Yoshinobu Segawa of Koriyama City, who voluntarily evacuated his wife and children to Saitama City, says the accident “has not been resolved
April 17, 2022
Residents who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture to Saitama and other prefectures following the March 2011 accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have filed a lawsuit against the government and TEPCO, claiming a total of 100 million yen in damages. On April 20, the Saitama District Court will hand down a verdict in a class action lawsuit seeking a total of 100 million yen in damages from the government and TEPCO. The lawsuit was filed in March 2002, seeking compensation for the mental anguish of being separated from their familiar land, as well as compensation for their homes and land lost in the accident. After three additional lawsuits, the number of plaintiffs has grown to 96. How has the nuclear accident changed their daily lives? Before the verdict, we asked two of the plaintiffs about their thoughts.
Yoshinobu Segawa, 60, an art teacher at a junior high school in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, evacuated his wife and children to Saitama City in June 2012. He has been leading a double life, visiting his wife and children on weekends. The physical, mental, and financial burdens are heavy, but he has no plans for his family to return to Fukushima because he cannot shake off his anxiety about the ongoing decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. He complains, “I feel that the public is losing interest in the nuclear accident, but it has not yet been resolved at all.”
Although no evacuation order was issued for Koriyama City after the nuclear accident in March 2011, he decided to voluntarily evacuate his wife and children for fear of exposure to radiation, as there were hot spots in the city with locally high radiation levels. He decided to evacuate to Saitama City, where his wife’s (47) friend lives nearby. Currently, his wife and four sons in elementary and junior high school are living in a national public employee housing complex.
After work on Friday night, he drives to Saitama City, spends time with his family, does his daily chores, and returns to Koriyama City on Sunday night. For Segawa, who suffers from heart disease, the burden of traveling three hours each way every week is not small.
Ten years have passed since he began his double life, and his savings have visibly dwindled. Although she received some money from her retirement in April of this year, she says, “I am not sure how much I can spare for my children’s future school expenses. In addition, since the spread of the new coronavirus, he has had fewer opportunities to see his family, and his wife, who has a designated intractable disease of the nervous system, has been burdened with housework and childcare.
Recently, when he talks to his colleagues about his family, they are sometimes surprised to hear that he is still evacuating, and even within Fukushima Prefecture, “I feel that the nuclear accident is fading fast. According to TEPCO’s roadmap, the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will be completed in 41 to 51 years. In February of last year and March of this year, Fukushima Prefecture was hit by earthquakes measuring 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, and Segawa said, “It is scary to have a dangerous nuclear reactor on the verge of collapse so close to the plant. Segawa said, “I am afraid that a dangerous nuclear reactor that is on the verge of breaking down is nearby.” He plans to continue the voluntary evacuation of his family, saying, “A similar radiation accident may occur again.
In the trial, the plaintiffs pointed out that the government had failed to regulate nuclear power plants before the accident, and that TEPCO had failed to take countermeasures against a serious accident that could have caused core damage. Mr. Segawa joined the case in an additional lawsuit filed in August 2003. He wanted to make the case an opportunity to examine what happened during the nuclear accident and what should have been done to prevent it, so that he would not be embarrassed when his children ask him in the future, “What did your father do when the nuclear accident happened?
However, he is distrustful of the way the government and TEPCO handled the case in court. I feel that both the government and TEPCO dodged our questions and failed to provide us with any answers. I don’t think they are thinking about our lives.
Although it was not a life they wanted to lead, their sons are now blessed with many friends. He is waiting for the verdict, hoping that at least the financial burden will be lightened. “I hope that my wife and son will be able to live in the city until my fourth son (7 years old), who was born in Saitama City, graduates from high school, even if it is only modestly,” he said. (Yusuke Sugihara)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/172257?rct=metropolitan&fbclid=IwAR1GG4htKi3WUsKARqjlNJBdf8Fi_8JJSF2_-4fJrNT0Ep8kkaAb2TAWV5M
Examination of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant for discharge of treated water to be finished; Regulatory Commission to solicit public opinion in May.
April 15, 2022
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) held a meeting on April 15 to review TEPCO’s application for an implementation plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean after purification and treatment, and accepted TEPCO’s explanation. The discussion at the review meeting is over, and the NRA will prepare a draft review document summarizing the details of the review by the end of May, and begin the procedures for approval.
One Year After the Decision to Discharge Treated Water into the Sea, the Gulf Between the Government and Fishermen Remains Unbridgeable, and the Sense of Distrust in TEPCO Has Not Changed
In December of last year, TEPCO applied to the Regulatory Commission for a review of its implementation plan, which outlines the design of the facilities, the method of discharge, and the impact on the environment and people after the discharge. So far, 15 review meetings have been held, and discussions have ended without any major changes to the plan.
