Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[let`s talk]

Excellent!

And now that the warm season is over, I understand that a good deal of the electricity saving rules have been cancelled?

Have the altered work schedules gone back to normal yet?

The altered work schedules is about people's work places or about working hours of public places, like supermarkets, etc? Offices were back to normal in a day or three after the quake. Shops and other public places have been working in the pre-earthquake regime for the last 3-4 months. I am not sure when they switched back to their usual routine. To say that the warm season is over is a little bit early. Today in Tokyo it was +33C and very humid. Electricity saving rules haven't been canceled yet. A good deal of signs and ads are off. Everywhere they still have posters and warning notes about saving electricity. It's true about Kanto though. Even in Shizuoka, a popular seaside area for summer holidays, located right next door, I didn't see any posters or warnings about saving electricity. But at least here, in the Greater Tokyo, trains are all back on usual tracks. It was a real mess in my head with all those extra-trains and adjusted schedules. Now it's over. Good! :thumbsup:

 

[dorispulaski]

Thanks for the info!

Meanwhile

TEPCO STATUS REPORTS For September 14th and 15th:

TEPCO video of how their water system between the buffer tank and the reactors works, and how it is kept functioning during aftershocks. I found this a very interesting video!
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/index05-e.html

Live Video shows that the panels are going up rapidly on the Unit 1 temporary covering.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/f1-np/camera/index-e.html

Dust sampling at Unit 3-amazing that the spent fuel pool is not that damaged, considering that the whole top of the building blew off.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110913_1.jpg

Based on the success of this method for improving cooling of Unit 3, TEPCO is extending it to Unit 2.

Unit 2
-At 2:59 pm on September 14, we started injecting water to the reactor through core spray system water injection piping arrangement in addition to the water injection through the reactor feed water system piping arrangement. Water is currently injected at approx. 3.8 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, while the water injection through the core spray system water injection piping arrangement is under adjustment.

At 11:8 am on September 14, we stopped the operation of cooling facilities of common pool because the common pool power center will be moved with the replace of power panel located at the basement of the spent fuel common pool's building.

-At approx. 12:40 pm on September 14, 6 partner company's workers, who maintained water treatment faculties, conducted contamination check of full-face masks when they returned from the work site to 1F's Main Anti-Earthquake Building. As a result, inner side of the filter for 4 out of the 6 workers were confirmed to be contaminated. We will confirm whether the 6 workers might have absorbed contaminated materials inside of their bodies using whole body counter.


At approximately 12:40 pm on September 14, we found the inside of full-face masks, which were used by 4 out of 6 partner company workers, contaminated when we were checking the contamination of the masks used in maintenance work of the water treatment system. Then, as a result of the measurement by whole body counter, we have confirmed that no one took in radioactive materials.

- At approximately 4 pm on September 14, a TEPCO employee who returned from the patrol on the generators of Unit 1 - 4 (outdoors) to Visitors Hall of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station got decontaminated since contamination at his chin and neck was detected. Then as a result of the measurement by whole body counter, we have evaluated that no radioactive materials was taken in.

- At approximately 8:18 am on September 15, we found a partner company worker unequipped with a charcoal filter to the full-faced mask after the worker entered the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. We will check by whole body counter if he took in radioactive materials.

- At 10 am on September 15, we started transfer of accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank.

* From 9:15 am to 0:10 pm on September 14, we sampled gases in the Reactor Pressure Vessel of Reactor Building, Unit 1.

* At 9:47 am on September 14, we stopped the Spent Fuel Pool's desalination system of Unit 4 to install an electric dialysis equipment. At 0:25 pm on the same day, the desalination system resumed while we continued operation of an alternative system to cool down the pool.

* At 9:53 am on September 14, we stared transfer of the accumulated water from the condenser to the basement of Turbine Building of Unit 1.

* At 11:08 am on September 14, the Common Pool's cooling system was shutdown to move a Common Pool Power Center so that we will replace a power panel installed at the basement of Spent Fuel Common Pool.

* . At 2:59 pm on September 14, we started injecting water to the reactor through core spray system water injection piping arrangement in addition to the water injection through the reactor feed water system piping arrangement. At 3:25 pm on the same day, we adjusted the volume water at 1.0 m3/h. The volume of water injected from the feed water system remains unchanged Water is currently injected at approx. 3.8 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, while the water injection through the core spray system water injection piping arrangement is under adjustment.

* At 0:40 pm on September 1, we found 4 out of 6 partner company workers contaminated when we were decontaminating the full-face masks of the workers who were engaged in maintenance work of the water processing system. By the use of whole body counter, we will check if they have take in radioactive materials.

* At 6:07 pm on September 13, as it was confirmed that there was a decrease in the amount of water injection for the reactor of unit 1, we adjusted the rate of water injection to approx. 3.8 m3/h.

* At 6:07 pm on September 13, as it was confirmed that there was a decrease in the amount of water injection for the reactor of unit 2, we adjusted the rate of water injection to approx. 3.8 m3/h.

* From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on September 13, we transferred accumulated water from the basement of Unit 6 reactor building to the temporary tank.

At 10:00 am on September 11, we started transferring accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 3 to the High Temperature Incinerator Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility. After the temporary interruption for the confirmation of the system constitution, we changed the transfer route and started transferring to Process Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

- At 9:51 am on September 13, we started transferring accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 2 to High Temperature Incinerator Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

- At 3:58 am on September 13, we stopped the cesium absorption instrument and the decontamination instrument for the maintenance of the water treatment facility. Then, after the completion of the maintenance work, we restarted the treatment of the accumulated water at 7:20 pm on September 14.

NHK News

TEPCO spraying water directly into No.2 reactor

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun injecting water directly onto the spot in the No. 2 reactor where the fuel is believed to be located after melting down in the pressure vessel.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has been spraying water continuously into the reactors since the March accident to cool them down.

As of 11AM on Wednesday, the bottom of the No.2 reactor was 114.4 degrees Celsius, compared to 84.9 degrees at the No.1 reactor and 101.3 at the No. 3 reactor.

TEPCO thinks the temperature at the No.2 reactor remains higher because the injected water is not cooling the place where the melted-down fuel is located.

On Wednesday, the utility began using pipes located above where the fuel is believed to be, along with an existing pipe, to diversify the coolant passages as the exact spot where the fuel is, remains unknown.

TEPCO says the temperature at the No. 3 reactor has dropped since the same method was introduced early this month.

The firm hopes to achieve a cold shutdown with the temperatures of all the reactors being kept stable and below 100 degrees by January.

It will adjust the amount of water being sprayed and monitor the change of reactor temperatures to find out the most effective way to cool them down.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 06:12 +0900 (JST)

Actually, Belarus did quite a bit of decontamination at the village of Gden & the town of Bragin post-Chernobyl, so this isn't unprecedented. Belarus got as much radioactive material from Chernobyl as Ukraine did, but Ukraine did no decontamination-just evacuated. However, if the Japanese commit to decontaminating all the severely affected areas, that will be unprecedented.

Expert panel starts discussing decontamination
An expert panel has begun discussing effective ways to remove radioactive materials from areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Experts on radiation and soil pollution on Wednesday attended the first meeting of the panel set up by the Environment Ministry.

Environment Minister Goshi Hosono told the panel that decontamination is Japan's top priority, and that the country faces the challenge of decontamination on an unprecedented scale.

In Fukushima Prefecture, municipalities near the plant have launched their own efforts to decontaminate buildings and soil.

The government plans to launch a model decontamination project in 12 of the prefecture's municipalities before focusing on severely contaminated areas early next year.

The panel is to discuss how much topsoil must be scraped away for effective decontamination, as well as standards and methods for municipalities' temporary storage of radioactive soil.

The ministry plans to draw up basic guidelines for decontamination, including specific methods, this year, based on the panel's discussion.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 18:06 +0900 (JST)

Testing is always good. If there is no problem, people can be reassured. If there is a problem, it can be dealt with. Ignorance is the enemy, always.

Infants to be tested for radiation exposure

Minamisoma City in Fukushima Prefecture has decided to include infants and small children in tests for radiation taken into their bodies.

Parts of the city are designated as evacuation zones following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Since July, the city has been testing residents for internal radiation exposure, but infants and small children were excluded as the equipment did not fit them. It has been studying other test methods for them.

A city-run general hospital, working with a Tokyo-based medical firm, has decided on a method to measure amounts of radioactive substances in urine and began accepting applications on Thursday.

The new test will be provided free of charge for children 6 years old and under. Results will be mailed about 2 weeks after urine samples are received.

A mother said she has not been allowed to go outside with her baby, adding she wants to have her baby tested as soon as possible.

An official at the hospital said many parents must be worried about the health of their children, and that he hopes the tests would ease their concerns.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 14:01 +0900 (JST)

On its face, a good idea. However, I would like to see the ground under such panels sampled to see if it is affected in any way after 20 years. And I would like to know where the Japanese plan to put the 170,000 hectares of discarded panels 20 years from now when they wear out.

170,000 Hectares = 656.4 Square Miles

400,000 Hectares = 1,544 Square Miles

Government promotes solar power in idled farmland

Japan's agriculture ministry has decided to ease regulations so that idle farmland can be used for renewable energy generation.

The government is promoting the use of alternative energy after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. But one of the challenges is securing enough land for solar power and other types of renewable energy.

Ministry officials say they will revise a farmland law so that 400,000 hectares of idle land nationwide can be used for the power generation business.

They also plan to set up a fund to help land owners and agricultural organizations start up companies engaged in wind and solar power generation on idle farmland.

The ministry estimates that 20 percent of the nation's electricity supply could be produced if 170,000 hectares of that land are used for renewable power generation.

It aims to submit necessary bills to next year's ordinary Diet session.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 11:07 +0900 (JST

UN: Fukushima plant based on poor assessment of natural disasters

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has blamed the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in northern Japan on its design which, he says, was based on poor hazard assessments of natural disasters.

The secretary general released a 43-page report on Wednesday, after studying the March accident with UN entities including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization.

The report says it is necessary for nuclear power stations to strengthen their safety standards.

It proposes the creation of a global system to allow the IAEA to internationally monitor radiation levels, citing the international impact of major nuclear accidents and emergencies.

The report calls for an international emergency response framework in the event of nuclear accidents, to secure human health and food safety.

The report also stresses the importance of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, in order to help improve the lives of the 2.4 billion people in developing countries suffering from energy poverty.

The UN secretary general is to convene a high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security on September 22nd in New York.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 16:40 +0900 (JST)

Energy poverty and its effects can be seen when people run toward a gasoline spill to collect spilled gasoline, rather than away from it, as happened in Nairobi this week.


And another perspective on the tsunami:

March 11 tsunami caused unprecedented fire
A survey has found that Japan's March 11th tsunami triggered at least 130 fires, destroying 5.65 million square meters of the northeastern prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. That's the worst case on record.

Fires are sparked when fuel from tanks and ships, drifting after the tsunami, are ignited by vehicle batteries or other sources. Once lit, flames spread quickly as tsunami debris hinders fire-fighters.

Fire departments from the 3 prefectures told NHK that of the 131 fires reported, 100 were in Miyagi, 22 in Iwate and 9 in Fukushima.

The largest damaged area was some 3.14 million square meters in Otsuchi Town, Iwate, followed by about 2.45 million square meters in Kesennuma City, Miyagi.

A total area of around 5.65 million square meters was reported to have burnt in 4 cities and towns.

Similar fires occurred when major earthquakes hit the central prefecture of Niigata in 1964 and the northern prefecture of Hokkaido in 1993. Over 50,000 square meters was consumed by fire in each event.

But the March 11th earthquake and tsunami destroyed an area about 100 times larger, making it the worst on record.

The figure is likely to rise as the fire departments continue their survey.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 06:12 +0900 (JST)

I don't know why workers do this, but they have done it in the US as well.

Plant workers fail to evacuate despite exposure

At least 4 workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant failed to evacuate even though their radiation monitor indicated levels of beta rays exceeding the set limit.

The workers were replacing equipment in the plant's wastewater processing system on Wednesday.

Their beta ray counter indicated levels above the evacuation benchmark of 5 millisieverts per hour, but the workers did not evacuate and continued repairs.

Beta rays can not easily penetrate the skin and the legal limit of exposure in case of emergency is 1,000 millisieverts per hour.

The 4 workers' level of exposure is believed to have been 9.5 millisieverts at maximum, which poses no immediate health risks.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, is looking into why the workers failed to leave despite hearing an alarm. It has also begun checking 17 other people who were working nearby for exposure to beta rays.

Late last month, 2 Tokyo Electric workers were exposed to high levels of beta rays. Another 2 workers were contaminated when they were accidentally sprayed with radioactive wastewater.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 09:51 +0900 (JST)

And NHK continued to report on the French furnace explosion. I find it strange that people, either French or Japanese or American, think that the second a disaster or accident occurs, there will be instant, complete, credible, accurate information about it. That just can't be so.

French nuclear agency declares accident terminated

Nuclear safety officials in France have declared Monday's explosion at a nuclear waste facility "terminated," but local residents remain worried.

The accident occurred on Monday at the Marcoule nuclear facility in southern France, inside a building that houses a furnace for melting low-level radioactive waste.
One person was killed and 4 others injured by the blast.

France's Nuclear Safety Authority says about 4 tons of metal scrap extracted from nuclear waste were being melted inside the furnace at the time of the accident.

It's not known what caused the explosion, but the nuclear authority says there has been no major damage to the facility, and no radioactive leaks.

The region has a high concentration of nuclear facilities, including a processing plant for fuel made from a mix of plutonium and uranium and a reactor being run to produce plutonium.

