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Meet The Underpaid, Overexposed 'Liquidators' Of Fukushima
Worldcrunch.com / LE MONDE
IWAKI — Our meeting with one of the “liquidators” of Fukushima’s power plant takes place in a discreet location, out of sight. Talking to journalists is risky, and the man's nervous employers could use it as a pretext to fire him.
“It’s the same thing for workplace accidents — there’s a collective solidarity,” he says. “If it isn’t too serious, we hide them to avoid problems with the social insurance.”
He is one of the liquidators in charge of securing and dismantling the site. In his thirties, he was working for a subcontractor at the power plant when the accident occurred, following the March 11, 2011 tsunami. Then, his company’s contract was not extended. He just started working on the site again. “The workers' situation has gotten better when it comes to security, but wages have gone down and there are fewer and fewer qualified people,” he says, asking to remain anonymous.
“The quality of work is mediocre because the management asks us to work fast, but the guys aren’t experienced enough,” explains the supervisor of a radioactivity inspection company, in charge of about 50 workers. “Sometimes they don’t even know the names of the tools. The teams often change. There’s a mandatory rotation because workers who have received the maximum radiation exposure must leave the zone. But others leave prematurely because they think they're not paid enough. If we don’t manage to form a qualified and trustworthy team quickly, we won’t be able to work fast and efficiently. We even lack qualified team supervisors.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/fukushima-liquidators_n_4113992.html
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hollysmom
(5,946 posts)death trap
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)bstract
This paper focuses on an overview of radioactive cesium 137 (quasi-Cs137 included Cs134) contamination of freshwater fish in Fukushima and eastern Japan based on the data published by the Fisheries Agency of the Japanese Government in 2011. In the area north and west of the Fukushima Nuclear plant, freshwater fish have been highly contaminated. For example, the mean of active cesium (quasi-Cs137) contamination of Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) is 2,657 Bq/kg at Mano River, 20–40 km north-west from the plant. Bioaccumulation is observed in the Agano river basin in Aizu sub-region, 70–150 km west from the plant. The active cesium (quasi-Cs137) contamination of carnivorous Salmondae is around 2 times higher than herbivorous Ayu. The extent of active cesium (quasi-Cs137) contamination of Ayu is observed in the entire eastern Japan. The some level of the contamination is recognized even in Shizuoka prefecture, 400 km south-west from the plant.
The serious accidents of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant have been contaminating a vast area in eastern Japan1, home of 60 million people. Consumption of freshwater fish is an important part of the aquatic pathway for the transfer of radionuclides to the freshwater ecosystem creatures including humans2. Therefore the contamination of freshwater fish of aquatic bioaccumulation is an important problem3,4. In the case of the Chernobyl Accident, the transfer of radionuclides to fish has been studied in European countries5,6
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3638159/#__sec6title
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)Last I heard, and that was months ago. 20,000 men hired and fired.
The prime directive for the company that is responsible, is to save money. Not save the pacific, but save money.
They know the costs will run maybe up to a Trillion before it is safe again. So cost cutting now is imperative.
Supporters of nukes should be the first to declare that all nuke power is taxed at 100% until enough funds are raised to pay for Fukushima and the next nuclear plant cleanups. They should but will they? I doubt it, they are still in a state of denial.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)For Tepco and Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, toxic water stymies cleanup
TOKYO — Two and a half years after a series of nuclear meltdowns, Japan’s effort to clean up what remains of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is turning into another kind of disaster.
The site now stores 90 million gallons of radioactive water, more than enough to fill Yankee Stadium to the brim. An additional 400 tons of toxic water is flowing daily into the Pacific Ocean, and almost every week, the plant operator acknowledges a new leak.
That operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., known as Tepco, was put in charge of the cleanup process more than two years ago and subsequently given a government bailout as its debts soared. The job of dismantling the facility was supposed to give Tepco an opportunity to rebuild credibility.
read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/for-tepco-and-japans-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-plant-toxic-water-stymies-cleanup/2013/10/21/406f4d78-2cba-11e3-b141-298f46539716_story.html?wprss&google_editors_picks=true
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Logical
(22,457 posts)DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)You're not to be taken seriously.
Logical
(22,457 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)
chervilant
(8,267 posts)
Octafish
(55,745 posts)What really went wrong at the Fukushima plant? One undercover reporter risked his life to find out
By Jake Adelstein
The Telegraph, 11:30AM GMT 21 Feb 2012
On March 11 2011, at 2:46pm, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan. The earthquake, followed by a colossal tsunami, devastated the nation, together killing over 10,000 people. The earthquake also triggered the start of a triple nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). Of the three reactors that melted down, one was nearly 40 years old and should have been decommissioned two decades ago. The cooling pipes, “the veins and arteries of the old nuclear reactors”, which circulated fluid to keep the core temperature down, ruptured.
Approximately 40 minutes after the shocks, the tsunami reached the power plant and knocked out the electrical systems. Japan’s Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa) had warned Tepco about safety violations and problems at the plant days before the earthquake; they’d been warned about the possibility of a tsunami hitting the plant for years.
The denials began almost immediately. “There has been no meltdown,” government spokesman Yukio Edano intoned in the days after March 11. “It was an unforeseeable disaster,” Tepco’s then president Masataka Shimizu chimed in. As we now know, the meltdown was already taking place. And the disaster was far from unforeseeable.
Tepco has long been a scandal-ridden company, caught time and time again covering up data on safety lapses at their power plants, or doctoring film footage which showed fissures in pipes. How was the company able to get away with such long-standing behaviour? According to an explosive book recently published in Japan, they owe it to what the author, Tomohiko Suzuki, calls “Japan’s nuclear mafia… A conglomeration of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, the shady nuclear industry, their lobbyists…” And at the centre of it all stands Japan’s actual mafia: the yakuza.
It might surprise the Western reader that gangsters are involved in Japan’s nuclear industry and even more that they would risk their lives in a nuclear crisis. But the yakuza roots in Japanese society are very deep. In fact, they were some of the first responders after the earthquake, providing food and supplies to the devastated area and patrolling the streets to make sure no looting occurred.
CONTINUED...
Hekate
(99,289 posts)Will read this doozy later.
MoonRiver
(36,975 posts)I have shared with my friends. This is absolutely horrifying!
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that radiation rose to a new record in water collected from a drainage ditch at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Tepco said it detected a maximum of 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances, including strontium, from a water sample collected Wednesday from the ditch, which extends to the sea beyond the plant’s port.
The figure is 2.3 times higher than the previous record of 59,000 becquerels detected in water sampled at the same location Tuesday, and was more than 11 times the previous day’s reading.
The measurement location is about 600 meters from the open ocean and close to the storage tank that leaked some 300 tons of radioactive water in August.
Tepco said rainwater may have carried radioactive materials in surrounding areas into the drainage ditch.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/24/national/radiation-doubles-to-new-high-in-no-1-plant-water-ditch/#.UmUtfxCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Big typhoons may collide off Honshu
by Tomohiro Osaki
Staff Writer
Oct 23, 2013
Less than a week after being hit by the largest typhoon in a decade, Tokyo is bracing for another strong storm that will likely reach the area Saturday, and it may get merged with an even stronger approaching tempest.
Though less powerful than Typhoon Wipha, incoming tropical cyclone Francisco is rated as “strong,” the Meteorological Agency said. But on a possible collision course is Typhoon Lekima, considered “more fierce.”
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Typhoon Francisco, the 27th this year, was located about 180 km south of Minamidaito Island, east of Okinawa, heading northwest at a speed of 15 kph.
The agency previously described the typhoon as “very strong,” but it appears to have passed its peak, weather forecaster Nobuaki Hiramatsu said.
read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/23/national/big-typhoons-may-collide-off-honshu/#.UmU2RCYaSo
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)Both typhoons (27 and 28) stayed well away from Fukushima, which ended up getting light rain and rather moderate winds after all was said and done.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)In their first meeting [in 13 months] the top regulator urged the head of the utility that runs the crippled Fukushima power plant on Monday to take “drastic steps” to mitigate a spate of mishaps at the complex. Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka summoned Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Naomi Hirose to his office to express concerns about growing problems at the plant [...] The meeting was closed except for few minutes at the beginning. Masashi Goto, a nuclear reactor engineer and lecturer at Meiji University, was skeptical about how effective the meeting would be. “What matters is what they really talked about,” he said. “To me it seems the regulatory side was just trying to smooth things out and make it look like the situation should start improving.” [...] Hirose acknowledged that TEPCO has been cutting costs and that the precarious state of the plant has contributed to the deterioration of the plant’s operations.
