Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO's 9 PM March 31st Status Report

Both radiation dose and gamma radiation continue to decrease slowly at both Daiichi & Daini


Gamma Radiation

Daini 9:00 PM March 31st Measure Point 4--- 4.9 microSieverts/hour
Daiichi 9:00 PM March 31st West Gate 95.7 microSieverts/hour

Daiichi


Radiation Dose
Daiichi
Main Building 9:00 PM March 31st 0.94 milliSieverts/hour
Main Gate 9:00 PM March 31st 148 microSieverts/hour
West Gate 9:00 PM March 31st 70 microSieverts/hour

Seawater Trend Charts (several pages)

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110331e16.pdf

Water in the sub-drains of the turbine basements of the different buildings
Because some of these were very short lived isotopes, some have disappeared that were detected before, provided the sampling site is the same. I really need to print out and compare all these analyses.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110331e18.pdf

Water in the Pipe Trench of Unit 1
(Reanalyzed- small change on one isotope of technetium 99
This is similar to the sea water rather than Unit 2 water.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110331e17.pdf


TEPCO is trying to assist the people who have been evacuated due to the situation at Daiichi

As of March 31, 2011, we have revised our corporate organization to enforce the support programs for the residents and areas influenced by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station's accident due to the Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyo-Oki Earthquake. Establishment of "Fukushima Nuclear Influence Response Division". We have established a "Fukushima Nuclear Influence Response Division" under the direct control of President. We have been dispatching our employees to the emergency evacuation sites to be able to support the evacuated residents due to the influence of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station's accident by delivering necessary goods and assisting unloading the shipments. To further enforce the support programs and assist the region's recovery, we have newly established the Fukushima Nuclear Influence Response Division. We have further established a Fukushima Support Office under the Division to enforce and enlarge the existing Fukushima Office's functions. As of March 29, it was announced that the Government's Nuclear Disaster Response Headquarters has established a Nuclear Evacuators Life Support Team. Together with the Team and through our Fukushima Nuclear Influence Response Division, we will faithfully support the afflicted areas and the evacuated residents.

Daini - Is a "campaigner" what we would call a "protester", or is it someone supporting some politician? Come to think of it, is there a difference?

Other
A campaigner's sound truck entered the site through the west locked car gate around 1:08 pm today. After driving in the site, the car left through the same gate around 1:20 pm. We reported this event to the Fukushima Prefecture Police Department. We have shut the gate with our own vehicles after the campaigner's vehicle left.

 

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A few more details are available on the expertise of the experts from Areva who will be helping at Daiichi

These employees "join the team Areva Japan to analyze aid may be made ​​to TEPCO as part of crisis management at the plant in Fukushima" Daiichi, in situations of serious nuclear accident.

The treatment of radioactive waste management and storage pools of spent fuel are among the specialties of these engineers.

Meanwhile, CNN takes you on a tour of Indian Point nuclear plant. There are significant differences from Fukushima Daiichi

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/03/29/pkg.chernoff.indian.point.cnn?iref=allsearch

For one thing, the US idea of building containment is hugely different. Daiichi looked like normal industrial buildings, more like as one scientist described Chernobyl, "a Quonset hut with graphite bars and a reactor inside". Also, the spent fuel pool is at ground level in the old Indian Point Unit 1 building.
Finally, it's a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), not a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR).
And there are only 2 reactors on site, not 6, and there is not another 4 reactors only 10 km away.

And the Wall Street Journal visits a nuclear plant in Maryland and discusses emergencies and the situation at Daiichi with the workers there:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...s=SB10001424052748704425804576220982909349292

In the US, increased development of nuclear power is one of the few things that many in both parties agree to:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0311/52279.html

Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican governor of NJ, and Environmental Protection Agency Chief under in the administration of George W Bush.

Whitman talks of safety lessons from Daiichi, but says:

Meanwhile, nuclear energy is still one of our country’s cleanest energy options. It provides 70 percent of the country’s carbon-free power every year, and is likely to be counted on even more in the future as Washington strives to rein in harmful emissions. No other energy source can now meet the nation’s future clean energy needs on the same scale.

Meanwhile, President Obama is in support of nuclear energy as part of America's energy future, in which we become less dependent on foreign oil, and reduce greenhouse gases:

Obama also embraced nuclear power as a critical part of America's energy future, despite increased safety concerns following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that severely damaged a nuclear power plant there. He vowed a thorough safety review of all U.S. plants, incorporating lessons learned from Japan, but said nuclear power still holds enormous potential for the U.S.

"We can't simply take it off the table," Obama said during a nearly hour-long speech at Georgetown University.

Meanwhile the Republican led House of Representatives wants to go ahead with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste depository.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-nuclear-plants-safety,0,1302069.story

Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., said there is no scientific or technical basis for withdrawing the application for Yucca Mountain, the only permanent storage site in the U.S. designated for spent nuclear fuel.

"The tragic events unfolding in Japan underscore the urgent need for the United States to pursue a coherent nuclear policy to safely and permanently store spent nuclear fuel," Upton and Shimkus said in a statement

That isn't exactly what went on in Japan, but its a constructive moral to draw. TEPCO has dry cask storage for really old spent nuclear fuel at Daiichi, and neither the earthquake nor the tsunami breached any of the casks...considering the disaster involved, that was a really good test.

However, it would be better to store the old stuff at Yucca Mountain IMO. This needs to stop being a political football. If they don't use Yucca Mountain, they should reconsider the Seabed program.

Washington and South Carolina are suing the administration over stopping the Yucca Mountain program, which became a political football in the election campaign of Obama, and the reelection campaign of Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid.

Meanwhile, the NRC is publicly conducting a safety review:

News of the investigation came as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said three U.S. nuclear power plants need increased oversight from federal regulators because of safety problems or unplanned shutdowns.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said the three plants — in South Carolina, Kansas and Nebraska — "are the plants we are most concerned about" among the 65 U.S. nuclear power plants in 31 states. All U.S. plants are operating safely, Jaczko said.

An agency spokesman said the plants under review are the H.B. Robinson nuclear plant in South Carolina, Fort Calhoun in Nebraska and Wolf Creek in Kansas.

Spokesman Scott Burnell said three reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina had been on the watch list, but were removed two weeks ago after improved performance reviews. He emphasized that all 104 U.S. nuclear reactors operate safely, and that the heightened review of the three plants was routine.

"The NRC felt the three required significant additional oversight but continue to operate safely," he said.

All U.S. nuclear plants are inspected frequently. If enough minor problems or issues are identified, a plant moves to a second level of inspection, Burnell said.

And people are trying to figure out why the Germans, of all nations, are most leery of nuclear power. It isn't as if they typically have tsunamis, or earthquakes that rank 9 on the Richter scale after all.

At least one person has suggested that Germans are "risk averse" and another thinks they worried more about Chernobyl. I'd be interested at what others thin.

Meanwhile 59% of Americans think that provided you don't put a nuclear plant on top of a fault line and away from major population concentrations, that its safe, a surprising result considering the way the news has been lately.

 

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9:00 AM EDT April 1st Wrapup from dorispulaski

* A barge of the U.S. Forces with fresh water to be used to cool down reactors etc. was towed by a ship of Maritime Self-Defense Force and at 3:42 pm on March 31st 2011, came alongside the pier. As soon as the water is ready to be supplied, we will replenish the fresh water with filtrate tanks.

All air radiation measurements are down

JAIF has provided some nice graphs and spatial plots of the radiation over time in towns around Daiichi which have not been evacuated, including Iitate Village, in Tochigi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures. Iitate's air counts ranged from 45 microSieverts per hour on March 15th, decreasing continuously to 8 microSieverts per hour on March 31st. As such, more radiation was measured there than at Daini, which is much closer to Daiichi than Iitate's is. Iitate is to the north and west of Daiichi, about 45 km. Second highest dose wsa received by Fukushima City, which is in the same general direction from Daiichi as Iitate. On March 31st, Fukushima appears to be at about 2 microSieverts per hour.

