Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

That is interesting.

Pretty much everywhere in the US, more electricity is used in the summer than the winter. This was a surprise to me about CT, where most of our home heating is done with oil or natural gas, and where our summers are relatively mild, especially in towns near the shore. For example, I only have one room air conditioned in my house, and I only use the air conditioner two or three days a summer, if the night is too hot to sleep. During the winter, I use more lighting and cook things that require baking--something I don't do in summer. I personally use more electricity in winter, but the state as a whole still uses more in summer, like the rest of the country.

I'm glad to hear you are feeling optimistic!

TEPCO Status September 26th 3:30 PM JST

They are still adjusting water flows to the reactors, and using 2 spray systems. This has worked really well. Unit 2 is at 104 C for the Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom, almost all measurements are under 100 C now.

Unit 2

At 3:05 pm on September 26, the amount of water injection from the core spray system into the reactor was adjusted from approx. 5.0 m3/h to approx. 6.0 m3/h. Water is currently injected at approx. 4.0 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and at approx. 6.0 m3/h through core spray system water injection piping arrangement.

Unit 3
- From 2:58 pm on September 1, we started water injection by core spray system in addition to water injection by the reactor feed water system piping arrangement. Water is currently injected at approx. 2.7 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and at approx. 7.9 m3/h through core spray system water injection piping arrangement.


Unit 5
- From 9:45 am to 10:42 am on September 26, we switched the seawater pump from B system (permanently installed) to A system (temporarily installed) in order to repair the outlet valve of Unit 5 residual heat removal system seawater pump (D).
.

The SARRY system is working again.

- At 8:30 pm on September 24, the 2nd Cesium adsorption apparatus of water treatment facility has automatically shut down. Investigations are now underway. Water injection of Unit 1 to 3 are continuing and as there are sufficient treated water stored in the tank, there is no impact on the water injection into the reactors. After that, we identified that the cause of the shutdown was closure of a valve in the system due to malfunction of an air compressor for valve actuators. After replacing the compressor, at 5:02 pm on September 25, we restarted the 2nd Cesium absorption apparatus and at 5:05 pm, reached the rated flow.


- At 10:00 am on September 26, we started transfer of the accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank.

- One of the staff from the cooperating companies was injured catching his forth finger between the steel stocks in site of the power plant (outdoors) at 11:05 am, September 26. The staff returned to the office outside the site and was carried to the emergency medical office of Unit 5 & 6 with a surgical mask on, not the full-cover mask. We are planning to conduct a measurement with a whole body counter just in case. Contamination on the surface of the body and the surgical mask is not detected.

Daini

* At 10:57 am on September 25, we stopped residual heat removal system (B) of Unit 2 due to the replacement work of temporary power cables for the residual heat removal system (B) of unit 1 and 2. At 11:11 am, we activated residual heat removal system (A).

If anyone is wondering how the seawater measurements are going, outside the inner harbor, no radioactive materials were found (this is, of course, related to sample size, but it's a good thing). More interesting, of the 11 measurements taken in the inner harbor, 11 were below the notification level, and the remaining two were close to it (one at 2x the notification limit, one at 1.6x for Cs 134, within limit for Cs 137)
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110926e8.pdf

And they have put up the monthly radiation survey of the site. There were no new surprises, and radiation just outside the reactors is very high:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/f1-sv-20110922-e.pdf

NHK NEWS]/b]

This is the start of 29,000 people being able to choose to return home.

Fukushima evacuation advisory to be lifted
The government will lift an evacuation advisory for 5 municipalities in Fukushima outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Senior Vice Minister of Economy Trade and Industry Tadahiro Matsushita on Monday met with Mayor Yuko Endo of Kawauchi Village, one of the municipalities, and said the advisory would be lifted by around Friday.

The municipalities are located in a ring between 20 and 30 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Residents of the areas have been advised to evacuate or remain indoors in the event of an emergency. About 29,000, or half of them, have evacuated.

The advisory covers the entire town of Hirono and parts of Naraha, the village of Kawauchi and the cities of Tamura and Minamisoma.

Mayor Endo said government support is essential to realizing the village's plan to allow all evacuees to return by March.

Matsushita assured Endo that he will take steps to lift the evacuation advisory.

The 5 municipalities had earlier submitted to the government plans to decontaminate the areas and restore lifelines to meet conditions for lifting the advisory.
Monday, September 26, 2011 15:28 +0900 (JST)

[/quote]

Given that they measured a significant amount of hydrogen at Unit 1, this is prudent. TEPCO had intended to add nitrogen injection to Unit2 and Unit 3, but the inside of the buildings were too radioactive back in June to allow the work to be done, so it wasn't done. I do wonder how easy they are going to find it to make the measurements?

Hydrogen check ordered at No.2, 3 reactors

Japan's nuclear safety agency has instructed the operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to check if hydrogen is building up in its No.2 and 3 reactors.

This is after the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, recently detected hydrogen in a pipe leading to the containment vessel of No.1 reactor. A hydrogen explosion occurred at the No.1 reactor on March 12th, after the March 11th quake and tsunami.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Sunday instructed TEPCO to check pipes in the No.2 and No.3 reactors. The No.3 reactor suffered hydrogen explosion on March 14th and No. 2 reactor had a hydrogen explosion on March 15th.

The utility says it will measure the levels of hydrogen at the No.1 reactor before injecting nitrogen and taking other measures to prevent another explosion.

The firm is expected to take similar measures if hydrogen is detected at the No.2 and No.3 reactors as well.
Monday, September 26, 2011 05:26 +0900 (JST)

When you burn garbarge, you get a small amount of ash. Since cesium doesn't burn, it is concentrated in that ash.



Here, officials are being STUPID: encasing the ashes in CLAY is the right answer, as found by the Ukrainians and Belorussians and Russians in Chernobyl. Stuff leaks through the cement.

Burying of radioactive household waste challenging

Japan's environment ministry says that the disposal of radioactive ashes from household garbage is not going well in Tokyo and surrounding areas, partly due to residents' objections.

Following the nuclear accident in Fukushima, waste facilities in the Tohoku, Kanto and Koshin-etsu regions showed that ashes in garbage from private homes contained radioactive cesium.

The ministry has set guidelines for disposing of the ashes. They say that if the level is 8,000 becquerels per kilogram or lower, the ashes can be buried. For ashes with cesium levels between 8,000 and 100,000 becquerels, the ministry says they must be deposited in cement and put in concrete vessels]/b].

The ministry recently surveyed waste incineration facilities in the regions to see how the ash disposal is proceeding.

Of 410 facilities where cesium levels of ashes were 8,000 becquerels or lower, 22 sites mainly in the Tokyo Metropolitan area have been storing the ashes. They say they cannot bury the ashes due to residents' objections.

The survey also found ashes which had over 8,000 becquerels of cesium had not been buried at 42 facilities. They said that disposal was difficult.

The ministry plans to send officials to municipalities' meetings to explain to residents the safety of waste disposal. It also plans to demonstrate more specific ways of disposing of the highly contaminated ashes.
Monday, September 26, 2011 05:26 +0900 (JST)

Noda has pledged this several times.

Noda pledges to focus on reconstruction


Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says his government will put priority on recovery and reconstruction from the March 11th quake and tsunami and containing the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Noda spoke at the beginning of the 2-day Lower House Budget Committee session that opened on Monday for the first time since he took office in early September.

Noda said his Cabinet's priorities are reconstruction and efforts to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control.

He said it will also steadily implement measures to revive the Japanese economy and respond to growing concerns over the global economic crisis.

On calls for increased disaster reconstruction efforts, Noda said he wants to respond quickly to survivors' requests for rubble removal and provide support for those in need in the affected areas.

The prime minister said the government and governing parties are in final discussions on a third supplementary budget to promote reconstruction projects.

He said he will do his utmost to hold talks with opposition parties so that a bill is submitted to the Diet at an early date.
Monday, September 26, 2011 14:05 +0900 (JST)

If you recall, Hamaoka is the plant that Prime Minister Kan shut down at once because it is near the predicted focus of a large earthquake. There is a subduction faultk, which means that a tsunami is possible. However, the electric company is building a very high sea wall to protect the reactors.

City assembly calls on shutdown of Hamaoka plant
A city assembly in central Japan has adopted a resolution calling on the permanent shutdown of a local nuclear power plant unless its safety is guaranteed.

The Makinohara City Assembly in Shizuoka Prefecture adopted the resolution on Monday. The city is located within 10 kilometers from the Hamaoka nuclear plant.

Mayor Shigeki Nishihara said he views the resolution seriously and shares the assembly's concern for the safety of the city's residents. He also said automaker Suzuki is considering moving its factories out of the prefecture because of the risk of a nuclear accident.

Chubu Electric, the plant operator, says it will do all it can to improve the safety of the Hamaoka plant.

As part of a nationwide government mandate, 3 of the plant's 5 reactors went offline following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The 2 other reactors had already been shut down for decommissioning.

Chubu Electric is now building a breakwater to improve safety measures against future tsunami. It hopes to resume operations of the 3 reactors.

The utility had previously signed a pact to assure nuclear power plant safety with Makinohara and 3 other cities within 10 kilometers from the plant, as well as the prefecture.

The prefecture usually approves a plant's operation if local municipalities give their consent.

Monday's resolution is likely to affect the utility's plan to restart the reactors.
Monday, September 26, 2011 16:47 +0900 (JST)

This is probably smart. For one thing, with all the reconstruction bills, this project would be a frill under any scenario. And with the nation's energy policy in flux, it is better to step back.

Japan to freeze fast-breeder reactor project
Japan is likely to freeze a research and development project related to putting a fast-breeder nuclear reactor into practical use.

The education, science and technology ministry plans to request more than 20 billion yen, or about 260 million dollars, in its 2012 budget to maintain and manage the troubled prototype fast-breeder Monju reactor. This is roughly the same amount budgeted for the project as in the current fiscal year.

But the ministry is planning to ask for only 20 to 30 percent of the 10 billion yen, or about 130 million dollars, allocated in the current fiscal year for research and development on the project.

This is due to uncertainty over Japan's future nuclear policy in the wake of the accident in Fukushima.

Fast-breeder reactors run on recycled spent fuel as the core of a nuclear fuel-recycling program. Japan has been conducting research to put such a reactor to practical use by 2050. Test runs are now under way at the Monju experimental reactor in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture.

Following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the government has been reviewing its basic energy plan, making its future nuclear policy unclear.

The ministry says it has concluded that it cannot proceed with the project when it is unclear which way the government's energy policy will go.

Monday, September 26, 2011 16:47 +0900 (JST)

This is a far better thing to do than investing in relatively useless solar panels.

Govt to financially support geothermal generation

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry says it will support companies that invest in geothermal power generation projects.

Geothermal generation uses high-temperature steam produced by underground water heated by volcanic activity.

The ministry predicts that geothermal generation will be a key source of renewable energy in Japan, which has many volcanoes.

A semi-governmental body will offer grants or investment money to firms looking for suitable sites.

Companies need to raise huge amounts of money for the initial stages of these projects. Drilling a well for underground steam is said to cost 5 to 10 billion yen, or 65 million to 130 million dollars.

The ministry also plans to guarantee firms' debt to help them obtain loans for the projects from financial institutions.

It will allocate the necessary amount for the plan in the next fiscal year's draft budget.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 22:52 +0900 (JST)

Ahmadinejad justifies Iran's uranium enrichment

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country is enriching uranium to develop radiation for medical purposes. But he says he is ready to resume talks on nuclear development with the United States and European countries.

Ahmadinejad spoke to reporters in New York on Friday where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

He said Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Saleh told EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, that his country is prepared to discuss nuclear issues.

But he maintained Iran must continue its enrichment program in order to secure enough radioactive materials to treat some 800,000 patients, including those suffering from cancer.

A UN resolution has banned the country from enriching uranium over concerns that the radioactive material could be used in nuclear weapons. However, the Middle East country has continued its program.

Ahmadinejad said Iran will stop its enrichment program if the United States and other countries provide it with 20 percent enriched uranium for medical use.

The Iranian president apparently wanted to reiterate his country's right to continue the enrichment program because it has been unable to find alternative ways to fulfill its uranium needs in meetings with western countries.
Sunday, September 25, 2011 09:05 +0900 (JST)

This sounded a bit off to me, but indeed uranium is used in medicine.

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4928593_what-uranium-used.html
An Al Jazeera video about making medical isotopes from uranium in South Africa (where uranium is obtained from Namibia, where it is plentiful).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlxUFvUszjM

Medical Industry
Radioisotopes are produced from uranium. They are used for certain medical procedures, for research on how the body functions and also for medial technology advancements. Uranium is also used for the treatment of cancer. This method is called radiotherapy. Gamma rays are used to prevent cancer growth by breaking down the cells. Other medical uses of uranium include sterilizing catheters, instruments, sutures, ointments and syringes.

And I find this whole story very touching.

Newspaper hit by tsunami won award

A newspaper which continued publishing after it had lost its printing press in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami has won a special award.

The Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun, a daily newspaper in Ishinomaki city, Miyagi prefecture, was awarded a special citation by the International Press Institute during its world congress and general assembly in Taipei on Sunday.

IPI, headquartered in Austria, decided to give the special award to the daily for its efforts, under difficult conditions, to provide news to the disaster victims.

The 6 reporters wrote the news with pens on big sheets of paper because they could not use computers as the power was out.

The handwritten newspaper was posted at various locations including shelters and a town hall.

It provided information about the extent of the damage and survival information badly needed by those who were affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

For six days, beginning the day after the disaster, the company released handwritten newspapers until they could use computers to print the paper.
Monday, September 26, 2011 07:26 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

And if you have been or have become interested in Chernobyl:

And PBS is going to air a special on Chernobyl's wildlife, called
Radioactive Wolves, PBS’s Nature program on October 19, 2011:

Here's the trailer
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/uncategorized/radioactive-wolves-preview/7052/

Meanwhile, Russia is choosing to keep a number of RMBK reactors, the type that failed at Chernobyl running, and which have acknowledged design flaws, the Wall Street Journal reports:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904563904576584831235317422.html

Sergei Kirienko, chief executive of Rosatom, said in an interview that Russia has taken action to extend the operational life of all of its Soviet-era reactors to 45 years. Among those reactors are 11 units like the one at Chernobyl, which Soviet nuclear engineers thought should be decommissioned after 30 years.

The Russians are choosing to make money shipping their natural gas to Germany and the rest of Europe rather than retire these plants.

They apparently do not regard them as all that risky.

 

[Olympia]

So scary about the Russian Chernobyl-model reactors.


That story about the handwritten newspapers is lovely. It shows what human ingenuity and community spirit can do.

 

[let`s talk]

Sendai airport was opened in a month after the quake, but for limited commercial use only. Little by little the number of commercial flights and flights for passengers were increasing. From Oct 1st the airport will go back to the pre-quake schedule.

The same thing happens everywhere. From Sep 23rd JR went back to the pre-quake schedule for Tohoku, Yamagata and Akita shinkansen, i.e. to the hit-by-quake areas.

 

[dorispulaski]

It's good to hear the quake recovery news!

Meanwhile:

NHK reports this milestone.!

3 Fukushima reactors cooled below 100 degrees
The temperature of another troubled reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has fallen below 100 degrees Celsius for the first time since the nuclear disaster in March.

Tokyo Electric Power Company or TEPCO says the temperature in the lower area of the Number 2 reactor stood at 99.4 degrees at 5 PM on Wednesday.

Temperatures at the Number 1 and 3 reactors have been maintained below 100 degrees Celsius since August.

The utility says its cooling efforts have achieved results although it is too early to say that it has attained a state of cold shutdown for all 3 troubled reactors.

Cold shutdown is a state where temperatures below 100 Celsius are sustained and the situation remains stable.

The utility now says it is important to ensure a reliable cooling system to achieve cold shutdown.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 20:23 +0900 (JST)

From TEPCO status reports through September 28:

* At 10::00 am on September 28, we resumed transferring accumulated water from Unit 6 turbine building basement to temporary tanks.

* At 10:25 am on September 28, we switched water injection line to emergency line at Unit 1,2 and 3 for the trial run of mini flow line in the regular injection line set on the hill. At 2:02 pm on the same day, we switched back to the regular water injection line after the trial run. There is no change in the injection amount due to this work

* At 11:05 am on September 27, on the second floor of the turbine building of Unit 5, while draining lubricant oil of overhead crane to drums for inspection of the crane, one of our employees found lubricant oil was leaked on the floor. The amount of the leaked oil was approximately 8 liters, and at about 1:00 pm, we wiped the oil from the floor.

* At approx. 6:17 pm on September 26, one of the pumps (H2-2) of the skid of the Cesium adsorption apparatus has shut down. Throughput of the apparatus is decreased approx. from 20 m3/h to 16 m3/h. At 11:30 am on September 27, we started pump (SMZ-2) in the Skid for filtering out oil and technetium, and the throughput was adjusted to approx. 20 m3/h.

From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on September 26, we transferred the accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank.

- At 11:05 am, September 26, one of the staff from the cooperating companies was injured catching his forth finger between the steel stocks in site of the power plant (outdoors). The staff returned to the office outside the site and headed for the emergency medical office of Unit 5/6 with a surgical mask on. Contamination on the surface of the body and the surgical mask is not detected. As a result of the measurement by whole body counter, which was conducted in case, we have evaluated that no radioactive materials was taken in.

* We restarted transferring the accumulated water from the basement of the Unit 6 turbine building to the temporary tank at 10:00 am, September 26. We finished transferring at 4:00 pm on the same day.

* One of the staff from the cooperating companies was injured catching his forth finger between the steel stocks in site of the power plant (outdoors) at 11:05 am, September 26. The staff returned to the office outside the site and headed for the emergency medical office with a surgical mask on. As a result of the measurement by whole body counter, we have evaluated that no radioactive materials was taken in. Contamination on the surface of the body and the surgical mask is not detected.

* At 3:05 pm on September 26, we adjusted the volume of water injected at 6.0 ㎥/h from Core Spray System into Reactor Building of Unit 2 (while we continue injecting water at of 4.0 ㎥/h from Feed Water System).

* At approx. 6:17 pm on September 26, one of the pumps (H2-2) of the skid of the Cesium adsorption apparatus has shut down. Throughput of the apparatus is decreased from approx. 20 ㎥/h to 16 ㎥/h.

-Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station: Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to the earthquake

* Unit 1 residual heat removal system (B) was stopped at 6:25 am, September 26 in order to transfer the power supply cable (temporarily installed) to the residual heat removal systems (B) of Units 1 and 2. We restarted the residual heat removal system (B) at 4:15 pm on the same day.

If you remember, two of the World Cup winning soccer team members were from the TEPCO club. This is sad, but good for those players.

The Japan Football [i.e. soccer] Association has proposed that the presently inactive "TEPCO Women's Football Club Mareeze" be given opportunities to continue to display their skills on the soccer field. In consideration of the future of the players, a decision has been made to "suspend" the activities of Mareeze and request that the Japan Football Association cooperate in transferring the members to other clubs.
We deeply regret this decision and apologize to the players, the people of Fukushima Prefecture, and all those who have thus far supported Mareeze. Given the explosion of popularity in women's football, we will make every effort to provide a suitable environment where Mareeze players will be able to continue to maximize their potential. Although, Mareeze's activities will be under a temporary "suspension", we hope that it will soon be able to restart its activities upon the completion of Fukushima's reconstruction. We will focus our efforts to achieve a full recovery from the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station so that that day will come soon.

