Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Reactors

[dorispulaski]

Another ongoing story is the fact that arrangements are starting to be made to return evacuees to their homes, if they want to go.

JAIF:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1318306724P.pdf
After Step 2 is complete, consideration will be given to removing the evacuation order for "restricted areas" and "deliberate evacuation areas".

and NHK is reporting this as well.

Revising evacuation status
Japan will begin discussions earlier than originally planned on redefining which areas are subject to evacuation orders.

Such discussions became feasible on Monday when the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, at their monthly progress review, revised their timetable for bringing the nuclear crisis under control.

According to the revised plan, the second stage, involving a state of cold shutdown of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, will be achieved by the end of this year, one month earlier than originally targeted.

The revised timetable says temperatures around the Numbers 1, 2, and 3 reactors are less than 100 degrees Celsius, and that the amount of radiation being emitted has dropped to about 100 million becquerels per hour.

This is about one 8-millionth of the level when the crisis began, and about half that of a month ago.

It also says additional radiation exposure in areas just outside the plant is estimated at 0.2 millisieverts per year at the most.

But many problems remain, as the government has yet to announce the details of the decontamination work that must be done in areas affected by the evacuation orders.
Monday, October 17, 2011 20:20 +0900 (JST)

Additionally, decontamination of areas labelled as high contaminated has started.

Fukushima City begins decontamination work

Fukushima City has launched a massive campaign to clean up radioactive materials, with the ultimate goal of decontaminating all homes and public facilities.

The city is located about 60 kilometers from the disaster-stricken Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Decontamination work began on Tuesday morning in the Onami district, where radiation levels are relatively high.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was on hand for about 20 minutes to inspect the work in Onami.

A team of professional workers used water jet cleaners to clean roofs and ditches. They also cut away vegetation in gardens and removed a layer of top soil.

Fukushima City's ultimate goal is to decontaminate 110,000 households, public facilities, and roads near schools by the end of fiscal 2012.

The city plans to ask residents and volunteers to help clean up areas where radiation levels are not too high.

Securing the necessary manpower and space to store radioactive waste are among the key challenges.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 12:16 +0900 (JST)

This is where the IAEA's recommendations about what to do with "waste" are important. There is such a thing as overdoing it here and making your problem bigger than it needs to be, which appears to be what is going on in the next story.

High radioactivity measured at Tokyo school
A radioactivity level higher than that of areas near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has been detected at a Tokyo elementary school.

A level of 3-point-99 microsieverts per hour was observed 5 centimeters above ground just beneath a rainwater pipe on Monday at the school in Tokyo's Adachi Ward. Radiation levels in Fukushima City about 60 kilometers from the plant were around 1 microsievert per hour on Monday. The ward is about 210 kilometers from the plant.

Ward authorities plan to remove soil and trees from the school area and measure radiation in ditches at about 800 locations including schools, parks and other public facilities.

The school's principal says he was stunned to hear about the radiation and cancelled physical education classes and other activities in the schoolyard for the day.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 17:11 +0900 (JST)

3.99 microSieverts an hour is just not that big, although indeed, one of the monitors one the plant periphery at Fukushima Daiichi is at about that level. It isn't that big at that particular point either. What needs to be done is to remove the dirt from directly under the downspout, where, of course, cesium has concentrated. All the runoff from a large school roof area has gone there. It would be smarter to measure stuff before going to a wholesale removal of trees, bushes, and land, most of which will be quite innocuous, as they are doing with the ditches.

In fact, I am not getting why they need to remove the trees at all-they should just clean up the leaves promptly when they fall.

The IAEA thinks the Japanese are overdoing it, and Reuters read their report the same way I did:


Reuters]/b]
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE79D2FM20111014

IAEA urges Japan to be less conservative in nuclear cleanup
Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:47pm GMT
By Shinichi Saoshiro

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan should be less conservative in cleaning up vast areas contaminated by radiation from the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, a team of visiting U.N. nuclear experts said on Friday.
...
Japan's environmental ministry has said the method of scraping off surface soil could result in about 29 million cubic metres of radioactive waste that needs to be disposed, and finding a final storage place for the debris is seen as a major headache for the government.
"Where applicable, there are methods that do not require storage. There are about 60 remediation technologies available. We are taking the advice from our experiences in Chernobyl, where a lot of mistakes were made," Varjoranta said

Japan's environmental ministry has said the method of scraping off surface soil could result in about 29 million cubic metres of radioactive waste that needs to be disposed, and finding a final storage place for the debris is seen as a major headache for the government.
"Where applicable, there are methods that do not require storage. There are about 60 remediation technologies available. We are taking the advice from our experiences in Chernobyl, where a lot of mistakes were made," Varjoranta said

The Mainichi Times has a personal story about the Fukushima decontamination:




http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111018p2a00m0na020000c.html

Decontamination work underway in Fukushima, but some choosing not to return

A worker, front, uses heavy machinery to remove vegetation from Yoshiharu Suda's yard, while another man at the back works to decontaminate the roof of his house in the Onami district in the city of Fukushima, on Oct. 18. (Mainichi)

FUKUSHIMA -- District-wide radiation decontamination work got underway on Oct. 18 in the Onami district of Fukushima city, but regardless, many families are choosing to have their children live elsewhere to avoid exposure to radiation.
...

The highest radiation at Suda's home was near a rain gutter, at 34 microsieverts per hour. When private sector workers hired by the city came to get measurements on Oct. 17, a measuring device that the city had prepared couldn't measure high enough, and one of the private sector workers' measuring devices had to be used.

On Oct. 18, private sector workers wearing rain jackets, helmets and goggles used a pressure washer to clean from high places to low, starting with the roof and rain gutters. Garden trees that Suda's 88-year-old mother Satai had tended for half a century were all removed. There was still worry about how much the radiation levels would actually fall after the work was all done.

There is more to the story; some of it is quite sad.

Notice that there is another contaminated rain gutter in this story. Cleaning gutters and ditches will be important. Learning what to decontaminate, and how to do that will be a concern in the near future.

 

[lowtherlore]

Breaking News: Neutron Ray Measured in Tokyo

Can’t believe this. This means the whole Kanto region is virtually nuked by now, including the Tokyo metropolitan area. I don’t understand why all of the Japanese public, media, experts and authorities are so tolerant and quiet about this. This can’t happen in a democratic society.

They need some drastic measures like the brave Russians had at Chernobyl, which may be already long overdue. Where’s the kamikaze or hirakiri spirit? Save the world from this massive nightmare radiation spill, and also save the Japanese king’s palace and Yasukuni, the Japanese war criminals worshipping shrine. If they do it, I wouldn’t hesitate to call them heroes.

Cover Up of Massive Radiation from Fukushima

Chris Busby is saying basically the same thing as I said before in August. TEPCO and the Japanese authorities are distributing the radiation polluted materials all over Japan and the rest of the world. Such useless cowards.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status October 20th, 10:30 AM JST

- At around 11:00 am on October 18 we found approx. 15cm depth of accumulated water (approx. 3m3) inside the skid, during motor replacement works of the pump (H2-2) inside the skid of the suspended Cesium adsorption apparatus. We also confirm that leaking stopped when we found. After that we suspended replacement work of relative motor and started to drain of the accumulated water by submersible pump. The cause is currently under investigation.

- At 9:44 am on October 19, we started transferring accumulated water from the building of waste storage bunker to process main building. At 2:05 pm on the same day, stopped transferring.

- At 10:00 am on October 19, we restarted transferring the water, which had been transferred from Unit 6 turbine building to temporary tank, to the mega float. At 4:00 pm on the same day, we stopped transferring.

- At 1:29 pm on October 19, we restarted 2nd Cesium adsorption system which has been stopped operation due to the power source construction of desalination unit.

- At 2:30 pm on October 19, we stopped seawater line pump of residual heat removal system (C) after stopped cooling reactor by residual heat system (A) due to the downward trend on the flow rate and pressure of the Unit 6 residual heat removal system. After that we restarted sea water pump of residual heat removal system (C) and as we confirmed the related pump returned to running at specified performance, we restarted cooling reactor by residual heat removing system (A) at 3:02 pm on the same day. The temperature of the reactor water is rose 21.6 deg C to 22.1 deg C temporarily by this suspension.

Unit 5
For inspection of the intake, we stopped seawater system pump for cooling auxiliary machine at 9:05 am on October 20. At 9:13 am on the same day, we stopped cooling the reactor by stop of residual heat removal system pump (D). After that, at 9:18 am on the same day, we stopped residual heat removal system seawater system pump (D).

Unit 6
-Since we confirmed a tendency of flow and pressure reduction in residual heat removal seawater pump system (C), we stopped cooling the reactor by a residual heat removal system (A system) at 2:30 pm on October 19, and then stopped the residual heat removal seawater pump system (C). After that, when we restarted the residual heat removal seawater pump system (C) at 2:53 pm on the same day, we confirmed that the original function of the pump recovered. We restarted cooling the reactor by the residual heat removal system (A system) at 3:02 pm on the same day. By this interruption, the water temperature of the reactor has temporarily increased from 21.6 °C to 22.1°C.


At 6:09 am on October 18, we suspended the Cesium adsorption apparatus unit No.1 due to power reinforcement works of the water desalinations. At 9:04 am we suspended Unit No, 2. At approximately 11:00 am, while we were replacing the motor of the pumps (H2-2) in the skid of the suspended Cesium absorption apparatus, a puddle of water was found in the skid (depth approx. 15 cm, volume approx. 3 m3). We also found that the leakage already stopped when we found the puddle of water. After that, we interrupted the work of change of the motor and conducted draining the water by underwater pump. The cause is currently under investigation. At 1:29 pm on October 19, since we completed the reinforce work for power source for water treatment facilities, we restarted the second cesium adsorption apparatus. After that we restarted the apparatus at 5:55 pm on October 19. At 9:06 pm on October 19, in the water treatment facilities under operation, a SMZ pump of the 4th process line of cesium adsorption apparatus automatically stopped. A pump of the 3rd process line is continuously operated. Water treatment by the cesium adsorption apparatus is also continuously operated at the flow rate approx. 17m3/h (the flow rate before the automatic stop was approx. 20m3/h).

- From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on October 19, we transferred the accumulated water from the temporary tank to the mega float. - At 10:00 am on October 20, we started transferring the accumulated water from the basement of turbine building of Unit 3 to the High Temperature Incinerator Building of Central Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility. - At 10:12 am on October 20, we started transferring the accumulated water from the basement of turbine building of Unit 2 to the Process Main Building of Central Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility.

In case you might be wondering how mammoth a task decontamination of water at Fukushima Daiichi is and has been, here's recently published report. Data as of Oct. 18th:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111019e10.pdf
Total water decontaminated: 134,100 cubic meters
Total sludge removed: 581 cubic meters
Total used vessels from both systems (also radioactive sludge, basically) 254
Utilization of the Areva water treatment facility for the month: 39.8%
Utilization of the Sarry water treatment facility 77.6%

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111019_01-e.pdf
TEPCO tried another method of testing the integrity of the containment vessels of Unit2 & 3. TEPCO feels that better knowledge of the status of the containment vessel will improve fuel removal later on. However, this method, which relied again on existing wiring was inconclusive.

Inner harbor data:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111019e7.pdf
At the shallow draft quay, Cs 137 is now only being intermittently detected. Cs 134 is below the notification limit.
Values inside the silt fence are significantly higher than outside the silt fence, showing that the silt fence does some good.

Chinese rare earths firm stops production
A leading Chinese rare earth metals company has temporarily suspended production.

Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech announced it was halting smelting and separation at its processing plants for one month starting on Wednesday. It cites a continuing fall in prices, low demand and oversupply. It says the stoppage will stabilize the market and balance supply and demand.

The company is based in Inner Mongolia in northeastern China.

Rare earth metals are in high demand as they are used in many everyday devices such as hybrid vehicles and air conditioners.

But China's continuing export controls have pushed up the international prices of the metals.

The high cost has forced some trading firms to stop buying rare earth metals.

The decision by Baotou Rare Earth is likely to make it even harder to procure the metals and could likely affect hi-tech firms that have little in stock.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 02:14 +0900 (JST)

Atlanta Business News has more details:
http://www.ajc.com/business/china-rare-earths-supplier-1206053.html
Baotou is China's biggest supplier of rare earths. It is a key neodymium supplier.

Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals used in manufacturing flat-screen TVs, mobile phones, batteries for electric cars, wind turbines and weaponry.

China has about 30 percent of global rare earth deposits but accounts for 97 percent of production.

This is not green tea.

Radioactive cesium detected in Tokyo tea leaves
Radioactive cesium in levels above the government standard has been detected in tea leaves produced in Tokyo and Saitama, north of the capital. The contamination is believed to have been caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says 3 brands of tea leaves grown in northwestern Tokyo have been found to contain 550 to 690 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram. The government limit is 500 becquerels.

The Saitama prefectural government says it found 504 to 2,063 becquerels per kilogram in locally-grown leaves of 97 brands.

The samples tested by the prefecture were not early-picked leaves, which are said to be more likely to contain radioactive material. The prefecture had already found that such leaves of 14 brands contained radioactive cesium above the limit.

The authorities have asked the producers to dispose of their tea leaf stocks.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 20:45 +0900 (JST)

Radiation monitoring by drone begins in Fukushima

A city near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun monitoring radiation levels of farmlands and forests with a small unmanned helicopter.

The move comes after the central government lifted an evacuation advisory for parts of Tamura City and 4 other municipalities outside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at the end of last month.

On Wednesday, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency began monitoring radiation using the drone at the request of the city. The agency tested a 300-meter-long, 150-meter-wide area of a rice field from a helicopter equipped with a measuring instrument about 20 meters above the ground. It also carried out tests on forests.

Data transmitted by the helicopter is reportedly translated into radiation levels 1 meter above the ground and indicated by instruments at ground level.

Aircraft are suitable for measuring radiation levels of large areas and other locations that are difficult for people to access.

In the areas of Fukushima Prefecture where the evacuation advisory has been lifted, residents had previously been advised to stay indoors and prepare for emergency evacuation. But many residents decided to evacuate their homes.

The tasks facing Tamura and the 4 other municipalities are decontamination and radiation monitoring for both residents and evacuees.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 18:28 +0900 (JST)

http://www.ajc.com/business/china-rare-earths-supplier-1206053.html

Yale environment 360 interview with Mark Lynas, pro-nuclear environmental activist.
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/britains_mark_lynas_riles_his_green_movement_allies/2449/

In his new book, The God Species: Saving the Planet in the Age of Humans, British author, journalist, and environmental activist Mark Lynas argues that the world’s gravest ecological problems can be addressed with existing technological solutions. For environmentalists, he writes, “This means jettisoning some fairly sacred cows.” Nobody knows this better than Lynas, who has recently renounced his own previous positions and now embraces nuclear power and genetic engineering. That has enraged his erstwhile colleagues in the green movement, yet Lynas is unapologetic.

And on the recovery-from-earthquake and tsunami front:

NHK

Ship washed ashore by tsunami returns to sea
A huge freighter washed ashore in Iwate Prefecture by the March 11th tsunami has returned to sea.

The bow of the 2,300-ton ship had been sitting on a road near Kamaishi Port for about 7 months after being thrust through a bank of the port.

On Thursday, a crane vessel capable of lifting a 4,000-ton ship docked side by side with the freighter. The freighter was lifted using 32 wires and slowly winched back to sea over the course of about one hour.

Emergency repairs will be conducted if divers find damage to the bottom of the hull. The ship will then be moved to a factory in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan.

Kamaishi City Vice Mayor Tadamitsu Wakasaki said he hopes that the removal of the freighter will help accelerate the city's reconstruction. The ship was blocking traffic and slowing reconstruction.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 14:10 +0900 (JST)

Four of 44 municipalities decline nuclear power subsidies
Four Japanese municipalities have demonstrated their opposition to nuclear power by declining government subsidies for hosting nuclear plants.

The government this week began receiving yearly applications for subsidies from municipalities where nuclear-related facilities are located.

About 12 billion dollars have been allocated since the program started in 1974.

NHK has learnt that, in a rare move of opposition, 4 out of the 44 municipalities that host nuclear facilities around the country plan to skip the application this year.

