Evacuation of Iitate Village’s Nagadori District, Fukushima Prefecture, to be lifted in May.
November 21, 2022
Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, has begun coordinating with the national government to lift the evacuation order for a specific restoration base area (restoration base) in the Nagadori administrative district, a hard-to-return zone following the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, by the major holidays in May of next year. The government plans to lift the evacuation order for a part of the area outside the restoration center as a park area to check the reduction of radiation levels in the air at the same time as the area inside the restoration center. This is the first time that the government has announced the lifting of evacuation orders for areas outside of the restoration centers in the difficult-to-return zones established by the nuclear accident.
On March 20, after a briefing session for residents of the Nagadori area in Fukushima City, Village Mayor Makoto Sugioka made the announcement to the press. The village has been saying that it aims to lift the restrictions next spring. The village is expected to decide on a specific date after the final report by the village’s decontamination verification committee scheduled for January next year and after the end of March.
The difficult-to-return zone in the village covers approximately 1080 hectares, of which about 186 hectares are restoration sites. The village plans to construct a meeting place for short-term stays and exchanges, a multipurpose ground, and public restrooms.
According to the village, the park area covers about 0.64 hectares of land in the Kyakuta district. No playground equipment is planned. The village will continue to measure radiation levels to see how they decrease.
https://www.minpo.jp/news/moredetail/20221121102625?fbclid=IwAR39qL5sRkcgxB2AM316-9b4dN7hSEF3mMYfdlmfKMLHG4_5njXQagUlsAQ
Environmentalists devoted to reveal nuclear contamination in Fukushima
A team of elderly Japanese environmentalists has been devoted to revealing the real environmental conditions of Fukushima after the nuclear incident in 2011. The team, with all members over 60 years old, volunteered to have a routine check for nuclear radiation in Fukushima. Masami Aoki, 77 and a former media worker, is one of the persons in charge of the team founded in 2012. Over the past 10 years, Aoki has worked with his team to examine nuclear radiation levels near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, including Futaba Machi and Minamisoma.
A group of journalists from HT investigates the impact of Fukushima’s controversial plan to dump water into the ocean
24 Nov, 2022
MADRID, Nov. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — While the Japanese Primer Minister has described the measure as “totally safe and unavoidable”, member countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (ORA), official institutions, non-governmental organizations, environmental associations such as Greenpece, experts and professors in atomic energy, as well as doctors and researchers specialized in diseases related to uncontrolled exposure to atomic substances, denounce this measure as irresponsible, and do not understand the silence of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) in this situation.
A group of international journalists led by Global Think Agency investigates and analyzes the impact of the controversial plan to discharge water from Fukushima into the sea. The Key findings are:
- The decision announced by the Japanese government in April 2021, announcing it as a “safe” project, the measure does not convince the scientific community, nor the experts in atomic energy, for all is “the cheapest option“.
- It is currently unknown how the long-lived radioactive isotopes contained in the contaminated water will interact with marine biology, this situation is “unprecedented”.
- An independent analysis of the report published by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Subcommittee shows that the company responsible for the Fukushima plant understood that additional storage of contaminated water beyond 2022 was possible, but it was ruled out because it would require “a substantial amount of coordination, time and financial resources.“
- Last October 30, and in view of the IAEA’s silence, a group of experts and professors in atomic energy, as well as doctors and researchers specialized in diseases related to uncontrolled exposure to atomic substances, submitted a letter to the Director General Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, requesting him to urge the Japanese authorities to halt this measure, without receiving any reply to date.
Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace, confirms “the lack of clarity and scientific inconsistencies” in the Fukushima nuclear power plant decommissioning project, considering it “fantasy” and that the discharge of contaminated and treated water into the ocean “does not solve the crisis and will generate an unpredictable environmental situation”.
Eleven years after the earthquake and tsunami that led to one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, Greenpeace is issuing a new wake-up call after reviewing multiple documents from different government agencies and industry.
