Made a trip to Kansai and Shikoku. Trains there are super cool, felt very cold inside, air-conditioning is working as if no eathquake ever happened. As well as advertising signs are all on and in full colors. Can't say the same about Kanto though.
Made a trip to Kansai and Shikoku. Trains there are super cool, felt very cold inside, air-conditioning is working as if no eathquake ever happened. As well as advertising signs are all on and in full colors. Can't say the same about Kanto though.
Interesting to hear. It's good that things are back to normal in at least some aspects of Japanese life.
That is good to hear:
Here's TEPCO's daily status June 23rd
Since TEPCO has been opening and shutting the Unit 2 building, the radiation measurements are of interest. I haven't looked at them in a couple days, and they are definitely lower.
2:00 PM JST June 23:
Eight measurement points ( 5, 24, 15, 14, 17, 38, 117, 98 ) microSieverts per hour.
Main Office Building 342 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 13 microSieverts per hour
Main Gate 28.9 microSieverts per hour.
Daini
Six peripheral points ( 1.6, 1.3, 1.8, 1.5, 1.5, 1.4 ) microSieverts per hour
Manual point (9 AM JST) 1.0 microSievert per hour
TEPCO is trying to keep water usage down, for obvious reasons.
Unit 1
-At 10:02 am on June 22nd, we changed the volume of water injection from feed water system piping arrangement into the reactor of Unit 1, from approx. 4.0m3/h to approxi.3.5 m3/h. -
Unit 2
Work has started inside Unit 2:- At 10:04 am on June 22, we changed the rate of water injection to the reactor from approx. 4.5 m3/h to approx. 4.0 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement. Afterwards, the rate of water injection was changed and now became stable at the figure of approx. 3.5m3/h. Water is currently injected at approx. 3.5m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement
Spent fuel pools. -From 11:15 am to 12:00 pm on June 22nd, we installed a temporary reactor pressure indicator of Unit 2.
And they are still spraying dust inhibitor.- From 2:31 pm to 4:28 pm on June 22, we injected water to Unit 4 through temporary spraying equipment.
New Water system-according to NHK, the problem was a valve labelled On that was actually Off. With the valve actually off, the water only went through one section of the unit rather than all 4.
and- From 8:00 pm on June17, we started operation of water treatment of accumulated water at accumulated water treatment facility. At 12:54 am on June18, we stopped operation of the facility temporarily due to the radiation dose at surface level measured up to the basis of exchange filter of Cesium adsorption Instruments. Afterwards, we exchanged filter of Cesium absorption Instruments, experimented water flowing and conducted flashing the facility. From 12:43 am on June 23, the operation of accumulated water treatment system resumed.
NISA has requested and gotten a report on the exact methods and schedule for installing the Unit 1 reactor cover. However, I saw this report some time ago and posted a link here. They have also requested and gotten a report about the exact schedule on nitrogen injection for Unit 2 (Unit 1 has been done for a long time now). It is only just the last 2 days that TEPCO had the relative humidity and radiation levels low enough in Unit 2 that workers could enter the building. Also there is a report on the exact history of where and when water was pumped.- From 9:32 am on June 23, we injected fresh water to reactor well and dry separator pit of Unit 4 for the purpose of environmental improvement (decreasing dose) at 5th floor of reactor building of Unit 4.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp...1062210-e.html
The bit of news in it is that pumping has resumed to the "Process Main Building".
Also the slightly radioactive water in the basements of Unit 5 & Unit continues from time to time to be transferred to temporary tanks.
The last sea water report showed nothing at all found, except at the Daiichi north and south discharge canals. Cesium 134 and 136 were found, but no iodine 131. The cesium was between 16 and 29 becquerels per liter, about 20 to 50 percent of the regulatory limit.
Soil was analyzed again in the usual general areas. A very small quantity of plutonium and uranium was found. The level of plutonium was close to that in Japan following the atmospheric tests. One sample was further analyzed for Americium and Curium. 0.64 becquerels per kg of Curium 242 were found. No americium was found, nor was Cm 243 or Cm 244
Gamma ray analysis was done of 3 samples. Iodine 132 was no longer found. Iodine 131 is at 36 becquerels per kg at the lowest site and at 9,300 becquerels per kg at the highest site. Cesium 137 ranges from 350 becquerels per kg at the lowest to 620,000 becquerels per kg at the highest, a huge difference, just within the Daiichi site. There is still a lot of Tellurium 129 metastable isotope (half life 34 days) ranging from undetectable at one site to 86,000 becquerels at another site.
Here's the most important NHK article:
Improper water flow blamed for filter failure
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has resumed testing a water decontamination system after making repairs to improve the flow of the water.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has been testing the system to filter highly radioactive wastewater that has been accumulating at the plant.
The utility discovered on Wednesday that a US-made device in the system only succeeded in lowering the concentration of radioactive cesium in the water to 1 percent of the previous amount, instead of to 0.1 percent as initially expected.
Contaminated water was supposed to pass through 3 absorbent chambers. But it was found that some water passed through only one chamber, because "open" and "shut" indications on a valve had been incorrect.
The utility inspected all the valves and resumed test runs early on Thursday.
TEPCO began full-scale operation of the decontamination system last Friday, but it was stopped after only 5 hours.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 12:35 +0900 (JST)Work begins inside No.2 reactor building
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant reports considerable lessening of humidity at the Number 2 reactor but radioactivity remains high in some parts of the building.
Extreme humidity was one of the factors hampering work inside the reactor building. The humidity level stood at 99.9 percent until Sunday when the Tokyo Electric Power Company opened the doors to lower the level after filtering radioactive air inside.
On Wednesday afternoon, workers found humidity levels inside the building to be between 46 and 65 percent.
Following the findings, they began fixing a water gauge and installing surveillance cameras on the ground floor.
High radiation levels were measured at some spots on the second floor. In one area readings came in at 97.2 millisieverts per hour, compared 15 to 60 millisieverts per hour on the ground floor.
Wastewater contaminated with nuclear material was 6.1 meters deep in the basement, with surface radiation levels between 388 and 430 millisieverts per hour.
Work on the second floor was scheduled to start on Thursday but was postponed because of the high radiation levels there.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 18:41 +0900 (JST)
And the IAEA is holding their Fukushima conference. There is an initial article where they complain about inadequate data sharing by Japan at the beginning of the incident, and then this article about a review of guidelines inside Japan.Kyoto seeks accord on Fukui nuclear plants
Japan's Kyoto Prefecture has made emergency requests to a utility to seek agreement on the safety of nuclear power plants in neighboring Fukui Prefecture.
The government of Kyoto and its 26 municipalities made the requests to the Kansai Electric Power Company on Wednesday.
Kyoto Prefecture has no nuclear plants but Fukui has 11 reactors at 3 Kansai Electric plants. Operations at some of the reactors are suspended for regular checkups.