After compiling a draft of the review report, the Regulatory Commission will solicit opinions (public comments) from the public for 30 days before deciding whether to approve the plan. Normally, the review of an implementation plan is closed to the public and no public comments are solicited, but the committee took an unusual step.
The approval of Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town, the three municipalities where the plant is located, is required before TEPCO can begin construction of a new undersea tunnel and other facilities to be built in conjunction with the offshore discharge. TEPCO had indicated that it planned to start construction in June, but there is now a possibility of a delay.
According to TEPCO’s plan, the treated water, which mainly contains radioactive tritium, will be diluted with a large amount of seawater to reduce the tritium concentration to less than 1/40th of the national discharge standard, and then discharged through an undersea tunnel to an area about 1 km offshore. The project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2023. (Kenta Onozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/171995?fbclid=IwAR3Dg8jz8qJM3v9ZmAmupioeZ6Bi3c9emoP4mmp_FApNnuYKfl8h3fDGrgQ
New research institute to open near Fukushima plant next year
April 17, 2022
The area devastated by the Fukushima nuclear accident will host an international research and education institute in April next year, which would significantly boost the population around the crippled nuclear power plant.
Hundreds of researchers are expected to work on five areas, including energy, robotics for reactor decommissioning, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
The government’s Reconstruction Promotion Council, presided over by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, decided on the outline of the organization on March 29.
The institute will be located in the eastern part of Fukushima Prefecture known as Hamadori as part of the reconstruction efforts from the 2011 nuclear accident.
The government will finalize the site by September after consulting with local officials and residents, but the facility will likely be built around Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, sources said.
The project cost, however, remains unclear.
The institute will have dozens of employees when it opens.
The organization will provide investments and technical assistance to startups and other enterprises to create local jobs, while it will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to nurture human resources.
An estimate presented by the Reconstruction Agency at an expert meeting in May 2020 shows the local population will increase 30 to 40 percent due to the migration of some 5,000 people in connection with the institute.
Some have questioned whether the institute is needed, given that many existing national research and development centers are already studying similar topics.
In response, researchers working on selected subjects, such as radioactive materials, at the prefectural offices of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology and the National Institute for Environmental Studies will be redeployed to the new center together with related research equipment and facilities.
Discussions will also begin over consolidation of another robot research facility set up by the industry ministry and the prefecture into the institute.
First Supreme Court Argument in Class Action Lawsuit by Evacuees from Nuclear Power Plant Accident: about Accepting the State’s Responsibility.
April 15, 2022
On March 15, the Supreme Court Second Petty Bench (Chief Justice Hiroyuki Kanno) heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by residents who evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture to Chiba Prefecture following the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, seeking damages from the government and TEPCO. The Supreme Court is expected to render a unified judgment on the state’s responsibility by this summer. The Supreme Court is expected to render a unified judgment on the state’s responsibility this summer. The date of the judgment will be set at a later date.
This is the first time for the Supreme Court to hear arguments in class action lawsuits of the same type filed in various regions. The others are scheduled for May 22 in Gunma, May 25 in Fukushima, and May 16 in Ehime. At the high court stage, the court decisions in Chiba, Fukushima, and Ehime recognized the government’s responsibility, while Gunma denied it, leading to a split conclusion.
On May 15, the plaintiffs also made statements. Tetsuya Komaru, 92, who evacuated from Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, to Chiba Prefecture and now lives in Yokohama, said, “My ancestral home, my house, fields, and forests were contaminated, and I lost everything I had built up over my life. I want the Supreme Court to clearly recognize the government’s responsibility without being beholden to the government.
In their arguments, the government argued that the government’s “long-term evaluation” of earthquake forecasts, which was a point of contention in the first and second trials, “was not considered a view that should be incorporated into nuclear power regulations at the time. As for tsunami countermeasures, the government argued that “even if countermeasures had been taken, the accident could not have been prevented because the tsunami was completely different from what had been anticipated.
The residents pointed out that “the long-term assessment is scientific knowledge with a rational basis. If the government, which has regulatory authority, had instructed TEPCO to take countermeasures and had constructed seawalls and made the reactor buildings watertight, the accident would likely have been avoided, they said.
Last month, the Supreme Court upheld a second trial ruling that ordered TEPCO to pay compensation in an amount that exceeded the “interim guidelines,” the government’s standard for compensation for all cases. A total of 1.43 billion yen was ordered to be paid to approximately 3,700 plaintiffs. (Keiichi Ozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/172043?fbclid=IwAR3SE8_GtEhXvlNpdcY5pfTGgP8C40qKOoRrToZqDhzOb5UunY2gXLLzM8s
Japan’s nuclear regulator to okay release of treated water from Fukushima plant
April 15, 2022
Japan’s nuclear regulator has largely approved a plan to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean.
The plant suffered triple meltdowns in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster. Water is used to cool molten nuclear fuel. It mixes with rain and groundwater that flows into damaged reactor buildings.