The French government has sent Ecology Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet to the site to oversee investigations into the cause of the accident.

But local residents are complaining about the lack of information at the time of the explosion, and remain skeptical about the facility's safety.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 19:17 +0900 (JST)

What.fracking.idiots.

(And yes, increasing natural gas usage means more fracking)

http://www.theoec.org/Fracking.htm?gclid=CKj-8q78nqsCFUOo4AodDR7FiA

And NHK reports this. If a worker fell in the cafeteria, would that be a nuclear accident?

German media report French explosion harshly]/b]

German media have reported harshly Monday's explosion at a nuclear waste treatment site in southern France, which killed a worker onsite.

German newspaper, Die Welt, called it the first major nuclear accident since the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.

The daily says that French ministers are calling it an industrial, not a nuclear accident, but that there is no doubt it happened in the country's nuclear industry.

German weekly magazine, Der Spiegel, meanwhile highlights differences between the 2 countries in their energy policies.

Germany decided this year to shut down all its nuclear power plants.

The magazine says the accidents in Chernobyl and Fukushima did not change French attitudes toward nuclear energy, so the latest one will not either.

The magazine criticizes the slowness of the French nuclear safety authorities in disclosing information, and their response to the accident, describing it as very passive.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 12:02 +0900 (JST)

IAEA adopts action plan to boost nuclear safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency has adopted an action plan aimed at strengthening safety at nuclear power plants around the world.

The agency's 35-nation board adopted the plan at a meeting in Vienna on Tuesday. The IAEA worked out the plan after a ministerial meeting held in June, in the wake of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan.

The 12-item plan states that the agency will send inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at least once every 3 years based on voluntary requests from member countries with nuclear plants.

It also says the IAEA will send a rapid-response expert team for assistance in emergency measures in case of a nuclear plant accident.

Some countries, including Germany, wanted the safety evaluations to be mandatory, while others, including the United States, stressed that safety issues should be left to national authorities.

The action plan is expected to be implemented after it is approved at the IAEA's general conference to be held from Monday.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011 20:40 +0900 (JST)

And TEPCO attempts to correct errors in news coverage. Good luck with that.

Regarding the September 11 TBS Broadcast Report "Earthquake Disaster Special Program: Truth of Battle of Nuclear Accidents in 180 Days"

September 13, 2011
Tokyo Electric Power Company
With regard to the captioned report on Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, there were certain contents that were not based on facts or potentially misleading reported in the program. The items reported are as follows:

1.The report determined that "The meltdown and explosion of hydrogen could have been prevented by proper responses including the operation of IC despite the power outage. However, the details including the causes, mechanisms and operation of IC, etc. are now being investigated by the "Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations".
Under the circumstances, the report prematurely presumed or guessed that it was a "Human Made Disaster" before the facts become evident. Given the misleading nature of this report, we extremely deplore that such a report was made.

2.The report mentioned that "Action involving the vent took too much time because the order to implement the manual operations of the vent valve was delayed". Due to a station blackout, we were unable to monitor the pressure of the containment vessel. However, after the monitoring function was restored by connecting it to a small generator, the general manager swiftly issued orders that included moving forward with manual vent operations (March 12th, approx. 12:06 am). Hence, the order was not late. Prior to the implementation of on-site vent operations, it was necessary to obtain Government approval. In addition, we also had to spend time confirming operation procedures, the radiation level of the site, and an estimation of the operation time, making/reporting the evaluation of exposure dose around the site, and confirm the evacuation of residents. As a result, we actually started the vent operations at around 9:00 AM on March 12 after we confirmed that the evacuation of the residents of Okuma Town (Kumachi District) had been completed. In addition, because the site work was conducted when radiation levels were very high, the workers had to work in multiple shifts. They also had to work in the darkness due to the loss of power. It was very difficult to maintain communication between the workers and the head office because the physical lines of communication were lost at that time. It was under such severe circumstances that we were called upon to respond quickly and accurately.

3.The report mentioned that TEPCO reported its intentions to implement a full withdrawal from the site to the Government. However, that is not a fact. The point that was informed to the Government was that "Given the severity of the situation, we wanted to consider the potential necessity that for some workers who were not directly involved in the response work, they may temporarily be withdrawn". Regarding this very point, the former Prime Minister, Kan, mentioned at the budget committee in the House of Councilors on April 18 and May 2, that he had summoned the President of TEPCO and was given the answer that "it did not mean a 'withdrawal' (April 18th)". Prime Minister Kan also stated "At one stage, since I heard from the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry that TEPCO may have intentions of withdrawing due to various reasons, I summoned the President to clarify his intentions. His answer was that we do not have any intention of withdrawing." (May 2). These statements correspond to the facts as we understand them.

I'm sure the TEPCO people feel like the neighbors of this "farm" with respect to the press

Over 20 crocodiles escape flooded Thai farm

More than 20 crocodiles have escaped from a farm in Thailand, after heavy rain destroyed their enclosure.

The farm in the beach resort of Pattaya says 22 crocodiles have been captured, but some may still be on the loose.

The tourist attraction has about 400 crocodiles.
About 100 workers have joined in the search.

A local newspaper says people are staying indoors as the missing reptiles may be hiding in the area.

Heavy rain in Thailand over the past 2 months has caused mudslides and flooding, killing more than 80 people.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 07:18 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

Meanwhile NPR has a report on the evacuees:


Areas Of Northern Japan May Be Off-Limits For Years


http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=140411068
Heard on Morning Edition September 13, 2011

A few excerpts I found very interesting and pertinent:

I forget from time to time that a large part of the exclusion zone has severe earthquake and tsunami damage, too, and that damage has not been touched since the earthquake.

FRANK LANGFITT: Miyo Tatebayashi has just returned from a government-organized trip to the radiation zone. She wanted to see her house, which stood about three miles from the nuclear plant.

MIYO TATEBAYASHI: (Through translator) When I got out of the bus with my daughter, we were smiling and like, yeah, it's there. But when we actually saw our place, I thought, oh, there is no way.

LANGFITT: The tsunami had washed her home away, and the meltdown had irradiated her land. So much so, the government says parts of Tatebayashi's hometown, Futaba, may be off-limits for 20 years. Tatebayashi says she now realizes her life as she has known it, is over.

TATEBAYASHI: (Through translator) Now I've given up. I've finally accepted it.

It's inexcusable that the government hasn't conveyed radiation guidelines to the people who have received dosimeters, in my opinion:

LANGFITT: The couple is spending this warm afternoon indoors, at a community center. They don't want their daughter, Chitose, exposed to the higher radiation levels outside. So Chitose runs around by herself. A small, pink box swings from a cord around her neck. It's one of 26,000 radiation monitors the Fukushima government gave students recently. The devices will measure radiation exposure for each child over the next several months. But parents are confused. The government still hasn't said what it considers a safe level of radiation for students.

ISHIZAKA: (Through translator) I just don't know what this is useful for. Even if I'm told your kid had this level of radiation, I can't see whether it means it's safe or not.

LANGFITT: This has been a common complaint since the disaster. People say the government is slow to reveal information and explain things. I went to the Fukushima City Education Committee, and the Disaster Management Office, to find out why there's no safety standard for the radiation monitors. Officials said it was up to the national government to set them.
I'm here at Fukushima City Hall, looking at a radiation monitor. And it says that just outside, there's 1.09 microsieverts per hour of radiation. Using a Geiger counter, I found similar levels around town. A microsievert is a dose of radiation. But what danger, if any, does it pose?

STEVE SIMON: One microsievert per hour, in my view, is not terribly large.

LANGFITT: Steve Simon is a radiation physicist at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He says one microsievert isn't dramatically higher than the level of radiation that occurs naturally, and he says it's never been shown to cause cancer.
SIMON: We're only talking about a few times background radiation, whereas all studies that have been done where they found effects, were hundreds or thousands or ten thousands of times.

LANGFITT: Would Simon feel safe living in Fukushima City?

SIMON: I would not have any hesitation about staying there, based on that single bit of information. That radiation level would not frighten me.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status Reports for Sept 15 and 16, up till 10:00 am Sept 16.

Unit 2. At 3:45 pm on September 15, with regard to the injection into the reactor of Unit 2, we adjusted the amount of water injection from the core spray system to approx. 2.0 m3/h (the amount from the feeding water system is kept at approx. 3.8 m3/h) Thereafter, as decrease of water injection rate into the reactor was observed, at 9:11 on September 16, we readjusted water injection rate through core spray system to 2 m3/h. *


Unit 6 - - At 3:12 pm on September 10, we started cooling the spent fuel pool through the Residual Heat Removal System A using the seawater pump C. Then, we were cooling the reactor and the spent fuel pool by turn through the System A. At 2:33 pm on September 15, we started separately cooling the reactor through the Residual Heat Removal System and the spent fuel pool through Equipment Cooling Water System and Fuel Pool Cooling System.

Water treatment systems
*We found that the density of radioactive materials is increasing after treatment by decontamination instruments when we check the performance of treatment of water treatment instruments (decontamination instrument and cesium adsorption instrument). In order to find out causes, at 6:22 pm on September 15, we stopped operating the water treatment instruments and at 6:42 pm started to operate only the cesium adsorption instrument and it reached the rated flow (approx. 30 m3/h) at 6:46 pm. With regard to the second cesium adsorption instrument, it has been in operation.

* At 9:56 am on September 15, we restored and restarted the seawater pump of Equipment Cooling Water System of Unit 6. At 2:33 pm on the same day, we completed the adjustment of the flow rate of Fuel Pool Cooling System and started cooling the spent fuel pool. Consequently, the reactor and the spent fuel pool are now separately cooled through Residual Heat Removal System and Fuel Pool Cooling System respectively.


* At 9:44 am on September 15, we stopped transfer of the accumulated water from the basement of the turbine building of Unit 3 to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]), and restarted transfer to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building).

From 10 am to 4 pm on September 15, we transferred of accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank.

At approximately 8:18 am on September 15, we found a partner company worker unequipped with a charcoal filter to the full-faced mask after the worker entered the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Then, as a result of the measurement by whole body counter, we have confirmed that the worker did not take in any radioactive materials.

TEPCO reported on its progress at finding and evaluating the radiation exposure of all people who have worked at the plant since March 11.

The number of the evaluated from March to June as of August 31 March: 3,738 persons out of 3,751 intended persons (13 persons are remaining.) April: 3,522 persons out of 3,650 intended persons (128 persons are remaining.) May: 2,996 persons out of 3,143 intended persons (147 persons are remaining.) June: 1,981 persons out of 2,278 intended persons (297 persons are remaining.)

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110915e21.pdf

Results
External dose
In March, 6 TEPCO and 3 contractors more than 150 and less than 200 mSv
20 TEPCO and 8 contractors more than 100 and less than 150 mSv Everyone else less
In April, 2 TEPCO and 2 contractors more than 50 and less than 100 mSv, everyone else less
In May and months following, all measured less than 50 mSv.

Internal dose

In March, 5 Tepco over 250 mSv
1 Tepco more than 200 and less than 250 mSv
1 Tepco more than 150 and less than 250 mSv
5 Tepco more than 100 and less than 150 mSv
April and following months, all internal doses less than 50 mSv.
Adding together, for those hired April and afterward, all total doses are less than 100 mSv.

In March total exposure:
6 Tepco and 0 contractors more than 250 mSv
0 Tepco and 2 contractors more than 200 and less than 250 mSv
12 Tepco and 2 contractors more than 150 mSv and less than 200 mSv
62 Tepco and 15 contractors more than 100 mSv and less than 150 mSv

They are still searching for the people that they haven't been able to find and measure. In a step in the right direction, no one hired in July or later is unfound.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110915e19.pdf
Only Cs137 and Cs 134 were found by the Japanese Chemical Analysis Center gamma ray analysis in soil samples from the usual 3 sites at Fukushima Daiichi. Samples taken August 23rd. The shorter lived isotopes are now all below the threshold of detectin.
Highest Cs137 4.8 exp 5 becquerels per kg
Plutonium concentration typical of post-atomic test concentrations, but isotope ratios show some tiny contribution from the reactors.


NHK News

Clearly, since the performance of the water treatment system is better, TEPCO feels comfortable injecting more water.

TEPCO injecting more water into 2 reactors

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is injecting more water into 2 of the plant's reactors in an attempt to lower their temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius.

As of 5 AM Friday, the bottom of No.2 reactor measured 114.1 degrees Celsius and that of the No.3 reactor 103.3 degrees. The temperature at the No.1 reactor was 85.3 degrees.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has been injecting water continuously into the 3 reactors since the March accident. The utility is aiming at a cold shutdown of all reactors by January next year, with stable temperatures below 100 degrees.

Earlier this month, TEPCO began boosting injections of cooling water into the No.2 and No.3 reactors by using overhead pipes in addition to the pipes on the reactors' sides, to see if this would help lower temperatures.

As the new method showed some benefits, TEPCO began on Friday afternoon to increase the water flow by one ton to a total of 7 tons per hour for the No.2 reactor, and by 5 tons to 12 tons per hour for the No.3 reactor.

The company says it will continue monitoring temperatures and make adjustments as necessary. It also indicated it may inject more water into the relatively stable No.1 reactor.
Friday, September 16, 2011 18:07 +0900 (JST)

Who knew they had Monday morning quarterbacks in Japan?

Researchers say meltdown could have been avoided
A group of researchers says the meltdown of a reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could have been avoided if water injection had been carried out 4 hours earlier than it was.

The researchers at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday reported the finding based on a computer simulation of the accident at the plant's No. 2 reactor.

