Release of Fukushima water to have ‘limited’ impact on consumer habits, poll shows
What a smooth piece of propaganda by Japan’s spin doctors on behalf of the will to dump all that ‘treated’ radioactive water into OUR Pacific ocean!!!
Apr 27, 2022
The impact on consumers of the planned release into the ocean of treated water from the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is seen as limited both in Japan and abroad, a government survey has shown.
Among respondents from Japan in the online survey, the proportion of those who said they would refrain from buying food items produced in Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear plant is located, after the start of the water release came to 14.7%, against 13.3% who said they are already avoiding such items.
The two comparable figures among respondents from the United States stood at 38.3% against 32%, and at 41% against 41.3% among those from Taiwan.
Of respondents from South Korea, 77.7% said they are currently avoiding Fukushima food products while 76% said they would do so after the water release.
The survey polled 300 people from each of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the U.K., the United States and France and 150 from each of Australia and New Zealand in January and February.
The attitude survey by the Reconstruction Agency was the first to be conducted over the planned discharge of treated water, which contains radioactive tritium from the plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., that was the site of the 2011 triple reactor meltdown.
The survey also suggested that only 29% in Japan and only 16% in the United States know that tritium is released to rivers and the sea in many countries based on existing laws and regulations.
“We need to spread knowledge (about tritium) in and outside our country,” Reconstruction Minister Kosaburo Nishime told a meeting Tuesday, where the survey results were reported.
The government will strengthen measures to prevent reputational damage to food items due to the planned water release, he stressed.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/04/27/national/fukushima-water-consumer-impact-limited/
Scientists: Japan’s Plan To Dump Nuclear Waste Into The Pacific Ocean May Not Be Safe
April 25, 2022
A panel of scientists has identified critical gaps in the data supporting the safe discharge of wastewater into the Pacific.
Independent scientists are questioning Japan’s plans to dump just over 1 million tons of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, following a review of the available evidence.
The panel of multi-disciplinary scientists, hired by the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Forum, has not found conclusive evidence that the discharge would be entirely safe, and one marine biologist fears contamination could affect the food system.
Last year Japan announced that wastewater from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, destroyed in March 2011 following the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, would be dropped into the Pacific in 2023.
The announcement triggered immediate concern from nations and territories in the Asia-Pacific region and led the Pacific Islands Forum to hire a panel of five independent experts to review the plan.
Previously, it was broadly believed that dropping the wastewater into the ocean would be safe, given it had been treated with “advanced liquid processing system” technology, which removes radioactive materials from contaminated water.
But panel scientist Robert Richmond, director of the University of Hawaii Kewalo Marine Laboratory, says the panel unanimously believes that critical gaps in information remain.
Previous discussions over the safety of Japan’s plans emphasized the chemistry of the discharge, but not how it could interact with marine life, he said.
“If the ocean were a sterile glass vessel, that would be one thing,” Richmond said. “But it’s not, you know, there’s lots of biology involved.”
Richmond has been particularly concerned about the potential for tritium – a key compound of concern – being absorbed into the food system because the radioactive isotope can bind to phytoplankton.
Through phytoplankton, Richmond says, the radioactive element could then find its way into the greater food system as the microscopic plants are consumed by mollusks and small fish, which are later consumed by other fish and eventually humans.
“Things like mercury in fish are now of an international concern. Radionuclides will be the same,” Richmond said.
The situation is dynamic too, as climate change affects the temperature of waters and weather patterns change.
“As temperatures go up, many chemicals become more interactive, they become a little bit different in terms of break down,” he said. “So these are all the things we need to consider.”
Confusing The Masses
The Pacific Islands Forum convened its panel of experts – specializing in policy and different scientific disciplines – because of the highly technical nature of Japan’s plan.
The PIF did not respond to a request for an interview for this story.
But Forum Secretary General Henry Puna has said that while Japan was open and frank in several information sessions held with the Forum, it wanted to bring on its own group of experts to look at the data and advise them.
“I just want to note that, for us, the issue is very urgent but also requires very careful thinking,” Puna said in September.