The water is treated to remove most of the radioactive materials, but still contains radioactive tritium.
The Japanese government plans to dilute treated water that continues to accumulate at the plant to levels below national regulations and start releasing it from around spring 2023.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has been inspecting the plan drawn up by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company.
In 13 meetings since December, the NRA discussed the safety of the new facility to be built for the water release and the maximum concentration of radioactive tritium when it is released. It also considered how to respond in natural disasters and other emergencies, and the effect of radiation exposure on the surrounding environment and people.
At Friday’s meeting, an official of the NRA secretariat said there are no issues left that have not been discussed enough.
The NRA plans to put together a draft inspection document as early as next month that effectively indicates the plan’s approval.
TEPCO plans to start construction on a facility for diluting treated water and an undersea tunnel once the NRA approves the plan and the utility obtains consent from Fukushima Prefecture and local communities. TEPCO aims to complete the construction work by mid-April next year.
TEPCO has yet to convince and gain understanding from local fishers who are concerned about reputational damage from the release of treated water into the sea.
Japan severely breaches obligations under international law by persisting in discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into ocean
April 15, 2022
Japan is being extremely selfish and irresponsible by willfully clinging to its decision to release nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean in disregard of the strong opposition of the international community.
Its despicable act constitutes gross infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of its neighboring countries, severe breach of international justice and its obligations under international law, and major threat to the marine environment and the right to health of people around the world.
On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government unilaterally decided to dump a massive amount of nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) into the ocean despite doubts and opposition from home and abroad.
One year has passed since Japan announced the erroneous decision and the country still hasn’t realized how terrible a mistake it is. According to a plan recently released by TEPCO for the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water generated by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the country will soon begin official preparations for the release of the contaminated water and plans to begin long-term discharge of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean in the spring of 2023.
While Japan opted for the discharge of the contaminated water into the ocean, an option with the least economic cost to itself, it posed the biggest environmental health and safety risk to the world. What an act of selfish calculation!
Data from TEPCO showed that the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear accident still contains many kinds of radionuclides with a long half-life even after secondary treatment.
Japan plans to release more than one million tons of nuclear-contaminated water over a period of 30 years. The amount it intends to discharge, the duration of the release, the sea area covered, and potential risks that can be generated by the activity are all unprecedented.
The decision has aroused deep concerns and strong opposition from all sectors of society even at home. About 180,000 people in Japan recently signed a petition against the decision to dump nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Several organizations in Japan, including the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, have reiterated their opposition to the decision.
According to an article published on Fukushima Minpo, a newspaper based in Fukushima prefecture of Japan, the Japanese government should respect the opinions of its citizens, listen to the voices of local residents, and terminate the plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean.
As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, the Convention on Nuclear Safety, and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Japan has knowingly breached its obligations under international law.
It didn’t conduct full consultation with its neighboring countries and other stakeholders before announcing its decision to discharge nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. After its announcement of the decision, many countries, including China, South Korea, Russia, and the Philippines, as well as relevant international institutions, have expressed concerns over the issue and raised doubts and concerns with the Japanese side over the legitimacy of the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, the rationality of the discharge plan, the credibility of data about the nuclear contaminated water and the reliability of the equipment to purify the nuclear-contaminated water.
However, to this day, Japan has yet to give a full and credible explanation for its decision and serious responses to relevant doubts and concerns.
People in Japan’s neighboring countries and countries on the Pacific Rim have rights to health and life as well as the environment. Japan, on the other hand, wants to make short-term money at the expense of these rights.
The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council released a report urging that the Japanese government should face up to its responsibility for the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water.
In a joint statement, U.N. human rights experts said that Japan’s decision to release contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean is “particularly disappointing” and “very concerning”.
“The release of one million tons of contaminated water into the marine environment imposes considerable risks to the full enjoyment of human rights of concerned populations in and beyond the borders of Japan,” they said in the joint statement.
The international community has frequently expressed voices of justice, such as “The Pacific is not a dumping ground for radioactive waste water” and “keep our Pacific nuclear-free”. However, Japan has turned a deaf ear to all of them.
In this February, a technical working group of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Japan for the first time and raised many questions to the Japanese side about its controversial plan to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Evaluation of the disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is still in progress.
Surprisingly, Japan has not only ignored the concerns of various parties over the discharge of its nuclear-contaminated wastewater, but preset results for the evaluation conducted by the IAEA technical working group. The country repeatedly concealed information and covered up the truth.
When doubts about its decision to dump radioactive water into the ocean poured in, the country made no attempt to reflect on the legitimacy of the decision and correct its mistake, but blamed those who doubted its decision for damaging its reputation.
The Japanese side should know that no matter what it does to whitewash the plan to release the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, it would only increase the international community’s concerns.
The disposal of the nuclear-contaminated water is never Japan’s private matter. Instead, it bears on the marine environment and public health of the whole world.