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1301652988P.pdf

JAIF reports Radioactive iodine, exceeding the the provisional legal limit, was detected from tap water sampled in some prefectures from Mar. 21st to 27th. It was advised not to drink the water in those regions.The advice was then lifted by Mar. 31st, except for a city and a village in Fukushima prefecture . (I would guess that the city was Fukushima (although one mesurepoint in Koroyaga was nearly as high) and definitely the village was Iitate.

Wind is from the East

Gamma Radiation

Daini 3:00 PM April 1st, Measure Point 4 - 4.7 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi 3:00 PM April 1st, West Gate - 91.2 microSieverts per hour

Radiation Dose
Daiichi 3:00 PM April 1st, Main Building - 0.91 milliSieverts per hour
Daiichi 3:00 PM April 1st, Main Gate - 144 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi 3:00 PM April 1st, West Gate - 65 microSieverts per hour


TEPCO has published the recorded values of earthquake ground motion recorded in the lowest basements of Daiichi and Daini. The report then has another group of columns for comparison that come from the Maximum Response Acceleration based on "Regulatory Guide for Reviewing Seismic Design of Nuclear Power Reactor.

Facilities (Revised in 2006

)".. This guide was " revised in September 2006 based on the newly accumulated knowledge on seismology and earthquake engineering and advanced technologies of seismic design, this is a regulatory guide in reviewing the validity of the seismic design of nuclear power reactor facilities."

Three of the Units received more than their designed amount of earthquake ground motion in the West-East direction: Unit 2, Unit 3, and Unit 5.

Here's the report and data for those interested in the response of buildings to earthquakes.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11040103-e.html


10:00 AM Status

Unit 1 Spent Fuel Pool

- From 1:03 pm, March 31st, the water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started, and finished at 4:04 pm.

Unit 2 Spent Fuel Pool

From 4:30 pm, March 31st, the water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started, and finished at 7:33 pm.

Unit 4 Spent Fuel Pool
From 8:28am, April 1st, the water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started.

On March 30th, we took samples from the water in the trench of Unit 2 and 3, and conducted nuclide analysis on them. We are now confirming the results of the analyses.

 

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JAIF's English Translation of the NHK news, April 1, 2011, 9PM Japanese Time

When people begin to worry about who is to blame, and defend themselves that they are not to blame, and start making political points, that's when you know: Things are obviously returning to normal.

Two interesting things:
The discussion of the weather patterns and how they affect dispersion of radioactive particles.
Some discussions of the measurement errors from the Daini plant that does the analysis for Daiichi.

No. 39
Today’s NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
station as of 21:00 on April 1

●TEPCO reprimanded over sloppy radiation checks Japan's nuclear safety agency has reprimanded Tokyo Electric Power Company over its failure to ensure the safety of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant due to shortages of radiation monitors. Some teams of workers had to share a radiation monitor, although they are supposed to have one each. Many monitors stopped working after the massive quake.

The agency told reporters on Friday that the practice is problematic. It instructed the plant operator to make sure that workers are able to check radiation levels. TEPCO told the agency that it has obtained 420 radiation monitors so far. The company explained that work will be suspended if employees do not have their own monitors.
Friday, April 01, 2011 13:30 +0900 (JST)

●GE Says: Fukushima reactors have no structural defects
The chief executive of General Electric has stressed that the GE reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have no structural problems. Jeff Immelt spoke to NHK and other media outlets on Thursday. Some observers say the No. 1 and 2 reactors, the oldest types at the plant, have a flaw in their
designs.

He said the GE reactor has been in service for more than 40 years and is welltested and well-designed and has been upgraded over time.Immelt said in Washington on Thursday that he was aware of the doubts expressed about nuclear power plants. But he said it is necessary to diversify energy sources at a time of rising oil prices.

In the United States, more than 20 reactors are in use that have similar structure to the Fukushima No. 1 and 2 reactors. Questions were raised about their safety after the Fukushima reactors were damaged last month.
Friday, April 01, 2011 12:24 +0900 (JST)

●IAEA: High level of iodine-131 outside zone
The International Atomic Energy Agency has revealed that iodine-131 was the radioactive substance that exceeded its criterion for evacuation in a village 40 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The agency did not give the name of the substance at its news conference on Wednesday.

The village of Iitate to the northwest of the plant is outside the 20 kilometer exclusion zone and the 20 to 30 kilometer alert zone where the Japanese government advises voluntary evacuation. On Wednesday, the IAEA said radiation levels twice as high as its evacuation level were detected in Iitate and it had advised the Japanese government to carefully assess the situation. But it did not give details of the substance or who carried out the measurement.

The UN nuclear agency revealed on Thursday that its judgment was based on
data obtained from the Japanese authorities.
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission said it sees no reason to change the evacuation zone and advice to stay indoors as its criteria are based on how much radiation people would be exposed to, and not the radiation level in the ground. The IAEA also corrected the reading of 2 million becquerels of iodine-131 per square meter it announced on Wednesday. The revised figure is 20 million becquerels per square meter.

The IAEA will continue analyzing radiation levels in cooperation with the
Japanese government. Iodine-131 has a radioactive half-life of 8 days, and the half-life of Cesium-137 is 30 years.
Friday, April 01, 2011 11:40 +0900 (JST)

●TEPCO to ensure radiation monitoring for workers
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it may postpone low priority work at the
damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to ensure radiation monitoring for
workers.
TEPCO said on Thursday that the quake destroyed many radiation monitors and that only 320 out of the 5,000 it had prior to the disaster are now available. The company said that in some work groups only leaders had monitors and that 180 workers had worked without devices on one day. TEPCO said it may postpone low priority work so no employee has to work without a device.It also said it will collect radiation monitors from other plants to minimize delays.

Friday, April 01, 2011 07:36 +0900 (JST)
●Singapore bans imports of vegetables from Shizuoka
Singapore has announced that it has suspended imports of vegetables and fruit
from central Japan due to radioactive contamination. Singapore has increased its surveillance of food imports from Japan since the start of the trouble at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to ensure that they are safe for consumption. About 380 samples so far have been tested for radioactivity.

The country's authorities say that it detected radiation higher than the international limit in Japanese mustard spinach produced in Shizuoka Prefecture and imported on Wednesday. Shizuoka became the 10th prefecture whose produce has been banned. The Japanese government says that an import ban has been wrongly imposed on products from the western prefecture of Ehime, as vegetables from Fukushima were wrongly labeled as being from Ehime. The Japanese embassy in Singapore says it will examine the import process if necessary. The Singapore government says that it is following the situation at the nuclear plant very closely and continuing its measures to safeguard Singapore from radioactive contamination.
Friday, April 01, 2011 05:09 +0900 (JST)

●Researcher explains how radiation reaches Tokyo
A Japanese researcher explained to NHK how radioactive substances that leaked from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have spread and reached Tokyo and other parts of the Kanto region. Hiromi Yamazawa, a Professor at Nagoya University graduate school, says that high levels of radiation have reached Kanto at least twice since the nuclear plant accident.

