– Fukushima 2011 « nuclear-news

Full severity of Fukushima nuclear disaster now slowly being revealed

Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday. “The situation continues to be very serious.”.

Fukushima plant probably began spewing radiation within hours of earthquake: data National Post, Peter Goodspeed 21 May 11, Data released for the first time this week show three of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors probably began spewing radiation within a few hours of Japan’s devastating earthquake and at least one may have gone into a full meltdown within about 15 hours of the tsunami striking the plant and shutting off its cooling systems. Continue reading →

May 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Doubts about Fukushima’s full impact cast gloom on nuclear industry

While debates on who or what was at fault will no doubt continue, the nuclear industry has clearly suffered a major blow, with nuclear looking to be unreliable and costly….Nobuo Tanaka, the chief executive of the International Energy Agency, has warned that the role of nuclear power in global energy supply may be less than previously forecast, following the events in Japan. “Building nuclear power or expanding nuclear power may mean more costs or more delay. That means the nuclear option may not play as big a role as we predicted….”

What happened at Fukushima? – environmentalresearchweb, 30 May 11, More information has begun to emerge as to actually what happened at Fukushima, with it now being clear that full fuel melt-down did occur, perhaps even starting before the tsunami hit, although we are still some way off knowing what the longer term impacts will be, Continue reading →

May 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Tropical deluge might spread Fukushima nuclear radiation

Deluge could spread Fukushima radiation ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy 30 may 11, There are fears a tropical storm off the coast of Japan could wash radioactive material from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the air and sea.

Now downgraded to a tropical storm, former Typhoon Songda is still expected to bring strong winds and torrential rain to Tokyo later this morning, with the Fukushima area also forecast to experience a deluge.

The plant’s operator, Tepco, has apologised for not being prepared for the bad weather. The company has been pouring synthetic resins over the facility to stop radioactive material from being swept away, but the job is far from complete. Tepco and the Japanese government both fear contamination could be washed out of the uncovered reactor buildings. Deluge could spread Fukushima radiation – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

May 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

TEPCO does not know how long it will take to stabilise Fukushima nuclear plant

“Unless we understand the extent of the damage, we don’t even know how long that work alone would take,” noting the need for one or two months more than previously thought to establish an entirely new cooling system…….”

TEPCO can’t stabilise reactors by year end: report , May 29, 2011, TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) is coming to the view that it will be impossible to stabilize the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the end of this year, possibly affecting the timing for the government to consider the return of evacuees to their homes near the plant, Kyodo News reported, citing senior company officials. Continue reading →

May 30, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

300 km of seabed near Fukushima highly polluted with radiation

High radiation found on seabed in 300-km stretch off Fukushima Japan Today 28th May, TOKYO —Radiation levels up to several hundred times normal have been detected on the Pacific seabed in a 300-kilometer-long area off the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the science ministry said Friday.

The ministry said high-level radioactive materials were detected on the seabed in a north-south stretch ranging from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, and warned the contamination could affect the safety of seafood. The science ministry said it detected iodine and cesium on the seabed at 12 spots 15- to 50-km from the coastline between May 9 and 14…..High radiation found on seabed in 300-km stretch off Fukushima ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

May 28, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Japanese govt makes some concessions to Fukushima parents worried about radiation

An environment ministry spokesman said Friday’s announcement does not mean it is altering the 20 millisieverts dosage standard, rather it is formally stating its aims to reduce radiation dosages. …The ministry will also distribute dosimeters to teachers at schools in the prefecture, where the unstable nuclear power plant is located,

Japan Bows to Parent Pressure Over Radiation Concerns WSJ , May 27, 2011 Education Minister Yoshiaki Takaki for the first time said on Friday the government will seek to reduce the radiation levels on school grounds in Fukushima Prefecture to one-twentieth of the current annual limit amid concern from parents over health risks. Continue reading →

May 28, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Unprecedented criticism of Tokyo Electric Power Company

The IAEA’s 10-day visit, which began on Monday, coincides with mounting criticism of the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, as it becomes clear that the damage caused by the March 11earthquake and tsunami was far worse than initially thought. Its findings could have a significant impact on public attitudes toward both the plant’s operator and the Japanese government, and are certain to attract the interest of other countries with nuclear power plants.

Tepco’s handling of Japan’s nuclear crisis under severe scrutiny, The International Atomic Energy Agency’s visit to Japan this week coincides with unprecedented criticism of the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s handling of Japan’s nuclear crisis following the March 11 earthquake. CSMonitor.com, By Justin McCurry, May 26, 2011 Ichinoseki, Japan Continue reading →

May 27, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Thousands of tons of radioactive water to be stored somehow at Fukushima

Meanwhile, over 80,000 tons of water remains in or around reactors 1 to 4.

Facility for tainted water almost full, New storage sites needed at Fukushima No. 1 Japan Times, May 24, 2011 Kyodo A nuclear waste disposal facility being used to store radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant will soon be full, Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said Monday. The operator, known as Tepco, plans to suspend the extraction operation until mid-June once the facility becomes filled and until a new water treatment facility begins operating. Continue reading →

May 24, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Japanese parents angry over radiation levels for children

Japanese ire over radiation limit for kids. Herald Sun AAP , May 23, 2011 FURIOUS parents at the centre of Japan’s atomic crisis and hundreds of their supporters rallied in Tokyo today against revised nuclear safety standards in schools they say are putting children at risk.

