Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status, June 3rd

Unit 1

- At 12:21 pm on June 3, we installed temporary Reactor Pressure meter at Unit 1.

Unit 2

At 1:49 pm on June 3, we stopped injecting freshwater due to re-routing the water supply line to the reactor. At 2:09 pm on June 3, we re-started injecting freshwater. The current rate of water injection is approx. 5 m3/h through the reactor feed water system piping arrangement.

Unit 3

At 1:16 pm on June 3, we stopped injecting freshwater due to re-routing the water supply line to the reactor. At 1:32 pm on June 3, we re-started injecting freshwater. The current rate of water injection is approx. 11.5 m3/h through the reactor feed water system piping arrangement

Spent Fuel Pools
Operation for cooling the spent fuel pools - From 2:35, on June 3, we started spraying water to Unit 4 by a concrete pumping vehicle (from 2:44pm, injected hydrazine [corrosion inhibitor] at the same time).

Dust inhibitor
- On June 3, we sprayed dust inhibitor to prevent discharge of radioactive materials to the roof and exterior wall of the reactor building of Unit 3 using a bending spray tower vehicle (approximately 4,800 m2). On June 3, we have been spraying dust inhibitor to areas including observation point.

This is fascinating. The government wants them to spend a lot of time and effort evaluating turbines for reactors that can never be used again under any circumstances.

Press Release (Jun 03,2011)
Receipt of instruction documents with regard to the check considering the damage found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor, of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (independent administrative institution)

On June 3rd, 2011, we have received an instruction document*1 from Nuclear and Industrial Safety

Agency (NISA) of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, in relation to a fact that some damage has been found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor, of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (independent administrative institution). They instruct us to make a roadmap as to checking the soundness of cylinder liners for which no procedural manual for exchanging are prepared or which we have not exchanged in a appropriate manner in order to prevent the cylinder liners from being damaged with regard to Unit 2 and Unit 4 in Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station, in which the emergency diesel generators of the same configuration as the ones of "Monju" are used. We have also received an instruction document*2 that instructs us to make and implement steadily a roadmap as to check the soundness and to exchange the cylinder liners that some lead might have been mixed in like "Monju" and are used in emergency diesel generators of Unit 2 in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

We will implement the instruction and inform NISA of the results.

*1 Instruction document

"Check considering the damage found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor, of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (independent administrative institution) (instruction)

On June 3rd, 2011, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) received a report from Japan Atomic Energy Agency (independent administrative institution) on causes and countermeasures with regard to the damage found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor.In the report, they assume that cylinder liners were damaged because, when they were dismantled and reassembled, workers used only hydraulic jacks with no hydraulic oil gauge and pressured too much.

In Unit 2 and Unit 4 of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station, emergency diesel generators of the same configuration as the ones of Monju are used, and, as procedures of dismantling and reassembling the cylinder liners are not clear, in order to prevent the cylinder liners from being damaged, we hereby instruct you to report the results of the following 5 items. The
due dates of each report are: No.1 and No.2---by July 4th, No.3---soon right after implementation, No.4---soon after implementation together with No.3, and No.5---soon after implementation.

1.Checking and formulating procedures with regard to dismantling and reassembling cylinder liners as well as appropriate conservation manner of hydraulic pressures
2.Making a roadmap with regard to checking the soundness of the cylinder liners that might have been damaged due to inappropriate dismantling and reassembling
3.Implementing the roadmap mentioned above in 2.
4.Making a roadmap with regard to exchanging the cylinder liners which are
not judged as sound in the course of the implementation of the checking mentioned above in 3
5.Implementing steadily the roadmap mentioned above in 4.

*2 Instruction document

"Check considering the damage found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor, of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (independent administrative institution) (instruction)

On June 3rd, 2011, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) received a report from Japan Atomic Energy Agency(independent administrative institution) on causes and countermeasures with regard to the damage found in cylinder liners of emergency diesel generators of "Monju", a fast-breeder reactor.
The report says that during the manufacture of cylinder liners, some lead was mixed in their materials and a lead structure (Widmannstaetten structure), which may weaken the intensity, has been formed in them. It also says that the cylinder liners which lead might have been mixed in were manufactured from February 1987 to May 1989.As in Unit 2 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station emergency diesel generators that use cylinder liners which some lead might have been mixed
in like ones of Monju are used, in order to prevent the cylinder liners from being damaged, we hereby instruct you to implement the following items and to report the results to us. The due dates are: No.1---by No.2---July 4th, No.3---soon after the implementation.

1.Checking the soundness of the cylinder which are manufactured from
February 1987 to May 1989 and lead might have been mixed in.
2.Making a roadmap with regard to exchanging cylinder liners which are not
judged as sound in the checking process in No.1
3.Implementing the roadmap steadily mentioned above in No.2

This is quite a lot of cesium on the ocean bottom. However in Europe, if this were food, you could eat it--not however, in all countries. Not Germany or Ukraine, for example.

Ocean bottom data
3km off Iwasawa 1000 becquerels of cesium 137 per kg
3km off Odaka ward 600 becquerels of cesium 137 per kg

The odd thing with this is the huge range of possible exposure-from at the exposure limit to more than double. I don't know why there would be such a variance. The men were at the plant from the very beginning till now, and were in one of the reactor control rooms during the explosions, not wearing respirators of any kind. More investigation will be done.

Update on the two men with high iodine 131 in their thyroids:

As part of emergency precautions being taken at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, we have been evaluating the internal exposure dose of each worker*. On May 30th, 2011, we reported that we were informed the levels of internal radioactivity (iodine 131) present in thyroids of the two TEPCO male employees are higher than normal.

Subsequently the two TEPCO employees got a medical examination to be administered by the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS: Independent Administrative Corporation). NIRS gave us reports of Evaluation Exposure Dose limits at the present time. We reported the present status of determining exposure dose limits to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

<Evaluation Exposure Dose limits for two TEPCO employees>
- Mr A, From 210m Sv to 580m Sv
- Mr B, From 200m Sv to 570m Sv

Continuous detailed monitoring of their internal exposure conditions will be conducted to determine their levels of exposure dosage of each worker at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

* Determining exposure dosage levels This work is comprised of evaluating and adding the exposure dosage during both working hours and the time spent residing in the Anti-earthquake Building in addition to internal exposure levels of the committed dose (exposure spanning a 50-year period from this juncture).

There isn't too much on NHK just now, but this is nice:

Berlin Philharmonic performs for quake survivors

Members of the Berlin Philharmonic have held a charity concert in Japan in support of survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Thirteen members of the German orchestra performed in Tokyo on Friday. They included the world's top violinists and 11 Stradivariuses.

Violinist Sebastian Heesch spoke to the audience after the performance. He said he would be pleased if survivors had been consoled by the music.

Survivors living in Tokyo were invited to the concert. One evacuee from Fukushima Prefecture said she was moved to tears by the performance and expressed gratitude for the support she has received. Proceeds from the concert will benefit children who lost their parents in the disaster.

Saturday, June 04, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

Meanwhile, Lithuania is going ahead with ordering a new nuclear reactor to replace an old RMBK reactor that they were asked to shut down.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...e-bid-to-build-lithuania-s-nuclear-plant.html

here's their motivation:

The Baltic nation plans to open a new plant in Visaginas in 2020 as Germany aims to close its units there. Lithuanian support for nuclear energy has remained high after the Ignalina closure pushed up energy costs and increased dependence on Russian energy. Lithuania imports almost 50 percent of its power. Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom supplies all of its gas.

Will Davis has more data on what TEPCO is going to do with all that water:

http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/06/fukushima-daiichi-update-friday-june-3.htmlFriday,

June 3, 2011
Fukushima Daiichi update: Friday June 3
TEPCO is rapidly running out of room for contaminated water, due partly to water injection and partly to rain at the site. The company has announced that beginning tomorrow it will begin shipping two sizes of tanks (100 and 120 cubic meters in volume) from Tamada Kogyo Corporation's plant in Tochigi Prefecture to the Fukushima Daiichi site for installation. These will supplement all the other tanks being installed on site, and the "mega float" now firmly secured to the pier at the site. The company expects most of the shipments to be performed at night, and expects about six of the large units per day to be shipped from now until early July, and four units per day of the smaller size from the middle of June through the middle of August. This will vastly increase the capacity for contaminated and then later for cleaned-up water on site. NHK is carrying the line that TEPCO has reported having as much as 105,000 tons of contaminated water on site right now, in all of the various affected and damaged buildings, and tunnels and installed tanks as well as the rad waste building. Filtration equipment may be on line as early as June 15.