He says the first incidence occurred from March 15th through the 16th. Contaminated air spread widely in Kanto. The second occurred from the 20th through the 21st. Contaminated air went south along the coast, and reached Chiba and Tokyo. The air was then blown northwest to the inland prefecture of Gunma. Yamazawa says the rain in a broad area of Kanto in the surrounding days deposited radioactive substances in rivers and contaminated water in purification plants in the region. Yamazawa warns that radiation could more easily flow into Kanto from now to the early summer, due to winds blowing south from Fukushima during these seasons.
Friday, April 01, 2011 05:09 +0900 (JST)

●Radiation monitors not given to each worker
NHK has learned that Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has not provided every worker at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant with radiation monitors, breaking government rules. High levels of contamination have been detected at the Daiichi power complex following a series of hydrogen explosions that have scattered radioactive substances.

TEPCO says the quake destroyed many radiation monitors, so in some work groups only leaders have them, leaving others struggling to manage exposure. The government requires companies to provide each individual worker with a radiation monitor when working under such conditions. One worker who helped restore electricity to the plant, says each man must have been exposed to different levels of radiation, and that he has no idea how much contamination he was exposed to. TEPCO says that those without monitors are assigned to low-radiation work, and that safety measures are in place.

The health ministry says exposure to large amounts of radiation is always a possibility during a nuclear power plant accident. It adds if the claims are true it is a serious problem, and that it plans to investigate the company's safety management.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 19:37 +0900 (JST)

●Kan & Sarkozy to cooperate in handling nuclear crisis
The leaders of Japan and France have confirmed that they will work together to solve the ongoing crisis at the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Prime Minister Naoto Kan's office in Tokyo on Thursday. Kan thanked France for expressing sympathy for the victims of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami and for showing its support and solidarity for Japan since. He also thanked Sarkozy for visiting Japan as the head of France, which currently holds the rotating residency of the Group of Eight summit talks. Kan said Japanese people are determined to stand together to overcome the crisis, and asked France for continued support. Sarkozy said he pays respect to the Japanese people who are facing their greatest crisis since World War Two with dignity and courage. He added that he was shocked to see footage of the disaster-stricken areas, but deeply impressed by the heroic operations now under way at the nuclear plant.

After the meeting, Kan and Sarkozy held a news conference and announced that France will lead the international community to help Japan resolve the problems at the crippled plant and come up with decontamination measures. France has the second largest of nuclear power stations in the world.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 19:10 +0900 (JST)

●Govt may scrap nuclear energy plan
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has reportedly hinted at the possibility of a fundamental review of the government's nuclear energy plan. Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii met Prime Minister Kan on Thursday to discuss the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the opposition party leader quoted Kan as saying the situation at the Fukushima plant cannot allow him to say anything about the future of the plant. Kan reportedly said all-out efforts are under way to cool down the reactors and to prevent radioactive substances from leaking out but that there is no clear prospect of a stable cooling down.

In 2010, the government formulated a plan calling for the construction of at least 14 nuclear power plants over the next 20 years. According to the Communist Party leader, Kan said he will review the nuclear energy policy from the viewpoint of safety, including the issue of spent fuel. The Prime Minister added the plan for building 14 new plants will be reviewed, including the possibility of scrapping it.
Thursday, March 31, 2011 19:10 +0900 (JST)

●Program errors force TEPCO to review all data
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will review all data on radiation leaked from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, citing errors in a computer program. The utility says it found errors in the program used to analyze radioactive elements and their levels, after some experts noted that radiation levels of leaked water inside the plant were too high. T

The company and the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency say previously released data may have shown the levels of tellurium-129 and molybdenum-99 to be higher than they really were. But they say that levels of iodine-131, which has a significant impact on humans and the environment, remain unchanged. Tokyo Electric releases data on radioactivity inside the plant compound and in nearby seawater and soil.
The radioactive substances are believed to be coming from damaged nuclear fuel rods. The data is crucial for identifying the source of radioactive leaks and assessing
their impact on the environment. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has told the company to find out why the errors occurred and to take steps to prevent a recurrence.
Friday, April 01, 2011 15:39 +0900 (JST)

●Radiation detected in beef, vegetables
Radiation exceeding safety standards has been detected in beef from Fukushima and vegetables from Ibaraki, Tochigi and Chiba prefectures. The health ministry says it detected 510 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium, above than the national limit of 500, in round beef from a cow raised in a village in Fukushima prefecture on Wednesday. The beef has not been shipped. In Hitachi city, Ibaraki prefecture, 8,300 becquerels, or 4 times above the accepted limit, of radioactive iodine was detected in spinach. Spinach and parsley from other parts of Ibaraki were also found to be contaminated with higher-than acceptable levels of radiation.

Spinach, shungiku, or garland chrysanthemum, and parsley with radiation exceeding acceptable levels were found in Chiba prefecture. High levels of radiation were also detected in spinach in Tochigi prefecture. The ministry says these vegetables are not on the market, as producers have not shipped them, either voluntarily or in line with the government's instructions

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO April 1st 4:00 PM Update (9:00 PM for monitoring data)

The fresh water barges arrived in Daiichi. Unfortunately, the waterfront at Daiichi was destroyed by the tsunami, and so landing facilities are pretty primitive.

Work continued on moving contaminated water around.

I wonder whether the US government would consider letting TEPCO fill one of the barges with contaminated water, fill to the top with clean water, and send the whole thing to the military Idaho center for getting rid of military radioactive waste?

Daiichi 9:00 PM April 1st, South Side of Main Office Building - 0.90 milliSieverts/hour
Daiichi 9:00 PM April 1st, Main Gate - 138 microSieverts/hour
Daiichi 9:00 PM April 1st, West Gate - 64 microSieverts/hour


Gamma Radiation
Daini 9:00 PM April 1st Measure Point 4 - 4.6 microSieverts/hour
Daiichi 9:00 PM West Gate 89.4 microSieverts/hour

Unit 2 (4:00 PM April 1st)

At approximately 4:45 pm, March 29th, the water in condensate reservoirs was being transferred to suppression pool water surge-tanks to prepare for water transfer from a condenser to condensate reservoirs in order to drain water on the underground floor of the turbine building into a condenser. At 11:50 am, April 1st, transfer was completed.
- At 14:56 pm, April 1st, water injection into spent fuel pool in Unit 2 by temporary motor driven pump was initiated.

Unit 4

- From 8:28am, April 1st, the water spray by the concrete pumping vehicle was started. At 14:14 pm, the water spray finished.

Getting fresh water from American barges

* A barge of the U.S. Forces with fresh water to be used to cool down reactors etc. was towed by a ship of Maritime Self-Defense Force and at 3:42 pm on March 31st 2011, came alongside the pier. At 15:38, April 1st,we started to replenish the fresh water with filtrate tanks.

* At 11:35 am, April 1st, a worker fell into the sea while stepping into the ship from the pier during the hose laying work of the barge. Other crew immediately rescued the worker. While no injury or contamination was confirmed, whole body counter will be implemented to check thecontamination inside the body just in case.* Shizuoka City kindly agreed with us to assign their mega float in responding to our request. It will be placed in the front sea area of Fukushima Daiichi power station and be used for the storage of water.

 

[dorispulaski]

NEI's 12:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time April 1st Update

And some thoughts:
Grazing animals, and for that matter animals that eat grazing animals, tend to concentrate radiation. The radiation falls on the field, but the animal eats over a wide area. Consequently, beef and milk tend to have more radioactive material in them than vegetables.

In the case of vegetables, washing and boiling them, and then draining the water and rinsing them, tends to drastically lower contamination. Also, boiling beef tends to lower the concentration of radioactive materials.

The huge concrete pump sounds awesome and has got to help.

And I wondered just what the plans were for how to hook the water barge to the systems.

UPDATE AS OF 12:30 P.M. EDT, FRIDAY, APRIL 1:
Japan’s nuclear safety agency has reprimanded Tokyo Electric Power Co. for not providing radiation monitors to all emergency workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Each worker is supposed to have an individual radiation monitor, but some emergency teams have had to share monitors, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported. TEPCO said that low-priority work will be suspended if employees do not have monitors.