Japan should pay careful attention to and respond to the concerns of its neighboring countries and other members of the international community, stop pushing forward with preparations for the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, and withdraw its erroneous decision, so as to avoid further damage to its credibility.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
Japan’s planned release of radioactive wastewater draws concern.
April 14, 2022
It’s been exactly one year since the Japanese government announced its decision to continuously release Fukushima’s radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Concerns and protests were heard in #Japan and beyond. #nuclear#environment
Protests in various locations demanding withdrawal of ocean discharge of treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
April 13, 2022
On the 13th, one year after the government decided to discharge treated water from TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture) into the ocean, protests were held in various locations, with participants calling for the withdrawal of the policy.
In front of the House of Representatives building in Nagata-cho, Tokyo, about 40 people participated in response to a call from the “Sayonara NPP 10 Million People Action Executive Committee” and other groups. Holding up banners, they shouted “Don’t pollute the sea in Fukushima” and “Listen to the voices of the people of Fukushima.
The participants made speeches in turn toward the Diet building. Taeko Fujimura, 67, a member of the National Trade Union Liaison Council, criticized the government and TEPCO, saying, “The government and TEPCO promised the Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Federation that they would not discharge the waste into the ocean without their understanding, but they unilaterally decided on the policy and have not explained it in good faith to the public. No matter how much we dilute it with seawater, it is inevitable that a large amount of radioactive materials will spread into the ocean. There must be something more that can be done, such as finding a way to continue storing the radioactive materials instead of discharging them.
Toshihiro Inoue, 63, a member of the executive committee secretariat, said, “The government has forcibly decided on this policy, and even after a year, it has not withdrawn it in spite of opposition. The global environment must not be further destroyed by radioactive pollution. Let’s continue to raise our voices in opposition.
The executive committee held protests at more than 10 locations in Tokyo and eight prefectures in Saitama, Yamagata, Aichi, Osaka, Okayama, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima.
The environmental group FoE Japan also held an online press conference on the same day, calling for storage of the treated water in large tanks and solidification with cement. Don’t pollute the sea any more!” Chiyo Oda, co-chairperson of the “Citizens’ Council,” said, “Once released, it is irreversible. Artificially spreading radioactive materials will spread the effects of the accident and must not be tolerated. (Kenta Onozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/171455?rct=national&fbclid=IwAR3yz25OB-5W85giS7pp3nPYRVtzYjdQOFoIhsB92n7co9wkYzDe0nM8WoQ
Don’t discharge contaminated water into the sea! Nationwide simultaneous standing in Iwaki
April 13, 2022
On April 13, 2021, one year after the government decided on the disposal of contaminated water stored in tanks from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, in violation of its promise to the fishing industry that no disposal would take place without the understanding of all concerned parties, and ignoring the opposition and cautious opinions of 70% of the local government councils in Fukushima Prefecture and the opposition of many Fukushima residents One year has passed.
On April 13, “April 13 National Simultaneous Standing in Iwaki Against Discharge of Contaminated Water from Nuclear Power Plants into the Sea” was held near the entrance intersection of Aquamarine Fukushima at Onahama Port in Iwaki City.
Since last June, we have been calling for a monthly standing on the 13th of every month, “Don’t pollute the sea any more! Citizens’ Council”, which has been calling for standing on the 13th every month since June last year, started the event after noon with the slogan “Protect our hometown oceans! Protect our fisheries! Protect our children!” From 12:30 p.m., about 20 participants spoke against the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean from their respective standpoints.
Mr. Oda, the co-chairperson of the event, said, “One year has passed since the government’s decision on April 13 to discharge contaminated water into the ocean, so let’s not pollute the sea any more! He reported on the release of the “Appeal” and the citizens’ groups’ online joint press conference, and appealed, “We will continue to raise our voices to protect our precious daily lives. Mr. Yoneyama of the Citizens’ Council also spoke with the Citizens’ Circle to Monitor Nuclear Regulations, FoE Japan, an international environmental NGO, and Don’t Pollute the Sea Anymore! The report was based on the “Submission of a written request and negotiations with TEPCO and the government demanding the cessation of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant” held on March 29 by four organizations: the Citizens’ Council of Japan, the Kansai Liaison Conference for the Evacuation Plan, and the Kansai Liaison Conference for the Evacuation Plan. The speaker appealed to the audience. Prefectural Councilor Furuichi also reported on how the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly continued to review the “petition for a cautious response to the application for prior consent regarding the ALPS process water discharge facility” submitted to the assembly, and stressed the significance of citizens’ continued opposition activities. Mr. Yuzuru Suzuki, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and former director of the Fisheries Experiment Station, also spoke about what would happen to fish if tritium and other contaminated water were to be released, saying that they are currently in the process of collecting data before the release of water. He expressed his determination that even if the release of contaminated water were to be forced, he would continue marine research to clarify the effects of radiation and force the cancellation of the project. After this, citizens continued to demonstrate their will by making one appeal after another.