Satoshi Sato, leader of the nuclear fusion and quantum energy neutron source design group in Rokkasho (Japan), says “decommissioning is not possible in 40 years”. There are many shadows and doubts and the Japanese government should clarify the progress that has been made so far.
It will have to “live with treated water for decades while a safe solution is found”, said the expert in relation to the discharge of treated water into the Pacific Ocean, a plan foreseen for 2023 and which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently evaluated during a mission to the country.
Shaun Burine and Satoshi Sato, agreed, telling us that the IAEA’s position in supporting the plans of the Japanese government and TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.) “does not make sense”. They went on to say that “the mission of this organization is to develop safety standards and maintain high levels of safety for the protection of human health and the environment against ionizing radiation. As well as to verify that States comply with their commitments.”
“TEPCO has no intention of decommissioning the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the next 20 to 30 years. It is a fantasy and a much longer process than we have been told“, said Burnie, who stressed the need to inform affected communities and the public in detail.
“The long-term consequences cannot be dismissed, because this transcends generations and this fact should be crucial in addressing the problem, not the official agenda of the actors involved“, Burnie criticized the roadmap approved by the Japanese government.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is the world’s fourth-largest utility and the bastion of the nation’s nuclear power, from which Japan draws 30% of its electricity. Tepco serves a third of the population. The company that operates the nuclear power plant has contributed to the disaster with its management before and after the accident It falsified reviews, concealed information and delayed urgent measures
The company is contributing to the scandal, acknowledging that it has falsified safety reports, elevating fleeting inspections to exhaustive examinations. Tepco is also accused of irresponsibly delaying the cooling of the reactors with salt water because it was going to ruin them beyond repair.
The legacy of scandals in the sector in half a century has punished its credibility.
The Greenpeace organization recalls that the company’s negligence brought the former IAEA management to task on numerous occasions, its spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama denounced on numerous occasions as “extremely regrettable” the errors in the measurements of radioactive water, apparently due to failures in the software used to carry out the measurements. “Tepco is facing a very serious situation and is failing to meet people’s expectations“, Nishiyama insisted, in the harshest criticism the company has ever received.
About HT
HT is a global agency specializing in developing documentary, research and entertainment content. The company boasts a team of experts from different fields such as production, creativity, and journalism, some have over 25 years of experience in major production companies in Spain.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Survivors Urge Diet Members to Provide Adequate Relief in Light of Policy to Revise Compensation Standards
Plaintiffs appealed their plight as evacuees at a meeting held at the House of Councillors building in Nagata-cho, Tokyo, on March 24.
November 24, 2022
On November 24, the National Liaison Group of Plaintiffs in Lawsuits Against Nuclear Power Plants, consisting of victims of the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, held a meeting at the Diet to demand that the interim compensation standards established by the government’s Nuclear Damage Dispute Review Board be revised to provide adequate relief to the victims of the accident.
The plaintiffs, who are engaged in class-action lawsuits against the national government and TEPCO in various parts of Japan, submitted their requests to the offices of members of the Diet at both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors.
The CALI decided to review the guidelines on the 10th of this month in response to a series of court decisions ordering TEPCO to pay more compensation than the interim guidelines. In addition to the review of the guidelines to match the actual damage, the request also called for the government to consider building new nuclear power plants and extending their operating periods, and to oppose the discharge into the ocean of water treated to purify contaminated water generated at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
At the rally following the request, lawyer Guntaro Managi, who serves as the secretary general of the legal team for the Fukushima lawsuit, criticized the government’s response, saying, “The review of the guidelines is too little too late. Hiroshi Murata, 79, an evacuee from Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, who has been living in Yokohama, said, “The guidelines were created immediately after the accident, and it was not assumed that the evacuation would last this long. The guidelines were created immediately after the accident and were not based on the assumption that evacuees would have to live for such a long time. They should be revised in their entirety, not just partially. (Kenta Onozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/215953?fbclid=IwAR3Ur_jQqDli869rwXoAJspCvxE1W7BFpeTaI_VE4RRqMiOqcN-ZCZFAq60
Safety first must be priority for Fukushima water: China Daily editorial
2022-11-23
Since the Japanese government announced its highly controversial plan to release massive amounts of radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in April last year, it has met with opposition and condemnation, not only from Japan’s neighbors, China and the Republic of Korea, but also from Japanese society, residents in Fukushima and the country’s fishery industry in particular.