Japanese children can now be exposed to 20 times the radiation that was permissible before the March 11 tsunami caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, sparking the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. Around 400 protesters, many from areas around the stricken plant, flocked to the education and science ministry to demand a rethink on the new limit, which allows exposure of up to 20 millisieverts a year.

A group of Fukushima residents submitted a letter for the education minister demanding the ministry do all it can to lower radiation levels at schools and offer financial support.

Protest organisers said the radiation limit for playgrounds was about six times as much as the 0.6 microsievert-per-hour legal maximum under which under-18s are allowed to work…….The nuclear crisis remains unresolved and tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to homes, farms and businesses in a 20-kilometre zone around the radiation-spewing plant.

More than 20 elementary and junior high schools within 30 kilometres have been forced to close since the accident, affecting some 5000 pupils, the Yomiuri daily newspaper reported today….http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japanese-ire-over-radiation-limit-for-kids/story-e6frf7jx-1226061484710

May 24, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011, health, Japan | Leave a comment

More radiation leakage from Fukushima nuclear power plant

Japan reports more radiation leakage TOKYO, May 22 (UPI) –– At least 250 tons of radioactive water spilled into the Pacific Ocean from Japan’s earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, officials said.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the radiated water leaked for 41 hours beginning May 10 from the No. 3 reactor at the site, where four of six reactors were damaged in the magnitude-9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, Kyodo News reported. At a Sunday news conference in Tokyo, utility spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters Tepco has drafted plans to install a water-circulation system to cool the spent-fuel pools at the plant by the end of July, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Since the disaster, officials have scrambled to prevent the radioactive cores from overheating and releasing catastrophic radiation clouds. As of Sunday, part of the stop-gap measures still involved the use of fire hoses to pump water into the reactors, the Journal said. Matsumoto acknowledged radioactive vapor can still be seen “depending on the weather and wind direction of the day,” the Journal said……Japan reports more radiation leakage – UPI.com

May 23, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Staggering financial costs of Fukushima continue to rise

it is clear that holes not only exist in the reactors at Fukushima but also in plans to bring the crisis under control……the issue of who is left holding the bag for the many costs associated with decontamination of the plant and surrounding facilities as well as rebuilding the dozens of communities wiped out by the tsunami. The amounts are staggering. Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch estimates TEPCO may face claims of 11 trillion yen ($136 billion).

Report From Tokyo: Left Holding the Bag,H UFFINGTON POST, David Wagner, 23 May, 11, Each week that passes here brings new revelations about the unstable nature of the nuclear facility at Fukushima as a result of the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th. Most recently, it has been confirmed by Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) that units #1, #2 and #3 at the Daiichi Fukushima plant all have substantial contaminated water in the basements of each reactor building, reinforcing the suspicion that the containment vessels are damaged as they are not holding the water. This creates additional challenges for TEPCO as it tries to set up a continuous cooling system that will eliminate the threat of radiation leaks into the environment. Continue reading →

May 23, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Agonising decisions over animals left in Fukushima prefecture

As the no-go zone spreads, ever more farmers are being forced to make agonising decisions over whether to move their livestock to safe areas and incur huge costs, slaughter their animals or — perhaps the most unacceptable option — leave them to their fate.

Agony for Japan livestock farmers in nuclear crisis, By Shingo Ito (AFP) – GoogleNews, 20 May 11, FUKUSHIMA CITY, Japan — As more people are forced to leave their homes around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, anger is growing in a farming community forced to make the agonising decision whether to slaughter livestock or face ruin. Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Inadequate radiation testing of Fukushima nuclear workers

Radiation tests lacking / Nuclear plant workers unsure of internal exposure levels, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 19 may 11, Nearly two months after the start of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, only 10 percent of workers there had been tested for internal radiation exposure caused by inhalation or ingestion of radioactive substances, due to a shortage of testing equipment available for them.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled nuclear compound, is finding it impossible to use testing apparatus set up inside the facility because of high radiation levels recorded near the equipment.

A number of personnel working to overcome the nuclear crisis at the facility are increasingly alarmed by their lack of internal exposure testing. Some have said they may have to continue to work at the facility without knowing whether their radiation exposure levels have exceeded the upper limit set by the government……Radiation tests lacking / Nuclear plant workers unsure of internal exposure levels : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)

May 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011, health, Japan | Leave a comment

False sense of security as Tepco misleads public on Fukushima nulclear cleanup

Tepco Misleading Public Over Nuclear Crisis, Bloomberg, By Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada – May 17, 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Co. has made misleading statements about when it will stabilize its nuclear reactors crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, said Tetsuo Ito, head of the Atomic Energy Research Institute at Kinki University in western Japan.

The company, known as Tepco, yesterday reiterated the schedule on its so-called road map announced a month ago to achieve cold shutdown of the three radiation-leaking reactors as early as October. Setting a timetable without knowing the condition of the reactor cores doesn’t make sense, Ito said in a phone interview from Osaka.

“Only after understanding what’s going on inside the buildings and reactors, will it be clear what parts of the timetable are achievable,” Ito said. “Devising a road map without that will give the public a false sense of security.”…..Tepco Misleading Public Over Nuclear Crisis – Bloomberg

May 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Draining 4,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water from Fukushima reactor

Radioactive water to be drained from Fukushima reactor, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy, 17 May 11, he operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will today begin pumping out thousands of tonnes of highly radioactive water from one of the reactors.