Kyoto asked the firm not to resume the operations or make any changes to key equipment without the prefecture's consent, and to hold periodic consultations to draw up a disaster management plan.
Kyoto says the requests were necessary to safeguard its people, and that it hopes Kansai Electric will fully examine the requests and come up with a positive answer.
Following the nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, Kyoto has widened its areas to be used in case of evacuation of residents due to accidents in Fukui.
Japanese power companies with nuclear plants have safety agreements with municipalities where the plants are located, but not with neighboring prefectures.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 17:37 +0900 (JST)
This situation was just wrong, and not just because the towns were not adequately notified. Right now, I know exactly what building in Manchester, CT, I am supposed to go to if there is a nuclear accident at Millstone. There isn't any question about securing evacuation areas, and so forth. They are secured before the accident. On the other hand, I am responsible to get myself there. I don't know what the procedure would be if I were unable to drive, but I suspect there is one-I just have never checked.Review of nuclear safety guidelines begins
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission has started reviewing its safety guidelines. The current guidelines showed a lack of readiness for the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
18 experts in nuclear power, radioactivity and law attended the meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The commission's chairperson, Haruki Madarame, admitted that, from international perspective, the existing guidelines lacked countermeasures for accidents, such as the latest one.
The existing guidelines state that a long-term power failure can be disregarded, despite the fact that this is exactly what led to the present crisis at the Fukushima plant.
The guidelines also plan for evacuation only within a small area, about 8 to 10 kilometers away from a nuclear power plant. They assume a broad scale of evacuation will not be necessary, but that is not the case currently.
One attendee pointed to the guidelines' failure to assume the loss of all equipment, while another said the current guidelines may have ignored technological innovations concerning safety.
The commission is to discuss revisions taking into account international safety standards being discussed among member nations of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Madarame said exhaustive analysis will be necessary to restructure the guidelines drastically. He hopes to reach agreement on specific measures in certain areas soon and revise other parts over the long term.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 21:28 +0900 (JST)
Meanwhile, people are coping with the problems the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear plants have left.
Tsunami-hit rice farmer uses salt-removal device
A rice farmer in a tsunami-devastated city is using a specially developed tool to lower the density of salt in his paddy without damaging the seedlings.
Hiroshi Ouchi of Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture operated the device on Wednesday. It was jointly developed by a fellow farmer and an agricultural equipment maker.
The density of salt in rice paddies can be lowered by mixing the soil with fresh water. In normal conditions, this can only be done before planting. But the new tool has 20-centimeter-diameter rollers that run between the seedlings.
Ouchi had worked to remove salt before the planting, but the density remained higher than usual, endangering the plants.
He will try again using the new tool several more times over the next month.
Ouchi says it's his first such attempt, but he thinks it is effective and hopes for a good harvest.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 16:04 +0900 (JST)
Additionally anti-nuclear groups are planning a conference in Fukushima. Once upon a time, a radio commentator named Walter Winchell commented that the weather forecast was for snow, followed by little boys with sleds. This is equally predictable.
And the weather has topped 35C and over 600 people have been brought to the hospital with heat exhaustion.
And the weather here in CT continues rather cold and foggy.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-23-2011 at 03:43 AM.
Meanwhile, NEI had a June 22 update
Latest NEI Updates
Pillars Installed To Support Used Fuel Pool
Update as of 5 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 22
Plant Status
Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers have installed 32 steel pillars to support the reactor 4 spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility and improve its capability to withstand earthquakes. The company next will wrap the pillars in concrete. It plans to finish the project by the end of July. The walls supporting the pool sustained damage in a hydrogen explosion four days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO reported earlier that analysis shows the reactor 4 building meets seismic requirements in its current condition, but shoring up the pool will provide an additional safety margin.
Ten Fukushima Daiichi workers have entered the reactor 2 building to assess its environment. Faced with near 100 percent humidity inside, TEPCO had earlier opened the building's doors for ventilation, which reduced the humidity by about half. TEPCO plans to install an air filtration system in the building to reduce airborne radioactive particles.
With the start of the rainy season in Japan, TEPCO workers are increasing water management activities, including the reduction of cooling water injected into the reactors. More than 110,000 tons of radioactive water has accumulated in the basements of buildings and in outdoor concrete enclosures and is impeding recovery efforts. TEPCO is reported to have two more days of testing remaining for a recently installed filtration system that will decontaminate water at the site.
TEPCO has posted photographs that were taken shortly after the March earthquake and tsunami damaged Fukushima Daiichi. One photo shows a worker reading instruments with a flashlight in a darkened room. Others show debris from the tsunami scattered around the site.
Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has called for random safety inspections of global nuclear energy facilities. "We need to systematically and regularly review the safety of all nuclear power plants. I propose that countries with nuclear power should agree to systematic, periodic peer reviews by the IAEA," Director General Yukiya AmanDirector General Yukiya Amano said at the opening of a five-day ministerial conference on nuclear safety. "I therefore propose a system based on random selection. The knowledge that any plant could be subject to review would give operators an additional incentive to implement the highest safety standards." The conference in Vienna, Austria, adopted a 25-point declaration on nuclear safety. The IAEA also released the final report of the task force it sent to Japan to assess the accident. IAEA reporting on the conference is available here.
Media Highlights
NEI issued a news release Tuesday criticizing a series of misleading Associated Press articles on U.S. nuclear power plant safety. AP states that the Fukushima Daiichi accident "has focused attention on the safety of plants elsewhere in the world" while noting its series explores issues beyond those posed by the Fukushima events.
Steve Kerekes, NEI's senior director of media relations, participated in a Voice of America interview on the future of nuclear power after Fukushima Daiichi.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged world leaders to improve nuclear safety standards. At the IAEA's Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety Vienna, Austria, he said the accident at Fukushima Daiichi has "badly shaken" public trust in nuclear energy, The Hill newspaper reported.
Upcoming Events
International Atomic Energy Agency Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety, June 20-24, Vienna, Austria
Japan-America Society, "The Future of Nuclear Energy Around the World," June 23, Washington, D.C.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-23-2011 at 04:11 AM.
Some news stories for June 24th from NHK.
The most important things going on at Daiichi are connected with getting the water situation under control.
This was reported yesterday, but here's some more detailsTEPCO working to prevent overflow of toxic water
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is striving to prevent highly radioactive water from overflowing the facility amid delays in restarting a key water decontamination system.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has been reducing the volume of water injected into the first 3 reactors since Tuesday to curb a further build-up of highly radioactive water at the plant.
On Friday, it further reduced the volume of water injected into the No.3 reactor by 0.5 tons to 9 tons per hour.
But limiting the amount of water could allow the temperature of the reactors to rise.
To aggravate the situation, rain is continuing to fall in the area where the power plant is located.
Last month, accumulated rainfall of 100 millimeters pushed up the water levels by around 50 to 60 millimeters.