Although the Japanese government says that apart from tritium, which cannot be removed from the water, all other radionuclides will have been reduced to safe amounts after treatment, it is not known what the environmental consequences will be after it is discharged into the sea.
Marine experts have raised concerns over traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater.
The Pacific Ocean does not belong to Japan. It is an ocean shared by dozens of countries and regions. By discharging the water into the ocean, the Japanese government shows little regard for the health and well-being of its own people and those in neighboring countries. As such, the International Atomic Energy Agency, as the world’s nuclear watchdog, should put public health first and do its utmost to see to it that Japan fully complies with all the relevant nuclear safety standards.
The IAEA set up a task force last year to review the safety of Japan’s discharge plan, comprising a group of IAEA specialists and external experts from 11 countries. The task force conducted a field trip to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station last week, and reviewed the updated technical plans for the water discharge by Tokyo Electric Power Company and the equipment and facilities to be used for the discharge. The IAEA said a report of the mission will be made available within three months, and a comprehensive assessment on the safety of the discharge will be issued prior to the planned release in 2023.
Both China and the ROK have urged the agency to strictly adhere to all safety standards in its assessment of the plan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that China hopes the task force will ensure the “absolute safety” of the treatment.
And the Foreign Ministry of the ROK also struck the same tune on Tuesday, stressing that the discharge of the contaminated water should meet objective scientific standards.
Needless to say, Japan should coordinate closely and transparently with the task force so as to ensure the IAEA clearly grasps the whole picture.
China’s support of the IAEA task force’s work should not be interpreted as an approval of Japan’s decision to discharge the contaminated water. It needs to be pointed out that the task force has not evaluated the alternatives to ocean discharge, leaving the IAEA unable to conduct a comprehensive evaluation and find the best way to dispose of nuclear-contaminated water. China still maintains that instead of pushing forward with its discharge plan, Japan should find a safer way to treat the contaminated water.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202211/23/WS637e2ecaa31049175432b7ec.html
China supports IAEA review of Fukushima treatment
“Just because China supports the task force’s work does not mean it approves of Japan’s decision to discharge the contaminated water, Mao also said, urging Japan to find an appropriate way to treat the contaminated water, instead of pushing forward with its discharge plan.”
2022-11-21
China supports the International Atomic Energy Agency and its task force in reviewing Japan’s treatment of nuclear contaminated water, and hopes the task force will strictly implement the IAEA’s nuclear safety standards and ensure the “absolute safety” of the treatment, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Mao made the remarks at a daily news conference on Monday after the task force carried out a new mission last week to review Japan’s plan to discharge treated nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
The IAEA said a report of the mission will be made available within three months.
In response, Mao said a time limit should be avoided to ensure the quality and credibility of the report, and Japan should coordinate closely with the task force.
The IAEA didn’t review other plans of treating contaminated water than discharging it to sea, thus failing to make a full assessment and find the best treatment plan, Mao pointed out.
Just because China supports the task force’s work does not mean it approves of Japan’s decision to discharge the contaminated water, Mao also said, urging Japan to find an appropriate way to treat the contaminated water, instead of pushing forward with its discharge plan.
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202211/21/WS637b7603a31049175432b07c.html
Iitate will be 1st to lift evacuation order without decontamination
Akihiko Morota, deputy director-general of the government’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters, explains the status of the difficult-to-return zone to Iitate village residents at a briefing in Fukushima city on Nov. 20.
November 21, 2022
FUKUSHIMA–Iitate village near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant plans to lift an evacuation order next spring for a small portion of the “difficult-to-return zone” so it can reclaim space for a park.
This marks the first time an evacuation order will be lifted without first carrying out decontamination work since the government made it easier to lift evacuation orders in 2020.