The public comment on the draft review report will be held once the review meeting for the “Application for Approval of Changes to the Implementation Plan” for the basic design of the “ALPS process water” dilution and discharge system and related facilities, which TEPCO applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority at the end of last year, is completed on March 15. After that, if Fukushima Prefecture, Okuma Town, and Futaba Town give their approval to the “Request for Prior Approval,” construction will begin in June.
The oceans of our hometown, the oceans of Japan, and the oceans of the world must not be further polluted by radiation.
Let’s not allow the construction of the discharge facility to start in June, and let’s spread our voices of opposition and our standing circle across the country and the world like a ripple to a giant wave in order to stop the discharge of radioactive materials one year later.
On May 13, together with standing, we will prepare and call for an action to demand the halt of the start of construction of the discharge facility.
Let us all protect the oceans of our hometown, the oceans of Japan, and the oceans of the world.
One year after the decision to discharge contaminated water into the ocean: Three videos on contaminated water from ALPS treatment released
April 13, 2022
On April 13, 2021, the government decided to release ALPS-treated contaminated water into the ocean.
The water stored in the tanks, once treated by ALPS, contains not only tritium but also residual radioactive materials such as cesium-134, cesium-137, strontium-90, iodine-129, and plutonium, exceeding the standard in about 70% of the cases. TEPCO has stated that it will conduct secondary treatment, but has not clarified which radioactive materials will ultimately remain and how much.
In August 2015, the government and TEPCO promised the Fukushima Prefectural Fisheries Federation that they would not carry out any disposal without the understanding of all concerned. After the decision to discharge the waste into the ocean, TEPCO President Kobayakawa stated, “We have no intention of reneging on our promise. However, despite the opposition of fishermen, consumers, and a wide range of citizens in and outside of Fukushima Prefecture, procedures are steadily underway to release the waste into the ocean.
Against this backdrop, FoE Japan has created a series of short videos to get people to think about the issue of discharging contaminated water from the ALPS process into the ocean. The videos pick up on various issues surrounding ALPS-treated contaminated water. What is contaminated water? What’s in it?” , “What is tritium?” , “What are the alternatives?” and “What do the people have to say?” (to be released) (each is less than 2 minutes and 20 seconds). Please take a look.
1 What is contaminated water? What is contained?
2 What is tritium?
3 What is the alternative?
Fukushima Thyroid Examination October 2021: 221 Surgically Confirmed as Thyroid Cancer Among 266 Cytology Suspected Cases
Overview
On October 15, 2021, the 43rd session of the Oversight Committee for the Fukushima Health Management Survey (FHMS) convened online and in Fukushima City, releasing a new set of results (data up to June 30, 2021) from the fourth and fifth rounds of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination (TUE). The fifth-round data reported this time includes the confirmatory examination results. In addition, a corrected version of the results was released for the Age 25 Milestone Screening originally reported in July 2021.
The 43rd session was the first session of a new two-year term (August 2021-July 2023) for 18 committee members, including 6 new members. (Regrettably, a long-time committee member Fumiko Kasuga, who steadfastly advocated for release of more clinical information as well as inclusion of feedbacks from participants and their families, is no longer included.) A roster for the Thyroid Examination Evaluation Subcommittee was also released, but there was no change. It was revealed that there was no target date for the release of an interim summary for the third round.
At this time, an official English translation is available up to the 40th session of the Oversight Committee on the website for the Radiation Medical Science Center of the Fukushima Health Management Survey (RMSC/FHMS). The final results of the third round, released at the 39th session in August 2020, is finally available in English on pages 2-20 of this report.
Highlights
- The fourth round: 3 new cases diagnosed as suspicious or malignant, and 2 new surgical cases.
- The fifth round: 3 new cases diagnosed as suspicious or malignant, and 1 new surgical case
- Total number of suspected/confirmed thyroid cancer has increased by 6 to 266: 116 in the first round (including a single case of benign tumor), 71 in the second round, 31 in the third round, 36 in the fourth round, 3 in the fifth round, and 9 in Age 25 Milestone Screening.
- Total number of surgically confirmed thyroid cancer cases has increased by 3 to 221 (101 in the first round, 55 in the second round, 29 in the third round, 29 in the fourth round, 1 in the fifth round, and 6 in Age 25 Milestone Screening,
The latest overall results including the “unreported” and cancer registry cases
Please refer to the previous post regarding details of “unreported” cases and cancer registry data.
