Bags of tainted waste swept into Fukushima river during torrential rain
FUKUSHIMA–Seven sites for radioactive waste generated from the Fukushima nuclear crisis were submerged during torrential rain in eastern Japan on Sept. 11, raising fears over a possible radiation spill into the environment.
The temporary storage sites, located in Kawamata, Naraha and other municipalities near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, store soil, grass and other radiation-tainted waste generated by decontamination work due to the 2011 triple meltdown.
In Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, where all residents remain evacuated, at least 82 black polyethylene bags containing tainted grass and other waste were swept from a site of decontamination work into a river.
Each bag can hold 1 cubic meter of waste.
An Iitate town official alerted the Environment Ministry’s Fukushima Office for Environmental Restoration around 6 a.m. on Sept. 11 that bags of waste were being swept away.
By 6 p.m., officials had retrieved 37 of the 82 bags. The remaining 45 bags got stuck under bridges and other obstacles along the river.
Ministry officials said none of the bags located thus far had spilled their contents and the impact on the environment was minimal.
At the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, heavy rain caused radiation-tainted rainwater to spill into the ocean outside the plant’s harbor from the drainage system that encircles the reactor buildings on Sept. 9 and Sept. 11, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Floodgates normally block tainted water from reaching the ocean from drainage ditches, but the torrential rains overwhelmed the gates twice in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 9 and Sept. 11, the plant operator said.
Utility officials said rainfall increases the radioactive level of the water in the drainage system as rainwater accumulates radioactive materials in surrounding soil when it flows in the ditches.
While the drainage water usually contains less than 100 becquerels of beta-ray-emitting radioactive substances per liter, the water measured 750 becquerels per liter on Sept. 11, TEPCO officials said.
Source: Asahi Shimbun
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509120043
Flooding swept away radiation cleanup bags in Fukushima
Black plastic bags containing irradiated soil, leaves and debris from the decontamination operation are dumped at a seaside in Tomioka, Fukushima, near Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima No. 1
nuclear power plant in February
Bags filled with grass and soil from work to remove radioactive substances spewed by the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant were swept away in the flooding of rivers in Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, the Environment Ministry said.
A total of 82 of the bags were discovered, with 37 of them recovered Friday, though it remained unclear how many had been washed away, the ministry said.
Scores of 1,000-liter bags were used during the cleanup work, mainly to store surface soil that had been contaminated from the release at the plant, which was heavily damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Source: Japan Times
Tepco investigated equipment hatch of Reactor 3 PCV / “Next time, use robot with a smartphone”
On 9/9/2015, Tepco investigated the equipment hatch of PCV 3 (Reactor 3 PCV) with a portable camera.
They reported the hatch is not leaking coolant water from the inside of PCV 3, nor was damaged however the floor was wet and didn’t confirm where the water was leaking.
None of the atmospheric dose or nuclide analysis data was released. On the other hand, the video shows the white noise caused by extremely high level of radiation.
Considering what they have found in this investigation, Tepco is to decide to send a remote-controlling robot for the next phase. The robot is planned to carry a “smartphone camera” for some reason.
The plan image of the new robot to investigate inside PCV 3. A smartphone is used as its camera.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2015/images/handouts_150909_12-j.pdf
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2015/201509-j/150909-03j.html
Source: Fukushima Diary
Kyushu Electric begins fueling second Sendai reactor
Kyushu Electric Power Co. said Friday it was loading fuel into the second reactor at its Sendai nuclear power plant, bringing it a step closer to a planned mid-October restart.
The No. 2 reactor at the two-unit plant will be the second nationwide to secure a restart since regulators imposed tighter safety requirements on the industry following the Fukushima nuclear crisis. Kyushu Electric reactivated the No. 1 unit at the complex on Aug. 11, which marked a revival of nuclear power generation in Japan after a two-year hiatus.
On Friday, the utility began inserting a total of 157 fuel rod assemblies into the No. 2 reactor — a process that is expected to take about four days to complete.
The government identifies nuclear power as a key electricity source. It is promoting the restarting of idled reactors even though anti-nuclear sentiment remains strong among the public.
However, the outlook for the resumption of other nuclear reactors remains uncertain due to hurdles such as the need for prolonged safety screenings by the regulator.
Kyushu Electric expects its earnings to improve by ¥15 billion a month when the two units are online, potentially putting it into the black this business year for the first time in five years.
Source: Japan Times
Bags of Radioactive waste spilled after torrential rain.
