Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

May 18th, 9:00 AM JST
Wind in the east
Daiichi
Eight peripheral points ( 6, 26, 18, 16, 21, 43, 131, 133 ) microSieverts per hour
Main Office Building 390 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 16 microSieverts per hour
Cart near West Gate 16.3 microSieverts per hour
Daini
Six peripheral points ( 1.8, 1.5, 1.9, 1.6, 1.7, 1.6 ) microSieverts per hour
Manual point 1.1 microSieverts per hour

Unit 1
- At 11:50 am on May 17, we have decreased the amount of freshwater injected into the reactor from approximately 10 m3/h to approximately 6 m3/h, since we have finished monitoring the trend shift of parameters of the Reactor Pressure Vessel as well as the primary containment vessel, the shift which would be resulted from the increase of the amount of injected freshwater.
Unit 3
- At 10:11 am on May 17, we have increased the amount of water injection through the reactor feed water system from approximately 6 m3/h to approximately 9 m3/h. - The current rate of water injection is approximately 9 m3/h through the fire extinction system piping arrangement and approximately 9 m3/h through the reactor feed water system piping arrangement.

- At 6:04 pm on May 17, we started transfer of high level radioactive waste water from the underground level of the turbine building of Unit 3 to the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

Soil tests from April 28th. As expected, Cesium 137, 134, 136 and Iodine 131 in all samples. Additionally:
Tellurium 129 metastable (half life 34 day) in two samples.
Niobium 95 (half life 35 days) in two samples
Silver 110 metastable in one site.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110517e17.pdf
No plutonium 238 found in 2 samples from April 28th, and a very small amount in the third, similar to the amount found in Japan after the atmospheric bomb tests, and much the same amount as found in the March 21 sample.. The site where the plutonium was found was 500 m to the northwest of the reactors. ("playground").

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110517e16.pdf
Seawater values stabilized still.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110517e19.pdf

Operation for cooling the spent fuel pools - From 4:14 pm to 8:06 pm, on May 17, we sprayed water to Unit 4 by a concrete pumping vehicle (from 4:40 pm to 6:35 pm, injected hydrazine [corrosion inhibitor] at the same time).

TEPCO's tracking of themselves to their Roadmap:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11051703-e.html

 

[dorispulaski]

NHK news of the day

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_01.html

TEPCO has released video

TEPCO releases Fukushima plant videos

Tokyo Electric Power Company has released videos of the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

A clip taken on May 6th shows dents in a tank that supplies water to a reactor suppression pool.
An overturned car is lying near the tank.

Another video shows an oil tank that was swept by tsunami and landed near the plant's headquarters about 500 meters from the Number 1 reactor.

Most of the windows in the building are broken and documents are scattered around an office. The mess is believed to have caused by hydrogen explosions that occurred in the early days of the nuclear crisis.

Other footage shows workers closing a dormitory entrance door to prevent the entry of radioactive substances.

The workers decontaminate their protective gear and line up to carry supplies into the building.

Another video captures a vehicle spraying green agents to prevent the dispersal of radioactive materials.
It also shows workers putting radioactive debris into a container for removal.

Another clip shows hoses being used to inject water into reactors. The orange one is for reactor 1, the yellow one for reactor 2 and the green one for reactor 3.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 01:50 +0900 (JST

Workers enter No.2 reactor building

Workers have entered the No.2 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since an explosion there on March 15th, as part of efforts to bring the reactor under control.

Tokyo Electric Power Company sent 4 workers into the building on Wednesday morning to check radiation levels and other conditions. The workers wore protective suits and carried air tanks on their backs. TEPCO says their exposure to radiation has been kept between 3 and 4 millisieverts each.


TEPCO says data on radiation levels inside the building is necessary to proceed with the revised plan it announced on Tuesday to cool the reactors. The plan calls for decontaminating and circulating water leaked from the containment vessels back into the reactors as a coolant. An unmanned probe of the No. 2 reactor on April 18th was inconclusive because humidity levels of above 90 percent fogged the camera lens and kept the robot from moving forward.

Work is also under way at the No.3 reactor to move highly contaminated water from the turbine building and other areas to a temporary storage facility. The transfer began on Tuesday evening.


TEPCO says about 130 tons of the water is believed to have been pumped out by Wednesday morning. It says the work reduced the water level in the basement of the turbine building to 144 centimeters, down one centimeter from before the transfer.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:31 +0900 (JST)

Japan is definitely planning to clean up affected areas:

Govt's plan to support Fukushima sufferers

The Japanese government has announced its policies for supporting people and businesses affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The government's nuclear disaster taskforce held a meeting attended by all cabinet ministers on Tuesday.

In the meeting, the government admitted that promoting nuclear energy has been a state policy and promised to deal responsibly with all victims of the nuclear accident until the very end of reconstruction.

Under the planned timeline, 15,200 temporary housing units will be secured by mid August for people evacuating areas near the nuclear plant.

Starting in late May, the evacuees will be allowed to retrieve their vehicles from within the 20-kilometer no-entry zone. They will also be allowed to make further temporary visits to their homes later.

The government promised to monitor residents' health even after the nuclear disaster is resolved. It says it also plans to decide, in July, mid-term guidelines for Tokyo Electric Power Company on compensating sufferers.

For small-and medium-sized companies, special zero-interest long-term loans are planned, while soil in the affected areas will be decontaminated and refined.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 12:32 +0900 (JST)

Doctors speak about the disaster, including diseases in the evacuation centers.

Japanese doctors speak in NY about disaster

A group of Japanese doctors is in New York to speak about their work in areas affected by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The aim is to improve understanding about the disaster and convey the need for long-term support.
The event is hosted by doctors from Japan studying in the United States.

More than 100 medical professionals attended the talk on Tuesday. The doctors spoke about their experiences shortly after the quake at shelters in the hardest-hit areas in Miyagi Prefecture.

They described how people in the evacuation centers suffered from stomach and intestinal viruses, and insomnia due to stress.

Most of the evacuation centers were without power and water. The doctors said children who otherwise appeared healthy were showing physical signs of stress that would require long-term psychological treatment.

American doctors reacting to the talk said they would like to travel to Japan to help in the disaster areas.

A Japanese doctor hosting the event, Atsushi Sorita, said it is important to continue to inform the public about the situation and the need for help as news about the disaster recedes from the headlines.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:11 +0900 (JST)

and

US halts 24-hour Fukushima monitoring

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it has halted 24-hour monitoring of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as conditions are slowly stabilizing there.

The commission announced on Monday that it was adjusting its response as Japan continues to implement its shutdown plan. But it said the US team of experts in Japan will remain in place and it will continue to support them and coordinate response efforts with federal and industry partners.

Meanwhile, the State Department is continuing to recommend that US citizens avoid travel within a 50-mile, or 80-kilometer, radius of the Fukushima plant. But it said based on studies, it believes it is safe to use the railway and expressway to transit through the area.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 13:56 +0900 (JST)

and IAEA is sending another investigative team

IAEA to investigate Fukushima nuclear accident

The UN nuclear watchdog will send experts to Japan to investigate the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will dispatch a 20-member team of IAEA officials and experts from the United States, France, Hungary, Indonesia and 6 other countries.

They will visit the Daiichi and Daini plants in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, from May 24th to June 2nd. The Daini plant is now under control.

The experts will investigate the damage caused by the March earthquake and tsunami and the responses taken to deal with the nuclear accident. They will compile their findings in a report.

The report will include the lessons from the nuclear accident and measures to prevent a recurrence.

It will be presented at an IAEA ministerial-level meeting to be held from June 20th.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 06:06 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

Some random news from around the world:

Nuclear Power Gets Green Light

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/...YD20110518?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

(Reuters) - Britain is to push on with its nuclear plant building plans and let existing reactors run as normal, the government said on Wednesday after its nuclear watchdog dismissed fears of a Fukushima-like disaster in the UK.

Britain's position contrasts with Japan, Germany and Italy which are re-thinking their nuclear plans after a huge earthquake and tsunami sparked the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years on March 11.

The report by the chief inspector of nuclear installations Mike Weightman reassured the government that Britain does not face the natural hazards which caused the Fukushima crisis, but told the industry to check its safety procedures against extreme events.