Official count, as reported in the summary document shown in the next section, is 266 suspected/confirmed and 221 surgically confirmed thyroid cancer cases. An addition of more recent “unreported” cases as well as “outside” cases discovered in cancer registry makes the count a little more complete with 325 cytologically suspected/confirmed and 264 surgically confirmed cancer cases. It should be noted that the actual number of cases is likely more than these as no exhaustive investigation has been and will be conducted by FMU to fully report all the cancer cases discovered outside the framework of the FHMS-TUE.
Summary on the current status of the TUE
A six-page summary of the first through fifth rounds as well as the Age 25 Milestone Screening, “The Status of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination Results,” lists key findings from the primary and confirmatory examinations as well as the surgical information.
Below is an unofficial translation of this summary which is not officially translated.
#43 Status of the Thyroid Ultrasound Examination Results (October 15, 2021) by Yuri Hiranuma on Scribd
Is contaminated soil from the nuclear accident waste? A valuable resource? Ask the Experts
April 8, 2022
Fukushima: The delivery of contaminated soil from the decontamination process following the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to an interim storage facility was largely completed last month. The law stipulates that the final disposal of the contaminated soil must be outside the prefecture, but no one has yet found a place to accept the soil. We asked Tsunehide Chino, an associate professor at Shinshu University and an expert on radioactive waste administration, about the legal status of the facility and how the contaminated soil should be “recycled.
◇ ◇Associate Professor Tsunehide Chino of Shinshu University
–The delivery of contaminated soil to the interim storage facility was largely completed at the end of March.
The law states that “necessary measures shall be taken for final disposal outside the prefecture by 2045. That is quite a delicate phrase.”
–prefectures can argue that the promise to remove the materials out of the prefecture should be honored.
The problem has taken on another dimension since the law clearly states this. For example, the government signed a ‘letter of commitment’ with the governor of Aomori Prefecture regarding the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste from Rokkasho Village in Aomori Prefecture outside the prefecture. It is not a law.”
The law is not wrong, and neither the prefectural governor nor the heads of local governments have any choice but to talk about their positions, even if they don’t believe that the cargo will be removed in 45 years. It has become difficult for them to express their true feelings.”
–The national government has a policy of recycling contaminated soil with radiation levels below 8,000 becquerels per kilogram, as final disposal of the entire amount of contaminated soil is difficult.
There is no legal basis for recycling. If the prefectural governor and others say that the contaminated soil in the interim storage facility will be taken out of the prefecture because it is clearly stated in the law, then it makes sense to discuss and make the recycling of contaminated soil into a law.
–How was the standard for recycling (8,000 becquerels) determined?
In 2005, the government established a clearance system that allows radioactive waste to be disposed of as normal waste, and set the standard at 0.01 millisievert per year as a level of radiation that has negligible effects on the human body when it is recycled or landfilled. This is equivalent to 100 becquerels of radiation per kilogram. After the nuclear accident, however, the government relaxed the standard for disposal to 1 millisievert per year. The amount of radiation that we calculated backwards from that is 8,000 becquerels per kilogram.
–So you want to apply this to soil that is to be reclaimed?
The government has positioned reclamation as part of the disposal process. The government has taken the liberty of changing the rules to say that although it is disposal, it only needs to meet the 1 millisievert per year requirement.
If it’s disposal, it has to meet clearance standards. The repository has been operated in accordance with these standards. But, for example, it is estimated that it would take 160 years of natural attenuation for contaminated soil with a level of 5,000 becquerels per kilogram to meet the criteria for disposal. It is unlikely that the facilities where the soil will be recycled will be maintained and managed for that long. The government’s policy is irresponsible.”
–The government says that the soil to be reclaimed is a “precious resource.
The Basic Policy for Fukushima Reconstruction and Revitalization approved by the cabinet in July 2012 clearly states that contaminated soil in the prefecture will be finally disposed of outside the prefecture 30 years after interim storage begins, and the idea that soil is a resource was written into law in December 2002.
In waste administration, waste is anything that is no longer needed. If it can be used or sold, it is a resource. So we ask the Ministry of the Environment, ‘So you give away soil for public works projects for a fee? We tell them that there is no such thing as “reverse compensation,” in which we pay for the soil when we give it to them. But they are not very understanding.
–The legalities regarding the handling of contaminated soil are unclear, and the standards are difficult to understand. How do you plan to resolve the situation where residents have no say in the matter?
The situation cannot be solved by creating a law. The first step is for the government and TEPCO to explain firmly that it will be more difficult than expected to return the living environment in the hard-to-return zones and other areas to the state it was in before the nuclear accident. The best way to restore the trust that has been lost over the past decade is for both sides to understand the bitter reality.
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Tsunehide Chino was born in 1978 in Tokyo. D. (Policy Science) from Hosei University’s Graduate School of Social Sciences. associate professor at Shinshu University’s Faculty of Humanities since 2014. has been researching issues such as radioactive waste for nearly 20 years, mainly in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture. He is also the coordinator of the Nuclear Waste Subcommittee of the Citizens Commission on Atomic Energy.