TEPCO said that only 320 of the 5,000 radiation monitors were available after the earthquake and tsunami, JAIF said.

Radiation Found in Beef
Radiation that exceeds safety standards has been found in beef in Fukushima and three neighboring prefectures, JAIF reported. Radiation also was found in spinach and other vegetables grown in the area. Japan’s health ministry said the beef and vegetables have not been shipped and are not on the market.

Fukushima Daiichi
A U.S. Navy barge containing freshwater to cool the reactors and used fuel pools at the Daiichi site has been towed to the pier. It will be connected to the pumps with hoses.

Meanwhile, injection of freshwater continues at reactors 1-3 and workers continue to spray freshwater on the used fuel pools for reactors 1-4.

TEPCO is evaluating the use of a synthetic resin that would be sprayed over debris at the site to prevent the spread of radioactive dust.

Additional equipment, including the biggest concrete pump in the world, is being provided by U.S. companies. The pump’s 70-meter boom can be controlled remotely. It has been in use at the Savannah River Site, helping build a U.S. government mixed oxide nuclear fuel plant. Concrete pumps are already in use at the site to assist with spraying water into the used fuel pools.
Fact Sheet Update
NEI has updated its fact sheet, "Nuclear Plants Designed and Constructed to Withstand Earthquakes."

 

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IAEA 2:30 PM UTC time for April 1st

IAEA Briefing on Fukushima Accident (1 April 2011, 14.30 UTC)

On Friday, 1 April 2011, the IAEA provided the following information on the current status of nuclear safety in Japan.

1.Current Situation

Overall at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the situation remains very serious.

The Unit 1 condenser is full. In preparation for transferring water in the basement of the turbine building to the condenser, water in the condenser storage tank is being transferred to the suppression pool surge tank since 31 March, 03:00 UTC. Water in the trench was transferred to a water tank at the central environmental facility process main building. In order to prepare for removal of the water from the turbine building basement in Unit 2, pumping of water from the condenser to the suppression pool water surge tank started at 07:45 UTC 29 March. For Unit 3 pumping of water from the condenser to suppression pool water surge tank was started at 08:40 UTC March 28 and was completed at 23:37 UTC on 30 March.

For Unit 1 fresh water has been continuously injected into the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) through the feed-water line at an indicated flow rate of 8 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. In Unit 2 fresh water is injected continuously through the fire extinguisher line at an indicated rate of 8 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. In Unit 3 fresh water is being injected continuously at about 7 m3/h into the reactor core through the fire extinguisher line using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup.

The indicated temperatures at the feed water nozzle of the RPV and bottom of RPV on Unit 1 are stable at 256 °C and 128 °C respectively. There is a slight decrease in RPV and Drywell pressures. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV of Unit 2 is stable at 165 °C. The temperature at the bottom of the RPV was not reported. Indicated Drywell pressure remains at atmospheric pressure. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV in Unit 3 is stable at 101 °C and at the bottom of RPV is also stable at 112 °C. Indicated Drywell pressure remains slightly above atmospheric pressure. The validity of the RPV temperature measurement at the feed water nozzle is still under investigation.

The pumping of water into the Unit 1 Spent Fuel Pool by concrete pumping truck was started at 04:03 UTC on 31 March. Fresh water was sprayed to the spent fuel pool at the Unit 3 by the concrete pump on 31 March and to the spent fuel pool on Unit 4 on the 1st April.

Units 5 and 6 remain in cold shutdown

2. Radiation Monitoring
On 31 March, deposition of iodine-131 was detected by the Japanese authorities in 8 prefectures, and deposition of cesium-137 in 10 prefectures. In these prefectures where deposition of iodine-131 was reported, on 31 March, the range was from 29 to 1350 becquerel per square metre. For caesium-137, the range was from 3.6 to 505 becquerel per square metre. In the Shinjyuku district of Tokyo, the daily deposition for iodine-131 was 50 becquerel per square metre and for cesium-137 it was 68 becquerel per square metre. No significant changes were reported in the 45 prefectures in gamma dose rates compared to yesterday. As of 28 March, recommendations for restrictions on drinking water are in place at two locations in the Fukushima prefecture and restrictions continue to apply for infants only. The IAEA monitoring team made additional measurements at 9 locations West of Fukushima-Daiichi NPP. The measurement locations were at distances of 30 to 58 km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The dose rates ranged from 0.4 to 2.3 microsievert per hour. At the same locations, results of beta-gamma contamination measurements ranged from 0.01 to 0.49 Megabecquerel per square metre. The other team who had made monitoring measurements in Tokyo during the last week, has finished its activities.

The reason that cesium is seen and iodine is not, despite the fact that in initial samples, iodine is in higher concentration, is that cesium has a longer half life than iodine 131. This argues that additional deposition of radioactive material is significantly slower than it was (as indeed, the air monitoring values show).

Since our written briefing of yesterday, significant data related to food contamination was reported on 31 March by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Reported analytical results covered 2 samples taken on 15 March and 109 samples from 27-31 March. Analytical results for 98 of the 111 samples for various vegetables, spinach and other leafy vegetables, fruit (strawberry), seafood, various meats (beef, chicken and pork) and unprocessed raw milk in eight prefectures (Chiba, Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Niigata, Tochigi, and Tokyo), indicated that iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137 were either not detected or were below the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities. However, it was reported that analytical results in Chiba, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures for the remaining 13 of the total 111 samples for spinach and other leafy vegetables, parsley and beef indicated that iodine-131 and/or caesium-134 and caesium-137 exceeded the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities.

The following restrictions are in place (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Press Releases 21 and 23 March 2011):

Fukushima: Distribution and consumption of leafy vegetables (including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kakina, komatsuna and spinach), turnip and unprocessed raw milk. Ibaraki: Distribution of spinach, kakina, parsley and unprocessed raw milk.
Gunma: Distribution of spinach and kakina.
Tochigi: Distribution of spinach and kakina.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Food Safety Assessment Team has completed its mission and presented its report to the Japanese Cabinet Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on 31 March. The IAEA members of the Team are returning to Vienna today.

The Agency, in agreement with the Japanese government, will dispatch two reactor experts to Japan. They will hold meetings with the Nuclear Safety Commission, NISA, TEPCO and other Japanese counterparts from Monday 4 April onwards. The objective of this visit is to exchange views with Japanese technical experts and to get first-hand information about the current status of reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, measures being taken and future plans to mitigate the accident.

I hope the IAEA will be able to dissuade them from the sarcophagus route, and will be able to get a true site remediation plan approved & paid for.

The following countries have provided the monitoring data to the IAEA�s Incident and Emergency Centre � Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy,

 

[mot]

When people begin to worry about who is to blame, and defend themselves that they are not to blame, and start making political points, that's when you know: Things are obviously returning to normal.

This is so true - universally! I witnessed the similar here in the UK after the mass outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Japanese government states that they need to review their energy strategy, including its reliance on nuclear power plants. It was decided last June 14 more nuclear plants were to be build by 2030. Now people's fear and mistrust with nuclear energy is so great that they are now thinking about revising it.

People's fear and mistrust is understandable, given the current situation, but nuclear power plants are never built for the sake of it. It is our never-ending, bottomless demand for electricity to maintain and /or advance our already very comfortable and convenient life style that is the very reason why they get built. OK, shift towards 'green' alternative energy must be accelerated. But supply of 'green' electricity still seems not as constant and reliable as the supply from more established source. Some, such as wind turbines and biomass, come with their own set of environmental problems. Often initial capital cost to build power generators utilising alternative energy source, such as geothermal or solar, is prohibitively high. Are we ready to pay a lot more for electricity now? Or are we ready to cut back on everyday luxury we're taking for granted for so long?