Also, the inner harbor is almost entirely within the notification level:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110928e7.pdf
I'm wondering what they did to obtain this result. They need to move to larger sample sizes.

TEPCO released the following two videos:

Video of inside Reactor 2
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110928_01.wmv

Video of inside Reactor 3
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/110928_02.wmv

TEPCO documents their proposed method for getting radioactive debris off the roof of Unit 4 and subsequently fixing the roof.
TEPCO measured radiation inside Buildings 2 and 3. Values are still very high.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110927_02-e.pdf

 

[dorispulaski]

Also there has been a lot of NHK news the last 2 days:

NHK news

Panel: TEPCO unprepared for Fukushima accident

A government panel says Tokyo Electric Power Company was unprepared for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and failed to take steps to minimize the damage.

The panel investigating the accident held its third meeting on Tuesday. It met behind closed doors, saying that allowing media access would negatively affect its interviews with the plant's staff.

Panel leader Yotaro Hatamura told reporters after the meeting that they are looking into whether Tokyo Electric was ready to protect the plant from tsunami and other severe accidents.

Hatamura said the company could have taken more effective steps after the March 11th tsunami if it had come up with ways to minimize the damage.

He added that the panel will further investigate why the utility was unable to contain the damage from the accident.

The panel is scheduled to release an interim report on its probe at the end of the year.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 00:56 +0900 (JST)

and more investigation will be happening:

Diet to set up panel on Fukushima accident
Japan's governing and opposition parties have agreed to set up an investigative panel on the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The opposition Liberal Democratic Party, the New Komeito Party and the Sunrise Party of Japan submitted to the Lower House a bill to launch the panel of experts.

The 3 parties plus the Communist Party and the main governing Democratic Party agreed on Wednesday to set up a 10-member body in the Diet with the authority to summon witnesses and to demand the submission of documents.

The bill to set up the panel will come to a vote at the plenary session of the Lower House on Thursday and is expected to be enacted during the current session.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 19:06 +0900 (JST)

Village warns residents over TEPCO redress claims

A village in Fukushima Prefecture is warning residents to be wary of signing a compensation document from Tokyo Electric Power Company for damage caused by the nuclear plant accident.

The document says that residents must renounce their right to file objections after they have received payments.

Iitate Village, located near the nuclear plant, is criticizing TEPCO for asking applicants to sign the document before the damage can be fully assessed.

Many residents have evacuated the area because of high levels of radioactivity released from the plant.

Village officials say it doesn't make sense for TEPCO to ask for signatures now.

A written warning will be distributed to all its 2,500 households.

The warning states that additional requests for redress will probably not be accepted.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 09:09 +0900 (JST)

This is a standard clause in this kind of settlement in the US. If you need your money quickly, it's not stupid to take it, but you need to know you can't go back to the well twice. If you take the gamble to sue separately, and later, you need to know that there may be no money left at some point. Between the cost of the cleanup and the cost of the damage claims, it's not clear that TEPCO will survive. It's a choice each affected person must make for themselves, being aware of the risks on both sides.

Alcoholic products to be tested for radiation

Japan's tax officials have decided to check alcoholic beverages produced near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for radiation to ensure their safety.

The National Tax Agency says testing will be conducted starting next month on all kinds of alcoholic drinks, including sake, wine, and beer, produced at breweries and factories located within 150 kilometers of the plant.

Brewing facilities outside the radius will also be randomly tested.

Taxation bureaus in 6 major cities including Tokyo and the National Research Institute of Brewing will check water samples used for alcoholic products.

If they find radioactive cesium or iodine above the government-set safety limit in any of the samples they will ask local authorities to issue a shipment ban or take other measures, as necessary.

The National Tax Agency says it will post the test results on its website.

Rice and barley, the main ingredients for alcoholic beverages, have already been tested for radiation.

The agency hopes the additional testing will put consumers at ease.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 11:45 +0900 (JST)

Mycio reports in Wormwood Forest that it was popularly thought in Ukraine that liquor flushed cesium out of your body--at least that was an excuse given by some people she interviewed about excessive drinking. This attitude may well have been a factor in the excessive cirrhosis deaths, accidental deaths, and deaths due to violence.


This is a good idea--again, I think ordering a SARRY system would be helpful, especially if a portable one can be assembled and moved around to different cities.

Fukushima City to decontaminate all houses

Fukushima City, about 60 kilometers from the crippled Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, plans to remove radioactive materials from all private houses in the city.

The plan was decided after high levels of radiation were detected in some areas of the city. The amounts were close to a level that would prompt authorities to recommend evacuation of nearby residents.

Some people concerned about possible health risks to their children have already moved out of the city.

The plan aimed at substantially lowering radiation levels in the air for the next 2 years includes decontamination of all 110,000 households in the city.

Of those, highly contaminated houses where children of high school age or younger live will be given extra thorough cleaning.

Under the plan, professional cleaners commissioned by the city will scrub radioactive substances from roofs and ditches of the houses, and remove concrete, which radioactive material tends to adhere to. They will also decontaminate roofs and ditches of other nearby houses, but residents will be required to remove surface soil and weed gardens by themselves.

The city says it will recruit volunteers from around the nation, if necessary, and send them to households that need manpower. The city also plans to decontaminate parks and community halls.

But it has yet to be determined how the contaminated soil and other materials will be disposed of.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 10:39 +0900 (JST)

Dissolve it in water and run it through SARRY. (hint, hint)

I'd volunteer to help with this, if I could afford a ticket to Japan.

Govt resumes review of Japan's nuclear policy

Japan's Atomic Energy Commission has resumed discussions on revising the country's nuclear policy.

Work to revise the policy started last December, but was suspended after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March.

Following the disaster, the commission added members who are experts on safety and take a tough stance on nuclear power.

On Tuesday, commission head Shunsuke Kondo apologized for the accident. He said it left him unsure what the panel should do, but that he decided the panel must resume work to fulfill its duty.

Some commission members called for shutting down all of Japan's nuclear plants and promoting alternate energy sources. Others said it's too early to determine long-term nuclear policy, as the Fukushima Daiichi plant remains out of control.

Members advocating nuclear power noted that resource-poor Japan must aim for a realistic energy policy.

The policy on nuclear power use, research and development was drawn up in 1956 and has been revised about every 5 years. It was last revised 6 years ago. The policy calls for promotion of nuclear power despite accidents at nuclear facilities and scandals such as cover-ups of trouble, and for at least 30 percent reliance on nuclear power after 2030.

The commission is to draw up a new policy outline over the next year.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 19:41 +0900 (JST)

And this (from REUTERS) is somewhat a surprise. Not only was the mayor in favor of a new plant, his opponent ran on a platform of opposition to a new nuclear plant.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/25/japan-nuclear-idUSL3E7KP04U20110925


[/b]Pro-nuclear mayor re-elected in western Japan town[/b]


TOKYO, Sept 25 | Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:02am EDT

(Reuters) - A mayor who backs a plan to build a new nuclear reactor in his western Japanese town was reelected on Sunday, Kyodo news reported, a sign that atomic power still has pockets of support in the country despite the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Shigemi Kashiwabara, 62, won a third term as mayor of Kaminoseki in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi, where Chugoku Electric Power Co wants to build a new atomic plant that would begin commercial operation in 2018, Kyodo said.
The challenger in the election had called for the plan to be scrapped in the wake of the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was crippled by the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan.
Public support for nuclear power, which supplied about 30 percent of resource-poor Japan's electricity needs before the March disasters, has dwindled since the Fukushima crisis, the world's worst radiation accident in 25 years.

Surveys show a majority of voters favour a gradual phase-out of nuclear power, and government officials have said that it would be difficult to go ahead with plans to boost atomic energy's share to 50 percent by building new reactors.

Some 80,000 people have been evacuated from the area around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which is still leaking radiation, and last Monday, tens of thousands rallied in Tokyo to demand an end to the country's reliance on nuclear power.

But many in the largely rural, ageing communities that host -- or want to host -- Japan's reactors still back the nuclear plants, which provide jobs and bring subsidies that account for hefty chunks of local finances.

"What is wrong in hoping for a decent living?" Kyodo quoted Mayor Kashiwabara as saying earlier this month.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who took over as Japan's sixth premier in five years, has made clear that he sees nuclear power as playing a part in Japan's energy supply for decades.

Short-term, however, he faces the challenge of convincing the public that it is safe to restart reactors that have been shut down for routine maintenance.

Unless such reactors are restarted, all of Japan's 54 reactors will be off-line by next April.
(Reporting by Linda Sieg; Editing by Ed Lane)

And here's some good news. This sounds like it would work:

Panel finalizes proposals for tsunami evacuation

A Japanese government panel has proposed improved measures to evacuate people from tsunami and to build communities resistant to earthquakes and tsunami.

These and other proposals were contained in a final report submitted on Wednesday to Disaster Management Minister Tatsuo Hirano. He is in charge of reconstruction following the March 11th tsunami and earthquake.

The panel of experts was set up following the disaster in eastern Japan.

Its report features 3 sets of proposals to minimize damage from the worst possible tsunami.

It calls for improved early warnings to allow smooth evacuation. It suggests the use of mobile phone text messages and other means of communication to ensure that information is conveyed quickly.

The report also calls for efforts to make communities more resistant to earthquakes and tsunami. It proposes that shelters, evacuation routes and breakwaters should be improved so that residents can reach safety in about 5 minutes. The panel adds efforts should be made to build houses, welfare facilities and hospitals in areas with a low risk of tsunami damage.

The panel also focuses on the need for increased awareness of tsunami in general and urges upgrades in education and drills to prepare for disasters.

The report will serve as a foundation for the government to review the basic national plan for disaster control this year. It will also reexamine measures to deal with expected massive earthquakes.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011 19:14 +0900 (JST)

I'm not super crazy about using cell phones to convey evacuation messages. Mine is always out of gas at the most inconvenient time. In our town, there is a really loud siren, left over from air raid drill days, that alerts everyone who can hear that there's a problem. It's simple and it works.

And there's a program especially for schools:

Japan's schools to have quake warning systems
Japan's education ministry plans to install earthquake early warning systems at all of the nation's public schools to enable a speedy response to strong tremors.

Education Minister Masaharu Nakagawa told reporters on Tuesday that his ministry will request 7.5 billion yen, or about 100 million dollars, in the fiscal 2012 budget to introduce earthquake early warning systems.

He said the ministry will also examine specifically how such systems might work in local communities where the schools are located.

Systems under consideration by the ministry include one in which schools receive quake warnings via the Internet and another in which dedicated lines are used to warn students through their schools' public address systems.

It says its plan will cover about 52,000 kindergartens, elementary schools, junior and senior high schools and schools for the handicapped.

The Meteorological Agency already runs its Earthquake Early Warning service through TV and radio broadcasts as well as via mobile phones.

But TV and radio broadcasts are usually unavailable at schools, and it is said this is why some schools in areas hit by the March 11th tsunami and earthquake failed to respond quickly.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 14:24 +0900 (JST)

I hope that Japan's anti-nuclear experts are better than the anti-nuclear experts in this country, many of whom are just in it for the money, (for example, Amory Lovins and Arnie Gunderson). It's fair to have all points of view represented, though.

Anti-nuclear experts join energy panel

Japan's industry ministry has decided to add experts who favor reducing the nation's reliance on nuclear power to a panel tasked with crafting a new energy policy.

Industry minister Yukio Edano revealed the decision on Tuesday.

The new panel is to hold its first meeting on October 3rd. It will review Japan's mid- to long-term energy policy, which had been focused on increasing nuclear power until the March 11th disaster.

Compared to previous panels, the new panel includes more experts who have been critical of the government's energy policies, such as NPO leaders Tetsunari Iida and Hideyuki Ban.

There will be no representatives from the energy industry, such as power companies.

The panel is to meet once or twice a month and detail a new energy program by around next summer.

Industry minister Edano said that the panel members were chosen so that a balanced debate could be held. He added the meetings will be posted on the Internet and he hopes they will be as open as possible.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 13:37 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO plans to simplify documents for compensation

An executive of Tokyo Electric Power Company says the firm will simplify application documents for compensation payments for damages caused by the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

People who plan to seek compensation have been complaining that there are too many application forms and they are too difficult to understand.

TEPCO managing director in charge of the compensation payments, Naomi Hirose, spoke to NHK on Tuesday.

Hirose apologized for the documents not being prepared from the view point of the applicants. He said the company plans to prepare a simpler version within 2 weeks.

Hirose added that TEPCO plans to explain how to complete the forms at meetings, consultation counters and the homes of applicants.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 21:31 +0900 (JST)

And it is not only cesium that has contaminated fields. The work of removing salt from the rice paddy is very similar to what would have to be done to remove cesium, with the extra proviso that the water for washing the soil would have to be treated. It's also the toxic sludge from wrecked cars, refineries, damaged waste treatment plants, and so forth. How poisonous is that?

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/food-crops-lost-to-irenes-floodwaters/

In the US, all the food from fields flooded by Hurricane Irene is being destroyed:

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, floodwater can carry sewage, chemicals, heavy metals, pathogenic microorganisms or other contaminants. The FDA's notice on handling food from flooded fields explains:

"If the edible portion of a crop is exposed to flood waters, it is considered adulterated and should not enter human food channels. There is no practical method of reconditioning the edible portion of a crop that will provide a reasonable assurance of human food safety."

In Vermont, the hay is being destroyed as unfit to be fed to Vermont's dairy cattle.

http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/water/documents/irene_soil_cleanup_guide_090911.pdf

And the help of the neighbors in VT is amazing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/us/05cows.html


When I read this, I have hope for my farming friends in Vermont:

Rice harvested from tsunami-hit paddy

A farmer in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, has harvested rice from a paddy that was inundated by the March tsunami.

Hiroshi Ouchi began the harvest at his farm in the city of Ishinomaki on Tuesday. Part of Ouchi's land is still covered with seawater, debris and sludge due to the disaster.

Before planting his rice, Ouchi dug up soil of his paddy 9 times and watered it to remove salt. His plants mostly grew well, though some were damaged by a tropical storm last week.

He said that just after the disaster, he thought he would never grow rice again. He said he's very pleased to be able to harvest after overcoming difficulties.

More than 1,800 hectares, or 18 percent, of the city's paddies were damaged by seawater in the tsunami. Rice cannot be planted in around half of the fields because of high salt density, but has been grown on the remaining land after desalting work.

In neighboring Iwate Prefecture, tests for radioactive contamination of rice ended on Tuesday. No radioactive materials were detected, allowing for rice shipments from all parts of the prefecture.

The prefecture has voluntarily refrained from shipping rice for about one month.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 19:54 +0900 (JST)

People reaching out a helping hand also brings a tear to my eyes:

Emperor and Empress visit plant helping sufferers

Japan's Emperor and Empress have thanked an industrial machinery maker for providing work space to another maker affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the maker's factory in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Tuesday.

A Fukushima-based motor manufacturer with business ties with the factory has resumed production at the Chiba factory, after being forced to leave its own plant due to the nuclear accident.

The Emperor and Empress gave words of encouragement to each worker.

The Imperial couple then talked with senior officials of the Chiba-based maker, thanking them and encouraging them to continue the support.

The Emperor and Empress have visited the 3 northeastern prefectures hardest-hit by the March 11th disaster. They have also visited evacuees from the affected areas sheltering in Tokyo.

The Imperial Household Agency says Tuesday's visit reflected the couple's intention to encourage and thank those supporting victims of the disaster.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 19:54 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

September 29th, 5:19 EDT

TEPCO is still tweaking the exact flow rates of water to the reactors, and moving large amounts of water around.

And for the first time, all readings inside the inner harbor are under the notification level:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110928e7.pdf

* At 10::00 am on September 28, we resumed transferring accumulated water from Unit 6 turbine building basement to temporary tanks.

* At 10:25 am on September 28, we switched water injection line to emergency line at Unit 1,2 and 3 for the trial run of mini flow line in the regular injection line set on the hill. At 2:02 pm on the same day, we switched back to the regular water injection line after the trial run. There is no change in the injection amount due to this work

They've been ordered by NISA to do studies of the earthquake fault that was thought prior to the March 11th quake to be inactive. They plan to make borings and do trenching as part of studying the fault to determine why it became active.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11092817-e.html

They have also submitted a report to NISA, correcting mistakes in previous reports, on the situations at Daiichi and Daini both, and another report on the Unit One operations manual.

NHK NEWS

High hydrogen levels in pipes at No.1 reactor
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says that high densities of hydrogen have built up in pipes connected to the No. 1 reactor.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says that an explosion is unlikely as there is no oxygen in the pipes, but that it will begin work to drain the gas starting on Thursday.

TEPCO began measuring the density of the gas on Wednesday after finding it accumulated in pipes connected to the reactor's containment vessel late last week.

It found that the density of hydrogen was high, at between 61 to 63 percent.

TEPCO says the hydrogen is likely the remains of gas that caused explosions at the plant in March, following the quake and tsunami disaster.

The utility has also promised to check the density of hydrogen in pipes in the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, in line with instructions from Japan's nuclear safety agency.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 08:06 +0900 (JST)

I am quite surprised that hydrogen gas is still around, given the leaky condition of the reactors. Perhaps Unit 1 is not a leaky as it sounded in the news. The hydrogen is of some concern, but they seem to be proceeding with appropriate caution. After all, pure hydrogen gas is used in many manufacturing endeavors without causing fires or explosions-they should be able to do this, especially since Unit 1 is relatively cool nowadays, and since there is little or no oxygen in the system due to the nitrogen injection they did.

At Three Mile Island, accumulated hydrogen gas was removed by
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html

From 30 March through 1 April operators removed this hydrogen gas "bubble" by periodically opening the vent valve on the reactor cooling system pressuriser. For a time, regulatory (NRC) officials believed the hydrogen bubble could explode, though such an explosion was never possible since there was not enough oxygen in the system.

Here's the diagram of their measuring setup:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110928_03-e.pdf

Facilites to store contaminated soil to be built
The environment ministry says it will build facilities to temporarily store radioactive contaminated soil in Tokyo and 7 prefectures in eastern and northern Japan.

Vice environment minister Hideki Minamikawa told reporters about the plan in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Wednesday.

Local governments have been trying to remove radioactive materials since the crisis began at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. But they are struggling to find places to store mud and sludge generated by the decontamination.

Minamikawa said the storage facilities are needed to make progress in removing radioactive substances.

He said local governments other than Fukushima should have their own storage places.

According to the plan, the facilities will be built in Tokyo and 4 other prefectures in Kanto and 3 prefectures in the Tohoku region.

The ministry says it will soon explain the plan to each local government.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 08:04 +0900 (JST)

Lower House passes bill to set up Fukushima panel

Japan's Lower House of the Diet has passed a bill setting up an investigative panel on the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The Lower House unanimously passed the bill on Thursday.

Under the bill, a 10-member body of experts will be established in the Diet, independently from the government. The panel will have the authority to summon witnesses and to demand the submission of documents to clarify the cause of the Fukushima accident.

The body is to submit a report to the Diet after six months.

The legislation also calls for setting up a council made up of members of the lower and upper houses of the Diet. The council will pick the members of the investigative panel.