TEPCO is plugging holes in the roofs of the turbine buildings and stacking sandbags to prevent rain water from entering the facility.
The power company is continuing test runs of the decontamination system to work out ways to ensure its optimal operation.
It says it has so far processed around 2,500 tons of radioactive water with the system. On Friday, it began work to desalinate treated water with the aim of recycling it to cool down the overheating reactors.
Friday, June 24, 2011 12:51 +0900 (JST)
What this is about is one of the cranes that is used to move fuel rods in and out of a reactor. There have been several incidents about cranes, and I think someone should be taking a look at their design. If you recall, a worker died in the crane at Daini, and I'm still wondering whether cranes at spent fuel pools were involved in either the situation at the Unit 3 & Unit 4 reactors at Daiichi.Valve likely set incorrectly from the beginning
The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant says it was unaware of an incorrectly opened valve that caused another disruption in its ongoing test run to filter radioactive water.
Tokyo Electric Power Company found on Wednesday that a US-made device attached to the water treatment system had lowered concentration of radioactive cesium by just 10 percent the planned amount.
The open valve meant that some contaminated water passed through only one of the system's 3 absorbent chambers. The valve is believed to have been incorrectly set since the device was installed.
The amount of contaminated water on site is growing by about 400 tons a day, as fresh water is injected into reactors to cool them. The rainy season threatens to raise the water levels further.
The test-run was interrupted on Tuesday after a pump to send water into French-made decontamination equipment stopped, also due to the wrong setting of a valve.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 19:40 +0900 (JST)
I am glad to see this! The parents of those children whose doses are negligible will feel relief, and the parents of those whose doses are not negligible can consider moving. All of those who feel they are receiving an excessive dose of radiation should take the following actions:Fallen device in Monju retrieved
The operator of Japan's experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor Monju has successfully retrieved a 3-ton device that fell inside the reactor vessel 10 months ago.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency says it completed work to recover the fuel-exchange equipment at around 5 AM on Friday. The work took about 8 hours.
In May last year, the Monju reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, resumed operations after a 14-year shutdown. It was closed in 1995 after a sodium leak started a fire.
But 3 months after restarting, operations had to be suspended again after the device fell into the reactor during an inspection.
The agency's previous attempts to collect the device failed when it got stuck against the vessel's upper lid.
The operator will now inspect the reactor for damage before restarting it.
The agency had planned to begin generating electricity early this year. But substantial delays now appear inevitable.
Monju was supposed to play a central role in Japan's nuclear fuel recycling program, but its future is now looking increasingly uncertain. The government says it will review its energy policy in the wake of the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
Friday, June 24, 2011 10:31 +0900 (JST)
1. Quit smoking and avoid places where people smoke.
Smoking during treatment for breast and head and neck cancers produces poorer outcomes:
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatmen...h/20080122.jsp
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0427171847.htm
Smoking also correlates to increased risk of cancer in radon exposure.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0225075043.htm
Cigarette smoke contains Polonium, so it effectively increases the total dose experienced by people who smoke vs. people who don't.
http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/po.htm
2. Take your vitamins, particularly be sure to have an adequate dose of potassium and calcium. Potassium displaces cesium in the body. Calcium avoids the incorporation of strontium in the body. It's the same principle as the potassium iodide pills.
It's clear that removing soil at playgrounds really works. Parents with small children should consider doing it in any yards they might have around their houses.Dosimeters will be given to 280,000 children
Fukushima Prefecture has decided to distribute dosimeters to about 280 thousand children to monitor their radiation exposure caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Voices of parents expressing concern about their children's health have been growing louder.
The prefecture said on Thursday it will give dosimeters to children ranging from infants to junior high school students.
The prefecture will also subsidize cities and villages to replace top soil in the school yards or set up air conditioners in schools.
Some municipalities in the prefecture have already distributed, or decided to distribute, dosimeters to children to monitor radiation exposure.
The prefecture will provide financial help to those municipalities.
Friday, June 24, 2011 07:00 +0900 (JST)
Public education and involvement in the process of restarting any nuclear plants is necessary, I think. I think only having 7 carefully chosen people is a ridiculous sop thrown to popular concern, myself. And I would be one in favor of restarting the plants that have done their safety upgrades and been reviewed, like this plant in western Japan.Parents concerned about children's radiation, but soil removal is effective
Parents and teachers in Fukushima Prefecture are skeptical about the government-set level of exposure to radiation for children, especially in relation to outdoor activities. They fear children's health may be affected by radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The education ministry released a report to the Nuclear Safety Commission on Thursday concerning school yards at 55 locations where high levels of radiation had been detected. It also reported that after the top soil was removed at 41 locations, the radiation level dropped to 0.5 microsieverts per hour on average.
The report also said that all locations had radiation levels under the government-set 3.8 microsieverts per hour. The ministry has said that schools where this level is met can restart children's outdoor activities.
But many parents and teachers in the prefecture are skeptical about the standard set by the ministry.
They say exposure of 3.8 microsieverts per hour is too high compared to the long-term reference level recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.
All schools continue to refrain from outdoor activities or limit them to 1 to 3 hours per day.
The Nuclear Safety Commission member Seiji Shiroya says the standard should not be set unilaterally and that it should be established at a level all, including the parents, can accept.
Friday, June 24, 2011 07:59 +0900 (JST)
Meanwhile, it appears that the residents of Iitate Village have been exposed to a total of about 3.2 milliSieverts over a 2 month span. In other words, their exposure over a year, if they had remained at Iitate, would be no more than 20 milliSieverts, and probably a lot less, since all Iodine 131 is nearly gone right now, and was present back in March, April & May. Iitate has had far higher radiation readings than many places inside the evacuation zone, if you remember.Meeting to explain safety measures to be held
The Japanese government will hold a meeting on Sunday in western Japan to explain to local residents about safety measures taken to resume a nuclear power plant in the area. The meeting will be the first of its kind since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
After the accident, most nuclear power plants in Japan have halted operations.
Restarting the plant's 2 reactors, located in the town of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, has the backing of the local mayor. But the prefecture governor is maintaining a cautious stance.
At Sunday's meeting, the safety measures will be explained by officials from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, overseen by the industry ministry. The meeting will be broadcast live on cable TV and the Internet.
The government however has been criticized for its decision to choose only around 7 residents to participate in the meeting. Many local people are saying this will severely limit the wide range of opinions needed from the prefecture.
Friday, June 24, 2011 07:00 +0900 (JST)
And I thought the US took the cake when it came to frivolous suits. OTOH, the people in the shelters perhaps have a case. It will be instructive to see how this proceeds.Radiation exposure of Iitate Villagers estimated
A group of doctors has found that the estimated level of accumulated internal radiation exposure for people living in Fukushima Prefecture has exceeded 3 millisieverts.