The order was originally issued due to high levels of radiation detected following the triple meltdown at the plant triggered by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Iitate Mayor Makoto Sugioka and the central government’s Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters made the announcement at a news conference following a briefing for residents in Fukushima city on Nov. 20.
Residents of Iitate in eastern Fukushima Prefecture had initially opposed lifting the evacuation order without first decontaminating the area, but the mayor said they were persuaded.
“We were able to obtain their consent at the briefing,” Sugioka said.
The area where the order will be lifted without any decontamination work is small. It spans just 0.64 hectares and includes only one household.
Workers will set up shields on the ground there to prevent exposure to radiation.
But the government has confirmed that even without the shielding, the radiation level is below the standard for issuing an evacuation order, at 20 millisieverts per year. The village plans to use this area as a park.
The government designated areas with readings of more than 50 millisieverts a year as difficult-to-return zones.
Iitate has a difficult-to-return zone measuring 1,080 hectares in total, according to the village and the central government.
Within this area, officials have designated a 186-hectare special zone for reconstruction and revitalization, which covers 63 households. That land will be decontaminated by removing topsoil contaminated with radioactive materials.
But there is no prospect for lifting the order for the remaining land outside the special zone, which covers 10 households.
In December 2020, the government created new criteria for lifting an evacuation order for land outside the special zone, where radiation levels are below the standard due to natural attenuation. Those conditions include a request from the local government and confirmation that no one will live there.
Among eight municipalities that have such special zones, this will be the first time that an evacuation order will be lifted outside the zone. No municipalities other than Iitate are seeking a lifting of the evacuation order under the new criteria.
Fukushima Iitate Village Lifting of Evacuation Order for “Out of Base Area” First indication of timing
November 20, 2022
The national government and Iitate Village in Fukushima Prefecture have announced that they will lift the evacuation order for a part of the Nagadori area, which has been designated as a “difficult-to-return zone” due to the accident at the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, around the major holidays in spring next year under the so-called “lifting of evacuation order without decontamination.
This is the first time that a specific date for lifting the evacuation order for areas outside of the “base area” has been announced.
In the Nagadori area of Iitate Village, which is a hard-to-return zone where entry is severely restricted, 17% of the area has been designated as a “specific restoration and rehabilitation base zone” where decontamination and other measures will be carried out first, with the aim of lifting the evacuation order in the spring of next year.
On April 20, the central government and Iitate Village held a press conference after holding a briefing session for local residents in Fukushima City to discuss the possibility of lifting the evacuation order in the spring of next year under the framework of “lifting the evacuation order without decontamination,” which allows the lifting of the evacuation order even if the government has not decontaminated the land, provided that the local government has strong intentions to use the land and the radiation level is lowered and the residents do not return. The government has announced that it plans to lift the evacuation order for a part of the area outside the “base area” around the major holidays in the spring of next year.
The area to be removed is a 6,400-square-meter plot of land where a government demonstration experiment to block radiation by pouring concrete on the ground was being conducted, and it represents 0.07% of the area outside the “base area” in the village.
Since it has been confirmed that radiation levels have been sufficiently reduced, the government will allow people to freely enter the area to see the results of this demonstration project.
This is the first time that a specific date for the lifting of the evacuation order for “outside the base area” has been announced.
In conjunction with this, the policy of lifting all evacuation orders for the base area in the village was also announced.
Iitate Village Mayor Makoto Sugioka said, “We would like to consider using the site as a place where we can confirm the effects of the radiation dose reduction demonstration project and a place where we can pass on to future generations what has been done in the difficult-to-return zone and Nagadori area.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20221120/k10013897961000.html?fbclid=IwAR3mZj8YTUnBARRCJV-KqrxSGzF9OP-jVrRRRv2GY1kcSpDWnrIF0boiiNg
Report on Fukushima water release plan to ‘provide confidence’: IAEA
The IAEA’s plan to provide confidence in TEPCO’s radioactive water dumping into the Pacific Ocean demands for sure a lot of gullibility on our part….