"We want to see new nuclear as part of a low carbon energy mix going forward, provided there is no public subsidy," Energy Minister Chris Huhne said. "The Chief Nuclear Inspector's interim report reassures me that it can."

..

Weightman's report recommended that the UK nuclear industry review whether it needed additional backup power. He supported Areva and Westinghouse's designs for future reactors that are likely to be built in Britain, saying he would be surprised if major design changes were needed

Britain has identified eight sites around England and Wales as possible building sites for new nuclear plants, with the first expected to be built by EDF at Hinkley Point on the coast of southwest England by 2018..

The same article talks about nuclear futures or lack of same in other countries:

Japan's Prime Minister said on Wednesday that Japan needed to rethink fundamentally how nuclear power was regulated but sidestepped the question of how big a role atomic energy would play in the country's future.

Germany moth-balled its oldest reactors immediately after Fukushima, but the country shouldn't altogether exit nuclear energy immediately, its environment minister said on Tuesday. Italy has delayed until 2012 a vote on new build.

As to who Whiteman is, we are going to hear more of him quite soon:

He visits Japan next week to lead a fact-finding mission on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
...

His report on Wednesday said that the Fukushima reactor was not defended against the 15 metre tsunami despite reports of some greater than 20 metres around Japan in the past 150 years.
...
He praised the determination of the operating company TEPCO in dealing with the crisis.

Meanwhile more takes on health effects of radiation. This article reviews some of the many reports that there have been on the subject of childhood leukemia.

http://talknuclear.ca/index.php/201...nts-and-childhood-leukaemiaend-of-the-debate/

Apparently only 3 of 49 nuclear power plants studied show any correlation with childhood leukemia. One of the sites is Sellafield in the UK (more about this place later, when I get a chance to write it up.). This is hardly a strong correlation needless to say.

Another of the sites was one in Germany, which was studied by the KKK Study:

To make the claim, as many in the anti-nuclear community have since done, that the KiKK study shows nuclear power plants are responsible for increased childhood leukaemia rates in their vicinity is simply not supported by the KiKK study itself.

But nonetheless, the findings were interesting enough for the German Commission for Radiation protection to do a systematic assessment of the KiKK study. Some of the findings were nothing short but astonishing. Apparently, it was found

an increased leukaemia risk for children who lived in areas in which nuclear power plants were planned but never built. (p. 29)

Even more surprisingly,

the risk was similar to that found in the vicinity of existing nuclear power plants. (p. 29)

Since nuclear power plants that have not yet been built can hardly pose a radiation risk to the public, the authors conclude that, maybe,

nuclear power plants may tend to be built in areas which, for reasons that have not yet been understood, have a higher risk of childhood leukaemia. (p. 29)

Why sites that would be good locations for nuclear power plants tend to be associated with higher rates of childhood leukemia will probably remain a scientific puzzle for years to come. One thing, however, seems to be clear: it’s not the nuclear power plants.

And some reviews of the recently released material by TEPCO are showing up. Here's one with some food for thought and good drawings and pictures.

http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/05/18/fukushima-open-thread-6/

A good layout of the Unit 1 situation from a nuclear engineering perspective.

And two more installments of Toshiro Kitamura's diary:

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1305704290P.pdf

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1305704319P.pdf

 

[Olympia]

I'm especially interested in the medical conference that was held here, and in the possibility of American doctors (and presumably others from elsewhere) who might go to Japan to help out. I think just the fact of a doctor showing up and paying attention to people might help their outlook, because I'm sure that some of the psychological damage is coming from just feeling erased from daily life.

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes, that really interested me too. It's clear from Kitamura's diaries that the young children, especially need some counselling to help them make sense of the situation, and in fact, definitely he feels that therapists would be a help.

 

[dorispulaski]

Wind in the east
May 19th 2:00 PM JST
Daiichi
Eight peripheral points (6, 26, 18, 16, 21, 43, 131, 132 ) microSieverts per hour
Near Main Office Building 382 microSieverts per hour
Main Gate 43 microSieverts per hour (back on line again)
West Gate 15 microSieverts per hour
Cart near West Gate 16.3 microSieverts per hour
Daini, May 19th, 2:00 PM JST
Six peripheral points ( 1.8, 1.5, 1.9, 1.6, 1.7, 1.6 ) microSieverts per hour
Manual point 9:00 AM JST to the south of Daini 1.1 microSieverts per hour

- From 10:30 am to 12:30 pm on May 18th, accumulated water (approximately 10.5 m3) on the basement of Unit 6 reactor building was transferred to Unit 6 waste treatment building.
- On May 18th, we sprayed dust inhibitor to areas (approximately 8,750 m2) including nearby partner companies' yard using the conventional method.

From JAIF:

Construction work for intalling a heatexchager to cool the SFP began at Unit 2.(5/17- )

Since there is a roof left at unit 2, TEPCO thinks some of the steam/high humidity in unit 2 is due to the spent fuel pool being hotter than it should be.
JAIF also reports that the temperature at Reactor 3, now that they have upped the water flow going in, is back down to 113.4 C.

No radioactive cesium or iodine was found in the water sampled from five sites at 3 km off Ibaraki prefecture.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/19_24.html

TEPCO has released 17 photos of the tsunami hitting the plant. Particularly odd is the way a large fuel tank has been twisted into a screw shape.

Yesterday, workers entered Unit 2 for the first time since the explosions, and today workers entered the unit 3 reactor. Radiation at Unit 3 is significantly higher than Unit 2.:

Workers enter No.3 reactor
Workers have entered the Number 3 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the first time since a hydrogen explosion 3 days after the March 11th quake and tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Company says 2 workers in protective suits and carrying air tanks went inside for about 10 minutes from 4:30 PM Wednesday to check radiation levels. TEPCO says the workers measured radiation of 160 to 170 millisieverts per hour around the door of the containment vessel.

The utility says it would be difficult to start work on injecting nitrogen gas needed to prevent a hydrogen blast into the containment vessel under such high radiation levels.

The utility said the 2 workers were exposed to radiation of 2 to 3 millisieverts.

TEPCO has now been able to send workers into all 3 reactors that were operating at the time of the quake and tsunami. Workers entered the Number 1 reactor building on May 5th and the Number 2 reactor on Wednesday morning. TEPCO is rushing to make the reactor buildings safe enough for workers to go inside and proceed with the plans outlined in its roadmap to stabilize the reactors.

This includes installing new cooling systems to circulate water leaked from containment vessels back into the reactors and the nitrogen injections.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 12:47 +0900 (JST)

Meanwhile

New cooling systems to be installed at fuel pools
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant is likely to start operating a new system within 2 weeks to cool spent fuel in reactor Number 2.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it is preparing to install cooling systems in 4 of the 6 reactor buildings, 3 months earlier than initially planned.

TEPCO says it is laying power cables for a cooling system for Number 2 reactor's spent fuel pool. A heat exchanger will be brought into the facility early next week to start operating the cooling system by the end of this month. Workers entered the Number 2 reactor building on Wednesday for the first time since a hydrogen explosion on March 15th. They tried to check radiation levels but left the building after 14 minutes because it was filled with steam, making further work impossible.

The utility says the vapor appears to be coming from the damaged suppression chamber as well as from the fuel pool itself.

Senior TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto says he believes cooling the spent fuel pool will help reduce steam inside the reactor.TEPCO reports more than 90 percent humidity inside the Number 2 reactor building. Matsumoto says the building's roof is intact, making it more prone to filling with steam. Number 1 and 3 reactor buildings are exposed to the air because hydrogen explosions blew off their roofs and walls.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 02:57 +0900 (JST)

and there is another entry for the special trucks & robots of Fukushima calendar, a forklift:

As to the condition of Unit 2, itself, there is more info today:

Workers find pools of water at No.2
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says radiation levels inside the Number 2 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi plant appear to be much lower than in the Number 1 building.

TEPCO says if high humidity inside the Number 2 building can be reduced, the relatively low level of radiation will make it easier to work in than Number 1. Four workers entered the Number 2 building on Wednesday through a double door on the south side --the first entry by humans since an explosion in mid-March.

The utility says the workers measured levels of radiation in the air as they walked around the containment vessel, and came up with readings ranging from 50 millisieverts per hour to less than 10. The workers found three pools of water on the floor, and saw water dropping down from above in some places.