The core meltdown took place within a few days after the reactor's cooling system failed due to the major earthquake and tsunami on March 11th.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said earlier that data analysis shows that the cooling system may have stopped working shortly after 1 PM on March 14th.

The utility started injecting water to cool the reactor at around 8 PM that day, after reducing pressure in the facility. But by 8 PM the next day -- around 100 hours after the quake -- much of the reactor's fuel had melted and collected at the bottom of the reactor's pressure vessel.

The simulation suggests that if water had been injected by around 4 PM, it could have prevented the meltdown by lowering the temperature of the fuel before it reached 1,200 degrees Celsius, destroying the fuel's container.

Group leader Masashi Hirano says the damage to the fuel could have been avoided, and that he wonders why TEPCO did not start injecting water earlier despite difficulties

TEPCO says it doesn't believe the operation was delayed, adding that workers did their best amid high radiation levels and other severe conditions.

Of the plant's 6 reactors, the No. 1 to No. 3 suffered meltdowns after losing cooling functions.

At the No. 2 reactor, a hydrogen explosion on March 15th caused the release and spread of massive amounts of radioactive substances.
Thursday, September 15, 2011 21:46 +0900 (JST)

Noda is to address the UN. Ban Ki Moon apparently wants to tell him what to say?

UN chief urges Noda to explain nuclear accident

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to fully explain what took place after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and what measures will be taken.

Noda is scheduled to attend a United Nations' summit-level meeting on nuclear safety and security on Thursday of next week in New York.

Ban told reporters on Thursday that following the accident in Fukushima he has called on the international community to strengthen safety standards on nuclear power stations.

He said he wants Prime Minister Noda to share Japan's experience and lessons it has learned with leaders from around the world.

The UN chief also said it is necessary to step up safety at nuclear plants while introducing renewable energy, but that he thinks nuclear power generation should be continued to meet the world's energy needs.
Friday, September 16, 2011 07:57 +0900 (JST)

Yes, this will happen. Waste is typically concentrated by various process. As water and other constituents are removed in waste during treatment, the net concentration of cesium is larger. Again, I would suggest more SARRY systems at treatment plants. Typically, an acidified water will take up cesium better than non-acid, so acidify the water (white vinegar is pretty cheap). Then run the acidified water through the Sarry system to remove the cesium. Then you have to store the cesium, but the volume of radioactive waste is much reduced.

Cesium found in industrial waste

Industrial waste at 6 incineration facilities has been found to contain radioactive cesium at levels that exceed the government-set limit for disposal.

Following the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the ashes of garbage from private homes were found to contain levels of radioactive cesium, well above the limit of 8,000 becquerels per kilogram. The contaminated garbage was treated at waste disposal plants in the Kanto and Tohoku regions.

The Environment Ministry had asked 16 prefectures in the Tohoku, Kanto and Koshin-etsu regions to examine ashes from woodchips and other industrial waste.

Out of the 110 incineration facilities tested, levels of radioactive cesium exceeded 8,000 becquerels per kilogram at 4 sites in Fukushima Prefecture and one each in Iwate and Chiba prefectures. The highest measurement was 144,420 becquerels per kilogram at one facility in Fukushima.

These facilities were found to be temporarily keeping the ashes without disposing of them in landfill sites.

Since the 6 facilities had been storing the waste material outdoors before incineration, the Environment Ministry plans to examine other facilities that follow similar methods.
Friday, September 16, 2011 06:50 +0900 (JST)

 

[Olympia]

How heartbreaking that some lands in Japan, which has so little land to begin with, will be off limits for twenty years. Not that Chernobyl was more bearable, but at least the U.S.S.R. (which the Ukraine was part of in those days) had territory to spare, and even the Ukraine alone has a lot of space.

 

[dorispulaski]

We've been taking care our grandchildren while our son and his wife took a well-deserved break. Consequently, I haven't had time to post the last couple days.
It is sad if some areas are not decontaminated, but that would be a choice of the government.
At Chernobyl, the area around the damaged reactor was decontaminated, precisely so the other reactors at the site could be continue to be operated. The lack of decontamination is either a failure of will or a lack of financial incentive, or an inability to absorb the cost.
A commenter at this website asks the most important question that the Japanese government should be asking, and which they have been dodging: what is the level of radiation that should trigger long term evacuation, especially given that the biggest threat to life at Chernobyl was actually fear and despair:

Remember that the people who live in these places are subjected to this level of radiation every day of their lives:
http://atomicinsights.com/2011/09/i...-health-risk-the-cure-is-simple.html#comments

What do you think is a reasonable background radiation threshold ?
400 msv a year like Ramsar-Iran ?
600-700 msv a year like in some southwestern parts of France and parts of Brazil?
50 msv a year, the limit imposed on nuclear plant workers ?
20 msv a year, the restriction now imposed for determining evacuation zones in Fukushima (and 1 msv a year for children?)
10 msv a year like in Denver ?

Do we really think all the children in Denver should be evacuated?

September 17th, 18th and early 19th Status Reports:
TEPCO is changing their water injection scheme, making use of the core spray system for Unit 2. They have been using it for Unit 3.
The boric acid inhibits the rate of any nuclear reaction going on:

Unit 1
- At 3:41 on September 16, we adjusted water injection rate through reactor feed water system piping arrangement at approx. 3.8 m3/h, as decrease of water injection rate into the reactor was observed.
Unit 2
- At 3:35 pm on September 16, we adjusted water injection rate through core spray system at approx. 3 m3/h.
Unit 3
- At 3:05 pm on September 16, we adjusted water injection rate through core spray system at around 8 m3/h.
At 9:11 am on September 16, with regard to the injection into the reactor of Unit 2, as we observed decrease of injection rate of water, we adjusted the amount of water injection through the core spray system to approx. 2.0m3/h.

*From 10:16 am to 2:15 pm on September 16, at increasing volume of water injecting into the reactor of Unit 3, we conducted injection of boric acid into the reactor. Thereafter, we increased injection rate of water through core spray system and at 3:05 pm adjusted at 8.0m3 (injection rate from feed water system remain at 4.0m3/h).

*At 10:54 am on September 16, we could not monitor flow rate and pressure due to the fault of control board of second cesium absorption tower within the water treatment facility, we manually stopped operation of the facility. Thereafter, we replaced the control board and at 2:50 pm on the same day, restart the facility and at 2:57 pm returned to normal flow rate.

*At 9:53 am on September 16, we started transfer of the accumulated water from the condenser of Unit 1 to underground of the turbine building of Unit 1. We stopped transfer at 2:35 pm.

*At 3:35 pm on September 16, with regard to the injection into the reactor of Unit 2, we adjusted the amount of water injection through the core spray system to approx. 3.0m3/h (injection through feed water system remain at 3.8m3/h).

*At 3:41 pm on September 16, with regard to the injection into the reactor of Unit 1, as we observed decrease of injection rate of water, we adjusted the amount of water injection through the core spray system to approx. 3.8m3/h.


Water contamination system is again fixed. They had to change out a board.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110916_03-e.pdf


Tepco measured the concentrations of Cesium 137, Cesium 134, Iodine 131, and looked for other isotopes that emit gamma radiation in the containment vessel of Unit 1. The good news is that the concentrations are quite low- maximum 150 becquerels per liter of Cesium 137. No iodine 131. The only surprise Sb 125 at 140 bequerels per liter. (half life 2.75 years)

TEPCO has pictures of the Reactor One cover
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110917_01.jpg
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110917_02.jpg
There are a lot of other current pictures here:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/index-e.html
The changes in method for water injection are having results. Check out this graph and table. The Reactor Pressure vessel of Unit 3 is now at 90.9C and all the measurements they take are now under 100C:
Essentially, provided we see another week or two of these low temperatures, it will look like Unit 3 is in some form of cold shutdown, as is Unit 1.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/11091906_temp_data_3u-e.pdf

They started using this method on Unit 2 later, but as you can see, the graph is starting to show improvement
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/11091906_temp_data_2u-e.pdf
Reactor pressure vessel bottom is down to 102.5 C.

Will Davis explains this effort in detail here:
http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/09/fukushima-daiichi-reactor-update.html

First, TEPCO has greatly increased the amount of water being injected into No. 2 and No. 3 reactors through the core spray lines. This is an attempt to drive the measured temperatures down in order to establish a 'cold shutdown' condition.

TEPCO indicates that there was an increase in containment vessel pressure in No. 2 reactor plant shortly after the beginning of injection via the core spray line - thus it is certain that the water being injected through this line reached the core. It is important here to note that at this point, when either I or TEPCO use the term "core" this refers to the essentially deranged, or demolished, mass that contains the fuel elements' material and the control rods' material, in condition not fully known. (This is not news to long-time APR readers.)

After noting the success of the use of the core spray lines, TEPCO has decided to make a large increase in total water flow to these two reactors through the core spray lines (keeping the feed line amount the same) in order to attempt to determine what flow rate will give a cooldown rate to meet the desired 'cold shutdown' timetable. Even though the chances of recriticality are very remote, TEPCO has decided to inject borated water prior to each major increase (in steps) and monitor conditions closely.

He also discusses TEPCO's attempts to use control rod position sensors in Unit 1 to tell them something about the condition of the reactor pressure vessel bottom. However, the sensors are in very poor shape, either due to radiation, corrosive environment or exposure to high temperature or all of the above. Results are not conclusive.

NHK News

Cesium detected in 4% of tested rice
Radioactive tests on rice have been completed in more than half of the Tohoku and Kanto regions, and radioactive cesium has been detected in 4 percent of the samples. But the highest level detected so far is about a quarter of the government's safety limit.

Based on the interim results, shipments of rice have started in municipalities in 15 prefectures.

A preliminary examination is conducted while the rice is still growing and another test is carried out after the harvest. Rice can only be shipped if the amounts of cesium in the post-harvest test are below the government-set safety limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram in all the locations within a municipality.

Preliminary tests have been completed in 7 prefectures, but not in Fukushima or Miyagi.

Radioactive cesium has been detected in 72 places so far, including 64 locations in Fukushima Prefecture, where the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is located. But the highest level detected was 136 becquerels per kilogram, which is about a quarter of the government's safety limit.

The main test is being conducted in 17 prefectures, and has been completed in more than half of them. Radioactive materials were detected in rice harvested in 22 locations. But the highest level detected so far is 101.6 becquerels per kilogram, or one fifth of the government's safety limit.

With the preliminary and main tests combined, the results are known for more than 60 percent of the test locations. Radioactive materials have been detected in 94 locations, or 4.3 percent of the total.

Shipments of rice have started in municipalities in 15 prefectures, including all 52 municipalities in Chiba Prefecture.

In Fukushima Prefecture, shipments of ordinary rice have started in 2 municipalities, and those of early-harvested rice in 20 municipalities.
Sunday, September 18, 2011 22:23 +0900 (JST)

Rice, particularly white rice, does not have a relatively large cesium uptake,which is what this data demonstrates.

Japan to offer products from disaster areas as ODA
Japan's Foreign Ministry hopes to use products from the country's northeast that was hit by the March 11th quake and tsunami to aid developing countries.

The Foreign Ministry filed a budget request worth more than 220 million dollars with the government, which is working on a third supplementary budget bill for fiscal 2011.

The Ministry says it wants to use part of the requested budget, worth about 65-million dollars, to buy industrial products, including wheelchairs, and marine food products made in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, to provide them free of charge to developing countries.

The Ministry says it hopes the program will also help stop radioactive-related rumors from affecting
shipments and sales of those products overseas.

Sales of products made in the country's northeast have been hurt by such rumors since the nuclear crisis began at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in the same region.

The Ministry also requested the equivalent of about 52 million dollars to set up a rapid quake and tsunami reporting system for nations in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim region.

The Ministry says it also wants the equivalent of about 13 million dollars to invite experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency to assess and advise on radiation surveys the government plans to conduct.
Monday, September 19, 2011 05:59 +0900 (JST)

This is interesting, but the fact that the effects of precipitation and wind are not included somewhat limits its utility. It also does not include the effects of decontamination projects.
The professor hopes that it will show where to decontaminate, and will somewhat alleviate people's worries
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_17.html
It's kind of neat to watch the animated map have areas drop back to normal.

Future radiation levels forecast on electronic map
A group of Japanese researchers has drawn up an electronic map which shows changing radiation levels at about 2,200 locations in a 5-year period.

The map was made by a research group led by Professor Isao Tanihata at Osaka University's Research Center for Nuclear Physics.

The group calculated estimated radiation levels at each of about 2,200 points over the next 5 years based on data released by the education and science ministry.

Most of the locations are in Fukushima Prefecture, where a nuclear accident was triggered in March by the massive earthquake and tsunami.

The group took into account the level of radioactive cesium, which drops as time passes.

By using Google Earth services, the group forecast the level at individual sites and point of time with a bar graph. Possible changes in level naturally caused by rain and wind and the decontamination effort are not included.

For example, the map shows that a radiation level of 4.36 microsieverts per hour detected in June in Kawamata Town about 30 kilometers northwest of the troubled plant will fall to 1.75 microsieverts 5 years later.

Professor Tanihata hopes that the map will help state and local authorities to work out a specific plan to decontaminate areas to get people to return to their hometowns.

The map will be made public at the research center's Website on Monday.
Sunday, September 18, 2011 14:59 +0900 (JST)

IAEA to adopt action plan to ensure reactor safety
The UN nuclear agency is due to adopt an action plan aimed at stepping up safety at nuclear power plants around the globe by conducting regular inspections.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will hold an annual ministerial meeting in Vienna for 5 days starting on Monday.