This Feb. 13, 2021 photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
November 18, 2022
TOKYO (Kyodo) — An International Atomic Energy Agency official said Friday that a report to be released early next year on Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant “will provide confidence to Japanese society, neighbors, all the (IAEA) member states.”
The report will be an independent and scientific evaluation based on international standards, said Gustavo Caruso, director and coordinator of the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, at a press conference in Tokyo following the completion of the organization’s second safety review.
During the five-day on-site assessment through Friday, an IAEA task force of experts led by Caruso discussed radioactivity measurements that should be taken when the water is released with plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
On Wednesday, the team inspected the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo decided in April last year to gradually discharge the water, treated through an advanced liquid processing system that removes radionuclides, except tritium, into the Pacific Ocean after dilution from around spring 2023.
Water that has become contaminated after being pumped in to cool the melted reactor fuel at the plant has been accumulating at the facility, mixing with rainwater and groundwater at the site. Tanks holding the water occupy a large area of the complex and are nearing capacity.
But even if the review by the IAEA finds that some aspects do not comply with international standards, it will be left up to the Japanese government to decide whether to postpone or cancel the water release, according to Caruso.
The IAEA will revisit Japan in January to exchange views with the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
“Before the water discharge begins, the IAEA will issue a comprehensive report on all collected findings until now,” Caruso said.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20221118/p2g/00m/0na/060000c
TEPCO announces method for measuring concentration of radioactive materials to be discharged into the ocean, targeting 31 species to be discharged from next spring
The radioactive polluting of our Pacific ocean is just a too important issue for us to trust Tepco, a company which has never been honest in the past 10 years with its announced facts and numbers.
November 14, 2022
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced on April 14 that it will measure the concentrations of 30 types of radioactive materials, including tritium, which cannot be removed by the purification facilities, to determine whether or not to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture) after purifying and treating it, immediately prior to its discharge into the ocean. The purification system removes 62 types of radioactive materials, but radioactive materials with short half-lives were excluded from the evaluation because they have decayed.
According to TEPCO, radioactive materials that are expected to be reduced by half in less than one year and that were determined to be almost nonexistent in the treated water were excluded from the evaluation. TEPCO will continue to measure the excluded substances before they are discharged.
At a press conference on the same day, Junichi Matsumoto, head of the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning Promotion Company, explained that the reason for reducing the number of substances to be evaluated compared to the radioactive substances to be removed by the ALPS is “to prevent unrealistic evaluations under excessively strict conditions. The measurement details will be submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Commission, and the Commission will review whether they are appropriate or not.
The evaluation targets include radioactive cesium and strontium. It was confirmed that the total concentration of 30 types of radioactive substances other than tritium was below the government’s standard for release. Then, a large amount of seawater will be mixed with the treated water, which still contains tritium, to dilute the tritium concentration to less than 1/40th of the standard level, and the water will be discharged from the seafloor about 1 km offshore.
TEPCO is now digging undersea tunnels with the aim of starting tritium discharge in or after next spring.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/213918?fbclid=IwAR29ZLfidwVblCHKcRUglDDyMiz9hp5WvZFb8wjHb-n3nh6c9lChLxRor6k
Plaintiff woman gives statement: “I can’t even think about what’s going to happen in the future.”
Here’s how it looked at the third trial yesterday.
Typically, one or two in 1 million people have pediatric thyroid cancer
Over 300 cases have been tested so far with approximately 38,000 people. “The plaintiff also argues that in epidemiology survey by experts using data from the town’s rural health survey, etc., the plaintiff’s thyroid cancer to be seen as a cancer causing outbreak (outburst) was an extremely high value of 94,9~99/3%. In the past, the causal relationship between the events and the disease that cause this 50-70% probability, has been recognized, and the causal relationship of damage and thyroid cancer is “with a high level of coincidence (and sometimes it’s good to treat it as proven.”
Supporters’ meeting for the thyroid cancer lawsuit. The plaintiffs’ lawyers explained their claims in the trial.