One of them, Minamisoma City in Fukushima Prefecture, has demonstrated its anti-nuclear stance by refusing to accept subsidies for the planned Namie-Odaka power plant to be operated by the Tohoku Electric Power Company. In addition, Minamisoma City has decided to decline subsidies allocated for cities surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

City Mayor Katsunobu Sakurai said the city has made clear its rejection of nuclear power as part of its recovery plan.

Sakurai added the city will demand that the central government subsidize renewable energies.

Neighboring Namie Town has also declined subsidies related to the Namie-Odaka plant. The town said building new nuclear power facilities is not reasonable when Fukushima Prefecture and others are working to remove existing plants.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 19:43 +0900 (JST)

Namie Town and Minamisoma City are in Fukushima, and regions of both have suffered evacuation.

Fukushima assembly OKs reactor decommission

The assembly of Fukushima prefecture has adopted a petition calling for the scrapping of all 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture. The prefecture hosts two Tokyo Electric Power Company-run nuclear stations, one of them severely damaged by the March disaster.

The petition adopted by a majority vote on Thursday was submitted by a civic group in June, following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The petition urges the decommissioning of all reactors run by Tokyo Electric Power in the prefecture -- six at the Daiichi plant and four at the Daini plant.

This is the first time in Japan that a prefecture hosting nuclear plants has voted to adopt such a petition.

Tokyo Electric has concluded it will decommission four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that suffered severe damage in the March disaster. But the utility has yet to come up with detailed plans for the remaining six reactors.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 19:35 +0900 (JST)

This is a positive thing, I think.

China, Taiwan sign nuclear accident agreement

China and Taiwan have signed a security agreement to inform each other in the event of a nuclear accident.

Representatives for the cross-strait talks, Chen Yunlin of China, and Chiang Pin-kung of Taiwan, met on Thursday in Tianjin in the wake of nuclear disaster in Japan.

They agreed to quickly notify each other of any radioactive materials that might spread in the region as well as the cause of any accident which is level 2 or above.

Level 2 is the 3rd least dangerous on the 8-step scale of nuclear disasters.

They also promised to exchange information on safety criteria and ways to maintain oversight for nuclear plants.
Currently, 20 nuclear power plants are operating in China and Taiwan. 27 in China and 2 in Taiwan are under construction.

An NHK correspondent says China remains committed to nuclear power generation despite the Fukushima disaster, even launching a new plant.

He says the signing of the agreement apparently aims to promote its efforts on nuclear safety in and outside of the country.
Friday, October 21, 2011 06:42 +0900 (JST)

And in the "it's an ill wind that blows nobody good" department:

Fishing boat maker in Miyagi receives big orders

A leading Japanese boat maker is busy filling orders for fishing boats following the loss of over 25,000 small fishing craft nationwide in the March tsunami.

Yamaha Motor Company is doing the work at a makeshift factory it recently converted from an indoor tennis facility in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the areas hit hardest by the disaster.

To meet customers' needs, 20 workers at the factory are customizing fishing boats built elsewhere in the country.

Yamaha says that from now through next March, it plans to deliver 2,800 boats -- 11 times its sales last year. The company plans to almost double the number of workers at the factory in November to speed up the work.

Yamaha says the number of orders started to rise sharply after the government introduced subsidies for fishing cooperatives ordering ships for their members.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 18:18 +0900 (JST)

So there's one action by a government that had a positive outcome.

Reuters has published a Q&A update on what's going on at Fukushima Daiichi:

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFL3E7LI08H20111018?sp=true

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status as of 3:00 PM JST, October 23, 2011

-At 10am on October 21, we started the transfer of accumulated water from temporary tank to mega float.

From 10am to 4:00 pm on October 22, we finished transferring the accumulated water brought from the turbine building of Unit 6 to temporary tank.

-At 10:35 am on October 22, we started transferring the accumulated water brought from the basement of turbine building of Unit 1 to the basement of turbine building of Unit 2.


Unit 2
From 11:20 am to 11:52 am on October 21, aiming to restore the function of primary reactor water level gauge, we filled the measurement piping with water from makeshit gauge (gauge in the makeshift lac) in the primary reactor Water Level Gauge in Unit 2.

Unit 6
For the purpose water intake inspection, at 9:05 am October 21, seawater pump of Equipment Water Cooing System (A) was first shutdown, and at 9:13 am, Residual Heat Removal System (A) pump was stopped, and stopped cooling the reactor. At 9:15 am, Residual Heat Removal System seawater pump (C) was stopped. After the inspection was finished, the cooling for the reactor from Residual Heat Removal System (A).was resumed at 3:55 pm by restarting the seawater pump of Residual Heat Removal System (C) 3:37 pm. At 4:01 pm, pump of Residual Heat Removal System (A). At 4:01 pm, the seawater pump of Equipment Water Cooling System was restarted as well. As a result of this interruption, the water temperature in the reactor increased by approximately 8°C from 24°C and the water temperature for the spent fuel pool increased by approximately 2°C from 25°C.

Monitoring posts
Out of 7 monitoring posts set at the boundary of the plant site, we started the replacement work of No.6 for the purpose of the preventive measure. The work was planned to be conducted from Oct 11 to 21. This monitoring post was not able to measure airborne radiation dose temporarily during the work, however, we continued to measure the dose by the other 6 monitoring At 7:00 pm on Oct. 21, replacement work was completed. While replacement work was under way, the data for the monitoring post was not recorded. However, we have confirmed that there have been no significant changes to the data taken from other monitoring posts.

Several longer reports have come out in the last couple days:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111021_03-e.pdf
Quince robot survey of Unit 2, floors 3 through 5
and video taken by the robot
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/index-e.html

Video of isolation condenser of Unit 1
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/news/110311/index-e.html

Now that the temperature of everything is below 100 C at unit 2, they are trying to fix the primary water gauge.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111021_01-e.pdf

Installation of gas maintenance system at Unit 2 (with pictures)
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111021_04-e.pdf

And a report with pictures on the current version of the water decontamination system
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111022_02-e.pdf

And a link to a series of explanatory videos of how TEPCO is dealing with the situation
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/series/index-e.html


Efforts to understand the explosions at Unit 2 and Unit 4 by looking at their timing from seismograph units in those buildings
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111021e11.pdf
TEPCO is looking at the delay between the S & P waves, as recorded by the seismograph. They conclude that the 6:12 am, March 15th, seismicity was caused by the Unit 4 explosion. They are still not sure what and whether there was an explosion at Unit 2, and are continuing to analyze the data further.

NHK NEWS

I've linked to the video in question in an earlier post, but it is nice that NHK is taking notice of TEPCO's video.

Fukushima power plant video shows progress

Tokyo Electric Power Company has released new footage of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It reveals the progress made over the 7 months since the March 11th disaster.

The video taken on October 12th by TEPCO workers shows roads that have been cleared of debris and a makeshift levee constructed along the coast.

On the west side of the compound, holding tanks have been set up to store salt water left over from the process of treating highly radioactive wastewater in the reactors. Each tank can hold 100 thousand liters.

However, in areas around the No. 3 and 4 reactors, buildings are still left with collapsed walls and broken windows.

TEPCO explained that there were not many workers seen in the footage because it was taken during lunch break. The operator says that on weekdays 3,000 workers are employed at the facility.
Sunday, October 23, 2011 05:41 +0900 (JST)

There are several reports of cooperative efforts between Japan and France on the nuclear front. French Prime Minister Fillon is visiting Japan, and these joint efforts are a product of his visit:

Japan, France to cooperate on nuclear safety

The prime ministers of Japan and France have agreed to cooperate in improving the safety of nuclear power plants.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met French Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Tokyo on Sunday.

They agreed on the importance of strengthening the safety of nuclear power plants to the highest level, and confirmed that the 2 countries will cooperate in cleaning up radioactive substances.

In a joint statement, the 2 countries agreed to study the possibility of setting up an international emergency response team that would be swiftly dispatched to deal with nuclear accidents.

The statement also calls for the creation of a committee to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the nuclear energy field.

Referring to credit worries in Europe triggered by the financial crisis in Greece, Noda said the sovereign debt problem is a pressing issue, and Japan will help to resolve it.

Fillon responded that decisive measures are being prepared to support Greece.

They agreed to cooperate on this issue ahead of the G20 meeting that will be held in France next month.

The 2 leaders also agreed to work together for the signing of an Economic Partnership Agreement between Japan and the European Union.
Sunday, October 23, 2011 16:34 +0900 (JST)

Japan, France to propose nuclear efforts
Japan and France plan to announce a joint communique on nuclear safety, which will include the creation of an international response team for nuclear emergencies.

Visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Sunday.

Government sources say the communique will confirm the 2 countries' resolve to work together in making their nuclear power plants among the safest in the world.

The communique will also refer to plans to create an international response team, which will be dispatched to countries hit by nuclear accidents to provide assistance.

Japan and France are also studying ways to establish an institution to nurture personnel with expertise in the area of nuclear power risk management.

The 2 sides are also expected to announce joint efforts in the area of decontamination, and the establishment of a committee aimed at strengthening nuclear cooperation.

Noda expressed his hope that release of such a communique will deepen Japan's ties with France, which has an edge in nuclear power technology.

The French Prime Minister arrived in Japan on Saturday, and first visited the disaster-hit city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. He said France is ready to help with recovery efforts in both emotional and economic ways.
Sunday, October 23, 2011 09:01 +0900 (JST)

and

Fillon inspects disaster-hit areas in Miaygi Prefecture

Visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has inspected disaster-hit areas in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture.

Fillon arrived in Sendai from South Korea on Saturday, and visited Ishinomaki City, which was severely damaged by tsunami.

He met Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama who described the disaster from a hill overlooking the city, and laid flowers in front of a billboard set up by residents.

Fillon told a group of volunteers that people around the world continue to be supportive of Japan.

He later told reporters that, although he hears Japan's economy is showing signs of recovery, it will take more time for people's hearts to heal.

He said France is prepared to help Japan both in psychological and material terms.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Japan 20 days after the disaster, and the country sent a team to help with the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Fillon is scheduled meet Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Sunday to discuss ways to enhance safety at nuclear power plants and deal with credit worries in Europe.
Saturday, October 22, 2011 22:42 +0900 (JST)

Japan to seek fair global framework for CO2 cuts

Japan is to submit a proposal at a UN climate change conference to call on all major emitters, including emerging economies, to reduce their output of greenhouse gases under a new global framework.

Japan's Environment Minister Goshi Hosono announced the plan on Friday.

Hosono reiterated Japan's opposition to a simple extension of the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012. The protocol requires only industrialized nations to achieve binding cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

Developed and developing nations are already sharply at odds over a post-Kyoto framework at the ministerial talks that began on Thursday.

The talks are the final preparatory meeting ahead of the COP17 UN climate change conference opening next month.

Japan says the international talks should be based on agreements reached at last year's COP16 meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The agreements call on both developed and developing nations to create a fair, effective framework to work toward reducing global emissions.
Friday, October 21, 2011 17:24 +0900 (JST)

Miyagi farmer delivers rice to disaster victims

A farmer in disaster-hit Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, has given his rice harvest for this year to people living in temporary housing.

The farmer and local junior high school students visited about 200 temporary houses in his community on Friday to deliver nearly 2 tons of rice.

He used to grow rice in part of his paddy with students in a training program.

But this year they used borrowed land, as his paddy was damaged in the March tsunami.
Friday, October 21, 2011 17:16 +0900 (JST)

Winter's coming.

Kotatsu" heaters delivered to disaster survivors

Volunteers are delivering traditional Japanese heaters to survivors of the March 11th disaster, before the start of the harsh winter.

On Friday, evacuees welcomed the arrival of the "kotatsu" heaters at the playground of a junior high school in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

The kotatsu is a low table with an electric element fitted to its underside, and a quilt to cover the thighs. The heaters are being jointly provided by Lion's Club groups in Okayama and Taiwan.

The volunteers delivered kotatsu and a letter of encouragement to occupants of housing units in the playground.

The 2 groups plan to donate 600 kotatsu to the Kesennuma evacuees.
Friday, October 21, 2011 17:24 +0900 (JST)

and this is such a great festival for this difficult year:

Kurama fire festival in Kyoto

The ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto held a traditional torch-bearing festival on Saturday evening.

The Kurama fire festival is said to date back to the 10th century, in the mid-Heian Period. Its origin is believed to be the practice of lighting torches to pray for peace, amid a series of wars and natural disasters.

In the opening ceremony held at the Yuki Shrine, hundreds of torches were lit in front of nearby homes.

Some 500 torches were paraded around the shrine by people wearing headbands and sashes. The largest torch was 3.5 meters long and weighed 100 kilograms.

About 8,000 spectators packed the nearby streets and cheered as sparks flew up into the night sky.
Sunday, October 23, 2011 05:41 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

Interesting to see in what satiric way some foreign channels (this one is German, public) presents the whole situation with TEPCO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBW5OGj7M9c

 

[dorispulaski]

I take it that the German comedy show was from some time in April? (Note that Edano is the official referred to, and he is no longer in office, AFAIR?)

Well, anything is fair game for comedy.

When I was a child, black humor was very popular, such as the following "joke".
"As funny as a truckload of dead babies on Mother's Day."

It wasn't my favorite thing.

TEPCO STATUS REPORTS up until 3:00 PM JST October 25th

I apologize for not updating yesterday; I was very occupied with Skate America coverage and conversations in the forum.

At 10 am on October 25, we started transferring the accumulated water, which transferred from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks, to the mega float. At 11:30 am on the dame day, we stopped transferring.

-At 10:31 am on October 25, we started dust sampling at the opening (blowout panel) of the reactor building of Unit 2. At 11:31 am on the same day, we completed the sampling.

-At 11:31 am on October 25, we started dust sampling at the opening for the equipment hatch in the reactor building of Unit 1. At 0:31 pm on the same day, we completed the sampling.

Unit 1
-At 2:22 pm on October 25, since we observed reduction of water injection volume to the reactor, we adjusted the injection volume at approx. 3.8 ㎥/h.

-7 monitoring posts have been installed at the border of the power station site. We started construction (planned from October 25 to December 20) of a permanent building for the measurement equipment, etc. of No.7 which had been installed in the temporary building. We continue to measure during the construction period. Since the construction work will be done near the measurement equipment, there is a possibility that measurement results will change to some extent due to the change of radiation circumstance around the measurement equipment.

From earlier reports

At around 2 pm on October 23, TEPCO's employee found seemingly oil spill outside the oil retaining wall of temporary oil tank for main transformer in the power plant premise (Wild Bird Forest). At around 2 pm on October 24, we confirmed at the site that there were oil film in the water accumulated in the oil retaining wall and the oil was accumulated in the space which the water in the oil retaining wall spilled. From these reasons, we assumed that the oil observed on October 23 was the oil which spilled from the oil retaining wall by inflow of rain water to the wall. At this moment, we are investigating in detail, including nuclide analysis for the water accumulated in the wall and analysis on the oil film.

- At around 11:30 am on October 24, we observed the water leakage (about 20 liters) from the axis seal region of the law water pump (for 2-1 skids use) which was a constitution apparatus of the Water Desalination Facility (RO membrane unit) 2 of the water treatment system and we stopped the facility. Afterward, the water leakage was confirmed to be stopped. At 2:30 pm on the same day, we stopped the line connecting to the water pump and started other water desalinations. At 4:20 pm, the rated flow reached 50 m3/h.

- At around 2:50 pm on October 17, we confirmed that a worker of partner company who was engaged in cleaning inside of Primary Containment Vessel of Unit 4 was exposed to radiation 1.58mSV, which is excess to the planned radiation 0.9mSV. After the result of the investigation, we guessed that the radiation administrator set the working time without featuring the work of near the high radiation place, because he missed the high radiation dose which was confirmed by pre- measurement. Furthermore, the worker was not aware of the sound of his APD and kept the work, since he had on his hood mask and was using a cleaner.

More details can be found here:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11102407-e.html

NHK NEWS

I may have missed a few while trying to keep up with Skate America this weekend. If you see any story I missed, please post a link?