The presence of so much water is apparently due to the condensation of steam rising from the spent fuel storage pool on the upper floor.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 19:24 +0900 (JST)

A special new forklift for Fukushima
A Japanese firm has shown media a newly developed special forklift with a radiation-proof cabin. The large forklift is expected to help dispose of radioactive debris and rubble from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The forklift is developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and measures seven meters long, weighs 30 tons and has a load capacity of up to nine tons.

The cabin is fully sealed by 10-centimeter-thick steel plates and more than 20 centimeter-thick lead-glass.
The cabin also has a special filter that shuts out contaminated dust.

Two of the special forklifts will be sent to the Fukushima plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the plant, has so far been using remote-controlled machines to remove rubble. But an operator in the radiation-proofed cabin can drive the new forklifts, closely monitoring the plant compound and this can speed up the work to dispose of the debris.

An official from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Yasufumi Ohsaki, says that the machine was developed within one month after the nuclear disaster in order to cope with the severe working conditions there. He hopes it will hasten the reconstruction of the devastated areas.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 16:34 +0900 (JST)

And on the international front, everyone seems to agree that unanimity is needed in nuclear regulations:

French ambassador speaks on G8 and nuclear safety
The French Ambassador to Japan expects the Group of Eight leaders to call for creating global nuclear safety standards at the end of their coming summit in France.
[/b]
and in Asia, another meeting on the same subject is scheduled:

●3-nation summit to call for nuclear cooperation
The leaders of Japan, China and South Korea will meet in Tokyo this weekend
and they are expected to call for cooperation

And this is good news, depending on how you look at it. And perhaps, when it comes to having to build structures to house people, they will send home those that don't need to be incarcerated any longer, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Govt aims to resettle evacuees by August
The Japanese government plans to finish removing debris near residential zones in the tsunami-devastated areas by the end of August.

It will also speed up the construction of temporary housing and attempt to close most evacuation shelters by mid-August.

Breached embankments along rivers will be reinforced by July.

These measures are among the government's short-term polices to offer relief and reconstruction support to regions hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The plan will be finalized at a meeting of the government disaster task force on Friday.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 12:00 +0900 (JST)

I've been wondering what the shelters would be like with inadequate air conditioning in the summer. And I worry about the problem of further contagious diseases spreading in the shelters in summer. I hope they will be closed before August.
and it always comes down to who's going to pay the bill, doesn't it?

Power companies ask why they must share damages
Japanese power companies want to know why they are being asked to help the operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant to pay damages to those affected by the disaster. The government decided on a framework last week to help Tokyo Electric Power Company to pay damages.

The plan asks other utilities operating nuclear power plants to contribute funds for compensation.The Federation of Electric Power Companies submitted a petition to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency on Wednesday. The companies want an explanation why they are being asked to share damages payments. They also want details about the size of compensation as they say the plan might force them to pass on costs to consumers through higher power bills.

They say the government should be held responsible for compensation payments as it has long promoted nuclear power generation as one of energy sources for Japan.

The federation says the utilities may face legal action by shareholders due to lack of accountability if they make financial contributions without clarifying the reasons.
Thursday, May 19, 2011 08:35 +0900 (JST)

 

[Olympia]

Do you think the forklift can get an honorary photo in our Robo-Calendar? Seriously, that vehicle sounds like a really ingenious invention. Manned is always better than unmanned. I'll be interested to see how effective it is.

Hopeful news about the timetable for repatriating the residents of the area. I love the way you use the term incarcerated for the current situation of these poor souls. May this part of their ordeal end as soon as possible!

You know, the principal image of Hell is of fire. Maybe there are long stretches of Hell that are instead cold--and always damp.

 

[dorispulaski]

It can be January--to show all robots start out in concept as human driven machines:

And perhaps this is a sign of good things in international relations:

S.Korea raises $9 mil. for disaster-hit Japan

A South Korean welfare organization has raised about 9 million dollars in donations for survivors of the March 11th disaster.

The chairman of the Community Chest of Korea, Lee Dong Kurn, visited Community Chest Japan in Tokyo on Thursday to deliver about 3 million dollars from the donations.

The total donation is the largest the South Korean organization has raised for survivors of a disaster overseas.

Lee said many South Koreans have extended their sympathy as donations to help their neighboring country. He added South Korea wants to share the sufferings of Japanese people. The Central Community Chest of Japan says it has received donations from about 10 foreign countries and regions, including about 2 million dollars from Taiwan.

Thursday, May 19, 2011 20:58 +0900 (JST)

And this is a sign of how stupid it is to keep people from south of Daini in shelters:

Radiation limits activities in school fields

More than 90 percent of elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima City disallow or limit outdoor activities for students in their athletic fields due to radiation-contaminated topsoil.

In Fukushima Prefecture at the grounds of some elementary and junior high schools in April radiation levels exceeded the government limit of 3.8 microsieverts per hour.
The level dropped to below the limit at all of the schools last week.

But NHK research has found that 69 out of 72 public elementary and junior high schools in the area were disallowing or limiting outdoor activities in the athletic fields as of Thursday.

The schools say that they cannot judge whether radiation levels are safe enough even though they have dropped. They also refer to the request by parents that students not be allowed to play outside.

These schools let students use gyms or play cards during the breaks.

Fukushima City is planning to start removing the contaminated topsoil at some schools as early as this month. But schools are still worried about radiation as the troubled nuclear plant remains unstable.

Friday, May 20, 2011 02:27 +0900 (JST)

The whole of Daini Nuclear Power Plant is less than 2.0 microSieverts per hour. Everywhere south of it is less than that.

Even back on April 29, almost everywhere south of 10 km out from the plant was less than that.
(the bottom value for yellow is 3.8 microSieverts per hour.)
http://i.imgur.com/lctIy.jpg

Life is crazy.

On the other hand, this is quite good news:

Experiments to decontaminate soil to start

The Japanese government will start experiments aimed at cleaning up soil contaminated by radiation in areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant so that farming can hopefully resume there.

The government has banned rice growing within a 30 kilometers radius of the plant and in some areas where a high level of radioactive cesium was detected in the soil.

Rice is the main crop for farmers in the areas.

Seeking to restart the farming, the agriculture ministry plans to test ways to reduce the radiation levels in the soil in Iitate Village in the evacuation zone, starting from June.

One idea is to swamp the paddies with water, stir up, and then wash away the radioactive substances.

Another idea is to set up at a drainage canal and equip it with a mineral called zeolite which absorbs radioactive materials.

The ministry will also test the effectiveness of sun flower and rape, two plants that draw radioactive substances to their stems.

It hopes to decontaminate the soil by adopting the measures that prove effective after about 3 months of testing.

Friday, May 20, 2011 02:27 +0900 (JST)

 

[mot]

May your friend Jimmy remain relentlessly logical and scientific as ever for the sake of the people in Buchanan, and may your third cousin Phil remain relentlessly crazy for the sake of the people in Groton! It is so important to have people like them, whose interest goes beyond their own front gate and extend to the safety and well being of the community they belong, and are not shy to voice their opinions, loud enough to make things better for all. Total admiration from me.

A Japanese doctor hosting the event, Atsushi Sorita, said it is important to continue to inform the public about the situation and the need for help as news about the disaster recedes from the headlines.

This is exactly what you are doing, Doris!

A very touching news about South Korea and the record-breaking amount of donations raised. The sentiments towards South Korea, of some Japanese people, have sometimes been not totally positive, due to a number of sad incidents and disagreements over the territories and their (perfectly legitimate, to me anyway) demand for an apology and compensation for the wrong doing of Japanese during the last world war and even before. I do hope the news like that will contribute towards improved relationship. Just like the way, some Japanese are openly expressing their gratitude to Russia (who's also had a number of disagreements with Japan over various things) after the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Figure Skating Championships they put together. There is something wonderful, something to cherish, can come out of the saddest incidents.

My thoughts are with those still at the evacuation centres too... I know from the experience of Kobe, it will take a long time to heal the wounds, especially psychological ones, left by the disasters and the aftermath. But it will heal eventually, I believe. My dad, who is a practising architect in Osaka, told me the construction cost has sky rocketed, due to the shortage of both materials and labour. It is bad for those in other areas who are planning to build or do up their homes, but at least that's the sign of the reconstruction of the afflicted areas being under way.