The meeting is expected to endorse an action plan that was adopted at a board meeting last Tuesday in response to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan caused by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The voluntary plan calls for the agency to send inspectors to reactor operating nations to check the safety of their reactors at least once over the next 3 years, to be followed by regular inspections.

The plan also calls on relevant governments to set up rapid-response teams to deal with nuclear emergencies in efforts to strengthen their nuclear crisis control.

During the meeting, Japan's nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono, will brief other members about his government's plan to bring the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control. A special session will be held for the participants to exchange views on ways to deal with the crisis of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Monday, September 19, 2011 05:59 +0900 (JST)

Siemens to leave nuclear industry
German industrial and engineering giant Siemens is withdrawing from the nuclear industry following the German government's decision to phase out nuclear power generation.

Chief Executive Peter Loescher revealed the plan in an interview in the edition of the German weekly magazine "Der Spiegel" published on Sunday.

Loescher said the company will no longer be involved with construction of nuclear power stations. He said the decision is the company's answer to the clear positioning of Germany's society and government for a pullout from nuclear energy.

He said the company will still produce steam turbines and other parts for non-nuclear facilities such as gas-fired power stations.

Siemens is the first major nuclear power equipment manufacturer to withdraw from the nuclear industry.

The German government decided in June to shut down all of the country's 17 nuclear reactors by 2022 in light of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan in March.
Monday, September 19, 2011 09:28 +0900 (JST)

Further info, curiously, shows a greater rather than a lesser role for Japan in nuclear, internationally, via Mitsubishi and Toshiba, which owns Westinghouse's nuclear division, and of course, for France (via Areva) and Russia (via Rossatom):
Dan Yurman discusses Siemens' exit from the nuclear business here:
http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2011/09/...campaign=Feed:+blogspot/Yiuo+(Idaho+Samizdat)

Areva pushes for Middle East contracts

While Siemens is retreating from the nuclear business, its former partner Areva is pushing ahead to ink new deals. The latest move involves a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to bid on Turkey’s second nuclear power station to be built at Sinop on the Black Sea coast. This moves follows the withdrawal of a consortium of Toshiba and TEPCO following the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

In an interesting development, Mitsubishi said it would not buy an equity stake in Areva despite previous public announcements it would pursue one. Mitsubishi Board Chairman Kazuo Tsukuda was quoted by financial wire services. as saying Areva no longer needed an infusion of cash.

Last year Areva shareholders added [e]900 in working capital ($1.24 billion). Tsukuda added that Mitsubishi would step up to offer capital to Areva if needed in the future.

The joint venture is referencing the 1,100 MW Atmea nuclear reactor for the bid in Turkey and also for a similar project in Jordan.

And for those who have claimed that dreck from the earthquake and Fukushima have already reached Hawaii, consider this bottle, which took 5 years to get there:

Message bottle from Japan washes ashore in Hawaii
A glass bottle containing a letter and photograph of a Japanese school has washed ashore in Hawaii, 5 years after it was dropped into the ocean in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan.

US naval petty officer Jon Moore found the clear glass bottle on Thursday during a beach cleanup on Kauai.

The letter was dated March 25th, 2006. It says the bottle was put into the Pacific Ocean by all the students in a class as their graduation memory.

The sender wrote in Japanese and English that she was a 6th grader and it was exciting to think about where the bottle would drift to and who would find and pick it up.

A photo of her elementary school classmates was enclosed.

The US petty officer who found the bottle says he will definitely respond and wants to write back to the school.

Local media are reporting the story about the bottle, which travelled more than 7,000 kilometers for over 5 years before reaching Hawaii.
Saturday, September 17, 2011 11:03 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

One more documentary about Fukushima, nuclear power, etc. BBC.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vywZ84mixs

 

[dorispulaski]

World energy events for the week

After I catch up from the weekend, I will have to watch that.

Meanwhile, I have been catching up on global news:

Various German officials have denied that this will happen, however Der Spiegel says:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,786048,00.html#ref=nlint

09/15/2011
Greenwashing after the Phase-Out; German 'Energy Revolution' Depends on Nuclear Imports
By Laura Gitschier and Alexander Neubacher

Germany's decision to phase out its nuclear power plants by 2022 has rapidly transformed it from power exporter to importer. Despite Berlin's pledge to move away from nuclear, the country is now merely buying atomic energy from neighbors like the Czech Republic and France.

The nuclear power plant in the Czech village of Temelin, barely 100 kilometers (62 miles) as the crow flies from the Bavarian city of Passau, has a reputation for being particularly prone to malfunctions. Over the years, there have been 130 reported incidents here. Sometimes it's a generator that fails; at others, a few thousand liters of radioactive liquid leak out of the plant.
"The entire facility needs to be shut down immediately," says Rebecca Harms, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany's Green Party.
Still, due to high demand for electricity in Germany, the accident-prone Czech reactor is doing good business. Indeed, when Germany took some of its nuclear power plants offline this spring, the Czech nuclear industry went into the export business. These days, it's sending roughly 1.2 gigawatt-hours of electricity across the border every day.
Though it might be exaggerating things a bit to say it, after having to worry about the danger of the nearby Czech reactor for years, Passau residents are now glad it's there to keep their lights from going out.

With the Germans buying, the Czechs are planning to build more reactors:
http://www.ifandp.com/article/0013875.html

CEZ shifts to domestic energy security

The time for foreign expansion is over and developing nuclear energy will be a top priority for CEZ, the Czech state majority-owned power company, said its new CEO Daniel Benes.
The appointment of the new CEO heralds a new era in the company, shifting its focus from foreign expansion to its domestic market. “It is obvious that we will focus more on the Czech Republic. The period of foreign expansion has finished,” newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes quoted Benes as saying.
“The main priority is developing nuclear energy, and it is not only about expanding Temelin (nuclear power plant),” he said. “It is also about prolonging Dukovany’s operations and raising output of current nuclear power plant blocks.”
CEZ plans to build two new power-generating units at its two-unit Temelin nuclear power plant over the next 10 years. In addition, it aims to build a new block at Dukovany and two further units in Slovakia, representing a CZK500bn (US$27.6bn) investment.
Mr Benes added that the Temelin tender will be awarded in 2013, according to the original timetable. The bidders include Toshiba Corp (Frankfurt: TSE1.F) unit Westinghouse, an alliance of Russia’s Atomstroyexport and Czech company Skoda JS, and France’s Areva (Paris: AREVA.PA).
While the company expects to concentrate its renewable energy portfolio abroad, it does not envisage the development of renewables at home.

And a legal challenge in Germany to the country's nuclear fuel tax appears to have been upheld, meaning the country will have to reimburse plants, and there are questions about whether the plants that were closed were closed legally:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/19/germany-faces-backlash-from-closing-nuclear-plants/

Germany faces backlash from closing nuclear plants

On Monday, the Financial Court in Hamburg expressed doubts about the constitutionality of a new federal tax on nuclear fuel rods - a ruling hailed as a victory by nuclear power plant operators.
The court also approved a nuclear plant operator’s request to suspend collection of the tax and reimburse payments that already have been made.

And there is this, too:

Constitutional scholars across Germany said the moratorium was unconstitutional on the grounds that only the legislature could make such a move, barring an imminent threat to the public.
Meanwhile, the announced phaseout of nuclear energy already has come at a cost to the industry and the government. It is also blamed for slowing economic growth in the second quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, Bayer Pharmaceuticals, which employs 35,000 people in Germany and has global sales of $48 billion, is threatening to leave Germany entirely because of the high price of energy.

In South Korea:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1154359/1/.html#.TniR2pu4dZQ.twitter

South Korean court rejects bid to shut nuclear reactor
Posted: 20 September 2011 1940 hrs

SEOUL - A court on Tuesday rejected a bid by local residents to force South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor to shut down immediately over fears of radioactive leaks.

The court in the southern city of Busan said the 30-year-old Gori-1 reactor is safe and being properly managed by its operator, state-run Korea Hydro-Nuclear Power Co, Yonhap news agency reported.

A group of 97 Busan residents had sought an injunction in April after the company decided in 2008 to extend the operations of the reactor, originally designed for only 30 years, for 10 more years.

The residents said extended use could lead to radioactive leaks.

Fears over nuclear power grew worldwide after Japan's earthquake and tsunami on March 11 badly damaged the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Germany in May became the first major industrialised power to agree on an end to nuclear power, with a phase-out to be completed by 2022.

"It is accepted that Korea Hydro is currently conducting proper technical management to keep under control potential risks stemming from the continued operation of the Gori-1 reactor," Judge Park Chi-Bong said in his ruling.

The court said major parts prone to wear have been replaced and new technology had been added to improve resistance to an earthquake or tsunami.

South Korea operates 20 nuclear plants, which generate some 35 percent of its electricity needs, and plans to build 12 more over the next 14 years.

The nation has vowed to stick to its atomic power development programme despite heightened concern following the Japanese crisis.

- AFP/al

and in the USA, the NRC is waffling about restarting the North Anna, VA, nuclear plant, and is holding public meetings about it:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2011/11-056.ii.pdf

The NRC announces a public hearing on North Anna inspection results on Oct. 3, with the entire report to be available later in October.

You can check out the 'damage' here yourself, as reported by CBS:

http://www.wtvr.com/videobeta/24ed5...BS-6-Goes-inside-the-North-Anna-Power-Station

North Anna damage

• Some tiles on an admin building
• Some chipping on a pillar in the turbine building
• A pipe leak in the turbine building
• Shifting of the storage casks without any visible damage.

As to the storage casks, similar casks were in use at Fukushima Daiichi, and they weathered the quake without any damage. This is no surprise since the casks have been tested to endure collisions, tipping over, and various other extreme accidents, like being dropped from cranes, hit by speeding locomotives, head on collisions of trucks and trains, and so forth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mHtOW-OBO4

This is a cool video, if you like to watch things in collisions.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, addresses the IAEA here, and while asserting that US nuclear safety must always be the most important thing, he presentst the administration's view that nuclear energy is and will be an important part of our energy mix here in the US. Furthermore, the US government wants to help other countries operate reactors by providing fuel for them:

http://energy.gov/articles/us-energ...ional-atomic-energy-agency-general-conference

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY: “Nuclear power will continue to be an important part of our energy mix, both in the United States and around the world. Its role grows more valuable as we confront a changing climate, increasing energy demand, and a struggling global economy… The United States recently announced the availability of a reserve stockpile of low-enriched uranium for countries pursing peaceful civilian nuclear programs.”

ON LESSONS LEARNED FROM FUKUSHIMA: “…the Fukushima disaster reminds us that nuclear safety and security require continued vigilance. All nations have a responsibility to learn from Japan’s experience. In the United States, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission Task Force has completed an initial 90-day review of the agency’s regulatory oversight and safety standards, given insights from Fukushima, and provided a set of recommendations to enhance reactor safety.”

 

[dorispulaski]

And TEPCO status again:


Tepco Status as of September 21st

Unit 1 Reactor Pressure Vessure Bottom: 80.1 C
Unit 2 Reactor Pressure Vessure Bottom: 111 C
Unit 3 Reactor Pressure Vessure Bottom: 86.4 C

Daiichi radiation readings for Sept. 21, 6:30 AM JST:
Eight peripheral measurement points (5, 20, 13, 12, 14, 33, 99, 75) MicroSieverts/hour
Main Office Building 291 microSieverts/hour
Main Gate 27 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 11 microSieverts per hour

Daini radiation readings for Sept. 21, 6:30 AM JST:
Seven peripheral points: (1.7, 1.2, 1.7, 1.5, 1.4, 0.9, 1.0 ) microSieverts per hour

TEPCO issued their quarterly status report:
Summary
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110920e2.pdf

Main Report
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110920e3.pdf

Some things I hadn't heard before:
Basic Concept for two years' work of "Basic Concept for Pushing Ahead with Decontamination Works" and "Basic Policy for Response on Decontamination Work" were published in August. Implementation bega with decontamination starting in Date City and Minami Soma City. The Japanese government has allocated 220 billion JPY for this.

There is a clear definition for cold shutdown of a damaged reactor:

Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom Temperature is less that 100 C
Release of Radioactive Materials from the PCV is under control and public radiation exposure by additional release is being significantly held down.
In order to keep satisfying the above two conditions, secure midterm safety of the circulating water cooling system, (reliability of parts and materials, redundancy and independency, assessment for slack time for emergency, detection of failure and trouble, confirmation of restoration measures and recovery time, etc.)

95,420 tons of water have been treated by the water treatment system. Last week, uptime was 83%.

The usual stuff:

Unit 1

- From 3:37 pm on March 25, we started injecting freshwater by a motor driven pump which is now powered by the off-site transmission line. Water is currently injected at approx. 3.6 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement.

Unit 2
At 3:16 pm on September 19, we adjusted the water injection rate through core spray system water injection piping arrangement to approx. 4 m3/h.


- At 11:08 am on September 14, we stopped the operation of cooling facilities of common pool because the common pool power center would be moved with the replace of power panel located at the basement of the spent fuel common pool's building. After the completion of the work, we restarted cooling the common pool at 5:22 pm on September 19.

- At approximately 9:40 am on September 20, a hand of a worker of a partner company who was moving the on-house transformer outside hit his own full-face mask, and the charcoal filter of his mask came off temporarily. Since there is a possibility of the internal exposure, we will just in case check whether he is exposed internally or not using the whole body counter. We confirmed that neither the inside of the full-face mask nor his face was contaminated. Afterwards, as a result of measurement by the whole body counter, we confirmed that there was no internal exposure.

* At approximately 11:00 am on September 20, a puddle of water was found at the basement of common spent fuel pool. We are planning to conduct sampling of the puddle of water.