Since Japan announced it would release the treated water into the Pacific, it has been working with the International Atomic Energy Association to ensure its plans are safe. In February the IAEA made its first assessment and recently completed a second assessment at the end of March.
The IAEA is expected to deliver reports from its site visits in the next two months, according to its website, and would release a fully comprehensive report before any water is released.
Richmond said the panel wants to work with Japan and the IAEA to ensure the best outcome.
Nonetheless, the information seen by the panel showed less than 1% of the tanks of wastewater had been treated and less than 20% had been adequately sampled, Richmond says.
“Based on those numbers alone, we’re uncomfortable in making predictions of where things are going to end up,” Richmond said.
The Pacific Perspective
Community groups and environmental organizations were quick to respond to the news last year, raising concerns about the longterm effects to their region, with its legacy of nuclear testing and the fallout. And coastal communities and fishermen in Japan have also raised concerns.
The U.S. expressed its support for the plan in April last year, which has since been criticized by U.S. territories and affiliated states.
Rep. Sheila Babauta of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands introduced a resolution to CNMI’s House of Representatives opposing any nuclear testing, storage or waste disposal in the Pacific.
It was passed in December, months after the U.S. stated its position and after other Pacific groups and governments condemned the move.
“I’m really disappointed in the lack of engagement, the lack of information and the lack of free, prior and informed consent,” Babauta, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, said.
The mistrust that is harbored by many in the Pacific stems back to U.S nuclear testing in the Republic of Marshall Islands following World War II, British testing in Kiribati and the French in French Polynesia, which had flow-on effects to the environment and long term health of Pacific people. And in 1979, Japan provoked backlash when it revealed plans to dump 10,000 drums of nuclear waste in the Marianas Trench.
Babauta says she introduced the resolution as a show of solidarity for the rest of the Pacific.
“The ocean is our oldest ancestor. The ocean is our legacy,” Babauta said. “It’s what we’re going to leave for our children.”
Scientists: Japan’s Plan To Dump Nuclear Waste Into The Pacific Ocean May Not Be Safe
Shield machine to dig undersea tunnel to discharge ‘treated water’ has not yet been approved nor has the local government… Preparations are steadily underway at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
April 25, 2022
On April 25, TEPCO installed a “shield machine” at the launch site to dig an undersea tunnel to the discharge port 1 km offshore over plans to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba towns, Fukushima Prefecture) into the sea after purification treatment. The plan for the facilities to discharge the contaminated water has not been approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and the local government has not yet given its approval for the start of construction. However, TEPCO explained at a press conference on the same day, “We are preparing for the construction work, and we will move ahead to the extent that there are no problems.
Contaminated water generated when cooling water injected into the reactors of Units 1-3 came into contact with nuclear fuel debris melted down in the accident and mixed with groundwater and rainwater that entered the buildings. Tritium, a radioactive substance that cannot be removed, remains in concentrations exceeding the national discharge standard. The government and TEPCO have been working on a plan to use large amounts of seawater to dilute the tritium concentration to less than 1/40th of the discharge standard and discharge the water into the sea.
TEPCO began preparatory work on the 24th, bringing a shield machine (about 3 meters in diameter and 7 meters in length) to the port of the power plant, and on the 25th, placed it at the bottom of a shaft (16 meters deep) where they will begin digging an undersea tunnel built in the port area. The tunnel is now ready for construction to begin immediately. The tunnel will connect the shaft, which will temporarily store water to be discharged, with the offshore water discharge port.
Preparations for the construction of the water discharge outlet will begin on the 25th, and excavation of the seafloor will begin on the 29th.
Although the regulatory commission has completed its review of the facility plan, TEPCO has yet to submit a revised plan to the regulatory commission based on the content of the review. The approval is expected to come after June, when the public will be invited to comment on the plan. The approval of Fukushima Prefecture and the towns of Okuma and Futaba must also be obtained before tunnel excavation can begin. (Kenta Onozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/173859?fbclid=IwAR3gMcpXQMAGSFHMfpukggr2I_RPWcgqZifR2PCYgIdmtSOGRu72k9UYjcQ
How dangerous is the Fukushima nuke plant today?