Hotspot hotline

Japan's science ministry has launched a telephone hotline to deal with public concerns about radiation exposure in areas outside Fukushima Prefecture. The prefecture hosts the damaged nuclear complex. The ministry set up the hotline after radiation monitoring by local governments and citizens' groups found a number of locations within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area with levels exceeding government limits.

The ministry is asking local governments and citizens' groups to tell it if they find sites where the hourly radiation dose at one meter above the ground is more than one microsievert higher than nearby areas.

One microsievert per hour is the government-set limit for determining whether topsoil at school playgrounds should be removed, using state subsidies.

The ministry is also asking the local governments to carry out simple decontamination work, such as clearing mud from ditches if necessary. The ministry says the central government will support decontamination efforts if
radiation levels remain more than one microsievert higher than nearby areas even after the cleaning.

The ministry has posted a guideline on its website on how to properly measure radiation levels, such as the right way to hold the dosimeter and the time needed for a reading.
Monday, October 24, 2011 11:48 +0900 (JST)

This is happening in Japan, as well as in the US.

Nuclear energy experts discuss technological issues

Nuclear energy experts will be organizing a summary of lessons learned from the Fukushima plant accident. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency brought together the 6 specialists for their first panel meeting on Monday. During the meeting, the group emphasized that Japanese nuclear power plants should have multiple power sources. They said the plants would then be able to maintain electricity during an earthquake or other emergency. Hokkaido University Graduate School Professor Tadashi Narabayashi said plant operators should also arrange emergency power supplies with other utilities.

Reactors at the Fukushima plant experienced meltdown after they lost outside power due to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The experts said it was a grave situation that electrical equipment malfunctioned after the plant was hit by the tsunami. They stated that operator Tokyo Electric Power Company should examine why the equipment failed to work and take measures to prevent a recurrence.

The experts plan to conclude their discussions by next March. The agency hopes to reflect the discussions for regulations by a new nuclear safety agency to be launched in April.
Monday, October 24, 2011 17:42 +0900 (JST)

If you will recall, TEPCO made huge efforts not to release these manuals, because, they said, the manuals included proprietary information. All this accomplished was to insure that people actually read them carefully when they were finally released. They should have released them at once, as soon as NISA demanded them. The results would have been less damaging then.

Parts of TEPCO's accident manuals made public

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has made public a large portion of Tokyo Electric Power Company's procedural manuals for nuclear accidents.

These are the manuals that the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant earlier submitted to the Lower House with most of the contents blacked out. The company had insisted the information had to be kept secret in order to protect its intellectual property rights, and because disclosure could open its facilities to terrorist attack.

Based on the law, the nuclear safety agency ordered TEPCO to resubmit the manuals without redaction.

The 200 pages of documents released on Monday are from the accident procedural manuals used for Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. All their contents were made public, except for individuals' names.

The documents show that TEPCO had not made sufficient preparations to cope with critical nuclear accidents.

In the March 11th tsunami, almost all electricity sources for the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi were lost after the batteries and power supply boards were inundated.

The documents reveal that TEPCO did not envision such a power failure or any kind of prolonged power loss. It assumed that in a serious incident, emergency power sources would be available to vent pressure in the reactor containment vessels or to carry out other safety procedures.

The agency says it decided to make the manual public because transparency is necessary to find the cause of the Fukushima nuclear accident and to establish better safety measures for the future.
Monday, October 24, 2011 21:10 +0900 (JST)

Good news here!

Govt adopts plan to revitalize farm industry
Japan's government has adopted an action plan for revitalizing the country's agriculture, forestry and fishery industries.

The 5-year plan was adopted on Tuesday at a meeting of the government's task force for such revitalization.

The plan calls for creating more arable land to prepare for trade liberalization, and for increasing the number of young farmers.

The move comes at a time when Japanese farmers are voicing opposition to the country's participation in negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The farmers say such participation would deal a blow to the farming industry. Many Democratic Party legislators have also voiced opposition.

Tuesday's meeting was attended by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and all Cabinet ministers. Noda said the plan will serve as a framework for Japan's administration of the agriculture, forestry and fishery industries. He instructed the ministers to do all they can to make high-level economic partnerships consistent with the industries' revitalization.

The government and the Democratic Party hope to decide before next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation whether to take part in the TPP negotiations.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 16:44 +0900 (JST)

And this hopeful opinion piece appeared.




http://opinion.financialpost.com/20...on-reactor-victims-will-benefit-studies-show/

Low exposure to the Nagasaki atomic blast resulted in longer lifespans
The immense suffering that the Japanese are enduring in the aftermath of their earthquake and tsunami is now compounded by torment over radiation releases from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
While the torment is understandable, based on the reported amounts of radiation released, it is uncalled for. The evidence from Japan’s populace — inadvertent guinea pigs in the largest radiation experiment ever, in the aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 — indicates that fears over radiation can be overblown.
Those who survived the immediate atomic blasts but were near Ground Zero died at a high rate from excess exposure to radiation. The tens of thousands more distant from Ground Zero, and who received lower exposures to radiation, did not die in droves. To the contrary, and surprisingly, they outlived their counterparts in the general population who received no exposure to radiation from the blasts.

Here's the scientific paper to which the writer of the op/ed piece is referring:

http://probeinternational.org/library/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/MineIR10-JpSurvMort1.pdf

DISCUSSION
From the analysis of LSS’s population, RERF, lower relative risk of mortality from non-cancerous disease than control was observed for a dose range, 0.06-0.49Gy, when city was not adjusted. But when city was adjusted, lower relative risk was not observed. Although the number of subjects analyzed in Nagasaki University was smaller than that of LSS’s population, we have obtained the lower relative risk of mortality from noncancerous disease for male at a range of low doses.

Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the IAEA, Mohammed el Baradei, discusses nuclear power. You can view the article if you have a WSJ subscription.

Wall Street Journal; Mohammed el Baradei

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204485304576644612165863314.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

“We cannot keep the lights on without nuclear energy.”

Baradei is particularly forceful on the need for nuclear power in the developing nations:

"For example, China and India are expanding by five to eight times their use of nuclear energy by 2020 or 2022. Brazil is expanding its nuclear-power program. South Africa is looking seriously to do so," he says. "All these large emerging countries, with large populations and development challenges, have to rely on nuclear energy.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO STATUS, October 26, 3:00 PM JST

TEPCO has been working on the gas control systems for Units 1 & 2. Here's the more extensive press releases:
Unit 1
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111025_02-e.pdf
Unit 2
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111025_03-e.pdf

UNIT 1
- At 1:17 pm on October 26, we started cutting off the designated piping after confirming that the hydrogen density inside the piping for cooling in case of reactor shutdown was less than 0.1 %, as one of the construction work to install gas monitoring system inside the Primary Containment Vessel.

UNIT 2
- At 1:05 pm on October 26, we started nitrogen purge of the designate system after confirming that hydrogen is stored with the density of 6.5 % when connecting piping arrangements on October 20, 2011, as one of the construction work to install gas monitoring system inside the Primary Containment Vessel. We finished the nitrogen purge at 1:42 pm because we confirmed that the hydrogen density was 0%.

- At 5:31 pm on October 25, we started transferring the accumulated water brought from the basement of turbine building of Unit 1 to the basement of turbine building of Unit 2.At 2:01 pm on October 26, we stopped transferring.

- At 9:47 am on October 26, for the water injection to the reactors of Units 1 to 3, we switched from normal water injection line to emergency water injection line, due to the shutoff of facilities for power source reinforcement work. Along with the switching work, we adjusted the amount of water injection from water feeding system to approximately 3.8 m3/h for Unit 1's reactor. Likewise, we adjusted the amount of water injection to Unit 2's reactor to approximately 3 m3/h from water feeding system, and to approximately 8m3/h from Core Spray System.

- At 10:00 am on October 26, we started transferring the accumulated water from the basement of turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks.

- On October 26, we replaced the vane to adjust flow amount of water injection line to the Unit 3's reactor in order to improve the ability to control the water injection amount.

NHK NEWS

Kansai Electric to submit stress test result
Kansai Electric is likely to submit to the government on Friday the results of a safety test on one of its halted nuclear reactors.

Kansai Electric would become Japan's first power company to do so.

80 percent of nuclear reactors in Japan have been halted since the March accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. In July, the government decided to mandate new safety assessments, called "stress tests," before the reactors could be restarted.

The tests involve computer simulations to see whether the nuclear power plants could withstand major earthquakes and tsunami.

Kansai Electric plans to submit the results of a stress test on the No.3 reactor of its nuclear plant at Oi, Fukui Prefecture.

But the move does not mean the reactor will be restarted immediately.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will spend months screening the stress test results before a final go-ahead would be given by the government. Briefings for local governments and residents will also be required as part of the process.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 18:44 +0900 (JST)

And depending on which prefecture and municipality the Kansai reactor is in, it might not matter whether they pass the stress tests.

Municipalities divided over nuclear plants restart

Japanese municipalities hosting nuclear power plants are divided over whether reactors that are currently offline should resume operations.

An association of host cities and towns held a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. Mayors and officials from 15 communities attended.

The main issue discussed was resuming power generation at reactors which have been idle since the March accident at Fukushima Daiichi.

44 of 54 nuclear reactors in Japan are currently offline. They have no prospects of being restarted soon after data errors were found in safety stress tests required before bringing them back online.

Complicating the issue is the manipulation of public opinion on nuclear power at explanatory meetings for local residents that came to light in summer.

Some municipalities demanded the restart of reactors to benefit their economies after their safety is confirmed.

But others remained cautious, preventing the association from reaching a conclusion.

One representative noted the cause of the Fukushima accident has not been confirmed. Another said neither the central government nor power utilities have clarified their policies on the future of nuclear power in Japan.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 10:41 +0900 (JST)

This is a surprise. Today's conversion between Japanese yen and US dollars says1 yen is worth $0.0132. That is not a big raise, all things considered.
Of course, I'm from CT, where we pay an average of $0.18 per kwh or so.
So does NY state.
http://www.nyserda.org/energy_information/nyepo.asp

Nuclear accident could raise power cost by 1 yen

Japan's Atomic Energy Commission says a nuclear accident could raise the cost of power generation by up to 1 yen per kilowatt-hour, but the total cost would still be lower than other forms of power generation.

The commission released on Tuesday new estimates on the cost of nuclear power generation calculated by a research panel set up in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

The estimates cover the costs that would stem from a serious nuclear accident and include outlays for evacuation, compensation and decommissioning of reactors.

But the panel says spending for cleaning radiation-contaminated areas and the long-term storage of radioactive debris was not included.

Based on the Fukushima crisis, the panel says the damage cost of a future nuclear plant accident will be more than 3.8 billion yen, or about 51 billion dollars.

This could raise the cost of power generation by up to 1 yen, or about 1.3 cents, per kilowatt-hour.

The report concludes that nuclear power generation costs can be calculated as from 6 to 7 yen, or about 8 to 9 cents, per kilowatt hour, and that this is still cheaper than other sources of energy.

But one member of the panel insisted that the damage cost estimates are too low, and that total losses would be about 12 times higher if decontamination spending is included. But the panel did not adopt his calculation.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 19:01 +0900 (JST)

And I told you people would make money doing this, and here they are:

Food safety fair features radiation monitors
An annual food safety exhibition has opened in Tokyo with devices for measuring radiation on display for the first time.

Machines that use a conveyor belt to run food past a radiation sensor proved very popular on Wednesday. They can check an item's radiation level in 12 seconds, which means a number of foods can be tested in a short time.

The devices are in high demand from farmers' cooperatives, beef processors and restaurant chains, despite a minimum price tag of 56,000 dollars.

Also on display are small devices that check foods placed in a beaker for radioactive substances.

They are intended for companies and even housewives. The most inexpensive types cost about 9,000 dollars.

An official at a confectioner said the company wants to learn how to take steps to alleviate consumers' fears on its own.

An official from a manufacturer of radiation monitoring devices said the company wants to help farmers dispel rumors that their products may be contaminated.

The exhibition runs through Friday.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 15:54 +0900 (JST)

Also, the French will get rich, if nuclear plants continue in Japan, due to the failure of its fuel recylcing strategy, especially since the UK is closing their recycling plant. The usual method of discarding fuel is to give it to the French or British.

Nuclear fuel recycling costs

Japan's Atomic Energy Commission says it may cost twice as much to recycle nuclear fuel for power generation as it would to discard the spent fuel as waste.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the commission calculated the cost of recycling spent nuclear fuel and extracting plutonium. The cost was estimated at 1.98 to 2.14 yen per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated.

The cost of discarding the spent fuel as waste was about 1 to 1.35 yen per kilowatt-hour.

This is about half the cost of recycling nuclear fuel, which has been a pillar of Japan's nuclear policy.

The government is under pressure to review its nuclear policy in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Tuesday's cost projections may affect the course of discussions on the matter.

The country's nuclear fuel recycling efforts are already being called into question by a series of problems at a nuclear reprocessing plant in Rokkasho village in northern Japan.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 11:35 +0900 (JST)

And USA Today has this story
The Junk Is Coming, The Junk Is Coming

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation...25/japan-tsunami-debris-hawaii-usa/50914576/1

HONOLULU (AP)–Up to 20 million tons of tsunami debris floating from Japan could arrive on Hawaii's shores by early 2013, before reaching the West Coast, according to estimates by University of Hawaii scientists.
By Nadezhda Prozherina, AFP/Getty Images
A Japanese fishing boat was hauled out of the Pacific Ocean by a Russian ship on Monday. That boat and other debris have been found in the Pacific at a location suggesting that flotsam from Japan's tsunami is drifting east faster than expected, researchers say.

A Russian training ship spotted the junk — including a refrigerator, a television set and other appliances — in an area of the Pacific Ocean where the scientists from the university's International Pacific Research Center predicted it would be. The biggest proof that the debris is from the Japanese tsunami is a fishing boat that's been traced to the Fukushima Prefecture, the area hardest hit by the March 11 disaster.

Geiger counter measurements detected no radiation associated with the junk. This is logical, since the tsunami occurred, and everything was swept out to sea, long before the reactors failed.

and in the L.A. Times:



http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/mon...than-youll-ever-want-to-know-about-power.html

At 407 pages, the U.S. Energy Department's just released Annual Energy Review contains more than you'll ever want to know about the nation's power production and consumption. On the other hand, you'll never be at a loss for words, or facts, on the subject.
Examples abound.
Is per capita household energy consumption in the U.S. declining because of programs emphasizing efficiency? Answer: no. It has remained essentially flat for 38 years, since the Arab oil embargo of 1973.
The reasons? A long-term shift to larger homes requiring more energy has been countered by a population shift to warmer climates in the South and West, requiring less heat. Electronic devices are far more efficient, but there are also a lot more of them around the typical home than ever before.
Will the country move sharply away from fossil fuels in the coming decade? Answer: maybe. Even with mandates for greater use of renewable energy, the nation still has as very long way to go. Energy consumption by source is as follows: petroleum 37%, natural gas 25%, coal 21%, nuclear 9%, renewable energy 8%.
The breakdown on renewables: hydroelectric power 2.5%, wood 2%, biofuels 1.9%, wind 0.9%, waste 0.5%, geo-thermal 0.2%, solar/photovoltaic 0.1%.

Claims that solar/photovoltaic produce a lot of electricity in the USA are just wrong.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status, October 27, 3:30 PM JST

Unit 1
At 1:17 pm on October 26, we started cutting off the designated piping after confirming that the hydrogen density inside the piping for cooling in case of reactor shutdown was less than 0.1 %, as one of the construction work to install gas monitoring system inside the Primary Containment Vessel. At 3:15 pm on the same day, we finished cutting pipes. After that, we conducted welding of blind plates of cut pipes and covering holes of the pipes. At 7:00 pm on the same day, we finished all operations.

Unit 2
At 10:30 am on October 27, we conducted leak test of the system as a part of construction to settle the gas control system of Primary Containment Vessel at the reactor building of Unit 2. As a result, we confirmed in-leak volume to the system had no problem. In addition, we conducted tentative operation test. As a result, we confirmed operational aspect of electric heater and exhaust fun had no problem.

-At 10:00 am on October 27, we started transferring low-level accumulated water to Mega Float from a temporary tank where we had transferred from the turbine building of Unit 6.