First thing that came to mind was “how would those radioactive waste filled bags hold during yesterday’s torrential rain in Ibaraki, Tochigi and Fukushima which forced thousands and thousands to evacuate?” . Predictable answer is “they did not”!
Exhibit A; The village of Iitate Mura, Fukushima
Under the influence of heavy rain the river bed overflown and spilled and shredded bags of temporarily stored radioactive waste (tainted grass, soil and other radioactive substances removed during decontamination).
There were several places in Fukushima where radioactive waste was spilled, but so far, the most hit place is Sekizawa. It is reported there are unidentified number of similar black bags are scattered around at multiple locations like this one. And each bag contains radioactivity of 0.5 to 1 μSv/hour.
For years these bags have been piling up, in open air, often abandoned on the side of roads or hidden in a forest nearby. There are hundreds of sites hosting this dangerous material in those three prefectures. Most of the bags are starting to deteriorate as they are meant to last up 2 to 3 years only. But yet again, the government keeps on ignoring even the simplest of predictable outcomes – such as heavy rains from a Japanese trademark; Typhoons. We know that, most of the population knows that – but the government keeps on turning a blind eye and mixing up priorities. Securing these radioactive bags should have come before the Olympics. So much shame and laziness of the mind
Entire homes and cars were carried away on the torrent as the Kinugawa River burst its banks after two days of heavy rainfall.
In Tochigi, more than 500mm (19 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in places, according to local public broadcaster NHK, which said that was about double what normally falls there throughout the whole of September.
Parts of central Tochigi have seen almost 60cm of rain since Monday evening, breaking records.
Many other areas of eastern and north-eastern Japan have also been issued weather warnings, including Fukushima prefecture, home to the still-damaged nuclear plant hit in 2011’s earthquake and tsunami.
The downpour overwhelmed the site’s drainage pumps, a spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said. Huge volumes of water, used to cool the plant’s crippled reactors, are being stored at the site.
Source:Evacuate Fukushima
http://www.evacuate-fukushima.com/2015/09/bags-of-radioactive-waste-spilled-after-torrential-rain/
82 Contaminated Waste Bags From Fukushima Washed Away By Typhoon Flood
At least 82 bags filled with contaminated material from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have been swept away by flood water as typhoon Etau hit Japan, officials said. TEPCO said rainwater from the nuclear plant has been leaking into the Pacific.
Flooding caused by Tropical Typhoon Etau has swept at least 82 bags suspected to contain radioactive grass and other contaminated materials that had been collected at the site of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP).
They had been stored in a nearby town in the same prefecture, the Environment Ministry said on Friday, according to local media. Though the Ministry went on to say that most of the bags had been recovered undamaged, local media reported that only 30 of the bags had been found.
Officials said the flooding had not reached the nuclear reactors damaged in the 2011 disaster, when the NPP was hit by a tsunami that had been caused by an earthquake. The nuclear disaster at Fukushima, which took place over four years ago, was dubbed the worst since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Earlier on Friday, Tokyo Electric Power CO. (TEPCO), the company in charge of the damaged NPP, said that one of the holding tanks on the premises of the plant has been leaking drainage rainwater into the ocean. Later in the day, TEPCO said the leakage had been stopped. According to the company’s website, there have been several similar cases in recent days.
“On September 9th and 11th, due to typhoon no.18 (Etau), heavy rain caused Fukushima Daiichi K drainage rainwater to overflow to the sea,” TEPCO said, adding that the samples taken on Wednesday “show safe, low levels” of radiation.
“From the sampling result of the 9th, TEPCO concluded that slightly tainted rainwater had overflowed to the sea; however, the new sampling measurement results show no impact to the ocean,” it continued.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga warned that the rainwater drenching the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant could flow into the Pacific Ocean, the Japan Times reported on Friday. However, he told reporters that the radiation level of such rainwater would be “sufficiently below” the legally permitted level.
TEPCO said on Friday it will continue to monitor the ocean to “ensure the water quality” and has taken “multiple precautionary measures” to protect the ocean water nearby.
Tens of thousands of Japanese people were ordered to leave their homes across the country as typhoon Etau hit Japan this week. The flooding resulting from the torrential rains has been dubbed the worst in 50 years. As a result, three people have been killed, 27 injured and 26 are still missing across Japan.