The bill is expected to be enacted at the Upper House on Friday.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 15:09 +0900 (JST)

Panel says no need for TEPCO to up utility rates
A government panel evaluating Tokyo Electric Power Company's finances is expected to present a report stating that it does not need to raise utility fees for the rest of this fiscal year that ends in March.

The advisory panel has been investigating the financial situation of the utility to oversee paying compensation to victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The panel is due to submit the report to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda early next month.

Sources close to the panel say that it estimates that compensation payouts will total 47 billion dollars by the end of this fiscal year. And it notes 10 billion dollars would be added for every year efforts to contain the accident continue.
The focus of the panel's investigation was on the possible need to raise electricity rates.

The panel made calculations based on 9 scenarios. They included cases where operations resume at a nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, and those where they did not.

The panel says in the event of no reactors being restarted, the utility would slip into the red at the end of fiscal 2012 if it does not raise utility bills.

The panel is expected to emphasize that regardless of the resumption of nuclear reactors, TEPCO can stay solvent until the end of March without resorting to rate hikes.

The report is expected to ask the company to implement cost-cutting measures if it seeks to raise utility fees.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 12:33 +0900 (JST)

If this is true, i.e. that there is no need for them to raise utility rates, TEPCO must have been hugely profitable and have had huge cash reserves prior to the March 11 quake.

And this is nice but puzzling. I wonder why the donor picked the bathrr\oom as the place to leave his fund contribution.

$130,000 cash meant for Tohoku left in city hall
About 130,000 dollars in cash was left at the municipal office in Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, with a note asking that the money be used for people in the Tohoku region, hit by the March earthquake and tsunami.

City authorities say a plastic shopping bag containing 10 bundles of one million yen was found inside a restroom on the first floor last Thursday.

The anonymous donor says in the note that he lives alone and that he wants the people of Tohoku to use the money.

After consulting with police, city authorities decided not to report the money as a lost article but to donate it to the disaster-affected people through the Japanese Red Cross Society.
The city will hold the money for about 3 months in case the person who left it comes forward.

A city official said the discovery of such a large amount of cash was surprising but moving, and that the city wants to respect the donor's wishes.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 16:33 +0900 (JST)

And yes, the oceans are getting warmer, and yes that does have negative effects.
But the salmon are running!

Autumn salmon fishing begins in disaster-hit area
Fishermen in Japan's northeastern city of Miyako have opened the salmon fishing season despite extensive damage suffered in the March 11th disaster.

Miyako boasts the largest salmon haul in Honshu, the biggest of Japan's 4 main islands.

But this year's autumn catch is so far around half the usual, partly because tsunami debris remaining on the seabed is limiting the area where fishermen can set up nets. Higher-than-usual water temperatures are also to blame.

On Thursday, around 400 salmon were unloaded at the port. Fishermen sorted the salmon from other fish and put them in cases for shipment.

In the auctions, female fish sold for 6 to 8 dollars per kilogram, about the same as an average year.

A local fish market official said many of the boats and nets were damaged by the disaster, but he hopes to see Miyako's salmon industry revive as quickly as possible.

The autumn salmon fishing will reach its peak in November.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 12:33 +0900 (JST)

 

[Olympia]

Interesting that this fault was thought to be inactive, and the quake was such an intense one.

I'm presuming the warmer waters are not a result of anything from the quake or the radiation but from things like a warmer summer this year, La Niña, and so on. Would that be correct?

Glad to hear about the salmon! Economic revival to any degree is always good news.

 

[dorispulaski]

Olympia,
The fault in question is not the subduction fault that slipped during the great earthquake-it's another one that seems to have become active due to the great earthquake. I picture it, perhaps incorrectly, as something that has shaken loose. I presume, but don't know, that these determinations are made by seismographs or some other similar instrument.

The warm waters are probably part of the entire warming of the oceans that have been happening, and which has led to the melting of a substantial portion of the polar ice cap. That would possibly be due to the weather cycle or to the amount of CO2 and methane and SO2 added by humans, or not, or both.

If you believe climate change is due to human activities, the position would be that it is due to a disastrous pollution of the oceans and air, but not from nuclear plants. That would be coal plants, gas plants, cars, home heating systems, etc. But not nuclear platns, even the ones from Daiichi.


All temperature measurement points at all three reactors remain below 100 C.
On October 1st, at 10 am. this are much as usual at Fukushima Daiichi.

Restoration work is in program, some fixing situations that date back to the earthquake and tsunami.
Unit 3

At 3:00 pm on September 30, we stopped the Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System in order to install an additional transformer panel for the operation. At 7:26 pm, the power was restored and the cooling by the equipment was resumed.

Some fixing new issues
Unit 5

From 9:45 am to 10:42 am on September 26, the B system (main) of sea water pump on Residual Heat Removal System was switched to the A system (temporary), in order to repair the outlet valve of the pump. Afterwards, the repair was finished. From 11:21 am to 11:34 on September 30, the A system (temporary) of sea water pump was switched to the B system (main).

A photograph of the inner harbor, showing the metal wall they have installed:

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Restoration work of permeation prevention structure at the south side of the intake canal of Unit 1 to 4

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_110929_03-e.pdf

Water continues to have to be moved around. Unit 6's turbine building leaks every time it rains, and the basement has to be pumped out:

-At 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on September 30, we transferred the accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tank

* At 9:46 am on September 30, we stopped transferring accumulated water from Unit 3 turbine building basement to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Process Main Building). At 10 am on the same day, we resumed the transfer to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]).

.
And the water decontamination system breaks down from time to time, although not as often these days.

* At 10:20 am on September 29, we stopped the desalination instrument (RO type) (2) as water leakage from the flange connection of transferring horse of concentrated water side was confirmed. At 10:45 am on the same day, we confirmed stop of water leakage after stop of the instrument. At 11:40 am on the same day, we restarted the instrument by using another system different from the one that leaked out of 2 systems of process lines. At 11:27 am on September 30, the leaked flange connection was replaced so that the leaked system was resumed.

* At 2:19 pm on September 30, the oil separator treated water transfer pump was tripped due to overload, subsequently the Cesium adsorption apparatus tripped as well. At 5:38 pm, the backup pump was initiated and the water treatment by the apparatus was resumed. At 5:50 pm, the flow rate reached normal level. The cause of the overload is currently under investigation.

They are reporting on the cesium levels in ocean soils, again, for new areas. Offshore of Onohama East 5 km, the concentration of Cs 137 is 1,300 becquerels per kg. The other 15 samples ranged from 17 becquerels per kg to 370 becquerels per kg.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110930e15.pdf
There is a map of the sampling areas in the above file. The more contaminated areas are to the south of the plant, because that's the way the ocean current runs inshore.

Results and a map for previously measured areas are here:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110930e16.pdf

and from time to time, one of the 3000 odd workers on site will have some kind of mishap

- At around 10:30 am on September 29, the worker of the partner company got water from the drain hose to his full-face mask, when conducting the transfer of the concentrated waste water at the Water Treatment Facility. Since it is assumed that the part around mouth was contaminated when removing the full-face mask, decontamination was conducted by wiping. As the result of the measurement of contamination inside the body of the worker using the whole body counter, we have confirmed that the worker did not take in any radioactive materials.

They are slowly finding all the sub contractor workers who worked at the plant and getting their internal and external radiation exposure measured. Last report there were 65 workers unlocated. This is now down to 20.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110930e9.pdf

NHK NEWS

It's a good deal that they are moving ahead.

Evacuation advisory lifted outside 20km zone
The Japanese government has lifted an evacuation advisory for 5 municipalities outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The advisory, issued in the wake of the nuclear accident in March, covers the 5 municipalities, mainly located in a ring between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant.

Residents in the towns of Hirono and Naraha, Kawauchi Village and the cities of Tamura and Minamisoma had been advised to prepare for evacuation in case of an emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. All the municipalities are in Fukushima Prefecture.

The decision on the move came on Friday in a meeting of the government's nuclear accident task force, attended by all Cabinet ministers.

The task force cited the improved situation at the nuclear plant and fact that the 5 municipalities have drawn up restoration plans to remove radioactive substances from local schools and hospitals and to restore key infrastructure.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the government is determined to do all it can by leading decontamination efforts in the municipalities. He said it would also help the local governments implement their plans so as to dispel concerns among residents who want to return home.

This is the first time that the central government has revoked an evacuation-related designation.

The other 2 designations, including that of the 20-kilometer no-entry zone, remain in place.
Friday, September 30, 2011 19:39 +0900 (JST)

The reaction of the Hirono mayor is a bit puzzling, since the condition for lifting the advisory was that the separate towns needed to file a decontamination plan. Hirono has been reported as having filed such a plan. It is hard to picture that this was done without the mayor knowing. Furthermore, the contamination level in Hirono is lower than the contamination level in Fukushima City. And it is clear former residents are not being forced to return home if they do not wish to return.

Also the national government has said in the above article that it will help the towns.

Local reactions to lifting of advisory

Local residents remain concerned despite the central government's announcement that it will lift an evacuation advisory in Fukushima Prefecture.

Mayor Motohoshi Yamada of Hirono Town, one of the 5 municipalities included in the evacuation advisory, said on Friday the central government appears to be promoting reconstruction plans unilaterally.

He said the central government should first provide local municipalities with guidelines for measuring radiation and carrying out decontamination.

He added that he will request financial assistance from the central government, as it won't be possible to decontaminate the town without state assistance.

A resident of Minamisoma City, which is partly included in the evacuation advisory, said she doesn't feel relieved because the decontamination work has made little progress. The 57-year-old woman said she hopes the city's radiation levels will decline noticeably through the decontamination efforts.

A 61-year-old taxi driver in Minamisoma said business has been bad as many people have left the city. He said he hopes the lifting of the evacuation advisory will encourage residents to return to their homes.

A 36-year-old shop clerk said he doubts that firms will return to the city even after the evacuation advisory is lifted. He said he wants the central government and the operator of the nuclear plant to assume responsibility for decontaminating the city.
Friday, September 30, 2011 15:04 +0900 (JST)

The way to get something done is to do it yourself. You can ask help to do it, but if you wait for others, it will not get done.

Nihonmatsu City launches decontamination section
A city office in Fukushima Prefecture has launched a section dedicated exclusively to monitoring and removing radiation discharged from the disaster-stricken nuclear plant.

Nihonmatsu City launched the 6-member section on Friday.

The city is about 50 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Relatively high levels of radiation have been detected in parts of the city.

One township recently found radioactive cesium in pre-harvest rice at levels as high as the government's safety limit.

The new section is to measure levels of radioactive substances in soil, well water and crops, and draw up a decontamination plan for the city.
Friday, September 30, 2011 15:04 +0900 (JST)

OK. You have to start with a plan.

Diet panel to be set up on nuclear accident
Japan's Upper House has enacted a law to set up a Diet panel to investigate the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The Upper House voted unanimously for the law on Friday.

The 10-member panel of experts independent of the government is to investigate for one year to clarify the cause of the accident.

The panel is to have the authority to summon witnesses and demand submission of documents, and is to submit a report to the heads of the 2 Diet chambers in about 6 months.

A joint council of lawmakers from the 2 chambers is to select the panel members and exercise the Diet's right to investigate state affairs in working with the panel.

The panel is to be the first consisting of only experts to be set up in the Diet.
Friday, September 30, 2011 15:29 +0900 (JST)

I can't help feeling there is something flawed about this translation. We already knew that there must have been accusations for the situation about the Genkai reactor to have been reported. We already knew that Kyushu electric improperly asked workers to write letters (although as long as workers disclosed they worked at the plant, I would not find that improper myself. ) What am I missing? And how did the official "aggregate" the comments into Pro and Con without reading them?

I'm not sure why this is news, but I'm reporting it anyway, hoping for interpretation. What is news in this article.

Edano reveals accusations of faked e-mails
Japan's industry minister has revealed the existence of accusations that the operator of the Genkai nuclear power plant used improper tactics to sway public opinion on resuming the operation of idle reactors at the facility.

Yukio Edano was speaking to reporters on Friday about email sent in support of such a resumption during a meeting sponsored by the industry ministry in June and broadcast live on local cable TV. He said the accusations were also sent by e-mail to the event.

The plant's operator, the Kyushu Electric Power Company, attempted to win local approval for a resumption by instructing employees of the firm and its affiliates to send the e-mail during the event.

Edano told reporters that the industry ministry official in charge of the meeting was busy aggregating e-mail and opinions and failed to examine comments in detail.

He indicated that the ministry's handling of the matter was improper, saying the official should have read the comments one by one.
Friday, September 30, 2011 18:11 +0900 (JST)

And this is pretty much not news, since the concentrations reported are of the order of the concentrations around Japan from past bombs.

The range of plutonium 238 in soils in Japan, resulting from the Nagasaki & Hiroshima bombings and from the atmospheric bomb testing of the past, ranges from Not Detected to 0.15 bequerels per kilogram. The range of plutonium 239/240 ranges from Not detected to 4.5 becquerels per kg. Consequently, this news is no news at all. Plutonium has a very long half life, so if it was deposited in the 1940's to the 1960's, it is still there now. Also note that deposition is not uniform, since it ranges to below the limit of detection.
Most recent soil data from the plant grounds:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/110929e18.pdf

The amount detected on the plant grounds itself ranges from Not Detected to 0.31 becquerels per kilogram, and the amount for Plutonium 238/240 ranges from Not Detected to 0.068 becquerels per kilogram.
Note that this measurement is per square meter[b/], not per kilogram. This is a bit confusing. Furthermore, the depth sampled is not reported. Soils range in density from 1 gram per cubic centimeter to 1.8 grams per cubic centimeter. Consequently, if the researchers scraped up the top centimeter of soil to measure from a patch one meter square, they would have 100cm*100cm*1cm or 10,000 cubic centimeters of soil. This would be between 10 kilograms and 18 kilograms of soil. Consequently, the numbers they report are well within the numbers reported near the plant, and within the ranges reported for Japan as a whole. For them to get one kilogram from a meter square would mean that they scraped up 0.1 cm deep, something physically impossible to do in a reliable way.

Plutonium detected 45 kilometers from nuclear plant
Small amounts of plutonium have been detected in samples of soil taken at locations including a spot 45 kilometers away from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This is the first time that the government has detected plutonium outside the nuclear plant since the accident.

The science ministry announced on Friday that the plutonium was detected in samples taken from 6 locations in the towns of Futaba and Namie, and Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture --- all located northwest of the nuclear plant. The radioactive substance is believed to have been released by the nuclear plant after the disaster.

The ministry says the samples taken from a location in Iitate, farthest among the 6, contained 0.82 becquerels per square meter of plutonium-238 and a total of 2.5 becquerels of plutonium-239 and -240.

The ministry had collected soil samples at 100 locations within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant in June and July.

Experts say that if plutonium is inhaled or ingested, it remains in the body for a long time and can cause cancer.

But ministry officials say that possible exposure to the detected plutonium is believed to be very low.

In June, university researchers detected smaller amounts of plutonium in soil outside the plant after they collected samples during filming by NHK.
Friday, September 30, 2011 21:14 +0900 (JST)

There is something about this that does not seem to be well thought out. If the police need more shielding while driving than an ordinary car provides, what do they plan to be wearing while chasing a suspect or picking up the injured?

Police introducing radiation-proof vehicles
Japan's National Police Agency will introduce radiation-proof vehicles as part of stepped-up counter-terrorism measures at nuclear power plants.

The agency says the new vehicles will be installed at 9 police headquarters in the country. The vehicles are shielded with lead, which blocks radiation.

The vehicles will enable police officers to protect themselves from radiation when apprehending terrorists and rescuing the injured in cases of terror attacks or accidents at nuclear plants.

In the wake of the September 11th attacks in the United States in 2001, Japanese police have been guarding some of the country's nuclear plants and related facilities. Armed officers and bullet-proof vehicles are on duty around the clock.

Agency officials say they are stepping up counter-terrorism measures in the belief that the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant has increased the likelihood of nuclear facilities being targeted.
Friday, September 30, 2011 13:04 +0900 (JST)

Fukushima prefecture struck by major tremor

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.4 jolted Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Thursday.

The Meteorological Agency says the tremor occurred shortly after 7 PM, centered off Fukushima Prefecture.
The agency says there was no tsunami.

The quake registered a maximum intensity of 5-plus on the Japanese scale of zero to 7.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the quake has not interfered with its attempts to stabilize three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, crippled since the nuclear crisis began in March.

The utility adds that no changes have been observed in data on radiation levels measured at monitoring posts near the crippled plant.

This is to be expected: Fukushima Daiichi has weathered a lot of larger tremors without incident since March 11.

Japan to postpone test to restart Monju
The Japanese government is postponing a test-run of an experimental fast-breeder nuclear reactor due to uncertainty over the future of the country's nuclear energy policy.

The Monju fast-breeder reactor uses plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel to generate power. It is seen as a prototype for Japan's next-generation nuclear power plant.

The government aimed to conduct a test to raise the reactor's output to 40 percent of its capacity by the end of next March.

However, in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan's Atomic Energy Commission has begun reviewing the country's long term energy policy.

A new policy outline will be compiled over the next 12 months.

Science and technology ministry officials on Friday will meet officials from Tsuruga City and Fukui Prefecture, which host the fast-breeder reactor, to explain the state's decision not to test-run Monju for the time being.

In May of last year, Monju resumed operations after being closed for over 14 years because of a leakage of sodium coolant. But operations have again been suspended since last summer due to inspections and an accident in which a fuel exchange device fell into the reactor and got stuck.
Thursday, September 29, 2011 08:05 +0900 (JST)

India eager for nuclear power pact with Japan

India's top nuclear official has stated the country's desire to conclude an atomic energy agreement with Japan.

India held an international seminar in Mumbai on Thursday to discuss the country's future atomic power generation in the wake of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima power plant in Japan.

Speaking to reporters, the Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission, Srikumar Banerjee, expressed eagerness to conclude a nuclear energy agreement with Japan. He said Japan has advanced nuclear technology and that concluding a bilateral agreement will benefit both nations.

However, negotiations to conclude the treaty remain stalled.

Japan has been hesitant to sign the agreement, because India has not joined the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

In addition, Japan's policy on exporting nuclear power plant technology has been in flux following the accident in Fukushima.
Friday, September 30, 2011 02:03 +0900 (JST)

This is nice.

Fukushima student fashion show in Taiwan
Students from a design school in Fukushima have held a fashion show in Taipei to express their appreciation for Taiwan's support after the March 11th disaster.

The show was organized by future hairstylists and designers studying at a fashion academy based in Kohriyama City, Fukushima. They wanted to thank the Taiwanese for extending about 230 million dollars in aid to the devastated areas.

About 20 outfits were unveiled. One dress was made of traditional Japanese paper and featured a bright red rising sun.

Taiwanese students who modeled at the event say the cute outfits made them happy.
The quake caused partial damage to the fashion school, forcing it to close for about six weeks. The students began preparing for the show after the school reopened.
One student said that despite all the hardships caused by the disaster, it was fulfilling to have an exchange with the people of Taiwan.
Saturday, October 01, 2011 08:21 +0900 (JST)

 

[Olympia]

(about the warming question) Yes, that's why I asked, Doris. The connection between fossil fuels and the greenhouse effect seems pretty logical to me, but it seemed strange that a nuclear plant could cause any warming, unless (I was thinking) maybe superheated water had been released into the sea or something.

