March 10. 2014

Mar 10, 2014 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • This morning, Tepco posted that 462 spent fuel bundles have been removed from #4 spent fuel pool. Last week the announced total was 418, thus 44 bundles were relocated to a pool in the ground level common storage facility over the last seven days. To date, no problems have been reported. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html
  • Most voluntary Fukushima evacuees refuse to return home. Subsequent to March 11, 2011, at least 25,000 residents fled Fukushima Prefecture from beyond the evacuation zones. NHK polled 307 of them and 74% said they have no intention of returning. Some had returned home briefly, but decided to leave again citing fears of possible radiation exposure. 65% said they are financially “squeezed” by their decision, even though many receive expressway toll waivers and housing compensation. How long these pay-outs will last is a matter of debate. Lawyer Kenichiro Kawasaki says frightened people have a legal right to evacuate and should be granted full compensation. 129 households have the breadwinner still working in the prefecture, but the families live elsewhere. 25% married couples said they live separately because of disagreement over evacuation and radiation. These separations have caused deterioration in relationships. Another 23% have divorced. NHK World; Survey: 74% of voluntary evacuees not returning; March 7, 2014
  • Nearly three-fourths of Japan’s public says the government should not urge Fukushima evacuees to return home. Tokyo has eased their pressure for evacuee repopulation over the past few months, and most Japanese think it is the right thing to do. Government policy is now focused on helping evacuees live away from their former residences. A Yomiuri Shimbun poll found that 73% of the respondents support the new government policy. In addition, 76% said they support Tokyo covering part of the rural decontamination expenses. Currently, Tokyo is billing Tepco for all decontamination costs. On a more disturbing note, 39% said they have become less concerned about recovery of disaster-wrecked areas of the Tohoku region, over the past year. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0001098995
  • Some Fukushima fishermen say releasing uncontaminated groundwater is OK. A meeting was jointly held by Tepco and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy for interested local fishing workers. The meeting informed attendees about the situation at F. Daiichi and why releasing uncontaminated groundwater is needed. Some participants said they would accept the proposal if checks for contamination are sufficient. A consensus on the issue from Fukushima Fisheries is expected later this month. Federation head Tetsu Nozaki said , “This is a difficult decision, but I would consider allowing the release of groundwater in order to help stabilize work on decommissioning the reactors.” http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2014030700511
  • Atomic Energy Society of Japan says the 3/11/11 tsunami caused the Fukushima accident, not the earthquake. The AESJ has run a full investigation on the accident using all available sources of evidence from Tepco, the government and other accident investigations. The group’s report concludes there is no reason to believe the accident was started by the earthquake before the tsunami hit. It says, “We think safety functions were not particularly affected by the earthquake (before tsunami waves hit the plant)…the direct cause of the accident was insufficient measures to deal with tsunami, severe accidents and emergencies.” AESJ also concludes that nuclear experts failed to improve tsunami protection sufficiently because they “locked themselves in their narrow field of expertise” and were not much aware of the risks associated with natural disasters, thus “Tsunami issues were discussed by experts on tsunami, and not enough study was made on what kind of risks they could bring to nuclear power plants.” The AESJ admits they had little understanding about the role natural calamity experts should play in improving nuclear safety, thus it lacked awareness of natural disasters and failed to make sufficient efforts to maintain neutrality. Critics of the AESJ say the rejection of the quake as the accident’s cause contradicts other reports, it fails to use human resources in order to pin down the cause of the accident, and it sheds no new light on what happened.  http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140308p2g00m0dm037000c.html — NHK World; Nuclear experts issue final Fukushima report; March 9, 2014
  • A new survey indicates most of Japan sees little progress in tsunami recovery. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute polled nearly 2,500 respondents and 65% said tsunami recovery shows little or no progress. 55% said there was little apparent progress, and nine percent said they knew of no progress at all. On the other hand, 98% said they saw progress with respect to Fukushima accident recovery. When asked which of the two recoveries was most important, 45% said the nuclear accident and 55% said non-nuclear. On a related issue, the number of Tohoku region bankruptcies since 3/11/11 is approaching 1,500. The failed companies employed more than 21,000 people. NHK World; Survey shows 60% see little progress in rebuilding; March 9, 2014