- At 10:00 am on September 20, we started transferring the accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to temporary tanks.

And they issued a photo of the leakage at the desalination facility:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110920_01-e.pdf

 

[dorispulaski]

Australia gleefully selling coal and natural gas to Japan

TEPCO REPORTS September 21st

Some fixes to the water system and adjustments to the flow rates as they cool the reactors:

* It was confirmed that incorrect adsorption tower was installed in No.2 cesium adsorption instruments. At 9:47 pm on September 20, the instrument was suspended when switching operation was given to the tower. At 10:02 pm, the instrument was restarted and reached the regular water flow at 10:10 pm.

* At 10:00 am on September 21, we started transferring accumulated underground water from the turbine building Unit 6 to temporary tank.

* Unit 1
At 11:40 am on September 21, since we confirmed reduction of water injection volume to the reactor, we adjusted the water volume at approx. 3.8 m3/h from reactor feed water system piping arrangement. Water is currently injected at approx. 3.8 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement.


* At 11:40 am on September 21, as it was confirmed that water injection to Unit 2 reactor by reactor water feed system was decreased. We adjusted the amount of water injection to approximately 4.0 m3/h. The amount of water injection by reactor core spray system was also adjusted to approximately 4.0 m3/h.

* At 01:34 pm on September 21, water desalination instrument (reverse osmosis membrane type) (3) was restarted by using backup system.

*At 10:00 am on September 20, we restarted transferring accumulated water in the basement of turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks. At 4:00 pm on the same day, we stop transferring.

*At approximately 11:00 am on September 20, a puddle of water was found at the basement of common spent fuel pool. As a result of nuclide analysis of the water, some radioactive materials (Cs 134: 4.7-7.0x100 [Bq/cm3], Cs 137: 5.4-8.1x100 [Bq/cm3], Co 60: 1.2x100 [Bq/cm3]) were detected. However we assume that there is no leakage outside because any pipeline connecting to the outside does not exist. We are now investigating sources of the influent water.

You wouldn't want to drink that water (8,100 becquerels/liter of cs 137 at worst), but it is reasonable to handle.

and they issued their update on radioactive water treatment and storage

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110921e8.pdf



NHK NEWS

Typhoon Roke is coming. Winds are listed at 144 km/hr (89 mph). NHK has clarified yesterday's report of possibly more radioactive water--water is leaking into reactor 6's basement.

Fukushima nuclear plant on typhoon alert
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are stepping up precautions in advance of the approaching typhoon.

Typhoon Roke is expected to approach the northern prefecture of Fukushima on Wednesday night. It has already brought a total rainfall of more than 200 millimeters to the area since Tuesday midnight.

Efforts to install steel plates at the plant's water intake area have been halted for fear of storm surges. Strong winds and heavy rain have forced the suspension of work to cover the No. 1 reactor building.

Outdoor piping and pumps for injecting water into the reactors have been secured with ropes to keep them from being knocked over by strong winds.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has confirmed rainwater has flowed into the basement floor of the No. 6 reactor turbine building and that it has found leaks in the roof of the central control room of the No.1 and 2 reactors. But no serious damage to the plant has been discovered.

Rainfall of up to 250 millimeters is expected in the area through Thursday noon, but TEPCO says radioactive wastewater is unlikely to overflow from the reactor turbine buildings.

TEPCO says it is closely monitoring the wastewater levels around the clock.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 20:27 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO sets standard for compensating entrepreneurs

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has unveiled guidelines for compensating individuals and small and mid-sized businesses affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company says the amount of compensation for farmers, fishermen, manufacturers and tourist businesses will be calculated in principle based on last year's sales or shipments.

Compensation for individuals and companies that had to suspend business due to evacuation is to be determined by subtracting material costs from last year's sales.

Profit loss due to radiation-related rumors is to be partially compensated.

Initial compensation is to cover a 6-month period starting on the day of the March disaster. Applications for subsequent compensation will have to be made every 3 months.

Tokyo Electric plans to start mailing application forms next week and begin payment by the end of October.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 20:21 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO plans to cut workforce
Tokyo Electric Power Company will cut its workforce by about 10 percent in the face of ballooning costs over the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The utility needs to implement cost-cutting measures in order to be able to pay compensation to people affected by the accident.

On Tuesday, TEPCO President Toshio Nishizawa told a government panel inspecting the firm's financial situation that it will cut 3,000 to 5,000 employees.

But Nishizawa explained that the downsizing will not take place until about 3 years from now because TEPCO needs staff to deal with compensation procedures.

The panel's head, Kazuhiko Shimokobe, expressed dissatisfaction with the measure, saying it's insufficient.

The panel will compile a report on TEPCO's cost-cutting plans, which include the sale of assets, by sometime next week.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:38 +0900 (JST)

Yes? And what is TEPCO supposed to do about cleanup workers-go slower and keep people in shelters longer because they are using fewer employees?

and

Japan posts trade deficit in August
Japan's trade balance in August posted a deficit for the first time in 3 months.

The Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that the trade deficit was a record high for August at about 10.2 billion dollars.

Exports rose 2.8 percent in yen terms to about 70.5 billion dollars, the first year-on-year increase since February.

Auto exports led the rise as supply chains disrupted by the March earthquake were restored.

In sharp contrast, imports rose 19.2 percent in yen terms to about 80.7 billion dollars.

This was largely due to record imports of liquid natural gas for thermal power generation. The higher demand for LNG is driven by power shortages resulting from the halt in nuclear power plant operations after the March disaster.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 12:29 +0900 (JST)

One country's loss is another's gain. Despite Australia's touted carbon tax, it is happy to make money helping other countries, like Japan, to add CO2 to the air. This article from The Australian could not be more clear about Australia's happiness to oblige:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...oss-our-gas-gain/story-e6frg6z6-1226141161891

Photo: LNG Ship

http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2011/09/19/1226141/161848-110920-energy-horizon.jpg

Japan's Loss Our LNG Gain

THIS hulking behemoth docked in Darwin Harbour (main picture, right) is a 143,000-tonne illustration of the opportunity given to Australia by Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster.

With each load, the Energy Horizon will take about $60 million worth of liquefied natural gas (based on present spot prices into Japan) to fuel the gas-fired power plants that are making up the shortfall left in Japan's energy grid.
On the Tokyo Gas vessel's maiden voyage it took on 65,000 tonnes of LNG from ConocoPhillips' Wickham Point terminal last weekend before heading back to Japan.
Tokyo Gas says it expects the Energy Horizon will make up to 15 trips a year, bringing gas from Darwin LNG and the Pluto project in Western Australia.
Japan is also investing in Australia's coal-seam gas industry and wants more thermal coal to fill the void left by nuclear plants that have been stalled after the Fukushima disaster as the nation rethinks its energy policy.

...

Senior Woodside and Santos executives, speaking recently at a packed gas industry forum in Tokyo, say the Fukushima disaster will add up 20 million tonnes a year to Japan's gas needs and Australia will be expected to supply a large share of that.
That's equivalent to more than a whole year's worth of Australia's present output, although enough new projects are starting, including WA's Pluto 1, Gorgon and Prelude projects and several Gladstone-based CSG ventures to soon triple production levels.
The latest gas industry forecasts suggest that Australia will soon surpass Qatar as the world's biggest provider.

...

The Perth-based head of Allens Arthur Robinson's Japan practice, Tim Lester, says the change in Japan's energy mix certainly has bolstered the future of several LNG projects.
"There's been a real shift in the economics of these projects. The capital costs are incredible and when the LNG price was a bit low there was a concern that too many projects were coming on line," he says. "But as a consequence of the nuclear disaster these projects are being readily sought after. I really sense that things have changed."

Natural gas is booming, but its price is going up & and is expected to go up more, or these projects would not be going forward.y.

We in the US will benefit, too, according to The Australian:

The US energy giant[Chevron] recently announced it had signed a binding deal to supply gas to Japan's Kyushu Electric Power. Under the arrangement, a total of 700,000 tonnes of LNG will be shipped to Kyushu from Wheatstone every year for up to 20 years. Chevron will provide the bulk of it and smaller supplies will come from the other project partners.
Kyushu will also buy a 1.83 per cent stake in the gas fields feeding the Wheatstone project and 1.46 per cent in the LNG processing plant to be developed near the town of Onslow, Chevron says.

What? Wasn't it supposed to be all renewables all the time in Japan now? Nope. Not any time soon.

The disaster has revived interest in renewable energy, but power use remains such that coal will also be a main beneficiary. Demand is increasing as companies seek to develop new sources of supply from Mongolia, Africa and other places.

In case you're wondering, the Japanese are importing coal, and are planning to import more coal:

Ferguson, who has been besieged by Japanese utility chiefs on both of his recent trips to Japan, says companies are also after extra coal from Australia, although short-term supplies remain constrained by the impact of the Queensland summer floods.
While there is no doubt Fukushima has presented a gilt-edged opportunity, Japan is pressing Australia to combat cost blow-outs and delays that are being blamed on labour shortages and materials prices.
Japanese government and industry figures are also worried about becoming too dependent on Australia. Although the two countries are close allies, the succession of floods in Queensland has raised questions over the reliability of our coal supply and Japan is looking towards developing countries to spread its resource risks.

Australian mining is going crazy, including causing labor shortages:

The two recent conferences in Tokyo have been awash with gold-rush style stories about the riches on offer to workers in mining regions and how this is distorting the labour market and fuelling tensions between small town regional communities and fly-in, fly-out workers.

Which is why Noda told the Wall Street Journal this, as reported by The Globe & Mail:


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...-on-restarting-nuclear-plants/article2173347/

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Noda is determined to restart idled nuclear reactors by next summer, with fewer than a dozen of the country's 54 reactors currently operating.
"We must bring them back up as best as we can, because if we have a power shortage, it will drag down Japan's overall economy," Mr. Noda told the Journal. When asked whether this summer's success in living without reactors meant that the country can cope next year without restarting idled plants, he responded: "That's absolutely impossible."

The Japanese economy has already been dragged down.


Meanwhile countries other than Japan with a strong commitment to nuclear appear to be going ahead with nuclear builds after Fukushima, just as the US did after Three Mile Island.



Will Davis's Atomic Power Review blog:
http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-nuclear-power-projects.html

New nuclear power projects
On the wires today are the following announcements:

-Brazil intends to build four nuclear plants to supplement the two it already operates, with one more in an advanced state of construction.

-South Africa intends to build six nuclear plants, to supplement the two plants it already has in operation.

According to the WNA database, Brazil has one nuclear plant site - Angra - which has two plants in operation and one under construction. The two operating plants are a Westinghouse two loop pressurized water reactor and a Kraftwerk Union PWR. The plant under construction is a KWU / Areva PWR.

South Africa's two plants are Koeberg 1 and 2, which are Framatome pressurized water plants.

Those who have decided for themselves that nuclear is a 'done deal' after the Fukushima Daiichi accident should note that many nations which have been planning nuclear construction or expansion for years are still going through with their plans.

For the record, about half of the operating commercial nuclear power plants in the United States received their operating licenses and were placed on the grid AFTER the Three Mile Island accident. Thus the news stories about other countries' plans to go ahead with nuclear power are not at all surprising to this writer.

And another

Good news out of Vancouver. RT @IBEW37: "Support of Nuclear Energy" Resolution No. 17 has been adopted. #IBEW #ibewcon2011

The US has two or three states taking action against nuclear power, most notably Vermont and New York. In Vermont, there is significant popular support for getting rid of Vermont Yankee, and Democratic Governor Shumlin is strongly in favor of that. He would be--his inaugural ball was paid for by Green Mountain Power president. GMP is wholly owned by Canadian natural gas company Gaz Metro.
http://yesvy.blogspot.com/2011/09/vermont-energy-plan-review-hurry-up.html

Things in Vermont are quite literally heating up:



http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/police-fire-at-vt-1185210.html

Fire at Vermont Yankee corporate offices, seven miles from the plant, was arson.

 

[dorispulaski]

September 21, 9:00 PM JST

As the Unit 1 reactor has become nearly enclosed, and perhaps as Unit 2 cools, suddenly there is a change in radiation readings at the plant. Readings are suddenly lower, where they have been rather slowly decreasing since the I 131 decayed away.


Here's the graph
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/f1_lgraph-e.gif
8 peripheral points ( 4, 19, 12, 11, 12, 32, 96, 68) microSieverts per hour
Office Building 287 microSieverts per hour
Main Gate 24 microSieverts per hour
West Gate 11 microSieverts per hour

and you can see some difference at Daini too:
Seven peripheral points (1.6, 1.1, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 0.8, 1.0) microSieverts per hour
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f2/images/f2_lgraph-e.gif
You can see the graph started to drop on 9/20

Of course, it could be the effect of typhoon Roke, whose rain is washing radioactive material out of the air. We'll see in a day or two. Maybe both things are happening..

And there are a few new news articles
NHK Sep 21

Expert urges checks of reactor interiors
An expert commenting on the accelerated plan to contain the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the interior temperatures of the damaged reactors need to be checked.

Masanori Naitoh, director in charge of nuclear safety analysis at the Institute of Applied Energy, was speaking to NHK about the revised timetable for bringing the plant under control.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company updated on Tuesday their preparations to achieve a cold shutdown by the end of this year instead of in January as originally planned. Cold shutdown means temperatures of the reactors are kept stable and below 100 degrees Celsius.

Naitoh said that TEPCO is now only measuring temperatures outside the reactors. But he said that it needs to be confirmed through simulation that temperatures inside have fallen below 100 degrees.

He said it also must be proven that there are no risks of a recurrence of nuclear reactions, even though such possibilities are low.