You said you have farming friends in Vermont? I hope they can recover quickly. I notice that they're sending the word out that Vermont is ready for leaf-peeping tours, and I hope that will help their revenues. Thank goodness they're a year-round attraction, so they can also get some benefit from winter, with skiing.

 

[dorispulaski]

Yes, even though we have been gone from VT for some time, we still have friends there, as we lived there 22 years and both our kids went to school and college there. In fact,Ski & I are both UVM alumni, too. Some of them are still farming, all though a number have stopped farming since we left. Chittenden county has become more and more populated, at least by Vermont standards. Farming in VT is often be along valleys along river (intervales), and that's exactly where the flooding was, of course.


But Underhill, our old town, was able to have its Harvest Market last weekend, something I was glad to see.

http://www.underhillharvestmarket.com/

Ski & I were on the original organizing committee for Harvest Market, and I was thrilled to see the event, particularly the kids' games, which were our responsibility, are much the same as they were 30 years ago.

And local produce from local farms is still sold there.

http://www.findandgoseek.net/listin...st-market-2/fairs-festivals-harvest-festivals
http://blog.pleasantvalleygroup.com/pleasant-valley-news/good-old-fashion-harvest-market/



TEPCO has clarified what it thinks is "cold shutdown" for these damaged reactors - measurements under 90 C, and some other (unspecified) conditions. Two of the reactors are already below 90 C.
Unit 1, Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom 77.3 C
Unit 2, Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom 98.4 C
Unit 3, Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom 77.8 C

Pictures of dust collecting system. They have built a sort of vacuum cleaner for sucking up small radioactive debris. A rig like this would be very useful for towns cleaning roads and gutters in the 30 km zone. By vacuuming up stuff, they were able to drop the radiation measured at locations by 30 to 50%:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111001_02-e.pdf
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111001_19.jpg
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111001_12.jpg

And if you check out the live camera, you'll see that the are up to the roof level with the temporary enclosure for Reactor One.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/f1-np/camera/index-e.html

DAINI

P lanned shutdown of Residual heat removal system (B) of Unit 1 Regarding the Residual heat removal system (B) of Unit 1, since restarting on September 26 after its inspection, we have been checked its operation. And at around 6:00 pm on September 30, we confirmed a bleeding of oil (grease) at the junction (coupling) between the pump of the Residual heat removal system (B) and a motor. Therefore, at 9:58 am today, we conducted a planned shutdown of the Residual heat removal system (B) just to be safe, and checked the junction. By the result of the inspection, we assumed that the bleeding of the oil in operation was caused by too much greasing to the junction on the inspection on 26 September. After that, we adjusted the amount of grease and start operation of the Residual heat removal system (B) at 4:21 pm. In addition, while stopping the operation of the Residual heat removal system (B), we continued heat removal and cooling by Clean Up Water System, and increase in temperature of reactor water was kept to 9°C during the inspection <Temperature of reactor water at shutdown and restart of Residual heat removal system (B) (actual temperature)> As of the shutdown (9:58 am) : 25°C As of the restart (4:21 pm) : 34°C

[/quote]

We forget sometimes that there is still an earthquake to clean up after:

NHK NEWS

Debris from March disaster tested for radiation

Work has begun in Miyagi Prefecture to examine debris left behind by the March 11th natural disaster, and test for radioactive substances released by the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Testing began on Saturday, at a temporary storage site in Ishinomaki City. Here the quake and tsunami left behind more than 6 million tons of debris -- the largest amount among all municipalities hit by the disaster.

Using heavy machinery, workers removed samples of wood and rubber from a huge pile of debris.

Storage sites across the prefecture are getting close to capacity.

If safe levels of radioactivity are confirmed, local officials hope to move debris to new disposal sites being built in Miyagi Prefecture and also to incineration facilities located outside the prefecture. The testing is aimed at dispelling public safety concerns about the transfer and disposal of debris.

The prefecture plans to measure the radioactivity of debris at 12 storage sites, including those in Kesennuma and Minamisanriku.

One official says he hopes the testing will facilitate the transfer of debris to neighboring regions and help reduce the burden on Miyagi Prefecture.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 06:31 +0900 (JST)

and

Debris incinerators up and running in Sendai
Temporary incinerators are up and running in Sendai City, northeastern Japan, to dispose of a large amount of debris from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The city cleared away about 73 percent of roughly 1.35 million tons of debris by September 22nd. The debris has been stored at 3 facilities.

The facilities have temporary incinerators, the first of the kind introduced in Miyagi Prefecture. Two of them began operations on Sunday.

One of them is a stoker-type incinerator capable of burning fragments of wood efficiently. It can dispose of 90 tons of debris a day.

The prefecture's fire authorities say at least 25 fires have been reported over the past 6 months in places where debris was stored.

An official at the city's environment bureau says the city is now able to dispose of debris from the disaster, and that he hopes the incinerators will add momentum to its reconstruction efforts.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 10:54 +0900 (JST)

School buildings decontaminated in Fukushima

Parents and teachers have worked to remove radioactive substances at elementary schools in Fukushima Prefecture ahead of the reopening of classes later in the month.

Twelve elementary and junior high schools in Minami Soma City will restart classes on October 17. The government lifted an evacuation advisory on Friday for areas outside the 20-kilometer no-go zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

On Sunday, more than 70 teachers and parents worked to decontaminate classrooms and the gymnasium at Ohmika elementary school, located about 21 kilometers from the nuclear plant.

Parents wearing masks sprayed detergent over windows and walls of the gymnasium and then wiped it off with rags.

In classrooms, they used vacuum cleaners and brushes to clean up dust piled on window frames.

One parent said he will work hard because children are happy to go back to school. Another said he is still worried about radiation, but that he will have to look forward and move on.

The number of students at Ohmika elementary school has declined to 71, one-third of the figure before the nuclear accident. The school says 6 students will return when it restarts classes.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 14:25 +0900 (JST)

Decontamination efforts accelerate in Fukushima Prefecture

Municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture affected by the nuclear accident in March are stepping up efforts to decontaminate public buildings and restore key infrastructures.

The move comes after the Japanese government lifted an evacuation advisory on Friday for 5 municipalities located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

After the March 11th disaster, residents in these municipalities were advised to prepare to evacuate in case of an emergency at the nuclear plant.

The city of Minamisoma has placed priority on removing radioactive substances from public facilities such as parks, schools and roads.

Contractors are replacing surface soil with uncontaminated soil. But they say it's becoming difficult to procure the necessary amount of soil due to increasing demand.

In Kawauchi Village, residents have begun to patrol the community against burglaries. It is feared that the cancellation of the government advisory could make it easier for burglars to prey on the community.

The central government has yet to come up with concrete measures, including financial assistance, to support the municipalities' restoration efforts.
Saturday, October 01, 2011 22:32 +0900 (JST)

Apparently, this will have to be done with volunteers, since the government has not ponied up.

This is rather lame, if they could only get 15 demonstrations across the country.
This business about Indian Point is particularly lame, since it is 50 miles (78 kilometers) from New York City, and the prevailing wind is up the Hudson River, not down.

Anti-nuclear rallies staged across US
Anti-nuclear rallies have been staged across the United States amid growing concerns about the safety of the nation's more than 100 nuclear reactors.

Demonstrations held on Saturday at 15 locations in the US were inspired by the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March.

Americans are increasingly concerned about the safety of 104 nuclear reactors in the country. A recent tornado and an earthquake shut down over a dozen reactors on the east coast.

In New York City, people gathered at a park along the Hudson River to participate in a rally organized by a civic group.

The group is demanding the shutdown of the 40-year old Indian Point nuclear reactors in New York State. Roughly 20-million people live within 80 kilometers of the facility, which is located close to 2 earthquake fault lines.

A Japanese woman living in New York City told other participants that mothers in Fukushima are living in constant fear of exposure to radiation. She said everyday they must decide if it's safe to play outdoors and if their children should wear masks.

Some said the accident in Fukushima changed their opinions about nuclear power and they now think a meltdown could happen anywhere.

Others said radiation released into the environment is not just a tragedy for Japan but a problem for the entire international community.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 09:16 +0900 (JST)

The environment is indeed a tragedy, particularly the tragic of CO2 acidified oceans and global warming from all fossil fuels, and asthma and lung cancer from coal, in particular. This is of particular concern to me, because I live in an area subject to flooding, and furthermore, we are downwind from any coal and natural gas plants that would be erected to replace nuclear plants.

Meanwhile, reactors in the EU are safe:

EU's stress tests on reactors find no problems

European Union countries that operate nuclear power plants say they have found no major problems with their reactors in safety checks mandated by the EU.

The nuclear stress tests on 143 reactors in 14 EU member states started in June, following the nuclear accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The EU has carried out an assessment to see whether the reactors can withstand the effects of a major natural disaster, such as an earthquake, tsunami and flooding.

In the first phase, plant operators in each country evaluated the safety of their plants by themselves, and the government compiled initial results, which were submitted to the EU by Saturday.

France says the chance of a major quake and tsunami are almost zero. The country has 58 reactors that generate 80 percent of its energy consumption.

French officials say that safety is secure at all 58 reactors, and that no emergency measures are required.

Germany, which has decided to shut down all its nuclear plants by 2022, says safety at its reactors remains high.

Nuclear regulators in each country are to assess their reactors, which will be then verified by a team of experts and authorities in surrounding nations. A final report will be issued before EU leaders meet in June next year.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 09:16 +0900 (JST)

and I'm a big fan of farmers returning to farming.

Free farm opens for Fukushima evacuees

An agricultural organization in Saitama Prefecture has made available farmland for use by people who have evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture.

The 1,000-square-meter farm in Kazo City is located near an evacuation center housing people from Futaba Town.

In a ceremony on Saturday, Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa said he was glad that the farm was opened with the support of many people.

After the ceremony, about 20 people planted about 50 broccolis.

Many of the evacuees are farmers, and the land is being made available to them for free.

The displaced farmers plan to give the vegetables they harvest to other evacuees.

Hidenori Kamura is a farmer from Futaba. He said he has been frustrated because he has not been able to touch any soil for more than half a year.

He said he once again wants to grow tasty vegetables.
Saturday, October 01, 2011 22:33 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

And some news updates. I was particularly interested to see the silence here in the US about what NHK claimed were 15 antinuclear demonstrations. What we have here is Wall Street demonstrations, about jobs and the economhy:

October 3

NHK NEWS

Previously, help was only going to go to places with over 5 milliSieverts per year. This is what the mayor of Hirono was unhappy about, I presume. This is key to the 5 towns who have just had the evacuation advisory lifted.

Govt to financially help less contaminated areas

Japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says the government will provide financial assistance for clean-up efforts in municipalities where radiation levels are below 5 millisieverts per year.

The Environment Ministry was criticized for its decision late last month not to offer financial help to such municipalities, except when cleaning ditches and other highly contaminated spots.

Cabinet minister Goshi Hosono met Fukushima Prefecture Governor Yuhei Sato on Sunday.

Sato said many people in his prefecture are wondering why they have to clean up the contaminated areas by themselves.

He said he wants the government to understand that either the government or the operator of the nuclear plant should do the work.

Sato asked the government to provide financial assistance when municipalities decide to clean up areas where radiation levels are between one and 5 millisieverts per year.

Hosono said the government is responsible for cleaning up the contaminated areas, and those with radiation levels of one to 5 millisieverts per year qualify for the support.

He promised that the government will provide financial and technical assistance if municipalities compile plans that show how they intend to clean up the contaminated areas.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 22:56 +0900 (JST)

Gov't panel to submit report on TEPCO finance

A government panel will present a report calling on Tokyo Electric Power Company to review its costs before it considers raising utility fees.

The report will be submitted to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday. The advisory panel has been investigating the financial situation of the company to ensure the company is able to pay compensation to victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The report will ask the company to cut its costs by about 9 billion dollars. The cost cutting includes sales of TEPCO assets.

The report will also ask the company to review its high cost structure, pricing system, and the way the system is managed, before considering a possible hike in utility fees.

The company may be forced to raise utility fees, if it continues to have financial difficulties from April 2012 onward.

After the submission of the report to the government, a business program for TEPCO will be drafted. The company will have to follow the program if it is to receive financial assistance from the government.

This will lay the groundwork to ensure TEPCO can make compensation payments to the victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Monday, October 03, 2011 05:39 +0900 (JST)[

Here's what we have heard of their current recommendations.

Govt panel urges TEPCO restructuring

A government panel is urging Tokyo Electric Power Company to undergo a major restructuring in order to pay huge amounts in compensation to those affected by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The panel submitted its report on the utility's management to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday.

The report says compensation payments up until March of next year will amount to about 47 billion dollars. After that, the utility will likely have to pay nearly 12 billion dollars each year.

The report calls on the utility to cut costs by more than 32 billion dollars over the next 10 years by selling real estate and other assets, and by cutting 7,400 jobs.

The report says TEPCO should cut costs across the board before considering a rate increase.

It says the utility may have overestimated costs and charged consumers higher fees than necessary. The report calls on the government to promptly review its pricing system.
Monday, October 03, 2011 18:26 +0900 (JST)

And ex Prime Minister Kan is going to cure the nuclear reactors by prayer. No, I am not kidding. But he didn't pray for recovery from the tsunami disaster itself, if NHK is quoting him correctly.

Kan resumes pilgrimage in Shikoku

Former prime minister Naoto Kan has resumed his pilgrimage to 88 Buddhist temples on the southwestern island of Shikoku.

Kan had visited 53 of the 88 temples on the circuit before becoming prime minster in June 2010.

About one month after stepping down as the nation's leader, he restarted the pilgrimage that he began in 2004. On Monday, wearing a white pilgrim costume and a straw hat, he visited the 56th spot on the traditional route, Taisanji temple in Imabari City, and other temples.

He was seen chatting with local residents and posing for photos with other pilgrims after reciting sutras at the temple.

Kan told reporters that he finally has an opportunity to complete the pilgrimage, and that he prayed for recovery from the nuclear crisis caused by the March disaster.

He said he will stay in Shikoku until Sunday to continue on the joiurney.

The 88 Temple Pilgrimage is a 1,200 kilometer-long religious trek around the island of Shikoku. The temples are associated with an eighth century Buddhist monk and scholar, Kukai, better known as Kobo Daishi.
Monday, October 03, 2011 18:26 +0900 (JST)

Just what regulations they plan to get rid of is not mentioned. Emissions? Disposal of hazardous waste? However, they are discussing using inconsistent, unreliable, expensive power sources. Generally, cheap energy attracts businesses, and expensive energy sends them overseas. This will be interesting. Results in March next year.

Gov't panel mulls deregulation to boost economy

A government panel in charge of administrative reform is expected to discuss deregulation, ways to prevent Japanese industries from shifting their production bases abroad, and promotion of renewable energy sources.

The Government Revitalization Unit panel on Monday will hold their first meeting after the new Cabinet under Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was formed in September.

The panel is expected to discuss deregulation as way to boost Japan's economic recovery -- a top priority of the Noda Cabinet.

The panel will discuss measures to prevent Japanese industries from shifting their production bases abroad, as a result of the damages caused by the March 11th disaster and the rapid appreciation of the yen.

It is also expected to discuss ways to promote renewable energy sources to replace nuclear power generation.

The panel is due to finish compiling it recommendations by next March.
Monday, October 03, 2011 05:39 +0900 (JST)

This has already been reported, but NHK is repeating it again.

TEPCO forecast 10-meter tsunami
Government documents show that the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant predicted in 2008 that a tsunami over 10 meters high could hit the plant, which was only designed to withstand tsunami of 5.7 meters. But it failed to report this to the government until just before the March 11th disaster.

At the request of NHK, the government on Monday released a simulation report by Tokyo Electric Power Company.

TEPCO had predicted that waves between 8.4 and 10.2 meters high could hit all 6 reactors at the plant in the event of an earthquake similar to one that devastated the area in 1896.
But the prediction was not conveyed to the government's nuclear safety agency until March 7th, just 4 days before the plant was crippled by tsunami.

In the report, TEPCO also said it would begin examining the plant's tsunami-resistance measures in April of this year. It said it planned to deal appropriately with the matter by around October of 2012, when academics were expected to review their tsunami evaluations.

TEPCO official Junichi Matsumoto says the company did not feel the need to take prompt action on the estimates, which were still tentative calculations in the research stage.

But a Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official says it is regrettable that TEPCO did not start work on its tsunami measures right after it made the estimate 3 years ago. He said TEPCO should have called on experts to discuss its calculations in public.
Monday, October 03, 2011 16:46 +0900 (JST)

Debris incinerators up and running in Sendai

Temporary incinerators are up and running in Sendai City, northeastern Japan, to dispose of a large amount of debris from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The city cleared away about 73 percent of roughly 1.35 million tons of debris by September 22nd. The debris has been stored at 3 facilities.

The facilities have temporary incinerators, the first of the kind introduced in Miyagi Prefecture. Two of them began operations on Sunday.

One of them is a stoker-type incinerator capable of burning fragments of wood efficiently. It can dispose of 90 tons of debris a day.

The prefecture's fire authorities say at least 25 fires have been reported over the past 6 months in places where debris was stored.

An official at the city's environment bureau says the city is now able to dispose of debris from the disaster, and that he hopes the incinerators will add momentum to its reconstruction efforts.
Sunday, October 02, 2011 10:54 +0900 (JST)

I think we knew this already, but here it is again.

Panel finds government manipulation

An independent panel has confirmed government involvement in manipulating public opinion on nuclear power.

The panel was set up after workers at Kyushu Electric Power Company and its affiliates sent e-mails in favor of restarting 2 reactors at its Genkai plant to a meeting of local residents in June.

In its final report on Friday, the panel also confirmed 2 other cases in which government officials urged utility companies to offer opinions in favor of nuclear power.

The 2 meetings were one in 2008 for the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido and the other in 2006 for the Onagawa plant of Tohoku Electric.

It also cited back-scratching arrangements between the utilities and government organizations in charge of energy and nuclear safety issues, adding that they should have drawn a line at this.

Panel leader Takashi Oizumi, a former public prosecutor, said the organizations did not function properly and aroused public distrust in the government's nuclear administration.

And on the lighter side:

Japanese researchers win Ig-Nobel for wasabi alarm

A team of Japanese researchers have won an Ig Nobel Prize, a parody of the Nobel Prize, for developing a fire alarm that smells like wasabi.

The US science magazine, Annals of Improbable Research, initiated the annual awards 20 years ago to mark humorous achievements.

A presentation ceremony for the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize in 10 fields was held at Harvard University on Thursday.

The team of 7 Japanese researchers won the chemistry prize for inventing a fire alarm that emits the pungent odor of wasabi, a green paste resembling horseradish that is served with sushi and other Japanese dishes.

The researchers said they developed the system for people with hearing disabilities who fail to notice conventional sound alarms.

Makoto Imai, lecturer of psychiatry at Shiga University of Medical Science said in his acceptance speech that they developed the wasabi alarm to help people with hearing disabilities. He added jokingly that the alarm should not be used while eating sushi.