 

[mot]

TBTH, I am kinda two-minded about this article, since reading Doris’s opinion about seeming over-reaction to the effect of radiation on on-site workers, and also it can be read as a story of would-be-have-a-go heroes. Noenetheless, I found it interesting and quite touching.

http://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2011051900960

Retirees Seek Mission to Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Tokyo, May 19 (Jiji Press)--A 72-year-old former engineer is trying to form an action team consisting only of retired professionals to engage in operations to contain the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant in northeastern Japan.
"Retirees, that is us, have to do this," says Yasuteru Yamada, a former Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. plant engineer who has proposed founding the team.
Yamada, a graduate of the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Engineering, says that with his knowledge of nuclear power, he immediately knew the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. nuclear plant caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami will develop into a serious situation.
"Even if we are able to remotely control robots, important work that can be done only with human's eyes and hands will always remain," Yamada says.
"Young people who work at places with high radiation levels may be unable to have children in the future," he notes.

As you need to subscribe to finish reading the rest of the article, I cheat and translate the rest from Japanese version, which is available unsbscribed (sorry Jiji!)

(my translation below)

(quote of his words continues) We old retirees will be less likely to have long-lasting affect of the radiation and we have technical knowledge, so we thought we're the best candidates."

Yamada has sent out over 500 emails and 2000 letters to his friends and former colleagues since the beginning of April. He set up a website to recruit those over 60 years old, who have an experience of and can still work physically on site.

Those applied include an honorary professor at Tokyo University, a former soldier of Japan’s Self Defence Force, a crane operator, a former welder, a construction worker. Ms Kazuko Sasaki, who is an interpreter, said she had heard of Yamada’s plan when she herself had been wondering what she could do to help. She was rejected at first, but believes there is something women can contribute too.

Yamada feels it was insufficient that TEPCO is at the front line of decision-making on how to deal with the situation, and then have to rely on their supporting firms and sub contractors for on site operations. He is planning to appeal to MPs to make the operation to stabilise the nuclear plant a national project led by the government.

If the government and TEPCO approve of his action team’s plan of action, they want to start training for the on-site work wearing the protective clothing.

 

[dorispulaski]

mot, Thanks so much for the translation.

There are things that workers are unable to do because radiation levels are really high in the reactors, especially units 1 & 3. However, they are high enough that these retirees (and they are clearly very brave people) probably shouldn't be doing them either for long periods of time.

The one particularly thing mentioned was doing nitrogen injection in (I think?) unit 3. However, I am not all sure that at this point that nitrogen injection in any of these units, now more than 2 months since the initial earthquake and explosions, is buying much, and may create its own hazards.

Here is how hydrogen happens:
Oxidation of zirconium with steam gives you hydrogen. It happens in a dangerous amount when the fuel rods' temperature exceeds the operating range of the reactor.
http://www.euronuclear.org/e-news/e-news-26/HP-BWR.htm

For a BWR, the maximum allowable temperature at the center of a fuel rod is 2500 °C in an emergency and 1850 °C during normal operation (see referemce [5]).

Right now, thermography has not shown anything like those kind of temperatures in any of the reactors. Now granted, you're getting the overall average of a slice through the reactor (using infared cameras). I presume that the fear is that there are localized hot spots, generating hydrogen.

However, in reactors 2 & 3, you are dealing with reactors that can't hold pressure above atmospheric. In other words, there are definitely piping leaks, in the case of Unit 2, a leak in the pressure suppression torus. Adding nitrogen will probably have the unintended effect of pushing vaporized radioactive stuff out through the leak holes, I would guess, into wherever the leak leads-in the case of gaseous stuff, the outside world? Now I'm not a nuclear engineer, but it looks to me like another case of trying to be ultra safe and causing trouble where there is likely none.

In fact, this attitude is what caused Chernobyl, an ill advised safety experiment.

Wind swapped from East to NW at 2:00 pm
May 20th, 2:00 PM JST
Daini
Six peripheral points ( 1.8, 1.5, 1.9, 1.7, 1.6, 1.6 ) microSieverts per hour
Manual point 9:00 AM 1.1 microSieverts per hour
Daiichi
Eight peripheral points ( 6, 26, 18, 16, 21, 43, 131, 110* ) microSieverts per hour
* looks like they cleared away some severely radioactive junk at this spot. It just decreased 23 microSieverts in the past 12 hours.
TEPCO's contamination report says: " 10:30 AM to 1:35 PM Decontamination of the Detector at Measure Point 8 and other works"
Main office building 377** microSieverts per hour
** this number oscillates up and down perhaps +/- 5 microSieverts, depending on where the wind is blowing from, and thus attests to the fact that there is a significant amount of radioactive dirt particles at Daiichi in the area of the reactor buildings and office buildings.
Main Gate 42 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 15 microSieverts per hour
Cart near West Gate 16.3 microSieverts per hour 9:00 AM
Cart moved to near Measure Point 8, where changes are going on. at 10:00 AM (now reading 110.7 microSieverts per hour at 2:00 PM)
For those interested in the particular temperatures, pressures and heights of water below the fuel rods, there are now on this page, about half way down:
Both graphic and .csv files are available.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/index-e.html
There is a new site survey map up:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/f1-sv-20110519-e.pdf

- At 4:30 PM on May 19th, we started the water spray to the spent fuel pool of Unit 4 by the concrete punpimng vehicle and finished at 7:30 PM on the same day.
- On May 19th, we sprayed dust inhibitor to areas (about 8,750 m2) including nearby partner companies' yard using the conventional method.

Kitamura Installment
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1305879130P.pdf

A closest example of our environment may be a gorilla in a zoo cage, which was brought there far from Africa

NHK articles

No.1 reactor has 4.2 meters of contaminated water
..

Two workers who went into the building on Friday morning stayed there for about one hour, and confirmed that water in the basement was roughly 4.2 meters deep. That's slightly more than a week ago, when TEPCO first confirmed the existence of water there.

4 other workers later took over and spent about 90 minutes on the ground floor using a gamma camera to measure the spread and densities of radiation. TEPCO plans to use the findings to decide how to install the cooling system and set procedures for workers to follow.
Friday, May 20, 2011 19:46 +0900 (JST)

and in what is perhaps the locking the barn door after the horse is stolen department, particularly in the case of Reactor 2.

TEPCO studying ways to start nitrogen injection

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is studying ways to start nitrogen gas injection into 2 reactors to prevent hydrogen blasts. Hydrogen explosions occurred at the plant's reactors in March following the earthquake and tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to inject nitrogen gas into reactors No.2 and 3 to prevent further hydrogen explosions.

Nitrogen injection is already underway in the No.1 reactor.

...

In the No.3 reactor, high radiation levels of 160 to 170 millisieverts per hour were detected near the door of the containment vessel, where the company intended to inject the nitrogen gas.

...
For the No.3 reactor, the firm is considering injecting nitrogen gas from a different part of the reactor where radiation levels are lower or setting up lead sheets to block radiation.
Friday, May 20, 2011 13:38 +0900 (JST)

And in the punishment category:

TEPCO president to step down in June
The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Masataka Shimizu, will step down to take the blame for the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

TEPCO's executive board decided on Friday that Shimizu should resign in June when the company holds its shareholders' meeting.

As the utility's president, Shimizu is being held responsible for the enormous damage caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, including the forced evacuation of many residents.

It is hard to be taking responsibility for an earthquake and tsunami, both of which were underestimated by the original builders of the plant 40 years ago, but someone must be seen to take the blame. However, it is reminiscent of Admiral Kimmel taking the blame for Pearl Harbor. The admiral moved to a nice, rather small house on the golf course here in Groton after his disgrace, and lived a very, quiet life there. He had, apparently, had enough of publicity. Perhaps it will be the same for Masataka Shimizu. I hope his family investments were in things other than TEPCO stock.

This is a good idea, if only to avert fears and panics.

Health office to monitor nuclear plant workers

Japan's health ministry has set up a special office to monitor the health of workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. After the accident at the Fukushima plant in March, the ministry raised the state limit for radiation exposure for workers at the plant to 250 millisieverts -- 2.5 times the previous limit.