The government and TEPCO plan to start installing new devices at the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors next week to extract contaminated gases and reduce the release of radioactive substances.

They will also improve reactor cooling systems so that the temperature of the No. 2 reactor, in addition to that of the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors, will drop below 100 degrees.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 10:02 +0900 (JST)

I've already posted some of these pictures

TEPCO releases new images of Fukushima plant]/b]

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has released new video footage of its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The video footage is 3 minutes and 40 seconds long and consists of various clips taken between late June and mid-September.

Footage shot at the No. 1 reactor showed work to cover the reactor building to reduce the release of radioactive substances. A panel of 20 square meters was being lifted with a crane. TEPCO says 8 of the 18 panels needed to cover the entire building had been installed as of Tuesday.

Footage taken at the No. 3 reactor showed workers manually adjusting the volume of water to be injected in order to cool the reactor. Earlier this month, TEPCO began boosting water injection to lower the temperature of the reactor to below 100 degrees Celsius.

The video also showed workers learning how to use dosimeters and how to put on full face masks at a training session.

The company said it is becoming more important to train workers as operations to bring the plant under control proceed. It added that it hopes the images will convey the atmosphere at the site.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 23:57 +0900 (JST)

And of course, these radio isotopes used in radiation therapy come from nuclear reactors. No reactors, no threatment.

Japan develops auto-guiding radiotherapy device
Japanese researchers have developed an auto-guiding radiotherapy device that has fewer side effects for lung cancer patients.

Kyoto University says it spent tens of millions of dollars to develop the new device in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and other firms.

Conventional radiotherapy tends to have side effects for lung cancer patients. The lungs move during breathing, which makes it difficult to pinpoint cancer cells. The radiation attacks not only cancerous cells, but healthy ones as well. This increases the risk of developing radiation-caused pneumonia.

With the new equipment, cancerous tissue can be pinpointed automatically and side effects can be sharply reduced.
Kyoto University says it began using the world's first auto-guiding radiation device earlier this month. It says it can be applied to liver, pancreatic or other cancers whose position can change as the patient breathes in and out.

Professor Masahiro Hiraoka of Kyoto University Hospital says the new equipment can be used to fight cancer tissue in parts of the body that would be difficult to treat with conventional radiotherapy.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 05:39 +0900 (JST)

The IAEA is holding their meeting. Here's World Nuclear News' report on the event:

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_USA_and_Russia_commit_to_expand_nuclear_power_2109111.html

USA and Russia commit to expand nuclear power
21 September 2011

Energy leaders from Russia and America have made a "commitment to supporting the safe and secure expansion of civil nuclear energy" on the sidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Conference.
Officials from the US Department of Energy and Russia's Rosatom signed what the US side called a "joint statement on strategic direction of US-Russia nuclear cooperation." US energy secretary Stephen Chu said it was a milestone for the two nuclear energy pioneers. They were long separated by their opposition during the Cold War, but now share a leading role in nuclear security and disarmament.

Chu said in his address to the conference that nuclear energy's role grows more valuable as we confront a changing climate, increasing energy demand and a struggling economy. "At the same time, Fukushima reminds us that nuclear safety and security require continued vigilance." He noted the agreements made by Russia and the USA to reduce their weapons stockpiles and the importance of the widest possible sign-up to the framework of international conventions supporting the safe use of nuclear energy.
Russian nuclear energy chief Sergei Kiriyenko focused comments on his country's efforts to help new nations enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy. Their entrance to the field raises "questions of nuclear safety, infrastructure, creation of licensing and safety oversight and development of a clear legal framework in accordance with the requirements and recommendations of the IAEA," he said.

Kiriyenko noted Russia's cooperation towards nuclear build with Bangladesh, Belarus, Nigeria and Vietnam. "In the last year," he said, "we have proposed a new model of cooperation.. based on the principle of 'build-speak-operate'." The 'speak' component would refer to the lending of specific Russian expertise in the areas of law and regulation. This would come in addition to extensive and expanding lines of support from the IAEA. He said that "experience in this model confirms that this scheme can provide a higher level of safety and operational success."

The nuclear project in Turkey was said to be the first example of this mode of cooperation: Russia will build, own and operate a four-unit power plant at Akkuyu, supplying the state utility with electricity at a fixed price for at least 15 years. Rosatom will initially own 100% of the project and it intends to retain at least 51% in the long term.

New approaches to the fuel cycle are on the US agenda and Chu's speech highlighted the US stance, which has changed markedly since President George Bush launched the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in 2005. Chu said America will "encourage commercial nuclear companies to join together, under appropriate laws and regulations, to provide secure, reliable access to both front and back-end fuel services to any country with nuclear reactors."

This kind of open-market assurance would lessen the perceived need for a country to develop its own suite of nuclear fuel facilities as Iran has done. Chu said Iran has a choice: "it can comply with its obligations and restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities, or it can face deepening isolation and international censure." He praised the IAEA board for referring the status of nuclear programs in Iran, Syria and North Korea to the UN Security Council.

Chu's statement contained a message from President Barack Obama: "The tragic events at Fukushima make clear that nuclear energy, which holds great promise for global development and as a carbon-free source of power, also brings significant challenges to our collective safety and security... We must aim for a future in which peaceful nuclear energy is not only safe, but also accessible by all nations that abide by their obligations."

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News

 

[dorispulaski]

Too much skating this weekend. I've been reading but haven't posted yet.

NHK NEWS



First the good news:

Typhoon Roke spares Fukushima plant

Typhoon Roke has inflicted no major damage to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The typhoon approached the plant on Wednesday night, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the area.

Rainwater flowed into the basement of the turbine building of the Number 6 reactor.

Of the number one through 4 reactor buildings whose basements are flooded with contaminated water, water levels rose by 44 centimeters at the number one reactor building, and by about 10 centimeters at the other 3 reactor buildings due to rain.

The operation of equipment to remove salt from contaminated water was also stopped due to rain.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said several cameras to monitor the plant compound and amounts of water injected into the reactors also suffered glitches likely due to rain.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 14:23 +0900 (JST)

Between the multiple aftershocks and two major tropical storms, the folks at Fukushima Daiichi seem to have done a good job at disaster proofing their severely damaged site.

Noda vows to raise nuclear safety to highest level

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised that Japan will raise the safety of its nuclear power plants to the highest level in the world.

Noda made the remark on Thursday in a speech to a UN high-level meeting on nuclear safety in New York.

Noda began by expressing deep gratitude for the encouragement and support extended by many countries around the world for victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan in March.

On the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Noda said that the situation is steadily being put under control. He said recent estimates of radioactive releases from the damaged plant are about one 4-millionth of that recorded just after the accident.

He said efforts are underway to achieve cold shutdown of the reactors by the end of this year, instead of in January as originally planned.

The prime minister stressed that the government is determined to objectively identify the cause of the accident, and disclose its findings to the world.

Noda said Japan will raise the safety of its reactors to the world's highest level. He laid out plans to tighten regulations and establish a new nuclear safety agency in April next year.

Noda promised Japanese support for countries seeking ways to use nuclear power generation to secure energy and combat global warming.

Noda also said his government will work harder to develop and promote renewable energy and draw up a mid-term energy strategy by next summer.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 22:20 +0900 (JST)

He has also said that by next summer, he will have the closed nuclear power plants that pass testing back on line.

IAEA adopts action plan for nuclear safety

The International Atomic Energy Agency has unanimously endorsed an action plan on nuclear safety at its annual general conference in Vienna.

The plan calls for sending IAEA inspectors to member countries to evaluate the safety of nuclear plants at their request. It also requires the signatories to quickly organize a response team after a nuclear accident.

The plan was approved by the agency's 35-nation board last week -- six month since the nuclear crisis began at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.

But the approval exposed differences on nuclear safety between the member states.

Some countries, including Germany, which has voted to scrap nuclear power, wanted the safety evaluation to be mandatory.

Others, such as the United States, insisted that it be voluntary. Ultimately, that view won the day.

The IAEA plans to implement the action plan swiftly, seeking cooperation from the member states.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 21:49 +0900 (JST)

And indeed, here's the IAEA original data:

Here's the IAEA announcement of the plan
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/actionplan.html

And here's the plan itself (7 pages long, pdf file)
http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC55/Documents/gc55-14.pdf

Some random energy related news from around the world:

LNG prices surge to a Three Year High
http://sweetcrudereports.com/2011/09/20/lng-price-surges-to-three-year-high/

This does not bode well for either Japan, Germany, or for that matter Vermont, in their efforts to have reasonable priced, reliable electricity while still getting rid of their nuclear plants.

China has lifted its freeze on new nuclear plant construction, that it imposed until Fukushima Daiichi's problems were understood.
Other groups don't feel they entirely understand Fukushima Daiichi, but the Chinese think they do.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-n...to-lift-freeze-on-nuclear-plant-construction/

Banki Moon thinks the Japanese don't understand it, for example, and he doesn't think the UN does either since they are scheduling more study:

UN to study implications of Fukushima accident

The United Nations says it will conduct a study on the implications of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a chairman's summary after a high-level meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security in New York on Thursday.

About 60 heads of state and cabinet ministers took part in the talks including Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

Ban said the Fukushima accident has raised concerns about international safety standards and emergency preparedness.

He said safety standards must be raised to the highest level possible, and urged member nations to review their nuclear power plants to make sure they can withstand serious natural disasters. He stressed the need for international cooperation to strengthen nuclear safety.

Ban noted that people near the Fukushima Daiichi plant are living in fear of the effects of radiation. He said the United Nations will survey their health.
Friday, September 23, 2011 14:20 +0900 (JST)

Just me, but some further education might help them deal with their fears more successfull. I'll deal with that in the next post.


And on the front of education on this subject in the US:

MIT gets most of the US grants for nuclear energy research. If you're from the US, that would make it the place to go for nuclear engineering.
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2011/09/21/mit-gets-bulk-of-us-nuclear-grants.html

 

[dorispulaski]

If you don't subscribe to the various news feeds that I do, I bet you have not heard this story.


I've talked about the lack of evidence that low dose radiation, even over a long term, is harmful. In the light of this historical research by University of Massachusetts environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, this lack of evidence makes even more sense.

Unfortunately it not just people with pocketbook interests that cook their scientific data. People with strong beliefs in various areas do it too.

In the case of nuclear power, and in fact, nuclear everything, it has a long, long history.

Calabrese, whose own research had not been able to show the same damage from low dose radiation that Nobel Laureate Muller showed, obtained Muller's papers, which were recently declassified. Muller's original data does not support the Linear No Threshold Theory.


And what he found was that Muller lied about his data in his zeal to stop atmospheric atomic testing.

It was a good cause, but the falsified science has affected our entire regulatory structure and assumptions about the health effects of radiation.

Calabrese's work was published in a peer-reviewed journal recently.

http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/newsreleases/articles/136706.php

UMass Amherst Researcher Points to Suppression of Evidence on Radiation Effects by 1946 Nobel Laureate
Sept. 20, 2011

AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that low doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that one of the fathers of radiation genetics, Nobel Prize winner Hermann Muller, knowingly lied when he claimed in 1946 that there is no safe level of radiation exposure.

Calabrese’s interpretation of this history is supported by letters and other materials he has retrieved, many from formerly classified files. He published key excerpts this month in Archives of Toxicology and Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis.

Muller was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery that X-rays induce genetic mutations. This helped him call attention to his long-time concern over the dangers of atomic testing. Muller’s intentions were good, Calabrese points out, but his decision not to mention key scientific evidence against his position has had a far-reaching impact on our approach to regulating radiation and chemical exposure.

Calabrese uncovered correspondence from November 1946 between Muller and Curt Stern at the University of Rochester about a major experiment that had recently evaluated fruit fly germ cell mutations in Stern’s laboratory. It failed to support the linear dose-response model at low exposure levels, but in Muller’s speech in Oslo a few weeks later he insisted there was "no escape from the conclusion that there is no threshold." To Calabrese, this amounts to deliberate concealment and he says Stern raised no objection.

Calabrese adds, "This isn’t an academic debate, it’s really practical, because all of our rules about chemical and low-level radiation are based on the premises that Muller and the National Academy of Sciences’ (NAS) committee adopted at that time. Now, after all these years, it’s very hard when people have been frightened to death by this dogma to persuade them that we don’t need to be scared by certain low-dose exposures."

There's more, and it's worth a read.

This is data that has strong application to the fear people are feeling in Japan, even those that are in areas where contamination is not sufficient to cause any real risk.

So to reiterate the usual handout that the Japanese MEXT appends to its releases on radiation, interspersed with some comments by me:

The maximum difference between the average background levels of the different prefectures 400 microSieverts per year.

If you travel from Tokyo to New York, you will absorb a dose of 200 microSieverts

ETA, Should pilots and stewardesses be forbidden from flying more than 5 one way flights from Tokyo to New York per year? After all, that would be 1,000 microSieverts per year. In fact, are women allowed to be stewardesses at all in Japan? Do you remember when women were fired at Daiichi, back in the relative beginning of this?

Proposed limit for the general public 1,000 microSieverts per year

ETA does it make any sense whatsoever to have a limit that a lot more than 50% of the world fails, just naturally? Should all the children be evacuated from over half the world?, not to mention all the women who might be pregnant?

Global Average dose from background radiation 2,400 microSieverts per year

A CT Scan 6,900 microSieverts per year

[Does it make any sense to treat medical imaging procedures as somehow not to be considered? If you believe 1000 microSieverts per year is bad for a child, isn't it unconscionable to allow a child to have a CT scan?]