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQ476QGRQ1DUGTB001.html?fbclid=IwAR2vajn4ZWVmJU2VZd3Er_NwclfBJYHiB02ZsPpSqyuCJD_8QKgofwdCDGI
Government to phase out insurance fee exemption for Fukushima evacuees
Apr 8, 2022
The government said Friday it will start phasing out from as early as fiscal 2023 medical insurance fee exemptions for evacuees affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a move that will increase the financial burdens on such people.
The phase-out affects evacuees who are now able to return or have already returned to the areas of their former residency following the lifting of evacuation orders.
The government aims to completely end the exemptions of health and nursing care insurance fees about 10 years after the evacuation orders were lifted in principle, with the 10-year period calculated as starting from April in the year after the lifting.
Reconstruction minister Kosaburo Nishime said the phase-out specifically took into account when evacuation orders were lifted to “avoid sharply increasing the burden” on the evacuees.
As for the 10-year timeframe, Nishime told a news conference the government believes that by then, the former residents would have returned to their hometowns and made some progress in rebuilding their livelihoods.
As for steps for former residents of zones still designated as off-limits in the Fukushima Prefecture towns of Okuma and Futaba, which host the Fukushima No. 1 plant crippled by the 2011 quake and tsunami disaster, the government will hold further discussions.
Many low-income people evacuated due to the nuclear crisis have so far been completely exempted from paying insurance fees as well as from a proportion of charges for the medical and nursing care services they receive.
As of late March, more than 32,000 people who evacuated after the nuclear disaster remain in other areas within Fukushima or outside the prefecture, according to government data.
The immediate target of the phase-out policy will be those who lived in areas where evacuations orders were lifted by 2014, such as the town of Hirono.
At first, the evacuees will be requested to shoulder half the amount of insurance fees before preferential treatment is scrapped completely in fiscal 2024.
Former residents of areas where the evacuation orders were lifted between 2015 and 2017 will see the phase-out policy begin in the period of fiscal 2024 to 2026, with the exemption ending entirely in two years.
The Fukushima No. 1 plant spewed out a massive amount of radioactive materials after the tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake flooded the facility, causing multiple meltdowns and hydrogen blasts at the complex and forcing some 160,000 people to flee at one point.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/04/08/national/fukushima-medical-insurance/
Fisheries opposed to Fukushima water discharge, trade group tells PM
April 5, 2022
TOKYO (Kyodo) — A major fisheries group in Japan told Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Tuesday it remains firmly opposed to the planned discharge of treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea due to concern over negative impact on the industry.
“I told (Kishida) our position to oppose (the discharge) remains exactly the same,” Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national fisheries cooperatives, told reporters after visiting the prime minister’s office.
It was the first meeting between the head of the national fisheries cooperatives and Japan’s prime minister since April last year when the decision was made to release treated low-level radioactive water into the sea from around the spring of 2023.
Then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the policy without gaining consent from the fisheries group.
Kishida said the government will be fully responsible for the impact of the discharged treated water and vowed to support fishermen, according to Kishi and officials who attended the meeting.
“Steady progress in the decommissioning (of the Fukushima plant) is a prerequisite for reconstruction (of the affected areas), and we cannot avoid the issue of how to dispose of treated water,” Kishida said. “We will continue to exchange opinions and will make all-out efforts to tackle harmful rumors.”
Earlier in the day, Kishi conveyed similar concern to industry minister Koichi Hagiuda. “We just hope people in the fisheries industry will be able to continue fishing with peace of mind,” he told reporters after seeing Hagiuda in the federation’s office in Tokyo.
During the meeting, Hagiuda handed the group answers in writing to five requests it had submitted.
The government pledged in the document to ensure the safety of treated water as well as take appropriate measures to prevent and tackle reputational damage to food products, among others.
Hagiuda also told the federation it will stick to its promise to the fishermen that the Fukushima plant will not release the water into the sea without their understanding.
The minister told reporters that Kishi “understands the recovery of Fukushima will not complete without disposal of treated water” and expressed hope that the government will “clear anxiety of fishermen by taking appropriate measures.”
The government has already set up a 30 billion yen ($245 million) fund to support the fisheries industry and pledged to buy seafood when demand falls due to harmful rumors.
In the meantime, more than 1 million tons of treated water has accumulated on the premises of the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011.
The water, which was contaminated after being pumped in to cool melted reactor fuel, is treated through an advanced liquid processing system that removes radionuclides except for tritium.
Before discharge, it will be diluted with seawater below one 40th of the current regulations, according to the government. It will also be lower than the World Health Organization’s tritium limit in drinking water.
Earlier this year, the International Atomic Energy Agency evaluated the safety of the release of treated water by sending a task force to the Fukushima plant to enhance transparency of the discharge plan and gain international understanding.
In addition to Japan’s local fishing communities, neighboring China and South Korea have also expressed their worries over the water discharge plan.