 

[Olympia]

Thanks for the latest info, Doris. And thanks for detailing your credentials. This gives us more insight into the basis for your expertise and also your opinions. It reinforces for me how lucky we are to have someone as well-informed as you to explain things to us! As I've said before, it's uncommonly generous of you to make such substantial efforts to keep us updated.

Your point about sociologists being needed to contribute to the discussion is a good one for more reasons than you've cited here. One thing that's occurred to me is that many of us, including me, would be more receptive to the idea of widespread nuclear power if we could all trust one another more. It's not just worrying about various sorts of terrorists. It's our worry that nuclear workers and planners are not all as meticulous as you are, or as interested in the public good. Look at how many aspects of life and commerce are vulnerable to disaster (including the Gulf oil spill) as the direct result of greed. This is why I've said before that I worry that we're not sufficiently evolved to deserve something like nuclear power. It still may be the best of the possibilities in terms of cleanness, efficiency, and so on, but you see why I worry--it's largely due to my perception of human nature, not of nuclear engineering. (I will add that I'm generally an optimistic person, not a gloom-and-doom sort.) Nevertheless, I'm grateful for the chance to learn more about this issue, and you know how much I appreciate your keeping us informed about the cleanup of the current situation. Keep up the great work!

 

[let`s talk]

Seems like Germany has another plan:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcQ4jcOsUOo

I don't know what Japanese will do in the future. My guess is they will be back to the same status sooner or later. The only thing that can seriously change the prices of energy in Japan is the Gazprom tube from Sakhalin to Hokaido. But it doesn't seem likely happening. At least not in the nearest future.

 

[let`s talk]

I hope it's not true:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw2R7y65nFg

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes, I have heard that Germany has gone back to its previous position that it will close all nuclear plants. Merkel ran on not doing that, and started to collect a nuclear fuel tax from the plant operators. That was helpful to the budget. However, now the government is getting sued by the plant operators, since they paid a tax to stay open and are not being allowed to stay open.

Germany has 42% of its electricity from coal (a resource that it has in abundance). Much of the coal it burns is lignite (brown coal), a coal so dirty that it is not allowed in the US. If Germans actually wanted to do something about the environment, they would be pushing as hard to close these coal plants as they are to get rid of their nuclear plants.

However, the German populace also has a very vocal group that does not want windmills or huge power lines either-they object to the usual things that people object to about windmills:
1. Spoiling the view
2. They are loud in operation
3. They chop up birds, particularly hawks and owls and eagles.
4. They have windshadow, which can be quite maddening if you live near them
5. They occasionally burst into flames when the gearbox fails or just collapse when it fails.
6. When something (like a fire) is wrong with them-it is a long way up to do anything about it.

Another German group really wants everyone to go back to kerosene lamps and stoves.

It is an interesting situation, and one that I don't know all the ins and outs of.

But what it isn't, exactly, is a plan at this point.

The thing about the earless bunny is a: probably true that he was born earless, and that no one cut off his ears in an antinuclear effort
b: surely not due to radiation

Deformed animals and people are born all the time, and their existence has nothing to do with radiation. It is a thing that happens without outside influence, but is sometimes caused by things like chemicals. In fact, people work with chemicals all the time that are "teratogenic". There used to be a tank of a chemical like that in an area close to where I worked. The chemical label is green and shows a deformed baby. In fact, an acquaintance had a deformed baby and got a big payoff from IBM. The papers (and youtube) were not interested. This was a situation where the chemical had a proven track record (recorded in a warning label) and resulted in a deformed baby. You can count on anti-nuclear people recording every naturally occurring mutation and publishing it. Around Three Mile Island, they photographed for example the normal variations in some plants' number of leaves on a stem and similar things and attributed them to the nuclear plant rather than normal species variations. If you were to do that with clovers, the normal clover leaf has 3 leaves, but as everyone knows, 4 leaf clovers occur. So do 5, and more. Since every American child has closely examined clovers looking for the lucky four leafed ones, they have to know that these things occur.

Extensive investigation was done after Chernobyl, both in people and in animals, and no uptick in deformed animals or people was found. However, it is estimated that a large number of children were aborted needlessly, due to fears that they might be deformed due to radiation. These abortions were caused exactly by scare tactics such as those shown in that video. Since 10x the material released at Fukishima was released by Chernobyl, I doubt that Japan is about to be inundated with mutant rabbits or mutant anything else.

Of course this does remind me

The one mutation found at Chernobyl was of swallows who had a white patch of feathers where normally there would be a patch of a different color. Even that group is dying out, since female swallows find them less attractive for mating.

NHK article

Steam, high radiation detected at No.1 reactor

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says steam was observed coming out of the floor of the No.1 reactor building, and extremely high radiation was detected in the vicinity.

Tokyo Electric Power Company inspected the inside of the No.1 reactor building on Friday with a remote-controlled robot.

TEPCO said it found that steam was rising from a crevice in the floor, and that extremely high radiation of 3,000 to 4,000 millisieverts per hour was measured around the area. The radiation is believed to be the highest detected in the air at the plant.

TEPCO says the steam is likely coming from water at a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius that has accumulated in the basement of the reactor building.

The company sees no major impact from the radiation so far on ongoing work, as it has been detected only within a limited section of the building.

The No.1 reactor is believed to have suffered a meltdown after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

It is believed to have created holes in the pressure vessel and damaged the containment vessel, causing highly contaminated water to leak out and accumulate in the basement.

Under the utility's plan to bring the plant under control, a circulatory cooling system is to be installed to decontaminate radioactive water and use it as coolant.

Saturday, June 04, 2011 13:23 +0900 (JST)

Sorry I did not finish this entry. My keyboard on my laptop failed-I am more or less back in busines, but may be posting a bit infrequently till the replacement machine arrives.

And another NHK article

TEPCO to install additional storage tanks

Tokyo Electric Power Company will install more tanks to store the radioactive wastewater that is accumulating at its troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Water levels are rising in the basements of the turbine buildings of reactors 3 and 4. The total amount of accumulated wastewater at the plant is now estimated at more than 105,000 tons.

TEPCO plans to start filtering highly radioactive water on June 15th. It will treat 1,200 tons of water per day and transfer the filtered water to temporary tanks.

The utility will start bringing in 370 steel tanks, each with a capacity of 100 or 120 tons, from a plant in Kanuma City, north of Tokyo, and elsewhere.

TEPCO has already installed temporary water tanks capable of storing 13,000 tons.

The additional tanks will bring the total storage capacity at the plant to more than 40,000 tons.

TEPCO says work to install the filters is proceeding smoothly. But it must quickly address the issue of securing sufficient water storage, as it is feared that the current rainy season will worsen the situation.

Saturday, June 04, 2011 21:57 +0900 (JST)

Photo of the tanks
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/update/images/04_28_v_s.jpg

 

[dorispulaski]

NEI has an update

TEPCO Steps Up Water Management, Cleanup
Update as of 2:30 P.M. EDT, Friday, June 3
Plant Status

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has reported that more than 100,000 tons of contaminated water has leaked from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi reactors. Given concerns over the spreading of contamination during the rainy season, the company is focused on storage and filtering. TEPCO plans to start using equipment that can filter 1,200 tons of water a day in mid-June. In mid-August, the company plans to install an underground storage tank that can hold 100,000 tons of water. TEPCO is measuring the level of radiation in groundwater near the plant to check for possible wastewater leakage. TEPCO reportedly has plans to stop all leaks of highly contaminated water from the site this month.

A cooling system operating at the reactor 2 used fuel storage pool has reduced the pool temperature to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) from the previous reading of 70 C (158 F). TEPCO plans to start operating similar cooling systems for the fuel pools at reactors 1 and 3 this month and at the reactor 4 pool in July.

TEPCO temporarily stopped injecting freshwater into reactors 2 and 3 on June 3 while it re-routed the water supply line. Freshwater injection has since resumed at both reactors. Water is being injected into reactors 2 and 3 through the reactor water supply system. At reactor 1, water is being injected by a motor-driven pump powered by the off-site transmission line.