Read MORE: http://enenews.com/former-leader-of-japan-fukushima-disaster-is-most-severe-accident-in-the-history-of-mankind-not-hard-to-stop-future-accidents-all-we-need-to-do-is-to-eliminate-nuclear-power-plants
Also at link the former PM of Japan condemns nuclear power....
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Nobody wants a job cleaning up Japan’s devastated Fukushima nuclear reactor for some reason
Tokyo Electric Power Co., has acknowledged that an undersized and unstable pool of workers has led to a series of mishaps at the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant site. More than two years after an earthquake and tsunami led to the partial meltdown of the plant’s reactor, dangerous leaks continue to plague the site, compounded by worker errors such as removing the wrong pipe and spilling 7 tons (6.4 tonnes) of radioactive water.
+
“We are not sure about our long-term staffing situation during the upcoming process of debris removal, which requires different skills,” Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) vice president Zengo Aizawa told reporters. Aizawa had been called on the carpet earlier in the day to answer for what Nuclear Regulation Authority chairman Shunichi Tanaka called “silly mistakes,” caused by declining worker morale.
+
Tepco president Naomi Hirose admitted to the difficulties in recruitment, but assured Tanaka that more staff would be sent from other sites to assist in the Fukushima plant’s decommissioning. Shifting staff is a short-term measure, which leaves the future of the long-term site remediation up in the air as long as the company continues to have trouble recruiting capable workers.
+
It’s not for lack of trying.
+
In the months following the accident, Tepco claimed to have secured 24,000 workers, but some 16,000 quit within months due to harsh working conditions and the fear of dangerous radiation levels. Japan’s elderly tried to step up in hopes of saving younger workers with decades of life ahead of them, but finding skilled labor continues to be a challenge. A web of labor brokers and subcontractors have given rise to pay skimming, corruption, and ties to organized crime, according to a Reuters investigation.
more
http://qz.com/140674/nobody-wants-a-job-cleaning-up-japans-devastated-fukushima-nuclear-reactor-for-some-reason/
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Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Oct 25 (Reuters) - Tetsuya Hayashi went to Fukushima to take a job at ground zero of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. He lasted less than two weeks.
Hayashi, 41, says he was recruited for a job monitoring the radiation exposure of workers leaving the plant in the summer of 2012. Instead, when he turned up for work, he was handed off through a web of contractors and assigned, to his surprise, to one of Fukushima's hottest radiation zones.
He was told he would have to wear an oxygen tank and a double-layer protective suit. Even then, his handlers told him, the radiation would be so high it could burn through his annual exposure limit in just under an hour.
"I felt cheated and entrapped," Hayashi said. "I had not agreed to any of this."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/25/us-fukushima-workers-specialreport-idUSBRE99O04320131025
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023952223
TOKYO -- Japanese regulators on Wednesday gave final approval for the removal of fuel rods from an uncontained cooling pool at a damaged reactor building considered the highest risk at a crippled nuclear plant.
Removing the fuel rods from the Unit 4 cooling pool is the first major step in a decommissioning process that is expected to last decades at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, where three reactors melted down after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said at its weekly meeting that the proposal by the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., is appropriate and that the removal can start in November as planned.
"It's a major step toward decommissioning," said Toyoshi Fuketa, one of the authority's five commissioners. "Moving the fuel rods out of Unit 4 can significantly reduce the risk at the plant."
The Unit 4 reactor was offline when the plant was hit by the disasters, but the building was damaged by hydrogen explosions and fire. Fuel rods in the pool, however, have since been properly cooled and are safe enough to remove, officials said.
TEPCO has reinforced the structure around the pool and says the Unit 4 building can survive a major earthquake, but the unenclosed pool on the unit's top floor, which contains 1,533 fuel rods, has caused international concern. About 200 of the rods that are unused and safer are expected to be the first to be removed.
The Unit 4 cooling pool has attracted international attention in part because early in the crisis it was suspected to have dried up, when in fact there was enough water to cover the rods, keeping them from melting. TEPCO last year plucked two unused fuel rod units out of the pool and said no major corrosion or damage was found in them.
More at: http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/fukushima-fuel-rods-removed-20131030
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Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023954918
TV: “Japan’s worst nuclear nightmare” — Yale Professor: Fukushima Unit 4 pool “has me very scared”
One slip-up in the latest step to decommission Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant could trigger a "monumental" chain reaction, experts warn.
Within days, Fukushima nuclear plant operators will begin what is being described as the most dangerous phase of the decommissioning process so far.
In an operation never before attempted, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) will start removing 1,331 highly radioactive used fuel assemblies from a deep pool which sits high above the ground in a shattered reactor building.
The Fukushima nuclear plant's reactors were sent into meltdown by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 in the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Experts around the world have warned ever since that the fuel pool is in a precarious state - vulnerable to collapsing in another big earthquake.
Yale University professor Charles Perrow wrote about the number 4 fuel pool this year in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
He said one pool contains 10 times the amount of radioactive caesium present in the Chernobyl disaster and warned one slip-up with the removal could trigger a chain reaction.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-31/fukushima-nuclear-meltdown-tepco-tokyo/5059514
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Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/112756406
Fukushima Daiichi operator should not handle shutdown, says governing party
Source: The Guardian
Justin McCurry in Osaka
theguardian.com, Thursday 31 October 2013 09.43 GMT
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant should be stripped of responsibility for decommissioning the wrecked facility, according to Japan's governing party, as the utility prepares for the most dangerous phase yet in the cleanup operation.
Among the options outlined in a proposal by the Liberal Democratic party (LDP) is a new decommissioning unit that is financially independent of Tepco. Another option is the formation of a government-affiliated administrative agency.
The proposal comes amid mounting criticism of Tepco's handling of problems at the plant, including leaks of radioactive water.
The firm is expected to begin removing 1,300 spent fuel assemblies from the remains of the reactor No 4 building towards the middle of next month. Some nuclear experts have warned that even a slight mishap involving the fuel rods could result in huge releases of radiation into the air and sea.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/31/japan-fukushima-daiichi-decommissioning-tepco
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)160,000 people remain evacuated from the area; may never be able return home.
There are 6 nuclear reactors that are in various stages of meltdown.
3 reactors and 1 fuel pool have gone very reactive with ensuing explosions and fires.
3 reactors were in the process of creating heat to boil water when they lost cooling water. These 3 cores have exited their designed containment and are kept from blowing up by massive amounts of water being pumped over the melted cores. That highly radiated water is flowing into the Pacific.
Workers can not get close to three of the reactors due to high radiation levels. Even robots burn out due to high radiation levels.
This current situation is expected to last a decade if everything goes right.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)TOKYO (AP) -- U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said he expects deepening cooperation with Japan over the high-stakes cleaning up and decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Fukushima plant has had a series of mishaps in recent months, including radioactive water leaks from storage tanks. The incidents have added to concerns about the ability of operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, to safely close down the plant, which suffered meltdowns after being swamped by the March 2011 tsunami on Japan's northeastern coast.
"We expect the relationship in the area of decommissioning between TEPCO and our national laboratories to expand and deepen in the coming years," Moniz said in a lecture Thursday in Tokyo.
"Just as the tragic event had global consequences, the success of the cleanup also has global significance. So we all have a direct interest in seeing that the next steps are taken well and efficiently and safely," he said.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)energy savings these plants incurred per nuclear power supporters, think of how much energy is wasted here trying to clean up this mess.
Also, think of the danger of storage of spent fuel. Nuclear power plants in the USofA as well as around the world are producing spent nuclear fuel, which is extremely toxic and dangerous, at an alarming rate. Where is this dangerous material being stored? Why isnt this a subject for investigation? I dont think you will like where this highly contaminated, highly toxic nuclear material is being stored.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Also in France they store it at the plants.....but this might be some type of solution here...