Meanwhile, Japan officially restarted the No. 1 reactor of the Sendai nuclear power plant for the first time in two years on Thursday. The reactor resumed commercial operations after receiving the approval of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). Kyushu Electric Power Co., the operator of the Sendai plant, plans to launch the plant’s No. 1 reactor in mid-October.
After the disaster at Fukushima on March 11, all nuclear reactors in Japan were shut down. Due to electricity shortages, two reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Oi plant in the Fukui Prefecture were temporarily restarted. However, they were taken offline again in September 2013.
Source: RT
http://www.rt.com/news/315098-radiadion-fukushima-waste-leak/
Typhoon Etau flooded Fukushima Daiichi
Heavy rains in north eastern Japan have caused flooding at Fukushima Daiichi. Rivers in the region have flooded and a number of nearby towns have declared flood alerts. JMA reported flooding in Tomioka and Futaba near the plant. While TEPCO has not released a clear report on ongoing problems at the plant, bits of information came out in the routine reporting.
K drainage, one of the existing rainwater drainage systems known to transport contaminated runoff out of the plant over topped its containment system. Contaminated water reached the open ocean. Radiation levels recorded on the 9th showed moderately contaminated water was leaking.
K drainage as of the 9th
130 bq/liter c134
550 bq/liter c137
970 bq/liter beta
TEPCO did announce that they were now diverting K drainage water into the C drainage control system.
“※ camera for drainage of K drainage is, by providing a weir at the same drainage channel, we have established a transfer pump but has been transferred to the C drainage channel leading to the harbor within, September 9, which was placed in a K drainage After a review of the video, due to the influence of rainfall, over the rainwater weir between 0:28 minutes to 2:34 and 3:58 minutes to 4:24, it is drainage part to the open ocean side Make sure. After that, all rainwater K drainage channel is transferred to C drainage, no drainage to the open ocean. “
The B&C drainage systems at the plant were closed due to leaks at the H5 tank farm on the 9th. This system is known to transport contaminated soil and debris to the open ocean if the system is left open during spills or heavy rain events. TEPCO has not said if they have been able to successfully deal with the volume of water that flows out of this system.
Unit 1 work was suspended due to weather on the 9th.
The C tank farm has seen rain water leak out of the weir for this tank group. Water was being pumped out of the weir to prevent further leakage. Radiation readings for the leaking water were reported by TEPCO.
C plant (C East area and West area C) outside analysis of rainwater in the Weir
< Stormwater C East in the Weir area>
• Cesium–134: detection limits (0.59 Bq/L) less than
And cesium–137: detection limits (0.71 Bq/L) less than
–All beta: 30 Bq/L
< C West area in the Weir in rainwater>
• Cesium–134: detection limits (0.60 Bq/L) less than
And cesium–137: detection limits (0.72 Bq/L) less than
–All beta: 25 Bq/L
< C plant outside in rainwater>
• Cesium–134: detection limit value (0.70 Bq/L) less than
• Cesium 137:1.1 Bq/L
–All beta: 44 Bq/L
3/11 evacuees’ refusal to vacate temporary housing causes reconstruction headache
SENDAI – At least 900 temporary housing units in 20 municipalities in the disaster-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima have not been vacated or demolished even though residents no longer have a dire need to stay in them, according to a survey.
If those dwellings are not razed, local governments cannot use the land to reconstruct their communities. But some residents have financial, emotional and other reasons preventing them from moving out, causing a headache for municipal officials.
The survey, released Wednesday, was of 46 municipalities that still provided rent-free temporary housing as of the end of July.
In Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered the greatest tsunami damage on March 11, 2011, 451 temporary housing units need to be vacated, while the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, where evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear calamity stay, had about 160 such occupied units.
“I know it’s not good,” a man in his 20s said of the fact that he still lives in temporary housing despite having built a new home outside Ishinomaki.
He didn’t want to move out because he feared disaster would strike again, leaving him without a home.
“There are still many temporary housing units around and I don’t intend to move out anytime soon,” the man said. Ishinomaki still has about 7,200 such dwellings, the largest within the three disaster-hit prefectures.
In Sendai, where many permanent dwellings have been built, there were still 52 temporary units that need to be vacated, according to the survey.
A few families still live in temporary housing in Sendai despite the completion of a new public housing complex.
When a Sendai official called on them to ask why they hadn’t moved into the new complex, they said they were scared because the new housing had been built at a site that had been flooded by the tsunami.
The official didn’t pressure them further.