November 10, 2022
On November 9, the third oral argument was held at the Tokyo District Court in a lawsuit filed by seven men and women, aged 17 to 28, who were living in Fukushima Prefecture at the time of the accident, claiming that they developed thyroid cancer as a result of the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In their statements, the plaintiffs expressed their anxiety about the future, saying, “We can’t even think about the future.
The plaintiff, a woman in her 20s who was in the first year of junior high school and living in Nakadori at the time of the accident, made a statement of opinion. After the second surgery, the wound, which extended down to her ear, did not close easily, and after she was discharged from the hospital, she said, “I was very upset when fluid started flowing from my neck.
Recently, her cancer recurred, and there is talk of a third surgery. While she was frankly worried about her future and said, “The present, the future, in fact, it’s not good,” she added, “I am glad that it was me who got sick and not my relatives or friends.
Supporters’ meeting for the thyroid cancer lawsuit. Plaintiffs’ lawyers explained their claims in the trial November 9, 2022, Kasumigaseki, Tokyo; photo by Tetsuya Kasai.
Since the nuclear accident, more than 300 people in the prefecture have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer or suspected thyroid cancer. The woman told the judge, “I want to tell the judge that there are more than 300 people who are worried and their families are also worried. I hope that the current situation will change, even if only a little.
On the day of the hearing, the plaintiffs mainly presented rebuttals and statements of opinion in response to TEPCO’s claims. In response to TEPCO’s claim that the plaintiffs were exposed to low levels of radiation (less than 100 millisieverts) and that the risk of developing thyroid cancer did not increase, the plaintiffs pointed out that “there is a risk even at much lower levels than 100 millisieverts,” citing overseas papers.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers hold a press conference on the thyroid cancer lawsuit.
The plaintiffs also claimed that an epidemiological survey conducted by experts using data from the prefectural health survey showed that the “probability of cause” of the plaintiffs’ thyroid cancer being attributable to radiation exposure was extremely high, ranging from 94.9% to 99.3%. In past pollution lawsuits, a causal relationship between the causative event and the disease was recognized even when the probability was 50-70%, and the causal relationship between radiation exposure and thyroid cancer “can be treated as proven with a high degree of probability,” he said.
The two plaintiffs are scheduled to present their arguments on January 25 and March 15 next year, respectively. （The two plaintiffs are scheduled to present their opinions on January 25 and March 15.)
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQC97SZSQC9UGTB001.html?iref=pc_photo_gallery_bottom
Orano and TEPCO strengthen co-operation on fuel debris removal at Fukushima
This is a lot of nuclear baloney: former Areva now Orano’s unique experience in the dismantling of a nuclear power plant is at the Brennilis nuclear power plant, started in 1995 and still unfinished since then, Brennilis nuclear power plant having only one reactor and no meltdown whatsoever.
11 November 2022
Orano has signed an engineering support contract with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and its Fukushima Decontamination and Decommissioning Engineering Company subsidiary for the design of a high-activity facility for small scale retrieval of nuclear fuel debris from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP.
These debris consist mainly of a solidified mixture of molten nuclear fuel and other materials, located in facilities inside the reactor buildings. Orano engineers will be embedded directly within TEPCO’s organisation to provide technical support on the project to design High Active Cells for Small Scale Retrieval Planning and share Orano’s best practices in terms of engineering and operation.
Orano has unique experience in the design, operation and dismantling of reprocessing plants in France. This know-how will contribute to the enhancement of TEPCO’s in-house decommissioning and engineering capabilities which are necessary for stable and safe fuel debris retrieval operations.
Exchange visits to the Fukushima NPP and Orano’s La Hague site were organised to launch the contract. This will allow TEPCO to become familiar with the know-how developed by the teams from Orano at la Hague site in the retrieval of legacy waste.
China Urges Japan to Safely Dispose of Nuclear Water
11 November 2022
The International Atomic Energy Agency will continue a comprehensive safety review of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.
On Friday, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian once again urged Japan to respond to the legitimate concerns of all relevant parties and dispose of nuclear-contaminated water in a scientific, open, transparent, and safe way.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced Wednesday that its technical task force would visit Japan from Nov. 14 to 18 to continue a comprehensive safety review of Japan’s plan to pipe nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station into the Pacific Ocean.
