of spent fuel from unit #4 pool. This might be the first newspaper report on the operation since the process began last fall. The Yomiuri says that by Monday, 442 “rods” will have been moved out of the spent fuel pool and located in a common pool inside a near-by storage facility. The article adds that all of the unit #4 fuel bundles should be moved by the end of the year. It is also noted that once the unit #4 transfers are complete, planning for the removal of the spent fuel from the pools of the other three units can begin. Tepco said, “We cannot remove [the other bundles] until we can thoroughly analyze the contamination situation.” Unit #2 will probably be the least challenging because there was no hydrogen explosion. For unit #3, an enclosure around the damaged building and fuel removal machine will have to be fabricated, similar to the technology built for unit #4. The current enclosure around unit #1 will have to be dismantled and the same pre-removal construction take place as with unit #3. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001090570
  • Japan’s nuclear watchdog has absorbed a nuclear safety institution. The Nuclear Regulation Authority has merged with Japan’s Nuclear Energy Safety Organization. JNES has been an independent corporation administering nuke plant inspections and studying nuclear safety, with a staff of 380 engineers and administrators. By absorbing JNES, the NRA now has ~1,000 people working for them. It is hoped that the added staffing and expertise will expedite safety reviews with nukes that have applied for restart. NRA welcomes new staff following merger; NHK World; March 4, 2014
  • F. Daiichi host community Okuma prepares for partial repopulation. Ogawara, the town’s southern-most district, has been open to resident visits but restricted from continuous habitation. The radiation levels in the district have been lowered sufficiently through decontamination efforts, so it will eventually be time for people to go back home…if they wish to, of course. Town officials want Ogawara repopulated by March, 2017. Mayor T. Watanabe and Ikuo Kaminishi of the Urban Renaissance Agency signed an agreement on Monday to begin preparing infrastructure, such as water and electricity. When infrastructure is ready, the first major step in repopulation will have been reached. Fukushima town to start rebuilding; NHK World; March 4, 2014
  • Iitate village evacuees have a plan for rebuilding. Iitate is part of the exclusion zone corridor 30 kilometers northwest of F. Daiichi. The villagers want to begin work for repopulation next year, including new public housing and installation of solar power generation. The plan was submitted to Mayor Norio Kanno on Tuesday. In addition to public housing for seniors, it includes possible farming projects to replace the community’s largely agrarian economy that existed before the nuclear accident. The plan also calls for a solar power plant large enough to make the town energy independent. The villagers further want increased work on decontamination by the government so evacuation orders can be lifted in most Iitate districts over the next two years. Reconstruction plan for Fukushima village; NHK World; March 5, 2014 
  • Fukushima 3rd anniversary news articles are beginning to appear. A summation and critique of the lot will be posted in Fukushima Commentary on or after 3/11/14. However, one report bears mentioning here. The Asahi Shimbun has polled the people of Fukushima Prefecture and says “the survey showed signs that radiation fears are easing among Fukushima residents”. Last March, 75% of the respondents felt varying levels of stress, but this year it has dropped to 67%. Plus, those who were anxious about harm from radioactive substances is now 68%, down from 76% last year and 91% soon after the accident in 2011. Food safety optimism is also on the rise. Only 8% said they refuse to eat food from their own prefecture and 38% said they were “reluctant”. On the other have, 24% said they had no problems eating Fukushima-produced foods. In a February nation-wide survey, 40% of the Asahi’s readers said they were reluctant to eat food from Fukushima, but 59% said they were not hesitant. It should be noted the first 80% of the article dwells on the Asahi’s reader’s negative opinions about Tepco, wastewater issues, and accident recovery, which should come as no surprise considering the generally antinuclear nature of the newspaper.  http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201403040053 (comments – It seems Fukushima’s farms and fisheries should spend more time focusing on those inside the prefecture concerning the safety of their product.)
  • The Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s second-leading newspaper, continues to doubt the cause of the nuclear accident. The article says thousands of people want to know “specifically” what happened, three years after the fact. The Asahi Shimbun argues that official groups continue to disagree about what happened during the week of March 11, 2011, which is a very misleading statement. First, the Asahi tries to reopen the issue of whether or not the accident was caused by the earthquake before the tsunami hit. Although the Nuclear Regulation Authority concluded there is no reason to think the quake was the cause, the newspaper says “No consensus has been reached on the matter”. The report also asks whether or not all three meltdowns should have been averted, despite the full station blackout. The Asahi’s answer is heavily laced with hindsight speculations and questionable allegations. For example, the article alleges the operators should not have shut off the steam-powered High Pressure Coolant Injection system at 2:42am on March 13. The government’s NAIIC report also says the stoppage should not have happened unless an alternative water supply system was available. However, the Asahi and NAIIC report fail to consider that HPCI was the last operable system. There were no alternatives available. Further, water level inside the reactor was dropping closer and closer to the top of the fuel core. HPCI was being run by steam from the reactor. When the water injection flow became less than the volume of steam being used to run HPCI, its operation could no longer help keeping the core covered. It was actually making the water level drop faster that if it were not running. Any experienced reactor operator is correctly trained to keep water above the core as long as possible during an emergency situation. They obviously did the right thing by stopping HPCI when they did. However, neither the NAIIC nor the Asahi have made even a cursory effort to get a reactor operator’s perspective.  http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/analysis/AJ201403050061
  • NRA chair Shunichi Tanaka says they will make sure the confusion over the spread of radioactive substances doesn’t happen again. The focus will be on having the public informed so they can make responsible public protection decisions themselves. Tanaka says, “Discussing plans for evacuating residents on the premise of an infinitely large-scale accident is impossible. We’ll offer a database to help residents make their own decisions more easily.” The panic-based decisions made by Tokyo concerning the Fukushima evacuation caused utter chaos. There was no public understanding of prevailing conditions or where airborne contamination was spreading. Tanaka stressed that “There were people who rushed to evacuate and lost their lives. We have an obligation to avoid this tragedy. We have to predict how radioactive substances will spread not only in terms of time and space but in terms of which substances are spreading.” He pointed out that fully-prepared evacuation plans are not a precondition for restarts. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001087254