“But at some point, they need to move into permanent housing,” the official said.
The holdouts include elderly people living alone.
In one case in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, although the resident had moved to a nursing facility, there were no relatives who could help move the person’s belongings out of the temporary unit. In another case, an elderly resident died in a temporary unit and no one came forward to claim or dispose of the occupant’s belongings.
Financial constraints are also discouraging residents from moving out of temporary units.
An unemployed resident in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, has been reluctant to move out of the rent-free housing because the new public housing charges rent. Kuji officials have been unable to persuade the resident to apply for social welfare.
There were other cases in which temporary housing units were not vacated because they were being used for unauthorized purposes, including for storage or as hotel-like accommodations.
“There was a case in which the resident built a home outside the town but used the temporary housing to go to work in Onagawa,” said an official of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture.
“Technically, they need to move out,” said one official. “But some cases are complicated and we have a hard time resolving them.”
Although municipalities have built new, permanent public housing complexes and have urged dwellers in temporary units to relocate to them, there are other hurdles in the way of razing or consolidating the remaining temporary units, including getting residents to relocate away from their current neighbors.
As of the end of July, there were still about 52,000 temporary evacuee housing units in Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi with an average vacancy rate of about 30 percent, and maintaining these communities and ensuring they remain secure are proving difficult.
Among the three prefectures, 10 municipalities have drawn up plans to reduce and consolidate the temporary housing units and seven are working out plans.
Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, has managed since spring to get more than 50 households to move to another temporary housing site, taking the time to explain the situation to each resident.
Officials at Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, held meetings in July and August to explain to temporary housing residents that some had to move to more consolidated units.
The city plans to reduce the temporary housing complexes from 92 to 23 by the end of 2017.
But the city has been forced to revise the plan because of delayed reconstruction work, which has irked residents of the temporary housing units who had hoped to move into better dwellings sooner rather than later.
Kyoji Nagaya, 62, had planned to build a new home on high ground, but construction won’t start for another six months or more. What he believed would be “temporary” housing turned out to be his residence for more than 4½ years.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve been disappointed,” said Nagaya. “I just have to wait.”
Source: Japan Times
Fukushima leaks radioactive water after Typhoon Etau busts drainage system
Typhoon Etau brought lashing rains, floods and storm winds to Japan. Tens of thousands of Japanese people have been ordered to leave their homes across the country.
Tokyo Electric Power CO. (TEPCO) informed the public today that hundreds of tons of radioactive water had leaked from the facility, but maintained that the incident posed no risk to the environment. Large quantities of contaminated water need to be stored in special reservoirs that were used to cool melted fuel rods from reactors at the TEPCO site, which was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.
TEPCO had acknowledged the risk of the typhoon to the nuclear site on Tuesday, outlining the preventative measures it was taking.
“For heavy rains, TEPCO has standard procedures to install
rainwater guttering on the upper part of the water storage tanks and also to construct dikes around groups of tanks, which is applied to all of the recently added storage tanks,” said the statement adding that “the drainage systems on the premises are most active during heavy rains to keep the site from flooding.”
Despite Tuesday’s statements asserting that the drainage system would protect the nuclear plant station and the operator company was ready to face the typhoon, today’s announcement would imply that TEPCO’s efforts weren’t enough
To deal with the new leaks, TEPCO said on Thursday that it was sealing off the seaside of the nuclear plant with an “impermeable wall” which would “play a crucial role” in preventing contaminated groundwater from reaching the ocean.
To deal with the new leaks, TEPCO said on Thursday that it was sealing off the seaside of the nuclear plant with an “impermeable wall” which would “play a crucial role” in preventing contaminated groundwater from reaching the ocean.
Source: RT
Japan: Typhoon Etau floods send hundreds of tonnes of contaminated Fukushima water into ocean
Flooding caused by Typhoon Etau has sent hundreds of tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, a Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) spokesperson said. Rain overwhelmed the site’s drainage pumps, they added.
Tepco is storing massive quantities of contaminated water that was used to cool melted fuel in the reactors damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the site. In a statement regarding Typhoon Etau earlier in September, the company said the site was at risk from the storm.
“Typhoon No.18 (Etau) is expected to approach the central area of Japan’s honshu island and could affect Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station as well in the next few days,” it said. “To prepare for the heavy winds, the crane necks are lowered and all the equipment is secured with ropes and covers onsite as standard procedure for construction sites.