By MARI YAMAGUCHI March 12, 2021
OKUMA, Japan (AP) — A decade ago, a massive tsunami crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Three of its reactors melted down, leaving it looking like a bombed-out factory. Emergency workers risked their lives trying to keep one of history’s worst nuclear crises from spiraling out of control.
Proper equipment has now replaced ragged plastic hoses held together with tape and an outdoor power switchboard infested by rats, which caused blackouts. Radiation levels have declined, allowing workers and visitors to wear regular clothes and surgical masks in most areas.
But deep inside the plant, danger still lurks. Officials don’t know exactly how long the cleanup will take, whether it will be successful and what might become of the land where the plant sits.
Journalists from The Associated Press recently visited the plant to document progress in its cleanup on the 10th anniversary of the meltdowns and the challenges that lie ahead.
WHAT HAPPENED 10 YEARS AGO?
After a magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, 2011, a tsunami 17 meters (56 feet) high slammed into the coastal plant, destroying its power supply and cooling systems and causing meltdowns at reactors No. 1, 2 and 3.
The plant’s three other reactors were offline and survived, though a fourth building, along with two of the three melted reactors, had hydrogen explosions, spewing massive radiation and causing long-term contamination in the area.
The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says the tsunami couldn’t have been anticipated, but reports from government and independent investigations and recent court decisions described the disaster at the plant as human-made and a result of safety negligence, lax oversight by regulators and collusion.
WHAT’S INSIDE THE MELTED REACTORS?
About 900 tons of melted nuclear fuel remain inside the three damaged reactors, and its removal is a daunting task that officials say will take 30-40 years. Critics say that’s overly optimistic.
Separate efforts to remove spent fuel from cooling pools inside the reactor buildings were hampered by high radiation and debris and have been delayed for up to five years. If the plant’s pools lose their cooling water in another major quake, exposed fuel rods could quickly overheat and cause an even worse meltdown.
The melted cores in Units 1, 2 and 3 mostly fell to the bottom of their primary containment vessels, some penetrating and mixing with the concrete foundation, making removal extremely difficult.
Remote-controlled robots with cameras have provided only a limited view of the melted fuel in areas still too dangerous for humans to go.
Plant chief Akira Ono says the inability to see what’s happening inside the reactors means that details about the melted fuel are still largely unknown.
ARE THERE UNDERGROUND LEAKS?
Since the disaster, contaminated cooling water has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the reactor building basements, where it mixes with groundwater that seeps in. The water is pumped up and treated. Part is recycled as cooling water, with the remainder stored in 1,000 huge tanks crowding the plant.
Early in the crisis, highly contaminated water that leaked from damaged basements and maintenance ditches escaped into the ocean, but the main leakage points have been closed, TEPCO says. Tons of contaminated sandbags used to block the leaks early in the disaster remain in two basements.
Tiny amounts of radiation have continued leaking into the sea and elsewhere through underground passages, though the amount today is small and fish caught off the coast are safe to eat, scientists say.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE STORED RADIOACTIVE WATER?
The 1,000 tanks filled with treated but still radioactive water tower over workers and visitors at the plant.
TEPCO says the tanks’ 1.37 million ton storage capacity will be full in 2022. A government panel’s recommendation that the water be released into the sea is facing fierce opposition from local residents, especially fishermen concerned about further damage to the area’s reputation. A decision on that recommendation is pending.
TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels for release.
TEPCO has managed to cut the amount of contaminated water to one-third of what it used to be through a series of measures.
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO VISIT THE PLANT?
The first thing visitors see is a stylish office building that holds the TEPCO decommissioning unit.
In another building, plant workers — about 4,000 per day now — go through automated security checkpoints and radiation measurements.
Because radiation levels have fallen significantly following decontamination, full protection gear is only needed in a few places in the plant, including in and around the melted reactor buildings.
On a recent visit, AP journalists donned partial protective gear to tour a low-radiation area: a helmet, double socks, cotton gloves, surgical masks, goggles and a vest with a personal dosimeter.
Full protection gear, which means hazmat coveralls, a full-face mask, a head cover, triple socks and double rubber gloves, was required at a shared storage pool where fuel relocation from the No. 3 reactor pool was recently completed.