Fukushima Prefecture has decided to check the internal radiation exposure (that is, through breathing and eating) of residents near the Fukushima Daiichi reactor and adjacent areas. The prefecture has only one whole-body-counter, capable of screening just 10 people per day. It is urging research institutes and others with similar devices to assist.

Nagasaki University Hospital reports that at least 40 percent of staff sent to provide assistance at the Fukushima prefecture, where the damaged reactor is located, received low levels of internal exposure to radioactive iodine. Some also were exposed to cesium. Hospital officials said the low-level contamination poses no health concerns.

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is presenting to the agency's Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards the background and context related to Fukushima for the recently issued B.5.b.-related Bulletin 11-01 on June 8.

The NRC will hold a public meeting on June 8 on the petition to suspend General Electric Mark I boiling water reactor operating licenses at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md.

The NRC on June 15 will webcast a commission briefing on the progress of the task force review of NRC processes and regulations following events in Japan at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md.
Media Highlights

The Washington Post and the Financial Times penned editorials Thursday criticizing Germany's decision to phase out its nuclear power plants by 2022. In an editorial headlined "Germany's nuclear energy blunder," The Post said, "Instead of providing a model for greening a post-industrial economy, Germany's overreaching greens are showing the rest of the world just how difficult it is to contemplate big cuts in carbon emissions without keeping nuclear power on the table." The Times, in a piece headlined "The nuclear option," said, "Nuclear power has an important role to play in the world's energy mix �. Countries with faster-growing populations or a weaker renewable sector will struggle to dispense with nuclear power without missing environmental targets or damaging their economies."

Upcoming Events
The Department of Energy is sponsoring a workshop on preliminary lessons learned from Fukushima in Arlington, Va., on June 6-7. Participants include the Department of Energy, national laboratories, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and others.

And the MIT faculty has a report on lessons learned from Fukushima (downloadable here)

http://mitnse.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/fukushima-lessons-learned-mit-nsp-025.pdf

And after a hiatus since March, things are going on at the other TEPCO plant in Fukushima -Daini

On March 11 2011, turbines and reactors of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power
Station Units 1 to 4 (Boiling Water Reactors, rated output 1,100
Megawatts) that we had been constantly operating at rated thermal output
were automatically shut down at 2:48 pm due to the
Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake (previously announced on March 11).

At 7:15 pm on March 15, the reactor of Unit 4 achieved cold shutdown. As a
result, all reactors of Units 1 to 4 at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power
Station achieved cold shutdown (previously announced on March 15).

<Updates from previous press release are underlined.>
Reactor cooling and filtering system of Unit 4 was restored at 10:00pm on June 4th.We have been cooling the reactor by residual heat removal system (B). We expect that the restoration of the reactor cooling system, which functions to cool the reactor, will contribute to securing further reliability of Unit 4, which has been in cold shutdown, At the same time, we will endeavor to restore the facilities, aiming for further reliability of cold shutdown in the rest of the units

* Reactor cooling and filtering system
A system to remove impurities from reactor water and to maintain its
quality. During the regular inspections or reactor shutdowns, it can be
utilized to discharge surplus water in the reactor and to control the
water level.
The reactor cooling and filtering systems of Units 1 to 4 at the Fukushima
Daini Nuclear Power Station had been unusable due to shutdown of sea water
cooling systems, which serve to cool the reactor cooling and filtering
systems, as a result of tsunami caused by Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki
Earthquake.

As of 3:00 pm on June 4, the reactors of Unit 1 to 4 are in cold shutdown
(please refer to the appendix). We continue to make our endeavors to
stabilize each plant.

 

[let`s talk]

somebody asked about the tea:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...orts-banned-due-to-high-radiation-levels.html

 

[Olympia]

Thanks so much for the link. I'm the one who asked about the tea. It's heartening that the government is so careful and so on top of the issue, but it's sad that such an important cash crop is being limited at a time when Japan needs help the most.

 

[dorispulaski]

let's talk, Thanks for the update on the green tea.

TEPCO to install additional storage tanks

Tokyo Electric Power Company will install more tanks to store the radioactive wastewater that is accumulating at its troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Water levels are rising in the basements of the turbine buildings of reactors 3 and 4. The total amount of accumulated wastewater at the plant is now estimated at more than 105,000 tons.

TEPCO plans to start filtering highly radioactive water on June 15th. It will treat 1,200 tons of water per day and transfer the filtered water to temporary tanks.

The utility will start bringing in 370 steel tanks, each with a capacity of 100 or 120 tons, from a plant in Kanuma City, north of Tokyo, and elsewhere.

TEPCO has already installed temporary water tanks capable of storing 13,000 tons.

The additional tanks will bring the total storage capacity at the plant to more than 40,000 tons.

TEPCO says work to install the filters is proceeding smoothly. But it must quickly address the issue of securing sufficient water storage, as it is feared that the current rainy season will worsen the situation.

Saturday, June 04, 2011 21:57 +0900 (JST)[/quote]

 

[dorispulaski]

Somehow, quite a bit of this morning's post got lost and isn't shown above:

let's talk, It's good to hear that the government is being very careful with the tea exports. Any product that people consume every day, like favorite drinks, require particular care.

Do you have any idea what percent of the Japanese tea harvest is affected by the ban?

TEPCO's June 5th status

-The accumulated water in the turbine building of unit 2 and 3 is increasing, in order to prevent from leaking out of the system, we re-examined the water storage level of the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building). We reported the result of the re-examination to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, after confirmation by Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, from 6:39 pm, June 4, we started transferring the accumulated water in the vertical shaft of turbine building of Unit 2 to the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building).

- From 12:50 pm on June 2 to 9:56 pm on June 4, we transferred accumulated water from the condenser of turbine building of Unit 3 to the condensate storage tank of Unit 3.



-From 12:50 pm on June 2, we started transferring water from Unit 3 condenser to Unit 3 condenser storage tank. At 9:56 pm on June 4, we stopped transferring water.

-At 2:23 on June 4, we started spraying water into the spent fuel pool of Unit 4 by a concrete pumping vehicle (Hydrazine was also injected with the water from 2:51 pm to 6:41 pm on June 4.). The spray completed at 7:45 pm on June 4.

- We suspended water injection into the reactor of Unit 1 from 9:57 am to 10:02 am and from 1:43 pm to 1:56 pm on June 4 in order to change the route of water supply. At 10:02 am on June 4, we restarted water injection by a fire engine. At 1:43 pm on June 4, we stopped the fire engine (suspended water injection). At 1:56 pm, we restarted water injection with an electric pump. - At 6:39 pm on June 3, we started transferring the accumulated water in the trench of the turbine building of Unit 2 to the condenser hot well in the turbine building. The transfer completed at 12:28 pm on June 4.

- At 2:23 on June 4, we started spraying water into the spent fuel pool of Unit 4 by a concrete pumping vehicle (Hydrazine was also injected with the water from 2:51 pm on June 4.). - On June 4, we sprayed dust inhibitor to prevent discharge of radioactive materials to the roof and exterior wall of the turbine building of Unit 4 using a bending spray tower vehicle (approximately 7,200 m2).On June 4, we sprayed dust inhibitor to areas including observation point. (approx. 10,500 m2).

NHK
This just means that reactor 1 is in about the same state as reactors 2 & 3.

Pressure in No.1 reactor drops close to atmosphere
Tokyo Electric Power Company has found that pressure inside the Number 1 reactor at its Fukushima Daiichi power plant has dropped to close to the outside atmospheric pressure. It reaffirms that the reactor has been damaged.

The reactor is believed to have suffered a meltdown after the March 11th disaster. The meltdown apparently created holes in the pressure vessel and damaged the containment vessel, letting highly radioactive water flow below ground in the reactor building.

Pressure inside an operating reactor is normally around 70 atmospheres. But after the disaster, the pressure indicator showed 6 atmospheres in the Number 1 reactor, raising questions about data reliability.

On Friday, the utility replaced the gauge with a new one and made measurements again.

The reading was 1.26 atmospheres as of 11 AM on Saturday, almost equal to normal air pressure. The company says this proves that air inside the reactor is escaping outside.

