October 6, 2014

Oct 6, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Pay-outs for Fukushima evacuee compensation have reached $43 billion USD. About 44% has been disbursed for mandated evacuation compensation, 44% for business and personal property reparation, and roughly 12% for voluntary evacuees. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/comp/images/jisseki-e.pdf
  • The new, mobile Strontium removal system is operational. In early June, it was announced that a Kurion Isotopic Removal unit would be used the strip Strontium from contaminated waste water. The first-of-its-kind, “at-tank” system will be moved from tank group to tank group for reduction of contained Strontium. The tanks to be processed have been stripped of Cesium isotopes by the existing highly-reliable, remarkably-efficient absorption system. In June, Kurion said that Strontium activity is the greatest emitter of radiation impacting exposure levels in the storage tank area. The new unit has begun its job on a tank group containing about 23,000 tons of water. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2014/10/315262.html — http://www.kurion.com/newsroom/press-releases/kurion-awarded-contract-to-treat-tank-water-at-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power-plant
  • Tepco will use cement “fillers” to try and stop the flow of contaminated water in equipment tunnels. The company has tried several freezing strategies to stem the flow, but all have fallen short of success. Reasons for failure have varied; sometimes due to fluctuating water levels in the tunnels, and other times because of physical obstacles such as cables. NRA commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa says that if the concrete filler plan does not solve the problem by November, Tepco should look for further alternatives. The tunnel problem needs to be resolved before the sea-side portion of the fully-encompassing 1.5 kilometer underground frozen wall can be successfully completed. https://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2014/10/315363.html — http://www.4-traders.com/TOKYO-ELECTRIC-POWER-CO-I-6491247/news/Tokyo-Electric-Power–TEPCO-taking-new-strategy-to-remove-toxic-water-in-tunnels-19135535/
  • The Prime Minister’s Cabinet has approved the temporary waste storage bill guaranteeing a 30-year time-limit. Futaba and Okuma, the designated towns for the temporary rural radioactive waste facility, have demanded a government guarantee on a 30-year maximum. However, the bill needs congressional (Diet) approval to become law. Environment Minister Yoshio Mochiduki stressed that the bill alone will not guarantee that the facilities will happen on time (January). Tokyo needs consent of local people and agreement by landowners on sale or leasing of the property. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141003_25.html
  • The remaining evacuation “spots” in Minamisoma should be reopened later this month. Tokyo announced the decision to municipal assembly members on September 26th. Various “hot spots” in seven districts were identified after 3/11/11, and Tokyo mandated that 152 families evacuate their homes. Nearly 580 persons were affected. When the evacuation order is lifted, Tokyo will continue requiring psychological and evacuation compensations for three additional months. The average measured exposure level for the “spots” is 0.4 microsieverts per hour, which is 20% of the estimated levels when the residents were ordered to leave in 2011. The highest measured level is about one µSv/hour, which is equivalent to 5 mSv/year. This is well below the 20 mSv standard used to determine repopulation. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=411
  • Tepco and Tokyo (NRA) continue fixation with worst case scenarios. They now say the greatest earthquake conceivable for Fukushima could have a ground motion 33% greater than the one experienced on 3/11/11. They also purport that a 26 meter-high tsunami is possible (albeit highly unlikely), which would be about 10 meters higher than the one that swamped F. Daiichi. The estimated frequency of the historically-unprecedented quake is once per 10,000-100,000 years, and the frequency interval for the extraordinary tsunami is once per 10,000-1 million years. Tepco speculates that if such a tsunami hit F. Daiichi now, 10-100 trillion Becquerels of radioactivity from the turbine basements and open equipment tunnels could be released to the ocean. The company added that the worst-case quake would not compromise any of the site reactor buildings, and the tsunami would not reach the waste water storage tanks because they are on high-enough ground. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014100300919 — http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201410040044
  • Japan’s mass-construction of renewables might wane due to distribution system issues. Tokyo ordered an artificially-high “feed in tariff” that renewable operators must be paid by Japan’s utilities. This was done to off-set the high cost of construction for solar, wind and hydro-electric generation, in the hope of reducing the massive trade deficit caused by the nuclear moratorium. However, Japan’s utilities have found that the intermittent nature of solar and wind generation is upsetting the nation’s electric distribution network. Last week, Kyushu Electric Company began limiting renewable provider access to its grid to prevent possible blackouts due to the fluctuating output of local renewable power generation. The outputs are not reliable and cannot produce the constant supply of electricity needed to keep the grid stable. Tokyo is considering rescinding the fixed tariff and instead impose a fixed, less generous pricing system for renewables. This would curtail some proposed expensive renewable construction projects. http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/japans-utilities-fight-back-against-renewable-energy/