At 1:30 pm on October 27, we started injection of hydrazine (an anti-corrosion agent) to spent fuel pool of Unit 3 through the circulating cooling system. At 3:08 pm on the same day, we stopped injection of hydrazine.

At 9:55 am on October 27, we switched water injection line of unit 1 and 2 from normal water injection line to emergency water injection line to add the vane to adjust flow amount of water injection line to the Unit 2's reactor in order to improve the ability to control the water injection amount. At 2:35 pm on the same day, we switched from emergency water injection line to normal water injection line due to completion of the work. Injection amount is stable after the work.

From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on October 26, we transferred the accumulated water from the basement of turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks. - On October 26, we replaced the hose for transferring reverse osmosis membrane concentrated water in Water Desalinations (reverse osmosis membrane) that liquid spoil was found on October 8,

At 9:47 am on October 26, for the water injection to the reactors of Units 1 to 3, we switched from normal water injection line to emergency water injection line, due to the shutoff of facilities for power source reinforcement work. After that, we switched from emergency water injection line to normal water injection line due to completion of power source reinforcement work. (At 4:10 pm on the same day, we confirmed flow rate stability of Unit 1 and 2. At 3:33 pm on the same day, we confirmed flow rate stability of Unit 3) Along with the switching work, we adjusted the amount of water injection from water feeding system to approximately 3.8 m3/h for Unit 1's reactor. For Unit 2, we adjusted the amount of water injection to the reactor to approximately 3 m3/h from water feeding system and to approximately 7 m3/h from Core Spray System. Likewise, for unit 3, we adjusted the amount of water injection to the reactor to approximately 3 m3/h from water feeding system and to approximately 8 m3/h from Core Spray System.

Here's the schematic of gas monitoring system at Unit 2, that they are talking above in the status report. There are photos
http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/distribution_map_around_FukushimaNPP/0002/11555_0830.pdf



They have started building the new water shielding wall
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11102608-e.html

Conceptual drawing of water shielding wall.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111026e8.pdf

Study that caused them to conclude that a waterside shielding wall is needed and a groundside shielding wall is not
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111026e9.pdf




TEPCO explaining exactly how the radioactive water treatment facility at Fukushima Daiichi works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOdqCA__fBk

There are a number of interesting points: The one most pertinent, I think, is that the reason they are using the Areva system on a standby basis only is that it generates a lot of sludge when it binds up the cesium chemically.

If you ever wondered about this stuff, it is worth watching even though it is a bit long.



Rates have been set to compensate people due to lost tourist business due to the accident. TEPCO is paying 20% of the loss as the earthquake caused most of the lost tourist busines.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11102613-e.html


NHK NEWS

This is a good thing, but it is sad that it is necessary.

Mental health center for children in disaster zone

Japanese mental health experts will set up a psychological care center to help children who survived the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Psychiatrists and therapists decided to establish the new center in Tokyo, to make up for a shortage of mental health professionals in areas affected by the disaster.

Many children in northeast Japan continue to show signs of psychological instability, such as crying at night or not playing outside.

The center will start by sending experts to affected areas on a long-term basis by the end of December. It will work with 44 mental health organizations across Japan in the process.

The center will also provide training to teachers in affected areas on how to deal with the children.
Thursday, October 27, 2011 12:45 +0900 (JST)

and it's time the government sent some help:

Government to send expert staff to disaster zone

The Japanese government plans to send staff with expertise in civil engineering and construction to help rebuild areas hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The government is seeking early passage of the third supplementary budget for the current fiscal year, as well as related bills, to speed up repair efforts in the disaster zone.

But some municipalities there are overwhelmed by the size of the task, and lack people with the necessary skills to handle it.

The central government believes it's necessary to make those cities and towns ready to act by the time they receive funding.
It is therefore considering sending civil engineering and construction experts as well as clerical staff from government agencies and local governments to support the reconstruction process.
Thursday, October 27, 2011 09:40 +0900 (JST)

Gov't seeks 5% energy savings in Kyushu
The Japanese government plans to ask residents and firms in the Kyushu region to voluntarily cut electricity use during the coming winter by about 5 percent from last year.

The government expects power shortages this winter in areas served by Kyushu and Kansai Electric Power companies, due to the 2 utilities' high dependency on nuclear power.

Many nuclear plants remain idle in Japan following the March accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. All plants operated by Kyushu Electric will be stopped for regular checkups by the end of this year.

In areas served by Kansai Electric, the government is currently studying a plan to ask users for cuts of 10 percent or more on a voluntary basis.
Thursday, October 27, 2011 12:45 +0900 (JST)

From JAIF:

Radioactive substance was not detected in air samples taken from area beyond 20 km from the power plan. These samples are taken between Oct 17 and Oct 22.

and I have been following the restart of the North Anna, VA, plant because it suffered a stronger earthquake than it was designed to withstand. This is just in:

http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2011/10/dominion-and-nrc-set-path-to-re-start.html

October 21, 2011

Dominion and NRC set path to re-start North Anna
A safety evaluation review and decision are expected in November

The NRC's review of the effects of the August 23 earthquake on Dominion's North Anna power station is coming to a logical and reasonable close. The agency says the staff is writing a safety evaluation review that could result in a re-start decision letter by mid-November.
At a meeting of the full commission on October 21, NRC staff presented the findings of an Advanced Inspection Team (AIT). That report was completed Oct 3.
The NRC wrote in its "FAQ" about the earthquake . . . "ground motion experienced by plant structures . . . may have exceeded design [but] does not appear to appreciably encroach on built-in seismic design margin of safety related structures and components."
The bottom line is that the plant responded well to the event with no apparent damage to safety significant systems nor to other systems and buildings generally.
NRC official Martin J. Virgilio told the Richmond Times Dispatch Oct 18, “The plant actually rode it [the earthquake] out pretty well.”

 

[dorispulaski]

October 28 TEPCO Status as of 3:30 PM

At 10:00 am October 20, transportation of accumulated water from unit 3 turbine building basement to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]) was started. At 9:16 am on October 28, we stopped the transfer.

This discusses the work being done so that they can increase water injection to Unit 1.

- At 9:30 am on October 28, due to the additional installment of control valve of Unit 1 water injection line to improve controllability of water injection, we switched water injection line into the reactor of Unit 1 and Unit 2 from normal line to emergency line. As the installment work was finished, at 1:30 pm on the same day, we switched water injection line from emergency line to normal line. At 2:00 pm on the same day, accompanied by the switching of injection line, we adjusted water injection rate from feed water system approx. 3.9㎥/h for Unit 1. We also adjusted water injection rate from feed water system approx. 3.0㎥/h and from core spraying system approx. 7.0 ㎥/h for Unit 2.

It's water shuffling day again.

- At 10:00 am on October 28, we started transferring low-level accumulated water to Mega Float from a temporary tank where we had transferred from the turbine building of Unit 6.

- With regards to accumulated water of Unit 2, for the purpose of changing transfer route, at 9:32 am on October 28, we stopped transfer of accumulated water from underground of turbine building of Unit 2 to centralized radiation waste treatment facility (process main building). At 9:54 on the same day, we changed transfer route and started transfer of accumulated water from underground of turbine building of Unit 2 to centralized radiation waste treatment facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building)[ High Temperature Incinerator Building]).

- At around 11:30 am on October 24, we observed the water leakage (about 20 liters) from the axis seal region of the law water pump (for 2-1 skids use) which was a constitution apparatus of the Water Desalination Facility (RO membrane unit) 2 of the water treatment system and we stopped the facility. Afterward, the water leakage was confirmed to be stopped. At 2:30 pm on the same day, we stopped the line connecting to the water pump and started other water desalinations. At 4:20 pm, the rated flow reached 50㎥/h. Thereafter, on October 27 and 28, we conducted replacement work of relevant pump.

At 2:20 pm on October 28, one of the TEPCO staff felt sick and threw up while he was checking the documents in the administration office building, because the full-covered mask was tied too tightly. Because he put off the mask temporarily when he threw up, he will be tested with the whole body counter just in case. No radioactive materials was detected on his face.

- At 12:53 pm on October 28, we started up the exhaust fan of gas management system of primary containment vessel in the reactor building of Unit 2 and commenced commissioning.

I hope we will see radioactive emissions from Unit 2 drop a bit.

- At around 2:20 pm on October 28, one of TEPCO's employee conducting document check at administrative building has removed face mask when that employee felt sick and vomit, We plan to conduct check the intake by whole body counter. We have confirmed there was no contamination on the face.

At Unit 1,October 28, 2011:Ancillary facilities such as exhaustion systems deployed. Inspected by Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and construction completed

TEPCO has found a crack in the axle junction of the spent fuel pool crane in the separate spent fuel pool building where the oldest fuel rods are stored. This, presumably, was caused by the earthquake.

- On October 27, while the staff from a cooperating company was conducting an annual checkup of the ceiling crane, which handles used fuel casks, a crack was found on the casing of the connection point of the vehicle for driving. We will inspect the further details of the connection point. We will check carefully the situation of the connection casing in greater detail.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111028_01-e.pdf




TEPCO is doubling the amount of the water injected to Unit 1 to keep the temperature even lower, so that less steam will be emitted, and they hope, less radioactive material.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111028_02-e.pdf


Unit 1 building cover is now officially complete
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11102806-e.html

Other associated facilities for Unit 1, now that the building cover is on
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111028_03-e.pdf




Second TEPCO Video Report from Fukushima Daiichi
http://www.youtube.com/user/AtomicPowerReview

It is a tour by car of the site. Labels in English have been added to the different buildings and tanks and structures, so that you know what you're seeing. It's fascinating.

We see the tank that was twisted like a paper straw by the tsunami, the new reactor 1 building cover, and many others.


Professors tour Japan to highlight the need for revising the radiation standards:
http://ansnuclearcafe.org/2011/10/28/radiation-and-reason-a-private-trip-to-tokyo-and-fukushima/

Kansai Electric submits stress test results

Kansai Electric Power Company has submitted to the government the results of a computer-simulated safety test on one of its halted nuclear reactors.

The government mandated that so-called "stress tests" must be conducted before idle reactors across the country could be restarted. The utility is the first to report its results.

A Kansai Electric official, Masanori Kataoka, visited the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Friday to deliver the test results on its No.3 reactor at Ohi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The utility says a reactor maker's simulation showed that the reactor could withstand an earthquake 1.8 times the intensity and a tsunami 4 times the height of the estimated maximums for the area.

80 percent of the nuclear reactors in Japan have been shut down since the March accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Friday, October 28, 2011 13:19 +0900 (JST

So now the question is whether NISA, the municipality & prefecture lets them restart the reactor in question some time.

Fuel retrieval at Fukushima to start in 10 years


Japan's Atomic Energy Commission says it aims to start retrieving melted nuclear fuel rods from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant within 10 years.

The Commission's expert panel on Friday presented a draft report on the timetable for scrapping the plant.

The report says decommissioning will start with repairing the containment vessels of the No.1 to No.3 reactors, where meltdowns occurred.

The vessels will then be filled with water to block radiation released from the melted fuel.

The commission also plans to start moving spent fuel rods from pools at the No.1 to No.4 reactors to another pool in the plant within 3 years. This will take place after the reactors achieve a state of cold shutdown.

The report projects that the decommissioning will take more than 30 years to complete.

The timetable is longer than that for the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in the United States, because the containment vessels were damaged at Fukushima along with the pressure vessels that house fuel rods.

In the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, about 70 percent of the reactor's fuel rods melted. Fuel retrieval began 6 years after the accident and lasted for 5 years.

The work at Fukushima is expected to be longer and more difficult, because the extent of the damage is more severe and workers will have to repair 4 reactors simultaneously.
Friday, October 28, 2011 18:39 +0900 (JST)

Japanese group develops handheld decontaminator
A group of Japanese researchers says it has developed a handheld device capable of removing radioactive substances using laser beams.

The machine was created by researchers from the Wakasa Wan Energy Research Center in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.

The device uses laser beams moving at a high speed to scrape off radioactive substances attached to the surface of pipes and other objects at nuclear power plants. The dust is then collected inside the machine.

The researchers say that, since only the surface is scraped off, the machine generates one thousand times less radioactive waste than conventional methods.

The device is about 30 centimeters high and wide, and 40 centimeters long. The team says it is the world's first portable radiation decontaminator.

When the researchers began developing the machine 7 years ago, they meant it to be used to reduce radioactive waste from nuclear plants, and also in the decommissioning of a prototype test reactor in Fukui Prefecture, known as Fugen.

The device is expected to be used in the operations to remove radioactive substances from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was badly damaged in the March 11th tsunami.
Friday, October 28, 2011 10:51 +0900 (JST)

Govt to lower radioactive intake limits
Japan's health ministry is set to lower its radiation limits for food to one millisievert per year as early as April. The figure is one-fifth the current level.

The ministry set provisional radioactivity safety limits on foodstuffs at 5 millisieverts per year after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March.

This would translate into 500 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram in meat, fish, vegetables and cereals such as rice.

The tentative limits were based on the levels which are said to have no health effects even when a person consumes foods with radioactive materials for one year.

The ministry decided to lower the limits to match international standards as radioactive substances detected in foodstuffs have been falling since the accident.

On Thursday, Japan's Food Safety Commission recommended that cumulative internal radioactive exposure from food during a person's lifetime be limited to no more than 100 millisieverts.

The new safety limits would result in stricter standards for each food item, and are likely to fall within the levels recommended by the commission.

The ministry's panel is to start deliberating the issue next week to set standards for each food item.
Friday, October 28, 2011 08:09 +0900 (JST)

Over 80% of Japan's reactors offline
Forty-four of Japan's 55 nuclear reactors are currently idle, mainly for safety inspections.

Eighteen of them are undergoing stress tests mandated by the government. But none are expected to resume operations soon because the nuclear plant accident in Fukushima has raised safety concerns among local authorities hosting nuclear plants.

Of the 10 reactors still running, 4 will be shut down for routine inspections by year-end. The rest are scheduled to go offline by early next year.

If none of the reactors restart, Japan will have no active nuclear power plants within several months.
Friday, October 28, 2011 16:39 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO to request 12 bil. dollars in public aid
Tokyo Electric Power Company is set to request public financial aid to pay compensation to those affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The request will be included in TEPCO's special business plan to be submitted to the government as early as Friday.

Sources say TEPCO is expected to incur nearly 580 billion yen, or about 7.6 billion dollars, in net losses for the business year through next March.

The major reasons they cite are sharp rises in fuels costs for thermal power generation and the expenses associated with the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The firm plans to ask for around 11.8 billion dollars in assistance from a government-backed institution to help pay compensation to people and businesses affected by the nuclear accident.

The business plan will also include management restructuring steps. TEPCO plans to lower the interest rates on corporate pensions for retirees from the current maximum of 5.5 percent to about 2.25 percent.

The government will scrutinize whether the amount of financial assistance is appropriate and whether TEPCO's system to pay compensation will work properly.

A government-sponsored institution will provide TEPCO with financial help if the business plan is approved.
Friday, October 28, 2011 06:47 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO's request:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11102804-e.html

Disaster-relief bases at highway service areas
A Japanese expressway operator says it will store emergency supplies at its service areas around Tokyo to provide earthquake evacuees with shelter and rescue workers with gathering points.

East Nippon Expressway Company is stepping up its preparatory measures against the powerful earthquake that is expected to hit the Tokyo Metropolitan Area.

The company plans to store water, food and tents at service and parking areas for use by motorists and nearby residents. It also plans to set up more mobile phone antennas at these areas.

The company will also build heliports and fuel storage facilities at the service and parking areas for use by rescue workers as bases of operation.

East Nippon Expressway President Tatsuo Sato said the company will coordinate with local communities on the details of the necessary supplies and communications arrangements.
Friday, October 28, 2011 11:32 +0900 (JST)

Tohoku recovery bill endorsed
The government will submit a bill to the Diet on Friday to promote recovery in regions hit by the March disaster. The bill includes tax breaks and various measures to ease regulations.

The bill was approved at the Cabinet meeting on Friday.
It's designed to accelerate recovery efforts in 222 municipalities in 11 prefectures affected by the disaster.