The researchers, including doctors who have provided medical care to A-bomb survivors, conducted analysis on the food and urine of 15 residents in Iitate Village and Kawamata Town in Fukushima Prefecture. These areas are about 40 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
They estimate that residents have been internally exposed to up to 3.2 millisieverts for about 2 months, measuring from the date of the accident in March until early May.
Three millisieverts is 3 times higher than the long-term annual limit for ordinary people recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection.
One of the researchers, Nanao Kamada, says people should refrain from eating vegetables grown in the area where high levels of radiation have been detected.
Friday, June 24, 2011 07:00 +0900 (JST)
Japan is experiencing a terrible heat wave:Trial opens over legality of Fukushima plant
A Japanese court has begun a trial over the legality of the government's authorization of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, where an accident took place on March 11th.
The trial opened at the Tokyo District Court on Thursday, more than 3 months after the outbreak of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
The plaintiff is Takanori Eto, a 30-year-old law student who lives in Tokyo. He filed suit against the government, demanding the nullification of its authorization for building the plant. He maintains that the government was sloppy in its safety assessment for authorizing the plant as it failed to assume a huge earthquake and tsunami.
In Thursday's hearing, the defendant - the government - argued that only those who live within 100 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi plant are eligible to file a damages suit and that the plaintiff, who lives more than 200 kilometers away is not.
The plaintiff complained of health concerns over milk and other food for his 4-month-old baby daughter.
However, the government counter-argued that even food with radioactive material exceeding the national safety limit will not pose immediate health risks. It said the radioactive levels of food now available in Tokyo are below the limit.
The plaintiff said the government's argument that he is in no position to sue is wrong, because he is actually suffering from the present accident. He said many people are concerned about damage to their health, and the government should be held fully accountable.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 18:14 +0900 (JST)
But all is well.Severe heat and rain hit many areas of Japan
Eastern and western Japan have been hit by record high temperatures on Friday.
In the City of Kumagaya, north of Tokyo, temperatures rose to 39.3 degrees Celsius around 1 PM, breaking a 20-year-old record for Japan in June.
In some other cities and towns, north of Tokyo, the temperature also exceeded the record of 38.3 degrees set in the city in 1991.
The Meteorological Agency says the scorching weather is being caused by a high pressure system moving in from seas south of Japan. The system is bringing hot air to areas around Tokyo and to the west.
In northeastern Japan, heavy rain is falling over broad areas along the Sea of Japan due to active rain front.
In some areas, more than 300 millimeters of precipitation have fallen since Wednesday.
Weather officials are calling on people stay on alert due to the high temperatures and heavy rain.
Friday, June 24, 2011 15:00 +0900 (JST)
Lady Gaga says Japan is safe to visit
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/23_27.html
And MicroSoft recommends that Japanese lower the brightness of their PC monitors to save power
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/23_26.html
June 25th EDT
TEPCO status
Unit 1 cover plan is reported in detail here:-From 8:00 pm on June17, we started operation of water treatment of accumulated water at accumulated water treatment facility. At 12:54 am on June18, we stopped operation of the facility temporarily due to the radiation dose at surface level measured up to the basis of exchange filter of Cesium adsorption Instruments. Afterwards, we exchanged filter of Cesium absorption Instruments, experimented water flowing and conducted flashing the facility. At 0:43 am on June 23, the operation of accumulated water treatment system was resumed.
Injured -At approximately 1:30 pm on June 24, we transferred a partner company's worker, who reported illness during the installation work of temporary tank near the main gate, to Iwaki Kyouritsu Hospital by an ambulance. The worker was diagnosed as "heatstroke".
-At 4:35 on June 24, the Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System of Unit 5 was activated and we start cooling of spent fuel pool by such system and of reactor by residual heat removal system pump.
-On June 24, dust inhibitor that prevents the spread of radioactive materials has been sprayed on the north side of the turbine building of Unit 6 by a crawler dump truck (approx. 5,400 ㎡), Workers also sprayed dust inhibitor at around Main Anti-Earthquake Building (approx. 4,659 ㎡).
-At approximately 1:30 pm on June 24, we transferred a partner company's worker, who reported illness during the installation work of temporary tank, to J village by a corporate car. At 3:14 pm, the worker was transferred to Iwaki Kyouritsu Hospital by an ambulance. No body contamination was confirmed. The worker was diagnosed as "heatstroke".
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp.../110624e15.pdf
They continue to reduce the amount of water being injected into Unit 3:At approximately 7:00 am on June 24, an unmanned helicopter collecting dust from the open part of the reactor building of Unit 2 made an emergency landing on the top of the reactor building of Unit 2. Thereafter, we confirmed no impact made to the reactor building of Unit 2 through the monitoring camera equipped onto the tip of a concrete pumping vehicle.
At 10:00 am on June 24, we temporarily stopped the operation of water treatment facilities and replaced Cesium Adsorption Tower. After starting the operation of water desalination facilities for the first time at 12:00 pm, we resumed the operation of water treatment facilities at 12:50 pm.
A worker at Daini caught his clothes on a fire extinguisher, which then fell on his foot, breaking it. He will be out of work for 4 weeks.At 10:07 am on June 24, we changed the water amount injected through reactor feed water system piping arrangement from approx. 9.5m3/h to approx. 9m3/h.
Tritium (H3)
I'll write more about tritium later.
No Tritium (H3)) was found in the June 13th sample from the north or south channel, nor was any found off shore.
180 Becquerels per liter of tritium Tritium (H3) were found inside the inner harbor on June 13th at the Unit 1 to Unit 4 water intake. The regulatory amount is 60,000 Becquerels per liter.
3,700 becquerels per liter of tritium (Tritium (H3)) was found in the Unit 2 Subdrain. None was found in the unit 5 subdrain.
NHK
This is rather like the gauging problems we saw with Unit 1.
TEPCO unable to gauge No.2 reactor water level
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it still cannot obtain accurate data on the water level and pressure of the Number 2 reactor. It says a provisional measuring device installed earlier this week is not operating properly.
Tokyo Electric Power Company believes that readings by the original device are incorrect due to damage suffered in the March disaster.
Workers at the utility company entered the Number 2 reactor building and installed the provisional gauge on Wednesday. The company initially planned to have the gauge begin providing data on Thursday.
But it says as of Saturday, the device is not yet working properly.
TEPCO says this is because the temperature near the reactor containment vessel is so high that water inside the device's pipes has evaporated.
Fuel meltdowns are believed to have occurred at the Number 1 through Number 3 reactors, leading to a possibility that there is little water left inside the Number 2 reactor.
Accurate measurement of the water level is essential for ensuring stable cooling of the reactor.
The utility is struggling to find ways to activate the device.
Saturday, June 25, 2011 13:21 +0900 (JST)
Tokyo officials: Radiation levels all below limit
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says radiation levels at 100 locations in Tokyo pose no health hazard, but that they are reading relatively high in some eastern areas.