Construction projects surge at Fukushima nuclear plant despite decommissioning progress
April 4, 2022
OKUMA, Fukushima — The site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station continues to host new construction projects some 11 years after the disaster triggered by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunamis.
This Mainichi Shimbun reporter had the opportunity to visit the plant for the first time in seven and a half years, and reflect on why new facilities continue to appear even as the plant moves toward decommissioning.
The last time I visited the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, high radiation levels relegated me to observing the site from inside a bus, but on my Feb. 26 visit I was able to enter the outdoor area near the reactor buildings of Units 1 to 4, where the incidents occurred. Progress has been made toward decontaminating radioactive materials scattered in the meltdown, and 96% of the premises can reportedly now be walked around in normal work clothes.
While decommissioning seems to be advancing, various facilities have been newly constructed, and the issue of water remains. A rising number of tanks store treated water contaminated after it was pumped to cool fuel debris that melted down in the accident, as well as groundwater and rainwater that flowed into the buildings. Inside the tanks, the contaminated water is made to reach a radioactive concentration below regulation levels.
On the seventh floor of a building located near the site’s entrance, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) representative gave me an outline of the entire facility. I could see two large cranes on the ocean side around Units 1 to 4, and another large crane and framework structure on the mountain side. When I asked about it, the representative told me the frame was being assembled in a remote location to reduce worker radiation exposure. But it wasn’t a facility being dismantled; it’s a cover measuring 66 meters long, 56 meters wide, and 68 meters high that will wrap around Unit 1.
The hydrogen explosion in Unit 1 blew the building’s roof off, and 392 pieces of nuclear fuel remain in its spent fuel pool near the ceiling. Their removal is scheduled to start in fiscal 2027 to 2028. For this to happen, the surrounding debris must be removed, and the cover’s installation will help prevent the work dispersing radioactive dust.
Ground improvements works were progressing on the neighboring Unit 2’s south side. There, a working platform to remove 615 pieces of nuclear fuel from Unit 2 will be built, with its start slated for fiscal 2024 to 2026.
The buildings for Units 1 through 4 were damaged and contaminated, so different structures, such as platforms and covers, had to be built to remove nuclear fuel from the pools. Particularly conspicuous was the thick steel frame of the Unit 4 facility, from which fuel was completely removed in 2014. Although 53 meters high, it surprisingly uses about the same amount of steel as the 333-meter-high Tokyo Tower. Since the nuclear fuel is being removed in order, new construction work continues in reactor buildings’ vicinities.
The Japanese government decided in April 2021 to release into the ocean treated water stored in at least 1,000 tanks. The decision is not unrelated to the boom in construction.
At the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s March 1 review meeting on treated water discharge, TEPCO explained the offshore release was needed “to safely and steadily remove fuel debris and spent nuclear fuel.” The company listed at least 10 facilities earmarked for future construction. Put another way, the tanks need to be removed to provide land for these facilities.
Related construction work had already started at the seashore, where workers dug vertical holes to contain treated water before its release. After the implementation plan’s approval, undersea tunnel construction and other necessary work to release the water 1 km offshore will also begin.
Meanwhile, some broken cranes and damaged buildings have been left on site without being dismantled. The representative told the Mainichi Shimbun this was partly due to them trying to keep the solid waste processing volume low.
Also underway is construction of facilities to handle ever-increasing solid waste amounts. The representative said a white building I spotted in the site’s northwest side was the volume reduction facility, and that building work is going ahead for a solid waste storage facility in front of it.
The volume reduction facility scheduled for completion in March 2023 will use crushing and other methods to reduce concrete and metal debris volumes. Although nine storage buildings already exist, a 10th will soon be constructed. Nearby was also a new incineration facility for burning logged trees. TEPCO estimates solid waste generated will reach a volume of 794,000 cubic meters by March 2033, and that there will continue to be more related facilities.
Fuel debris removal will begin at the end of 2022. In the future, facilities to hold fuel debris and to store and reduce volumes of solid waste with high doses of radiation generated by the work will also be needed.
Each year creates new tasks that generate more waste, and the facilities to accommodate it. These buildings are also destined to eventually become solid waste. While this cycle continues, a final disposal method for the waste is undetermined. The government’s and TEPCO’s timetable says 20 to 30 years of plant decommissioning remain. But on site, where new construction projects continue to appear, a clear picture of when decommissioning will finish has yet to emerge.
(Japanese original by Takuya Yoshida, Science & Environment News Department)
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12 February – Webinar The Big Push: New Nuclear Projects in Canada
Thursday, February 12, 7 pm Eastern | 2nd of 4 sessions in the 2026 Nuclear Waste Online webinar series
Join a webinar on the push for new nuclear generation in Canada. Go to Northwatch.org to register or use the registration link https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZfWOf1GITqSRIZX8CB-A9w
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