New businesses set up in these areas by March 2016 that employ five or more disaster survivors will be exempt from corporate taxes for five years.

Regulations on land development, including those on land for farm use, will be relaxed to allow flexible redevelopment on condition that the plans secure the approval of local panels, governors and mayors.

Marine farming corporations with a local hiring ratio of at least 70 percent will be given fisheries rights on a priority basis.

Procedures for changing bus and train routes in these areas will also be simplified.

The bill also contains a provision on establishing state subsidies to promote the region's recovery.

The government wants the legislation to be enacted as soon as possible.
Friday, October 28, 2011 14:04 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status, October 29, 3:30 PM JST

Unit 1
At 4:10 pm on October 28, in order to ensure containing steam generation and to make the working environment better in the covering of the Reactor Building, we increased the water injection to the Reactor via the reactor feed water system from 3.8 m3/h to 4.5 m3/h. The current water injection volume is approx 4.3 m3/h from the reactor feed water system.

- On October 28, we completed installation of the cover for the Reactor Building in order to contain dispersion of radioactive substances.

Unit 2

Water is currently injected at approx. 2.8m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and at approx. 7 m3/h through core spray system water injection piping arrangement.

- At 10:30 am on October 27, we conducted leak test of the system as a part of construction to settle the gas control system of Primary Containment Vessel at the reactor building of Unit 2. As a result, we confirmed in-leak volume to the system had no problem. In addition, we conducted tentative operation test. As a result, we confirmed operational aspect of electric heater and exhaust fun had no problem. At 12:53 pm on October 28, we activated the exhaust fan of the gas management system of the reactor containment vessel in the reactor building and started test operation. As we confirmed stable operation of the system, from 6:00 pm on the same day, we put the system in operation



Injuries - At 8:30 am on October 29, two workers from the cooperating companies were injured during dismantling of the large crane used to install the cover for the Reactor Building, Unit 1 within the site boundary. At 9:50 am, one worker departed the emergency room, Units 5 and 6 and will be transported to a hospital by an air ambulance. The other worker will be transported to the hospital by a company vehicle. At 10:35 am on October 29, we transported one worker to Fukushima Medical University Hospital by an air ambulance. At 2:20 pm on the same date, we transported the other worker to Sogo Iwaki Kyoritsu Hospital, Iwaki City.


From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on October 28, we transferred accumulated water from temporary tanks to Mega Float. - At 2:20 pm on October 28, one of the TEPCO staff felt sick and threw up while he was checking the documents in the administration office building, because the full-covered mask was tied too tightly. Because he put off the mask temporarily when he threw up, he will be tested with the whole body counter just in case. No radioactive materials were detected on his face. After testing by the whole body counter, we evaluated that he did not have intake of radioactive substances.

- On October 28, we started installation of the water proof wall at the sea side, in front of the existing shore protection, Units 1-4, in order to contain marine pollution by underground water.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111029_02-e.pdf

As mentioned above, two workers were injured while dismantling a large crane. The above link shows the circumstance.

Will Davis, Atomic Power Review discusses the decision to increase the amount of water being injected to Unit 1 this way:

TEPCO has also announced that it will drastically increase the amount of water being injected to No. 1 reactor in order to cut down on evaporation inside the structure. It appears that the high humidity environment is hampering the ability to work inside, so TEPCO will increase the feed rate through the feed line (normal feedwater injection line) upward from 4 cubic meters per hour to 7.5 cubic meters per hour over four days. When the conditions of the plant are ascertained at that point TEPCO will further increase water flow. This will also reduce drastically any gaseous emissions to the enclosure from the damaged reactor.

This can be done, precisely because the current composite water decontamination system is able to keep the amount of contaminated water on site under control.

NHK NEWS

Fukushima reactor building gets new covering

One of the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant finally has a cover in place that will help lower radioactive emissions.

The operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, had been building the casing for the plant's No. 1 reactor since late June. The reactor had been damaged by a hydrogen explosion following the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The cover is 54 meters high, 47 meters wide and 42 meters deep. It has a ventilation system that filters out radioactive substances.

TEPCO says that during pilot tests, the system removed more than 90 percent of radioactive cesium from the reactor.

The company says the cover will allow it to move nearer to its goal of containing radioactive emissions from the No. 1 reactor.

TEPCO is considering installing similar covers for the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors when debris removal is completed after next summer. Both reactor buildings were damaged by the explosions.

Radioactive emissions need to be lowered before local residents who were evacuated following the earthquake and tsunami can return home.
Saturday, October 29, 2011 05:46 +0900 (JST)

Food shortage feared amid global population growth

World food prices are soaring amid growing demand arising from rapid population growth.

The United Nations says current food production is sufficient to feed the global population of 7 billion due partly to progress in farming technologies in developing nations.

But poverty and problems in the supply system have hindered fair distribution, forcing 925 million people to suffer from hunger.

The UN is urging the international community to raise food production to feed the world's population, which is expected to reach 9.1 billion in 2050.

The UN says grain production has to be increased by about 40 percent to 3 billion tons from the current 2.1 billion tons. Meat production needs to more than double to 470 million tons.

The biggest obstacle facing the world is soaring food prices, which in January reached the highest level since the UN began record taking in 1990.

The high food prices are attributed to increased demand stemming from rapid population growth as well as flooding and drought possibly brought on by climate change. Other factors are rising consumption of meat in emerging economies, such as China and India, and the subsequent increase in demand for grains used as animal feed.

The high food prices have hit hardest those living in poverty. The UN is calling for strengthened support, including an increased stockpiling of food.
As for water, about two-thirds of the world's fresh water is used for farming.

The UN says demand for water is likely to go up more than 40 percent in 20 years due to increased food production.

The UN says the world now has enough water, but that its distribution is heavily uneven and there are risks of serious water shortages.
Saturday, October 29, 2011 13:25 +0900 (JST)

In this kind of situation, should the US be raising corn to burn as gasoline? Especially since when all contributions are considered, it doesn't have a much different carbon footprint than just burning gasoline. I don't think so.

UN:Water shortage growing serious

The United Nations says population growth will likely cause a serious water shortage in Africa, India and China over the next 20 years.

UNICEF says at the moment more than 860-million people do not have access to clean water, and 4,000 children die each day from infectious diseases and other reasons.

It says that in Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 40 percent of children drink unclean water, and 20 percent die before reaching the age of 15.

The UN says water consumption is growing as urbanization increases and food production expands to feed the global population, which surpassed 7-billion recently.

The UN expects that demand for clean water will rise over 40 percent during the next 20 years.

Desertification and climate change are also expected to aggravate the situation, raising concerns about possible conflicts over clean water.
Sunday, October 30, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)

Some days we don't realize how lucky we are. Even the Japanese in this horrifying year are lucky compared to people who have no water and no food. However, pushing climate change faster by burning natural gas and oil is not a moral choice, not when you see the results.

Japan, India to work for nuclear energy deal

Japan and India have agreed to proceed with negotiations to conclude an atomic energy agreement. Talks on the matter have been stalled since the March nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba met with visiting Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna in Tokyo on Saturday.

At a joint news conference after the talks, Gemba said the two countries agreed to strengthen working-level discussions to conclude the agreement at the request of India.

Gemba said he told India that Japan will provide full information about investigations into the nuclear accident and the government's efforts to ensure nuclear safety.

He added he also asked India to understand Japan's position on nuclear disarmament and non-nuclear proliferation.

If concluded, the bilateral nuclear agreement would allow Japan to provide nuclear-related technology to India, which is planning to build more nuclear plants.

The two ministers also said their countries will expand trade and investment, and promote a joint development project of rare earth metals, following a bilateral economic partnership agreement that came into force in August.

The two countries will also increase the number of regular mutual visits by their leaders and cabinet ministers.
Sunday, October 30, 2011 01:18 +0900 (JST)

And here's how Japanese are planning to keep warm this winter, with so many nuclear plants shut down that electric heat is not as feasible.

Oil stove imports mark sharp increase
The number of oil stoves imported into Tokyo is on the increase amid concerns of power shortages this winter. This comes as a number of nuclear plants have been shut down for inspections and other reasons.

The Tokyo Customs Office says 26,561 oil stoves arrived in the port of Tokyo in September.

That was 3.8 times the amount compared to the same time last year. It was also a record monthly high for oil stove imports since statistics began to be kept in 1979.

Most of the imports were from China. The total cost amounts to about 140 million dollars.
Sunday, October 30, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)

Meanwhile the government is continuing to grapple with creating plans for the cleanup.

Govt compiles plan for contaminated soil and waste

The Japanese environment ministry has come up with a plan to deal with the radioactive soil and waste generated by the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The waste will be temporarily stored in Fukushima Prefecture for about 3 years before being transferred to final disposal places outside the prefecture over the next 30 years.

The plan says the central and local governments will choose sites for temporary storage while seeking the understanding of local residents.

The ministry hopes to begin construction of the storage sites some time in fiscal 2014 and start transferring the soil and waste in fiscal 2015.

The ministry estimates that about 3,100 cubic meters of soil and waste will be stored in the temporary sites.

It plans to burn dead leaves to lower the volume of the waste that needs to be stored.
Sunday, October 30, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)

And with everyone looking for radioactive hot spots, some that have been there a long time are being discovered.

Another radioactive spot not related to Fukushima

Alarm has been voiced by residents of Setagaya Ward in Tokyo who live near highly radioactive spots that are not related to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

The science ministry carried out a close check in response to a report from local residents about a highly radioactive spot at the parking lot of a supermarket in Hachimanyama, Setagaya.

The ministry reported detecting radiation of up to 170 microsieverts per hour at a height of 1 meter above the ground. It says the level of radiation was detected at 2 spots, one at the parking lot covered with asphalt and the other at a sidewalk.

The ministry suspects radioactive material underneath the asphalt caused the reading, but that it is unrelated to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

The ministry says it will have the asphalt torn off to determine the material and then remove it.

While officials from the science ministry were measuring the level of radiation in the area on Friday, a woman passer-by said it worries her because her child goes to a junior high school nearby. She said she wants to get accurate information as soon as possible.

Two weeks ago, radiation of up to 2.707 microsieverts per hour was observed at another spot in Setagaya Ward. Officials determined the source of radiation to be jars contained in a wooden box under the floor of a vacant house. Analysis showed the radioactive material may be radium 226, which is used for cancer treatment and fluorescent paint.
Saturday, October 29, 2011 14:39 +0900 (JST)

People are beginning to realize that radioactive materials have always been all around them.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRYPI_mZc...ABO4/NGfCLFHaaNg/s1600/airbornefukushima2.png

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kr3-O02yZ...ABOs/p-KtWqUMpeI/s1600/airbornefukushima1.png
Graphs showing decline in air borne radioactive contaminants in Tokyo, Sapporo, Sendai, Iwaki, & Osaka by mid May.
Fukushima City was still above previous average in mid May.
Source two panels from a report issued by the Japanese Prime Minister's office.

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO Status, October 31, 10:00 AM JST

They are continuing to raise the amount of water injected to Unit 1 to decrease the amount of steam and relative humidity in the building

- At 3:05 pm on October 30, we adjusted the amount of water injection to the reactor of Unit 1 to approximately 6.5 ㎥/h in order to improve the working environment inside the covering, making it sure to mitigate the steam emission at the reactor building of Unit 1.

The gas management system at Unit 2 is in use

At 12:53 pm on October 28, we activated the exhaust fan of the gas management system of the reactor containment vessel in the reactor building and started test operation. As we confirmed stable operation of the system, from 6:00 pm on the same day, we put the system in operation. Regarding the hydrogen concentration of the gas management system of the reactor containment vessel in Unit 2, we confirmed that it increased to approx. 2.7vol% at 5:00pm on October 30, which was approx. 1vol% at the beginning of the operation. Therefore we adjusted the amount of injecting nitrogen gas to the Primary Containment Vessel from approx.16.5 N ㎥/h to 21 N ㎥/h at 6:10 pm on October 30 in order to avoid exceeding the combustible threshold concentration (4vol%) of hydrogen

and water moving continues

-From 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on October 30, we transferred accumulated water from the turbine building of Unit 6 to the temporarily built tank.

-At 10:00 am on October 31, we started transferring accumulated water from the temporarily built tank to Mega-float.

NHK NEWS

It is good to see countries learning from the experiences of other countries.

Fukushima officials leave for Chernobyl

A delegation from Fukushima Prefecture is en route to 2 former Soviet republics to investigate how they have dealt with lingering radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Fukushima University organized the 8-day trip to Ukraine and Belarus. More than 30 medical experts and municipal officials are participating, including Yuko Endo, the mayor of Kawauchi, a village near the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

On Tuesday, the group will meet Belarusian officials in charge of disaster reconstruction and view the various kinds of devices being used to measure radiation.

The group will also visit the Chernobyl nuclear plant as well as schools and hospitals in areas where radiation levels remain high.

The group hopes to learn what decontamination measures have been taken and how the health of local residents is being monitored.

Kawauchi Village Mayor Endo says the delegation has a lot to learn from the Chernobyl accident, such as when the evacuees were allowed to return home. He says he'll try to make the best of the trip to rebuild his village.
Monday, October 31, 2011 11:06 +0900 (JST)

Japan is supplying nuclear reactors to the rest of the world still.

Vietnam PM confirms Japan's nuclear plant contract

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has reconfirmed his country's policy to purchase Japanese nuclear reactors despite the Fukushima accident.

The visiting prime minister met Japan's trade and industry minister Yukio Edano on Monday.

Dung told Edano that Vietnam trusts Japan's advanced nuclear technology. He said his government wants Japanese firms to build the world's safest nuclear power plants in the country.

Edano thanked Vietnam's continued confidence in the safety and technological quality of Japan's nuclear plants even after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Edano and Dung also agreed that the 2 countries will continue their joint mining of rare earth minerals in Vietnam.

Japanese companies last year won contracts to build 2 reactors. Vietnam plans to start operating by 2021 to meet increasing electricity demand.

Talks between Japan and Vietnam on government support and financial aid for the projects was suspended for awhile after the accident in Fukushima Prefecture.
Monday, October 31, 2011 15:43 +0900 (JST)

You'd think that people trained as doctors would have some better understanding than this. The drop in applications at Miyagi is particularly troubling.

Disaster zone expecting fewer trainee doctors
Hospitals in quake-struck northeastern Japan are seeing a drop in the number of medical school graduates wanting to undergo training at their facilities.

Under Japan's clinical training system, medical students must complete 2 years of residency to be fully certified as doctors, but can choose where to train.

The health ministry says the number of new doctors who have applied to train at hospitals from next April in the 3 worst-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima is down by 10 percent from the previous year.

The number of doctors applying to hospitals in Miyagi has plunged by 15 percent. Hospitals in Fukushima, where a nuclear accident has yet to be contained, have only received 61 applicants for 146 openings.

The drop comes despite the health ministry's appeal on its website for trainee doctors to make visiting tours to hospitals in the northeast.

The ministry says it may add more information online, such as profiles of the hospitals that are still seeking trainees.
Monday, October 31, 2011 11:25 +0900 (JST)

Perhaps this blogger is correct, and more education is needed at a lower level. When I was a kid, a nuclear experiment set for children was available (as were chemistry sets). I never received one, as there were expensive, but it sounds like a good kit.

http://depletedcranium.com/time-to-revive-the-nuclear-energy-experiment-set/

 

[dorispulaski]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...ng-grid10|htmlws-main-bb|dl1|sec1_lnk3|108718

And, yes, Global Warming is Real. When a study paid for by the Koch brothers, well known supporters of the Tea Party and other right wing causes, including denying global warming, says it's so, it's so.

Yet he found that the land is 1.6 degrees warmer than in the 1950s. Those numbers from Muller, who works at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, match those by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.

He said he went even further back, studying readings from Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. His ultimate finding of a warming world, to be presented at a conference Monday, is no different from what mainstream climate scientists have been saying for decades.

What's different, and why everyone from opinion columnists to "The Daily Show" is paying attention is who is behind the study.

One-quarter of the $600,000 to do the research came from the Charles Koch Foundation, whose founder is a major funder of skeptic groups and the tea party. The Koch brothers, Charles and David, run a large privately held company involved in oil and other industries, producing sizable greenhouse gas emissions.