WHAT’S THE ENDGAME?
A decade after the accident, Japan doesn’t yet have a plan to dispose of the highly radioactive melted fuel, debris and waste at the plant. Technology also isn’t advanced enough yet to manage the waste by reducing its toxicity.
TEPCO says it needs to get rid of the water storage tanks to free up space at the plant so workers can build facilities that will be used to study and store melted fuel and other debris.
There are about 500,000 tons of solid radioactive waste, including contaminated debris and soil, sludge from water treatment, scrapped tanks and other waste.
It’s unclear what the plant will look like when the work there is done. Local officials and residents say they expect the complex to one day be open space where they can walk freely. But there’s no clear idea if or when that might happen.
___
Tokyo correspondent Mari Yamaguchi has visited the Fukushima nuclear plant nine times, starting in 2012.
Fear of broken contaminated pipes being fixed with wire ropes, which may break and sag due to earthquakes, TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
April 20, 2022
On April 20, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced that it will fix a pipe contaminated with highly radioactive materials between Units 1 and 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture) to another nearby pipe with a wire rope because the pipe has become brittle due to multiple problems during cutting. Some of the contaminated pipes are on the verge of breaking, and there is a risk that they may break off and hang down due to earthquakes or other causes.
The pipes to be cut are about 30 cm in diameter. 90% of the pipes to be removed for the first time (about 11 meters long and weighing about 1 ton) were cut on March 27 by a remote-controlled device on one side. The strength of the piping has decreased.
On March 19, an investigation revealed that the warping of the broken pipe had increased, and on March 20, work began to wrap the wire rope around the pipe by remote control using a crane. (Note: A TEPCO spokesperson corrected the explanation on the 21st, saying that “workers entered the site to wrap the rope around the pipes.)
The investigation into the cause of the trouble has not been completed, and the resumption of removal is not expected. TEPCO had planned to remove the piping, which totals 135 meters, in 26 sections by the end of April, but has changed the target to the end of September.
The pipes were used in the venting of contaminated steam inside the reactor to prevent the containment vessel from rupturing immediately after the accident in March 2011. 11 years have passed, but people still cannot get to them. （Eleven years have passed, and no one can get close to it.)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/172904?fbclid=IwAR0V8O72lyq_ymfivHwfFbYrclEM_6ZsJD6ymkLBMCWV5lHkw-O1lyoujcM
TEPCO to Remove Contaminated Pipes at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant by “First Half of FY2022” Due to Continuing Troubles
April 18, 2022
On April 18, at a meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority to review the status of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, TEPCO announced that it had changed its target date for the completion of work to “the first half of FY2022 (April to September)” regarding the removal of pipes between Units 1 and 2 that were contaminated with high concentrations of radioactive materials. Previously, the target was “within FY 2009. The scope of the removal work includes the areas that interfere with the installation of rainwater inflow countermeasures in the waste treatment buildings of Units 1 and 2 and the installation of a large cover in Unit 1.
The removal work began on February 24, but has not progressed at all due to a series of problems with the cutting equipment. The timing for the resumption of work is not clear, as investigations are still underway to determine whether the cutting equipment and method used to lift the pipes up by a large crane are appropriate.
The pipes to be removed were used in the venting process immediately after the accident to release contaminated air inside the reactor to prevent the containment vessel from rupturing. The pipes are 30 cm in diameter and measure 65 meters on the Unit 1 side and 70 meters on the Unit 2 side. The current plan is to cut the piping into 26 sections and remove them. The surface dose at the connection with the exhaust stack is 4 sievert per hour, which is high enough to kill a person if he or she stays there for several hours. For this reason, all work will be carried out remotely. (Shinichi Ogawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/172472?rct=national&fbclid=IwAR1DYTcIpK–IpNqQfheOVBWKG8-G1Eonb274DLuS8FOMWxZ9ciYQLdmaiM
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
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.
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?
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)
TEPCO to grow fish at nuclear plant to show water safety
No, it is not for April Fools’ Day only, for Tepco it is Fool’s Day everyday
April 1, 2022
Tokyo Electric Power Co. will raise seafood at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in a bid to ease concerns about its plan to release treated radioactive water stored there into the ocean.