But the utility estimates that the lack of a big hole in the reactor is keeping steam inside, leading to the slightly higher interior pressure.

TEPCO is also planning to install new pressure gauges at the Number 2 and 3 reactors to assess the situation accurately.
Sunday, June 05, 2011 10:50 +0900 (JST)

Good. Cleaning out the ditches is a good idea. When rain washes off an area, it's natural that everything accumulates in the ditch. Whoever took these measurements was thinking sensibly.

High radiation levels around ditches in Fukushima
High radiation levels have been detected above roadside drainage ditches in Fukushima Prefecture, which hosts the crippled nuclear power plant.

Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission tested radiation levels in the air about 1 meter from the ground at a business district in the prefectural capital on May 24th and 25th.

The test detected radiation of 3 to 4 microsieverts per hour above ditches covered with mud and fallen leaves. The level reached nearly 100 microsieverts in the mud. It is believed that radioactive dust has accumulated in the mud and leaves.

The results are higher than those in other parts of the city, which were 1 to 2 microsieverts at the same locations.

The commission has noted the need to remove highly radioactive mud and leaves from ditches along busy streets. It calls on people to wear masks and gloves to prevent inhalation of radioactive substances during that work.
Sunday, June 05, 2011 10:50 +0900 (JST)

OK-so this gets them to June 9th.

Radioactive water leak to be prevented for 3 days
Tokyo Electric Power Company has decided to increase the transfer of radioactive water by about 1,500 tons to a facility at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The company says the transfer can keep contaminated water from leaking outside for about 3 days.

More than 105,000 tons of contaminated water is thought to have accumulated in the basements of the reactor and turbine buildings. An additional 500 tons or so flows into the basements per day as a result of the injection of water into the reactors.

The situation is raising concern about the possible overflow of contaminated water.

On Saturday, TEPCO obtained Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency permission to increase the water transfer from its initial plan. It began transferring 12 tons of water per hour from the basement of the Number 2 turbine building to the basement of a facility for nuclear waste.

The utility will start filtering 1,200 tons of highly radioactive water per day on June 15th. It also plans to set up tanks to store 10,000 tons of water underground at the plant in the middle of August.
Sunday, June 05, 2011 11:59 +0900 (JST)

So they have 3 days to install these

TEPCO to install additional storage tanks
Tokyo Electric Power Company will install more tanks to store the radioactive wastewater that is accumulating at its troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Water levels are rising in the basements of the turbine buildings of reactors 3 and 4. The total amount of accumulated wastewater at the plant is now estimated at more than 105,000 tons.

TEPCO plans to start filtering highly radioactive water on June 15th. It will treat 1,200 tons of water per day and transfer the filtered water to temporary tanks.

The utility will start bringing in 370 steel tanks, each with a capacity of 100 or 120 tons, from a plant in Kanuma City, north of Tokyo, and elsewhere.

TEPCO has already installed temporary water tanks capable of storing 13,000 tons.

The additional tanks will bring the total storage capacity at the plant to more than 40,000 tons.

TEPCO says work to install the filters is proceeding smoothly. But it must quickly address the issue of securing sufficient water storage, as it is feared that the current rainy season will worsen the situation.
Saturday, June 04, 2011 21:57 +0900 (JST)

And they still have the barge.

 

[Olympia]

For some reason this report really heightens the sense of how grueling and painstaking this process has to be. I know that progress has been made, but it seems just as overwhelming now as it was when the tsunami first hit. It makes one appreciate the workers' persistence all the more, doesn't it?

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes. I can't say how much I admire the workers who have stayed with this since the beginning. And not only is it, as you say, grueling, they are being nibbled to death by ducks while they do it, since every time they turn around, the government wants a long report on some other thing.

Daini June 5th, 9:00 PM JST
Six peripheral points ( 1.7, 1.3, 1.8, 1.5, 1.5, 1.5) microSieverts per hour
Manual point 9:00 AM JST 1.1 microSieverts per hour

Daiichi June 5th, 9:00 PM JST, Wind West North West
Eight peripheral points (5, 24, 15, 15, 18, 39, 121, 101 ) microSieverts per hour
Main building 358 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 14 microSieverts per hour
Cart near Main Gate 30.4 microSieverts per hour

There are a couple of new NHK reports

It's good to know someone checked, and the amount is only distinguishable from old bomb testing plutonium because 2 of its shorter lived are part of the mix. I wish they had checked the strontium level. Note that this is deep inside the evacuation zone, just 1.7 km from the Main Gate.

Plutonium found outside Fukushima plant

Minute amounts of plutonium have been detected for the first time in soil outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Shinzo Kimura of Hokkaido University collected the roadside samples in Okumamachi, some 1.7 kilometers west of the front gate of the power station. They were taken during filming by NHK on April 21st, one day before the area was designated as an exclusion zone.

Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto and researchers at a Kanazawa University laboratory analyzed the samples and found minute amounts of 3 kinds of plutonium.

The samples of plutonium-239 and 240 make up a total of 0.078 becquerels per kilogram.

This is close to the amount produced by past atomic bomb tests.

But the 3 substances are most likely to have come from the plant blasts, as their density ratio is different from those detected in the past.

Professor Yamamoto said the quantities are so minute that people's health will not be harmed.

But he recommended that the contamination near the plant should be fully investigated, saying that a study may shed light on how radioactive materials spread in the air.
Sunday, June 05, 2011 23:21 +0900 (JST)

Note that US NRC guidelines have had rules about long term Station Blackout for quite a while now-this rules could be seen in action at Brown's Ferry nuclear power plant in Alabama this year when it was hit by huge tornados.[/QUOTE]

Madarame: Plant guidelines should be fully revised
The chairperson of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission, Haruki Madarame, has told NHK that the engineering guidelines for nuclear power plants should be thoroughly revised as they do not include the possibility of a long-term power failure.

The total blackout caused major damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The guidelines were last modified by the commission in 1990.

They state that a long-term power failure can be ignored as emergency back-up systems are expected to supply electricity.

The complacency about blackouts has been pointed out as one of the causes of the severe accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Madarame told NHK that the guidelines clearly state that a long-term power failure can be disregarded. He said he paid no attention to the explanation until the accidents and he regrets his lack of knowledge, adding that the guidelines should have included the worst-case scenario.

He said the guidelines were not revised because experts on nuclear power generation are an enclosed group and they tend to avoid vigorous discussions and uncomfortable subjects.

He concluded that the Fukushima accidents were caused by human error.
Sunday, June 05, 2011 23:21 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

LATE NEWS NHK

TEPCO mulls ways to cut humidity in No.2 reactor
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it will try to reduce humidity inside the Number 2 reactor building.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says humidity and high radiation levels mean workers can work only for short periods of time even if they wear protective gear.

TEPCO says it plans to reduce the amount of radioactive materials inside the reactor building and then open the doors to lower humidity, now at 99.9 percent. The decision came after the failure of its initial attempt to bring down the humidity level. The company initially thought vapor from a storage pool of spent nuclear fuel was responsible for the high humidity. It installed a device to cool down the water. The device cooled down the water but failed to reduce the humidity.

At the Number 1 reactor, a device to reduce radioactive substances was installed in May. But TEPCO says the device needs to be adjusted for the Number 2 reactor since it has low resistance to humidity.

It is possible that radioactive substances will leak out of the Number 2 reactor building once the doors are open. TEPCO says it will make a final decision after carefully assessing the levels of radioactivity.

Work to fix a water level gauge was supposed to begin as early as mid-June, to help ensure stable cooling. But there may be a delay if the company cannot reduce the humidity.
Monday, June 06, 2011 05:13 +0900 (JST)

And this story makes it clear how physically demanding working at the site is.

Workers at Fukushima plant treated for dehydration
Two workers at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been treated for dehydration at a hospital.

With 9 workers getting heatstroke, Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will take more measures to ensure the health of workers at the plant.

TEPCO said the 2 workers were installing cables near a nuclear waste disposal facility. Both are contract workers in their 40s. They were sent to a clinic inside the plant on Sunday morning after they said they felt unwell. TEPCO said they were later sent to a hospital in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, where they were treated for dehydration.

TEPCO said no radioactivity was detected, but one worker was advised to stay in hospital for about a week, and the other to stay home for 3 days.