Muller's research team carefully examined two chief criticisms by skeptics. One is that weather stations are unreliable; the other is that cities, which create heat islands, were skewing the temperature analysis.

"The skeptics raised valid points and everybody should have been a skeptic two years ago," Muller said in a telephone interview. "And now we have confidence that the temperature rise that had previously been reported had been done without bias."

Muller said that he came into the study "with a proper skepticism," something scientists "should always have. I was somewhat bothered by the fact that there was not enough skepticism" before.




There is no reason now to be a skeptic about steadily increasing temperatures, Muller wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal's editorial pages, a place friendly to skeptics. Muller did not address in his research the cause of global warming. The overwhelming majority of climate scientists say it's man-made from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Nor did his study look at ocean warming, future warming and how much of a threat to mankind climate change might be.

Still, Muller said it makes sense to reduce the carbon dioxide created by fossil fuels.

"Greenhouse gases could have a disastrous impact on the world," he said. Still, he contends that threat is not as proven as the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says it is.

 

[Olympia]

Gee, it's about time!

Does this mean we'll finally do something about global warming?

I haven't heard Romney or Perry agree to its existence. How long do you suppose we have to wait for that.

 

[dorispulaski]

I'll comment on global warming later, as there is some news from Fukushima (with the GPF on things get busy here at GS and I don't have quite as much time for this thread)

TEPCO Status, November 2nd, 3:30 PM JST (and previous back to last report by me)

Radiation Dropping Everywhere

Radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi Site Boundaries, 8 Sites (4, 10, 13, 12, 14, 33, 71, 97) microSieverts

Radiation at the Fukushima Daini Site Boundaries, 7 Sites (1.7, 1.1, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 0.8, 1.0) microSieverts

Temperature dropping everywhere.

Unit 1 temperature Graph; highest temperature 55.1 C, all decreasing. There's a big drop in temperature since they doubled the amount of water being injected.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/11110212_temp_data_1u-e.pdf

Unit 2 temperature Graph; highest temperature 81.9 C, all decreasing:
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/11110212_temp_data_2u-e.pdf

Highest temperature at Unit 3 of 11 measurements: 82.1 C
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/images/11110212_temp_data_1u-e.pdf

A lot of handouts:

Sampling gas inside the containment vessel of Unit 2-They finally had the ability to do this yesterday.
There are some odd things about this data. Very odd. They have short lived Krypton isotopes and Xenon isotopes and yet they haven't got Cesium 134, which is all over the place at Fukushima Daiichi. Also if you have some critical activity, I would expect radioactive iodine. And they have none. There will be a lot of stuff going on, but I wonder whether their equipment is working quite right? There are going to be numerous followup reports on this one, both at TEPCO and in the news.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111102_04-e.pdf
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111102_01-e.pdf

Analysis of air at many points around Fukushima Daiichi
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111101_02-e.pdf

And the regular status:

Unit 1 (The increased water injection has caused the temperature to drop everywhere)

At 4:14 am on November 2, we adjusted the amount of water injection to the reactor to approximately 7.5m3/h. The current water injection volume is approx 7.6 m3/h from the reactor feed water system.

Unit 2 Boric acid "poisons" i.e. slows down any nuclear reactions. They used a lot of it earlier in the year.

On November 1, we conducted a nuclide analysis of emitted gas sampled by the gas management system of the reactor containment vessel. It was found out that there was a possibility that short-half-life radionuclide (xenon 133, 135) was detected. There has been no significant variation as a result of our continuous monitoring of the temperature and the pressure in the reactor, and the figures of the monitoring posts. However, just to be safe we injected boric-acid solution through reactor water injection line from 2:48 am to 3:47 am on November 2, since it was undeniable that fission reaction had occurred.

From 11:23 am to 1:23 pm on November 1, we conducted a dust sampling around the blowout panel of the reactor building.

At 4:14 am on November 2, we adjusted the amount of water injection to the reactor to approximately 3 m3/h through reactor feed water system piping arrangement, and 7 m3/h core spray system water injection piping arrangement.

Unit 4

-At 12:44 pm on July 31, we started cyclic cooling for the water in the spent fuel pool by an alternative cooling equipment of the Fuel Pool Cooling and Filtering System (hydrazine [corrosion inhibitor] was injected from 10:16 am to 0:10 pm on November 2).

At 11:45 am on October 9, we confirmed that the test runs of the three evaporative concentration apparatus (3A, 3B, 3C) that were additionally installed in the water desalination were successfully completed. On November 1, we started full operation of these three evaporative concentration apparatus (3A, 3B, 3C) considering the balance of both the accumulated water and the coolant injection to the reactor.
* At 11:45 am on October 9, we confirmed that the test runs of the three evaporative concentration apparatus (3A, 3B, 3C) that were additionally installed in the water desalination were successfully completed. On November 1, we started full operation of these three evaporative concentration apparatus (3A, 3B, 3C) considering the balance of both the accumulated water and the coolant injection to the reactor.

* At 10:00 am on November 1, we started transferring the accumulated water, which had been transferred from the Unit 6 turbine building to the temporary tank, from the temporary tank to the mega float.

-At 10:11 am on November 2, we started transferring accumulated water from the basement of the Unit 3 turbine building to the High Temperature Incinerator Building of the Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

And more warnings that power may be in short supply this winter

[Impacts on Power Supply and Demand Balance] This winter, there will be some minus factors such as the regular inspection of Unit 5 at Kashiwazaki-Kriwa Nuclear Power Station. On the other hand, there will be several plus factors such as the recovery of the common thermal power stations which suffered the earthquake. As a result, we expect to secure 54.9 million kW (at the end of December), 54.6 million kW (at the end of January), 53.7 million kW (at the end of February) supply power. Compared to the maximum demand in the last winter, which is 51.5 million kW, we will have 2.2 - 3.4 million kW generation reserve margin. We expect to maintain stable power supply this winter, however, as there remains possibilities of unplanned shutdowns at our power stations and growth in the demand according to the rapid change in the temperature, we would like to ask your reasonable effort to save electricity. We will continue to make our efforts to maintain stable operation and maintenance of the power facilities in order to "prevent in principle" the planned blackouts and secure power supply.

Will Smith of Atomic Power Review has the most current info:
http://atomicpowerreview.blogspot.com/2011/11/xenon-detected-at-fukushima-daiichi-no_02.html
The second chart referred to is the one I have linked from TEPCO below.

A second sample run at Fukushima Daiichi No. 2, a day after the first, has detected Xenon-135 but failed to detect any Xenon-133.

This is good news in one way, in that one of the isotopes was not detected. Some Japanese outlets are still reporting that TEPCO wants NISA to assist in a re-evaluation of the samples since it believes (or believed at some point) that perhaps some error in reading may have indicated Xenon in place of another element entirely.

TEPCO's latest, very new, press release (3 PM Tokyo, November 2) gives no data at all either about the Xenon detection or the boric acid injection. It also omits the injection rate change and gives the old one. Clearly this press report is in error (probably a clerical error omitting the new entries for No. 2) and I'd expect this to be amended or replaced.

TEPCO will be checking the other two plants (No. 1, No. 3) with reactor cores installed for presence of Xenon.

While some outlets continue to use the term "critical" in reference to No. 2 plant and the fission event leading to the Xenon production, it is imperative to understand that no sustained nuclear chain reaction occurred. No site radiation monitoring equipment detected anything alarming or even spurious. No increase in temperature or pressure was noted. The condition of the remains of the core are just not likely at all to be able to sustain any kind of chain reaction / fission rate... considering the mixture of non-fertile and also poisonous (neutron-absorbing) materials now melted integrally in and around the fuel material.

Also... for our non-nuclear friends... the Xenon generated in fission is normally contained inside the fuel elements (be they rods, plates, or other) and decays or absorbs neutrons to move down the chain to a stable element. It remains there permanently. Only because the core materials are damaged or melted at Fukushima Daiichi No. 2 is the Xenon which is produced able to get out into the water and air volume inside the plant at this time and thus be detected by the gas sampling equipment. The effects of Xenon on reactor operation are well known but normally the Xenon is NOT emitted.

At this time there are no changes in detected radioactive materials on site or off site, no alerts off site have been made, and conditions operationally on site are as they were before this recent event.

NHK NEWS

There are a flurry of articles about the results of the first measurements of gases from the containment vessel of Unit 2. I expect to see more infrared measurements of Unit 2 done to look for hot spots, too.:

Temperature, pressure unchanged in No.2 reactor

TEPCO says temperature and pressure in the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is basically unchanged in a 24-hour period between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The company says the temperature at the bottom of the reactor was 76 degrees Celsius as of 5 AM on Wednesday. That was down 1.4 degrees from 24 hours earlier.

The reactor's pressure gauge registered 0.007 megapascals at 5 AM on Wednesday, down one part per thousand from the same time on Tuesday .
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 12:05 +0900 (JST)

[Nuke watchdog says fresh meltdown unlikely

Japan's nuclear watchdog says it believes another meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is unlikely, but will continue to monitor the situation closely.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency held a news conference on Wednesday, after radioactive xenon was detected in the containment vessel of the No.2 reactor. The presence of the substance indicates that nuclear fission may have briefly resumed.

The safety agency says it is unlikely that nuclear fuel has begun melting again, as the density of xenon is low and there has been no change in the reactor's temperatures.

The agency also says it will closely monitor if xenon continues to be detected after Tokyo Electric Power Company poured boric acid solution into the reactor to suppress nuclear fission.

It added that it cannot yet say how the latest development will affect the government's plan to achieve a cold shutdown of the disabled reactors by the end of the year.

Senior official Yoshinori Moriyama said it is difficult to determine the amount of nuclear fuel remaining in the containment vessel of the No.2 reactor. He said his agency will assess the situation and judge if it is still possible to stably lower temperatures in the reactor and containment vessel.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 15:10 +0900 (JST)

It should take a couple weeks for short lived isotopes to disappear.

TEPCO: New criticality seen at No.2 reactor

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant says the No.2 reactor may have recently gone critical.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Wednesday its latest findings suggest that the state of criticality may have continued temporarily.

TEPCO detected radioactive substances, xenon-133 and xenon-135, in gas taken from the reactor's containment vessel on Tuesday. Both materials are produced during nuclear fission and have a short half-life of 5 days and 9 hours respectively.

The xenon-133 registered 14 parts per million becquerels per cubic centimeter, and the xenon-135 12 parts per million.

After detecting the xenon, TEPCO poured a boric acid solution into the No.2 reactor to suppress nuclear fission. It said temperature and pressure in the reactor are basically unchanged.

The operator says the reactor continues to cool, and that it expects to achieve cold shutdown by the end of the year as planned.

It says it will continue to monitor xenon levels in the No.2 reactor and also check conditions in the No.1 and No.3 reactors.

TEPCO adds it will discuss the matter with the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 13:26 +0900 (JST)

TEPCO: Radiation levels unchanged

TEPCO says the radiation reading taken on Wednesday near the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was basically unchanged from the day before.

The utility says the reading, taken at a monitoring post about 500 meters northwest of the reactor, stood at 293 microsieverts per hour at 9 AM, up only one microsievert from 24 hours earlier.

It says the radiation level near the compound's west gate, about one kilometer from the No.2 reactor, was also unchanged at 11.2 microsieverts per hour, and that no neutron radiation was detected.

Readings at 8 other monitoring posts on Wednesday were also the same as Tuesday.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 11:41 +0900 (JST)

Xenon suggests possible nuclear fission

A nuclear energy expert says the presence of xenon in the No.2 reactor leaves open the possibility that localized and temporary fission could still occur.

Professor Koji Okamoto of the University of Tokyo Graduate School says substances from melted fuel that could undergo fission are probably scattered around, but are unlikely to react.

He says, however, that neutrons from radioactive materials could react with the uranium fuel and other substances.

Okamoto says a self-sustaining chain reaction that creates criticality is unlikely to happen because huge amounts of boric acid have been poured into the reactor.

He adds that these neutrons must be closely monitored to make sure fission does not take place.

The professor also referred to a plan by the government and TEPCO to achieve a state of cold shutdown by the end of the year. He says that if fission reactions are not under control, it would not be a cold shutdown.

Okamoto says TEPCO must locate the melted fuel inside and outside the reactor in order to prevent further reactions.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 10:24 +0900 (JST)

They have yet to detect any neutrons not from cosmic rays since March.

Yesterday, this was reported. I wonder whether the media will go?

Media to tour Fukushima nuclear plant

Nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono says he will allow media into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Saturday next week, for the first time since the March 11th disaster.

Hosono spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the government plan to achieve cold shutdown, maintaining the temperature of reactors at less than 100 degrees Celsius, by the end of the year.

He said work is underway and in order to confirm the process, he will visit the plant on November 12th and exchange views with people directly involved in the operation.

Hosono said the situation at the plant is gradually settling down so he will allow a fixed number of journalists to accompany him.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011 13:08 +0900 (JST)

And this is the first time this has happened since March 11: a reactor has resumed operation

Genkai reactor resumes power generation

A reactor at the Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan, has resumed power generation after a nearly monthlong stoppage.

The resumption at the plant's No. 4 reactor took place on Wednesday afternoon. The reactor had stopped generating power automatically on October 4th due to a procedural error.

The plant's operator, Kyushu Electric Power Company, restarted the reactor on Tuesday after getting the go-ahead from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Kyushu Electric plans to gradually increase the amount of power generated and return to normal operation by Friday.

The plant is the first in Japan to resume operation after the March accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The reactor is scheduled to be stopped for a regular inspection next month.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 17:01 +0900 (JST)

It will not be running for long, apparently.

SDP head criticizes Genkai reactor restart

Opposition Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima is criticizing the government for allowing the restart of a nuclear reactor in western Japan.

The No.4 reactor at the Genkai plant in Saga Prefecture was shut down early last month in a procedural error. Kyushu Power Electric Company will restart the reactor later on Wednesday.

Fukushima told her party executive on Wednesday the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and Nuclear Safety Commission can't be trusted. She called for open debate before restarting any nuclear reactors. She strongly opposed restarting the Genkai reactor saying there was no discussion about it in the Diet.
Fukushima noted the Kyushu utility has been criticized recently for trying to manipulate public opinion in favor of nuclear power. She said she can't believe the industry ministry and the agency have approved restarting the reactor.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 16:39 +0900 (JST)

With the reactors going off line and not being allowed to return, one by one, worries are starting:

Winter electricity-saving campaign starts

Power-saving efforts have begun in the western Japanese city of Kitakyushu due to concerns over a possible energy shortage this winter.

The city launched the 5-month electricity-saving campaign on Tuesday, calling for employees to dress warmly and use less heating.

Heaters will be set at 19 degrees Celsius at about 190 municipal facilities, including city hall and ward offices.

Workers are encouraged to keep themselves warm with cardigan sweaters, lap robes and hot drinks.

The central government will ask households and companies in the Kyushu region to voluntarily cut their electricity consumption by more than 5 percent.

All nuclear power plants operated by the Kyushu Electric Power Company will be halted for regular checkups by the end of the year.

A city official said he supports the initiative because he has heard about the tight power supply that is expected this winter.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 17:02 +0900 (JST)

Fukushima delegation visiting Belarus near Chernobyl

Local government officials and researchers from Fukushima Prefecture are now in Belarus to learn how residents dealt with radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The delegation comprising about 30 people is on a 6-day trip to the former Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine, which were heavily contaminated in the accident.

Yuko Endo, the mayor of Kawauchi Village near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is among the members.

On Tuesday, the group met Belarusian Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Alexander Goncharov. They heard about what decontamination measures have been taken and how the health of local residents is being monitored.

Mayor Endo asked Belarusian officials what local municipalities need to do to prepare for the return of residents to affected areas.

A Belarusian official replied that participation of local residents is indispensable in the policymaking process, and that information needs to be provided for that purpose.

Endo said he wants to speak with people in Belarus about their lives after returning home. For those who cannot return, he said he wants to find out what is standing in the way.