About 30 workers have already been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts as the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, struggles to contain the disaster. The new office will compile data on radiation exposure for workers for long-term monitoring purposes, and inspect daily work schedules in advance.

Health Minister Ritsuo Hosokawa told reporters on Friday that the workers and their families must be concerned about radiation exposure, and that the office will closely monitor their conditions.
Friday, May 20, 2011 14:04 +0900 (JST)

And on the keeping on keeping on front:

Miyagi strives to save rice farming
Efforts to resume rice planting have begun in parts of Miyagi Prefecture that were ravaged by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. In Minami Sanriku Town, farmer Toshimasa Goto saw half his paddies flooded in the disaster.The tsunami also destroyed his barn and left farming equipment unusable. The 62-year-old farmer decided to plant rice on about 2,000 square meters of land that escaped the deluge. On Friday, Goto and his wife sowed seedlings one by one and operated a planting combine in areas wide enough for machinery. Goto said he had almost given up on rice farming this year, but now hopes his family can finally move forward as the rice begins to grow.

An operation to flood rice paddies with fresh water has begun on the plains around Sendai City, which were swamped by the tsunami. Workers on Friday were checking how much salt has been removed.Miyagi Prefecture was one of Japan's leading rice producers before the March disaster.
Friday, May 20, 2011 18:01 +0900 (JST)

Quake research goes on, with interesting results.

March quake mechanismA Japanese scientist says the March 11th earthquake and tsunami were caused by distinctive movements of nearby tectonic plates. Associate Professor Satoshi Ide of the University of Tokyo's Graduate School analyzed data from seismometers around the world. He studied the movements of the descending Pacific plate, or the ocean plate, and the overlying North American plate carrying eastern Japan, at the time of the quake. Ide found the quake began with the North American plate sliding relatively slowly along its boundary with the Pacific plate, off the coast of Japan at a depth of about 20 kilometers. The sliding movement spread in the direction of the coast for about 40 seconds, sending strong tremors across northeastern Japan. Then, about one minute after the quake began, the displacement accelerated near the Japan Trench, causing the North American plate to slip as far as 30 meters. Ide says this resulted in lifting vast amounts of seawater, triggering the massive tsunami. About 90 seconds after the start of the quake, the plate slid again deep beneath the seabed near the coast, triggering another wave of strong jolts.

Ide says the findings show that the movement of the North American plate was greater than the stress accumulated around its boundary with the Pacific plate. He says he will next explore whether similar events could happen in other areas.
Friday, May 20, 2011 12:15 +0900 (JST)

and in the cast thy bread upon the waters and it will return to thee department. It is good to see this kind of gratitude in the world.

Afghan ambassador visits Fukushima evacuees
The Afghan ambassador to Japan has visited evacuees from the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Ambassador Mohammad Amin Fatimie on Friday visited a housing complex in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, where 3 families are sheltering. Fatimie told a married couple that Afghanistan is willing to help the Japanese people, who he described as true friends of Afghanistan.

He gave the couple a lighting fixture and a gas stove, which were bought with money donated by Afghan residents of Japan.

The couple said they are grateful for the gift because they had to evacuate without taking anything.

Fatimie met Ibaraki Governor Masaru Hashimoto later in the day.

Observing that Japan has long supported developing countries, the ambassador said he is convinced the country can overcome its hardships.

He also donated daily necessities worth about 18,000 dollars to the evacuees.
Friday, May 20, 2011 18:38 +0900 (JST)

And in the hopeful future department:

New Japan ambassador to Russia seeks stronger ties
Japan's newly appointed ambassador to Russia says promoting bilateral ties is the only way to resolve the two countries' territorial dispute over 4 Russian-held islands off northern Japan. Chikahito Harada on Thursday held his first news conference as ambassador since assuming the post in Moscow this month.Harada stressed the Japanese government's stance of sticking to a basic policy of signing a peace treaty with Russia after clarifying which country owns the islands.

He also protested a visit to 2 of the islands last Sunday by a group of Russian ministers led by Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.

Harada called the visit regrettable at a time when Japanese people's sentiments toward Russia were improving due to the country's quake relief support.Harada is well-versed in Russian affairs, having served as director of the Foreign Ministry's Russian Division and head of the ministry's European Affairs Bureau.

Japan's government hopes Harada can help repair bilateral relations that have soured since November, when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited one of the disputed islands.
Friday, May 20, 2011 16:04 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

It's Friday, and time for the NEI weekly update:

UPDATE AS OF 1:30 P.M. EDT, FRIDAY, MAY 20:
Below is a round-up of noteworthy news that happened this week with regard to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the U.S. nuclear industry's response.


Plant Status

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) workers entered reactor buildings 2 and 3 Wednesday for the first time since explosions at the facility. Radiation levels in building 2 peaked at 5 rem per hour. Facing high heat and humidity, the workers remained in the building for only 15 minutes. In reactor 3, radiation peaked at 17 rem per hour near a pipe connected to the reactor. TEPCO employees first entered the reactor 1 building on May 5.

TEPCO is looking at how to begin nitrogen injection into reactors 2 and 3 to further stabilize them. The company has been injecting nitrogen into reactor 1 for several weeks. High humidity in building 2 is hampering operations. In building 3, high radiation levels must be reduced before workers can begin efforts to inject hydrogen. TEPCO announced plans to install new cooling systems for fuel pools in four of the six reactors at the site. It is believed the new systems will reduce the high humidity in the reactor buildings.

TEPCO provided a new timeline for recovery of the damaged reactors, recognizing challenges the company has encountered are slowing progress on certain activities. The company reaffirmed that the target timeframe for stabilizing the plant-between October and January-remains unchanged.

Radiation levels in the ocean near the Fukushima Daiichi facility increased again on Thursday, but overall radiation is decreasing in seawater and other areas around the facility.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has created two radiation-proof forklifts to assist TEPCO workers in removing debris from the Fukushima Daiichi site. TEPCO has been using robotic and remote-controlled equipment for clean-up activities. The forklifts, with cabins sealed by 10 centimeter-thick steel plates and more than 20 centimeter-thick lead-glass, have filters that keep out radioactive dust.

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues

Industry consultant Lake Barrett told the House Science, Space and Technology Committee on May 13 that the tsunami, not the earthquake, caused most of the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
A blue ribbon commission studying U.S. used fuel policies heard briefings May 13 on the Fukushima Daiichi accident from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Energy Department. The NRC representative summarized agency activities since the earthquake and tsunami damaged the facility. The DOE spokesman also discussed his agency's activities, including a workshop scheduled for June 6-7 that will bring the nuclear energy community together to discuss lessons learned from the Japan event and potential actions that could further enhance nuclear safety.

Media Highlights

TEPCO had a net loss of $15.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended March 31, and the company's president has announced his resignation, CNN reports.

Japan will continue to use nuclear power plants "that are deemed safe," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in a Reuters report, but "we need to fully consider what needs to be done to enhance the safety of nuclear power."

TEPCO said the earthquake that struck Fukushima Daiichi March 11 exceeded design specifications at three of the site's six reactors, Reuters reported. "This was clearly a larger earthquake than we had forecast," said Junichi Matsumoto, a TEPCO spokesman. "It would have been hard to anticipate this."

Operators of nuclear energy facilities have fixed or scheduled for correction all the issues NRC inspections found in post-Fukushima inspections, The New York Times reports.

Five tons of seawater may have flooded a reactor at the Hamaoka nuclear energy site, Japan Today reports. The site closed last week at the request of Japan's prime minister for fears of a possible earthquake.

Japan's utilities could have trouble meeting summer electricity demand, unless nuclear reactors-including those unaffected by the earthquake and tsunami but were shut down for maintenance at the time-are restarted, Reuters reports.

The Week Ahead

The Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences will discuss the aftermath of Fukushima, beginning at 12:30 p.m. EDT May 26 at the Keck Center, 500 5th St., NW, Washington, D.C.

The NRC's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards will review events at Fukushima, beginning at 1 p.m. EDT May 26 at NRC headquarters, Room T-2B1, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland.