“For heavy rains, Tepco has standard procedures to install rainwater guttering on the upper part of the water storage tanks and also to construct dikes around groups of tanks, which is applied to all of the recently added storage tanks.”
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said large parts of the country remains either on a warning or emergency warning for severe weather, with Tochigi and Ibaraki at greatest risk. Fukushima prefecture, to the north of both Tochigi and Ibaraki, is at risk of heavy rain, with ground-loosening and inundation possible.
Etau has led to devastating floods in Japan, with several people reported missing and water levels at waist height in some areas. “This is a scale of downpour that we have not experienced before. Grave danger could be imminent,” forecaster Takuya Deshimaru said at an emergency press conference.
Nasa satellite images showed the storm as it moved across central Japan. The intense rainfall moved northwards over the main island of Honshu, with almost 12in of rain reported. The storm has now weakened and moved over the Sea of Japan, where it is expected to dissipate, but rain has continued to hit the country.
Tens of thousands of people have had to leave their homes, with dramatic footage showing floods sweeping away buildings and cars. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said officials are working hard to rescue people and aid those effected: He added: “The government will stand united and do its best to deal with the disaster… by putting its highest priority on people’s lives.”
Source: International Business Times
Another Fukushima worker died / No media coverage
On 9/9/2015, another Fukushima worker found dead, according to Tepco.
3 workers died in August. (cf, August’s 3rd worker died in Fukushima plant after the work of retained contaminated water beside Reactor 1 [URL])
At 12:45 of 9/9/2015, the subcontract worker was found losing consciousness in the toilet of entry-management building of Fukushima plant. The worker was to be in cardiopulmonary arrest state aprox. 10 minutes later.
At 15:10 of the day, the worker was confirmed to be dead at Iwaki Kyouritsu Hospital.
Any identity has not been disclosed about this worker. The dose level is not reported either.
At this moment, none of the mass media has covered this for some reason.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2015/images/handouts_150909_13-j.pdf
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu-news/2015/1259686_6869.html
Source: Fukushima Daiichi
Fukushima Sensationalism and Hoaxes
During the past years and half following the ongoing Fukushima catastrophe I have said it repeatedly many times:
1. Sensationalism discredit the real gravity of the situation in Fukushima and of the living conditions of the Fukushima victims, it also discredits all the serious Fukushima Watchers and our anti-nuclear cause.
2. It is an insult to truth and to the real victims on location in Fukushima.
3. Fukushima and nuclear do not need any exageration, sensationalism, the plain truth as it is, is terrible, horrible enough.
4. Only by spreading the truth, the true facts we can mark solid points against the cover-up of the nuclear lobby and its servile media, only with truth and true facts we can help the Fukushima victims situation to be known, exposed and get them the help they rightfully deserve.
5. Therefore we should oppose both the nuke shills who minimize the truth about Fukushima and nuclear, and the sensationalists who discredit the Fukushima cause to the eyes of the general public with their wild lies about Fukushima.
For four years and half, I have been sharing, circulating information on internet thru 3 blogs and on Facebook on a few groups and pages.
I have chosen up to now to ignore the rotten apples, but I cannot keep silent anymore when I do witness the harm they are doing to the Fukushima cause and to the anti-nuclear cause with their sensationalism, their repetitive hoaxes, their lack of integrity, of responsibility, their sensationalizing of Fukushima to draw attention so as to milk donations from good people but alas gullible not well informed.
The typical example of those few Youtubers sensationalizing Fukushima for self profit, transforming the Fukushima issue into a personal con-game is a man named Kevin Blanch.
For example last year Kevin Blanch made a video announcing that the spent fuel pool of the reactor 4 at the Nuclear plant of Fukushima Daiichi was on fire and had exploded, that the whole U.S. would be fried by the radiation plume released from that fire and explosion within few days, causing a panic and fear in numbers of people. Of course it was just bull. Another hoax of his, among his countless other lies and hoaxes.
His latest hoax, this year, on August 2015, after Japan restarted its first reactor at Sendai in Southern Japan on Kyushu Islnd, he took advantage of people’s attention about that restart to announce suddenly that that reactor was having a meltdown. Of course, not basis whatsover for his claim, just another made-up hoax of his. Multiple hoaxes for which during the past 4 years and half he never even once apologized , once those hoaxes in due time were debunked one after the other. Totally unrepentant, and always keeping on doing it.