The group is to visit the Chernobyl plant, a hospital where thyroid cancer patients are being treated and other facilities.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 09:49 +0900 (JST)

The Daily Yomiuri On Line reports on the Stress Test Report Submitted by KEPCO on the Ohi 3 Reactor. The computer-based test found that the reactor could withstand ground motion from an earthquake nearly double the strength of the plant’s design and a tsunami four times stronger than the plant’s safety standards.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111029002518.htm

With a number of nuclear reactors set to be suspended for regular inspections, but no clear government criteria for allowing their reactivation, it remains unclear whether a sufficient electricity supply can be secured this winter. Uncertainty also remains as to whether local governments and residents will approve restarting the reactors.
Kansai Electric Power Co. on Friday submitted the results of a stress test on the No. 3 reactor at its Oi nuclear power plant in Oicho, Fukui Prefecture, to the government. After receiving the thick report, Shinichi Kuroki, deputy director general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, said: "We'll examine this without delay. We'll discuss this issue in a transparent fashion at a hearing with outside experts."
...
KEPCO wanted to be the first to submit the stress test report, ahead of other utilities, because of its heavier dependence on nuclear power--accounting for 51 percent of its power generation in fiscal 2010.
...
If none of the reactors are restarted, there will be a 9.2 percent shortage of electricity across the nation next summer, worse than this summer.

(Oct. 30, 2011)
OLDER NHK REPORTS THAT I MISSED

Govt lowers land assessments for disaster zone

The government has lowered its land price assessments for areas of northeastern Japan affected by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Land assessments for inheritance and gift tax calculations are set annually on January 1st. This means that damage from the March disaster is not reflected in this year's calculations.

The National Tax Agency on Tuesday released land price adjustment rates for locations in 10 prefectures, including a plunge of 80 percent for Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture. Many of the town's residents were killed by the tsunami.

Other municipalities in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures were assessed with a 70 to 75 percent drop in land prices.

This is the second time the agency has had to adjust land price rates in the wake of a disaster.
After the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that struck Kobe and vicinity in western Japan, land prices in affected areas were downgraded, but the maximum price fall then was 25 percent.

The adjustments do not apply to areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Land prices there will be assigned zero as it is nearly impossible to evaluate the commercial effect of radioactive contamination on property.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011 16:37 +0900 (JST)

Public concern about nuclear accident preparedness

A survey conducted by NHK shows that many local governments support a plan to expand the disaster preparedness zone around nuclear power plants to 30 kilometers.

The government's Nuclear Safety Commission called for a wider zone following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Currently, only residents living within 10-kilometers of nuclear plants are required to take emergency preparedness measures.

Last week, NHK sent questionnaires to 142 local governments across the country located within a 30-kilometer radius of nuclear power plants, except for Fukushima. All of them responded.

70 percent approved of the plan to expand the zone.

Only 20 percent felt they are prepared to take effective measures in case of a nuclear emergency.

Asked what they're worried about most, 58 percent said transport procedures for an evacuation. 50 percent said measures to take care of the sick and elderly and 36 percent said ensuring adequate evacuation routes.

On specific issues, some governments said they were concerned about how they could manage an expanded anti-disaster zone with a large population and a concentration of industry. Some said they would not be able to secure enough experts and funds to make sufficient preparations for nuclear emergencies.
Monday, October 31, 2011 18:36 +0900 (JST)

And this is good news:
http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2011/10/monday-update_31.html

Tokyo Electric Power Co. reports that pilot tests of the ventilation system associated with the cover it has installed over Fukushima Daiichi reactor 1 showed the system successfully filtered more than 90 percent of the radioactive cesium released from the reactor. TEPCO is considering installing similar covers for reactors 3 and 4, both of which were damaged by hydrogen explosions following the March 11 accident.

Considering how small Belgium is, I have to say that an evacuation plan would be difficult. I can see why they would do this.

Belgium to abolish nuclear power

Belgium has decided to shut down all its nuclear reactors following Japan's nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima Prefecture.

The European nation has 7 nuclear reactors at 2 plants still operating.

6 parties are in the midst of policy discussions to form a new government.

They agreed to draw up the plan for a shutdown of the three oldest nuclear reactors by 2015 and a complete exit by 2025.

They say they will implement the plan after considering alternative energy sources to replace nuclear power, which currently provides over 50 percent of the nation's electricity.
Belgium had been reviewing the economic effects of a law passed to abolish nuclear energy in 2003. The Fukushima nuclear accident influenced the decision to implement the shutdown.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany and Switzerland renounced the use of nuclear energy, while France and the Netherlands, both major nuclear plant exporters, support its use.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011 04:59 +0900 (JST)

 

[dorispulaski]

TEPCO STATUS, November 4th, 10:00 AM JST and earlier

Unit 2 CRITICALITY CALL WAS A FALSE ALARM

We found a possibility to detect short-half-life radionuclide such as Xe-133 and Xe-135 according to our radionuclide analysis sampled on November 1 by the gas management system of the reactor containment vessel of Unit 2. We continued to monitor the temperature, pressure and data from monitoring post and there was no significant fluctuation from those data. As we can't be denied a possibility of fission reactions, we decided to start injecting boric acid water from reactor feed water system at 2:48 am on November 2 and stopped it at 3:47 pm on the same day. At around 7:20 pm on the same day, Japan Atomic Energy Agency evaluated that the TEPCO's analysis result of the short-half-life radionuclide such as Xe-133 and Xe-135 detection was valid. We consider that they were generated by the spontaneous fission on the grounds that the concentration of detected short-half-like radionuclide (Xe-135) is low, that short-half-like radionuclide (Xe-135) was detected even after the boric acid, which stops nuclear fission chain reactions, was injected, and that the parameters of the reactor were not significantly changed.

Since the boric acid did not change the rate of the xenon being evolved, it is more likely that the xenon comes from the spontaneous breakdown of radioactive curium. For quite some time, curium was found in soils outside the plant, so it is not surprising that it would be found inside the plant.

* At 10:00 am on November 3, we started transferring accumulated water from the basement of the Unit 6 turbine building to temporary storage tanks. At 4:00 pm on November 3, we stopped transferring accumulated water.

From 10:00 am to 4:00pm on November 3, we transferred the accumulated water from the Unit 6 turbine building to temporary storage tanks.

-At 9:38 am on November 4, we started transferring the accumulated water from the basement of the Unit 2 turbine building to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

-On 10 am on November 4, we started transferring the accumulated water form the site bunker building to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

At 12:40 pm on November 3, we started the work to install an additional flow meter into the nitrogen gas injection line into Unit 2 to improve the reliability of the nitrogen injection. It was finished at 2:00 pm on the same day, For this work the nitrogen injection was suspended for approximately 10 minutes, however, there were no significant changes in the parameters of Unit 2.

* Hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas of the gas management system of Unit 2 primary containment vessel was increased from 2.7% (at 6:10 pm, October 30, when the last change of the amount of nitrogen filling) to 2.9% (at 4:30 pm, November 3). Therefore, at 4:50 pm that day, the amount of nitrogen gas filling was adjusted from approximately 21 m3/h to 26 m3/h so that hydrogen concentration in the exhaust gas does not exceed inflammability limiting concentration (4%).

These kinds of adjustment are exactly why they installed a gas management system.


http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111102_05-e.pdf
Blocking air leaks here and there in reactor

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111103_01-e.pdf
A slide describing two reactions that could produce Xenon 135-one is subcritical and involves Curium fissioning sporadically. The other one is the typical fission of uranium.

NHK NEWS

TEPCO retracts criticality call

The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has retracted an earlier assessment that a continuous nuclear reaction, or a criticality, could have taken place in the damaged Number 2 reactor.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Thursday that the small amount of xenon-135 it detected in gas taken from the reactor's containment vessel was the result of the spontaneous nuclear fission of radioactive curium-242 and -244. The two substances are contained in nuclear fuel.

The amount of xenon-135 detected almost matched the amount that would have been produced if the radioactive curium in the fuel had undergone spontaneous fission.

TEPCO says a criticality event would have resulted in higher levels of xenon concentration.

Spontaneous fission refers to the nuclear fission of radioactive materials other than uranium, and it does not lead to criticality. Such fission is said to occur constantly.

The earlier detection of small amounts of Xenon-135 had suggested the possibility of a criticality occurrence in the melted fuel in the damaged reactor.

TEPCO sys it will send the assessment to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency for reevaluation.
Thursday, November 03, 2011 15:20 +0900 (JST)

There is a slight error-uranium does undergo spontaneous fission, just not as often as curium.

Shareholders to seek money from TEPCO managers

Tokyo Electric Power Company shareholders are poised to launch court procedures and demand that the utility's current and former management return more than 14 billion dollars to the firm.

About 30 shareholders plan to file a class-action lawsuit against roughly 60 executives who worked at TEPCO over the past 2 decades.

The investors say they will take legal action if the company refuses to demand that the executives return the large sum of money.

Observers say that if the shareholders go to court, the damages they would seek would be a record high in Japan's judicial history.

The shareholders claim that TEPCO executives failed to take adequate safety measures to protect the plant from an earthquake and tsunami waves.

One investor said that the executives repeatedly emphasized the safety of nuclear plants. However, the accident has caused irreparable damage.

The group claims that at shareholders' meetings the executives never heeded the safety concerns discussed involving nuclear power generation.

TEPCO says it can't comment on the lawsuit until it knows more details.
Friday, November 04, 2011 04:56 +0900 (JST)

This will be an interesting suit. Are civil suits evaluated by juries in Japan, or do they use some kind of judges' panel?

Tokyo helps dispose of disaster rubble

Piles of rubble will be transported to Tokyo for disposal on Wednesday from the quake and tsunami-hit prefecture of Iwate.

The March 11th disaster has created millions of tons of waste. The central government has been asking prefectures outside the affected areas to help with disposal. But many are reluctant, fearing the rubble is contaminated with radiation.

Iwate Prefecture has more than 4 million tons of debris. The Tokyo Metropolitan government has offered to accept 11,000 tons of it for disposal.

Work to transfer it from a temporary storage site began in Miyako City on Wednesday.

Samples were checked for possible radiation contamination before the rubble was placed in sealed containers and loaded onto trucks.

The loaded cargo was checked again, confirming that radiation levels were below the agreed level of 0.14 microsieverts per hour.

Miyako Mayor Masanori Yamamoto thanked Tokyo for helping with disposal, saying it would help accelerate the effort to rebuild.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 13:05 +0900 (JST)

The basic rubble did not have a large concentration of radioactive materials. However, as this article shows, when you incinerate the things like this rubble, you burn off the carbon containing materials, evaporate any liquid materials, and the resulting ash has a much larger concentration of radioactive materials than the stuff you started with. Depending on the level of filtration of stack gases that you do, some of the cesium will go up the stack and be dispersed, and some will concentrate in the ash. If you don't you end up with a situation like this:

Radioactive materials detected in Tokyo Bay from Cement Plant

Waste water discharged into Tokyo Bay from a cement plant has been found to contain radioactive cesium at much higher levels than the government-set limit for disposal.

The plant in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, uses ash from incinerators in the prefecture to produce cement.

The Chiba government says the plant operator checked waste water discharged from the plant into Tokyo Bay once in September and once in October.

It found radioactive cesium at levels of 1,103 becquerels per kilogram, and 1,054 becquerels per kilogram respectively.[ETA, the two numbers are for Cs 137 and Cs 134. I can't tell from the context which is which. 1 kilogram equals approximately 1 liter for sea water.]

The levels are 14 to 15 times higher than the limit set by the country's Nuclear Safety Commission.

The water had been used to clean filters which remove toxic materials from ashes.

The operator stopped discharging the waste water on Wednesday. The prefectural government has launched a survey of the seawater of Tokyo Bay near the plant.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 22:08 +0900 (JST)

It is odd to think that the water in Tokyo Bay near the cement plant has a higher level of contamination in sea water than the levels inside the Fukushima Daiichi inner harbor. In fact, parts of the inner harbor are over 10x lower!
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111103e8.pdf
At the Shallow Draft Quay, neither Cs 134 nor Cs 137 was detected at all today!
At the Water Intake at the north canal, Cs 134 found 71 becquerels / liter or becquerels per kg, Cs 137 found 100 becquerels per liter.

Unit 1 outside silt fence
Cs 134 81 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 101 becquerels per liter
Unit 1 inside silt fence
Cs 134 130 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 140 becquerels per liter

Unit 2 outside silt fence
Cs 134 160 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 180 becquerels per liter
Unit 2 inside silt fence
Cs 134 420 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 510 becquerels per liter

Unit 3 outside silt fence
Cs 134 120 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 110 becquerels per liter
Unit 3 inside silt fence
Cs 134 550 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 730 becquerels per liter

Unit 4 outside silt fence
Cs 134 190 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 210 becquerels per liter
Unit 4 inside silt fence
Cs 134 280 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 360 becquerels per liter

South Water Intake Canal
Cs 134 69 becquerels per liter
Cs 137 78 becquerels per liter

Meanwhile, maintaining permanent ties with the Chernobyl area is a good idea.

Japan's Ukraine embassy to study Chernobyl

Japan will expand its embassy in Ukraine to collect information on the country's response to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The information will be utilized in dealing with the aftermath of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The embassy will have 6 more workers in addition to the current staff of about 40. New staff will include 2 nuclear specialists and 3 translators of Russian and Ukrainian.

The office building will be expanded and equipped with dosimeters and protective gear.

The embassy staff will interview Ukrainian and former Soviet officials, experts and residents about the effects of lingering radioactive contamination. Ways to manage restricted zones and decontamination methods will also be studied.

The Japanese government plans to appropriate about 2 million dollars for the expansion in the fiscal 2012 budget bill.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 10:39 +0900 (JST)

Here's a copy of the original report on the Xenon in the gases in the containment vessel of Reactor 2, which TEPCO retracted.

TEPCO: Reactor may have gone critical

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it found in the facility's No.2 reactor radioactive substances that could have resulted from continuous nuclear fission.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Wednesday that it detected xenon-133 and xenon-135 in gas taken from the reactor's containment vessel on the previous day. The substances were reportedly in concentrations of 6 to more than 10 parts per million becquerels per cubic centimeter.

Xenon-135 was also detected in gas samples collected on Wednesday.

Radioactive xenon is produced during nuclear fission.
The half-life of xenon-133 is 5 days, and that of xenon-135 is 9 hours.

TEPCO says the findings suggest that nuclear fission may have occurred recently, not just after the March 11th accident, and that a state of criticality could have occurred temporarily in some areas.

TEPCO workers poured a boric acid solution into the reactor on Wednesday to suppress nuclear fission.

The utility says it has not found any significant change in temperature and pressure of the reactor, and that large-scale criticality did not occur.

TEPCO says the reactor's cooling process is continuing and that the firm expects to achieve cold shutdown at the plant this year as planned. But the utility also says it wants to take a close look at the situation of the plant's No.1 and 3 reactors.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 20:37 +0900 (JST)

And in the US, from The Washington Post:

North Anna Nuclear power plant remains offline after August earthquake; May Restart Next week.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...t-earthquake/2011/11/01/gIQAFIBUdM_story.html

Ten weeks after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake knocked a central Virginia nuclear power station offline, the plant’s operator, Dominion Virginia Power, is still waiting for the go-ahead from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart the North Anna power plant’s two reactors.
“We want to make absolutely certain that there is nothing we haven’t evaluated yet,” said Roger Hannah, an NRC spokesman.
At a public meeting in Mineral, Va., on Tuesday night, an NRC inspector said a decision to restart the reactors could come as early as next week.
“Reviews are in progress. However, the staff has not identified any significant safety concerns resulting” from the earthquake, said Meena Khanna, the NRC’s lead inspector at the facility.
Gerald McCoy, the NRC official overseeing the inspection team, said the NRC directed the company to perform inspections on an underground steam tunnel and on support struts holding up one of the nuclear reactor pressure vessels. The company had not adequately inspected those areas, McCoy said, but the NRC team found no significant problems.
On Oct. 21, Dominion told the NRC it thought both reactors were safe to restart. The company said it spent more than 100,000 man-hours on inspections, testing and minor repairs, at a total cost of $21 million.
Dominion fixed small cracks in office buildings and replaced part of an electrical transformer that leaked oil after the quake, said Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher.
The company sent small robots into the pool that holds nuclear fuel in the Unit 2 reactor and found no damage to the containment structure or the nuclear fuel, Zuercher said. The company had opened the reactor to refuel it.
The NRC told the company it did not need to perform similar inspections inside the Unit 1 reactor, Zuercher said.
The most powerful quake to rattle Virginia in more than a century shook the power plant more than it was designed for in one horizontal direction for 1.5 seconds during the 25-second quake. But extra safety margins in the plant’s structure prevented more than minor damage, Zuercher said.
When operating, North Anna provides 17 percent of Virginia’s electricity.
Zuercher said the company had not decided whether to seek an increase in the rates customers pay to cover the costs of the outage.
North Anna is the first nuclear power plant to shut down after an earthquake in the 53-year history of commercial nuclear power in the United States.