The Ig Nobel prize for medicine was awarded for research on the effects of holding urine for a prolonged period while driving.
Friday, September 30, 2011 15:04 +0900 (JST)

This is the same design being planned for the Vogtle reactors in Georgia. It is self cooling in case of a station blackout:

US-Built Westinghouse AP1000 Reactor To Power Up In China In Nov 2013
The Asian Scientist
By Srinivas Laxman
October 1, 2011
http://www.asianscientist.com/topnews/american-westinghouse-ap1000-reactor-china-sanmen-haiyang/

The AP1000 nuclear reactor, is expected to start functioning in November 2013 at the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station in China, says Gary T. Urquhart, vice president and MD of Westinghouse for India, South East Asia and the Taiwan region. The remaining three will start functioning at intervals of six months with the fourth one attaining criticality in 2015. The AP1000 will generate 1100 Megawatts. Two will be constructed at Haiyang and two at Sanmen.

http://atomicinsights.com/2011/10/a...mpaign=Feed:+AtomicInsights+(Atomic+Insights)

Argentina has finished a reactor it began in 1981.

According to Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s inspiring speech embedded below, Argentina has solid plans to regain its former leadership position in this important enabling technology. One of the great things about the speech was the recognition that using more power is a sign of industrial strength and development. It is not something to be avoided through self denial and “energy conservation” programs.

In the USA, Idaho debates whether it wants to be the regional replacement for the Yucca Mountain nuclear storage facility. Eastern Idaho is already home to the nation's lead national nuclear laboratory:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/10/02/1823494/eastern-idaho-leads-in-nuclear.html

The Sept. 18 Idaho Statesman “Our View” editorial indicated that another debate is brewing on Idaho becoming a nuclear waste storage facility because “some Idahoans, particularly those in eastern Idaho” are advocating for a storage facility to be located in Idaho. The editorial also asks, “Should Idaho be the solution to the federal government’s problem?”

The answer to that question is an absolute “Yes!” However, to clarify, eastern Idaho community leaders are not advocating that Idaho provide a storage facility as a way to solve the problem. Instead, we are advocating for research, development and demonstration activities that will ultimately provide answers to how to safely manage nuclear waste and spent fuel for the nation. In turn, that will provide a path to get the material out of Idaho, a goal overwhelmingly supported by Idahoans across the state.

And also in the US, the resumption of build of the Bellefonte Reactor is moving ahead.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/01/bellefonte-gains-permit-extension/

TVA's planned completion of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Alabama got another green light from federal nuclear regulators Friday, the eve of the plant's original 37-year-old construction permit expiration.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the permit, first issued in 1974, and it is now valid until Oct. 1, 2020.

"It's really a paperwork kind of thing," NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said Friday, noting the permit is classified in "deferred status."

"They still will have to provide more data and do a number of things to get the permit upgraded to active status," he said. "And, at this point, they cannot begin construction until the permit is put at active status."

One reactor:

The plant is expected to supply the power needs for about 750,000 homes, according to TVA officials.

At 3 to 4 people per home, that's power for 2.25 to 3.0 million people.

http://nucleargreen.blogspot.com/2008/03/nuclear-illiteracy.html
And Real Clear Energy reviews the fact that a real earthquake followed by a large hurricane, and epic floods essentially did not damage east coast nuclear, and no radioactive emissions or casualties resulted. The same was true of the floods and tornadoes last spring.

http://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2011/09/30/nuclear_plants_withstand_natures_fury_106297.html

In the past few months, U.S. nuclear plants repeatedly have maintained high levels of safety even in the face of major storms. That's what they are designed to do. When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast in 2005, Entergy's Waterford nuclear energy facility, just 20 miles from New Orleans, rode out the storm without incident.

When a series of tornadoes destroyed transmission lines and ravaged the area around the Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry reactors in Alabama in April, the three reactors shut down safely and seven huge emergency generators supplied backup power - all according to plan.

This isn't a matter of testing fate. All U.S. nuclear energy facilities are designed to withstand floods, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and other catastrophic events.

These robust design standards match the characteristics of each plant site, so that natural threats specific to certain parts of the country are addressed-with an extra margin of safety added to it. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews these standards as part of its licensing process both for the reactor designs and each facility license. In fact, the NRC is currently reviewing earthquake standards for plants in the Central and Eastern United States - a process that began long before the recent quake.

In the US, the local San Luis Obispo, CA, paper reports on tsunami and earthquake protection at the San Luis Obispo and Diablo Canyon nuclear plants.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/10/02/1780388/diablo-has-fail-safe-nuclear.html

Diablo Canyon’s best defense against flooding from a tsunami is the fact that the plant sits atop a bluff 85 feet above the ocean, above where a tsunami is likely to reach.

Thus despite NHK trying to claim a huge upswing in antinuclear activities, none of the 15 demonstrations they reported were mention in my local (and editorially antinuclear) newspaper. Even the New York Times, who has reliably covered this sort of thing is talking about Wall Street demonstrations, led by economics Nobel prize winner Dr. Paul Krugman. Here is a link to a search on "nuclear demonstrations" for last 7 days:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=nuclear+demonstration&more=past_7
So I tried "antinuclear demonstrations" for last 7 days:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=antinuclear+demonstration&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
which found only the very large demonstration that occurred in Tokyo recently.

Putting a space between "anti" and "nuclear" earned no hits either, but the Times website furnished me with an advertisment for potassium iodide pills.

So it appears that NHK was really puffing up this demonstration thing here in the US.

Bloomberg Business Week points out that "nuclear free" Germany is not nuclear free when buying electricity from the Czech Republic or France:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/nukefree-germany-isnt-exactly-nukefree-09292011.html



And a blog post from Canada from 2007 reports on the cost of burning coal, so recent study is not so recent study. Ontario gets about 50% of its power from CANDU model nuclear reactors.

I promised secondary benefits, they are these. First we will see a significant decline in national health care expenses. A few years ago a group of Canadian doctors began to look at the health related costs of producing electricity from coal. They found that atmospheric pollutants from coal fired electrical generating plants were a significant source of health problems in the province of Ontario.

Their research found that air pollution from all sources kills more than 5,900 people each year in Ontario. An Ontario government follow up study found that coal-fired power plants in Ontario were responsible for up to 668 deaths. In addition, atmospheric pollutants from coal-fired generators were responsible for 928 hospital admissions and 1,100 emergency room visits every year. The health related cost to the people in Ontario associated with generating electricity by burning coal was found to be $4.4 billion.

A more recent Canadian study found that Ontario hospitals received in one year 12,518 asthma related visits (7,825 children and 4,693 adults). There is little doubt that emissions from fossil fuel engine are a major cause of a worldwide asthma epidemic. In the United States alone, the number of people with asthma grew from 6.7 million people in 1980 to 17.3 million in 1998, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Elimination of coal fired power plants and most autos and truck exhaust would save many billions of dollars in health care costs, and would prevent an enormous amount of human suffering. Thus a secondary benefit from switching electrical generation and ground transportation, from CO2 emitting sources to CO2 free sources, would be decreased a hospital admissions due to repertory illness, and a significant health care savings which in time would by itself more than pay for the conversion.

 

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Just finishing up today's report:

TEPCO's reports. 3:00 PM JST, October 3rd

*At 8:54 am on October 3, the secondary cooling system piping arrangement of circulating cooling system of Unit 4 spent fuel pool was stopped due to the replacement of the secondary cooling system piping arrangement.

*From 8:55 am to 12:05 pm on October 3, dust sampling of upper parts of Unit 1 reactor building was conducted using a large-scale crane.

*At 10:00 am on October 3, we resumed transferring accumulated water at the basement of Unit 6 turbine building to a temporary tank. *At 10:37 am on October 3, in Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility, we started transferring accumulated water at On-site Bunker Building to Process Main Building.

*At 10:59 am on October 3, we started transferring accumulated water at the Unit 3 condenser to the basement of Unit 3 turbine building.
Unit 6
*Because a decrease in the amount of water was confirmed at the residual heat removal system seawater pump (C), the cooling of the reactor using residual heat removal system (A) was stopped at 11:20 am on October 3, and we implemented the inspection of the residual heat removal system seawater pump (C) and the related system. The inspection result confirmed its normal function. Thus, at 12:44 pm on the same day, we resumed cooling the reactor by residual heat removal system (A).

The government wants another report:

Press Release (Oct 03,2011)
Receipt of an instruction document and an instruction to report with regard to "Policy on the mid and long term security" for the Units 1 to 4 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Today we have received, from Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency at the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, an instruction document* entitled
"Compatibility for "Policy on the mid and long term security" concerning
the Units 1 - 4 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo
Electric Power Company (instruction)".

TEPCO acknowledges receipt of the report of the government panel that was investigating its finances:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11100308-e.html

 

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TEPCO Status 10 am JST October 4

*At 8:54 am on October 3, the secondary cooling system piping arrangement of circulating cooling system of Unit 4 spent fuel pool was stopped due to the replacement of the secondary cooling system piping arrangement. After completing the replacement, the secondary cooling system was restarted at 3:03 pm on the same day.

*At 10:00 am on October 3, we resumed transferring accumulated water at the basement of Unit 6 turbine building to a temporary tank. The transfer was stopped at 4:00 pm on the same day. *At 10:37 am on October 3, in Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility, we started transferring accumulated water at On-site Bunker Building to Process Main Building. The transfer was stopped at 3:37 pm on the same day.

*At around 3:00 pm on October 3, TEPCO staff observed an oil leakage from the transformer B system for transportation of Okuma 3 line (in-vehicle) while on patrol. The amount of the oil leakage was about one drop in ten seconds and the oil formed an oil film of approximately 1m x 1m. An emergency procedure was taken to stop the leakage. A further investigation will be conducted, though the transformer can be used without problems.

NHK NEWS

This is good news! I wish though that they had some of TEPCO's vacuum cleaner trucks and dust collection systems!
Whole system
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111001_12.jpg
with backhoe
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111001_13.jpg
Small rubble dust collector
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111001_14.jpg

Decontamination seminars begin in Fukushima

Fukushima Prefecture has begun holding training seminars for workers who will be cleaning areas contaminated with radiation from the Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Fukushima plans to conduct the 2-day technical seminars around the prefecture. On Tuesday, 113 civil engineers, painters and other volunteers who have just begun cleanup work took part in the first seminar in Koriyama City.

An expert from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency spoke about what kind of tools should be used to effectively remove radioactive materials from home gutters and roadside ditches.

The participants also learned how to protect themselves while they are working. On the second day, they will receive practical training using dosimeters.

A man from Iwaki City said he has volunteered several times for decontamination work and would like to learn how to prevent polluted water from spreading. He said he wants to decontaminate Fukushima quickly and restore the area to what it was before.

The prefecture plans to hold 10 seminars by the end of the year and hopes to train as many people as possible to help accelerate the cleanup process.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 12:56 +0900 (JST)

and this is also a good thing:

Govt to check radiation levels outside 20km zone to verify decontamination

The Japanese government says it will check the radiation levels in the environment at 5 municipalities outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The decision follows a move last Friday to lift an evacuation advisory for the 5 municipalities, which are mainly located in the ring between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant.

Many of the residents have not returned home as the decontamination process is not complete.

A government nuclear accident taskforce will conduct studies on the environment in the municipalities at their request.

The taskforce will use a device onboard a vehicle to measure radiation levels on the roads. Unmanned helicopters will be used in hilly places, where vehicles cannot enter.

It will also examine the density of radioactive substances in wells and springs at 4,000 spots, as well as in streams, rivers and reservoirs at 19 places.

The government says it will publicize the degree of decreasing radiation levels as the decontamination process continues.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 05:55 +0900 (JST)

The five towns are Naraha, Hirono, Minamisoma, Tamura, and Kawauchi.

JAIF reports, that as part of this effort, Minister Horono has said there must be an interim central debris storage point:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1317619988P.pdf

At a Lower House budget committee meeting held on September 27, Goshi Hosono, Japan’s minister for nuclear accidents, spoke about the issue of a centralized interim storage facility to temporarily store radioactive debris and soil from the Fukushima accident. He said that “the Japanese government expects to present its conclusions by the end of October, including its policy on an interim storage facility.” The minister also acknowledged that the government had already talked with several municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture about possible locations.

Former Prime Minister Kan also stressed the need for temporary storage.

More from NHK

TEPCO ordered to draw up safety guidelines

Japan's nuclear watchdog has ordered the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to draw up clear safety guidelines to oversee its work to get the plant under control.

Tokyo Electric Power Company is striving to bring the disabled reactors to a state of cold shutdown by next January, and then to begin preparations for their decommissioning.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says it wants TEPCO to set down the specific post-emergency nuclear safety protocols that will direct its work over the coming 3 years.

The agency says the key objective will be to prevent any additional discharge of radioactive substances and to drastically reduce radiation levels at the plant.
It says TEPCO should identify ways to pinpoint and control radioactive hot spots, and take steps to prevent hydrogen explosions.

The agency also wants the utility to report by mid-October how it aims to secure safety while using decontaminated water to cool down the reactors.

The agency says it will ask experts to review the adequacy of the guidelines that TEPCO comes up with.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 09:34 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO reported this yesterday.

Meanwhile, these are the demonstrations that are spreading in the US .

Jobless protests spread to Los Angeles

The demonstrations on Wall Street against the US government's economic policies and high unemployment have inspired hundreds of people to stage a protest in Los Angeles.

About 400 gathered in front of City Hall on Sunday evening.

A woman in her 30s says she is fed up with banks exploiting ordinary people.

A supermarket clerk in his 30s says he wants to support those trying to change the situation. He feels only a small number of people control the economy.

Some of the protestors brought tents and spent the night on the street. Another rally is scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday.

Similar gatherings have been held across the country, including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. Protestors are spreading the word through social networking sites.
Monday, October 03, 2011 18:15 +0900 (JST)

NEI reports that a Fukushima health study involving over 2,000,000 people is under way. They give a link to this article from the US National Institute of Health:

http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/...4C2?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.119-a428a

An excerpt:

How does exposure to low-level radiation affect a person’s risk of developing cancer or other health problems? Is there a threshold below which there is no effect at all? Can we really understand the effects of prolonged low-level exposure by applying what we’ve learned from one-time blasts like the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs?

Following the reactor fuel meltdowns at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the spring of 2011, these unsolved puzzles—long the subject of debate among radiation epidemiologists1,2—have taken on deep personal importance for millions of Japanese potentially exposed to radioactive fallout from the damaged plant.3 In June Fukushima’s prefectural government launched an ambitious project aimed, in part, at providing some answers—although experts warn the accident’s health impacts may not become clear for decades, if ever.4,5

Study leader Seiji Yasumura, an epidemiologist at Fukushima Medical University, says the main goal of the Fukushima Residents’ Health Management Survey is improved health care for those exposed to radiation through ongoing free health screenings and provision of other services should those screenings identify problems. Some residents will also receive mental health questionnaires and related services. “If we put research first, people wonder if they’re being used as laboratory animals, and that’s not our intention,” he says.6 But Yasumura and colleagues also intend to analyze the data they collect for evidence regarding the health effects of low-level radiation.

It worried me when NHK reported wide spread (15 demonstrations) for anti-nuclear causes in the US, when nothing was in the paper. It worried me enough that I kept searching. The only news group reporting this so far, other than the NHK, was the Examiner.com.


What is Examiner.com? Here's what they say of themselves

Examiner.com is where people with similar interests meet to read about and discuss events, hobbies, news, and topics that are part of their lives. Want to be a part of it?

http://www.examiner.com/environment...n-a-fault-line-debate-over-indian-point-plant

The news interest group here then is "environmental news in new york".

The Examiner claims 16 demonstrations were held in the US. In NYC, no doubt all the protesters were at the Wall Street; there sure were very few visible in the slide show on the site.
http://news.yahoo.com/400-arrested-wall-street-protest-001309305.html

If you can't draw 1000 people in NYC, you are not having a big demonstration. No wonder the New York Times and everybody else missed it. It does make me wonder where NHK got their info. They had it as a World News story, and claimed it was part of a growing popular movement in the US, which I'm not seeing. Japan had a huge demonstration in Tokyo (I have seen stories of 60,000 people there). The one in NYC has 75 if they are lucky.

In the same vein, NEI polls the US on nuclear issues. Now as a nuclear industry group, they are going to be writing their polls with questions that elicit positive answers. However, the thing to note is that things are stable since the last poll, and some kind of popular wave isn't showing up. There was a drop after the Fukushima accident, but no continuing downward trend.

http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/ne...majority-level-6-months-after-japan-accident/

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Six months after the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, solid majorities of Americans still view nuclear energy favorably, still support the extension of operating licenses at existing facilities that meet federal safety standards, and still believe that construction of a new reactor is acceptable at the site of the nearest nuclear power plant that already is operating, a new national survey shows.

While support for nuclear energy has declined from the historically high level seen one year ago, support on a variety of measures is holding at the majority levels found consistently in public opinion surveys conducted throughout the past decade.
In the new telephone survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 62 percent of respondents said they favor the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States, with 35 percent opposed. Those strongly favoring nuclear energy outnumber those strongly opposed by a two-to-one ratio, 28 percent vs. 13 percent, according to the survey conducted Sept. 22-24 by Bisconti Research Inc. with GfK Roper.

The survey was sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Institute and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Numerous surveys conducted by Bisconti Research over the past decade show that public support for nuclear energy topped 60 percent each year, rising as high as 74 percent of Americans in March 2010.
...
Eighty-five percent of those surveyed agree that, “When their original operating licenses expire, we should renew the license of nuclear power plants that continue to meet federal safety standards.” Seven months ago, 88 percent of Americans agreed with this statement.

In the latest survey, 59 percent of Americans agree, “We should definitely build more nuclear power plants in the future.” Thirty-eight percent disagree. Still, 75 percent of Americans agree that, “Electric utilities should prepare now so that new nuclear power plants could be built if needed in the next decade.” Twenty-two percent disagree.

Two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say they would find a new reactor acceptable at the site of the nearest nuclear power plant that already is operating, while 28 percent find this unacceptable. Seven months ago, 76 percent of Americans found this expansion acceptable, with 20 percent saying it was not acceptable.

Details of survey downloadable here:

http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstat...public-opinion-about-nuclear-energy-sept-2011

Areva on the poll results
http://us.arevablog.com/2011/10/03/six-months-after-fukushima/

However, in looking for demonstrations of all sorts, I was led to this article from the Las Vegas Sun worrying about the effect on Las Vegas air quality from new solar plants. That was intriguing. So I read it.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/26/new-wave-solar-plants-could-worsen-air-quality/

But a new generation of larger and more powerful solar thermal power plants is planned for the Southwest. Unlike Nevada Solar One, many of these plants would need to be jump-started each morning by natural gas or propane gas-fueled heaters and boilers.
And that’s where the air pollution comes in.

Environmental impact statements for two projects planned near Las Vegas — BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah Solar Field and Solar Millennium’s Amargosa Farm Road solar project — note that those boiler-enabled solar thermal power plants will send carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates into the air.

Together, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide are the major components of ozone or smog. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, permanent scarring of the lungs and congestion. It’s particularly problematic for children, whose lung tissue is still forming, and for the elderly. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing more stringent regulations regarding how much ozone can be in the air.

Solar thermal plants can emit particulates, microscopic particles of liquids and solids, from heaters and boilers and from maintenance vehicles used on site.

Exposure to these particles can be bad for lungs and hearts, according to the EPA. Scientific studies have linked exposure to particle pollution to respiratory problems, decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis and heart attacks.

Exposure to these particles can be bad for lungs and hearts, according to the EPA. Scientific studies have linked exposure to particle pollution to respiratory problems, decreased lung function, chronic bronchitis and heart attacks.