Radiation dose in Guayapara, Brazil 10,000 microSieverts per year

[ETA these people show no more susceptibility to cancer than people living anywhere else]

Dose originally set by the Japanese authorities to force evacuation outside of the original evacuation zone 20,000 microSieverts per year.

Normal dose for radiation workers allowed 50,000 microSieverts per year

[ETA Normal dose in parts of Ramshar, Iran, 77,000 microSieverts per year These people also show no more susceptibility to cancer than people living elsewhere]

Emergency allowed dose for radiation workers 250,000 microSieverts per year

[ETA Limit below which it is impossible to show any effect from low dose radiation 100,000 microSieverts per year]

100,000 microSieverts per year.

There are 8766 hours in a year.

That's 11.41 microSieverts per hour.

At Guayapara, Brazil, everyone gets 1.14 microSieverts per hour every day of their lives.
In Ramshar, Iran, 8.8 microSieverts per hour.

People in Japan getting 1.14 microSieverts per hour will be getting only about 70% of that after 2 years when the Cesium 134 decays to half its amount. Guayapara gets that every day, every year.

Just to put this in perspective.

So here's the MEXT data:

Outside of Fukushima, no data is being shown by prefecture by MEXT that's current

This data is not that current. It goes back to August 7th.

(this is a 16 page report), but I have only listed sites with 1.0 microSievert per hour or higher

http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/08/07/1309508_080718.pdf

Ssites in their list that should be of significant concern, as they are more than 100,000 microSieverts per year, are 4 sites in Namie.

Futaba county Namie town Akougi Kunugidaira 33.0 microSieverts per hour (24 km north and west of Fukushima)

These three sites will be below 100,000 milliSieverts per year in 8 years without decontamination

Futaba county Namie town Akougi Kutsukubo 22 microSieverts per hour
Futaba county Namie town Akougi Ishikoya 20.4 microSieverts per hour
Futaba county Namie town Akougi Teshichiro 18.9 microSieverts per hour

These two sites will be below 100 microSieverts in 2 years.

Futaba county Namie town Akougi Teshichiro 15.6 microSieverts per hour
Soma County Iitate Village 15.3 microSieverts per hour

Less than 100,000 microSieverts per year, but still more than Ramshar, Iran

Futaba county Namie town Akougi Shiraoi 10.7 microSieverts per hour

More than Guayapara, but less than Ramshar, Iran


Soma county Iitate village Komiya Kariyaniwa 7.6 miroSieverts per hour
Futaba county Namie town Shimotsushima Kayabuka 7.4 microSieverts per hour
Soma county Iitate village Komiya 6.6 microSieverts per hour
Futaba county Namie town Tsushima Nakaoki 6.2 microSieverts per hour
Soma county Iitate village Komiya 5.5 microSieverts per hour
Soma county Iitate village Komiya Nodegami 5.1 microSieverts per hour
Futaba county Namie town Tsushima Taikougi 4.3 microSieverts per hour

At or below the 20, 000 microSieverts per hour that was the criteriorn for evacuating Iitate Village, etc.

Date City, Ryozen town 2.8 microSieverts per hour
Minami Soma city Haramachi ward Ohara Daihata 2.0 microSieverts per hour
Date County Kawamata town 1.9 microSieverts per hour (other readings in Kawamat are below 1 microSieverts per hour)
Date City, Ryozen town 1.8 microSieverts per hour
Motomiya city Wada 1.8 microSieverts per hour
Koriyama city Toyota town 1.7 microSieverts per hour
Minami Soma city Haramachi ward Baba Shimonakanouch 1.4 microSieverts per hour
Fukushima city Onami Takinoiri 1.4 microSieverts per hour
Futaba County Katsurao village Kaminogawa 1.4 microSieverts per hour
Koriyama city Tsurumidan 1.3 microSieverts per hour
Iwaki City 1.2 microSieverts per hour
Tamura city Miyakoji town Iwaizawa 1.2 microSieverts per hour

Equal to or less than Guayapara, Brazil. This includes everywhere else that is currently not evacuated, and a lot of the places that are evacuated, including a lot of the area around Daini

Nihonmatsu city Kamikawasaki Itouchi 1.0 microSieverts per hour
Koriyama city Saikon 1.0 microSieverts per hour
Futaba county Kawauchi village Shimokawauchi 1.0 microSieverts per hour

And while we're looking at this, the whole Daini site, 5 km from Fukushima Daiichi, is at or below 1.7 microSieverts per hour these days.

Seven peripheral sites (1.7, 1.2, 1.7, 1.5, 1.4, 0.9, 1.0) microSieverts per hour

And some of the sites at Daiichi's border are not that unhealthy (and some are very unhealthy)

Eight peripheral sites ( 5, 21, 13, 12, 15, 34, 100, 77 ) microSieverts per hour

Close to the reactors, it's still very bad. It's important to know what levels are really dangerous and which aren't: when people are afraid of everything, they either do nothing, or treat dangerous things and innocuous things as equivalent.

Neither result is good.

Office Building
295 microSieverts per hour

Main Gate
35 microSieverts per hour

West Gate
11 microSieverts per hour

 

[Olympia]

Thanks, Doris. It's not always easy to think about these issues, and I'm not sure I'd take the time to do so without your clear and extensive notations as an incentive. Life is scary in all directions right now. (Including possible space satellite falling on us! After awhile one can only laugh.) So I'd rather just do my work and escape with chocolate and Project Runway, and skating, of course. But partly in tribute to your efforts, I feel I have to keep informed on these matters, and doing so actually helps alleviate the anxiety. I guess this is one of the ways in which knowledge is power.

 

[dorispulaski]

September 24th 4:52 AM EDT

Olympia, Thanks for reading, and even more, thanks for thinking about these issues. I do believe that knowledge is the cure for fear, and the only way to help us make right decisions. I do wish that our news outlets did follow up stories. So often the story is left hanging and we don't find out how things turned out. I suppose that is the service that I am trying to perform here, since I am unable to go to Japan and help out in any other way.



Of the temperatures measured at Unit 3, only one probe, labelled "Reactor Pressure Vessel Bellows Air" is above 100C. It is 109.4 C. The reactor pressure vessel bottom head temperature is now 82.0 C.

At Unit 2, where the same cooling strategy used for Unit 3 was recently implemented, the "Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom Head" is now at 104.9 C (vs. 113 C a week ago). All probes are showing a sharper decline in temperature than before the new strategy was put in place.

At Unit 1, the "Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom Head" is now at 77.9 C.

These readings are why both TEPCO and Prime Minister Noda have reported that cold shutdown will be achieved on the 3 units ahead of schedule, in December rather than January. Looking at the date, I would say they are no more than a month away right now, but the arguing about what is a cold shutdown in a plant that has had severe damage may take considerably longer. It would in the US.

:
Here's the most recent video of Fukushima Daiichi, recently released by TEPCO:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/index07-e.html

It is a good thing that TEPCO kept injecting nitrogen into Unit 1 for so long. In fact, there is still hydrogen running around in the piping. They found over 10,000 ppm hydrogen in spray system piping they were going to cut to install a gas management system. They will not be cutting the pipe until the hydrogen concentration is lower
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110923_02-e.pdf

Here's a picture of where the rain is getting in to the Unit 6 basement:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110922_1.jpg

As usual, the work of transferring water around goes on, and not surprisingly considering that basement of Unit 6 has rain water leaking into it:

-At 10:00 am on September 24, we started transfer of the accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank.

And efforts to keep the water treatment facility goes on:

*At 4:53 pm on September 23, we started water treatment at two systems of second cesium adsorption facility. At 5:03 pm on the same day, the flow rate achieved steady state.

and to reduce the amount of water to be treated, they keep working at adjusting the amount of water going in to the reactors. However, they need to have enough water going in that the temperature either stays low, or cools even further:

Unit 1
Water is currently injected at approx. 3.6 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement
Unit 2
Water is currently injected at approx. 3.9 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and at approx. 5 m3/h through core spray system water injection piping arrangement.
Unit 3
Water is currently injected at approx. 2.8 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and at approx. 8 m3/h through core spray system water injection piping arrangement.

NHK NEWS

Note that the number of people in evacuation centers is now reported at 40,000--down a lot, and includes some people affected by the earthquake and tsunami only, but not the nuclear plant accident.

Noda expresses resolve for rebuilding Japan at UN
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has expressed his resolve to rebuild and revive Japan from the devastating earthquake and tsunami at the UN General Assembly.

Noda addressed the annual UN meeting in New York on Friday.

The prime minister said this year has been far from ordinary for Japan. He stated that nearly 20,000 people were left dead or missing by the March disaster, and almost 40,000 people are still forced to live away from their homes.

Noda expressed gratitude for support extended by the international community, saying the Japanese will never forget the ties they felt with people from around the world.

On the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Noda said steady progress is being made to contain the accident.

He said the affected areas face many challenges, but that he will put priority on recovery and reconstruction work to revive Japan as soon as possible.

Noda spoke about Japan's readiness to provide maximum support for the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, which gained independence in July.

He said Japan wants to contribute to UN activities in areas in which it excels, and is preparing to send personnel to the UN operation headquarters in South Sudan.

He said Japan will send a survey team to that country soon to decide on whether to send a Self-Defense Force engineering unit there.

Noda also announced a plan to provide one billion dollars in yen loans to support reform and democratization efforts in the Middle East and North Africa.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 10:05 +0900 (JST)

Noda vows to raise nuke safety to highest level

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised that Japan will raise the safety of its nuclear power plants to the highest level in the world.

Noda made the remark on Thursday in a speech to a UN high-level meeting on nuclear safety in New York.

Noda began by expressing deep gratitude for the encouragement and support extended by many countries around the world for victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan in March.

On the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Noda said that the situation is steadily being put under control. He said recent estimates of radioactive releases from the damaged plant are about one 4-millionth of that recorded just after the accident.

He said efforts are underway to achieve cold shutdown of the reactors by the end of this year, instead of in January as originally planned.

The prime minister stressed that the government is determined to objectively identify the cause of the accident, and disclose its findings to the world.

Noda said Japan will raise the safety of its reactors to the world's highest level. He laid out plans to tighten regulations and establish a new nuclear safety agency in April next year.

Noda promised Japanese support for countries seeking ways to use nuclear power generation to secure energy and combat global warming.

Noda also said his government will work harder to develop and promote renewable energy and draw up a mid-term energy strategy by next summer.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 22:20 +0900 (JST)

Business leader asks for nuclear plant resumption

A business group leader in the Kansai region has asked the government to quickly resume operations at suspended nuclear power plants as a way to resolve continued power shortages in Japan.

The head of the Kansai Economic Federation, Shosuke Mori, made the request when he met with Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura in Tokyo on Thursday.

Mori said electricity supply is projected to become tighter during the winter, causing more companies to shift production overseas and to cut workforce. He said Japanese industries will face even more difficulties if this situation continues.

Fujimura said he is aware of the severity of power shortages in the Kansai region. He said the government plans to reopen nuclear plants one by one, after conducting thorough safety inspections and gaining the understanding of local communities.

Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, many nuclear reactors in Japan remain shutdown after undergoing regular inspections.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 14:22 +0900 (JST

Given Nodas comments, it looks like resumption is planned.



And this is an important topic, although I have to say some of my concerns about journalistic coverage are not met. I think that during a disaster, calm, accurate reporting should be the standard, not reporting guaranteed to cause people to panic rather than make correct decisions about what they should do.

TV journalists discuss coverage of Japan disaster
TV journalists from Japan, South Korea, and China have discussed how television covered the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11th.

Six TV journalists from the 3 countries had a 3-hour discussion at a symposium in the Japanese city of Sapporo on Friday. About 150 people were in the audience.

An NHK news presenter said he still wonders whether TV broadcasters could have saved more lives during the disaster. He said broadcasters need to keep making programs about the survivors and should consider how best to use the Internet when reporting disasters.

A news presenter from Japanese commercial broadcaster TBS said some reporters on the ground weren't sure whether they should carry on reporting or start helping to rescue people.

A TV producer from South Korea said South Korean coverage of the disaster was dramatic and emotional whereas Japanese coverage was very calm.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 09:09 +0900 (JST)

The dilemma of helping people vs. reporting happens all the time, but it is a true dilemma.

And seasons are changing:

Mt Fuji gets first snow of the season

Mount Fuji has been capped with snow for the first time this season, with temperatures as low as those in October in a wide area of Japan.

The Meteorological Agency said on Saturday that snow was visible on Japan's highest peak one day earlier than last year, with the surface near the summit turning white.

The agency said a high-pressure system brought clear skies, cooling the earth's surface in eastern and western Japan. Cold air that flowed in over the country also helped to lower temperatures in many areas.

The minimum temperature this morning was 13.5 degrees Celsius in Nagoya City, central Japan, and 15.9 degrees in the center of Tokyo -- temperatures usually recorded in mid- to late-October.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 13:10 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

Some other News. I have been waiting for the iodine map to appear to report on this, but it hasn't yet shown up on the MEXT website.


NHK reported this two days ago:

Radioactive iodine spread south of nuclear plant

A Japanese government survey shows that radioactive iodine emitted from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant spread not only northwestward but also to the south of the plant.

The science ministry sampled soil at 2,200 locations, mostly in Fukushima Prefecture, in June and July, and created a map indicating the extent of the radioactive contamination as of June 14th.

Officials were able to obtain data for iodine 131 at only 400 locations, because of its short half-life of 8 days.

The latest map shows that iodine 131 spread northwest of the plant, just like cesium 137 as indicated on an earlier map. But the substance was also confirmed south of the plant at relatively high levels.
The researchers found that accumulation levels of iodine 131 were higher than those of cesium 137 in coastal areas south of the plant.