“We want to contribute to dispelling the public’s anxiety and reassuring people,” a TEPCO representative said.
The government and TEPCO last year announced the plan to treat and then discharge contaminated water accumulating at the nuclear plant into the ocean starting as early as spring 2023. More than 1 million tons of water have already been stored.
Local residents and fisheries industry officials, worried about reputational damage to marine products caused by the water release, asked the utility to demonstrate the safety of the water that will be discharged instead of just spouting off technical terms.
They suggested that TEPCO keep fish at the plant to show that the processed water will pose no health risk.
The water treatment process removes most radioactive substances, but not tritium. The water will be diluted with seawater to reduce the tritium concentration to less than 1,500 becquerels per liter, one-40th the legal standard.
On experts’ advice, TEPCO decided to culture flatfish and abalone on a trial basis because both species can be caught off Fukushima Prefecture and grown easily.
Preliminary farming started in March in seawater at the plant to gain expertise.
Around September, the utility will begin growing 600 flatfish and 600 abalone. Some will be raised in ordinary seawater while others will be in treated and diluted water containing tritium at the same level of the water that will be discharged.
The concentration of tritium and other substances in the creatures’ bodies will be analyzed, as will their growth rates in the two sets of tanks.
A continuing video of the experiment will be made available on the internet.
TEPCO said it expects the raised fish to have tritium readings similar to those in the water of their farming tanks. So the figure for flatfish raised in the processed water will likely be higher than their seawater-cultivated counterparts.
“We hope to counter negative publicity by showing that fish can grow healthily (in the treated water),” a TEPCO official said.
No Fukushima Nuclear Discharge: Pacific Elders Voice statement
30 March 2022
Pacific Elders oppose the discharge of Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean saying it is unacceptable and contravenes international and regional agreements
We note, with deep concern, Japan’s decision to release treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.
According to reports, the release of more than a million tonnes of water, which has been filtered to reduce radioactivity, could start in 2023.
We reiterate the observation by Secretary-General Henry Puna: “Our ultimate goal is to safeguard the Blue Pacific – our ocean, our environment, and our peoples- from any further nuclear contamination. This is the legacy we must leave for our children”.
Pollution of our ocean, and especially radioactive pollution, is unacceptable and contravenes international and regional agreements including the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, and the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty of Rarotonga.
A principal objective of the London Convention is to protect the marine environment from pollution, including man-made radioactivity. Under the Treaty of Rarotonga, States Parties are obligated to prevent the stationing of any nuclear explosive device; to prevent the testing of any nuclear explosive device; not to dump radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter at sea, anywhere within the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, and to prevent the dumping of radioactive wastes and other radioactive matter by anyone in the territorial sea of the States Parties.
We see many strong reasons to oppose the discharge of Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The climate and biodiversity emergencies we currently face are already presenting severe threats to our waters, and so a decision by any government to deliberately contaminate the Pacific with radioactivity because it is the most cost-effective option seems perverse.
Japan has failed to consult with affected coastal countries, especially northern the Pacific Island States and no environmental impact assessment has been conducted. Furthermore, Japan has obligations not to allow pollution from their own waters to pollute international waters or the waters of other countries. When Pacific Islands Forum Leaders met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide at the 9th PALM Meeting in July 2021, they highlighted the priority of ‘ensuring international consultation, international law, and independent and verifiable scientific assessments with regards to Japan’s announcement’.
We feel this constitutes a disregard for the human rights of both Japanese citizens, as well as those in the wider Asia Pacific region, including indigenous peoples, and it is justifiably being challenged, not least by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs.
Japan is under an international legal obligation to take all measures possible to avoid transboundary pollution from radioactivity, and develop alternatives to dumping in the Pacific by continued storage and treating the water to remove radioactive, including carbon- 14 and tritium.
We observe that the International Atomic Energy Agency has stated that the discharges will be done safely and in line with international practice. It continues to play the same historical role as set down in its 1957 statute of supporting and promoting the interests of the nuclear industry, not protecting the environment or public health. Radioactivity discharged from a pipeline poses potentially a greater coastal threat to the marine environment than deep-sea dumping from a ship.