The company said it is advising workers to wear vests containing cooling gels underneath the gear that protects against radiation, but that one of the 2 workers was not wearing a vest.

As the weather becomes hotter, the working environment at the plant will become tougher for workers wearing protective suits.

TEPCO plans to improve working conditions by setting up new rest areas and securing 2,500 cooling vests.
Monday, June 06, 2011 05:13 +0900 (JST)

And reminding all of us of all those who died in the quake and tsunami:

Memorial for quake victims at Westminster Abbey

A memorial service for the victims of the March 11th natural disaster in northeastern Japan was held at Westminster Abbey in London on Sunday.

About 2,000 Londoners and Japanese who live in Britain gathered to pray for the victims.

The Dean of Westminster Abbey, Reverend John Hall, led the prayer for those who lost their loved ones, homes or jobs.

Then there was a reading of a poem by Kenji Miyazawa called " Ame ni mo Makezu" or "Be not defeated by the rain". The poet was from Iwate prefecture, where the damage is extensive.

British musicians performed on Japanese drums.

Japanese ambassador to Britain Keiichi Hayashi said the number of participants shows how deeply people grieve for the dead and want to encourage those affected by the disaster.

Westminster Abbey has close ties with the British royal family. Princess Diana's funeral was held there and Prince William and Kate Middleton were married there in April.
Monday, June 06, 2011 07:53 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

From TEPCO status reports, up through 10 AM JST June 6

-The accumulated water in the turbine building of unit 2 and 3 is increasing, in order to prevent from leaking out of the system, we re-examined the water storage level of the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building). We reported the result of the re-examination to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, after confirmation by Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, from 6:39 pm, June 4, we started transferring the accumulated water in the vertical shaft of turbine building of Unit 2 to the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building).

-From 12:50 pm on June 2, we started transferring water from Unit 3 condenser to Unit 3 condenser storage tank. At 9:56 pm on June 4, we stopped transferring water.

-At 2:23 on June 4, we started spraying water into the spent fuel pool of Unit 4 by a concrete pumping vehicle (Hydrazine was also injected with the water from 2:51 pm to 6:41 pm on June 4.). The spray completed at 7:45 pm on June 4.

-From 10:16 am on June 5th, we started spraying freshwater into the spent fuel pool of Unit 1 through Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System, and finished at 10:48 am

-From 1:08 pm to 3:14 pm on June 5th, we injected freshwater into Unit 3 spent fuel pool through Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System (Hydrazine was injected from 1:14 pm to 2;16 pm on June 5th at the same time).

- At 6:26 pm on June 5, we started transferring the accumulated water at the basement of Turbine Building of Unit 3 to the condenser.

-At 2:00 pm on June 2, we resumed transfer of accumulated water in the basement of Unit 6 turbine building to a temporary tank. At 2:00 pm on June 5, we stopped transferring. After that at 2:45 pm on June 5, we resumed transfer.

- On June 5, our workers sprayed dust inhibitor to areas with the size of approximately 8,750 m2, including observation point



. - Approximately 10 am on June 5, a partner company's worker (equipped with overalls, Tyvek, and full-face mask) reported that he felt sick during the power-cable installation task near the Wild bird forest in the power plant's premise. After physical examination at the medical treatment room of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, he was taken to J-VILLAGE by ambulance at approximately 10:37 am. At 11:20 am, a helicopter emergency medical service was requested by J-VILLAGE. After transported to Hirono Central Gymnasium by ambulance, the worker was transported to Iwaki Kyouritsu Hospital by the helicopter service. According to the physical examination, it was explained that he was suspected to suffer from "dehydration," and needs treatment in the hospital about a week. Besides him, around 10:15 am on the same day, another partner company's worker (in the same equipment as the one of the above worker) reported that he felt sick during the similar work. After physical examination at the medical treatment room of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, he was transported to J-VILLAGE by ambulance at approximately 12:07 pm because of his serious condition. At 12:40 pm, he was transported to Fukushima accident Hospital from J-VILLAGE by ambulance. After the physical examination, he was diagnosed to suffer from dehydration, and to be requested to keep quiet in bed at home for three days.

-And, at around 10:15 am on June 5, because another worker of cooperative firm who were conducting the same operation also complained of bad health, we took him to Fukushima Rosai Hospital by ambulance.

And from NHK reports:
This would be the system purchased from Areva. If it is being tested now, it looks like this part of the project is on schedule.

TEPCO tests filtering system at Fukushima plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company is testing a filtering system to decontaminate highly radioactive water that continues flooding outside the reactors of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

TEPCO is checking to ensure the system works properly ahead of putting it into use on June 15th.

Decontamination of the water is necessary before TEPCO moves it elsewhere and achieves its ultimate goal of stabilizing the reactors.

More than 105,000 tons of highly radioactive water is estimated to be flooding the basements of reactor- and turbine buildings of the plant.

The volume continues to grow at a pace of 500 tons a day. It is thought that water injected into the reactors to keep them cool is leaking through cracks in the reactor containment vessels.

TEPCO warns that the contaminated water may overflow the tunnel outside the No. 2 reactor as early as June 20th.

Starting on June 15th, the utility hopes to decontaminate the water and transfer it to temporarily-installed tanks before returning it to reactors as a coolant.

Two tanks arrived near the plant on Monday. A total of 270 tanks, which have a combined capacity of 30,000 tons, will be installed at the plant.
Monday, June 06, 2011 12:36 +0900 (JST)

The highest concentration is still at Unit 2, inside the silt fence.
In other words, the silt fence and the zeolite filtration seem to be working pretty well.

Cesium in seawater near No. 3 reactor falling
The operator of the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima says the levels of radioactive materials in seawater near the Number 3 reactor are at their lowest since the accident.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it detected 1.2 becquerels of radioactive cesium-134 per cubic centimeters in seawater samples taken on Saturday.
The level is 20 times the national legal limit. TEPCO also found 1.3 becquerels of cesium-137, 14 times the limit. Both substances were found to be at their lowest levels since the accident.

At the same location near the water intake of the Number 3 reactor, cesium at 32,000 times the legal limit was detected on May 11th.

In seawater samples taken near the water intake of the Number 2 reactor, the concentration of radioactive iodine rose to 160 times the limit on Saturday, up from 43 times the limit on Friday.

TEPCO says it detected radioactive cesium twice to 3 times higher than the national limit at 2 of the 4 survey points, including the one near the water drainage gate of the Number 5 and Number 6 reactors.

Surveys far out to sea were cancelled due to bad weather conditions.

TEPCO says levels of radioactive materials are on a downward trend at all survey locations. But the company will continue to carefully monitor levels in coastal waters.
Monday, June 06, 2011 05:13 +0900 (JST)

This is a mammoth undertaking, and I'm glad to hear it has begun. It is necessary to know the concentrations exactly before remediation plans can be finalized. It is also necessary to do before evacuees can be sent home. The report does not speak to this explicitly, and it is not clear whether sampling will be done inside the evacuation zone.

Soil sampling begins in Fukushima
Japan's science ministry has begun a prefecture-wide examination in Fukushima to check for radioactive contamination in the soil from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The ministry began taking soil samples on Monday as part of efforts to produce a map outlining radiation contamination in the prefecture. The study involves direct sampling of soil for the first time. Until now, the ministry has been measuring soil contamination from airplanes.

About 80 experts from 35 universities and laboratories across the country are taking part.

Three experts visited a district in Nihonmatsu City on Monday morning and took soil samples from more than 6 centimeters deep.
Samples will be taken every 4 square kilometers in areas within 80 kilometers of the nuclear plant and every 100 square kilometers in areas further away.

The radiation levels in more than 2,200 sections of the prefecture will appear in the map.

The ministry plans to complete the study by the end of this month and release the results in August.
Monday, June 06, 2011 13:51 +0900 (JST)

And I am not at all sure this is a good idea, because I can assure you that scrubbers and filtration at coal plants do NOT succeed at removing contamination that is at the atomic level. Only particulate contamination is successfully removed, and contamination that is trapped chemically. Radium and radon are still released into the air, which is why if you worry about radioactive substances in the air, you are better to live next to a nuclear plant than a coal plant. Since some areas outside the evacuation zone have higher cesium concentrations than some other areas inside the zone, the fact that this is only being done outside the zone is not reassuring. I doubt that the average incinerator has any chemical filtration to fix cesium in the filtrate.