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/05/18/18climatewire-is-the-solution-to-the-us-nuclear-waste-prob-12208.html?pagewanted=all
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Nuclear Engineer: Fuel appears damaged in Fukushima Unit 4 pool and will fall apart
Last edited Thu Oct 31, 2013, 10:33 AM USA/ET - Edit history (2)
if they pull it up — Make sure your radiation monitor works so you know what’s going on when something drops (AUDIO)
From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023955405
Chris Harris, former licensed Senior Reactor Operator and engineer: Fukushima Unit 4, the plans are in November to start removing the fuel. The question is always, ‘What’s going to keep the fuel sub-critical as you’re withdrawing it from the pool?’ That hasn’t been answered to my satisfaction yet because — although there are a lot of spent fuel assemblies in there which could achieve criticality — there are also 200 new fuel assemblies which have equivalent to a full tank of gas, let’s call it that. Those are the ones most likely to go critical first.
http://enenews.com/nuclear-engineer-fuel-unit-4-pool-appears-damaged-will-fall-apart-pull-make-sure-radiation-monitor-working-whats-going-when-drops-audio
Keep batteries fresh in your rad monitor, because you’re going to need to know what’s going on when they drop some fuel.
Some pictures that were released recently show that a lot of fuel is damaged, so when they go ahead and put the grapple on it, and they pull it up, it’s going to fall apart. The boreflex has been eaten away; it doesn’t take saltwater very good.
See also: Nuclear Engineer: New fuel is highly reactive, easier to go critical than spent fuel -- Bad situation if assemblies are damaged (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/nuclear-engineer-damage-new-fuel-assemblies-be-bad-many-reasons-new-fuel-highly-reactive-easier-critical-spent-fuel-video
UPDATE: Status of #4 Pool part Deux
Fukushima documents discuss “fuel that is severely damaged” inside cooling pool — Illustrations of “deformed or leaking fuels” (PHOTO)
Research and Development Road Map for Decommissioning Units 1-4 at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, July 30, 2012: Removing fuel from spent fuel pools is possible However, the spent fuel has been exposed to seawater and maybe deformed or damaged it is assumed that most of the fuel is intact As fuel assemblies in spent fuel pools were exposed to seawater and possibly damaged, assessment of the impact of safe and long-term storage is required. Fuel assemblies (Units 2-4) stored in spent fuel pools were exposed to seawater, and those at Units 1, 3, and 4 are possibly damaged due to falling debris. Investigating the impact of spent fuel that was damaged or exposed to seawater on the chemical treatment, waste treatment, and product collection processes. Future processing and storage methods for spent fuel removed from the spent fuel pools will be decided on the basis of assessment of its long-term soundness and the results of research and development
Examination of Methods for Processing Damaged Fuel, etc. Removed from the Spent Fuel Pool, Page 22: Fuel in the nuclear reactor building pool is thought to be contaminated with saline from seawater, and part of the fuel may even be damaged or leaking due to the collapse of concrete fragments. Specific actions 1. Study of past cases related to damaged fuel, etc. 2. Examination of the impacts of damaged fuel, etc. The impacts of impurities (saline from seawater, etc.) absorbed to damaged fuel 3. Examination regarding the handling of damaged fuel • For fuel that is severely damaged and cannot be handled by existing reprocessing facilities, methods for their acceptance, storage, and shear treatment will be examined
http://enenews.com/fukushima-documents-discuss-fuel-severely-damaged-cooling-pool-illustrations-deformed-leaking-fuels-photo
SidDithers
(44,333 posts)You've done a nice job collecting information from reputable sources in this thread. Don't ruin it by bringing the Larouchies at nutrimedical.com into it.
The engineer made the comments on The NutriMedical Report podcast, an Alex Jones wannabe radio program.
There's enough real information available without having to dive into the dumbest of fringe media and their unsupported, sensationalist opinions.
Sid
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)This particular story was everywhere over the last 24 hours. If you can come up one story that debunks this, then it has to stand. Did he not say this?
SidDithers
(44,333 posts)I'm sure Alex Jones has some interesting things to say on his show too. Yet you haven't put those comments into the thread.
It's not my responsibility to debunk anything. An engineer who looked at some pictures appeared on a Larouchie survivalist conspiracy theory podcast, and claimed that the fuel rods in pool 4 were damaged and will break apart.
You're giving these unsupported ramblings the same credence as reports from major international news agencies - agencies that require much higher standards of evidence in their reporting.
Has any other reputable source corroborated the prediction that the fuel rods are going to fall apart?
Sources matter. The one you're promoting in this sub-thread isn't credible.
clayandiron.com
That's who you think is credible, by lumping their report in with the other ones in this thread.
Sid
SidDithers
(44,333 posts)Kinda like the radio program you're giving credence to by including the interview at The NutriMedical Report in this thread. The NutriMedical Report is the podcast radio program of the anti-NWO nuts at Clay and Iron Ministry.
New World Order conspiracy nuts shouldn't be promoted. Period.
Legitimizing their fevered ramblings, by including them in an otherwise valuable thread like this should never happen.
Sid
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)This particular story is true. As i said before, it was everywhere that day...... Now he may not be correct in his analysis, but the fact that that there are broken fuel rods is well known. I think that we need to know everything, all the possibilities. I also think that this guy has as good of handle on this as people claiming that we are all gonna eat buttercups for dinner after this is all over. Nobody knows how this is gonna shake out, NOBODY. this has never happened before and a lot of people are chiming in on this. I try to keep the hysteria down, but it is very hard, look at the last two posts today......
stuntcat
(12,022 posts)I wish everyone would read all these posts, click the links. Our news doesn't say anything about Fukushima.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)TOKYO — Workers overfill a tank, spilling radioactive water on the ground. Another mistakenly pushes a button, stalling a pump for a vital cooling system. Six others get soaked with toxic water when they remove the wrong pipe. All over the course of one week in October.
A string of mishaps this year at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was swamped by a tsunami in 2011, is raising doubts about the operator’s ability to tackle the crisis and prompting concern that another disaster could be in the making.
Worried Japanese regulators are taking a more hands-on approach than usual to seek solutions to what they say appear to be fundamental problems.
Human error is mostly to blame, as workers deal with a seemingly unending stream of crises. Tanaka said earlier this month the repeated “silly mistakes” are a sign of declining morale and sense of responsibility. The operator, known as TEPCO, acknowledged a systemic problem in a recent report: Workers under tight deadlines tend to cut corners, making mistakes more likely; at times, they don’t fully understand their assignment or procedures.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19680-eight-months-ten-mishaps-a-look-at-fukushima-errors
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Japan lawmaker breaks taboo with nuclear fears letter for emperor
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese lawmaker handed Emperor Akihito a letter on Thursday expressing fear about the health impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, breaking a taboo by trying to involve the emperor in politics.
Taro Yamamoto, who is also an anti-nuclear activist, gave Akihito the letter during a garden party, setting off a storm of protest on the Internet from critics shocked at his action.
"I wanted to directly tell the emperor of the current situation," Yamamoto told reporters, referring to the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant north of Tokyo, which has been leaking radioactivity since it was battered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
"I wanted him to know about the children who have been contaminated by radiation. If this goes on, there will be serious health impacts."
Akihito inclined his head as he took the letter in his hand but then handed it to a nearby chamberlain. Yamamoto said he made no comment.
MORE: http://news.yahoo.com/japan-lawmaker-breaks-taboo-nuclear-fears-letter-emperor-110130052.html
JEB
(4,748 posts)I can not understand why an international team of experts and experienced workers aren't hard at work on this ongoing disaster. This is seriously destroying the livability of a large chunk of the globe.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)The story of Fukushima should be on the front pages of every newspaper. Instead, it is rarely mentioned. The problems at Fukushima are unprecedented in human experience and involve a high risk of radiation events larger than any that the global community has ever experienced. It is going to take the best engineering minds in the world to solve these problems and to diminish their global impact.
When we researched the realities of Fukushima in preparation for this article, words like apocalyptic, cataclysmic and Earth-threatening came to mind. But, when we say such things, people react as if we were the little red hen screaming "the sky is falling" and the reports are ignored. So, we’re going to present what is known in this article and you can decide whether we are facing a potentially cataclysmic event.
Also see: Radioactive Rainwater Overwhelms Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Either way, it is clear that the problems at Fukushima demand that the world’s best nuclear engineers and other experts advise and assist in the efforts to solve them. Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds.org and an international team of scientists created a 15-point plan to address the crises at Fukushima.