The bright side of the solar thermal plants for the region is that individually they will create less air pollution than comparable-power fossil-fuel plants, says Ben Machol, who manages the clean energy and climate change office for EPA’s Region 9.

The 400-megawatt Ivanpah project, for example, is projected to emit 33 tons of carbon monoxide a year. A combined-cycle natural gas plant putting out the same amount of electricity would release 400 tons a year.

The 464-megawatt Amargosa plant would emit about 15 tons of nitrogen oxide a year; a comparable natural gas power plant would send 100 tons into the air, Machol says.

According to the developer, the Amargosa plant would produce about 4.9 pounds of carbon monoxide per megawatt hour of electricity produced, compared with 822 pounds per megawatt hour for a natural gas plant.
They say their facility generates only 6.5 percent of the particulates of a natural gas facility on a per-megawatt-hour basis.
The Ivanpah plant could emit about 8.5 tons of particulates a year, compared with 54 at a natural gas plant of the same size, Machol says.

...

The sheer number of applicants for industrial-scale solar thermal plants in this area has some environmental activists worried that Southern Nevada’s poor air quality could get worse.

I was led to this article by a website detailing protests from residents of what is usually portrayed as a "desert" where all these solar CSP "trough style" plants are to be installed in Nevada, in this case, the Amargosa Plant. They object to this plant being placed next to the school, given that one has in the past exploded, causing residents within one half mile of the plant to be evacuated. Since they are a small town, they have only a volunteer fire department and doubt that they could cope with such a fire. I had never heard of this explosion before, so I went looking for details:


http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/AV-SolarMill-scoping-Aug2009.html

http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/AV-SolarMill-scoping-Aug2009.html

list of trough style power plants
http://www.nrel.gov/csp/troughnet/power_plant_data.html

Many residents voiced concerns about explosion and fire dangers from such a power plant, citing the 1999 explosion at the Daggett SEGS Solar 1 plant . The SEGS 1 plant used new molten salt thermal storage technology developed in the 1980s, and initially had 3 hours of thermal energy storage that was used to dispatch to peak period. But the storage system was damaged by an explosion and was not replaced (source

Here's the plant fire they were talking about.

http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/images/0303Solar_plant_fire_-1.jpg

SEGS I
Location: Mojave Desert, Daggett, California
First Year of Operation: 1985
Type: Solar electric generating station (SEGS); solar steam generation with natural gas superheating, including three hours of thermal energy storage.
Fossil fuel: Natural gas
Net Output: 13.8 MW
Principals: Sunray Energy, Inc. (owner/operator), Luz (developer), Southern California Edison (utility PPA)
Solar Technology: Luz LS-1 and LS-2 collectors
Project Type: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) Qualifying Facility IPP with special Standard Offer 2 (SO-2) type power purchase agreement to Southern California Edison
Operational Dispatch: Solar operation during sunny hours. The plant initially had 3 hours of thermal energy storage that was used to dispatch to peak period. The storage system was damaged by fire in 1999 and was not replaced.
Special Incentives: Federal and state investment tax credits, solar property tax exclusion, accelerated depreciation.
Status: Daily operation

Sheets with photos

http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/AV-explosion.html

http://www.solarmillennium.de/upload/Download/Technologie/eng/Andasol1-3engl.pdf



"The desert" in Nevada
http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/images/AV-house.jpg

http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/images/AV-park2.jpg

Andrasol Spain plant. Now this is a desert.

http://www.basinandrangewatch.org/images/andasol1-1.jpg



Concerns include those of local Indians, who ironically enough, were instrumental in the Yucca Mountain protests as well:

Tribal Concerns
The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe was represented by Barbara Durham. "It seems like yesterday we were having to protect our rights and our land, and here we are again," she said, referring the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in an arm of the valley about 20 miles to the northeast.
The Timbisha have a trust parcel of land south downriver at Death Valley Junction, so they are quite concerned about the water usage of Solar Millennium's plan. "I will say our tribe is in favor of alternative energy, but I think we're going to have to support the people of Amargosa Valley on how this is going to affect them and us down the road," Durham said.
This area was used by the Shoshone and Southern Paiute, so they also had issues with potential cultural sites on the project area.

Durham scolded the BLM about how the government agency said it was in consultation with tribes over the project. "We haven't talked at all, haven't even begun consultation with BLM," she told BLM representatives on the panel. "We have a government-to-government relationship with the BLM, " she pointed out. "We need to start talking."
Durham also said that clearing the ground for the project is a concern for the Tribe, as well as loss of plants and animals on the desert. "A lot of residents have talked about the eyesore this is going to cause and the heat that's going to radiate from it. I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I'm sure it's going to be a problem in the future."

"In February 1999, a 900,000-US-gallon (3,400 m3) therminol storage tank exploded at the SEGS II (Daggett) solar power plant, sending flames and smoke into the sky. Authorities were trying to keep flames away from two adjacent containers that held sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide. The immediate area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) was evacuated.[11]"

So sometimes the apparently logical answer is not the correct answer. Solar plants might increase emissions for Nevada. And motorcycles, while better for CO2, are worse than cars for emissions that cause smog. Who knew?:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/09/mythbusters-motorcycle-emissions.html

 

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TEPCO STATUS REPORTS, up till 3:00 PM JST, October 5th

The reactors are cooling nicely, the radiation measured at the plant periphery is going down very slowly, and they keep adjusting the amount of water to the reactors, cleaning water coming out of the reactors, and fixing the water system.

The cover on Unit 1 is nearly completion, from the looks of photos.

*At 3:00 pm on October 4, we adjusted water injection rate into Unit 2 through reactor spraying system at approx. 7.0 m3/h (injection rate through feed water system remains at approx. 4.0 m3/h).

*Through the confirmation of the performance of water treatment facility (decontamination facility and cesium adsorption facility), we found radiation density is increasing at post decontamination treatment water. To investigate the cause, we stopped water treatment facility at 6:22 pm on September 15 and restarted at 6:42 pm of cesium adsorption facility alone at 6:46 pm it has reached normal operation rate (approx.30m3/h). Thereafter, in order to purify the water inside waste water tank, at 11:38 am on October 4, we started single circulating operation of decontamination facility.

*To change transfer route of accumulated water of Unit 2, at 1:16 pm on October 4, we stopped transfer of accumulated water from vertical shaft of turbine building of Unit 2 to centralized radiation waste treatment facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]).

-From 9:51 am on September 13 to 1:16 pm on October 4, we transferred accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 2 to High Temperature Incinerator Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility. Hereafter, we plan to resume the accumulated water transfer, after the preparation for the transfer from the basement of Turbine Building of Unit 2 to Process Main Building and High Temperature Incinerator Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility, by using newly added pumps.

From 10 am on October 5, we started transferring the accumulated water from Turbine Building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks.

-Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station:

Units 1 to 4: shutdown due to the earthquake *At 3:43 pm on October 4, Residual Heat Removal System (A) has stopped due to the replacement of cable (temporary) to Residual Heat Removal System (A) of Unit 4. At 3:53 pm on the same day, Residual Heat Removal System (B) has started.

Dust sampling at Unit 1, showing the temporary covering nearly finished.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111004_01.jpg

Results of Unit 1 Dust sampling
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111004_01-e.pdf


JAIF

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1317620032P.pdf
I am very interested in this; I hope we hear reports from it.

International Symposium on Decontamination to Be Held Later This Month in Fukushima

On October 16, an international symposium on decontamination, entitled “Towards the Recovery of the Environment,” will be held at the Paruse Iizaka convention hall in Fukushima City, starting at 10 a.m. Sponsored jointly by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and the Cabinet Office’s team in charge of assisting the lives of the March 11 disaster victims, the symposium aims to share experiences and best practices related to the decontamination of radioactive soil, and to contribute to the planning and effective enforcement of decontamination activities in Japan.

NHK NEWS

Now that the evacuation advisory has been lifted, efforts on decontamination seem to have moved ahead in many areas. Here's another:

Japan to work with IAEA decontamination experts

The Japanese government says it is ready to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency in removing radioactive materials around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The government's chief spokesman, Osamu Fujimura, made the remark on Tuesday ahead of a visit by a team of IAEA experts who will arrive in Japan on Friday.

Fujimura said Japan will cooperate with and learn from international experts in decontamination. He said he hopes their visit will help the process to move faster and more efficiently.

The government says it also hopes to establish the best way to clean up radioactive substances so it can be shared by other nations.

The 12-member team is to make the 9-day visit at the request of Japan's nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono.

The team will travel to Fukushima Prefecture to watch the decontamination process and give advice before compiling a report.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 05:34 +0900 (JST)

There's no risk to the public in this, other than that it's more electrical power that they will not get to use for some time. Plants are designed to shut down immediately if there are any issues.

Genkai No.4 nuclear reactor stops operation
A reactor at the Genkai nuclear power plant in western Japan was shut down automatically on Tuesday, following a technical glitch with the unit's cooling system.

Kyushu Electric Power Company, the plant's operator, says no one was hurt and there have been no changes in radiation levels monitored near the plant.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the Number 4 reactor at the plant stopped operations at around 1:40 PM on Tuesday, after abnormalities in the steam condenser of its cooling system were signaled by equipment.

Tuesday's suspension has left the utility with only one of its 6 nuclear reactors in operation.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 18:55 +0900 (JST)

In the US, best practices are shared between power companies with nuclear reactors; intellectual property is not involved. I think it is a mistake for TEPCO to keep this secret.

TEPCO demands only 50% disclosure of manuals
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has finally submitted its accident manuals in their original form to Japan's nuclear safety agency. But the Tokyo Electric Power Company maintains that only half of the documents' contents should be made public.

In mid-September, TEPCO submitted its procedural manuals for nuclear accidents to a Lower House committee investigating the Fukushima accident. But the utility blacked out most of the contents.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency later instructed TEPCO to submit the originals for 3 types of manuals for accidents of varying scale. The agency also asked the utility how much of the contents could be made public.

TEPCO now says that about 50 percent of the material should remain secret. It also says it wants to disclose just 10 percent of a manual for dealing with serious accidents.

TEPCO says this is because the manuals contain information covered by intellectual property rights. The company also says its manual for dealing with serious accidents includes information on important facilities. It says the documents cannot be made public because such facilities could become potential targets of terrorist attacks.

The nuclear safety agency says it will consider the validity of TEPCO's argument, and will aim to disclose the manuals by the end of October.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 15:45 +0900 (JST)

Here's a link to TEPCO's press release on the manuals:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11100401-e.html

IAEA chief asks Vietnam to ensure nuclear safety
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has asked Vietnam to ensure safety at its planned nuclear facilities, in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano was briefed on Vietnam's nuclear policy by the country's Science and Technology Minister Nguyen Quan in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The country plans to build 2 nuclear power plants in the southern province of Ninh Thuan, one with Russian assistance and the other with help from Japan. Construction is set to begin in 2014.

Quan said Vietnam's government has 65 issues on its agenda, including drawing up plant safety guidelines and standards, and has been training personnel with nuclear expertise.

Amano told NHK after the meeting that Vietnam could be a role model for Asia in nuclear plant development, and stressed the importance of the country's cooperation with the agency.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 18:16 +0900 (JST)

Miyagi to add radiation monitoring posts
Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan says it will begin monitoring atmospheric radiation levels in all of its towns and cities to keep track of fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The prefecture says it will install 44 new monitoring posts that it plans to start operating within the current fiscal year, which ends in March of 2012.

Six of the posts will be set up in Onagawa and Ishinomaki near Tohoku Electric Company's Onagawa nuclear power plant. Four of 7 monitors around the plant were washed away by the March 11th tsunami.

Nine monitors in all will be positioned in southern Miyagi Prefecture, in areas closest to the border with Fukushima Prefecture.

Miyagi officials say the data collected at the posts will be sent to the science and technology ministry and released to the public on the Internet.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 09:12 +0900 (JST)

And if you watch "Whale Wars," you are likely to see real wars next year. A research whaling vessel will be going out with a Japanese patrol boat to protect it.

Australia raps Japan's decision to restart whaling
Australia has condemned Japan's decision to resume its research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean this year.
The operation was suspended last year because of disruptions by the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd.

Australian environment minister Tony Burke told reporters on Tuesday that Japan does not need to do this and there is no justification for continued whaling.

Earlier in the day, Japanese fisheries minister Michihiko Kano announced the resumption of whaling with strengthened defenses against anti-whaling campaigners. Kano said Japan will send a patrol boat to protect the whaling vessels.

Sea Shepherd has been threatening to stop Japan's whaling and says it is prepared to take risks to do so.

The Australian government agrees that maritime safety should come first but has not explained how it will achieve this.

Australia filed a complaint with the International Court of Justice in The Hague in May of last year, demanding that Japan stop its research whaling.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 00:59 +0900 (JST)

Labor Leader Rengo supports less reliance on nuclear power

The head of Japan's largest labor federation wants the country to aim for a society that does not rely on nuclear power.

Rengo, or the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, opened a 2-day regular convention in Tokyo on Tuesday.

In a speech, Rengo President Nobuaki Koga said the organization will review its energy policy following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He said it is necessary for Japan to reduce its medium- to long-term reliance on nuclear power and eventually aim to become a society that does not rely on nuclear power.

But Koga suggested that the government should consider temporarily resuming operations at nuclear power plants to provide a stable supply of energy. He said this is on the condition that local residents agree and that the government confirms the plants' safety.

Koga also indicated that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet holds the last chance for the Democrats to govern the country. Koga said he hopes the Noda government will provide a chance for progress in Japan's revitalization by overcoming a national crisis. He was referring to the post-disaster reconstruction and stabilization of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Tuesday, October 04, 2011 16:11 +0900 (JST)

And Molycorp has found more rare earths in the US. While yttrium & terbium are important, they are not the materials used for either solar panels, high tech Prius batteries, or solar panels. However, it does indicate that part of China's strangle hold on rare earths is due to the fact that mining has been unpopular or unprofitable in areas where it will gain increased acceptance.

US firm finds rare earth deposit in California

A US mining firm says it has found a new deposit of certain types of rare earth metals in California.

Molycorp announced on Tuesday that the deposit near its Mountain Pass mine is highly likely to contain terbium and yttrium, which are used in optical discs and other high-tech products.

The company says the overall grade of the rare earths is richer than average and that it plans to do extensive test-drilling to determine the quality and quantity of the ore.

Currently, China is the world's main producer of rare earths. Prices for them remain high due to the country's export restrictions.

Molycorp's announcement was made as officials from the US, Japan and the European Union met in Washington to discuss the outlook for rare earth demand and technologies for producing alternative materials.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 13:44 +0900 (JST)

Iwate rice was especially good this year, and has been cleared as free of cesium:

Iwate rice hits stores

Newly harvested rice from Iwate Prefecture hit stores on Wednesday. The rice has cleared tests for radioactive contamination from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, about 150 kilometers away.

A department store in Morioka city held a tasting event for the popular Hitomebore brand of rice.

It also gave the first 200 customers 300 grams of rice free.

A woman customer said rice is the most delicious soon after it is harvested. She said she's relieved that no radioactive substances were found in the rice.

The wholesaler organizing the event said the Governor of Iwate has declared the prefecture's rice crop free of radioactive contaminants. He said this year's crop is not only safe, but is high quality.

The quality of Iwate rice is better than usual this year thanks to the hot summer, though harvesting was delayed by September typhoons. The price is also higher

Rice harvested in Iwate last year has almost sold out because of fears that this year's harvest would be contaminated.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 14:26 +0900 (JST

And flower growing was mostly unaffected by the tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear accident:

Autumn flowers from Iwate promoted in New York

Japanese flowers from quake-hit Iwate Prefecture have been shown at the New York flower market.

Producers from Iwate held a promotional event to send a message that they are recovering from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan.

About 2,000 "Ashiro-Rindo" gentians, or autumn bellflowers in dark blue or pink, are being exhibited at a New York flower wholesale market from Tuesday.

Farmers from Iwate's Ashiro district, the largest gentian producing area in Japan, displayed flowers that bloomed beautifully despite the March 11th disaster.

Ashiro was not affected by the tsunami, but power outages and fuel shortages at greenhouses stunted the flowers' growth.

Flower designers in New York were fascinated by the Japanese floral arrangements, including a piece of work using a large cocktail glass.

Visitors seemed impressed to hear that the flowers survived the disaster, and likened them to Japanese people who were working hard to overcome difficulties.

A Japanese grower who brought his flowers to New York expressed his resolve to tap into the US market, and said he wanted to encourage residents in the worst-hit coastal areas by showing his efforts overseas.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 12:01 +0900 (JST)

From Bloomberg Business Week: If you wondered what happened tothe North Anna nuclear plants in Virginia that were near the epicenter of the US east coast earthquake back in August, here's an update:


http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q52PBG0.htm

NRC: Dominion's post-quake response appropriate

By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

MINERAL, Va.
Two nuclear reactors at Dominion Virginia Power's North Anna Power Station did not sustain any significant damage from the Aug. 23 earthquake and the company responded appropriately when the reactors were automatically shut down, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday.

"Never at any point during North Anna's response to this event was the public at any risk," Victor McCree, a regional administrator with the NRC, told the standing-room-only crowd of more than 175 people.
Confirming its preliminary findings, the NRC said that the ground movement exceeded levels for which the plant was originally designed and licensed. McCree said neither Dominion nor the agency found any significant damage to safety-related equipment and qualified the damage to other structures or instruments as "cosmetic."
The agency also said that functions of safety systems were maintained but there were some equipment issues, including problems with one of the plant's backup generators, and an additional power source for its seismic alarm panel, which lost some of its functions during the quake. Seismic monitors also "may not have been located in the best places to accurately" measure ground movement, the NRC said.
Dominion already has worked to address NRC's list of concerns, including installing new seismic monitoring equipment, said David Heacock, president and chief nuclear officer of Dominion Nuclear.
"We have taken care of our necessary actions," Heacock said. The NRC must now review Dominion's upgrades and NRC officials said the full inspection report is expected to be published by the end of the month.

[meeting Oct 21]

The NRC has said it plans to order all U.S. plants later this year to update their earthquake risk analyses, a complex exercise that could take two years for some plants. The review, launched well before the East Coast quake and the Japan nuclear disaster in March, marks the first complete update to seismic risk in years for the nation's 104 existing reactors, despite research showing greater hazards.

The company is still weighing the addition of a third reactor at the Louisa County power plant but has not yet committed to move forward. The company will reassess when it receives operating approval from the NRC, expected in 2013.

If you have more questions, the NRC has three pages of FAQ here
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/emerg-preparedness/virginia-quake-info/va-quake-faqs.pdf

Here's the NRC sheet discussing its actions, plans and scheduled:
http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/emerg-preparedness/virginia-quake-info.html#va-faqs

Meanwhile new reactor builds are going on in the US and in Great Britain.