Disposal of radioactive debris to go ahead
A panel on nuclear waste disposal has decided to allow municipalities to burn highly radioactive debris if they have incinerators that can remove radioactive substances.

The panel was set up by the environment ministry. Members of the expert panel made the decision on Sunday.

The ministry measured radioactive substances on debris inside Fukushima Prefecture at collection posts, excluding areas such as those in a 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone. It had already decided to allow 10 municipalities where radiation levels are relatively low to resume usual methods of disposal, such as burning and burying.

On Sunday the panel discussed ways to dispose of highly radioactive debris in the areas.

The participants agreed, in principle, to allow municipalities to burn debris highly contaminated with radioactive substances if their incinerators have filters or electric dust cleaners to remove the substances.

The environment ministry will inform these municipalities of the decision by the end of June, after checking the capabilities of each facility.

The panel also agreed that the ministry and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency should measure the radioactivity of debris inside the 20-kilometer radius no-entry-zone and evacuation zones where monitoring has not been conducted.
Monday, June 06, 2011 05:13 +0900 (JST)

And I'm glad to hear the kids are having some fun!

Fukushima students enjoy indoor swimming
While concerns remain over the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, students from elementary schools in the region enjoyed swimming at an indoor pool to avoid possible radiation.Two elementary schools in Tamura City started swimming classes on Monday using a city-run indoor pool located 20 kilometers from the school.

More than 50 students were taken by bus. They first sprayed water on each other, and then practiced swimming for about 30 minutes.The city is located within the expanded 30-kilometer zone where residents have been asked to prepare for an emergency evacuation. After the nuclear accident, 29 local municipalities have banned outdoor swimming classes at elementary and junior high schools to minimize the effects of radiation on children.
Monday, June 06, 2011 16:30 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

And more stories:

The IAEA has had its June meeting.

June Board of Governors Meeting Convenes
Staff Report

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano opened the Board of Governors meeting on 6 June 2011 with his statement focusing on, among other issues, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, nuclear applications, and nuclear safeguards.

Fukushima Daiichi Accident
"The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has been a priority for the IAEA since it happened on 11 March. The IAEA has distributed information related to the accident, validated by Japan and other countries, which has served as a reference point. It continues to provide all possible advice and assistance to the Government of Japan as it works to achieve the goal of full stabilisation of the plant. We have worked closely from the start with international partners such as the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization.

"In March, a special Board of Governors meeting was convened to discuss the Fukushima Daiichi accident. In April, the 5th Review Meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety provided a first formal opportunity for parties to the Convention to share their preliminary thoughts on the lessons that need to be learned.
"An IAEA International Fact-Finding Mission, consisting of top world experts from a dozen Member States and the Agency, visited Japan from 24 May to 2 June in order to make an assessment of safety issues related to the accident. After sharing preliminary findings and lessons learned with the Government of Japan, it is now preparing its final report, which will be presented to the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety.

"This Ministerial Conference is of vital importance for global nuclear safety after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Its main goals are to make a preliminary assessment of the accident, strengthen emergency preparedness and response, and launch the process of reviewing the global nuclear safety framework in order to strengthen it. The IAEA, with its broad membership and unrivalled expertise in all aspects of nuclear energy and nuclear safety, is the focal point for international follow-up of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. I count on strong participation at a high level by all Member States in the Conference in order to send a strong message concerning their commitment to enhanced nuclear safety.

"The Ministerial Conference will be part of a lengthy process of establishing a comprehensive post-Fukushima nuclear safety framework, building on the valuable system that is already in place. I am looking forward to hearing your views during this Board. Based on these views, as well as those expressed during the consultations, and drawing from the Agency's rich experience in assisting Member States in this field, I plan to make some suggestions at the Conference on how to strengthen nuclear safety. I welcome the initiatives and proposals already made by many Member States. I appreciate the proposal made by the Government of Japan to host a conference with the IAEA in the latter half of next year, which demonstrates Japan's commitment to full transparency and its willingness to share its experience for the benefit of all countries.

"At the request of Member States from the Asia-Pacific region, we have put before you for approval a new, off-cycle TC project in support of a marine benchmark study on the possible impact of the Fukushima radioactive releases in the region. The project provides for the possibility of Small Island Developing States of the Pacific, which are not Members of the Agency but have shown interest in the study, to participate with the approval of the members of the Regional Cooperative Agreement. Work will start as soon as funding is received."


Nuclear Applications
"Preparations are well underway for the Scientific Forum in September which, as you know, will be devoted to nuclear techniques for water. The aim is to improve understanding among Member States and other key partners of the added value of nuclear techniques in water management and of the Agency's broad range of activities in this area. These include water resources assessment, agricultural water management, and aquatic pollution control.
"To give just one example of the Agency's work, 19 African countries are participating in a regional agricultural project using small-scale irrigation technology for better use of water and fertilizer. Nuclear techniques are used to assess soil moisture for plant water requirements and to measure fertilizer uptake. The evidence so far is that drip irrigation increases crop yields while using up to 30% less water than traditional methods."

See Story Resources for more information.
-- By Sasha Henriques, IAEA Division of Public Information

And will they have to issue a long report on how they should have built the center better?

Govt. document shows offsite nuclear emergency center dysfunctional
An internal document from Japan's nuclear safety agency reveals that an emergency response office was nearly dysfunctional at the time of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on March 11th.

NHK has obtained a document from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency that shows how the office, called an "off-site center" failed to function properly due to a rise in radiation levels in the wake of a power outage.

Off-site centers were established at 22 locations near nuclear power plants throughout the country after a criticality accident in 1999 at a nuclear fuel processing plant in Tokai Village in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Officials of the national and local governments, police and Self-Defense Forces were to gather at these offices in the event of nuclear power plant accidents to formulate plans to evacuate residents.

A Nuclear Safety and Industrial Agency log shows that an off-site center 5 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi plant was barely functional after the March 11th earthquake.

It reveals that after the power outage, an emergency diesel generator did not work at all, communications were down, and other critical functions were lost.

The document reveals that officials from only 3 out of more than 20 organizations assembled at the off-site center at around 10:00 PM on March 11th, 7 hours after the earthquake.

On the following day, the document shows that radiation levels were rising inside the center after an explosion occurred at the Number One Reactor building. It is believed that the off-site center was poorly equipped and unable to prevent radioactive materials from getting in.

Later, as radiation levels continued to rise, the authorities decided to relocate the functions of the off-site center to the Fukushima Prefectural Government office, 60 kilometers from the nuclear plant, on March 16th.
Monday, June 06, 2011 22:00 +0900 (JST)

The distinction between ordinary people and radiation workers in a normal situation is rather specious--it is a benchmark, nothing more. No health damage has every been proven below 100 milliSieverts per year. The point of such a benchmark is that "less radiation is better".

Professors call for radiation exposure reduction
A group of professors at Fukushima University is urging the prefectural government to take stronger precautions in reducing radiation exposure to citizens.

The croup comprises 12 associate professors at the university, including Hazuki Ishida, an environmental engineering specialist. On Monday they presented the Fukushima Governor with a 7-point request in connection with the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

A health risk management expert for the prefecture said that radiation exposure of up to 10 microsieverts per hour causes no health problems.

But for those remaining outdoors in such conditions for only 5 days, the total radiation exposure will exceed 1 millisievert, the annual limit for ordinary people, as recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The professors called for reducing exposure to radioactivity as much as possible and urged the prefecture to establish guidelines toward this purpose.

They also asked that prefectural government radiation experts who say that even relatively low levels of radioactivity are harmful be included as health risk management advisors.
They also requested that the prefectural government draw up and make public a concrete plan to remove contaminated topsoil. Ishida says the prefectural government should take measures to protect its residents, on the premise that even low levels of radiation exposure are dangerous.
Monday, June 06, 2011 22:31 +0900 (JST)

]No.1 meltdown may have started 5 hours after quake
Japan's nuclear regulator says the meltdown at one of the Fukushima reactors came about 5 hours after the March 11th earthquake, 10 hours earlier than initially estimated by the plant's operator.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Monday issued the results of its analysis of data given to it by Tokyo Electric Power Company.