A subcommittee of the Green Shadow Cabinet (of which we are members), which includes long-time nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman, is circulating a sign-on letter and a petition calling on the United Nations and Japanese government to put in place the Gundersen et al plan and to provide 24-hour media access to information about the crises at Fukushima. There is also a call for international days of action on the weekend of November 9 and 10. The letter and petitions will be delivered to the UN on November 11 which is both Armistice Day and the 32nd month anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The Problems of Fukushima
READ MORE:
http://truth-out.org/news/item/19547-fukushima-a-global-threat-that-requires-a-global-response
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)WASHINGTON – The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said its mission will visit the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant for fact-finding on problems including leakages of radioactive water.
“We’re planning to send our peer review mission in autumn, perhaps toward the end (of November),” Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, told reporters in Washington on Friday.
That will be a mission on decommissioning Fukushima No. 1 and “it covers the contaminated water issues” as well, Amano said.
The IAEA sent a similar team of experts to the No. 1 plant in April to conduct an on-site survey of preparatory work for dismantling the complex, which was devastated by the 3/11 quake-tsunami disasters. That mission at the time warned plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to properly manage the massive buildup of water contaminated with radioactive substances after being used to cool nuclear fuel.
A series of on-site leaks of contaminated water were reported even after the IAEA team’s visit. Some of the water flowed into the Pacific, fueling concerns about tainted seawater and marine produce.
MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/02/national/iaea-team-to-probe-fukushima-plants-water-woes/#.UnFLLxCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Scientists said Tuesday they have detected radioactive cesium from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in plankton collected from all 10 points in the Pacific they checked, with the highest levels at around 25 degrees north latitude and 150 degrees west longitude.
MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/22/national/researchers-find-high-cesium-in-some-pacific-plankton/#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=8&at_ab=-&at_pos=2
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)In a major policy shift, the government will use more than ¥1 trillion in public funds to clean up contaminated areas around the Fukushima No. 1 plant, according to sources.
The plan revealed Friday to alleviate the financial burden Tokyo Electric Power Co. was supposed to shoulder is in line with a ruling Liberal Democratic Party proposal compiled Thursday on ways to accelerate the sluggish recovery from one of the world’s worst nuclear crises.
Tepco is still expected to stump up to some ¥3 trillion because the government has no intention of exempting it from decontamination payments that have already been planned by the state and local governments.
The central government, for its part, plans to use taxpayers’ money to respond to additional decontamination needs for infrastructure restoration, such as cleaning schools, parks and other public facilities that have been left to go to seed after residents fled from their homes. It will also use public funds to build interim storage facilities to keep radioactive soil and other waste from the cleanup efforts.
MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/02/national/state-to-spend-over-%C2%A51-trillion-of-taxpayer-money-for-fukushima-decontamination-work/#.UnFMLxCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has accepted Washington’s offer to help with the cleanup and decommissioning of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The move comes as TEPCO prepares for the major operation of removing fuel rods from Unit 4.
TEPCO president Naomi Hirose said the decision was made Friday when US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz visited the nuclear plant.
“Secretary Moniz and I became consistent through our talking today with the necessity of further strengthening cooperation, to contribute to the nuclear power and decommissioning industry not only between the two countries but throughout the world, by sharing and accumulating technology and knowledge towards the stability and decommissioning of the power station,” Hirose said in a statement published on TEPCO’s website.
In 2012, Japan and the US created a bilateral commission to strengthen engagement on civil nuclear issues.
A Japan-US commission is set to meet in Washington, DC on Monday to exchange opinions on Fukushima emergency response and regulatory issues.
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-tepco-us-aid-139/
MoonRiver
(36,975 posts)
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)80,000 gallons per day of radioactive water, for 942 straight days, dumped into the Pacific — and counting.
October 25, 2013 |
Distracting the public from the 300 tons of highly radioactive water (80,000 gallons) spreading into the Pacific Ocean every day from the triple reactor melt-through at Fukushima-Daiichi, is news of the plan to build an underground “ice wall” to damn up the poisoned water before it leaks to the sea. The project is reportedly a better plan than the failed concrete wall that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) first decided to build.
This frozen finger-in-the-dike won’t be completed until 2015, and it will then fail. Even if it were to work as planned, there is a risk of reversing the water flow, forcing highly radioactive water to seep out from the reactor buildings to the aquifer. Meanwhile, nothing is slowing the relentless radioactive contamination of the Pacific — the world’s largest ocean which covers about a third of Earth.
What we’re being distracted from is the threat to the fishery caused by Fukushima’s ongoing radioactive gusher. At least 300 tons of cesium- and strontium-contaminated water is still spewing into the Pacific every day. Tepco admitted in August that this massive carcinogenic hemorrhage has been going on since March 11, 2011. It amounts to about 85 million gallons — 80,000 gal. per day, for 942 days, dumped into the Pacific — and counting.
MORE: http://www.alternet.org/environment/fukushimas-radiation-gusher-could-entire-pacific-fishery-be-tainted
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)The utility had intended to start removing the fuel rods from the unit’s packed cooling pool as early as Friday.
The test was requested by the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization. The government-affiliated agency called for an initial test that would include transporting a protective fuel cask from the No. 4 storage pool to another pool in a different building about 100 meters away, to provide more stable conditions for cooling spent fuel, the sources said.
The agency has already inspected the equipment to be used in the operation on behalf of the Nuclear Regulation Authority. It has also urged Tepco to have its work evaluated by a group of Japanese and overseas experts formed by the International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning, a Tokyo-based organization founded by Japanese government agencies, nuclear facility manufacturers and electric power companies.
Of the four reactors in use at the time of the March 2011 disasters, only the No. 4 unit avoided meltdown because it had been defueled for maintenance and all its rods were sitting in its spent fuel pool.
READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/04/national/tepco-to-conduct-fuel-removal-test-at-reactor-4/#.UnQijRCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Staff Writer
Doubtful of utility's aptitude, experts urge help for dangerous operation
by Eric Johnston
Nov 5, 2013
OSAKA – With Tepco due to begin removing more than 1,300 spent-fuel rod assemblies and nearly 200 fresh ones from the reactor 4 pool at the Fukushima No. 1 plant this month, global pressure is mounting to allow an international task force to monitor and assist the highly hazardous operation.
A former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland, anti-nuclear groups in Japan and abroad, nuclear engineers, doctors and radiologists are warning of the dangers of the operation Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to carry out and calling for pressure on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration to be more globally transparent.
“It is urgently needed to set up an international task force to assist Japan by deploying all possible means to reduce the risks of the imminent first unloading of spent fuel from unit 4,” ex-Ambassador to Switzerland Mitsuhei Murata said in a recent letter to U.S. President Barack Obama.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/05/national/tepco-feeling-heat-over-fuel-removal/#.UnUbvhCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)6 September 2013
The cover building of Fukushima Daiichi 4 is being kitted out for the removal of used reactor fuel. The main crane and the fuel handling machine are in place.
Within the new structure built over the badly damaged reactor building of unit 4, Tepco has been installing equipment that will allow the transfer of used nuclear fuel for long-term storage elsewhere. Underwater inspections in the pond have shown most of the fuel to be undamaged, but the pond contains a lot of dust and debris which will complicate operations. The cover is fitted with air filters that will prevent any release of radioactivity as the fuel is moved.
Transport containers will be placed in the empty and undamaged reactor vessel and the fuel will be transferred to them underwater using the fuel handling machine. The used fuel will eventually be placed in the site's shared used fuel pool, which was undamaged by the natural disasters two years ago.
MORE: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS_Readying_for_Fukushima_fuel_move_2609131.html
Seems like they are making this sound a bit too easy here, No mention of "Ice Walls" either.... Is this the industry whitewash?
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fukushima operator TEPCO is getting ready for its toughest and the most dangerous clean-up operation. In November it will try to remove 400 tons of spent fuel from plant’s Reactor No. 4. But even a little mistake may result in a new nuclear disaster.
The operation is scheduled to start in the beginning of November and be completed by around the end of 2014.
Under normal circumstances, the operation to remove all the fuel would take about 100 days. TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Co) initially planned to take two years, but reduced the schedule to one year in recognition of the urgency, as even a minor earthquake could trigger an uncontrolled fuel leak.