NRC announces:

NRC TO HOLD MANDATORY HEARING REGARDING SUMMER NEW REACTOR APPLICATION OCT. 12-13 IN ROCKVILLE, MD

And Bloomberg Business Week reports:

Two German nuclear companies are building reactors in the UK where popular sentiment is in favor of nuclear power. A Populus poll of 2,050 British people reports that 54% of those surveyed supported the build of nuclear plants to fight climate change and 61% favored nuclear to supply energy security.:

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LSHRCG6TTDSK01-69R0R0BQR6ENCGF4EKNUEI7642

“We are still recruiting people and spending almost a million pounds ($1.54 million) every single week,” Volker Beckers, chief executive officer of RWE's U.K. Npower division, said in an interview in Bloomberg's London bureau.
Germany's largest power producers are two of the six utilities planning to build nuclear plants in the U.K. Their Horizon venture has secured two sites in Wales and the west of England with the goal of starting construction of the first reactor by 2015

Britain has come a long way from the 50's when its coal burning electric plants and residential coal burning killed people routinely, the worst case being the Killer Fog of 1952, when the air was so thick and black with coal smoke that you literally could not see your feet. This NPR report describes the Killer Fog:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=873954

According a recent study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, 12,000 may have been killed by the great smog.

Back to Bloomberg Business Week and the nuclear plants being built in Great Britain:

Eight Sites
Utilities may need to spend as much as 6 billion pounds per reactor, according to U.K. Energy Minister Charles Hendry. The British government approved eight sites for new nuclear plants in October last year and the country's nuclear regulator is in the process of assessing two new designs, Areva SA's EPR reactor and Westinghouse Electric Co.'s AP1000 reactor.
“We need to sustain 12 gigawatts of nuclear,” Beckers said. “We need investments in renewables, we need gas plant as part of the mix and we need a certain slice of coal plant so we can manage volatility in commodity prices.”

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO's STATUS REPORT October 6th, 3:00 PM JST

*At 3:43 pm on October 4, Residual Heat Removal System (A) has stopped due to the replacement of cable (temporary) to Residual Heat Removal System (A) of Unit 4. At 3:53 pm on the same day, Residual Heat Removal System (B) has started. As the replacement was finished, the Residual Heat Removal System (B) of Unit 4 has stopped at 5:01 pm on October 5, and the Residual Heat Removal System (A) has started at 5:08 pm.

*At 2:13 pm October 6, we conducted dust sampling at the upper part of reactor building of Unit 3 using a large crane vehicle.

*To change transfer route of accumulated water of Unit 2, at 1:16 pm on October 4, we stopped transfer of accumulated water from vertical shaft of turbine building of Unit 2 to centralized radiation waste treatment facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]). At 1:48 pm on October 6, we started to transfer accumulated water from underground floor of turbine building of Unit 2 to centralized radiation waste treatment facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]).

*At 1:41 pm October 6, We stopped pumping at auxiliary cooling seawater system Unit 6 since we found slow decreasing trend in pressure of pump header at that system. At 2:07 pm October 6, we restarted the pump and confirmed that the pressure was normal value.

- At 10 am on September 30, we started transferring the accumulated water from Turbine Building of Unit 3 to High Temperature Incinerator Building of Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

- From 10 am to 4pm on October 5, we transferred the accumulated water from Turbine Building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks.

*At about 9:58 am on October 6, we stopped the operation of the Water Desalinations(reverse osmosis membrane) No2 and No3 because we found stain of leaked water in the water joint at the outlet piping of the Water Desalinations' waste RO supply pump. We fixed the outlet piping and at 1:01 pm on October 6, we restarted the operation of the Water Desalinations(reverse osmosis membrane) No2 and No3.

Unit 1

*At 9:28 am on October 6, we arranged the amount of water injected to the reactor to 3.8 m3/h since we found the reduction in the amount of injected water.

*At 0:30 pm October 6, we arranged the amount of nitrogen injected to the reactor containment vessel of Unit 2 to 13.5 m3/h because we found the increase in amount of injected nitrogen.

And although I can't find the TEPCO report Will Davis is talking about, it is probably imbedded in the huge volume they released some time back:

TEPCO: No hydrogen explosion at No. 2 Reactor



Thanks to Dan Yurman (who writes the popular blog IDAHO SAMIZDAT linked from this blog) we see that TEPCO has in part revised its official timeline of events at No. 2 reactor during the very earliest days of the accident. These changes can be summarized by simply saying that TEPCO now does NOT believe that there was a hydrogen explosion at No. 2 plant. The data leading to this conclusion is the record of a seismometer at the site that recorded only the explosion that partly destroyed No. 4 reactor building; no other major shock is seen at that time.

TEPCO reviewed the Unit 2 seismometer data and found no evidence of a separate explosion from the Unit 1, 3, & 4 explosions. However, the sound of an explosion was heard by technicians. At this point, no one knows for sure what caused that: possibly a steam explosion of some kind. Possibly the technicians heard the Unit 3 explosion, but muffled. Indeed, the Unit 2 building was not nearly as destroyed as the Unit 1, 3, and 4 buildings. Perhaps it didn't have a hydrogen explosion.


NHK NEWS
While they expect this to arouse controversy, it shouldn't. In fact, the 1 milliSievert limit, proposed by the reference ICRP as a "benchmark", is a stupid way to do stuff. Limits should be real, and indexed to the level that might harm people, with a multiplier for safety sake. A benchmark that would suggest that half the world should have its women and children evacuated is a bogus "benchmark".

I'm glad to see they are doing this, and hope the press doesn't go too crazy over it. 20 milliSieverts is a reasonable limit for the general public, 1/5 of the limit where there might be some minimal effect on some very sensitive people, but you would be unable to show how much.

Gov't panel mulls interim goals on radiation dose
A government panel is calling for Japan's one-millisievert annual radiation limit to be eased for the interim, saying it will be difficult to restrict exposure in some areas near the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant.

The environment is contaminated by radioactive substances in areas hit by fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, causing concern that residents may be exposed to radiation for long periods.

The panel on radiation believes it will be difficult to keep their dose below the one-millisievert limit set by the government for normal times and proposed on Thursday to set an interim exposure target.

It says the target should be set between one and 20 millisieverts in line with recommendations by the International Commission for Radiological Protection.

The panel says the target should be lowered in steps as decontamination progresses.

It adds that targets could differ by region and that residents should have a voice in setting the targets.

The panel will wrap up its proposal at its next meeting, but its plan to ease the radiation exposure limit is expected to arouse controversy.
Thursday, October 06, 2011 15:39 +0900 (JST)

Construction of seawall begins at nuclear plant
A Japanese electric power company has begun building an anti-tsunami embankment at a nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast.

Hokuriku Electric Power Company on Wednesday started construction of a reinforced concrete seawall at the plant in Shika Town, Ishikawa Prefecture. The wall is 4 meters high, 700 meters long, and sits 11 meters above the sea level.

A 15-meter-high tsunami caused flood damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following the March 11th earthquake. After the disaster, the government instructed utilities to take anti-tsunami measures.

Hokuriku Electric plans to install a new drainage gate to minimize damage to plant facilities in case seawater manages to climb over the wall and flood the plant.

Other emergency safety measures to be taken by the utility include installing an extra pump to cool reactors with seawater and a power source to operate a valve for venting steam out of reactors.

The company intends to complete construction by the end of March 2013.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 18:15 +0900 (JST)

The extra drainage is a good idea.

Yes, there are photos on the NHK website.

Progress on nuclear plant seawalls
In response to the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the government instructed the nation's power companies on March 30 to take urgent safety measures to prevent damage from tsunami.

The utilities are preparing their anti-tsunami measures, including the construction of seawalls.

45 of the 54 reactors around the country are planning to build seawalls.

Construction is expected to be completed as early as spring 2012, or in the next 3 years at the latest.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 18:54 +0900 (JST)

It will be interesting to see what the government does with this money. If they aren't going to use it for reactors, they should surely use it for the government's part of the cleaup in Fukushima.

Reserve fund for nuclear plant sites sitting idle

Japan's Board of Audit has asked the trade and industry ministry to review unused reserve funds earmarked for municipalities where construction of sites of nuclear power plants are planned. The ministry is holding some 860 million dollars' worth of unused grants, which the board of audit says are unnecessary.

The grants are part of a program that started some 40 years ago designed to help develop municipalities where nuclear power plants are to be built. Such municipalities can use the money to build roads, social welfare facilities and sports facilities.

A Board of Audit survey showed that about 1.6 billion dollars are being held in reserve for 14 planned reactors across Japan as of the end of March this year.

Construction has begun at only 3 of the 14 reactors and plans for the other 11 have been scrapped or delayed due to opposition from local residents.

The Board of Audit has found the money in reserve for these 11 reactors totals about 864 million dollars.

The trade and industry ministry says it will determine how to deal with the unused reserve funds after obtaining the results of an on-going review of Japan's basic energy policies, including the future of nuclear power generation.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011 18:28 +0900 (JST)

And this reminds me of how few accidents there have been really, considering the huge work force, at Fukushima Daiichi
And it is surprising that NHK thinks this is a "Top Story".

A can of stuff falls in Belgium, no one is hurt, and it is top news in Japan??
What is wrong with this picture.

IAEA reports incident at Belgian nuclear waste sit

A UN nuclear agency says 3 people are being checked for radiation exposure at a nuclear-waste processing facility in Belgium.

The International Atomic Energy Agency made the announcement in Vienna on Wednesday.

It said an official from the agency was on a routine inspection of the facility, accompanied by a EURATOM inspector and a Belgoprocess official, when a contamination incident occurred.

The 3 have undergone external decontamination procedures and medical checks.

The agency also says Belgian authorities have reported that the incident area has been sealed off and no radiation has been released into the environment.

The operator of the processing facility says the 3 were checking a container of radioactive material when it fell to the floor and cracked.
Thursday, October 06, 2011 08:02 +0900 (JST)

And Haley Barbour, the governor of Mississippi, says his state would love to have another nuclear plant.

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2011/10/gov_haley_barbour_wed_love_to.html

But the Claiborne County community in which the plant is located is now eager for more nuclear development.
"Candidly, we'd love to have another nuclear power plant," Barbour said to the Southern States Energy Board. "We don't have, 'Not in my backyard.' We have, 'Please in my backyard.'"

Constellation & U of Maryland are expanding nuclear engineering programs:

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2011/14405.shtml

and here's what Great Britain's chief scientific advisor has to say:

Google News says:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/af...ocId=CNG.4b56b632b2812693ed69ed1191fc79dc.371

Nuclear power essential to cut emissions: UK expert
(AFP)–1 day ago
SEOUL — Britain's chief scientific adviser voiced concern Wednesday at moves to abandon nuclear power after Japan's Fukushima crisis, saying it remains vital to combat global warming.
John Beddington called for greater global efforts to cut carbon emissions, saying the world could otherwise face "unprecedented" challenges with natural disasters becoming more frequent and destructive.
Britain has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, but this could hardly be achieved without nuclear power, he said.
"There is very clear analytical work that says this is not feasible for the United Kingdom to abandon nuclear without a completely catastrophic increase in energy prices," Beddington told a Seoul forum on climate change.
"So that is why the UK has a very different energy policy from Germany," he said, stressing nuclear would play "a significant part" in Britain's energy sources.

He also says that British researchers have shown that the evacuations in Japan were unnecessary:

He also said the danger posed by crippled reactors at Fukushima was "quite moderate", citing expert studies to determine whether Britons should be evacuated.
The experts set the worst possible scenario of having all radioactive material at Fukushima released into the air and winds blowing towards the greater Tokyo area, Beddington said.
"The answer came out... there was absolutely no need (to evacuate nationals)," he said.

 

[dorispulaski]

The reactors will all be totally below 90 C soon, I think. It will not take till December.

All of Unit 1's 19 probes are below 90 C. The Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom is at 74.4 C.

Of all the 11 probes at Unit 2, only one is above 90 C. The Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom is at 88 C.

Of all the 10 probes at Unit 3, only one is above 90 C (It is 94 C). The Reactor Pressure Vessel Bottom Head is at 74.9 C.

TEPCO STATUS as of 3:00 PM JST, October 7

*From 2:06 pm on October 7, in order to prevent from spontaneous combustion of cut trees and dust dispersing we started to sprinkle water in the site of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station with cleared-up accumulated water of Unit 5 and 6. We measured radioactivity density in advance and confirmed to meet requirement of the guideline suggested in "Guideline regarding radioactive materials on bathing area".

Here is a description the water spraying.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111007e2.pdf
The water from the basements is run through the desalination and decontamination system and emerges with radioactive materials below the limit of detection.

*From 11:44 am to 2:03 pm on October 7, we conducted dust sampling at Opening section for equipment hatch and truck bay door of Unit 1 Reactor building.

*As confirming downward tendency on flow rate at Residual Heat Removal system sea water pump (C) of Unit 6, we stopped cooling reactor by Residual Heat Removing system (A) and conducted check-out the pump and related system at 11:55 am on October 7. The result of check-out , we confirmed no abnormalities and restarted cooling reactor with Residual Heat Removal system (A) at 12:41 pm on the same day.

*At 10:00 am on October 7, we started transferring accumulated water at basement of Unit 6 turbine building to temporary tank.

Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station: Units 1 to 4:

*At 11:25 am on October 7, we stopped Residual Heat Removal system (B) regarding switching work from Residual Heat Removal system (B) to (A), and started operation of Residual Heat Removal system (A) at 11:42 am on the same day.

NHK NEWS

Fukushima really does seem to be moving into a broader decontamination phase: a very good thing!

New safety rules for outdoor nuclear workers

Japan's health ministry will introduce safety guidelines to protect workers who clean up radioactive substances around the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Existing guidelines target only those working indoors at the plant.

Citizens groups had complained that the ministry was not doing enough to minimize the exposure of workers who engage in decontamination outdoors.

The new guidelines will require outdoor clean-up workers to wear protective masks and carry dosimeters to monitor radiation.

The ministry says it will work to ensure that the rules are upheld, as efforts to decontaminate farmland and residential areas near the Daiichi plant will soon begin in earnest.

Friday, October 07, 2011 16:45 +0900 (JST)

IAEA sends decontamination experts to Japan

The International Atomic Energy Agency has sent a team of experts to Japan to give advice on cleaning up the radioactive contamination from the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

On Thursday, the 12-member IAEA team left Vienna, where the head office of the world's nuclear watchdog is based.

The IAEA sent the mission at the request of Japan's nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono, who attended the IAEA general conference in Vienna in September.

The radiation experts have experience in remediating areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986.

The team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said before their departure that they would like to help Japan find the best way to decontaminate the affected areas.

Lentijo, the head of radiation protection at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority, said the team's important mission is to come up with proposals to share with Japan.

The members will discuss decontamination steps with Japanese officials and advise Fukushima residents.
They will leave Japan on October 15th.
Friday, October 07, 2011 11:22 +0900 (JST)

And I could cry. This is lovely.:

Fukushima students visit US sister city
Students from Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, are visiting their sister city in the United States to thank people for their support after the March disaster.

A group of 26 junior-high students visited junior and senior high schools in Mansfield, Ohio, on Thursday.

They thanked people for sending them video messages of encouragement when many Tamura residents were forced to evacuate due to the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The Japanese children had lunch with the American students and taught them how to fold paper cranes. They also sang a song about their love of Fukushima.

A Japanese student evacuee said they somehow managed to overcome their difficulties thanks to the messages of support they received from the people of Mansfield.
Friday, October 07, 2011 15:21 +0900 (JST)

and finally, a view of what the innards of nuclear plants in general look like.

Video of the new Vogtle plant in Georgia being built. There are lots of shots of the containment vessel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVqd0q0apk8

 

[dorispulaski]

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111007_03-e.pdf
At two locations over the top of Unit 2, no cesium was found in the air. At the other location, 1.2 x 10-5 becquerels/cm3

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111007_04-e.pdf
At Unit 3, concentrations were as high as 1.3x10-3 becquerels/cm3 and as low as 7.8 x10-5 becquerels/cm3.

NHK NEWS]/b]

Removal of hydrogen starts at Fukushima plant

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Saturday afternoon began to remove hydrogen that has built up in pipes connected to the No.1 reactor.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, last month found that the level of hydrogen inside pipes connected to the No.1 reactor containment vessel accounted for between 61 and 63 percent of the total gas present.

TEPCO says an explosion is unlikely as there is no oxygen in the pipes now.

It adds that Saturday's work will not pose any risk of explosion as nitrogen is to be injected into the pipes to lower hydrogen levels.
TEPCO explains that it will use special hoses that do not generate static electricity to prevent an explosion while releasing hydrogen outside the reactor building.

Following a government instruction, TEPCO is planning to check the level of hydrogen in pipes linked to the No.2 and No.3 reactors.
Saturday, October 08, 2011 13:22 +0900 (JST)

Here's their diagram of how they are going to do this. The important thing to notice is the flashback arrester on the outside exhaust:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111008_01-e.pdf

Water sprinkling is possible exactly because the new SARRY system reduces the amount of cesium to below the detectable limit.

TEPCO starts sprinkling decontaminated water

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has started sprinkling decontaminated water on the premises of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

TEPCO on Friday began spraying the water onto trees cut down and piled on the plant's compound. The utility says dry trees could catch fire spontaneously.

The water was taken from facilities for temporary storage of water with low levels of radioactivity that had accumulated in the basements of 2 reactor turbine buildings. The buildings did not incur major damage in the March disaster.

The facilities contain about 17,000 tons of such water, and are filled to nearly 90 percent of their capacity.

TEPCO removed salt and radioactive substances from the water before the sprinkling process, and says levels of cesium and other radioactive substances in the water are below government standards for public beaches.

The company also says local communities and fishery associations approved the operation.

TEPCO plans to release 100 tons of decontaminated water daily on about 1.2 million square meters of land in the compound.
Friday, October 07, 2011 18:15 +0900 (JST)

Photos
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111007_01-e.pdf

US eases travel alert around Fukushima N-plant

The United States has eased its evacuation advisory for US citizens in Japan regarding the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The State Department advised US citizens on Friday to stay more than 20 kilometers from the plant -- in line with a no-entry zone set by the Japanese government.

The previous US advisory recommended avoiding areas within 80 kilometers of the plant.

But the State Department warned pregnant women, children, and older people not to stay within 30 kilometers of the plant.

The US alert also includes some areas and spots outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone, as the Japanese government has advised residents there to evacuate.

The State Department says it updated the advisory based on additional data released by the Japanese government.

Japan last week lifted an evacuation advisory for municipalities mainly located in a ring between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant.
Saturday, October 08, 2011 12:04 +0900 (JST)

And a former Fish & Game commissioner in VT is complaining in the New York Times that the wind turbines that some want to install on 200 miles of mountain ridges lines will spoil the mountain tops and the scenery that fuels VT tourism without furnishing very much electricity:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/opinion/the-not-so-green-mountains.html?_r=1

And the UK's number one experimental coal plant with carbon sequestration is about to fold up due to government resistance to throwing more money at the problem.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environme...capture-project-longannet-collapse?intcmp=122

But they have already seen E.ON back out of plans to construct a new coal-fired power station with prototype CCS technology on the site of an existing plant at Kingsnorth in Kent.

The article says the ministers are pro-natural gas, anti-wind, solar, and carbon sequestration, due to cost. Note that natural gas also produces CO2, which one might want to sequester. That is swept under the rug.

Needless to say, it's all moot, since as long as what you are doing with the CO2 is pumping it into the ground and expecting it to stay there, in this type plant.
1. There's too much CO2.
2. It does not degrade-you have to store it forever.
3. Assuring a large amount of gas will stay sequestered in the earth during an earthquake is a losing proposition.

For sequestration to work, all the CO2 needs to be tied up in some kind of product that is either liquid or solid over the range of earth surface temperatures. It would be preferable if it were a product you could sell.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/07_28.html

The Dutch ship, which is shown at the end of the above film clip, is fabulous!

