Fukushima July 14; radiation, cesium, rejection of MOX, nuke power etc.

[robdogbucky]

TEPCO urged to tighten workers' radiation control

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has urged the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to tighten controls on workers' radiation exposure.

About 3,000 workers are struggling daily at the plant to contain the nuclear crisis.

The safety agency has been inspecting Tokyo Electric Power Company's measures to protect them from exposure to radiation.

The agency says it has found 8 areas of concern and ordered TEPCO on Wednesday to take appropriate measures…

Thursday, July 14, 2011 07:51 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_07.html



Cesium found in hay at another farm in Fukushima

Radioactive cesium far exceeding safe limits has been detected in hay fed to cattle at a second farm near the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.

Fukushima's government warned on Thursday that 42 possibly contaminated cattle have already been shipped out from the farm in Asakawa Town.

The finding came during inspections ordered by the prefecture after a large dose of the radioactive substance was found in hay at the first farm in Minami-Soma City.

The latest checks uncovered radioactive cesium measured up to 97,000 becquerels per kilogram -- some 73 times the government-set safety limit…

Thursday, July 14, 2011 21:52 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_39.html



Thursday, July 14, 2011

On target for January cold shutdown
Reactor 3 set for injection of nitrogen
Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. was set Thursday to inject nitrogen into the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant's reactor 3 to reduce the risk of further hydrogen explosions, a significant step forward in the effort to contain the nuclear crisis that started March 11.

If successful, it will complete Tepco's goal of injecting the inert gas into all three crippled reactors by mid-July.

The utility and the government believe restoration work is basically on track as outlined in a road map. Tepco has already started operating a new system to circulate water around the three reactors to keep the nuclear fuel inside cool.

Under the road map, Tepco hopes to stabilize the crippled reactors by mid-July as the first step toward achieving cold shutdown by January at the latest…

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714x2.html




Thursday, July 14, 2011

Nuke panel downplayed power loss risk
Kyodo

Government-commissioned experts noted in the early 1990s the possibility of fatal damage to nuclear power plants resulting from loss of all alternating-current sources for long periods, as in the case of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, but played down the risk in view of Japan's advanced technology.

A panel of five experts under the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan held 12 meetings between October 1991 and June 1993 to study cases related to the loss of power sources at nuclear power plants at home and abroad, the commission said…

…In June 1993, the expert panel compiled a 96-page report warning that loss of power sources for long periods could have grave consequences, such as damage to reactor cores. The report can now be viewed on the commission's website. The panel noted that measures to prevent power losses were taken into account for the safety of nuclear power generation in the U.S. and France.

But the panel concluded that the chances of reactors falling into a fatal situation were low. It cited the absence of cases in Japan and the nation's advanced power source technology supposedly minimizing the possibility of an atomic power plant losing all alternating-current sources and making it likely it could quickly restore them.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714x3.html




Thursday, July 14, 2011

Japan must ditch nuclear power: Kan
Timetable specifics lacking but snap election mandate ruled out

By NATSUKO FUKUE
Staff writer

Japan should gradually become a society that does not have to rely on atomic power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday amid the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

"I think that's the direction our country should head toward," Kan told a televised news conference. But he did not specify a timetable, saying it is too early to outline specifics.

Kan also denied that he is planning to call a snap election over energy issues, amid strong speculation that he may dissolve the Lower House this summer to try to break the political stalemate.

Concerning his expected resignation, Kan only said, "I have already spoken on my course of action at a meeting of lawmakers and a news conference," referring to the June 27 news conference in which he said he intends to step down after three key bills clear the Diet…

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714a1.html



Kansai Power to shelve MOX fuel plan in Takahama

Kansai Electric Power Company has postponed a plan to introduce recycled plutonium fuel at a reactor in its nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture.

The utility told NHK on Thursday that a lack of local understanding means it cannot proceed with feeding the No.4 reactor of the Takahama plant with plutonium-uranium mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, in regular checkups starting on July 21st.

The revelation came shortly after the Mayor of Takahama Town, Yutaka Nose, told reporters that lack of transparency in the government's energy policy in the wake of the nuclear crisis makes it impossible to understand why the reactor needs MOX fuel.

Consent from Fukui Prefecture and Takahama Town is vital for the utility to carry out the plan…

Thursday, July 14, 2011 19:49 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_36.html





Fukushima plant suffers a leak in water filtering

A system for decontaminating and recycling radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been halted again after operating in fits and starts.

Plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, found a leak through a broken plastic joint in a French-made facility on early Wednesday afternoon, forcing a shutdown for more than a day.

As of late Thursday afternoon, Tokyo Electric has not finished replacing the damaged polyvinyl chloride joint. The PVC joint, which was the cause of earlier leaks, is thought to be structurally too weak.

The company says the latest shutdown does not affect its operation to pump coolant into the reactors…

Thursday, July 14, 2011 19:26 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_28.html




Kyushu Electric delays restart of Sendai reactor

Kyushu Electric Power Company on Thursday announced the postponement of the restart of operations of the Number One nuclear reactor at its Sendai plant in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, citing local opposition.

The reactor was initially scheduled to resume operations in late July.

A regular checkup on the reactor began in May and has been completed.

The utility cited as another reason a lack of a timetable for the central government's plan to carry out additional safety assessments called "stress tests" on nuclear plants…

Thursday, July 14, 2011 16:59 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/14_29.html

[al bupp]

1. Thanks for this summary of recent events /nt

[robdogbucky]

2. TEPCO deadline looms

TEPCO deadline looms

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is aiming to meet its first stage deadline to bring the plant under control by injecting nitrogen into its No.3 reactor containment vessel. But a problematic wastewater system may delay their goal.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company started the injection on Thursday evening to prevent a hydrogen explosion.