Ministry officials say clouds that moved southward over the plant apparently caught large amounts of iodine 131 that were emitted at the time.

Iodine 131 could cause thyroid cancer through internal exposure. The ministry is therefore trying to determine at what levels the substance spread immediately after the accident at the plant in March.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 11:11 +0900 (JST)

The question of course, is if people were not evacuated from those areas, were they given iodine pills?

A blurry photo of the map is here. The map is not yet on the MEXT English website. When it is, I will post it:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/update/images/22_12_v_s.jpg

MEXT has also released an updated map of radioactive cesium concentrations in the soil.

The document also includes all the explanation of how measurements were made. Measurements were made out to a 80 km radius fairly densely, and quite a few points were taken beyond that.

The label "uninhabitable zones" is easy to confuse with the "no measurements" taken ssymbol, which in this map means mountaintops where measurements were not taken, not areas that are highly radioactively contaminated. There appear to be areas very close to the plant maked as uninhabitable, but I can't be sure. A bigger copy of the map would be clearer. Units are becquerels per square meter, so with some conversion, this map can be lined up to Chernobyl data, and to gamma radiation dose rate, as reported by MEXT every day.

It is this map that will decide the fate of evacuees.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/en/1750/2011/08/1750_083014.pdf

The iodine map is not currently on the MEXT English version website, but since all radioactive iodine has disappeared from water, air and soil at Fukushima Daiichi, it is fair to assume that by September, it has also disappeared from everywhere else.

However, the result of this map is that doctors should keep a close eye on the thyroids of children (and adults, but children are the ones mostly at risk) in the contaminated areas on the map. This is all to the good, since thyroid cancer is completely curable if found relatively early in the 3 main types of thyroid cancer (Stage 1 or 2). Even stage 3 has relatively good survival rates (93% for the least dangerous type of thyroid cancer and 71% for the more dangerous type). The one bad result survivors have is that they have to take thyroid replacer for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, it is a relatively inexpensive pill. And they may have a visible scar on their neck from surgery (smaller these days).

Survival rates may be found here:
http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/ThyroidCancer/DetailedGuide/thyroid-cancer-survival-rates

And this is an interesting list of documents


JAIF List of resources available.

・Establishment of provisional standard for radioactive substance contained foods based on food sanitation act.(Japanese)→http://www.nsc.go.jp/info/20100823.pdf

・Guideline for food inspection and specifying products and area of production for shipment/intake and its cancellation(Japanese)→http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r9852000001h0ni-att/2r9852000001h0tr.pdf

・Important school-related information(Japanese)→http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/saigaijohou/syousai/1303574_14098.html

・Roadmap for Immediate Actions for the Assistance of Nuclear Sufferers (5/17：Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters)→http://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/nuclear/roadmap/

・Regarding Response to the Specific Spots Estimated to Exceed an Integral Dose of 20mSv Over a One Year Period After the Occurrence of the Accident (“Specific Spots Recommended for Evacuation”)
→http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/press/2011/06/en20110621-2.pdf

・Draft evaluation report prepared by Food Safety Commission(Japanese)→http://www.fsc.go.jp/sonota/emerg/radio_hyoka.html

・Guidelines concerning lifting orders for taking emergent protection measure　by Nuclear Safety Commission(Japanese)→http://www.nsc.go.jp/anzen/shidai/genan2011/genan059/siryo3-2.pdf

・Guidelines concerning radioactivity check for rice→ http://www.maff.go.jp/j/soushoku/kaigi_siryo/110803.html

・Provisional allowable limit for Manure, humus and feeding stuff contaminated with radioactive Cesium (Japanese)→http://www.maff.go.jp/j/syouan/soumu/saigai/shizai.html

・Other important information released by the national government (Beef, Marine products, etc)→http://www.kantei.go.jp/saigai/genpatsu_houshanou.html#syoku_anzen

・Guideline on how to deal with radio logically contaminated byproducts created through water treatment process or sewage treatment process in which radioactive substance is detected (Japanese) →http://www.meti.go

・Guidelines for management of Disaster Waste in Fukushima(Japanese)→http://www.env.go.jp/jishin/attach/fukushima_hoshin110623.pdf

・Guideline on how to deal with waste contaminated with radioactive substances from waste processing plants (Japanese) →http://www.env.go.jp/jishin/attach/osenhaiki-shori20110829.pdf


I wish there were a translation available of this report and the next report

・Guideline for disposing incinerated ash which is contaminated with cesium more than 8000Bq/kg and less than 100,000Bq/kg(Japanese)→http://www.o-sanpai.or.jp/pdf/topics/2011/0831_02.pdf

 

[let`s talk]

First time since the quake, for the last couple of days the www.yahoo.co.jp doesn't have a diagram of energy saving on its main page anymore. It doesn't mean that the policy has been abolished. A good deal of ads and signs outside are still off.

 

[dorispulaski]

Well, there's snow on Mt. Fuji. Hopefully, no one is needing air conditioning, and Japan is into the part of the year when it needs less electricity, at least for home use?

 

[dorispulaski]

September 25, 6:20 AM EDT

Last TEPCO status as of 3:00 PM, September 25th

Apparently the SARRY system is not perfect either.

*At approx. 8:30 pm on September 24, the second Cesium adsorption facility of water treatment facility has automatically shut down. Investigations are now underway. Water treatment by Cesium adsorption facility is continuing. As there are sufficient treated water stored in the tank, there is no impact on the water injection into the reactors.

Investigation was still underway at 3:00 PM

* At 9:42 am on September 24, we started operation of desalination facility (reverse osmosis type) (3), which had been stopped due to rain water leakage.

* At 10::00 on September 24, we resumed transferring accumulated water from Unit 6 turbine building basement to temporary tanks.

*At 4:53 pm on September 23, we started water treatment at two systems of second cesium adsorption facility. At 5:03 pm on the same day, the flow rate achieved steady state.

TEPCO also released a number of photos of Units 5 &6, which show an eerie normality. In the last picture, it looks like someone has cut the grass there. The only visible damage is to sea water facilities and the turbine building (as you would expect).
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110924_04-e.pdf

They've adding 16 extra sampling points for marine soil at the northern and southern ends of the areas they are measuring now. Locations are 3, 5, 10, and 15 km off the various coastlines:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110925_01-e.pdf

Safety limit radioactive cesium in Fukushima rice

Radioactive cesium measuring just at the government-set safety limit has been detected in rice samples collected in an area in northeastern Fukushima Prefecture.

Officials say 500 becquerels per kilogram of cesium was found in a test on pre-harvest rice from Nihonmatsu City on Friday. The figure is the highest in such tests carried out for rice across the country.

Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, the central government has required that a 2-stage test for radiation be conducted before and after harvest.

Pre-harvest tests are currently being carried out in nine prefectures in Tohoku and Kanto regions.

Following the discovery of the high level radioactive cesium, the prefectural government has increased the number of places being tested within the city from 38 to about 300.

On Saturday, the Nihonmatsu City government held an emergency meeting with officials from the prefectural government.

As some farmers have already started to harvest their crop before the results became available, it was decided that they would store their crop ahead of the post-harvest tests.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

Only 35% of tsunami-hit fishermen resume operation

A survey shows only one out of 3 fishermen in disaster-stricken areas in northeastern and eastern Japan has resumed operations.

The agriculture and fishery ministry surveyed fishermen in 6 prefectures, from Hokkaido to Chiba, along the Pacific Ocean in July.

An average of 35 percent of the respondents in the 6 prefectures said they have resumed fishing.

Of those in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures that were hit hardest by the March 11th tsunami, fewer than 20 percent said they have.

The fishermen cited lack of fishing boats and gear as well as damaged port facilities which have made it difficult to land their catches. The ministry also surveyed farmers in 8 disaster-hit prefectures.

Only 34 percent of farmers in Miyagi Prefecture where more than 15,000 hectares of farmland were submerged by tsunami said they have resumed farming.

In contrast, 83 percent of those in the other 7 prefecture said they have resumed farming.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 22:54 +0900 (JST)

But those that are fishing are doing well-as one might expect. This is a saury fish:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...anma_Japan.JPG/220px-ShichirinSanma_Japan.JPG

Saury auction held on Sunday in Hokkaido
A rare Sunday auction of saury was held at a port in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.

About 3,600 tons of saury was landed at Hanasaki port on Saturday and Sunday. The amount was a record high as fishing boats diverted from ports in northeastern Japan that were damaged by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Fish dealers held 8 auctions on Saturday, but 890 tons of the fish was left without being landed or auctioned due to the shortage of trucks.

One fisherman said he is grateful that he was able to land fish on Sunday, adding that he hopes huge catches will continue.

A local cooperative says it expects fishing boats to continue landing their catch at the port.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 14:46 +0900 (JST)

A friend of mine from college days did his master's thesis on orbits of tachyons (faster than light particles) around black holes. It doesn't sound like science fiction any more.

After he got his doctorate, he went to work creating computer models for stock trading...back into science fiction there.

Researchers: Neutrino faster than light
An international research team says an experiment has shown that the elementary particles known as neutrinos travel faster than light. The findings contradict Einstein's theory of relativity, which says a material with mass is slower than light.

The experiment was conducted by a team of research institutions, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, and Japan's Nagoya University.

The team measured the speed of neutrinos by beaming them from CERN's research center in Geneva, Switzerland to an underground facility in Italy, a distance of 730 kilometers.

The scientists analyzed data obtained on 15,000 occasions over a period of 3 years by precisely measuring the distance between the two research centers and by synchronizing the time.

The calculation showed that neutrinos reached their destination 60 nanoseconds faster than the expected speed of light.

It is an established theory that neutrinos have mass based on the results of experiments by Japanese researchers.

The international research team, however, has yet to offer theoretical explanations about why the particle is faster than light, which goes against the theory of relativity.

The team said any hasty conclusion or physical interpretation should not be made, considering the possible impact that could have on science.

It has called on researchers around the world and related academic societies to closely examine the experimental results.
Saturday, September 24, 2011 09:09 +0900 (JST)

Still, this reminds us that things we thought were absolutely impossible may not be - certainly if we are not looking for solutions we won't find any. As Robert Heinlein said, "Of course the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you--if you don't play, you can't win. "


When the machine breaks, if you're playing you can win, even if it's rigged against you.

In that vein, who would have thought this would happen this fast:

Sendai Airport express to resume service on Oct. 1
Test runs of airport express trains were carried out between Sendai Airport and Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, on Sunday. The tracks and the terminal were destroyed by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Sendai Airport Transit says full services will resume on Saturday, October 1st.

The control center has been moved to the second floor after the first floor of the building was flooded.

In Sunday's tests, trains made 4 round trips between Mitazono Station in Natori City and the airport terminal. Company officials checked to see if there were any irregular vibrations at speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour.

The operator plans to offer the regular number of daily 40 round trips between Sendai Station and the airport from next Saturday.

Passengers will be able to travel between the airport and Sendai Station in 17 minutes.

The company's president, Susumu Saito, said he wants to apologize to customers for the inconvenience, adding that he and his company will do everything to offer them safe transportation.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 16:54 +0900 (JST)

The last time I saw Sendai airport, there was a fleet of floating cars and trucks and a 24 foot tsunami there:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzDW6YvTHPk

I have watched New Orleans struggle to come back after Hurricane Katrina, and I am indeed impressed.

Japan, World Bank agree on anti-disaster project
Japan and the World Bank have agreed to jointly study ways to help developing countries prepare for a major disaster.

The agreement came in a meeting between Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi and World Bank President Robert Zoellick on Friday.

The 2 officials said they will look into holding a World Bank meeting on anti-disaster measures next year in the Japanese city of Sendai that was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in March.

They agreed that the 2-year joint study will begin next month.

Japan's experience in dealing with disasters and its knowledge of quake-resistant high-rise buildings and effective levees will be utilized in the project.

Later, Azumi told a symposium on relief activities that people in disaster-stricken areas in northeastern Japan are working hard to restart their lives.

He said Japan is ready to offer support to other countries hit by disaster in the same way it received help from abroad since the March 11th disaster.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

Well, there's snow on Mt. Fuji. Hopefully, no one is needing air conditioning, and Japan is into the part of the year when it needs less electricity, at least for home use?

Air-conditioners in shops, offices, public places and some houses work non-stop, all year around: cooling regime in summer, heating regime in winters. But it's one and the same machine that eats the same amount of energy all year. Most of private houses, where people naturally want to be in more comfortable conditions than in offices and shops, use plus the alternative types of heaters because an air-conditiner is a too weak machine in heating regime: doesn't heat the floor, the air cools down back too soon, makes noise but eats a good deal of energy. In Japan private houses, apartment buildings and condos don't have central heating systems, so each household chooses its own way to stay warm. Oil heaters eat more electricity than air-cons, work more effectively, ecologically clean, no noise or smell. TOKYO gas fan heaters requires electricity and city gas, they are simply connected to the special gas plug in your house. There are some other types of heaters and all of them requires electricity plus TOKYO gas, or LP gas, or petrol, etc. depends on the type. What I am saying is the electricity bills in winter can be the same as in summer only if the house uses air-con only for heating, which almost no one does. In all other cases electricity bills in winter are bigger or much bigger, and gas bills go skyrocketed. For example, in my household, let's say the electricity bill in August was 100 yen, in December 130 yen, in January 170 yen, in February 150 yen. Plush gas bills in summer 40 yen, in February 400 yen. No way winter is an energy saving time. That's why I am surprise and feel optimisic that they removed the diagram from yahoo.co.jp.