 

[dorispulaski]

And the latest TEPCO stuff

-At 3:06 PM on May 20th, we started water spray to the spent fuel pool of Unit 1 by the concrete pumping vehicle.
-On May 20th, our staffs went into the reactor building of Unit 1 to measure the water level and radiation level by Γ camera.
-From 2:15 pm, May 20th, we changed the amount of water injected to the reactor pressure vessel of Unit 3 by the feed water system from 9m3/h to 12m3/h.
-May 20th, we implemented improvement of environment for a part of 8 monitoring posts (No.8) installed at the boundary of station site, by decontamination of detector and installation of cover under the detector.
-May 20th, we have conducted a spray of dust inhibitor around Noninflammables Treatment Facility, etc. by the conventional method.

Japan Chemical Analysis Center found no plutonium in the air at the West Gate.

JCAC results and JAEA results do not match that closely on any of the analysis being done of soil.

 

[dorispulaski]

The IAEA has their weekly status up:

1. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Status

Tables 1 - 4 track progress made for each of Units 1 - 4 towards fulfilling the three basic safety functions of the IAEA safety standards: prevention of criticality, removal of decay heat and mitigation of radioactive releases. The tables replace the three-colour table that was used previously. The charts are cross-referenced to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) "Roadmap" plan to bring the nuclear reactors and the spent fuel pools at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to a stable cooling condition and to mitigate radioactive releases.

On 17 May 2011, TEPCO provided a status report against the TEPCO "Roadmap". Progress has been made during the last month since the issuing of the Roadmap on 17 April 2011. While the basic policy and targets defined in the Roadmap remain, several changes were made to account for new information obtained and progress made to date.

On 13 May TEPCO commenced the preparatory work for the installation of a cover for the reactor building of Unit 1. The reactor building cover will be installed as an emergency measure to prevent the dispersion of radioactive substances until mid- to long term measures, including radiation shielding, are implemented.

TEPCO has reported that information obtained after calibration of the reactor water level gauges of Unit 1 shows that the actual water level in the Unit 1 reactor pressure vessel was lower than was indicated, showing that the fuel was completely uncovered. The results of provisional analysis show that fuel pellets melted and fell to the bottom of reactor pressure vessel at a relatively early stage in the accident.

TEPCO reported that "most part of the fuel is considered to be submerged in the bottom of reactor pressure vessel and some part exposed." TEPCO also reported that leakage of cooling water from the reactor pressure vessel is likely to have occurred. However, TEPCO considers that the actual damage to the reactor pressure vessel is limited, on the basis of the temperatures now being measured around the reactor pressure vessel.

With regard to the status of the reactor core of Unit 1, TEPCO believes that because the fuel has been being cooled continuously by means of water injection, it is unlikely that the situation could result in a future release of large amounts of radioactive material.

The results of the analysis are provisional; TEPCO will continue to conduct investigations. Similar analyses will be conducted for Units 2 and 3.

Nitrogen gas is still being injected into the containment vessel in Unit 1 to reduce the possibility of hydrogen combustion inside the containment vessel.

In Units 1, 2 and 3 fresh water is being continuously injected into the reactor pressure vessel; temperatures and pressures remain stable.

To protect against potential damage as a result of future earthquakes, TEPCO started work on 9 May to install a supporting structure for the floor of the spent fuel pool of Unit 4.

Fresh water is being injected as necessary into the spent fuel pools of Units 1 - 4.

Stagnant water with high levels of radioactivity in the basement of the turbine buildings of Units 1, 2 and 3 is being transferred to the condensers, the radioactive waste treatment facility, the high-temperature incinerator building and temporary storage tanks. Stagnant water in the basement of the turbine building of Unit 6 is being transferred to a temporary tank. Countermeasures against the outflow of water to the sea and to prevent and minimize the dispersion of radionuclides in water have been put in place.

Full-scale spraying of anti-scattering agent is continuing at the site with the use of both conventional and remote controlled equipment.

2. Radiation Monitoring

Deposition in 47 Prefectures

The daily monitoring of the deposition of caesium and iodine radionuclides for 47 prefectures is continuing. Since 12 May negligible deposition has occurred. I-131 was reported in only one prefecture and Cs-137 was reported in three prefectures, with a value of 4.8 Bq/m2 for I-131 and a range of from 4.7 to 10 Bq/m2 for Cs-137.

Gamma Dose Rates in 47 Prefectures

Gamma dose rates are measured daily in all 47 prefectures. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan reports values on the basis of data collected from each prefecture. On 18 May the value of gamma dose rate reported for Fukushima prefecture was 1.6 µSv/h. In all other prefectures, reported gamma dose rates were below 0.1 µSv/h, with a general decreasing trend.

Gamma Dose Rates in Areas More Than 30 km from Fukushima Daiichi Plant

Gamma dose rates reported specifically for the monitoring points in the eastern part of Fukushima prefecture, for distances of more than 30 km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, showed a general decreasing trend, ranging from 0.1 µSv/h to 17 &nicro;Sv/h, as reported for 17 May.

Maps of gamma dose rates, deposition of Cs-134 and deposition of Cs-137 within the 80 km zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant were produced by means of aerial gamma ray monitoring by the Nuclear Safety Technology Centre of MEXT and the United States Department of Energy.

The map of the deposition of radiocaesium is presented in Fig. 1. The values represent the sum of Cs-134 and Cs-137. The areas in green show a deposition of these two radionuclides of between 0.6 and 1 MBq/m2. The areas in yellow indicate a deposition of between 1 and 3 MBq/m2. The areas in red indicate a deposition of between 3 and 30 MBq/m2. All are normalized to 29 April 2011.

The map shows that the results obtained are consistent with all previous reported measurements of deposition in soil and of gamma dose rates.

Air Concentrations of Radionuclides On-site at Fukushima Daiichi Plant

On-site measurements at the west gate of the Fukushima Daiichi plant indicate the presence of I-131 and Cs-137 in the air in the close vicinity of the plant (within approximately 1 km). The values observed in the previous days show daily fluctuations with an overall decreasing tendency.

Concentrations of Radionuclides in Drinking Water

As of 10 May, the restriction on the consumption of drinking water relating to I-131 - which had been applied since 1 April as a precautionary measure for one remaining location (the village of Iitate in Fukushima prefecture), and only for infants - was lifted.

Food Monitoring and Food Restrictions (12 - 18 May 2011)

Food Monitoring

From 12 to 18 May, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported results of continued monitoring for radioactivity in food. Over this period, results for 503 food samples from fifteen different prefectures were reported. Most of this monitoring continues to be concentrated within Fukushima prefecture (39% of samples reported for 12 - 18 May). The majority of results were below regulation values, but 28 out of these 503 samples (fewer than 6%) were found to have radioactivity levels above the Japanese regulation values for radiocaesium. These samples were collected in three prefectures (Fukushima, Ibaraki and Kanagawa). None of the 503 samples was found to have radioiodine in excess of the regulation values.

In Fukushima prefecture, 175 of the 194 samples (more than 90%) had radiocaesium levels below the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities. However, 19 of the 194 samples (fewer than 10%) exceeded the regulation values for Cs-134/Cs-137. Samples above the regulation values were bamboo shoots (ten samples), shiitake mushrooms (five samples), and four samples of fish (two samples of whitebait, one sample of ayu and one sample of Japanese smelt).

In Kanagawa prefecture, 6 out of 33 samples (18%) were found to exceed the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities for Cs-134/Cs-137, these were six samples of unprocessed tea leaves (an additional ten samples of unprocessed tea leaves were found to have levels below this regulation value).

In Ibaraki prefecture, 3 of the 66 samples (4%) reported were above the regulation values set by the Japanese authorities for Cs-134/Cs-137. These were unprocessed tea leaves (two samples) and parsley (one sample).

Food Restrictions

As of 18 May, the only food restrictions remaining are in Fukushima prefecture and for the cities of Kitaibaraki and Takahagi in Ibaraki prefecture.

In Fukushima prefecture there are restrictions on the distribution and consumption of sand lance fish. In specified areas of Fukushima prefecture there are also restrictions on the distribution of raw unprocessed milk, turnips, bamboo shoots, ostrich ferns and shiitake mushrooms, and restrictions on the distribution and consumption of specific non-head type and head-type vegetables (e.g. spinach and cabbage), flowerhead brassicas (e.g. cauliflower) and shiitake mushrooms.