The utility had already begun the procedure at the plant's No.1 and 2 reactors, but the work was delayed due to high radiation levels...

...But a French-made system installed to recycle radioactive wastewater continues to work below its target capacity. The device is meant to decontaminate radioactive wastewater and send it back into the reactors as coolant. Tokyo Electric says the problem has been malfunctioning filters.

The utility plans to introduce a newly developed device as an alternative in August.

Friday, July 15, 2011 02:16 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/15_03.html




Mainichi awarded journalism prize for earthquake and tsunami coverage

The Japan Congress of Journalists (JCJ) has awarded its JCJ Prize to the Mainichi Shimbun for its examination of the repercussions of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

The Mainichi's series of reports titled "Kensho Daishinsai" examining the March 11 disaster included the scoop on secret plans between Japan and the United States to build a nuclear waste facility in Mongolia.

"The (Mainichi) reports closed in on the actual conditions of the disaster with visits to the affected areas and full use of photographs, maps and data to give the reports a three-dimensional perspective. Their examinations of the disaster led to major scoops, including the May 9 report on Japan and the United States' secret plans to construct the world's first international storage and disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel in Mongolia," the JCJ award statement said on July 13...

...A special JCJ prize was awarded to a citizens movement on nuclear power plant issues, initiated by the Genpatsu Mondai Jumin Undo Zenkoku Renraku Center (All-Japan liaison center for citizens movements on nuclear power plant issues) and the Genpatsu no Anzensei o Motomeru Fukushima-ken Renraku-kai (Liaison group in Fukushima Prefecture calling for the safety of nuclear power plants).

(Mainichi Japan) July 14, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110714p2a00m0na011000c.html

[robdogbucky]

3. GE plan followed with inflexibility

Tepco wouldn't change blueprint that left emergency backups vulnerable

GE plan followed with inflexibility


By REIJI YOSHIDA

Staff writer


Second of two parts

Yukiteru Naka, a former employee of General Electric who took part in designing and operating reactor units 1, 2 and 6 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is just one of a few engineers whose knowledge spans the facility's 40-year history.

Naka recalls that he and many of his colleagues had a lingering question about the plant at least since the mid-1980s: Why were the backup emergency diesel generators and DC batteries still located in the turbine buildings' basements?

"If an earthquake hits and destroys some of the pipes above, water could come down and hit the generators. DC batteries were also located too close to the diesel generators," said Naka, who now runs Tohoku Enterprise Co., a Fukushima-based maintenance company for nuclear plants. "It's not at all good in terms of safety. Many of the middle-ranking engineers at the plant shared the same concern."

More than two decades later, on March 11, this concern became a waking nightmare, although the water came from a different source...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110714a2.html

[robdogbucky]

4. Japanese nuclear city reveals huge plan to clean every building and road of radiation

Japanese nuclear city reveals huge plan to clean every building and road of radiation

The government of nuclear-stricken Japanese city of Fukushima is drawing up plans to scrub every building and road clean of radioactivity – a process that will take up to 20 years.



By Julian Ryall, Tokyo

11:26AM BST 14 Jul 2011

"We are drawing up a plan to clean our city and the first phase of the project will be announced early next month," Akane Saito, a spokeswoman for the city government, told The Daily Telegraph. "We are still discussing the plan so the final details have not been decided yet and the final cost will depend on what measures are taken."


The cost of the two-decade clean-up operatioon is likely to run into billions of yen and local authorities are hoping to receive funding from the national government and Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, to cleanse the 288 square miles that make up the city.


Fukushima is only about 35 miles from the plant, which was destroyed in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and subsequently released radioactivity into the sea, groundwater and the air. An 18-mile exclusion zone has been declared around the plant, where emergency teams are working around the clock to keep the reactors cool and contain further leaks of radioactivity.


There is evidence, however, that the radioactivity has travelled well beyond the no-go zone, with 10 children from Fukushima who had urine samples tested for radioactivity coming back positive...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8636925/Japanese-nuclear-city-reveals-huge-plan-to-clean-every-building-and-road-of-radiation.html

[robdogbucky]

5. Helicopter scouts Puget Sound for radiation after nuclear disaster

Helicopter scouts Puget Sound for radiation after nuclear disaster

By Greg Allmain, FEDERAL WAY MIRROR

Published 03:41 p.m., Wednesday, July 13, 2011

For residents of King and Pierce counties, a low-flying chopper will be audible and visible over the next few weeks as part of a Washington State Department of Health radiation survey.

This survey is recording Puget Sound's present levels of radiation. In case of a future Fukushima-like meltdown in Washington, the survey will establish a baseline reading for the area's radiation levels.

Fukushima, Japan, experienced the brunt of a March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The disaster led to the meltdown of nuclear reactors within that city. Emergency response teams and the Japanese government had difficulty determining the danger and level of leaked radiation because there was no "baseline" radiation level for comparison.

The state DOH survey began July 11 and will continue until July 28. Here in Federal Way, the western portion of the city may be aware of the chopper, which will fly at approximately 300 feet and will travel at 70 mph. The survey is being conducted in a grid pattern, with each of the grids being approximately 600 feet apart...

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/sound/article/Helicopter-scouts-Puget-Sound-for-radiation-after-1465042.php