During this period TEPCO plans to carefully remove more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies, packing radiation 14,000 times the equivalent of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, from their cooling pool.
The base of the pool where the fuel assemblies are situated is 18 meters above ground and the rods are 7 meters under the surface of the water.
TEPCO’s first task is to remove the debris from the Reactor No. 4 fuel pool.
MORE HERE:
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-operation-spent-fuel-618/
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)In November, TEPCO set to begin to remove fuel rods whose radiation matches the fallout of 14,000 Hiroshima bombs
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
An operation with potentially "apocalyptic" consequences is expected to begin in a little over two weeks from now - "as early as November 8" - at Fukushima's damaged and sinking Reactor 4, when plant operator TEPCO will attempt to remove over 1300 spent fuel rods holding the radiation equivalent of 14,000 Hiroshima bombs from a spent fuel storage tank perched on the reactor's upper floor.
https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/24-3
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)A 5.0 earthquake was registered on Japan’s east cost in a prefecture neighboring Fukushima. It comes as a top Japanese politician called for acknowledgement of the fact that some Fukushima evacuees would never be able to return to the area.
Sunday’s tremors were felt as far away as Tokyo, but no casualties or damage reports were released at the time.
The news comes just ahead of one of the most dangerous nuclear cleanup operations ever attempted. Scheduled to start at the beginning of November, it will involve the careful, manual removal of 400 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods from the plant’s Reactor No. 4 - with an atomic yield greater than the Hiroshima bomb. The long and cumbersome operation will not permit even the slightest tremor, or Japan risks a catastrophe greater than Chernobyl.
Meanwhile, a Japanese official from the government’s ruling party disagrees with a plan to allow people back, who escaped the Fukushima disaster on the grounds that habitable areas have not yet been identified by the government.
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-earthquake-evacuees-return-152/
Why is this just now up on Japan Times? I visit every day and this si the first I've seen of this, a story that happened on Sunday...
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)A Statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz Regarding Fukushima
http://energy.gov/articles/statement-us-secretary-energy-ernest-moniz-regarding-fukushima
A Statement from U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz Regarding Fukushima
November 1, 2013 - 11:19am
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
(202) 586-4940
Editors Note: This statement has been updated as of 12:55 PM on November 1, 2013
“On Friday, I made my first visit to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. It is stunning that one can see firsthand the destructive force of the tsunami even more than two and a half years after the tragic events. The words of President Obama following the incident still hold true today: ‘The Japanese people are not alone in this time of great trial and sorrow. Across the Pacific, they will find a hand of support extended from the United States as they get back on their feet.’ My colleagues from the Department of Energy and I are grateful for the cooperation and openness of our host, TEPCO President Hirose, and his dedicated staff. They face a daunting task in the cleanup and decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, one that will take decades and is being carried out under very challenging conditions. The TEPCO workforce is facing unprecedented challenges and is clearly focused on devising and implementing solutions.
“From the beginning, the United States has worked to support the Government of Japan in the immediate response efforts and in recovery, decommissioning, and cleanup activities. Within days of the accident, the Department of Energy sent a team of 34 experts and more than 17,000 pounds of equipment in support of efforts to manage the crisis. I was able to witness firsthand the continuing partnership between TEPCO and U.S. agencies and companies.
“The DOE, our national labs, and U.S. companies will continue to offer our experience and capabilities to assist the Japanese government and TEPCO, especially with regard to water contamination issues. On Thursday, we were able to meet with Prime Minister Abe, METI Minister Motegi, and other senior members of the Japanese government. Their commitment to advancing the Convention on Supplementing Compensation of Nuclear Liability is much appreciated, since this will facilitate the further engagement of U.S. and other companies in Fukushima cleanup.
“We also witnessed the progress being made on spent fuel removal activities in parallel with the water challenges. It appears that spent nuclear fuel will begin to be removed from Unit 4 as scheduled in mid-November. This will be significant milestone for TEPCO and the Japanese Government and in the process of decommissioning the site.
“As Japan continues to chart its sovereign path forward on the cleanup at the Fukushima site and works to determine the future of their energy economy, the United States stands ready to continue assisting our partners in this daunting yet indispensable task. The United States and Japan created the Bilateral Commission to strengthen our strategic and practical engagement on civil nuclear R&D, Fukushima cleanup, emergency response, nuclear safety regulatory matters, and nuclear security and nonproliferation, and we look forward to the commission meeting next week in Washington, D.C.”
From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1016&pid=77990
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)God I hate "Polispeak"....
What in the hell does he say here? Not a fucking thing. Press release timed perfectly due to the pressure created lately by people that are fucking scared shitless over this thing and the removal operation. He mentions no danger. This could go this way or that way.
Then there is this:
"The DOE, our national labs, and U.S. companies will continue to offer our experience and capabilities to assist the Japanese government and TEPCO, especially with regard to water contamination issues. On Thursday, we were able to meet with Prime Minister Abe, METI Minister Motegi, and other senior members of the Japanese government.
"Will Continue to offer our expertise and experience" (WITH A FUCKING NUCLEAR MELTDOWN UNSEEN IN WORLD HISTORY?)
How's that water contamination thing working out for you guys? Is there someone from your organization standing out on the point with a pair of binoculars going "well it is still pouring out"?
"WE WERE ABLE TO MEET"????????????????? What the fuck does that even fucking mean? Seems like you should be fucking meeting every fucking day for the past two fucking years.
Then there's this:
The United States and Japan created the Bilateral Commission to strengthen our strategic and practical engagement on civil nuclear R&D, Fukushima cleanup, emergency response, nuclear safety regulatory matters, and nuclear security and nonproliferation, and we look forward to the commission meeting next week in Washington, D.C.
Next FUCKING WEEK? they are gonna start the fuel rod removal project NEXT FUCKING WEEK. A fucking commission is meeting next week about what to fucking do about a two year old nuclear fucking meltdown? Notice no mention of any previous fucking meetings. A commission. They will make something happen once every fucking palm gets greased and the Corporations that will pay everyone on the commission in order to limit information and damages..............
Can they be honest? Can you tell a country the size of japan to start fucking swimming? it is obvious that the TEPCO nor the Japanese gov't are letting anyone in one this. Cleverly worded to make everyone think shit is hunnky fucking dory, but really it says they are going it alone.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)david suzuki fukushima
David Suzuki has issued a scary warning about Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, saying that if it falls in a future earthquake, it's "bye bye Japan" and the entire west coast of North America should be evacuated.
The "Nature of Things" host made the comments in a talk posted to YouTube after he joined Dr. David Schindler for "Letting in the Light," a symposium on water ecology held at the University of Alberta on Oct. 30 and 31.
An excerpt of the talk shows Suzuki outlining a frightening scenario that would result from the destruction of the nuclear plant.
"Fukushima is the most terrifying situation I can imagine," he said.
"Three out of the four plants were destroyed in the earthquake and in the tsunami. The fourth one has been so badly damaged that the fear is, if there's another earthquake of a seven or above that, that building will go and then all hell breaks loose.
"And the probability of a seven or above earthquake in the next three years is over 95 per cent."
Suzuki said that an international team of experts needs to go into the Fukushima plant and help fix the problem, but said the Japanese government has "too much pride to admit that."
More here: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/04/david-suzuki-fukushima-warning_n_4213061.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fukushima's nuclear power mess: Five big questions
Tokyo (CNN) -- The meltdowns of three reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant may have happened more than two years ago, but the disaster remains a giant, unresolved mess.
An earthquake in 2011 triggered a tsunami which slammed into the plant, disabling it. The threat of radiation forced neighbors to evacuate and many still can't return to their homes. Authorities face many challenges before they can make the facility safe again for the long term.
Here are five of the biggest questions still out there:
1. How dangerous for your health is Fukushima?
Data published in August shows 44 out of 216,809 children under age 18 in Fukushima prefecture were diagnosed with thyroid cancer or suspected of having the disease. The figure is far higher than the international average but opinions are split as to whether this is because of the nuclear accident or because of more sensitive screening. Also, health experts say it takes years after radiation exposure to develop thyroid cancer, which suggests the cause of the cancer may predate the tsunami.