The path to nuclear free society must start from ourselves, I think. It's easy to blame the government which has invested in nuclear energy and to some extent mishandled it, but how much credibility we can give ourselves, if our complaints are made in our comfortable living room with all lights, TV and PC on all at the same time, with the thermostat set to 28 degrees Celsius so that we can be in a thin T-shirt in the middle of the winter, while we are also complaining about the rise of energy cost at the same time?

 

[dorispulaski]

In future, countries need to think about evacuation differently

Japan evacuated people within 20 km of Daiichi and asked people between 20 and 30 km of Daiichi to either voluntarily evacuate or to stay inside. That theory of evacuation assumes that everything occurs perfectly symmetrically about the center of the release of poisonous or radioactive material, but of course that is not so. Neither theoretical nor actual data would cause a politician or a scientist to have that opinion.

Here's what the predicted spread of radioactive material to be deposited looks like:

JAIF has supplied links to the following map, released by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan of predictions of radioactive material spread caused by the accident (Mar. 23rd). This prediction was based on the calculation using computer code called SPEEDI
(System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information).

http://www.nsc.go.jp/info/110323_top_siryo.pdf

Now compare that with the actual spread of radioactive material, the plot generated by JAIF:

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1301652988P.pdf

In both cases, you can see a spike of higher deposition, leading from Daiichi off to the northeast. Coincidentally, that is where Iritake Village and Fukushima City are.

The reasons that deposition is greater in places like that would be:

1. The wind direction during the time span of the accident.
2. The geographical terrain around Iritake and Fukushima City.
Topographic map of Japan
http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/prosp/196_prs/196f01.gif

You will notice there are two distinct mountainous areas with a valley between them, pointing away from Daiichi. In the area near a mountain, there will be updrafts-and thus both more rain, and more fallout of particles since particles are always deposited when an airstream has a change of direction.

3. The relative amount of rainfall (rain washes fallout out of the air and deposits it)
Rain is typically more in such areas too.

It would be better to model the areas around nuclear plants and chemical plants and predict from the models who should be evacuated rather than just picking a 20 km radius limit. IMO.

By the way, the same kind of non-circularly symmetic deposition was shown at Chernobyl. The only way that you would have a completely circular pattern of deposition is in a flat country with no significant bodies of water and no wind.

 

[dorispulaski]

The first monitoring data of the day is up. The same slowly decreasing trend is continuing:

Wind in the west at 3.2 meters per second

Gamma Rays
Daiichi April 2nd, 9:00 AM West Gate 86.3 MicroSieverts per hour
Daini April 2nd, 9:00 AM 4.5 microSieverts per hour


Radiation Dose
Daiichi April 2nd, 9:00 AM
South Side of Main Office Building -- 0.87 milliSieverts per hour
Main Gate - 135 microSieverts per hour
West Gate - 62 microSieverts per hour

- Monitoring posts of No.1 -No.8 set up near the boundary of power station area have been restored. We will periodically monitor the data and announce the results of monitoring.

This will make it easier to assess their efforts at site mitigation.

Spent Fuel Pools

- From 2:56 pm April 1st, freshwater injection to Unit 2 was conducted by a temporary motor driven pump, and finished at 5:05 PM on the same day.

Cleaning up Contaminated Water

Draining water from underground floor of turbine buildings - In regard with transferring water from a condensate storage tank to a suppression pool water surge-tank in unit 1, work began at noon March 31st.
- In regard with transferring water from a condensate storage tank to a suppression pool water surge-tank in unit 2 from 4:45 pm March 29th to 11:50 am, April 1st.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO m status April 2nd 8:00 AM EDT

Gamma Radiation
Daini 3:00 PM, April 2, 4.4 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi, 3:00 PM, April 2, West Gate 84.4 microSieverts per hour


Radiation Dose
Daiichi near Main Building 3:00 PM, April 2 0.83 milliSieverts per hour
Daiichi Main Gate, 3:00 PM, April 2, 131 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi West Gate, 3:00 PM, April 2, 59 microSieverts per hour

*Monitoring posts (no.1 to no.8) which were installed around the site boundary have been restored. We will continue monitoring the measured value and make announcements on those values accordingly

Both fresh water barges have arrived and water is being replenished to the purified water storage tanks:

- A barge (the first barge) of the U.S. Forces with freshwater to be used to cool down reactors etc. was towed by a ship of Maritime Self-Defense Force and at 3:42 pm on March 31st 2011, came alongside the pier. We began to replenish the filtrate tanks with the freshwater at around 3:58 pm April 1st.

- The second barge of the U.S. Forces with freshwater to be used to cool down the reactors etc. was towed by a ship of Maritime Self-Defense Force and came alongside the pier at 9:10 am on April 2nd. We will replenish the filtrate tanks with water as soon as the preparation is ready. In addition, we began to replenish the filtrate tanks with water of a barge (the first barge) at around 10:20 am on April 2nd.

MSNBC just reported that TEPCO employees have found at least one locations where highly radioactive water was escaping into the ground, and is perhaps one of the source of the seawater contamination. They found a concrete maintenance pit with radioactive water in it, with a good sized crack in its side. They are going to put a patch on the hole, and keep an eye on it to see how rapidly (or not) it fills.

They are testing whether spraying resin to keep radioactive dust down works.

*From 3:00 pm, April 1st, we started spraying inhibitor in order to prevent diffusion of radioactive materials. This attempt was conducted on a trial basis at the mountain side area of the common spent fuel pool in the range of 200m2. The spraying finished at 4:05 pm.

Spent Fuel Pools
Water spray by the concrete pump truck to Unit 3 started at 9:53 am.

This guys was at Daini as well. You can't escape politics, it seems, even in the middle of a nightmare. Maybe especially in the middle of a nightmare.

- At 12:21 pm, March 31st, campaigner's sound truck (1 driver) tried to enter the site form the site's main gate, however it left after it was blocked to enter. We reported this incident to Fukushima Prefectural Police Department.

 

[dorispulaski]

JAIF translation of the NHK news

If anyone has a link to the video footage of the inside of Unit 4, I'd love to see it.

No. 40: 18:00, April 2
NHK news regarding status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station yesterday and today.

●High-level radioactive iodine detected offshoreRadioactive iodine twice the country's legal standard has been detected in seawater at a location 40 kilometers south of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Japanese Science Ministry on Saturday released the results of a survey based on samples taken 3 days ago. The sample was collected at a spot 10 kilometers off Iwaki City and 40 kilometers from the disabled plant, both in Fukushima Prefecture. The detected level of iodine-131 was 79.4 becquerels per liter, twice the legal standard for water discharged from nuclear plants. This is the first time that a radioactive reading that exceeds the legal limit has been detected off the shore of Fukushima Prefecture. It's believed that the radioactive substances were carried offshore from the plant by a north-south current. On Saturday, a crack was found in the compound of the nuclear plant through which radioactive water has been leaking into the ocean. The Nuclear Safety and Industrial Agency says radioactive iodine will be diluted in seawater and does not ose a threat to human health. But it said it will continue to closely monitor the condition.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 17:49 +0900 (JST)

●Radioactive water leak confirmed
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has identified for the first time a place where high-level radioactive water is leaking into the ocean from the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The power company said on Saturday that water has been seeping from a crack in the wall of a 2-meter deep pit that contains power cables near the reactor's water intake. Water measuring between 10 and 20 centimeters deep was found in the pit. The radiation level has been measured at over 1,000 milisieverts per hour. The company says it is preparing to pour concrete into the cracked pit to stop the radioactive water leak.

A senior Nuclear Safety Agency official says the crack could be one of the sources of radioactivity found in the seawater near the water outlet.