Tokyo officials released on Friday the results of radiation monitoring conducted in the week up to Wednesday. The monitoring was carried out in response to public concern about contamination from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Measurements were made at 5 centimeters and one meter above the ground.
The average of the 5-centimeter readings was 0.067 microsieverts per hour. The figure for the one-meter readings was 0.061 microsieverts per hour.
The highest level was detected at an elementary school in Katsushika Ward in eastern Tokyo, where the reading for the 5-centimeter point was 0.19 microsieverts and 0.2 microsieverts for the one-meter point. Both were about triple the average.
Seven other wards near Katsushika also recorded higher-than-average radiation levels.
Tokyo Metropolitan University Associate Professor Tsuguhisa Kato says wind directions and river flows possibly caused radiation levels to rise in eastern areas.
He says residents do not need to worry too much, as the readings are still below the safety limit. He called on the authorities to continue their efforts.
The results are available on the website of the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health.
Friday, June 24, 2011 20:40 +0900 (JST)Note that there are few days left in the monthThe water decontamination system is working
Decontamination system meets performance target
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says a trouble-hit system for decontaminating highly radioactive water at the facility is working as planned.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Friday that the system can reduce the density of radioactive substances in the water to the targeted level of one-100,000th.
The system is seen as the key to reducing the amount of contaminated water threatening to overflow from the plant's compound.
TEPCO said a US-made device for absorbing radioactive cesium continues to perform at one-tenth its intended capacity, even after workers readjusted a faulty valve setting. But the firm says test runs have shown that the targeted level can be achieved when the device is used with a French decontaminator.
TEPCO says about 2,500 tons of radioactive water has been decontaminated so far. On Friday, workers began sending the water through salt-removing equipment.
The firm plans to return the treated water to reactors this month, to establish a stable cooling system that involves circulating the water. But TEPCO says resuming full operation of the decontamination system may take several more days.
Friday, June 24, 2011 19:59 +0900 (JST)
Mihama Town favors reactor restart
Mayor of Mihama Town in Fukui prefecture says he favors the restart of 2 nuclear power reactors that are currently suspended for regular inspections.
Mayor Jitaro Yamaguchi made the remark on Friday after he met with officials from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which is overseen by the industry ministry.
Agency officials assured the mayor of the safety of the Mihama plant's No. 1 and No. 3 reactors, since emergency security measures were implemented following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Yamaguchi indicated he hopes the 2 reactors will resume operations, although he added that the final decision would depend on the stance of Fukui Prefecture.
Fukui Prefecture hosts 13 commercial nuclear power reactors, the most in the country. Regular inspections of 4 of the reactors are expected to conclude by August.
But the prefectural governor, Issei Nishikawa, has not approved their resumption.
Mihama Town is the first of Fukui's 4 nuclear hosting communities to express a positive stance toward the restart of reactors.
Friday, June 24, 2011 18:36 +0900 (JST)One site in Fukushima city has a dose as much as 6.65 microSieverts per hour.Radiation results in Fukushima City
Radiation levels in parts of Fukushima City, about 60 kilometers from the disaster-stricken nuclear plant, have been found to require further monitoring.
Responding to residents' demands for more information, Fukushima City released on Friday the results of radiation checks conducted on June 17th and 20th at more than 1,000 sites, including public facilities and roads in residential areas.
Six locations, including a park in a municipal housing complex, registered radiation levels of over 3.4 microsieverts per hour when measured one meter above ground. This exceeds the prefecture's threshold for re-checking.
Radiation of over two microsieverts per hour was recorded at 182 sites.
The city said that it re-checked the six sites on Friday, and all locations registered lower radiation.
But the city intends to restrict use of the park in the public housing complex, where radiation of 4.15 microsieverts per hour, which exceeds the central government's limit of 3.8 microsieverts for a park, was recorded 50 centimeters above the ground.
A municipal official says the city will continue monitoring and post the results on its website.
Friday, June 24, 2011 21:05 +0900 (JST)
I love how people celebrate these little steps back to normalitySimulation model projects radiation diffusion
Researchers say radioactive substances leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi plant will reach ocean waters 4,000 kilometers away from the plant within a year of the nuclear accident.
Using a computer simulation model, Japan's science ministry predicted how the radioactive cesium 137 that leaked from the Fukushima plant will spread in the Pacific Ocean.
The computer image shows that, as of April of next year, cesium 137 will reach eastern waters around 4,000 kilometers away from the Fukushima plant.
The highest concentration is projected at 0.023 becquerels per liter -- that's about 14 times the normal level, but still only one-three-thousandth of safe limits.
3 years after the accident, the radioactive materials are forecast to diffuse further in waters north of Hawaii, lowering concentration levels.
The radioactive substances will reach the US west coast in 5 years. Seven years after the initial accident, the concentration level is predicted to be close to normal.
Masanao Nakano, a senior engineer at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, says that in one year, the radiation concentration level will become so low that eating fish from even the most contaminated areas would pose little danger to health.
Friday, June 24, 2011 20:40 +0900 (JST)
[b]Train that survived tsunami comes out of tunnel]/b]
A railway carriage that survived the March 11th earthquake and tsunami has been removed from a tunnel more than 100 days after the disaster. Officials of Sanriku Railway on Friday slowly moved the carriage to a station in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. The car is one of 4 carriages that plied the southern part of the coastal railway, and the only one that escaped the tsunami.
About 10 local residents gathered at the station and applauded when the familiar carriage arrived. Despite its time in the tunnel the car is in good condition. Train driver Minoru Yasumiishi said he was reminded how much residents of the city cherish the railway, and said he would work hard to help reopen the route.
A Sanriku Railway official says repairing the route will take at least 3 years, but it will maintain the surviving car and return it to service.Friday, June 24, 2011 19:16 +0900 (JST)
NEI has an update
NEI June 25
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday Update
From NEI’s Japan Earthquake launch page:
Update as of 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, June 24
Plant Status
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is continuing efforts to reduce the accumulation of radioactive water from cooling operations at Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1, 2 and 3. With reactor temperatures stabilizing, the company is reducing the water injection flow rate into the reactors. The total inflow rate is now about 386 tons per day. Heavy rains are challenging TEPCO's effort to contain water accumulating onsite.
TEPCO's system to decontaminate and recycle the radioactive water in the basements of reactor buildings is now operating. As of Friday, a total of 3,000 tons of water has been decontaminated. The system is now filtering water at a rate of 400 tons per day. The design capacity of the system is 1,200 tons per day. The desalination component of the system has also begun operating. TEPCO plans to recycle the decontaminated water to cool the reactors, possibly as soon as next week.
About 99 tons of water was injected late last week into the reactor 4 used fuel pool using the new temporary "giraffe" injection line. The equipment storage pool-referred to in the United States as the "dryer separator pit"-has also been refilled with water to shield workers from activated metals being stored there.
Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues
Banri Kaieda, Japanese minister for economy, trade and industry, said at the IAEA ministerial conference in Vienna this week that it is vital for the country's economy that the nation's nuclear energy facilities restart. According to the Japan Atomic Industry Forum, as of mid-May only 17 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors were in operation, representing less than a third of the total nuclear generating capacity. Local governments and populations must approve the restart of nuclear reactors. In a call to encourage restart approvals, Kaieda said, "Electricity restraint is the largest issue for the growth of Japan's economy." The Japanese government will hold a meeting in western Japan to explain the issue of restarting nuclear plants to local residents.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that a magnitude-6.7 earthquake shook northeast Japan on Thursday morning, but no damage or injuries resulted. The epicenter was off the coast of Iwate prefecture about 300 miles northeast of Tokyo.
Radiation exposure to schoolchildren in Fukushima prefecture continues to be a concern to local residents. The government has been removing topsoil from highly contaminated areas to reduce radiation levels below its limit of 0.4 mrem per hour. However, parents and teachers say this level is too high compared to long-term limits set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Fukushima prefecture officials have decided to distribute personal dosimeters to 280,000 children ranging from infants to junior high school students.
Media Highlights
Scott Peterson, NEI's senior vice president for communications, contributed to a Freakonomics blog discussion on the future of nuclear power in the aftermath of Fukushima.
The Japan-America Society held a seminar yesterday in Washington, D.C., on "The Future of Nuclear Energy Around the World," June 23, Washington, D.C.
New Products
A new fact sheet, "Emergency Preparedness at Nuclear Energy Facilities," has been posted on the NEI website.
Tony Pietrangelo, NEI's chief nuclear officer and senior vice president, responds in a video to the factual inaccuracies in a recent series of articles by The Associated Press on nuclear plant safety and regulatory oversight. The video can be found on NEI's YouTube channel here.
Upcoming Events
The International Atomic Energy Agency's ministerial conference on nuclear safety in Vienna ends today, June 24.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-26-2011 at 12:01 PM.
TEPCO status as of June 26th, 11:50 AM EDT
NHK-From 8:00 pm on June17, we started operation of water treatment of accumulated water at accumulated water treatment facility. At 10:00 am on June 25, the operation of water treatment system was stopped and system flushing etc. was conducted. At 15:00 pm, the operation was resumed. At 15:24 pm, the operation was automatically stopped and was resumed. At 16:10 pm, the operation was automatically stopped again. It was confirmed that this was caused by warning of water level decline in oil separators. After an ultrasonic water glass was bypassed, which was one of water glasses (the other is differential pressure type) installed in the water storage tank at the lower side of oil separators, at 16:35 pm the operation was resumed.
We presumed that this was caused by malfunction of the water level gauge, decided not to use this water level gauge and use the other water level gauge operating normally.
- At 9:56 am on June 26, we started injection of boric-acid solution to the Spent Fuel Pool of Unit 3 by Fuel Pool Cooling and Clean up System. We finished injection at 11:23 am on June 26.
- On June 26, workers are spraying dust inhibitors at the north side of T/B, Unit 6 etc. /
Decontamination system to fully operate on Monday
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it hopes to begin full-scale operation on Monday of a system to decontaminate highly radioactive water. Contaminated water is still accumulating in the plant, as water is being injected to cool the reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company was forced to suspend the test run of the system a number of times due to problems with a device that removes radioactive substances. The utility says it managed to resolve the problem by using a different absorbent material for the devices, and the equipment that removes salt is working normally.
The company says it will review its procedures, and will consider replacing the absorption devices more frequently than once a month.
The storage facilities for contaminated water will not fill up until July 5th, as 5,400 tons was cleaned during the test runs and the contaminated water that was about to fill the reactor buildings can now be transferred.
However, it remains to be seen if the system can operate stably, as the pump of the salt-removal device failed on Saturday.
It is also feared that heavy rain during the rainy season or a typhoon may quickly fill up the storage facilities.
Sunday, June 26, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)The boric acid will not only make the water in the fuel pool less corrosive; boron slows down any nuclear reactions that might occur.TEPCO ready to inject nitrogen into No.2 reactor
Tokyo Electric Power Company is ready to inject nitrogen into the containment vessel of the Number 2 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent hydrogen blasts.
The company says it will monitor radiation levels around the compound more closely as the nitrogen may force out tiny amounts of gas containing radioactive substances.
Work is underway at the damaged nuclear plant to decontaminate water and inject it back into the reactor for cooling.
But if the reactors are cooled to a stable level, less moisture will be produced, raising the ratio of hydrogen in the air.
Hydrogen can cause an explosion when it reacts with oxygen. TEPCO has been pumping nitrogen into the No.1 reactor since April and has completed preparations to do the same at the No. 2 reactor.
The utility assessed the possible effects of nitrogen injection into the No.2 reactor, and submitted its report to the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Friday.
It plans to start the injection as soon as it obtains the consent of the agency.
Sunday, June 26, 2011 02:50 +0900 (JST)
The cooling is excellent news, since it has two nice effects: the colder the water is, the slower all corrosion reactions proceed, and also the less water evaporates. When the water evaporates, the resultant liquid will be effectively more corrosive, and hotter as well.
Boric acid being added to No.3 reactor fuel pool
Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun adding boric acid to the spent fuel storage pool of the No.3 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent fuel racks from being corroded by alkaline water.
The company started the operation on Sunday morning. About 90 tons of water containing boric acid will be poured into the pool through Monday.
Concrete debris from the March hydrogen explosion of the reactor building has been detected in the fuel pool.
Last month, TEPCO found that the water in the pool had turned strongly alkaline, with its PH level reaching 11.2. The leaching of calcium hydrate from the debris is believed to be the cause. TEPCO says the condition may accelerate corrosion of aluminum racks holding spent fuel rods and may cause the rods to topple in the worst case, which could lead to re-criticality.
At the same time, TEPCO is preparing to install a circulatory cooling system at the fuel pool that will go into operation in early July.
Sunday, June 26, 2011 13:01 +0900 (JST)
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-26-2011 at 12:01 PM.
I'm sitting here with a periodic table on my lap, and also reading up on the nature and uses of boron and boric acid. Fingers crossed that the boric acid helps here. (And it'll take care of any bedbugs in the environs as well, apparently. Toxic to arthropods.) Man, when you mention the tonnage of water involved, it gives one pause. I realize that I'm envisioning the plants on an unrealistically small scale.
I wonder what the "concrete debris" that they detected could be. I'm presuming that the word concrete is used to mean "solid," not necessarily "made of concrete"?
Someone I know is headed to Japan next week to see family and friends. I'm not sure exactly where he's visiting, but he said he'd report back when he returns. I presume he'll be doing a certain amount of train travel.
I was assuming that concrete meant concrete, as in building debris, given that the building had exploded back in March... but I have a desperately literal mind.
Meanwhile some information on tritium:
NISA asked TEPCO for tritium measurements in the subdrains and in the inner harbor, and TEPCO recently provided that information.