In response to a related query, Zhao said at a daily press briefing that China supports the work of the IAEA and its technical task force.
He said China hopes that the task force will adhere to the principles of objectivity, fairness, and science, strictly implement the IAEA’s nuclear safety standards, and ensure the absolute safety of the disposal of contaminated water. “Japan should fully cooperate with the review by the IAEA’s technical task force,” said Zhao.
While the IAEA’s working group has not completed the assessment and review, and the international community’s concerns have not been effectively resolved, the Japanese side has nevertheless approved the discharge plan and accelerated the construction of the discharge pipeline, intending to create a fait accompli.
“This undermines the authority of institutions and technical working groups and is highly irresponsible to the international community and the Japanese people,” Zhao said.
China once again urges the Japanese side to face up to the legitimate concerns of all parties, fully consult with stakeholders including its neighbors and relevant international institutions, and dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a scientific, open, transparent, and safe manner to protect the marine environment and safeguard the health and food safety of people of all countries.
Japan Govt to Review N-Accident Compensation Criteria
Nov 10, 2022
Tokyo, Nov. 10 (Jiji Press)–A Japanese government panel agreed Thursday to review the state’s guidelines on the criteria for compensation for people affected by the country’s worst nuclear accident, which occurred in Fukushima Prefecture in March 2011.
The decision came after the panel received a final report from experts who looked into court rulings ordering the government to pay more compensation than the amount set under its interim guidelines for damages related to the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The dispute reconciliation panel for nuclear damage compensation said it is set to summarize the points of five items, including psychological damage caused by the loss of people’s hometowns or changes that occurred in their hometowns due to the March 2011 triple meltdown at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant, presented in the report, and make efforts to take into account the newly classified types of damage.
The current guidelines stipulate that around 100,000 yen be paid monthly per person in compensation for psychological damage caused by evacuations.
In March this year, however, the Supreme Court finalized seven rulings ordering TEPCO to pay more compensation than stipulated in the guidelines. Calls for a review of the guidelines have been growing among local residents.
Ministry panel calls for expanding eligibility for nuclear damage compensation
The Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant is seen in Fukushima Prefecture on Aug. 29.
November 11, 2022
Additional compensation should be provided to more evacuees affected by the 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to experts on the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage Compensation.
The experts compiled a final report Thursday on interim guidelines for compensation. Based on the report, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry’s committee was to start reviewing the current guidelines later in the day.
In class-action lawsuits filed by evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture against plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. and others, seven high court rulings ordering compensation beyond the guidelines were finalized as of March this year. Ahead of the review of the guidelines, lawyers were among the five appointed as expert members of the ministry panel to analyze these rulings.
The guidelines were first devised in August 2011 and will be reviewed for the first time since December 2013.
The experts’ report categorized five types of damage, such as psychological damage caused by the deprivation or change of an evacuee’s hometown, and called for making efforts and using resourcefulness to take newly categorized damage into consideration.
Specifically, the report talked about how to calculate compensation regarding psychological damage that residents have suffered due to having to leave their hometown. Such changes came about because the hometown became an evacuation-designated zone. There are three categories, with the most severe situation being designated a difficult-to-return zone.
The report created a category for damage stemming from people returning to a hometown and having to deal with the changed situation there.
The expert members presented their view that it is reasonable to calculate the amount of compensation by referring to lawsuits seeking damages filed by evacuees in which courts ordered compensation beyond the guidelines.
Regarding compensation for residents who have been deprived of their hometown, the experts also pointed to the need to consider the approximate amount in light of such court decisions. They called for increasing compensation for each category of evacuee.
The current guidelines, the report said, do not adequately take into consideration psychological damage caused by evacuation, as residents had fled with only the bare essentials. Given that, the experts suggested that the revised guidelines specify the increased amount of monthly payments to compensate for disruptions to the daily life of evacuees.
Source: https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20221111-69996/
1 This Month
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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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