In Ibaraki prefecture there is a continuing restriction on the distribution of spinach produced in the cities of Kitaibaraki and Takahagi.

3. Marine Monitoring

The marine monitoring programme is carried out both near the discharge areas of the Fukushima Daiichi plant by TEPCO and at off-shore stations by MEXT. The increase in the radioactivity in the marine environment had occurred by aerial deposition and by continuing discharges and outflow of water with high levels of radioactivity from the Daiichi plant.

Seawater Monitoring

The activity concentrations of I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 in seawater close to the Fukushima Daiichi plant at the screen of Unit 2 have been measured every day since 2 April. Concentrations of Cs-134 and Cs-137 decreased from initial values of more than 100 MBq/L to less than 5 kBq/L on 7 May, but increased to levels of around 20 kBq/L on 16 May, and to about 10 kBq/L on 17 May. There was a significant increase in levels of I-131 from about 8 to 80 kBq/L from 10 to 11 May, in parallel with the increase for both radiocaesium isotopes. This indicates that there is still some production of fission products. The I-131 levels decreased to about 20 kBq/L on 17 May.

Monitoring of the marine environment is performed by TEPCO in the near field area and by MEXT at off-shore sampling positions. The monitoring of MEXT also includes: measurement of ambient dose rates in air above the sea; analysis of ambient dust above the sea; analysis of surface samples of sea water; and analysis of samples of sea water collected at 10 m above the sea bottom and in a mid-layer, as well as at several locations for sediments. At most of the offshore stations, I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 reached levels below the detection limit of 10 Bq/L.

 

[mot]

In the post #611, in the most amazing way, you have combined such a wide range of information in one post! Thanks. I was touched, worried, educated and made to laugh in one go.

 

[dorispulaski]

mot, Thank you!

I have wondered--perhaps you might think of returning to Japan?-while there may be a shortage of building material right now, I can think of no place that is going to need architects as much as Japan. So much to rebuild! And in areas as close to the plant as will be allowed to rebuild, there will be creativity needed, especially in how air conditioning and water runoff is handled.

Meanwhile, I see from the IAEA that three other types of fish, beside sand eels, were found with contamination. The ayu is a fresh water fish that feeds on algae that attach to rocks.
http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/aichi/ayu.html

The Japanese smelt apparently is another small fresh water fish, that is often caught by ice fishing.
http://www.japanstyle.info/01/entry3580.html

The whitebait is a young sardine like fish. Back in September a lot were caught off Fukushima, and this article related the size of the catch to global warming, as Fukushima is the most northerly part of the fish's range.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/...d-to-bring-good-whitebait-catch-off-fukushima

I'm interested in which fish are affected and want to think about why. I hope JAIF will bring back their seawater and fish map.

Another thing that interested me yesterday was that on the TEPCO website, there were a flurry of articles dealing with the recent board of directors meeting. One of them talked of decommissioning reactors 1 through 4. What was interesting was that reactors 5 & 6 were not mentioned there, and were grouped with the 4 reactors at Daini. I have read at least one article which thought the directors were crazy, if they were thinking of restarting those 6 reactors, and felt the prefecture would not stand for it. I wonder if this is true? At Three Mile Island and at Chernobyl, the reactors that were not affected kept on operating. At first, people wanted them to stay shut down, but they reconsidered, and the other units were restarted. The last reactor operating at Chernobyl was only stopped at the request of other international neighbors in 2000, despite being of a flawed design.

In the case of Chernobyl, the thinking was to retain independence from high-priced Russian oil and natural gas, and in any case, since the area around the reactors was already evacuated, what was there to hurt? And electric power was definitely needed. In fact, Ukraine is the country fourth most dependent on nuclear power, and gets 48% of its electricity from nuclear power today, so knowing the worst about nuclear power intimately, from the Chernobyl explosions and fallout, they committed more completely to nuclear:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0311/Top-10-most-nuclear-dependent-nations/Ukraine-48-percent

At Three Mile Island, the second reactor was still running all the while the first reactor was having its problems, and so was not shut down, and is still running today.

I wonder whether this will be the thought in Japan, or whether people there will look at it differently. A thorough checkout of the reactors is definitely needed, to be sure that there is no latent damage from the earthquake. Daiichi Units 5 & 6 were, AFAIR, two of the units which did not experience tremors beyond their design parameters, and have behaved as designed during the incident.

I would not be surprised to find one or more of the Daini units in worse shape than Daiichi 5 & 6. I hope they will definitely check out Daini Unit 1 very extra thoroughly before returning it to service. I believe it was the one that had the fuel rod stick before fully engaging during the scram (shutdown from the earthquake). Also, they had damage in the crane room that caused the death of the operator.

TEPCO has given a long response to NISA about safety measures they are taking at nuclear power plants. It can be found here
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11052017-e.html

and in a more graphic form here, explicitly for Daini power station:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110520e21.pdf

Particularly important is the work on the valve for venting the reactor, in case power is lost, and the internal pressure rises too high. There has been some discussion about delays in venting reactors at Daiichi, due to problems with the venting system. TEPCO says they had the last latest GE update of the valve (redesigned following Three Mile Island). GE has questioned this, and I do not know the truth of the matter. If TEPCO had the update done by a group other than GE, perhaps both are correct--an update done, but not necessarily done as GE would have done it. In any case, at Daini, TEPCO has added a spare cylinder to drive the valve in an emergency (the graphic shows what all this looks like).

The New York Times has picked this up, and in some ways, the tale of valves is an interesting and instructive story. Mark Flanagan at NEI Blog covers it in detail:

http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/of-valves-and-venting.html

The Daini graphic also has photos of a training session, of a generator truck (rather a small one, IMO. We used to use huge mobile generators that were pulled by tractor-trailer trucks) and fire engines now permanently deployed at the site.

The picture also shows the method they have set up for cooling spent fuel pools expediently, in the case of a station blackout event.

Additionally, TEPCO has revealed how they are going to stop the leak in the suppression torus in Unit 2-apparently they are going to use the time-honored method of filling the space outside the torus with concrete. Their original English version of the leak stoppage called for grout, which created an entirely wrong idea in my head. Here's a picture of their proposal:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c-Xck1VYP...Fg1WCx4/s320/FukushimaDaiichiNo2sealtorus.png


There are several different files describing the reorganization in management at TEPCO. So definitely, the punishment of the innocent has already begun. I await the rewarding of the non-participants that will surely follow. Perhaps it has already occurred, since the replacements for previous people will probably have had no responsibility whatever either for Daiichi, or for what was done to limit the disaster.

At 9 AM JST May 21st, here's the status:

-At 3:06 pm on May 20th, we started water spray to the spent fuel pool of
Unit 1 by the concrete pumping vehicle. We stopped the operation at
4:15pm on the same day (due to the wind etc).

-From 5:39 pm, May 20th, we gradually decreased the water injection rate
to the reactor of Unit 3 through Fire Protection System from 9m3/h, and
at 11:54 pm we reached 6m3/h.

-May 20th, we have conducted a spray of dust inhibitor in the area of
approx. 8,250 m2 around Noninflammables Treatment Facility, etc. by the
conventional method.

-At 6:20pm on May 20, the mega float left Onahama port for Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

They are still changing rates of water flow to reactor 3. Its temperature rose significantly over the previous 2 weeks or so, then they doubled the water input, raised it again yesterday, dropped it today. I assume at some point, there will be a report about what they learned.

NHK says

"Mega float" arrives at Fukushima nuclear plant

A giant barge has arrived at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for use as a facility to store a growing amount of radioactive water.

The steel barge, 136 meters long and 46 meters wide, can store up to 10,000 tons of water. It has been provided to Tokyo Electric Power Company from Shizuoka City in central Japan, where it had been used as a fishing park.

The barge entered the nuclear plant's port on Saturday.

At the plant, the amount of relatively low-level radioactive water keeps increasing as efforts to cool the reactors continue. Rain also falls on ground containing radioactive substances that were scattered by explosions following the March 11th disaster.

TEPCO plans to store the radioactive water in the barge for a while. The situation is feared to worsen when the rainy season begins.

The barge will be connected to pipes to transfer radioactive water from the nuclear plant.