The report says the fuel rods in the Number 1 reactor began to be exposed 2 hours after the earthquake due to the loss of the reactor's cooling system in the tsunami. Its fuel rods may have melted down 3 hours later, causing the damage to the reactor. This means the meltdown occurred about 10 hours earlier than TEPCO estimated last month.

The nuclear agency also says a meltdown damaged the Number 2 reactor about 80 hours after the quake, and the Number 3 reactor 79 hours after the quake.

The agency's analysis shows that the Number 2 reactor damage came 29 hours earlier than the TEPCO estimate, and the Number 3 reactor damage came 13 hours later than in the utility's assessment.

The agency says the total amount of radioactive iodine 131 and cesium 137 released from the Numbers 1, 2 and 3 reactors for the 6 days from March 11th is estimated at 770,000 terabecquerels.

That is about twice the figure mentioned in April when the agency upgraded the severity of the accident to the highest level of 7 on an international scale.

The agency attributes the discrepancies to the assumption that radioactive substances might have been released from the Number 2 reactor containment vessel as well as from its suppression chamber.
Monday, June 06, 2011 21:03 +0900 (JST)

Naraha town residents make short home visit
The last group of evacuees from the no-entry zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant briefly returned home on Monday.

Residents of Naraha town became the last of the 9 municipalities within the government-designated no-entry zone to return to their homes since the program began on May 10th. Their home visit was postponed, due to rain from last week's typhoon.

59 residents from 36 households living about 15 kilometers from the crippled nuclear power plant gathered at a gymnasium to put on protective clothing before boarding buses to enter the zone.

Following a 2-hour stay at their homes, residents returned to the gymnasium carrying their summer clothes and other personal belongings.

The remaining 300 town residents from about 170 households will make similar visits to their homes till Thursday.
Monday, June 06, 2011 18:15 +0900 (JST)

Temporary housing construction lagging in Iwate
Most of the property in Iwate Prefecture on which temporary housing for survivors of the March 11th tsunami will be built has been secured.

More than 25,000 people are still living in evacuation centers in the prefecture. The prefectural government says it still needs to build 14,000 units but it has been having difficulty in procuring land.

Under the existing law, any new construction is not allowed in areas hit by tsunami. As a result, there is not enough public land on high ground to build all the temporary houses.

The local government recently decided to rent land from the private sector so that it could complete enough temporary houses by early July.

So far, it has completed 7,000 temporary houses.

The construction of temporary housing is also underway in neighboring Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures.
Monday, June 06, 2011 10:51 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

No, I don't know what percent of the Japanese tea got affected by ban. Only that it comes to four prefectures. The interesting thing is that the whole Ibaraki got banned. But just on Sunday I saw spinach from Ibaraki in the supermarket. It's not like tea and spinach can be affected differently by radiation, to my dilettante knowledge. So, if the Ibaraki tea got banned, why spinach is in sales? Strange.

 

[dorispulaski]

let's talk, I'll write an extended post about radiation in food later today. It's a complex business, and not my area of expertise, but I've been doing a lot of reading about it, and I find it quite fascinating.

June 7th, 2:00 PM JST, Wind SouthSouth East

Daini
Six Peripheral measurement points ( 1.7, 1.4, 1.8, 1.6, 1.6, 1.5)
Manual Point (9:00 AM) 1.0 microSievert per hour

Daiichi
Eight peripheral measurement points (5, 25, 16, 15, 18, 39, 122, 102 ) microSieverts per hour
Main Office Building 359 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 14 microSieverts per hour
Cart by Main Gate 31.0 microSieverts per hour


JAIF Has switched to a format of reporting progress on the TEPCO restoration plan at Daiichi. There is a lot of details in it.
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1307417924P.pdf

9:00 AM TEPCO Status

- At 3:56pm, June 6, water sprayed by concrete pump vehicle to spent fuel pool of Unit 4 (and also hydrazine was sprayed from 4:15 pm to 5:45 pm), finished at 6:35 pm.

- On June 6, dust inhibitor was sprayed approx. 8,750m2 of observation point area.

-- At around 7:10 pm on June 6, one of the workers of cooperative firm who were filling cesium adsorption equipments with water in Incineration Workshop Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility slipped and had his left chest injured. We took him to Iwaki Kyouritsu Hospital by ambulance.
After examination and treatment at medical room of power station, at around 8:10 pm transferred to J-Village. At 9:22 pm, transferred to Iwaki Hospital by ambulance. No pollution to his body.

More entires from Daini. It's hard to remember sometimes that TEPCO has 4 other reactors in Fukushima, which were just as hard hit by the earthquake as Daiichi.

Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station: Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to the earthquake - Reactor cooling and filtering system of Unit 3 was restored at 2:05 pm on June 6th. We have been cooling the reactor by residual heat removal system (B). We expect that the restoration of the reactor cooling system, which functions to cool the reactor, will contribute to securing further reliability of Unit 3, which has been in cold shutdown, At the same time, we will endeavor to restore the facilities, aiming for further reliability of cold shutdown in the rest of the units
* Reactor cooling and filtering system: A system to remove impurities from reactor water and to maintain its quality. During the regular inspections or reactor shutdowns, it can be utilized to discharge surplus water in the reactor and to control the water level. The reactor cooling and filtering system of Unit 4 was restored on June 4 (previously announced on June 4.)

NHK News

Work continues to support No.4 reactor pool
At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, work is continuing to shore up a pool containing spent nuclear fuel at the No.4 reactor.

Engineers are concerned that a wall supporting the pool, which holds 1,535 spent fuel rods, was damaged in an explosion on March 15.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to build a new structure with concrete walls and 30 steel pillars to support the pool.

The pillars, each 8 meters long, are to be placed under the pool, on the second floor of the building housing the nuclear reactor by the end of June.

By the end of July, a concrete wall is expected to be in place to complete the structure. A circulating cooling system will be built to stably cool the pool water, which had heated to 89 degrees Celsius.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 12:58 +0900 (JST)

You can see how having the robots is a huge advantage. There were no such robots during the Chernobyl cleanup.

Highly radioactive debris found at Fukushima plant
Highly radioactive debris is still hampering the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant from bringing its reactors under control, almost 3 months after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

On Monday, a piece of debris about 5 centimeters in diameter with radiation levels of 950 millisieverts per hour was removed from the west side of the Number 3 reactor building. It had been found on Saturday.

In May, debris with a radiation dose of 1,000 millisieverts per hour was discovered in the area, while rubble contaminated with 900 millisieverts per hour was found in April.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has so far removed about 280 containers of radioactive debris, but radiation levels still remain high near the reactor building that was badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion.

TEPCO is also struggling to handle highly radioactive water. More than 100,000 tons of contaminated water is believed to have accumulated in the basements of the reactor and turbine buildings.

TEPCO plans to begin a decontamination process on June 15th. Preparations are under way. The utility tested a device on Monday that will filter radioactive sediment from the water.
Monday, June 06, 2011 19:56 +0900 (JST)

And in what we in the US call The, "We're from the government and we're here to help," department...

Inspections begin at Fukushima nuclear plant
Labor ministry officials have conducted onsite inspections at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, to investigate why 2 workers were exposed to excessive levels of radiation.

A team of 4 inspectors arrived at the plant on Tuesday afternoon to check working conditions and interview safety control managers.

The probe followed revelations by the Tokyo Electric Power Company that the 2 workers were exposed to over 250 millisieverts of radiation -- an elevated emergency limit introduced by the government after the nuclear crisis began.

The 2 men were on duty in the central control rooms of reactors No.3 and 4.

They weren't wearing protective masks when reactor No.1 was hit by a hydrogen explosion, one day after the March 11th quake and tsunami.

The health and labor ministry plans to instruct TEPCO to improve conditions, if Tuesday's inspections turn up problems with workers' safety management.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 14:03 +0900 (JST)

Apparently, the current direction for replacing the power supplied by the reactors which are currently shut down is now wind. I'm not sure what people are supposed to do to improve the efficiency of their refrigerators, other than buy new ones that are more efficient, or perhaps smaller.

Environment white paper issued
A government report says renewable energy such as wind power should be promoted to prepare for a power shortage in the wake of the March 11th disaster.

The Cabinet approved on Tuesday the white paper on the environment, which explores the use of renewable energy in rebuilding the country.