He says the agency has ordered TEPCO to test samples of seawater at more locations near the plant and analyze them for different radioactive materials. In the past week, the radiation detected in water in the basement of the turbine building at the No. 2 reactor was about 100,000 times higher than the normal level. High-levels of radiation were also found in puddles in a utility tunnel outside the turbine building.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 17:33 +0900 (JST)

●IAEA reports lower radiation levels in Iitate
The International Atomic Energy Agency says radiation levels in a village 40 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have dropped below its criterion for evacuation. The IAEA announced the result of its analysis on Friday. The village of Iitate, to the northwest of the plant, is outside the 20-kilometer exclusion zone and the 20-to-30-kilometer alert zone where the Japanese government advises voluntary evacuation. The IAEA said the average level of radioactive iodine-131 in Iitate's soil was 7 million becquerels per square meter between March 19th and 29th, based on 15 readings by Japanese authorities. It said this was below its evacuation criterion. On Wednesday, the UN nuclear agency said 20 million becquerels of iodine-131 per square meter were detected in Iitate during a similar period, using data obtained by Japanese authorities. It said this was twice its evacuation level. The IAEA says levels of radioactive substances could change depending on the situation at the Daiichi plant, as well as wind, rain, and other weather conditions. The agency is advising the Japanese government to carefully assess soil data.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 11:03 +0900 (JST)

●Higher radiation levels on SDF helicopters
Higher than normal levels of radiation have been detected on Ground Self-Defense Force helicopters that flew over the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant even after decontamination. GSDF sources say hundreds of microsieverts of radiation per hour were detected at engine inlets and other parts of the helicopters, which monitored radiation levels and took aerial pictures of the plant. The US military has informed the Japanese force that radioactive cesium in particular easily adheres to paint used on helicopters and other vehicles. The GSDF is trying to ensure that all mechanics will wear protective gear during their work. It is also considering the purchase of new equipment to vacuum up radioactive substances.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 09:27 +0900 (JST)

●TEPCO to get a massive floating platform
\Tokyo Electric Power Company is going to get a massive hollow floating platform from Shizuoka City. TEPCO plans to use it to store radioactive water at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The steel mega float is 136 meters long and 46 meters wide. Shizuoka City obtained it after it was used in an on-sea airport experiment off Yokosuka City near Tokyo. In 2003, the city turned the float into a deep-sea fishing park at a cost of about 7.3 million dollars. TEPCO asked the city for the float so it can use it to store radioactive water at the nuclear plant. The float can store up to 18,000 tons of water. Shizuoka City says TEPCO plans to keep the float in a safe place after using half its capacity. Sources say the float will be taken to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after inside dividing walls are removed at a Yokohama shipyard.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

●TEPCO speeds up work to remove radioactive water
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is stepping up work to remove radioactive water that hinders the functioning of the cooling systems. Tokyo Electric Power Company is trying to remove contaminated water from the basements of the turbine buildings of the No.1, 2, and 3 reactors. At all 3 reactors, TEPCO wants to move radioactive water into storage tanks. But first, uncontaminated water in the storage tanks must be transferred. Work at the No. 2 and 3 reactors is expected to begin on Saturday. As for the No. 1 reactor, the uncontaminated water in the storage tank will be completely transferred to another one by Saturday afternoon.

On Friday, workers began a test spraying of synthetic resin in areas around the reactors to contain radioactive materials released by hydrogen blasts. Synthetic resin is expected to harden mud and dust. The same day, 8 monitoring posts to measure radiation levels in the compounds started functioning again for the first time since the quake struck 3 weeks ago. TEPCO says it will restore the automatic data transmission system so that the information can be made public on its website. Also on Friday, docked US military barges began providing freshwater to cool the reactors. But work was suspended temporarily after water leaked from a hose.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

●Restoring stable cooling systems may take time
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is working hard to restore systems that cool reactors in a stable manner by circulating massive volumes of water. Currently, freshwater is being poured directly into the reactors and the pools containing spent nuclear fuel rods, to cool them down. But the plant operator wants to restore the functions of the cooling systems that circulate water inside the reactors and the pools for spent fuel. The freshwater is cooled down by seawater. On Friday, Tokyo Electric Power Company installed temporary pumps at 4 reactors, from No. 1 to No. 4. The pumps will be used to capture seawater to cool down the circulating freshwater. But pipes and pumps used to cool the reactors may have been damaged by the quake, and radiation levels in the reactor buildings remain too high to check their condition.

TEPCO says it may take time to restore the cooling systems, as it has to take emergency measures and wait for radiation levels to go down. It says it will consider developing other cooling methods.
Saturday, April 02, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

●Radioactive water may be kept in mega float
Japan's government is deciding if highly radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant can be temporarily kept in a steel mega float or in US military vessels. Highly radioactive materials have been detected in water at the crippled nuclear plant in northeast Japan. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to use water tanks to store the radioactive water, but the capacity of these tanks is limited. Shizuoka City has offered TEPCO a hollow floating platform made of steel to store the water. The mega float is 136 meters long and 46 meters wide, and is currently used as a deep-sea fishing park. The government is also negotiating with the US military, to see if 2 US barges can be used to temporarily store the radioactive water. The barges were used to transport freshwater that will be used to cool reactors at the nuclear plant. The government also plans to use 2 ships leased from a private firm. It says storage of up to 15,000 tons of contaminated water is possible if these ships are used alongside the mega float. TEPCO and the government are trying to iron out concrete methods of safely transporting and storing radioactive water.Saturday, April 02, 2011 05:33 +0900 (JST)

●TEPCO releases new footage of Number 4 reactor
Tokyo Electric Power Company has released new video footage of the Number 4 reactor building at its damaged Fukushima complex. The utility firm shot the video using a camera installed on the tip of the long arm of a special construction vehicle. Osaka University Professor Akira Yamaguchi, an expert on nuclear reactors, analyzed the video. He says that a green device used to replace nuclear fuel rods stayed in place without falling into a spent-fuel storage pool, in spite of an apparent hydrogen explosion inside the reactor building. He also says that vapor from the storage pool reduces as the special vehicle pours water onto it, which contributes to cooling the water in the pool. Yamaguchi says the top of the reactor building suffered substantial damage, but the structure below the storage pool was hardly affected, as it was more strongly constructed. He stresses the need to restore the power supply as early as possible to restore the pool's cooling function. He says at least 90 tons of water a day need to be pumped in to cool the stored fuel rods. The pool in Number 4 reactor building holds over 1,300 spent rods, more than those kept in other units. He warns that the fuel held there generates just as much heat as is produced by Numbers 2 and 3 reactors.
Yamaguchi says it is essential to keep the temperature low at the storage pool to prevent the fuel rods from being exposed and destroyed.
Friday, April 01, 2011 22:04 +0900 (JST)

●Tremors exceeded design limits for 3 reactors
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station says 3 of the plant's 6 reactors were shaken on March 11th by tremors exceeding forces they were designed to withstand. The Tokyo Electric Power Company, known as TEPCO, says reactor No.2 suffered the largest horizontal ground acceleration of 550 gals, which is 26 percent stronger than the reactor's design limit. TEPCO says the readings were 548 gals at the No.5 reactor, about 21 percent higher than its design limit; and 507 gals at the No.3 reactor, topping the capacity by about 15 percent. The power company says the strength of ground motions were close to or within the design parameters at the remaining 3 reactors, and at all 4 reactors of the nearby Fukushima Daini nuclear plant. The utility says it was planning to reinforce the reactors so they could withstand horizontal shaking of 600 gals, after the government reviewed their quake-resistance standards 5 years ago. But the work was not finished. TEPCO says it will continue analyzing the seismic activity in detail.
Friday, April 01, 2011 19:40 +0900 (JST)