  • A Fukushima third anniversary antinuclear protest was held in Tokyo on Sunday. Most news outlets said thousands attended, one demonstration organizer said there were 32,000, another estimated 10,000 participated. The metropolitan police said there were maybe 4,000, but AFP News says it was probably about 1700. Demonstrators marched from Hibiya Park in Tokyo to Japan’s Parliament, chanting “abolish all nuclear plants” and “give radiation-free Fukushima back to us”. They vowed to stop the restarts of all 48 nukes now idled by Naoto Kan’s moratorium. Protestors also said no idled nukes need to be restarted because Japan has been living without them since the moratorium began and no power shortages have occurred. The rally was organized by the Japan Congress Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. Group leader Koichi Kawano said, “We have tended to focus on abolition of nuclear weapons while being weak in our campaign against nuclear power plants. Let there be no more nuclear accidents.” The organization plans similar rallies before the August anniversary of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings. Also involved in the rally was the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes (MCAN). The group leader Misao Redwolf said the accident at Fukushima is not over and may be getting worse, “The situation in Fukushima has been set back rather than remaining unchanged. We will further raise our voices to bring about zero nuclear power.” Other protestors argued that no-one really knows what happened at Fukushima so no nukes should be restarted. Shozaburo Oga from Kanagawa Prefecture said, “There’s no way they can restart nuclear reactors when the cause of the Fukushima nuclear disaster has yet to be determined. Such a move disregards the nuclear disaster and those who were affected by the catastrophe.” http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140310p2a00m0na004000c.html —  http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/31/fukushima-protesters-urge-end-to-nuclear-power/ — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/09/national/thousands-turn-out-for-anti-nuclear-rally-in-tokyo/#.Ux25kqOYYdU —
  • Contaminated wood chips in Shiga Prefecture have made headlines…again. Last March, about 300 tons of contaminated wood chips had been dumped along the shores of Lake Biwa, an important source of fresh water. Reports as to the degree of contamination varied. A Kyoto nonprofit group said the chips contained 12,000 Becquerels per kilogram, which is greater than the 8,000 Bq/kg limit. Shiga Prefecture did its own survey and found levels between 3,000 and 3,900 Bq/kg. The controversy caused removal of the chips and their storage at an undisclosed location. After the chips were removed, area radiation levels were found to be consistent with local background readings. Shiga’s governor, Yukiko Kada, says they have no legal authority to deal with those responsible for dumping the chips, so the prefecture has filed a criminal complaint against the owner of Omihachiman Construction Company, a Tokyo consulting executive, and another man said to be a “go-between”. Kada said, “…unless the central government and Tepco take responsibility for the environmental pollution by (clearly) saying that the perpetrators are responsible, the same problem will occur elsewhere in Japan.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/03/07/national/illegal-nuclear-dumping-in-shiga-raises-alarms/#.UxnAO6OYYdU
  • Tepco’s American consultant, Lake Barrett, believes Japan can become a world leader in the nuke decommissioning business. He says, “There is decommissioning business here beyond Fukushima and it’s a worldwide business. I think it’s an exciting new area. Japan can be a world leader again.” Many experts point to the current use of robots and other novel technologies at Fukushima Daiichi as the start of a cutting-edge Japanese business. Japan has several older reactors that might not be allowed to restart, so they could become an additional source of expertise. Japan created the government-funded International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning last year, bringing together nuclear plant operators, construction companies and other expert nuclear organizations to promote research and development of decommissioning technologies. With more than 400 nukes operating world-wide, and hundreds more planned over the next three-plus decades, this business has long-term possibilities. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140309p2g00m0bu008000c.html
  • The use of robots at F. Daiichi has created a need for trained operators. Ken Onishi of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. / Nuclear Energy Systems Division says, “It is crucial to have well-experienced operators. But training takes time.” Should another nuclear accident as severe as Fukushima occur in the near future, there could be a shortage of operators. Onishi said, “If there isn’t a sufficient number of manipulators, it would be difficult to respond quickly to a huge accident like Fukushima.” Tepco says they have enough for their needs. Current operators were trained with Chiba Institute of Technology software. Takayuki Furuta, Director of CIT’s Future Robotic Technology Center said, “It takes about a month to produce a competent operator. We trained four people from Tepco, and they trained a few more. Now there are about a dozen robot ‘pilots.’” http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/03/07/fukushima-watch-robots-need-humans-too/
  • Several new lawsuits against Tepco and Tokyo have been filed on the eve of Fukushima’s third anniversary. Suits were submitted to 8 district courts by ~750 persons. One suit filed in Tokyo has 40 plaintiffs who all come from inside the evacuation zone in Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture. They want $13 million because they are not getting enough money to compensate for their disrupted lives. Another group of Tamura residents from outside the exclusion zone plus a few from Tochigi Prefecture demand $46 million in damages. The statute on filing such suits has been extended to ten years, but lawyers say this will inevitably become a point of contention. Tepco says they will sincerely review the suit filings, while the Nuclear Regulation Commission has declined comment. NHK World; Hundreds sue operator of Fukushima plant and govt; March 10, 2014