What is tritium, and why does NISA care about it?:
Idaho State University has a great set of information on radioactive substances. It is worth remembering that the Idaho National Laboratory is the US Department of Energy's lead nuclear research and development laboratory. Here's information from them on tritium.
http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/tritium.htm
A number of commonly used products contain tritium. Tritium was substituted as a less hazardous material for producing reliable light without the need of electricity or batteries than radium. Consequently, tritium is used in EXIT signs (as in theaters), rifle sights, and as paint for watch dials and hands.Tritium/tritiated water occurs in all the water on earth, as tritium is produced in the upper atmosphere and falls to earth with the rain. It is formed from the following reactions:
14N + 1n ---> 3H + 12C
or 2H + 2H ---> 3H + 1H
Cosmic rays interacting with either nitrogen as in the first reaction, or with deuterium, as in the second reaction lead to tritium production. The total amount of tritium on earth from natural sources is about 70 x 106 curies.
A typical rifle sight has 0.012 curies of tritium. A typical watch with luminescent hands has 0.200 curies of tritium. Exit signs have several curies of tritium. In the case of rifle sights and exit signs, the tritium is in gaseous form and is contained in a glass tubes.
Tritium is a radioactive substance.
The curie (Ci)is a unit of radioactivity. It is the amount of a radioactive substance that has 3.7 x 1010 decays per second.The radioactive decay product of tritium is a low energy beta particle that cannot penetrate the outer dead layer of human skin. Therefore, the main hazard associated with tritium is internal exposure from inhalation or ingestion. In addition, due to the relatively long half life and short biological half life, an intake of tritium must be in large amounts to pose a significant health risk. Although, in keeping with the philosophy of ALARA, internal exposure should be kept as low as practical.
The tritium used in rifle sights and exits signs is human-made, and is generated by bombarding hydrogen with neutrons in a nuclear reactor or an accelerator (MLM-3719, 1991).
Tritium is used in some self-illuminating exit signs to light the exit in the event of an electrical outage or a fire. Signs often have several curies of tritium in them. If the exit signs were severely damaged, HT gas might escape into the local area, but it should be dispersed by ventilation or wind quickly. The damaged sign would be expected to have relatively high levels of tritium on it, and should not be handled without gloves.
[/quote]
To help evaluate the potential risks from tritium exposure, consider the following made-up scenarios:
..1) all of the activity of a rifle sight is ingested;
The rifle sights contain 12 mCi of tritium. If all of its activity were ingested, the CEDE would be 768 mrem or roughly two years of dose from natural background.
Another scenario
Is Tritium harmful?http://www.trijicon.com/na_en/support/faq_general.php5) as a worker, you are told that you have 30,000 pCi/L of tritium in your urine for the whole year;
30,000 pCi/ liter would give a dose of 2 mrem per year.
6) as a worker, you are told that you were exposed with a single uptake of 8 mCi of tritium;
An uptake of 8 mCi would result in a dose of 500 mrem, or about one and a half years of natural background radiation dose
(a rifle sight company)
I became curious about how much tritium exactly was used to produce theater exit signs, so I posted the question on Rod Adams' nuclear blog. Rod was kind enought to answer:According to documentation by health physicists in statements on file at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), it would take the simultaneous rupture of 10,000 of these small glass capsules in a small room 10 foot by 10 foot to potentially constitute a radiation health hazard. For this reason, customers need not be concerned about the potential risk of the night sight system. Furthermore, our front sight is 0.018 curies and the two rear sight dots are 0.018 curies each. A complete sighting system is 0.054 curies. This is less than many tritium watches, which have up to 0.200 curies or roughly four times as much radioactivity. In addition, the weapon is not as close to the body, and in less constant use than a watch.
June 23, 2011 | 4:40 AM
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-co...s-tritium.html
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2...est=latestnewsAfter reading this, I wondered how hazardous the tritium spill at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant was, and also wondered how many exit signs it would be.
Rod Adams
June 23, 2011 | 5:40 AM
@D.P.
First of all, your comment inspired me to check my units and math one more time. It turns out that I was off by a significant amount – the total amount of tritium released by the Vermont Yankee leak was 0.35 curies, but a curie of tritium has a mass of 0.1 milligrams, not 0.1 grams. Therefore, the amount of tritium should have been 0.035 milligrams, not 0.035 grams. I am going to correct the post as soon as I finish this comment.
According to Meredith Angwin at Yes Vermont Yankee, a tritium exit sign will typically contain about 30 curies of tritium.
So Rod did some calculations and found:We’re talking about picocuries of tritium that we’re seeing. The highest about 2.8 million picocuries, that’s a trillionth of a curie.” explained Smith. “To put it in perspective, if you see exit signs in buildings that are illuminated- they typically have 15 curies of tritium. So we’re talking about a very small amount but, nonetheless, this is important for us to find the source of the leak and to stop it.”
http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/radionuc...ium.html#where100,000 gallons (roughly 370,000 liters) at slightly less than one million picocuries per liter contains approximately 0.35 curies. (370,000 x 970,000 picocuries x 1 curie/10^12 picocuries = 0.35 curies)
If you want to extract tritium from that source of water to produce exit signs, you would need to have 30/.35 or 86 times as much water. Let me say that one more time – you would need 8.6 MILLION gallons of water containing nearly 50 times the drinking water standard in order to produce enough tritium for a single exit sign.
See why I truly believe that the reports about tritium leaks need some perspective?
Here's what the EPA has to say:
So if you're worried about tritium, you should be sure that building wreckers dispose of the EXIT signs correctly.How does tritium get into the environment?
Tritium occurs naturally in the environment in very low concentrations. Most tritium in the environment is in the form of tritiated water, which easily disburses in the atmosphere, water bodies, soil, and rock.
In the mid-1950s and early 1960s, tritium was widely dispersed during the above-ground testing of nuclear weapons. The quantity of tritium in the atmosphere from weapons testing peaked in 1963 and has been decreasing ever since.
Today, sources of tritium include commercial nuclear reactors and research reactors, and government weapons production plants. Tritium may be released as steam from these facilities or may leak into the underlying soil and ground water. However, such releases are usually small and are required not to exceed federal environmental limits.
A recently documented source of tritium in the environment is tritium exit signs that have been illegally disposed of in municipal landfills. Water, which seeps through the landfill, is contaminated with tritium from broken signs and can pass into water ways, carrying the tritium with it.
And perhaps the most important thing:How does tritium change in the environment?
Tritium readily forms water when exposed to oxygen. As it undergoes radioactive decay, tritium emits a very low energy beta particle and transforms to stable, nonradioactive helium. Tritium has a half-life of 12.3 years.
Current treatment of landfill leachates do not remove tritium.
So when Vermont decided to close Vermont Yankee nuclear because of a tritium leak, they were worried about a problem that was less than one improperly disposed of theater exit sign, and was diluted in 100,000 gallons of water.What does tritium do once it gets into the body?