●Battle continues for Fukushima
Urgent work is continuing on several fronts to contain the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Efforts to cool down the reactors continued on Friday. A barge provided by the US Navy is preparing to pump large volumes of fresh water by hose to a water tank near the No.1 reactor. Workers at the plant are replacing seawater with fresh water to cool the reactors and spent-fuel storage pools. The move follows concerns that salt in the seawater could clog up reactor equipment and hamper the flow of coolant water. Near the No.4 reactor, 400 liters of a synthetic resin solution were sprayed in an experiment intended to solidify contaminated dust and prevent radioactive materials from getting airborne. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company is due to test the solution for about 2 weeks to see if it works. Workers also face the challenge of removing and safely storing highly radioactive water found in and around the reactors. On Friday, they emptied the No.2 reactor's condensate storage tank, with the same task at the No.1 reactor due to finish soon after. The emptied tanks will make room for water from the turbine condenser, which in turn will provide storage space for radioactive water flooding the turbine units. Contaminated water has also been found in deep tunnels extending from the turbine units of 3 reactors. To prevent the water from spilling into the ocean, water-level monitors are being installed. The work is due to be completed by Saturday.
Friday, April 01, 2011 19:25 +0900 (JST)

●Program errors force TEPCO to review all data
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will review all data on radiation leaked from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, citing errors in a computer program. The utility says it found errors in the program used to analyze radioactive elements and their levels, after some experts noted that radiation levels of leaked water inside the plant were too high. The company and the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency say previously released data may have shown the levels of tellurium-129 and molybdenum-99 to be higher than they really were. But they say that levels of iodine-131, which has a significant impact on humans and the environment, remain unchanged. Tokyo Electric releases data on radioactivity inside the plant compound and in nearby seawater and soil. The radioactive substances are believed to be coming from damaged nuclear fuel rods. The data is crucial for identifying the source of radioactive leaks and assessing their impact on the environment. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has told the company to find out why the errors occurred and to take steps to prevent a recurrence.
Friday, April 01, 2011 15:39 +0900 (JST)
End

 

[mot]

If anyone has a link to the video footage of the inside of Unit 4, I'd love to see it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12923834

I hope it works from outside the UK.

I found the interview of the maintenance worker who was inside the No5 reactor when the earthquake struck interesting and touching - especially the bit about how he would love to go back and help himself, but, as a boss, he cannot send his employees to the site so dangerously contaminated.

ETA: I found the video on youtube too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j815Ksj-m9o

 

[champs]

The same footage, shown on the NHK news. I don't know if the video is geoblocked or not outside Japan:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20110401/k10015034621000.html


By the way, Doris asked several days ago about any updates on the oil refinery fire in Ichihara city in Chiba Pref., I didn't follow this news at all but I just found an article also from NHK that may be relevant for you:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20110329/t10014966661000.html

Basically it says the fire was completely extinguished on March 21, a total of 6 people injured, the seismometer at the refinery site recorded 114 gal (114 cm/s^2), whereas the seismic criterion set by the company is 150 gal. The police and the fire depts are investigating the cause. Black granular particles ranging from a few milimeters to 1 cm wide that were scattered on the roads and house roofs due to this fire turned out to be glasses that were melt and then solidified and will cause no harmful effect.

 

[dorispulaski]

Champs and mot, Thanks for the extra information. I'm glad to hear no one was killed in the refinery fire. It's amazing that it took ten days for the fire to be extinguished (March 11 to 21st). It must have been hugely hot to melt all that glass, since the melting point of glass is typically 1400 to 1600 degrees C.

Breathing a lot of the smoke from burning oil or wood is not particularly good for people:

http://www.burningissues.org/ala-rant.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9449679

TEPCO has its 5:00 PM Status report on line

Radiation dose at 9:00 PM April 2nd Daiichi:
South side of Main Office Building - 0.83 milliSieverts per hour
Main Gate - 129 microSieverts per hour
West Gate - 60 microSieverts per hour

Gamma Radiation
Daiichi West Gate 9:00 PM April 2nd - 82.5 microSieverts per hour
Daini Measure Point 4, 9:00 PM April 2nd - 4.3 microSieverts per hour

There is more info from TEPCO about finding the cracked maintenance pit with highly contaminated water in it. Again this pit is associated with Unit 2.

Today at around 9:30 am, we detected water containing radiation dose over 1,000 mSv/h in the pit* where supply cables are stored near the intake channel of Unit 2. Furthermore, there was a crack about 20 cm on the concrete lateral of the pit, from where the water in the pit was out flowing. At around 12:20 pm, we reaffirmed the event at the scene. We have implemented sampling of the water in the pit, together with the seawater in front of the bar screen near the pit. These samples were sent to Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station for analysis.

In addition to seawater sampling conducted in the coastal areas of Fukushima Daiichi/Daini Nuclear Power Station (sampling conducted at 4 points), we have initiated additional seawater sampling at 3 points in the areas 15 km offshore from the relevant power stations. Taking into account the result of these monitoring, we are intending to conduct a comprehensive assessment.

Currently, we are preparing to block up the leakage by injecting concrete to the crack. Moreover, we will investigate the influx route of contaminated water in the pit and implement necessary measures to prevent such influx.

*pit: a shaft made of concrete

Here in on Fox News, this find was called a "major setback". Actually, it is a step forward, both for the TEPCO folk and those who care about the ocean around Daiichi. When you know where a contaminant comes from, you are a good way along toward keeping more from escaping.

Here's a drawing of the situation by TEPCO. I don't know whether it is to scale:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11040203-e.html

They have also published their water sampling plan. Points 15 km off Daiichi, Daini, and Iwasawa Beach will be added to the on shore samples they take at North discharge canal, Daiichi, south discharge canal, Daiichi, north canal of Daini, and the Iwasawa shore.

Here's a map of the points with the info.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11040203-e.html

As to their status for 5:00 PM Japanese time for April 2nd.

Today's work for cooling the spent fuel pools
-Water spray by the concrete pump truck to Unit 3 started at 9:53 am and continued until 0:54 pm.

·Draining water from underground floor of turbine buildings-
In regard with transferring water from a condensate storage tank to a suppression pool water surge-tank in unit 1, work began at 0:00 pm March 31st and continued until around 3:30 pm on April 2nd.

They finished offloading fresh water from the first of the US Navy barges.

In addition, we began to replenish the filtrate tanks with water of a barge (the first barge) at around 10:20 am on April 2nd and continued until 4:40 pm, having finished today's work.

 

[Blue Bead]

I found this rather informative video this morning from CNN as I was looking through various sites. Apparently TEPCO is angering lots of Japanese regarding it's handling of the Fukushima situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS8LiEY3Imw There's also a few seconds of close-up footage of reactor damage (taken with a camera mounted on the top of the water-shooting cement crane).

This video may be the one you're seeking, Doris. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq94QegkWC4 This is the one with footage of reactor 4.

 

[dorispulaski]

NEI 12:30 Eastern Daylight Time Update, April 2nd

The Unit Two water intake will be the seawater intake for the seawater cooling that used to be used, back when the Unit was actually working, so this pit is close enough to the ocean to be believable as a source of some of the contamination.

The NRC is moving ahead on spent fuel standards and changes that need to be made, based on the experience at Daiichi, and will have recommendations by July, a good thing.

UPDATE AS OF 12 P.M. EDT, SATURDAY, APRIL 2:
Recovery efforts continue at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, as aid pours in from the international nuclear community in the form of technical expertise, protective equipment for workers, storage tanks for contaminated water and other measures.