READ MORE: VIDEO: http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/fukushima-nuclear-power-disaster-problems/index.html?hpt=hp_c4
0
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)CROSS POSTED FROM THIS THREAD:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023974410
I have a bad feeling about this week.
]
Unit 4 was down for refueling when the great earthquake and tsunami hit, so the reactor is in good shape, but hydrogen built up around the fuel pool when the power failed leading to a hydrogen explosion on the structure's upper level. TEPCO reinforced the damaged supports for the fuel pool, but its seismic safety remains a major concern. Two new (moderately radioactive) fuel assemblies were successfully removed from the pool in July 2012 by a team of workers (above and below).
Spent fuel must be removed robotically or by operators protected by heavily shielded equipment, unlike the dry run on new fuel, because it is highly radioactive. TEPCO announced that a specialized crane has been installed a week ahead of schedule and fuel removal will begin a week from today.
*****
As long-time anti-nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman explained, the
Spent fuel rods must be kept cool at all times. If exposed to air, their zirconium alloy cladding will ignite, the rods will burn and huge quantities of radiation will be emitted. Should the rods touch each other, or should they crumble into a big enough pile, an explosion is possible.
"In the worst-case scenario," RT adds, the pool could come crashing to the ground, dumping the rods together into a pile that could fission and cause an explosion many times worse than in March 2011. Wasserman says that the plan is so risky it requires a global take-over, an urging Gunter also shared, stating that the "dangerous task should not be left to TEPCO but quickly involve the oversight and management of independent international experts."
An operation with potentially "apocalyptic" consequences is expected to begin in a little over two weeks from now - "as early as November 8" - at Fukushima's damaged and sinking Reactor 4, when plant operator TEPCO will attempt to remove over 1300 spent fuel rods holding the radiation equivalent of 14,000 Hiroshima bombs from a spent fuel storage tank perched on the reactor's upper floor.
More:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/01/1252062/--Apocalyptic-Fukushima-Fuel-Rod-Removal-Begins-Nov-8-TEPCO-Subcontracts-Yakuza-gangsters
18
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Aiming to boost the morale of workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will raise wages and construct two new office buildings, an eight-story “rest station” and a food service center in the facility’s compound.
MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/08/national/fukushima-no-1-workers-to-get-raise-perks/#.UnklLhCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has agreed to accept the help of the U.S. Department of Energy with the fuel rod removal, a process considered to be one of the most dangerous in the decommissioning of the nuclear facility. If it is not done properly, the process could lead to a whole new nuclear accident.
Naomi Hirose, president of TEPCO, has decided to accept the help after discussing with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz when they visited Fukushima No. 1 on Friday to inspect preparations to remove fuel rods from the reactor 4 storage pool.
After Japan received huge public critics regarding its refuse to accept foreign help, the country has recently begun to show more willingness to do so.
“As Japan continues to chart its sovereign path forward on the cleanup at the Fukushima site and works to determine the future of energy economy, the United States stands ready to continue assisting our partners in this daunting yet indispensable task,” Moniz said.
Hirose also said that, “We will work together to tackle many challenges toward decommissioning. I have high hopes that we will be able to benefit from U.S. experience and expertise at Fukushima No. 1.”
A long series of recent breakdowns have revealed grave vulnerabilities at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant that was hit by a violent earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
http://www.tokyotimes.com/2013/tepco-helped-by-the-u-s-to-remove-nuclear-fuel-rods/
0
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fukushima's fuel rod removal plan
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes - BBC
11/8/13
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from inside Reactor Building 4 at Fukushima
<snip>
...
...
...
I have recently received a new sophisticated radiation monitor sent from London, which has now had its first outing in the field. You can point it at things and it tells you how many "counts per second" of radiation the object is giving off.
Inside reactor building four the readings were constantly low - not surprising when you remember that reactor four had no meltdown. The reactor was offline when the tsunami struck. That is not true with reactors one, two and three.
As our bus left reactor four and drove along the sea front, I pointed my new monitor out of the window towards reactor building three. Suddenly the needle started to spike - 1,000 counts per second, then 2,000, 3,000, finally it went off the scale.
There, outside the bus, just a few dozen meters away is the real dead zone, a place where it is still far too dangerous for anyone to go. No human has been inside reactor three since the disaster. To do so would be suicide. No-one knows when it will be possible to go in.
When I asked the same experts how long it would be until reactors one, two and three could be dismantled, they shook their heads. When I asked them where they thought the melted reactor cores were, they shook their heads again.
Tokyo Electric Power Company was happy to show us reactor four, but please do not ask what they intend to do with reactors one, two and three.
<snip>
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)To facilitate the return of evacuees, the Nuclear Regulation Authority has approved a change in the way radiation doses are monitored around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station that will effectively result in lower readings, but observers warn this could raise public mistrust.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/12/national/plan-to-lower-radiation-readings-okd/#.Un8E7xCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it has found water leaks around the bottom of the containment vessel in the reactor 1 building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the first time leaks have been detected near or possibly in any of the three containment vessels that experienced a meltdown in March 2011.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/14/national/leaks-seen-under-reactor-1-containment-vessel/#.UoFKkxCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)The decades-long decommissioning process at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant is about to take what Tokyo Electric Power Co. says is “an important step,” as the utility starts removing fuel rod assemblies from the spent fuel pool high up in reactor building 4 sometime this month.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/14/national/risky-fuel-removal-about-to-start/#.UoFLjRCYaSo
So let me see, that means one week has passed for the US and UN inspectors to help. Huh? Are they rushing this now?
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Screening of Fukushima residents who were 18 or younger at the time of the 2011 nuclear disaster had found 26 confirmed and 32 suspected cases of thyroid cancer as of Sept. 30, according to the Fukushima Prefectural Government.
Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/13/national/thyroid-cancers-up-in-fukushima/#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=8&at_ab=-&at_pos=0
****************************************************************************************
I think it is odd that the japan times has completely changed, now with a paywall and even the formatting is now kind of wierd. So anyway< I am over my story limit and don't wanna pay for it, so that's why the stories are so short from that source....
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Wow. Big news today about FUKU and not a peep.....
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fukushima Diary has been suggesting the possible direct leakage of contaminated water from reactor1 to underground.
(cf, [Column] Tepco may be hiding the possible direct leakage of coolant water – Press should demand disclosure [URL])
From 11/13 to 11/14/2013, Tepco investigated the basement floor of reactor1 building to identify 3 locations of the leakage from PCV.
The used the remote controlling boat for this investigation.
The leakages are the from a vent pipe and also a crippled sand cushion drain pipe around the suppression chamber. A part called sand cushion ring header was also observed leaking.
The ambient dose was 0.9 ~ 2.0 Sv/h. The leakage speed wasn’t tested.
more, VIDEO ETC: http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/video-reactor1-confirmed-leaking-out-the-coolant-water-2-0-svh/
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tone-gawa river Chiba prefecture according to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The sampling date was 11/7/2013.
Tone-gawa river is the major river in Kanto area. Aquatic lives in Kanto area are also severely contaminated.
The radiation readings were
Cesium-134 : 41.9 Bq/Kg
Cesium-137 : 91.5 Bq/Kg
Total : 133.4 Bq/Kg
This is 33% higher than even the Japanese safety limit of food.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/133-4-bqkg-from-eel-of-tone-gawa-river-chiba-prefecture/
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Thanks, Benny.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)with the fuel removal going ahead, even though the outside help was accepted last weekend and could not possibly had time to inspect or even look at this thing.
if you look a couple of posts up you can see that they just found out that the floor of reactor 1 is leaking. Ther is no mention of international inspectors or anything like that, it is TEPCO workers and press releases.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tepco to start fuel removal from Fukushima reactor 4 pool Monday
Kyodo
Nov 15, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will start removing nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pool of the reactor 4 building at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 plant from Monday.
MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/15/national/tepco-to-start-fuel-removal-from-fukushima-reactor-4-pool-monday/#at_pco=tcb-1.0&at_tot=8&at_ab=-&at_pos=0
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tepco announced they plan to start the fuel removal of reactor4 pool on 11/18/2013.
Specifically, they will start it from sinking the cask in the pool but the exact time schedule was not announced.
