2015 June 23 « nuclear-news

Old problems and new problems plague Fukushima

As June wanes we find more delays, more problems and new admissions about the extent of the disaster.
TEPCO introduced a new roadmap plan. At the same time they announced that spent fuel removal work for units 1-3 would be delayed again. Currently they are attempting to remove the cover on unit 1 but this process has not actually begun based on visual evidence at the plant. Work at unit 3 had been underway in early spring to remove parts of the crane that fell into the fuel pool. An oil leak was found as they attempted to remove a portion of the crane. Around the same time they discovered damage to the metal gate that connects the spent fuel pool to the reactor well. After this discovery, removal work at unit 3 appeared to cease.
Newer reports also showed that the earlier concept of flooding the reactor containments to remove damaged fuel debris is being phased out. This will require research to be focused on ways to remove fuel without doing so under water. Something that has not been done is to drill under the reactor buildings to check for fuel debris that may have burned through the basement of the reactor buildings. At this point the melted fuel at units 1-3 has not been located. Delays in investigation efforts and denial of the potential extent of the damage will only drive up costs and create years of additional delay.
Bags of contaminated soil stored at sites around Japan and in Fukushima prefecture have began to fail. It was not mentioned how they would remediate the damaged bags or what precautions would be used to prevent bags from failing during the transportation process. Contaminated soil is to be moved to two new storage facilities near Fukushima Daiichi.
The government has decided to allow businesses back into the evacuation zone. Nahara is also a location where reactor debris was discovered. A group of shareholders seeking to hold TEPCO accountable for the nuclear disaster uncovered a 2008 document where TEPCO admits the tsunami risk and that something must be done. Somehow after that 2008 report was discussed by TEPCO executives they managed to bury the document and do nothing to prevent what happened in 2011.
In a recent Mainichi interview, new details of the chaotic evacuations during the nuclear disaster were revealed. Officials raised the contamination level where they would attempt to decontaminate someone from 13,000 CPM to 100,000 CPM. All parties acknowledged that removing people from the unsafe areas was a larger priority than decontaminating them.
Sources :
Fukushima finds 16 new cases of thyroid cancer in young people
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201505190041
Fukushima Thyroid Examination May 2015: 103 Thyroid Cancer Cases Confirmed, 5 in the Second-Round Screening
http://fukushimavoice-eng2.blogspot.fr/2015/05/fukushima-thyroid-examination-may-2015.html
EDITORIAL: No more half-baked plans for decommissioning Fukushima reactors
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201506170050
Bags of contaminated soil damaged at storage sites
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150617_06.html
Govt. to allow businesses in evacuation zones
http://www.fukushima-is-still-news.com/2015/06/business-in-evacuation-zones.html
Document shows TEPCO recognized risk of huge tsunami at Fukushima plant in 2008
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201506180062
Protecting nuclear disaster evacuees from radiation still a concern
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150621p2a00m0na010000c.html

June 23, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Fukushima continuing, Fukushima Daiichi | Leave a comment

TEPCO finds problems with hoses at Daiichi plant

The operator of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says most of the facility’s other hoses like the one that developed a leak last month need repair or replacement.

The leak from a cracked hose in late May sent highly contaminated water into the plant’s port, sending radioactivity in the seawater there to the highest level since observations began 2 years ago.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company believes the crack in the hose was caused by stress from excessive bending. It has checked 159 hoses of the same type at the site, and found that 139 — or nearly 90 percent — are also being used in an incorrect manner.

Some are similarly bent beyond the permissible level set by the maker, or have not been coated with material to protect them from damage.

TEPCO says all the hoses that need improvement carry relatively low-level radioactive water, including rainwater tainted at the site. The utility plans to speed up work to replace the hoses with a more durable type. It will also shorten the length of hoses used to carry contaminated water to reduce the risk of leakage.

Source: NHK

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150623_21.html

June 23, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Fukushima Daiichi | Leave a comment

Highway opens near Fukushima nuclear power plant

Piles of radiated soil lay along the side of the road in a deserted town, as seen from the newly opened Joban Expressway near the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Tomioka city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, 22 June 2015.

Radiation in the area along the highway closest to the power plants registers more than 5 microsieverts per hour.

At its closest point the highway runs only six kilometers from the destroyed plant.

According to a government report, passengers inside a car traveling at 70 kilometers per hour would be exposed to 0.2 microsieverts during a one way trip past the power plants.

This is equivalent to 1/300 of the radiation output from a chest X-ray.

Source: EPA

http://www.epa.eu/disasters-photos/nuclear-accident-photos/highway-opens-near-fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-photos-52020798

June 23, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | Fukushima continuing, Fukushima Daiichi, radiation, wastes | Leave a comment

Japan Contaminated Food: Charges In Taiwan, Japan Asks China To Ease Restrictions

Two men have been charged in Taiwan related to the importing of banned foods from Japan. Authorities in Taiwan have asked Japan to investigate the crime on their end, so far they have received no response.
At the same time Japan is being uncooperative with Taiwan, they are asking China to ease food import restrictions. Japan recently took South Korea to the WTO in an attempt to force them to remove restrictions on suspect food imports. So far there has been no indication Japan intends to do the same to China.
The higher restrictions in place in China have created an additional problem for Japan. If they are able to comply with China’s stringent documentation requirements they have little ability to claim less onerous documentation rules in other countries are too difficult to meet. ipei Times

Sources:

Taipei Times

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/06/18/2003620995

South China Morning Post

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1824614/japan-asks-china-ease-food-import-restrictions

June 23, 2015 Posted by dunrenard | China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan | Fukushima continuing, radiation | Leave a comment