The report says households consume 30 percent of the nation's power so energy conservation in this area will have a great effect.

It says that power-guzzling air conditioners and refrigerators should be used efficiently It also suggests starting the working day earlier to reduce the time that the lights are on.

The report notes that tourism and fishing have been the key industries along the coast of Sanriku, which was devastated in the March disaster. It suggests that this be kept in mind when drawing up rebuilding policies.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 15:21 +0900 (JST)

and in time for the real summer heat wave:

Kaieda:Nuclear plants to resume operating in July

Japan's industry minister says that power companies will be allowed to resume operations of nuclear plants in July after completing regular inspections.

Banri Kaieda told reporters on Tuesday of possible summer power shortages due to the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The disaster has provoked many prefectures, cities and towns that host nuclear plants to insist that government safety standards be beefed up to ensure their safety before the resumption of operations. Several plants have completed regular check-ups and are waiting for the green light to restart from local governments.

Kaieda said Japan's economy must have a stable supply of electricity.

He said after having eased the concerns of host municipalities, he wants to allow plants that meet safety standards to restart.

Kaieda said that the green light will be given in July, the peak month for electricity demand in Japan.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 14:32 +0900 (JST)

and here's what all that energy from shut down reactors is really going to be replaced with. If you feel that human activities are wholly or partially responsible for global warming, this is very bad news.

IEA: Demand for natural gas expanding

The International Energy Agency says the decline in nuclear power generation as a result of the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Plant will push up global demand for natural gas by more than 60 percent by 2035.

The IEA's report released on Monday forecasts global demand for energy to rise by 37 percent from the 2008 level by 2035, due to developments in emerging economies. Demand for natural gas will rise by 63 percent during the same period.

Demand will exceed that of coal by 2030, becoming the second largest after oil. Natural gas will account for more than a quarter of the global energy demand by 2035.

The IEA attributes the boom in demand for natural gas to its cheaper price than other energy resources, and a sharp increase in production.

The Agency says another reason is the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which is prompting some countries, including Germany, to move away from nuclear power and towards greater use of natural gas.

It says the increased use of natural gas will help efforts against global warming, as it is cleaner than coal and oil power generation. But it says the move away from nuclear power will increase the effect of global warming.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 05:40 +0900 (JST)

The IAEA is also calling for improved safety. It sound like Amano is proposing more instant, coordinated cooperation from all nuclear countries in case of an accident anywhere. If so, it's a good thing :

IAEA chief to propose tougher nuclear safety
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency says he will propose measures to strengthen nuclear safety at the upcoming high-level international talks, following the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Yukiya Amano made the remarks in his opening speech at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on Monday.

He said the IAEA sent a team of experts to Japan last month to assess safety issues relating to the accident.

He said the team is now preparing its final report to be submitted to the IAEA's Ministerial Conference in Vienna, starting June 20th.

He will make the proposal for increased nuclear safety during this conference.

After the IAEA session, Amano told reporters that he believes the ministerial meeting will become a cornerstone for global nuclear safety after the Fukushima accident.

He said he wants to recommend practical safety plans based on lessons learned from the accident.

He suggested the IAEA will aim to form a global nuclear safety framework at the meeting later this month.

The Board of Governors agenda includes the Fukushima problem and a UN resolution on Syria's suspected nuclear program.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 05:40 +0900 (JST)

Monitoring of beach radiation begins in Ibaraki

Ibaraki Prefecture, south of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has begun monitoring radiation levels at its beaches to ensure safety before this summer's swimming season.

Last year, more than 1-million 750-thousand people visited Ibaraki's beaches, but the number of visitors this summer is feared likely to decline due the nuclear disaster.

On Tuesday, officials visited Ajigaura beach in Hitachinaka City. They took samples of seawater from 1 to 1.5 meter deep for monitoring. They also checked radiation levels at 5 locations onshore.

The prefecture is to complete testing at all 17 beaches by mid-June and release the results.

It also plans to carry out similar checks later this month and in July.

An official told reporters he hopes the test results will ensure the safety of swimming beaches in Ibaraki Prefecture and that many people will visit there this summer.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 13:50 +0900 (JST)

I don't know about you, but I find this story very ironic. This is a very deadly form of e. coli. 22 people have died from it so far Its source has been traced to bean sprouts produced at an organic farm in northern Germany. Meanwhile people in Germanyand the rest of Europe are afraid to eat food from Japan.

Japan to test imported European perishable food for E.coli
Japan plans to begin checking imported perishable foods next week for E.coli, as an outbreak of the deadly strain continues to spread in Europe.

The E.coli scare has spread to 13 European countries and there have been fatalities, mainly in Germany, due to kidney failure.

Japan's health ministry will test one percent of imported vegetables, meat, fruit and other perishables at its 31 quarantine offices across the country.

Health minister Ritsuo Hosokawa says he is taking the outbreak seriously and that the minister's strict checking will secure the safety of imported foods in Japan.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 15:21 +0900 (JST)

Yes, nothing is settled on that front. Food from Japan is still under restrictions

:

Japanese, East European FMs agree on import issue
Foreign ministers from Japan and 4 East European countries have agreed that any import restrictions on Japanese products should be based on scientific grounds.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto met with his counterparts from Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on Monday.

Matsumoto told them that Japan intends to maintain full transparency in providing the international community with information about ongoing problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

He asked the ministers to help ease the European Union's restrictions on Japanese food and other products that were imposed after the nuclear accident at the plant.

The East European ministers said they understood Japan's explanations, and agreed that any restrictions should be based on scientific evidence..

The foreign ministers also released a joint statement welcoming the recent agreement between Japan and the EU to launch preliminary talks with the aim of starting negotiations on an economic partnership agreement.

They also agreed to step up cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and energy-saving technologies.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 10:49 +0900 (JST)

These is good news, and quite close to schedule.

30,000 temporary houses to be completed
Japan's land and infrastructure minister Akihiro Ohata says that over 30,000 temporary homes for evacuees from the disaster in March will be completed on Wednesday, about 1 week behind a government target.

Ohata apologized for the delay on Tuesday, telling reporters that construction has been hampered by bad weather.

He also said the government will work hard to build faster to fulfill a pledge by Prime Minister Naoto Kan that all evacuees who want temporary homes will have one by the middle of August.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 14:49 +0900 (JST)

I love these stories of things coming back to life.

French confectioner reopens shop in Miyagi Pref.
A French cake-maker, whose shop in northeastern Japan was damaged by the March 11th tsunami, has reopened and is selling treats using local ingredients.

Vincent Dromer and his Japanese wife opened the shop in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture, last year but was forced to close it after the tsunami. The couple returned to France for a while because of radiation fears.

Dromer has since returned to Shiogama and on Tuesday, he reopened the shop nearly 3 months since the tsunami struck.

The Frenchman is using locally produced salt as a hidden flavor to make his treats. The salt, called "moshio," is made by drying seaweed after immersing it in sea water.
Many people came to buy the cakes. Dromer said he is happy to see his customers again.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011 15:45 +0900 (JST)

 

[Olympia]

Wonderful about the French confectioner. I love people who stand up to fate and even move forward. And isn't the word confectioner wonderful? Say it, and see how it implies "chocolate" to your hungry imagination.

The irony of organic sprouts maybe carrying e coli was not lost on me. (Though now the sprouts are disputed as a source of the bacterium.) The thing to remember is that e coli comes from only one source: intestinal waste, either of people or livestock. So when the source is found, it will be shown to be caused probably by water runoff from an area where cows, pigs, or the like are kept, or bad sanitation of workers. What's troubling is that this is a very severe strain, supposedly not seen before. I don't know whether the Germans are as liberal with antibiotics in animal feed as the U.S. is--I kind of doubt it--but superbugs usually arise because of antibiotic resistance, so I'd like to know (as would we all) what the story is. I doubt that any animals on an organic farm would be receiving antibiotics in their feed.

Just goes to show you: life is risky. Still eminently worthwhile, though!

 

[dorispulaski]

I was picturing an imaginary (and because it's me, silly) discussion between 2 people, one from each nation:
German: We will not accept your cesium contaminated tea. If someone drank it every day, they might die in 40 years of cancer.
Japanese: Well,we will not accept your poop contaminated organic bean sprouts. They are already killing people, so there.