December 18, 2014

Dec 18, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Earthquake and tsunami debris clean-up has finally begun in Futaba Town. Futaba is one of the two host communities for F. Daiichi. The work has begun in the Morotake area and along the tsunami-devastated coastline. Morotake is located inland, about three kilometers northwest of the nuke station. The tsunami debris to be removed from the Futaba coast is estimated to be about 5,000 tons, including beached driftwood and demolished housing material. The Environment Ministry estimates the full amount of debris to be removed from the two locations will be about 13,000 tons. Contamination and radiation levels are low enough to allow the work to occur. The debris will be taken to a provisional storage site for close inspection before a decision is made on final disposal. Community official Rokuro Saito said, “At last, Futaba town’s reconstruction begins.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/12/17/national/debris-clearing-starts-futaba-3%c2%bd-years-tsunami/#.VJGGRqMcQdU –- http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141217_28.html
  • The draft NRA report for Takahama Station indicates that restarts are allowable. The Nuclear Regulation Authority review of the paperwork for units #3&4 indicates that Kansai Electric Company (Kepco) has passed all safety check-points. The 430-page draft indicates that measures to cope with possible severe accidents fulfill the NRA safety standards. Kepco has shown that earthquake and tsunami protection has been upgraded to meet the post Fukushima criteria. Quake safeguards were originally designed for a ground movement of 550 Gal, but has been improved to handle an acceleration of at least 700 Gal. 981 Gals is equal to acceleration due to gravity (~9.8 meters/sec2). The tsunami break-wall has been raised to 8 meters in order to handle the worst-possible wave height of 6.2 meters. In addition, Kepco installed back-up emergency cooling pumps and hydrogen mitigation units to prevent the core damage and hydrogen explosions suffered at F. Daiichi. A 30-day public input period begins today. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001796949 — http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014121700244
  • Japan’s first all-MOX nuke is ready for government safety review. As reported in our last update, the currently under-construction Oma nuclear plant owners have applied to the NRA for preliminary assessment. It will be the world’s first all-MOX-fueled reactor. MOX is the acronym for Mixed Oxide, which is manufactured from recycled fuel bundles. The fissionable isotopes will be both U-235 and Pu-239. The Mainichi Shimbun says there are problems with MOX fuel which is different from Uranium-only fuels, and spins it to make it seem that MOX is more difficult to control. While this would be true if the same control rods were used as are found in Uranium-only cores, the Oma reactor will use control rods specifically designed for MOX-only cores. Thus, reactor power control should be no more difficult than with Uranium-only cores. The NRA has not approved the MOX design, as yet, which the preliminary safety application should cover. Approval will effectively resolve any regulatory concerns about the reactor power control technology. The Mainichi makes many other criticisms, all of which are more speculation than fact. The Oma plant is in northern-most Aomori Prefecture, across the Tsugaru Strait from Hokkaido City. The City is ~30km from Oma and has filed a lawsuit to have construction halted because of radiation fears. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20141217p2a00m0na009000c.html
  • Tepco says more than 3,700 Fukushima evacuees have not filed for compensation. Executive Vice President Yoshiyuki Ishizaki said 3,713 had yet to apply for full compensation as of the end of November. This is about half of the number a year ago. Tepco reports that roughly 400 of the non-applicants have yet to be found, indicating that about 3,300 of the non-applicants have been contacted but have not filed claims. The company’s Fukushima Revitalization Headquarters says 750 qualified voluntary (designated as “provisional”) evacuees have not filed for their temporary compensation. The total number of qualified claims stands at about 166,000, more than half of which are from outside the Tokyo-mandated exclusion zone and thus designated as provisional. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014121800656