Nagasaki "Kunchi" dance festival begins

Thousands of spectators have gathered in Nagasaki City, southwestern Japan, for a traditional autumn festival.

The Nagasaki Kunchi Festival opened on Friday. It dates back 377 years and has been designated a national cultural treasure.

Seven communities in the city took part in dances and other performances at Suwa Shrine.

A group from a community once known for its textile dyeing opened the festival with a dance depicting their work.

Another group from the coastal town of Dejima presented a model of a Dutch-style sailing ship. During the feudal Edo period, Dejima was the only port open to the Netherlands -- Japan's sole trading partner in the West.

In a performance by yet another group, an elementary school student dressed like a fisherman threw a fishing net from a model ship. Spectators applauded when he netted 5 fake carp on the ground.

The festival will run through Sunday with performances across the city.
Friday, October 07, 2011 18:15 +0900 (JST)

Learning from others is a good thing!

Lower House committee to visit Chernobyl and Three Mile Island

Japanese lawmakers will visit Chernobyl, Ukraine next week, to study the nuclear disaster that occurred there 25 years ago.

Members of a Lower House special committee overseeing the recovery from the March 11 disaster decided on the visit after discussions with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday.

The lawmakers also plan to visit Vienna to discuss the Fukushima nuclear disaster with International Atomic Energy Agency officials.

Members of the Upper House special committee on post-disaster reconstruction have decided to visit Three Mile Island in the United States next week, where a major nuclear accident occurred in 1979. They also plan to hold discussions with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Saturday, October 08, 2011 05:39 +0900 (JST)

Sometimes we forget the huge amount of debris from the earthquake and tsunami. A great deal of it is hazardous: oil, gasoline, chemicals, as well as radioactive cesium:

Hosono meets governor of disaster-hit Iwate
Environment minister Goshi Hosono has visited the northeastern prefecture of Iwate to study ways to dispose of the huge amount of debris left by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

During the visit on Saturday, he met with Iwate Governor Takuya Tasso.

Hosono told reporters that each municipality has different rules for disposing and recycling debris.

He said the government must be more active and listen to the specific demands of municipalities.

He also said it must assure the safety of the disposal process and that he will visit any municipality that accepts debris.
Referring to the Iwate governor's request for financial support for removing radioactive material in the prefecture, Hosono said he will take the governor's view into consideration and will deal with the issue accordingly.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 00:54 +0900 (JST)

and the oyster huts are open for business in Iwate!

Iwate fishers sell oysters at traditional hut shop
Oyster farmers in northeastern Japan have served grilled oysters to customers for the first time since the March 11th disaster. The dish is a specialty of a town that was destroyed by tsunami.

The oyster sale is part of a 2-day event in Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture to promote local seafood and matsutake mushrooms.

The event features 27 booths and is being held to inform people about the ongoing reconstruction of Iwate's coastal areas.

The oysters come from the nearby town of Yamada.

People in Yamada have been struggling to get the oyster farms back into operation because many facilities were destroyed by tsunami. But they managed to harvest just enough oysters for the occasion.

A visitor from Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan said he was buying oysters to help support the disaster-hit area.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 00:54 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO REPORTS up til 10 AM JST, October 9th

At 11:45 am on October 8, our partner company's worker found liquid spill at hose between transferring reverse osmosis membrane concentrated water pump and temporary storage tank for concentrated water in Water Desalinations. At noon on the same day, we stopped the operation of reverse osmosis membrane concentrated water pump and confirmed the stop of leakage. Then, we changed the lines of hose, and at 14:00, we restarted transferring reverse osmosis membrane concentrated water pump and the operation of Water Desalinations. Please note that we were injecting water to the reactor continuously even while the operation of Water Desalinations were under suspension.


*Radio active contamination was detected from left waist, chin and jugular of one TEPCO's staff who had confirmed the situation of liquid leakage from water desalinations (reverse osmosis membrane type), when he returned to the visitor hall of Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station at 4:31 pm on October 8, 2011. He was checked by the whole body counter and according to the result, we evaluated he ingested no radioactive material.

Putting the Roof Panels on the Unit 1 enclosure
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111008_03-e.pdf

Photo collection of Fukushima Daiichi - 17 photos from TEPCO
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111008_02-e.pdf

These movies are referred to in the following NHK article:
Movie inside Unit 1, upper section
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111008_01.wmv
Movie inside Unit 2, upper section
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111008_02.wmv
Movie Inside Unit 3, upper section
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/images/111008_03.wmv



NHK NEWS

Temperatures drop at Fukushima damaged reactors

New footage of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant has been released by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. No steam is seen leaving the No.2 and 3 reactors, which indicates that internal temperatures have dropped.

On Saturday TEPCO released video footage taken from above the No. 1 through No. 3 reactor buildings between Monday and Thursday.

As for the No. 1 reactor building, a hydrogen explosion collapsed its roof, blocking a clear view of the inside.

The video shows that the No. 2 reactor building suffered no major damage to its pipes and other equipment.

However, inside the No. 3 reactor building debris are scattered everywhere.

TEPCO confirmed that no steam is presently being released from reactors No.2 and 3.
In August, the 2 reactors were emitting steam.

Officials say the temperature inside the No. 3 reactor dropped below 100 degrees Celsius 3 weeks ago, followed by a decline in temperature at reactor No.2.

TEPCO believes that the drop in temperatures has led to the reduction in steam.

Photos of the central control rooms for No. 1 and 2 reactors were also released.

The maximum radiation level in the control rooms is 0.01 millisieverts per hour.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 08:58 +0900 (JST)

Removal of hydrogen continues at Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company will try to remove more hydrogen from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Sunday. The density of the gas increased in pipes connected to the No. 1 reactor after a significant drop on Saturday.

Last month, TEPCO found that hydrogen had built up inside pipes leading to the No. 1 reactor containment vessel and its density was between 61 and 63 percent of the total gas present.

This poses a problem because releasing high densities of hydrogen outside the reactor building could cause another explosion.

On Saturday, TEPCO spent one hour removing hydrogen, while at the same time injecting nitrogen to the pipes to reduce the risk of an explosion.

About half an hour later, the company found the percentage of hydrogen had dropped to nearly zero.

However 2 hours later, the density was measured at 3.9 percent. Even though TEPCO says an explosion is unlikely, hydrogen at a density of over 4 percent could cause a blast when mixed with oxygen.

TEPCO believes that the hydrogen level rose because gas accumulated in the upper part of the pipes may have redistributed internally.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 08:58 +0900 (JST)

IAEA radiation team arrives in Fukushima

A team of radiation experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency has visited Fukushima Prefecture to exchange views with members of the Japanese government decontamination task force.

The 12-member IAEA team has been in Japan since Friday to give advice on ways to effectively clean up radioactive substances, at the request of Environment Minister Goshi Hosono.

The team includes IAEA experts on radiation protection and radioactive waste as well as Russian experts with knowledge of the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

The team arrived in the prefecture on Sunday morning and exchanged views with prefectural officials and members of the government decontamination task force.

The head of the Japanese task force, Masaru Moriya, said it is essential to make living space safe through decontamination, as tens of thousands of people are still living in shelters.

Moriya said he hopes members of the IAEA team will give advice from a technical viewpoint based on their knowledge of and experience in decontamination.

The IAEA team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said the team will inspect demonstration experiments for decontamination and try to make a useful report to Japan and the rest of the world. Lentijo is general director at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority.

The team will later visit Minami Soma City to inspect areas for the government's model decontamination projects. For the remaining 2 days, the team will also visit Date City and Iitate Village.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 13:03 +0900 (JST)

And NHK has filed a second report, with a few extra things added.

IAEA team visits
A team of radiation experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency has visited Minami Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, to inspect efforts to remove radioactive materials.

The 12-member team has been in Japan since Friday at the request of Environment Minister Goshi Hosono to offer advice on ways to effectively clear away radioactive substances.

After exchanging views with members of the government task force in Fukushima City, the IAEA experts visited a facility in Minami Soma City where the government is carrying out decontamination work as a model for other areas.

The effects of decontamination on buildings, roads, parking lots and forests are being studied at the 30,000-square-meter facility.

The visitors were briefed by a member of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, which is carrying out the experiment. They asked questions about the area being cleaned and wanted to know what measures were being taken to protect workers.

When hearing that fresh, fertile soil was being placed in the forest where contaminated soil had been removed, the IAEA experts said this was a good idea.

Team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo said the situation is interesting, and that the exchange of opinions will be helpful to his team when compiling their report.

An observer who lives nearby said he wants the latest techniques that were tested after the 1986 Chernobyl accident to be used to make the area into a safe place for children.

The inspection team will visit Date City and Iidate Village on Monday to inspect an elementary school and some farmland that have been decontaminated.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 22:37 +0900 (JST)

And I'm glad to hear that there is a cleanup of the forests. As far as I can tell, very little was done with the forests at Chernobyl.

People should be aware that thyroid cancer in children occurs from time to time without nuclear accidents being involved.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/thyroid

Thyroid checkups begin for Fukushima children

The Fukushima prefectural government has begun thyroid examinations for children in an effort to assess the health impact of the nuclear accident.

The examinations will cover around 360,000 youths aged 18 or younger as of April 1st.

Their health will be monitored for their lifetime. Radioactive iodine released from the damaged nuclear plant could accumulate in children's thyroid glands, raising the possibility of cancer.

On Sunday, 150 children from some municipalities in the government-designated evacuation zone, such as Iitate Village and the Yamakiya district of Kawamata town, underwent ultrasound examinations for tumors or other problems at Fukushima Medical University.

The results are expected to be mailed to them in about a month.

The prefectural government says it plans to have all the children examined by 2014.

After that, it says the children will undergo a thyroid check every 2 years until they turn 20, and will be examined once every 5 years after that age.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 12:49 +0900 (JST)

I hope the definition of "stress tests" is moving ahead.

Nuclear stress test survey
An NHK survey shows that more than 40 percent of the country's prefectures and municipalities hosting nuclear power plants approve of the government's stress tests to confirm the safety of idle nuclear reactors. But nearly 80 percent were cautious about resuming their operation.

NHK received survey replies from all 29 prefectures and their municipalities that host nuclear power plants, excluding Fukushima Prefecture, in late September.

41 percent of them approved of the tests, while 14 percent disapproved. 45 percent were undecided.

But 79 percent of the prefectures and municipalities said they want to be careful about the timing of resuming operations at their idle reactors.

The results are similar to a survey taken in June before the introduction of the stress tests, indicating that the tests have not helped to win the public's understanding toward resuming operations.

Meanwhile, 2 villages said they want to resume operations at their nuclear reactors as soon as possible. These were part of the 21 percent in favor of continuing nuclear power generation.

A Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official said nuclear experts will examine the stress-test results and publish the information. The official added that he will make sincere efforts to explain the tests to local residents.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 22:37 +0900 (JST)

At least Hosono is talking about them:

Hosono: nuclear plant stress tests to be fully disclosed
Japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says the results of the government's stress tests on nuclear reactors will be fully disclosed.

In a speech in Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture, on Sunday, Goshi Hosono said he told IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in Vienna that he would like the agency to observe the tests.

He said that although the Japanese government is responsible for securing the safety of the nation's nuclear plants, he also wants international evaluations.

Hosono said he will disclose the results of the tests to the municipalities and residents concerned, and make the testing process highly transparent.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 22:37 +0900 (JST)

And I've talked about this before, but it's nice to have someone agree with me in print:

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/211...climate-change-natural-gas-global-warming.htm
Natural Gas Would Speed Up, Not Reduce, Global Warming: Study
Wigley's paper addressed the risk of releasing large amounts of methane. If the switch from coal to natural gas involved methane leakage of less than 2 percent, he predicted that global average temperature would drop by two-tenths of a degree by 2100. If the leakage rate is 10 percent, the rise in temperature would not level off until 2140. Either way, the fractions of a degree reduction would do little to offset a predicted overall rise of 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.
"Relying more on natural gas would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, but it would do little to help solve the climate problem," said Wigley. "It would be many decades before it would slow down global warming at all, and even then it would just be making a difference around the edges."

Yes, not just damaged nuclear plants, but accidents in other forms of energy pollute the ocean:

Ship stuck on New Zealand reef leaks tons of oil

A cargo ship has run aground 22 kilometers off the coast of New Zealand's North Island and spilled over 10 tons of oil.

A Liberia-flagged, 47,000-ton container ship struck a reef near the eastern city of Tauranga on Wednesday.

The 25 crewmembers on board were uninjured, but the ship sustained serious damage to its hull.

The New Zealand government says the stranded vessel has created a 5-kilometer long oil slick.

The navy is working hard to clean up the oil spill before it reaches the coastline of the North Island.

Oil-covered seabirds were found near the ship, and some were successfully rescued.

The next step will be to remove the remaining heavy fuel oil of about 1,700 tons from the stricken vessel.
The government hopes to prevent further oil leaks that could affect a variety of marine life, including dolphins, whales, and seals.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 06:23 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

October 10, 2011, 9:00 PM JST
[TEPCO REPORTS[/b]
If you recall, TEPCO began bleeding off hydrogen because it had discovered a high concentraton of hydrogen in piping in Unit when trying to make an alteration to the spray system there. They have now been able to get the hydrogen concentration low enough that they were able to install the gas controlling system.

- At 5:07 pm, to install a gas controlling system of RPV, Unit 1, we started cutting a pipe in the RPV spray after we confirmed the hydrogen density was low enough. At 10:30 pm on the same day, the cutting finished.
Cutting operation for a spray system pipe for the Reactor Pressure Vessel of Unit 1
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111010_01-e.pdf

-At around 4:31 pm on October 8, when coming back from Fukushima Daiichi Main Anti-Earthquake Building to Fukushima Daini Visitors' Hall, a TEPCO staff member who had been there to confirm the situation of liquid leaks in the water desalinations (reverse osmosis membrane type) was checked for body contamination and decontaminated because of contamination of his left waist, chin and cervical part. After that, no ingestion of radioactive materials was confirmed as a result of measurement of whole-body counter.

TEPCO has been asked by the government to be very clear how the jury-rigged systems that they have had to created after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are designed to work in the case of some other very large event. The assumptions they have made here are very conservative ones, which is a good thing. The following video is part of their response:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicPowerReview#p/a/u/0/vWkOxF2Vkw8



NHK NEWS

NHK's report on the gas controller installation:

Hydrogen level falls at Fukushima plant

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the level of hydrogen in a pipe at the No. 1 reactor has become low enough to make an explosion unlikely.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Sunday finished removing hydrogen from inside a pipe connected to the reactor's containment vessel.

The utility had been injecting nitrogen into the pipe to remove hydrogen since Saturday.

Last month, the hydrogen levels inside the pipe were found to account for between 61 and 63 percent of the total gas present, posing a risk of explosion.

TEPCO says the hydrogen level is now low enough and even if it were to rise again, it would not exceed 4 percent -- the lowest level that poses a risk of explosion.

On Sunday evening, TEPCO cut 2 points of the pipe to allow the installation of a device that filters radioactive substances inside the containment vessel.

The cutting operation was about 2 weeks behind the schedule the company set for its plan to contain the nuclear accident at the plant.

TEPCO says it wants to install and start operating the device as early as possible.
Monday, October 10, 2011 06:28 +0900 (JST)

With power plants being taken off line one after the other, people are preparing for energy restrictions/saving this winter. So are the stores:

Power-saving winter products

In the aftermath of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, department stores have started selling energy-saving products for the winter season.

Takashimaya opened a selling space dedicated to such products 2 weeks earlier than usual this year, expecting power-saving efforts to continue into the winter.

Twenty percent more such items are on offer this year, including winter clothes that can be used as lap blankets, and mattresses that retain heat.

Odakyu Department Store has started selling dress shirts with heat-retaining materials sewn into the sleeves and collars. The store is also selling thin belly bands that can be worn under dress shirts, and leggings for men.

The store is trying to appeal to the younger crowd by offering fashionable colors and designs.

Major supermarket chains are also expanding their lineups of bedclothes and winter apparel.
Sunday, October 09, 2011 22:37 +0900 (JST)

This is a good thing. Even a 15 warning is better than none at all.

Japan Sea coast gets tsunami monitoring system

Japanese meteorologists will use newly deployed GPS technology to issue tsunami warnings more quickly and accurately for the Japan Sea coast.

The land ministry has installed three Global Positioning System-based tsunami monitors off the northern prefectures of Aomori, Akita and Yamagata.

The monitors use buoys located about 20 kilometers offshore and radio waves from satellites to detect tidal changes and predict tsunamis before they hit shore.

The new system, scheduled to start Tuesday, enables the Meteorological Agency to monitor tsunamis in the Japan Sea for the first time.

Installation of the technology brings the number of GPS-based tidal monitors in Japan to 15 and the overall number of tsunami monitoring posts to 187.

The agency says it hopes the GPS-based systems will help it to provide better tsunami warnings.

The agency was able to revise predicted heights of the March 11th tsunami upward based on readings of GPS meters off the Pacific coast.
Monday, October 10, 2011 12:41 +0900 (JST)

Apparently, the general public does not feel the stress tests are more than a nice- to- have.

Poll: Stress tests not key to decision to restart nuclear plants
An NHK survey shows that nearly 60 percent of the country's prefectures and municipalities hosting nuclear plants say it is important to gain the understanding of local communities to permit the resumption of idle reactors. But less than 20 percent say they will put priority on the results of the government's stress tests on nuclear reactors.

NHK received survey replies in late September from all 29 prefectures and their municipalities that host nuclear power plants. Fukushima Prefecture was not included in the survey.

41 percent approved of the stress tests, while 14 percent disapproved. 45 percent were undecided.

Even among those that approved, many said the government abruptly introduced the tests and that their contents have not been made clear.

Answering multiple-choice questions on what factors they consider important in deciding on restarting reactors, 59 percent cited local consent and 45 percent said explanations from the government. Only 17 percent said the results of the stress test will be important.

In July, the central government decided to carry out the new safety assessment in an effort to reassure residents.

Yoshinori Moriyama of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said his agency wants to make the testing process more open and explain the situation to local residents.
Monday, October 10, 2011 06:28 +0900 (JST)

Symposium on post-disaster reconstruction held
Mayors of disaster-hit municipalities in northeastern Japan have called for wide-ranging cooperation to rebuild their devastated communities.

6 mayors from cities and towns in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures took part in a symposium on post-disaster reconstruction as panelists in Tokyo on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the Japan Society for Disaster Recovery and Revitalization.

The mayor of Shinchi Town in Fukushima, Norio Kato, said rebuilding railroads is essential for disaster recovery, but that fiscal conditions in affected areas are very severe. He asked the state to cover expenses, adding that local communities will take responsibility for securing land for the railroads.

The vice mayor of Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi, Kenji Endo, said his town suffered catastrophic damage in the March 11th disaster and received massive support from neighboring communities. He added that further cooperation between coastal and inland areas will become important for disaster preparedness.

The organizer said it wants the panelists' comments and requests to be reflected in developing and implementing recovery plans for affected areas.

The leader of the organization, Kansei Gakuin University Professor Yoshiteru Murosaki, said he was able to learn the needs of the disaster areas. He added that his organization wants to offer knowledge, data and information in support of reconstruction efforts.
Monday, October 10, 2011 06:28 +0900 (JST)