Today, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said it has identified one likely source of contaminated water reaching the Pacific Ocean, accounting for some of the radiation readings in seawater samples taken over the past several days. The crack is in a two-meter-deep concrete “pit,” or trench, that contains power cables near the reactor 2 water intake. Water measuring between 10 and 20 centimeters deep was found in the pit with radiation levels of more than 1,000 milliSieverts per hour. TEPCO plans to pour concrete to patch the crack while continuing to search for other potential leak paths.

The Nuclear Industrial and Safety Agency says iodine-131 will be diluted in seawater and does not pose a threat to the public. Additionally, iodine-131 has a short half-life—about eight days—and will decay to harmless levels fairly quickly. (See NEI's fact sheet to learn more about the health impacts of iodine-131.)

The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said TEPCO is obtaining a “massive, hollow floating platform” from Shizuoka City and will use it to store contaminated water from the Fukushima site. The float can store up to 18,000 tons of water. Meanwhile TEPCO and the Japanese government are working to identify safe methods for transporting and storing contaminated water.

NRC Forms Task Force to Review U.S. Safety Measures
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced April 1 that it has formed a task force to identify any potential near-term actions that affect U.S. nuclear power plants, including their used fuel pools. This is part of the NRC’s 90-day review of U.S. safety measures in light of what is known to date about the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The review will encompass station blackout (loss of all offsite electrical power for a reactor), external events that would lead to a prolonged loss of cooling, plant capabilities for preventing or dealing with such circumstances and emergency preparedness. The task force will provide status reports in public meetings May 12 and June 16 and recommendations at a July 19 public meeting.

 

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Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu, who is also the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1997 in Physics, explains what the current "feed and bleed" cooling strategy being used to cool reactors at Daiichi is, and emphasizes that this is nothing like a meltdown, nor is it as dangerous as a meltdown.
April 1, 2011

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politi...w-meltdown-No-says-US-Energy-secretary.-video

NPR interviews one nuclear physicist and one nuclear engineer about their feelings about Daiichi.

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/02/135005136/after-fukushima-the-nuclear-people-emerge?ps=rs

Jasmina Vujic is a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. When she is asked how she feels in the aftermath of the Fukushima event, she replies, "We do not live in a risk-free society, and we do not live in a radiation-free environment."

She points out that hydroelectric dams have been known to fail, and that coal-burning plants emit greenhouse gases and produce the "high radioactivity of mountains of ash."

Countries like China, India, South Korea, France, Russia and many others "have already stated that they will continue with the construction of nuclear power plants," Vujic says. "They realized a long time ago that they do not have other choices."

She adds, "We live in a radioactive world. We are exposed all the time from natural and man-made sources." And she exhorts universities and the media to do a better job of educating people about nuclear power.

 

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IAEA Noon UTC April 2nd update

At some point, after I get the facts together, I need to write something about cesium 137 and health.

One good thing to note is that none of the TEPCO workers has yet received a total dose of more than 250 mSv, which is the limit that is allowed for emergency workers. (I don't think this counts the contracters who stood in the contaminated water without boots; they were not TEPCO employees).

On Saturday, 2 April 2011, the IAEA provided the following information on the current status of nuclear safety in Japan:

1.Current Situation

Overall at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the situation remains very serious.

In preparation for transferring water in the basement of the Unit 1 turbine building to the condenser, water in the condenser storage tank is being transferred to surge tank of the suppression pool since 31 March 03:00 UTC. Water in the trench was transferred to a water tank at the central environmental facility main building. The water level in the trench was reduced by 1 metre to 1.14 metre below the top of the trench on 31 March. On Unit 2 in order to prepare for removal of the water from turbine building basement, pumping of water from the condenser to suppression pool water surge was started 29 March 07:45 UTC and was finished 1 April 02:50 UTC. On Unit 3 in order to prepare for removal of the water from turbine building basement, pumping of water from the condenser to suppression pool water surge was started 28 March 08:40 UTC and completed 30 March 23:37 UTC.

In a press release on the 2nd April NISA reported the following. Water with dose rate of greater than 1000 millisievert/hr was confirmed by TEPCO at around 00:30 UTC on 2nd April in a pit housing cables located next to the Unit 2 sea water inlet point. There exists a crack on the sidewall of the pit, about 20cm in length, and water inside the pit is confirmed to be leaking directly to the sea. The isotopic analysis of water samples from inside the pit, the sea and near the seawater inlet bar screen filter is in process. Currently a plan to patch the pit with concrete is underway to stop the leakage. An investigation on the leakage path to this pit is on-going and measures to stop leakage to the sea will be implemented.

Transfer of fresh water from a US Navy barge to the 'filtered water tank' started on 1 April 06:58 UTC, and was suspended on 1 April 07:25 UTC due to a connection failure. A second US Navy barge left Onahama port and planned to arrive 2 April 00:30 UTC.

On Unit 1 fresh water has been continuously injected into the reactor pressure vessel through the feed-water line at an indicated flow rate of 8 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV has decreased from 256 °C to 249 °C and at the bottom of RPV decreased from 128 °C to 119 °C. There was a corresponding decrease in RPV pressure and Drywell pressure.

Fresh water is injected continuously through fire extinguisher line on Unit 2 at an indicated rate of 9 m3/h using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV has decreased from 165 °C to 161 °C. The temperature at the bottom of RPV was not reported. Indicated Drywell pressure remains at atmospheric pressure.

On Unit 3 Fresh water is being injected continuously at an indicated rate of 7 m3/h into the reactor core through the fire extinguisher line using a temporary electric pump with diesel backup. The indicated temperature at the feed water nozzle of the RPV is about 119 °C and at the bottom of RPV is about 90 °C.

Fresh water (90 T) was pumped into the spent fuel pool in Unit 1 using a concrete pumping truck on 31 March. In Unit 2, injection of water into spent fuel pond using the temporary pump was restarted on 1 April 05:56 UTC. Fresh water (180 T) was pumped into the spent fuel pool on Unit 4 using a concrete pumping truck on 1 April. [*ETA, they are working on Unit 3 today]

Units 5 and 6 remain in cold shutdown with plant systems operating on off-site AC power.

2. Radiation Monitoring

On 1 April, deposition of iodine-131 was detected in 7 prefectures ranging from 7 to 74 becquerel per square metre. Deposition of cesium-137 in 9 prefectures was reported on April 1st ranging from 2.9 to 76 becquerel per square metre. Reported gamma dose rates in the 45 prefectures showed no significant changes compared to yesterday. [ETA, IAEA does a measurement of what's accumulated on the ground, which is why the amount is recorded as "per square meter". In the 2 prefectures where I 131 is no longer detected, but cesium is, it would be due to the fact that the fact that the iodine has decayed, and is no longer seen, due to its short half life. The cesium's 39 year half life means it is still detected.]

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan informed the IAEA that, because of winter conditions, most cattle, pigs and chickens are presently kept indoors. Animals are primarily fed on stored dried grass, silage and grain that has not been contaminated by the releases from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP.

On 31 March, NISA reported that among the workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 21 workers have received doses exceeding 100 mSv. No worker has received a dose above 250 mSv, which is the dose limit for emergency workers.

On the 30 March, 180 000 Bq/l of I-131 and 15 000 Bq/l of Cs -137 were detected in the vicinity of the discharge water outlet of Unit 4.

The data reported for 27th - 30th March indicated that the levels at 30 m from the common discharge point of Units 5 and 6 were relatively constant at 45 000 - 55 000 Bq/l for I-131 and 10 000 - 15 000 Bq/l for Cs-137.

In addition to the 8 sampling points 30 km from the coast two additional monitoring stations were added in the South, 10km and 20 km from shore. The values reported for 28 and 30 March indicate a non-uniform distribution and trend.

 

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Thanks, Blue Bead, for the video link.