Tritium is almost always found as water, or "tritiated" water. Once tritium enters the body, it disperses quickly and is uniformly distributed throughout the body. Tritium is excreted through the urine within a month or so after ingestion. Organically bound tritium (tritium that is incorporated in organic compounds) can remain in the body for a longer period.
Tritium atoms can exchange with any hydrogen atoms. If the hydrogen atom is part of an organic molecule, the tritium becomes 'organically bound' and is transported with the molecule rather than moving freely like water.
Health Effects of Tritium
As with all ionizing radiation, exposure to tritium increases the risk of developing cancer. However, because it emits very low energy radiation and leaves the body relatively quickly, for a given amount of activity ingested, tritium is one of the least dangerous radionuclides. Since tritium is almost always found as water, it goes directly into soft tissues and organs. The associated dose to these tissues are generally uniform and dependent on the tissues' water content.
Everyone is exposed to tiny amounts of tritium, much of it produced naturally. If you live near, or work at, a nuclear research facility, a commercial reactor, or a government weapons facility, you should be aware that your tritium exposure may be elevated. Also, be careful not to break open an exit sign, or other device that may contain tritium as an illuminating agent.
http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/06/21...ritium-cleanup
So how does this compare to what TEPCO found?The Vermont Senate was so troubled by tritium leaks - as high as 2.5 million picocuries per liter at the reactor, or 125 times the EPA drinking-water standard - that it voted to block relicensing. The Senate vote also followed admissions by the plant that it misled Vermont regulators and lawmakers about whether the plant had the kind of underground piping that carries radioactive material.
In seawater, they found 180 becquerels per liter.
Ci=2.7×10-11)×Bq. Bq=37000000000×Ci. Definitions and calculation
pico is 10-12, from piccolo, Italian for very small indeed.
That would be 486x10-11 Curies or 4,860 picocuries per liter, or 4.86 nanocuries or
0.00486microcuries or 0.00000486 millecuries. A complete sighting system for guns would them be 54 millecuries. In other words, you would need a huge amount of this water to make a single set of gunsights.
Now lets look at the water in the subdrain of Unit 2 (no tritium was found in the Unit 5 subdrain).
TEPCO reported that 3,700 becquerels per liter were found in the Unit 2 subdrain. That would be 99,900 picocuries or 99 nanocuries or 0.099 microcuries or 0.000099 millecuries, and you would still need a huge amount of that water to make a single set of gunsights, let alone a theater EXIT sign.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-26-2011 at 11:43 PM.
Fort Calhoun has been in cold shutdown (reactors at 100 C or lower) since April.
The diesel generators are now supplying power to the plant.
NRC Chairman Jaczko is currently on site and says that everything appears to be in order.
The river at Minot, SD, has crested--so there is about another 2 weeks or so of flooding, providing there are no significant rains. The river is the Missouri.
This from NHK on the subject:
Floodwater knocks out power to US nuclear plant
Water from a flooded river has halted electricity supply to a nuclear power plant in the US state of Nebraska.
External electricity supply to the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant was cut on Sunday.
This comes after a berm built around the plant partially collapsed allowing floodwaters from the nearby Missouri River to surround the plant's main electrical transformers.
Emergency generators were then activated.
The plant operator says there is no risk of radiation leaking outside the facility. It says the berm's collapse did not affect the plant's spent fuel cooling system, as the emergency generators functioned properly.
Since April, the plant has been suspended for refueling the reactor.
The collapse follows a fire in the plant's electricity control room on June 7th. The plant lost power for more than one hour, causing the temperature in its spent fuel pool to rise slightly.
Local residents have expressed increased concerns over the plant's safety.
Monday, June 27, 2011 12:41 +0900 (JST)
Last edited by dorispulaski; 06-27-2011 at 12:31 PM.
Meanwhile, NHK says that Tepco has shut down the water system again, this time due to leaks.
And the workers who experienced relatively high exposure at Daiichi are undergoing extra diagnostic scans.TEPCO halts water circulation due to leaks
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has suspended using decontaminated water as a coolant because of leaky pipes.
Tokyo Electric Power Company began circulating recycled water through the No.1, 2 and 3 reactors at 4:20 PM on Monday.
But it halted the operation one and a half hours later after discovering water leaking from the pipes.
TEPCO has been attempting to run the decontamination system since June 14th. It has so far treated about 1,850 tons of the water.
The operator hopes to reduce the levels of radioactive wastewater accumulated at the plant as a result of injecting fresh water into the damaged reactors.
Circulating the decontaminated water around the reactors is considered an important step to stabilize them by mid-July as planned. It will also help prevent the volume of wastewater from increasing.
TEPCO says it will repair the leaks and hopes to resume water circulation soon.
Monday, June 27, 2011 20:40 +0900 (JST)
Radiation checkups start in Fukushima
Health checkups have started for people likely to have been exposed to relatively high levels of radioactive contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Ten people were given checkups on Monday at a specialist facility near Tokyo. The authorities plan to test more than 2 million residents of Fukushima Prefecture.
The initial checkups will focus on about 28,000 residents of 3 municipalities near the plant -- Iitate Village, and the towns of Kawamata and Namie. Relatively high levels of radioactive contamination have been measured in these areas.
They will be asked to give details of their daily lives since the March 11th accident at the nuclear plant to estimate their external exposure.
More than 2,900 people will also be examined with a whole body counter to measure their internal exposure to radioactive contamination from the nuclear plant.
Full-scale health-checkups for all the residents of the prefecture will start in August.
Monday, June 27, 2011 14:14 +0900 (JST)
This is a good thing: the filters at the incineration plant were successful in filtering out cesium particles.
Radioactive ash found in waste incineration plant
An operator of waste incineration plants in Tokyo says it has found a high density of radioactive materials in ash at one of its plants.
An Edogawa ward plant, which handles general household garbage, detected 9,740 becquerels of radioactive materials per kilogram of ash.
The ash was collected from a device to filter exhaust fumes.
The plant's operator, an organization jointly set up by Tokyo's 23 wards, believes that radioactive cesium built up through the incinerating process.
But it says there is no danger of the toxic substances escaping into the environment as they were trapped by the filter.
Legally, the plant can only bury ash registering 8,000 becquerels or less per kilogram.
But ash contaminated with more than 8,000 becquerels must be stored until the government determines a safe disposal method.
Following the latest findings, Tokyo consulted the central government and decided to temporarily store the contaminated ash inside the plant.
Tokyo on Monday asked the government to come up with guidelines for the ash's disposal.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 02:19 +0900 (JST)
Could you explain what, if anything, escapes such incineration? And what substance actually is incinerated? In other words, what does the ash come from? I realize that I've been imagining it all as warm air. That can't be right!
Last edited by Olympia; 06-27-2011 at 09:38 PM.
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