Saturday, May 21, 2011 12:04 +0900 (JST)

and there is a photo
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/update/images/21_11_v_s.jpg

Especially a good thing with the rainy season coming.

 

[Olympia]

Doris, maybe the reason for Three Mile Island's continuing to run is that the accident was caused by a problem in the plant itself. By contrast, the Japanese plants were damaged by the terrain, which can't be repaired. In a country as geologically unstable as Japan (and where so much of its area is close to the sea and therefore within the reach of tsunamis), I can understand an added reluctance to want to resume operation of the affected facilities.

Like you and mot, I'm heartened by support and outreach from surrounding countries. One has only to read some of the more intense figure skating boards to realize that Japan and Korea are not always on friendly terms, for significant historical reasons. Likewise China and Russia have been on the opposite side of many issues. So to see these countries trying to help Japan is tremendously impressive. I'd like to think that some good will come from this awful event.

Your account of the retirees who want to volunteer in the plant made me tear up. There are some wonderful people in the world.

 

[let`s talk]

while there may be a shortage of building material right now

They had a Shinto ceremony a few meters from my house. It means in a couple of days a construction of a new house will start. Maybe there is a shortage of building materials in hit-by-earthquake areas (still think it's mainly because they cannot deliver them smoothly) but the rest of Japan seems the same as usual.

 

[dorispulaski]

let's talk, I'm glad to hear it. A new house is always a new beginning

Olympia, the question of how the prefecture deals with the existing nuclear plants (not with building new ones in places too close to the subduction fault) is going to be interesting, and it is complicated. Consider this article from NPR today. It is a long article, so I am only quoting a piece of it:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/134828205/a-country-divided-japans-electric-bottleneck

Tokyo and northern Japan use 50Hz/ 100 to 127 V. Power
The rest of Japan uses 60 Hz / 100 to 127 V. Power

Because of TEPCO's & Tohoku's troubles, there are rolling blackouts in northern/eastern Japan. And manufacturers in northern Japan can't just get power from southern/western Japan because of the frequency difference.

A Country Divided: Japan's Electric Bottleneck

Blackouts That Could Continue For Years
...

The problem is these rolling blackouts could continue for many months — even years.

"This is a real problem for those factories which need uninterrupted supplies," says professor Tatsuo Hatta, president of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. He says the situation might cause some companies to move.
"It's clear that from their viewpoint they'd better move their plant to the western part of Japan where electricity is plenty."

That's partly an accident of history. Eastern Japan followed the German model and has a 50-cycle electrical power grid. The western part of Japan used the American model and has a 60-cycle grid.

Transferring power from one grid to another requires a very expensive facility. And there are only three connections between eastern and western Japan. That bottleneck means the power transfer is just a trickle, even during this national emergency. Creating more capacity would take years

If Fukushima and the other prefectures with nuclear plants which are shut down want to have manufacturing jobs, and not just be making crafts for sale or something, they will need reliable, base load power. In Fukushima, the problem is worse, because the farming, fishing, and tourist industries will have been negatively affected by all the disasters. They will need electrical power. And they have plants that can produce it. They may choose, on due reflection, to turn Daini and Onegawa, and Units 5 & 6 of Daiichi back on, after damage checking, earthquake strengthening and tsunami safeguards are installed. Or not.

It depends which risks they prefer. It is, of course, their choice.

And on the happy side, I was so glad to see somebody has been doing something about Fukishima's pets:

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/12/136205973/risky-rescue-saving-pets-from-japan-exclusion-zone

Risky Rescue: Saving Pets From Japan Exclusion Zone

by Brian Naylor
...

Many have been taken in by animal rescue groups — some of which sneaked into the exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to remove animals found wandering the streets and houses.

The Japan Animal Rescue shelter in Samukawa — about a two-hour train ride from Tokyo through congested suburbs — is the new home of some 200 dogs and cats. Most of them are from the now off-limits towns around the power plant. Sugano Hoso, who runs the shelter with her husband, has taken part in several clandestine and dangerous trips into the exclusion zone to rescue the animals. "Of course there is the issue of radiation going in there and also lots of police guarding the place, so we really had to try hard to get through that," Hoso says. "But we have to do this because dogs are dying every second, every minute."
...

The dogs from the exclusion zone are immediately washed, and their radiation levels measured. Volunteers sympathetic to the animals' plight have been streaming in to help out. Some are walking the dogs.

 

[dorispulaski]

And from NHK:

Radioactive sea water simulation

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant released a computer simulation on Saturday showing dispersal routes and densities of radioactive water along the Pacific coast of Japan. Last month, Tokyo Electric Power Company found highly contaminated water flowing from the intakes of the Number 2 and 3 reactors. The company was forced to release slightly irradiated water to make space to store highly radioactive water in the facility.

The firm estimates the total accumulated radiation dispersed in the sea at more than 4,700 trillion becquerels. The simulation shows contaminated water spreading southward along the coast on April 11th while maintaining its radiation level. The water had reached a point about 150 kilometers south of the plant by May 1st with the radiation density decreasing. On May 11th, the water began to spread east on the Kuroshio current.

TEPCO believes the radioactive density will dissipate further, but says it will continue monitoring the spreading water.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 01:15 +0900 (JST)

Nuclear science symposium
The Atomic Energy Society of Japan has convened its first symposium since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. About 500 people participated in the meeting at a Tokyo hotel on Saturday.

Society chairman Yonezou Tsujikura said in his opening speech that he considers the nuclear disaster Japan's most serious and that he will make efforts to improve safety at the nuclear power plants. During the discussions, a scientist asked why the society did not put forth a thorough argument on the real possibilities of damage to nuclear facilities by tsunamis. A senior officer of the society replied that their risk analyses were not strict enough.

It was also reported at the meeting that low-level radioactivity continues to be measured around the facility and that [ a new Diet bill is necessary on the disposal of contaminated debris.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 01:15 +0900 (JST)

More World solidarity is happening. The toy pandas were a lovely touch, since many of those children don't have many, if any toys.

Asian leaders visit Fukushima
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak have visited Fukushima Prefecture to meet some of those forced to evacuate following the nuclear power plant accident.

The leaders of China and South Korea are in Japan to attend a 3-way summit in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday.

The summit is the first major international conference in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

The 2 leaders flew in to Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture, which has been reopened after a prolonged closure. They visited some of the affected areas in the prefecture. They then moved to a gymnasium in Fukushima City that now serves as a shelter for residents forced to evacuate due to the accident at the nuclear power plant.

Wen and Lee were greeted there by the Japanese prime minister.

At the shelter, they ate cherries and cucumbers grown in Fukushima to demonstrate the safety of the local produce.

The 3 leaders spoke with some of the evacuees there. Children jumped for joy when Wen presented them with toy Pandas. Lee presented the evacuees with paper fans bearing a message of encouragement, and listened to their concerns.

The Chinese and South Korean leaders will attend a dinner party hosted by Kan in Tokyo featuring dishes prepared with ingredients from the affected areas.

Some say delays in disclosing information and the failure to release detailed data after the nuclear accident prompted the foreign media to question the safety of Japanese food products.

Kan wants to take the 3 leaders' visit to Fukushima as an opportunity to emphasize that the prefecture is safe. At the G8 summit in France next week, Kan will try to convince world leaders that Japan is safe.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 01:15 +0900 (JST)

And some of the lost boats are returning home:

Recovering drifting boats
A crane ship has been returned its home port of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after drifting at sea for 2 months since the quake and tsunami on March 11th.

The Number 8 Koryu, which belongs to a construction company in Kamaishi city, was towed back to the port on Saturday afternoon.

A Japan Coast Guard aircraft spotted the ship about 670 kilometers off the coast of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, on Wednesday. The Coast Guard towed the ship back to port, as it considered it still usable, with only slight damage. It says a total of 470 vessels have been found adrift since the tsunami. These include fishing boats, pleasure craft, passenger boats and work boats.

Some were found as far as 1,000 kilometers away.

The agency says a total of 74 vessels have been towed back to port, and 51 of them have been returned to their owners. It is warning vessels in the Pacific to be alert for such vessels, since as many as 400 could still be adrift.
Sunday, May 22, 2011 01:15 +0900 (JST