March 26. 2015

Mar 26, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Fukushima Prefecture dismissed F. Daiichi as a cause of child thyroid cancers. An interim report from the Fukushima Prefectural Government on March 24th stated that the 86 identified cases of thyroid cancer since 2011 were “hardly attributable to the effects of radiation.” While reiterating that the exposures were too low to cause the cancers, the report added that no child thyroid cancers have occurred in children under the age of five – the cohort assumed to be the most susceptible to negative radiation health effects. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150325p2a00m0na006000c.html
  • No radioactive Cesium detected with Fukushima students for 3rd straight year. Miharu Town’s children have been monitored since the nuke accident. In 2011, 54 of 1494 students had detectible Cesium contamination in or on them. But, since then none have shown ay. This year, 1,265 of the students were checked by a team from Tokyo’s Graduate School of Science, and none contained detectible internal Cesium. Team leader Ryugo Hayano said, “I guess it is now clear that it is fine (for residents) to live their daily lives the way they did prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake and that there is no need to be overly worried.” 23% of the families drink only bottled water and 16% said they do not eat Fukushima produce to avoid any possible ingestion. Hanayo implored, “I believe many families have been restricting their daily living (due to concerns about radioactive contamination), but I hope they can use (the test results) as reference and realize they can live more freely than they have been.” Miharu borders the government-mandated evacuation zone. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=486
  • Tokyo auditors urge Tepco to seek compensation for failed F. Daiichi projects. Specifically, those associated with decontaminating and storing waste water. The government’s Board of Audit says that about $1.5 billion has been spent on systems that have either been unsuccessful, or not operated up to expectations. One system cited is the first Cesium removal system supplied by Areva in 2011, which operated for three months and treated about 77,000 tons of water; much less than what was needed to keep up with the buildup. Another problem was salt-removal systems supplied by Hitachi, Toshiba, and Areva which worked for less than six weeks. A third item concerned the bolted-together storage tanks, some of which leaked many tons of contaminated water into the surrounding environment. Many of the tanks have been replaced, and many more will be replaced by welded-together tanks as soon as possible. Yet another cited problem is the underground storage tanks used in 2013, supplied by Maeda Corp., which leaked and had to be drained. A fifth item concerns the inability to stop trench water outflow from the turbine building basements by freezing, using technology supplied by Tepco subsidiary Tokyo Power Technology. The Board says Tepco should pursue measures to gain repayment for the troubled projects and analyze the causes of the problems so they won’t happen again. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/24/national/board-of-audit-billions-of-yen-wasted-in-fukushima-no-1-cleanup/#.VRFbW6McQdU
  • Rural radioactive waste shipments begin in Futaba Town. Futaba is one of F. Daiichi’s two host communities, with Okuma. Tokyo plans to store all accumulated rural low level waste on a 16km2 site overlapping both towns, adjacent to the nuke station. Shipments to Okuma started March 13th. The delay with Futaba was due to a request to delay shipments while residents visit ancestral graves at the spring equinox. http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2015032500802
  • Minamisoma declares it is “breaking” with nuclear power. Part of the city, north of F. Daiichi, is inside the 20km state-mandated evacuation zone. Thousands of its residents are now refugees. The City declaration states, “The nuclear accident forced more than 60,000 residents to evacuate and many lost their lives in the process. Such a nuclear disaster should never be allowed to happen again.” http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2015/03/343512.html
  • A group of business leaders say 20% of Japan’s electrical supplies should be nuclear. Officials with the Japan Association of Corporate Executives say nuclear power will be needed as a base-load energy source for some time to come. They add it’s unlikely that renewable resources such as wind and solar power will supply more than 30 percent of energy needs by 2030. Thus, more than 70% must come from nuclear, hydro, and fossil-fueled sources. http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150325_30.html
  • Two nukes get negative earthquake news from Tokyo. The Nuclear Regulation Authority affirmed their previous decision that the geologic seam (fault) running below Tsuruga unit #2 is “an active fault that can move if it is pulled by the Urasoko Fault near it.” Japan Atomic Power, the plant’s owner, disagrees and says they will apply for restart, regardless. The NRA also said a fracture zone near the Higashidori station in Aomori Prefecture also appears active. Plant Owner Tohoku Electric Co. has already applied for restart safety screenings, so they will likely argue the fault is not active. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002033411
  • Taiwan says many Japanese food products from the areas around Fukushima have been mislabeled. It seems the original labels were removed and relabeled to make it seem the foods came from parts of Japan not near Fukushima. Apparently, the foods came from one of the five prefectures currently listed for import restrictions: Chiba (part of the Tokyo megalopolis), Gumma, Fukushima, Ibaraki, and Tochigi. Nineteen of the suspect foods come from areas that were exposed to detectible levels of contamination from F. Daiichi. Nearly 2,400 kilograms of products are under investigation. Products found in violation of the law have been pulled from the shelves. http://fukushimaupdate.com/taiwan-283-mislabeled-japanese-food-products-originated-near-fukushima/
  • The Pope compares Fukushima to the Tower of Babel. According to Takeo Okada, archbishop of Tokyo, Pope Francis said, “Mankind can become arrogant and create a society convenient to them, driven by an egotistical motive. Acts thought to help mankind are ending up destroying themselves.” The statement was made in conjunction with a message about the production and export of arms and “how massive wealth is created through them”. No formal issuance of the statements has been made. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201503250073