They estimate one cycle (sinking the cask to the pool ~ setting the fuel in the common usage pool) would take 7~8 days.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/tepco-to-start-fuel-removal-of-reactor4-pool-on-11182013/
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)At 20:44 of 11/16/2013 (JST), M5.4 hit the south of Fukushima according to Japan Meteorological Agency.
The seismic intensity was 4, the epicenter was North-West part of Chiba prefecture.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/20131116204911393-162044.html
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tepco announced they plan to start the fuel removal of reactor4 pool on 11/18/2013.
Specifically, they will start it from sinking the cask in the pool but the exact time schedule was not announced.
They estimate one cycle (sinking the cask to the pool ~ setting the fuel in the common usage pool) would take 7~8 days.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/tepco-to-start-fuel-removal-of-reactor4-pool-on-11182013/
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Cross posted from this DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1002&pid=4040042
be sure to read the thread, lots of good information in there...
http://www.thenation.com/blog/177170/tepcos-risky-operation-fukushima#
Far be it from me to distract from the important blaming and shaming around the Obamacare website. But if we do have a minute left for our actual health, can we talk about the radiation threat that seems to be soaring on the Pacific?
I don’t want to frighten anyone unduly, so I’ll quote the calm people at Reuters:
The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will as early as this week begin removing 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel in a hugely delicate and unprecedented operation fraught with risk.
That’s Reuters. Nuclear researcher Harvey Wasserman says things more to the effect of “What the F’ity F. F?”
The point is, since an earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in March of 2011, the fuel rods at Reactor Number Four have been in dangerously delicate shape. They can’t heat up, be exposed to air or break without releasing deadly gas, but the cooling pool they’ve been resting in is leaky and corroded by seawater and could never withstand another tremor or quake.
Starting any day now, Tokyo Electric or TEPCO, is going to begin plucking more than 1,500 brittle and potentially damaged fuel assemblies out of where they are and placing them in new casks.
flamingdem
(40,651 posts)Thanks 
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)From this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024048891
As reported by ABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, in the audio of a morning radio show at the link below.
Authorities begin Fukushima cleanup
Monday 18 November 2013 6:35AM
Japanese authorities will today begin removing highly radioactive fuel from one the Fukushima nuclear plant's damaged reactor buildings.
The Japan Atomic Energy Commission has described Fukushima as an unprecedented, and deepening, crisis, with the 160,000 people evacuated from the area unlikely to ever return home.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/authorities-begin-fukushima-cleanup/5098120
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)At the temporary housing complexes in Fukushima Prefecture that serve as homes for those displaced by the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing nuclear disaster, degradation of the buildings is becoming a serious issue.
Most of the units are well over 2 years old, and some are suffering from damaged floors and walls that are falling apart. Requests for repairs now exceed 300 cases a month. As winter approaches, some also fear that gaps in the walls created by the now tilting structures could let cold wind and snow into their homes. To deal with the situation, the prefectural government said it will start checking all 17,000 units this year.
“I can’t sleep well because the floor squeaks when I turn over in my futon,” said Toshiko Oshima, 68, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Originally from Namie, Oshima lives in one of the temporary housing units in Minamiyanome in the city of Fukushima.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/17/national/fukushima-evacuees-housing-units-crumbling/#.Uol6VhCYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Cross posted from this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1017&pid=159201
MsMilkytheclown1·Published on Nov 17, 2013
Suppression of Nuclear Protest in Japan - Prof. Masaki Shimoji
He was Jailed for 21 days because he was speaking out against the way the Japanese government is handling the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster - burning debris, hiding test results, etc. NOTE: I edited the video to include ONLY ENGLISH but you can watch the full video here: http://tinyurl.com/mgndpej
Published on Nov 17, 2013
An excerpt from A Town Hall Forum
Held at The Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (UUCB) Berkeley, CA Oct. 17, 2013
http://ffan.us/ Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network
"We are alarmed at the lack of testing currently in place to meet the present-and-growing threat of Cesium 134 and 137 contamination in our food supply. The time is past-due for a comprehensive response to radiation present in our food supply from the Fukushima disaster. " Alexis Lynn Baden-Mayer, Political Director, Organic Consumers Association
Co-Sponsors:
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Univeralists
FukushimaResponse.org
No Nukes Action Committee
Codepink
EON - the Ecological Options Network
http://tinyurl.com/lfg2vb4
Bird nests of Fukushima 11/16/13
http://tinyurl.com/l7dvazx
How to Catch My Fukushima Live Streams (BeautifulGirlByDana)
http://tinyurl.com/lqb63kd
Latest Headlines: http://enenews.com/
Now revealed there's 80 damaged spent fuel assemblies leaking radioactive materials in Fukushima storage pools — Kyodo: Removal attempt at Unit 4 starts later today — Japan nuclear official 'nervous', as one slip could result in monumental chain reaction (AUDIO)
CBS News: 'Immense mystery' as sea stars being wiped out along West Coast, could be gone for generations — Bewildering disease is spreading and "no idea what's causing it, or how to stop it" — Timelapse shows all legs lost in 7 hours (VIDEOS)
'Anonymous' protests at California TV station over lack of Fukushima coverage — Show Host: I wonder if media paid not to report on it — Senior Scientist: Phony stories made up by National Propaganda Radio (NPR)
Yale: Chief Arvol Looking Horse at U.N. to speak about Fukushima crisis and threat to future of humanity — 2001 Quote: "Contamination of our food and land now affecting way we think... disease of the mind has set in World Leaders... faced with chaos, disasters, diseases... end of life as we know it"?
Columnist: The truth must be told, Fukushima a major global threat to all living flora and fauna... Mainstream media not best source of information — Gundersen: Only thing saving us is the internet (AUDIO)
Researchers: Skin ulcers on Alaska wildlife after Fukushima were never observed before — Also reported in seals from Japan — We couldn't document fallout pattern when plumes hit and animals were on the ice (AUDIO)
Gundersen: Health effects from Fukushima are being hidden — Japan not publishing data on stillbirths, spontaneous abortions, cancers, and more since 3/11 — Indicates they're afraid to release it (VIDEO)
Nuclear Engineer: New footage shows Reactor 1 has "ruptured" containment structure, most likely from the explosion — Water to cool "what's left of core" flowing into environment (VIDEO)
Experts: Fukushima plume headed to West Coast isn't just going to pass by like smoke, plant continues to spew into ocean; Pacific to be full of contamination, it's a gigantic experiment — Host: Amazing how many people are in denial (VIDEO)
Gundersen: Fuel already "very close to going critical" at Unit 4 — Must be extraordinarily careful about starting chain reaction (VIDEO)
Photographer: No sign of life in Fukushima exclusion zone, only a few birds (PHOTOS)
Fox News: 'Video points to serious damage' to Fukushima Reactor No. 1 — Nuclear Expert: Size of leak indicates 'large damage' — Caused by explosion? (VIDEO)
Nuclear Engineer: Borated rubber between fuel is damaged in Unit 4 pool; Increased risk of criticality — The Economist: Rods can explode if they collide — Tepco VP: Recriticality 'highly improbable' (VIDEO)
Damaged fuel rods are cracked and leaking radioactive gases in Fukushima Unit 4 pool; Wire appears trapped in racks — Another assembly bent when "mishandled during a transfer"
TV: Fukushima workers "fear for their own safety" — "The truth is astonishing... I don't dare wash my hands, even after using toilet" (VIDEO)
US Gov't Headline: Alaska island "appears to show impacts from Fukushima" — "Significant cesium isotope signature" detected — Scientists anticipate more marine life to be impacted as ocean plume arrives (VIDEO)
NHK: Holes near bottom of containment vessel identified for first time at Fukushima plant — "Gushing out" of Reactor No. 1 — Similar damage suspected at Units 2 and 3 (VIDEO)
Multiple assemblies 'deformed' in Fukushima Unit 4 pool — One "bent at a 90-degree angle" — Tepco: Mistake occurred when handling the fuel... 25 years ago
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Today they were to start the operation to remove fuel rods. Why no news of this? It was in the JT that it would start a couple of days ago, but nothing at all about it today? WOW>
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)from this DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014650683
Tepco Successfully Removes First Nuclear Fuel Rods at Fukushima
Source: Bloomberg
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) successfully removed the first nuclear fuel rods today from a cooling pool at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, an early milestone in decommissioning the facility amid doubts about whether the rods had been damaged and posed a radiation risk.