That scoundrel is making a living from making sensationalism videos about Fukushima on Youtube, full of exaggerations, hyperboles, plain lies, hoaxes, promoting his self-importancy with the sole intent to fool the people about his pretended activism so as to milk donations from them, thus making Fukushima his personal lucrative con-game.
I feel sorry for the gullible people that he fools, that he takes advantage of, most of those people certainly well meaning and good hearted. But If only them I would not interfere with his con-game and his preys.
But people like him are robbing those donations from the people who really need it and who really deserve it : The real victims and the real activists on location doing the real job, helping the victims, organizing radiation measuring networks to measure the environment and the foods & beverages of the communities, providing measuring instruments to communities on locations, etc… The people who are crowdfunding, organizing health recovering spring and summer camps outside of Fukushima for the children of Fukushima in Japan or Hawaii, or in Australia or in various European countries, so that the Fukushima children may leave their daily contaminated environment to replenish their health for a few weeks in a non contaminated environment, to eat also there non-contaminated foods for a few weeks. Those times out are very crucial for the health of those children, for them to be ble to detox their young vulnerable organism, as it was proven before with the children of chernobyl by numerous studies.
Those few people like him on Youtube are not well-meaning citizens wishing to expose the Fukushima situation, to circulate the informations which are not well circulated by the mainstream media due to the nuclear lobby influence and its financial associates, such people are riding the Fukushima catastrophe, as vultures, to the detriment of the real victims and to the detriment of truth, for their own ego and greed.
Please people, don’t be victimized by con-men and their glib jive lies.
Spare your donations to help the real victims, and to help the real activists present on location to help the Fukushima victims.
From the father of a Fukushima girl.
Best wishes to you all.
Cs-134/137 density of plant port water keeps increasing since last week
Cs-134/137 density reached the highest level at 2 of those 4 points mentioned above, according to Tepco. The sampling date was 9/7/2015.
These 2 points are in front of water intakes of Reactor 1 and Reactor 2. Both of them are outside of underground wall to prove high level of contamination is still leaking to the sea.
Also, Cs-134/137 density in the south of these 2 points reached the highest level. This is also outside of the underground wall, but the density went up approx. 170 % of the previous highest reading. The newly highest Cs-134/137 density was 152,000 Bq/m3.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2015/images/2tb-east_15090801-j.pdf
Source: Fukushima Diary
Cs-134/137 density of plant port water keeps increasing since last week
CSRP 2015 – The Fifth Citizen-Scientist International Symposium on Radiation Protection
Beginning in March 2011, the Tokyo Electric Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant catastrophe continues even now with no end in sight. We have sought out ways to reduce even a little, or possibly prevent, health effects due to radiation exposure. Whether radiation exposure leads to health effects, or what the potential health effects might be, has generated much interest in our society. However, up to now, no discussion has been openly carried out amongst scientists with various viewpoints. The nuclear power plant accident and the dispersed radioactivity exert influences over extensive social areas, affecting individuals as well as the society. What is called for now is societal decision-making regarding such influences for the purpose of radiation protecton, through discussions between the victims, the political decision-makers, the researchers, and the non-governmental organizations.
Currently, the exposed and the highly exposed human populations are either ignored by the government or they become inadvertent subjects of observation by scientists, while silently and helplessly observing incidences of illness creeping up within themselves. Epidemiological studies, deemed essential in putting public health into practice, are not cold science by any means. The purpose of epidemiological studies should include, in addition to the elucidation of frequency and causes of illnesses, the creation of frameworks to minimize health effects by reducing or preventing them. Furthermore, the true goal of epidemiological studies is for them to be utilized in reducing or preventing societal effects which could worsen the catastrophe.
What approaches are needed for science to become a survival tool for humans in the challenge of radiation protection? We shall think about this issue together at the Fifth Citizen-Scientist International Symposium on Radiation Protection,
On Day 1 of the symposium, we will approach this issue from the diverse intellectual interactions between science and art.
On Day 2, we will explore epidemiology as a science in addition to a general overview of radiation protection measures based on the latest biological findings.
Lastly, on Day 3, we will verify from societal aspects what language, law and ethics are necessary in order to put such measures into practice.
For more details and registration → http://csrp.jp/csrp2015/
Live streaming → http://csrp.jp/csrp2015/live
Tepco’s index-topping gains fueled by electricity shake-up
Japan’s reform of its energy market is proving a boon to investors in the company at the center of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster.
Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s shares have surged 59 percent in the six months through Tuesday’s close, making it the best performer on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average and the 174-member Bloomberg World Utilities Index.
Tepco, owner of the wrecked plant, is seen as an early beneficiary of government-backed power reform. By April, residential power customers will be able to choose their provider for the first time. And by 2020, utilities will be required to separate their transmission, distribution and retail businesses.
“Looking towards the electricity market reform to be completed by 2020, a company the size of Tepco is an attractive investment,” Mana Nakazora, an analyst at BNP Paribas Securities (Japan) Ltd., said by email.
While the company’s stock price has surged this year, it is still less than half of where it was before the Fukushima disaster. The shares fell 3.1 percent to ¥751 at the close of Tokyo trading on Tuesday. They closed at ¥2,153 the day before Fukushima, but have increased 55 percent since Tepco announced on May 1 that it will transition to a holding company beginning in April.
Tepco was rated new overweight on Tuesday with a target price of ¥1,000 a share by Yuji Nishiyama, an analyst at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co.
Spokesman Tatsuhiro Yamagishi declined to comment on the performance of the company’s stock.
For Tepco, a more open energy market in Japan offers the opportunity for growth at a company whose survival was in question just a few years ago. The Fukushima disaster put it on the verge of default, with the head of Japan’s biggest stock market telling the company to file for bankruptcy protection. Tepco was saved by a ¥1 trillion infusion from the government in 2012, the nation’s largest bailout since the 1990s.
The power company received ¥5.61 trillion from the state-backed Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp. to deal with payouts to victims of the Fukushima meltdown, Tepco reported last month.
Under the April reorganization, Tepco’s nuclear operations will be placed into a holding company, while debt investors will be repaid from the funds of a spun-off power grid company.
Tepco’s probability of debt nonpayment has dropped to 0.309 percent from about 1.121 percent on Oct. 16, according to the Bloomberg default-risk model, which considers factors such as share prices and debt. The probability of debt nonpayment was as high as 6.156 percent in 2012.
“The company’s default risk has disappeared,” said BNP Paribas’s Nakazora.
The government’s power reform began this year with the creation of an organization to manage the nation’s supply and demand balance. Next year’s full retail liberalization, the second stage of the reform, will allow utilities to more freely expand outside their traditional regions. The government aims to remove rate regulations by 2020.
A drop in fuel costs saw Tepco increase operating profit threefold in the quarter ended June 30. The price of liquefied natural gas imported into Japan fell to a six-year low in June, while crude oil prices are near a record low.
“Investors expected first-quarter profits to have a big increase due to the drop in oil then liquefied natural gas,” Syusaku Nishikawa, a Tokyo-based analyst at Daiwa Securities Co., said by email.
Yet challenges remain. Liabilities related to the Fukushima disaster and Tepco’s responsibilities will continue to pressure the company’s credit quality in the long term, according to Mariko Semetko, a vice president at Moody’s Japan K.K., which rates the company’s outlook as negative.
Tepco, which operates the world’s biggest nuclear plant by capacity at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility in Niigata Prefecture, has yet to restart any of its nuclear reactors. Resuming operations at the facility would boost profit by as much as ¥32 billion a month, the company has said.
“The recent improvements in profitability are definitely a plus,” Semetko said by phone. “But the company hasn’t yet started its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant and there are a lot of uncertainties around costs related to Fukushima. With all of that in mind, we haven’t been able to stabilize the outlook yet.”
Source: Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/09/09/business/corporate-business/tepcos-index-topping-gains-fueled-electricity-shake/#.VfBQvZeFSM8
Third ceiling panel removed from Fukushima reactor
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have removed half of the ceiling panels covering a damaged reactor building. The work is part of efforts to decommission the facility.
The No.1 reactor building was heavily damaged by a hydrogen explosion during the 2011 meltdown. Tokyo Electric Power Company installed a cover around it to prevent the spread of radioactive material.
The utility is now removing the cover so it can clean up debris inside the facility. Two of the 6 ceiling panels that make up the cover were removed between late July and early August.
The utility then halted the work to monitor radiation levels and check the conditions of the debris. Since no abnormalities were found, workers removed a 3rd panel on Tuesday using a remote-controlled crane.
TEPCO says there’s been no change in radiation levels around the reactor buildings. It says measurements taken before the work on Tuesday showed that wind blowing inside the cover was weaker than expected.
The utility plans to finish dismantling the cover by around late next year.
Source: NHK
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150908_21.html
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