I want to see the robots! I hope there is video.

And back from NHK NEWS

Seasonal "Tori-no-ichi" fair in Tokyo

The annual rooster fair known as "tori-no-ichi" is under way in downtown Tokyo. The event signals the coming of winter.

The fair at Otori Shrine in Asakusa dates back to the 17th century Edo period. It is the largest of the rooster fairs in Japan. The day of the rooster comes every 12 days in the Chinese zodiac.

Otori Shrine is bustling with people buying lucky charms, hoping for good business next year. About 200 stalls are selling "kuma-de", the charms believed to "rake in" good fortune.

Their prices range from 13 dollars to 13,000 dollars.

Some of them feature replicas of star players on Japan women's soccer team, which won the world title this year. Others come with messages encouraging reconstruction in the areas hit by the March disaster.

A 63-year old president of a clothing manufacturer bought a kuma-de hoping for an end to this year's economic slump.

The rooster fair continues on Wednesday till midnight and comes again on the 14th and 26th of November. Turnout at the shrine this year is expected to reach 900,000.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 15:10 +0900 (JST)

Everyone in Japan could use some luck. So could the rest of the world.

 

[dorispulaski]

MORE NHK NEWS

So...is someone out there geocaching radium paint? This one is different than the one in the elderly lady's crawl space. This radium paint was cached under the paving at a supermarket.

Buried bottle determined to be radiation source

Japan's science ministry has determined that high radiation readings taken near a supermarket in Tokyo were caused by radium in a buried bottle.

On Wednesday, workers removed the reagent bottle along with some contaminated underground soil from the parking lot of a supermarket in Hachimanyama, Setagaya Ward.

After the removal, radiation in the area dropped to 25 microsieverts per hour, which is one-1,600th the previously observed level. The ministry says the source of the radiation was the radium 226 in the bottle.
The radioactive substance is used in cancer treatments and to make fluorescent paint.

Last week, the ministry reported detecting radiation of up to 170 microsieverts per hour at a height of 1 meter above the ground at 2 spots, one at an asphalt parking lot and the other at a sidewalk.

Officials say that during a survey on Wednesday, they found 15 other spots in the same area emitting relatively high radiation. The highest reading was 12 microsieverts per hour. They say all 15 spots registered far less radiation when measured at a height of 1 meter.

The science ministry decided to pile up sandbags at some of the spots to block the radiation.

In the middle of last month, radiation of up to 2,707 microsieverts per hour was observed at another spot in Setagaya Ward. Officials determined that the source of the radiation was some jars in a wooden box under the floor of a vacant house. An analysis indicates that the radioactive material may be radium 226.
Friday, November 04, 2011 10:41 +0900 (JST)

Now, you realize, folks, that these areas have been just that radioactive all along, for years, probably?

Cesium-contaminated mushrooms served in food

Radioactive cesium exceeding the government standard has been found in mushrooms grown at a facility in Yokohama City, near Tokyo. About 800 people were served food containing the mushrooms from March through October.

The city says high levels of radioactive cesium were found in dried shiitake mushrooms harvested in both months. The contamination is believed to have been caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The contamination in March was up to 2,770 becquerels of cesium per kilogram; in October, 955 becquerels per kilogram.

Each exceeded the government's standard of 500 becquerels.

The facility checked the mushrooms for radioactive contamination this week after concerned citizens inquired about possible contamination in food served there.

Yokohama is around 250 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The mushrooms were reportedly not sold on the market.
Friday, November 04, 2011 21:26 +0900 (JST)

Mushrooms concentrate cesium in any case. Drying them concentrates the cesium even more. However, the things are eaten when re-hydrated. Consequently for the purposes of figuring dose, it should be about 1/10 of the amount listed. (277 becquerels per kilogram in March, 95.5 becquerels in October.
http://www.shroomery.org/5267/How-much-weight-is-lost-when-drying-mushrooms

Govt to study ways to confirm lack of criticality

Japan's government plans to study ways to confirm that sustained nuclear fission has not resumed at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, Goshi Hosono, told this to reporters on Friday after radioactive xenon was found at the plant's No. 2 reactor this week.
The presence of xenon indicates that nuclear fission occurred recently.

Hosono said xenon was detected not because of new developments, but due to detailed radiation monitoring by the Tokyo Electric Power Company.

He also said he supports the utility's view that xenon was produced through spontaneous fission, not sustained fission, or criticality.

Hosono said a precondition for putting the plant's reactors into a cold shutdown is ensuring that the accident will no longer escalate. He added that an absence of criticality is one way to achieve such a state.

He suggested that the government hopes to present related measures this month to coincide with a monthly review of the timetable for bringing the plant under control.
Friday, November 04, 2011 16:48 +0900 (JST)

Govt approves TEPCO damages plan

The government has approved a special business plan for Tokyo Electric Power Company, allowing the injection of about 11.5 billion dollars worth of public funds to help the utility pay compensation for the Fukushima nuclear accident.

On Friday, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano conveyed news of the approval to TEPCO president Toshio Nishizawa and to Kazuhiko Shimokobe, who chairs the decision-making board of a government-backed fund to help provide compensation for damages.

Under the business plan, jointly worked out by TEPCO and the fund, about 11.5 billion dollars worth of public funds will be offered to TEPCO to help it compensate the people and businesses affected by the nuclear accident.

TEPCO is called on to cut spending to the tune of about 32 billion dollars over 10 years, through measures including lowering the interest rates on corporate pensions for retirees from the current maximum 5.5 percent to less than half that.

The size of the financial aid package is the minimum that allows TEPCO to pay compensation without going into the red for the time being.

Despite the plan, TEPCO will continue to be financially strapped because of the huge estimated costs of decontaminating areas affected by the accident and of decommissioning the crippled reactors.

TEPCO will compile a new comprehensive business plan jointly with the fund next spring, and will be required to continue its drastic management restructuring.
Friday, November 04, 2011 13:19 +0900 (JST)

And, of course, this was expected:

TEPCO to post huge net loss for FY2011

Tokyo Electric Power Company will post a second straight loss for the business year through next March due to costs associated with the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

TEPCO estimated on Friday its net loss for fiscal 2011 will total 600 billion yen, or about 7.7 billion dollars.

The utility attributed the massive loss to the cost of ongoing efforts to stabilize the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Another factor is the expected increase in fuel costs of thermal power plants to cope with power shortages.

TEPCO also estimates energy-saving efforts by households and businesses will cause consumption to fall by up to 9 percent. As a result, annual energy sales are projected to decline by one percent from the previous year.

The utility plans to book an extraordinary loss of about 13 billion dollars to compensate those affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

A government-backed fund is expected to contribute about 11.5 billion dollars worth of public funds to assist TEPCO make the payments.

TEPCO president Toshio Nishizawa says the company will certainly face financial difficulties without the support of the fund.
Friday, November 04, 2011 19:37 +0900 (JST)

Meanwhile, coal mining is still endangering and killing people.

57 trapped in China mine accident

A rock explosion at a coal mine in central China has killed 4 miners and left more than 50 trapped inside.

Chinese state-run media said the accident took place at a mine in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, on Thursday evening.

After a magnitude 2.9 quake hit a nearby area, the tunnel walls collapsed at a depth of about 480 meters, trapping 57 workers inside.

State-run China Central Television said some workers were carried out of the tunnel, but more than 50 people are feared to remain trapped. The TV report said that the rescue efforts are continuing.

China had 892 mine accidents from January to September this year, leaving 1,419 dead.
Friday, November 04, 2011 15:27 +0900 (JST)

The previous government did not want to complete this project?? At this point, I don't remember.

Japan offers nuclear assistance to Turkey

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has told Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Japan is ready to cooperate in the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

The 2 leaders met in Cannes, France, on Thursday after the first day of talks at the G20 summit.

Noda explained Japan's earthquake-relief efforts for the country, including the provision of supplies and grants-in-aid. He added that Japan is ready to provide more support if asked.

On the Turkish government's plan to build a nuclear power plant, Noda said Japan is willing to share the knowledge it gained from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Erdogan expressed the hope that progress can be made in negotiations on the nuclear project.

He said his country wants to conclude a free trade agreement with Japan and expand economic ties.
Friday, November 04, 2011 11:16 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

Looks like they have some global plan afterall:
www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111105n1.html

And, while in November the colorful ceremonies for 3/5/7-year old kids are being held throughout Japan, the cutest Japanese Prince coudn't escape his duties too!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKgXgMbAnQQ
www.asahi.com/english/TKY201111040236.html

 

[Olympia]

Oh, it's the 3/5/7 celebration soon? How nice. I'm always so happy that Japan has kept its traditional holidays, especially the ones devoted to children. I don't know what the appropriate greeting is for this holiday, but whatever it is, I extend it to the children of Japan.

 

[dorispulaski]

let's talk,
The prince is so cute, and he looked so happy after he jumped off that stand. What is the significance of the things he is holding?

And thank you for the Japan Times article. it has some details I had not seen.

The ministry plans to begin full-scale decontamination efforts after a recently passed cleanup law takes effect Jan. 1. Its officials will begin working on the acquisition of areas where contaminated waste can be held for a three-year period before it is transported to the storage site, the ministry said.

Sumitomo Corp., IHI Corp. and Obayashi Corp. are among companies seeking to win decontamination contracts in Fukushima Prefecture, according to documents obtained from the prefectural government in October.

I always begin to believe something will be done when I see that corporations are bidding for the contract.



Olympia, I join you in extending holiday greetings to the children of Japan.






Reports on November 11th, about 3:30 PM JST



Complete report on the detection of Xe 135 at Unit 2


http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu11_e/images/111104e19.pdf



1. Amount is very small, compared to amount in a normal critical state
2. They calculated the amount of fissile material left in the reactor, and then calculated how much Xe 135 should be generated by that amount of fissile material fissioning at the normal rate, and it was approximately the same as that found.
3. Adding boric acid, which poisons a chain reaction (i.e. criticality situation), had no effect at all on the rate of Xe 135 production. Boric acid captures neutrons, and neutrons are what keeps a chain reaction going. This result is consistent with curium breaking down spontaneously, since no loose neutrons are needed for spontaneous fission.
4. The reactor continued to cool at the same rate, as measured at all temperature probes. No additional radioactive material was detected immediately outside the reactor. The pressure inside the reactor did not change either.

Their conclusion is that the Xe 135 was due to spontaneous fission.



The Packbot Robot has been cleaning up rubble in the halls of Reactor 3. Here's the pictures:

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111105_02-e.pdf

*At 9:38 am on November 4, we started transferring accumulated water from the basement of the Unit 2 turbine building to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility (Miscellaneous Solid Waste Volume Reduction Treatment Building [High Temperature Incinerator Building]).

*At 10:00 am on November 4, we started transferring accumulated water from On-site Bunker Building to Centralized Radiation Waste Treatment Facility.

-From 3:48 pm on November 4 to 9:41 am on November 6, we transferred the accumulated water from the basement of Turbine Building of Unit 1 to the basement of Turbine Building of Unit 2.

-At 10:00 am on November 6, we started transferring the accumulated water from Turbine Building of Unit 6 to the temporary tanks.


*From 1:35 pm to 2:35 pm on November 4, we conducted dust sampling at the opening for the equipment hatch in the reactor building and truck bay door of Unit 1.

-At 11:25 am on November 5, we started dust sampling at the upper part of the Reactor Building of Unit 3 by using the large crane. At 2:00 pm on the same day, the sampling was completed.

*At 2:20 pm on November 4, we arranged the amount of emission from the gas management system from 14m3/h to 22 m3/h in order to balance the amount of nitrogen injected to the reactor containment vessel and exhaust gas from the gas management system of Unit 2.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_111104_01-e.pdf

All the plant workers got their flu shots. Have you gotten yours?


NHK NEWS

This is a very worthwhile thing to do.

Govt to study low-level radiation impact

The Japanese minister in charge of nuclear crisis says the government plans to set up an expert team to study the impact of radiation levels of about 20 millisieverts per year.

Goshi Hosono made the remark in Hamamatsu City, central Japan, on Saturday. His comment follows the government's concern over low levels of radiation found in many places after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Hosono said studies of past nuclear accidents suggest that exposure to radiation levels more than 100 millisieverts per year will affect human health to a certain degree, but exposure to levels lower than that amount has not been confirmed as harmful to human health.

He said it is necessary to further study low-level radiation exposure caused by radioactive materials that have already spread in the air.

He added that the government hopes to sort out ideas, using a radiation level of 20 millisieverts per year as the threshold for affecting human health. The figure is an exposure limit recommended by the International Commission for Radiological Protection.

Referring to a government project to dispose of debris in areas outside of disaster-hit northeastern Japan, Hosono said rubble from the prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi is not radioactive. He said incineration will not produce anything harmful and ashes will be safely handled.

He added that he wants to ask local governments for cooperation for projects as the government will ensure their safety and take responsibility for the process.
Saturday, November 05, 2011 16:58 +0900 (JST)

Of course, when you incinerate the rubble, the amount of cesium 137 per kilogram in the resultant ashes will be concentrated, and may well be above the government limit. I thought they learned this lesson with the Tokyo cement plant outfall?


And it's better than the shelter. But now there's no ball field.

Photo:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/update/images/06_09_v_s.jpg

Disaster survivors move into 3-story housing

People who lost their homes in the March 11th tsunami have begun moving into 3-story temporary housing in Miyagi Prefecture.

The 6 housing structures for 144 households have been built in a baseball ground in Onagawa Town, where flat sites are scarce. Local government officials say this is the first 3-story temporary housing in the country.

On Sunday, people began moving into the new housing, which was built by combining steel shipping and storage containers. Each unit has wide windows that admit sunlight to spacious rooms.

A woman in her 40s says that she is happy to finally have a home for her family after spending months in a shelter.
Sunday, November 06, 2011 13:00 +0900 (JST)

And this is so beautiful, and also practical:

Survivors plant cherry trees to mark tsunami line


People in northeastern Japan, including survivors of the March 11th tsunami, have begun planting cherry trees to mark the affected areas to give warnings to future generations.

About 100 people planted 35 trees in a temple ground in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday.

The group plans to eventually plant 17,000 trees over 170 kilometers in the city in marking off areas inundated by the tsunami.

The project's leader says he is sorrowful at having lost many friends in the tsunami.

He says he hopes the cherry trees will hand down memories of the disaster to young children and help prevent any further loss of human life.

The group plans to plant more trees on March 11th next year to mark the first anniversary of the disaster.
Sunday, November 06, 2011 15:15 +0900 (JST)

 

[let`s talk]

let's talk,
The prince is so cute, and he looked so happy after he jumped off that stand. What is the significance of the things he is holding?

Yeas, he is adorable. And he looks very happy and relaxed on the video (not like strict Japanese Imperial ceremonies normally demand), which is very good. The meaning of the ceremony is he became big, can wear hakama and be an adult member of the family. I don't know about the things in his hand. One of them is a Japanese fan, probably the one that only royalties can possess. Another is a Japanese pine tree that is often used in Shinto shrines, in Japanese New Year decorations, as the symbol of long life, health and happiness. But once again, I don't know the details of royal rituals, not all Japanese people know !
The main reason why I posted about the ceremony in this thread is the said event was scheduled for spring (earlier than 3/5/7-year-old ceremonies for common people). But it was postponed because of the earthquake. It finally took place, one more sign of the all-Japan recovery.