The first of the fuel-rod assemblies at the plant’s No. 4 reactor building was transferred from an underwater rack on the fifth floor to a portable cask just before 4 p.m., the utility known as Tepco said in an e-mailed statement.
Tepco planned to remove 22 assemblies from the pool, which contains 1,331 spent fuel assemblies and 202 unused assemblies, by the end of tomorrow, the company said. Crews are beginning with the unused assemblies because they are less fragile, spokesman Yusuke Kunikage said by phone.
The operation is the most significant test to date of Tepco’s ability to contain the threat stemming from the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Were the rods to break or overheat, it could prompt a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction similar to the meltdowns at three Fukushima reactors following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
<snip>
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-18/fukushima-plant-fuel-rod-removals-to-begin-today-tepco-says.html
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Tepco transferred 22 new fuel assemblies to on-premises transportation container [URL]
On 11/19/2013, Tepco released the video of fuel removal operated on 11/18/2013.
It records from when they put the on-premises transfer container into the pool to when they put the new fuel assemblies to the container. However, the top and the bottom parts of the container are pixelated for some reason.
Tepco is known to conceal some of the information for “the protection of nuclear material” but it is not clear why they need to conceal only these parts of the container.
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/video-tepco-pixelates-2-parts-of-fuel-container-of-reactor4-pool/
fukushima-diary.com
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Cross posted from this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/112757894
Fukushima job feared too perilous for Tepco
BY MIYA TANAKA
KYODO NOV 19, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has finally moved into the decommissioning process at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, despite doubt over its ability to manage a highly dangerous effort that will take decades.
The start Monday of removing fuel from the cooling pool high up in the damaged reactor 4 building was one of the few bright pieces of news to come out recently from the plant, which has been plagued with frequent radioactive water leaks and other troubles over the past year.
But the work poses another challenge to the utility, with its success or failure expected to affect the following process of retrieving the fuel from the pools for reactors 1, 2 and 3, as well as the melted fuel inside the damaged cores.
“Spent fuel has potentially a very large risk. . . . I am personally more worried about (handling) it than the radioactive water problem,” Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said in late October.
Tepco President Naomi Hirose has ...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/19/national/fukushima-job-feared-too-perilous-for-tepco
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)The government said Tuesday that International Atomic Energy Agency experts will visit Japan later this month to study such issues as the just-started fuel removal work at a pool inside a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex.
READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/19/national/iaea-to-review-fuel-removal-work-at-fukushima-no-4-reactor-this-month/#.UowkCuKYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Kyodo
Nov 20, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to permanently idle the two reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant that were unscathed in the 2011 catastrophe and use them as test platforms for ultimately removing the fuel in the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns, Tepco sources said Wednesday.
The decision was reached following a request by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who said in September that the utility should scrap reactors 5 and 6 and focus more on cleaning up the disaster.
But instead of dismantling the two units, they will be used as a research facility to develop technologies for achieving the unprecedented task of removing the melted fuel from reactors 1, 2 and 3, a process that will take decades.
Tepco will explain the plan to the prefectural and nearby local governments.
READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/20/national/reactors-5-6-to-be-test-units-for-scrapping-plant/#.UozeiOKYaSo
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So why didn't they do this before they started with fuel removal? Or is this just more corporate crap to keep the bottom line on the bottom?
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it will propose to a government task force that management of radiation doses on an individual basis will be vital to working out steps to protect people seeking to return to their homes near the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The proposal is expected to bring about a change in the government’s policy of using “estimated” personal doses, calculated from air dose levels measured by radiation monitoring posts and other sources, when setting evacuation zones and other protective steps.
But as radiation exposure measured by individual dosimeters tends to be lower than estimated doses, the latest move could effectively mean a relaxation of the rules, making it easier for the government to achieve its long-term goal of reducing exposure doses to 1 millisievert per year in contaminated areas.
Estimated doses are calculated on the assumption that an individual remains eight hours outdoors and 16 hours indoors.
MORE:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/11/20/national/regulators-call-for-radiation-dose-management-on-individual-basis/#.Uozfz-KYaSo
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Last edited Thu Nov 21, 2013, 03:35 PM - Edit history (1)
Well, this is interesting.
Cross Posted here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023909069
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Andy Norris keeps putting it off. But he plans to stop eating his twice-a-week tuna sandwich. He’s worried about the traces of radioactive particles from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster detected in local albacore.
Norris is a 42-year-old documentary filmmaker with graying hair tied back in a ponytail. The Manzanita resident already eliminated local seaweed from his diet after reading about radiation found in California kelp post-Fukushima. He’s raised $750 in pledges for a community Geiger counter to share between Tillamook and Clatsop counties so residents can test fish and tsunami debris.
He’s not Chicken Little, he said. He just wants his diet to be safe.
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/11/fukushima_radiation_fears_for.html
MineralMan
(149,706 posts)See this link for actual current news on what is going on at Fukushima:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024070888
The fuel rod assembly removal has begun and is a success so far. 22 fuel rod assemblies have been removed intact so far. Your story is out of date now.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)is up to date as can be. If you go to Fukushima Diary you can see it in real time.
I posted the month old story to try to temper some of the hysteria going on right now. That story, nothing has changed despite alarmists warnings to the contrary...... We owe it to be truthful, and if you can find something that argues that story then be sure to post it here. I don't know what to believe myself and want to see fact based stories to the contrary...
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Fuel rod removal: Fukushima’s most dangerous operation yields first successes
CROSS POSTED FROM HERE: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024070888
http://rt.com/news/fukushima-nuclear-fuel-rods-072/
Published time: November 21, 2013 13:59
Workers at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have successfully removed the first nuclear fuel rods from a cooling pool suspended above ground in what is one of the most dangerous operations ever attempted in nuclear history.
Already riddled with problems, the complex process of cleaning up and decommissioning the plant consists of many components. The removal of these rods is of paramount importance for safety and the prevention of another nuclear catastrophe.
Each fuel assembly contains 50 to 70 fuel rods – there are a total of 22 assemblies that have been transported today aboard a trailer to another, newer, storage pool on the final day of an operation that lasted four days, according to a statement by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), Reuters reports.
What used to be done by computer will now be an entirely manual process, because of the tilted position of the cooling pools, which was affected by the tsunami and earthquake that battered the power plant in 2011.
It's looking better for this risky operation. They've managed to move 22 fuel rod assemblies so far, with no major issues. Let's hope this success continues.
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)A nuclear expert helping with the clean-up at the crisis-stricken Fukushima plant has joined a chorus of voices saying that all the accumulating radioactive waste water must eventually be dumped into the ocean.
Speaking with Australia's ABC, Dale Klein, former head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and current head of the Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee hired by plant operator TEPCO, described the situation at the plant as "challenging."
Massive amounts of radioactive water used to cool the reactors continue to build up daily in hastily built storage tanks, some which have already leaked, creating an unsustainable scenario.
Eventually, Klein told ABC, that water must be treated to reduce its radioactivity and then dumped into he ocean.
"At the end of the day, when the water is discharged, it will be released in a way that it's diluted," he said.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/11/20-4
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)110,000 Bq/Kg of Cs-134/137 was measured from spotbelly rockfish of Fukushima plant port. This is 1,100 times higher even than the safety limit.
Cs-134 : 34,000 Bq/Kg
Cs-137 : 76,000 Bq/Kg
The sampling date was 10/10/2013.
101,000 Bq/kg of Cs-134/137 was also measured from marbled rockfish collected on 10/29/2013. This sample was from the port too.
Radiation level of marine products is still significantly high.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2013/images/fish01_131120-j.pdf
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/110000-bqkg-of-cs-134137-from-spotbelly-rockfish-of-fukushima-plant-port/
Bennyboy
(10,440 posts)Following up this article.. Tepco to start the second fuel removal from reactor4 pool on 26th Nov / Spent fuel to be taken [URL]
Tepco started the second fuel removal from reactor4 pool at 14:30 of 11/26/2013, and completed it at 18:30 of the same day.
They loaded 6 spent fuel assemblies to the on-premises transportation container.
Tepco is going to continue loading tomorrow too.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/2013/1232451_5117.html
http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/11/tepco-completed-loading-6-spent-fuel-assemblies-to-the-transportation-container/