We welcome the recent appointment of an independent panel of global experts2 on nuclear issues to support Pacific nations. Their technical advice, based on scientific evidence, will help inform consultations with Japan over its intentions to discharge treated nuclear wastewater.
This story was originally published at Pacific Elders’ Voice on 30 March 2022, reposted via PACNEWS.
No Fukushima Nuclear Discharge: Pacific Elders Voice statement
Container containing radioactive waste collapses, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, storage method issues come to light
March 20, 2022
A series of radioactive waste containers stored outdoors at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were toppled and tilted by an earthquake late at night on March 16. Similar damage occurred during the Fukushima earthquake in February of last year, highlighting once again the challenges of storage methods. TEPCO is continuing to take stopgap measures until the waste is transferred to an indoor storage facility, but the Nuclear Regulation Authority is ready to request that more aggressive measures be taken.
Four units damaged, contents outside
As of January 19, there were a total of eight 1 meter square containers known to have toppled over. Four of them were damaged and their contents were exposed. All of them contained low-dose used protective clothing. Several other containers in two other groups of containers covered with sheets also toppled over.
Seventy-seven containers were tilted by the earthquake last February, and a total of 12 units toppled over at two locations. Some of the containers were four-tiered, and the shaking of the earthquake broke the connecting fittings, etc. Although the containers were re-stacked two or three-tiered and the bottom foundations were reinforced, the damage could not be prevented this time either.
In March of last year, one corroded waste container leaked a high dose of radioactive material onto the ground, which flowed into the port through a drainage channel. In July of the same year, rainwater that had entered a container for contaminated soil overflowed from inside the container.
A total of 85,500 outdoor waste containers are now in use. TEPCO inspected a total of 5,338 containers with a certain amount of surface radiation, and found that a total of 646 containers had corrosion or damage. Damage was found and emergency repairs were made. The risks associated with emergency evacuation-like waste management after the accident have become apparent.
Reduce risk outside the building.
The Regulatory Commission is becoming increasingly aware of the problem. At a regular meeting on February 2, Chairman Toyoshi Sarada mentioned the option of temporarily storing outdoor waste underground by covering it with soil. He stated that it would be difficult to gain the understanding of the local community, but considering the risk of leakage, it would be undesirable to leave the waste above ground.
TEPCO has announced a policy to remove all the contents of the containers to the storage facility by FY2028 to eliminate the outdoor storage, but there is no guarantee that an earthquake, typhoon, or other large-scale natural disaster will occur before the work is completed. There is no guarantee that this will not happen. If trouble occurs, it will lead to reputational damage to the local community.
Shinsuke Yamanaka, a member of the Regulatory Commission who inspected a group of containers at the No. 1 nuclear power plant on March 17, touched on the issue of outdoor waste in an interview after the visit and stressed, “It is important to talk about the inside of the reactor buildings, but right now I want you to prioritize risk reduction outside the buildings. He also expressed his desire to ask TEPCO to come up with concrete measures.
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, risk of earthquakes revealed… Failure of seismometers, building deterioration, tanks shifting….
March 20, 2021
The earthquake that struck the Tohoku and Kanto regions on the evening of February 13, 2011, which had a maximum intensity of 6 on the Japanese seismic scale, revealed that seismometers at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant had been removed more than four months earlier, highlighting the dangers posed by the plant, which was damaged in an accident 10 years ago, and the sloppy system in place at TEPCO. The earthquake was strong. With high radiation levels in the buildings making normal maintenance and inspections impossible, how can we ensure the safety of the ongoing work toward the “decommissioning” of the reactors, which has no end in sight?
◆Still removed after failure
Akira Ono, chief executive officer of the Fukushima Daiichi Decommissioning Promotion Company, was forced to apologize at a press conference on February 25 because a seismograph that was supposed to have been installed in the Unit 3 reactor building had failed and had been removed.
One of the two seismometers installed in the reactor building failed in July of last year when it got stuck in a pool of water, and three months later the other seismometer was out of commission. The top management was unaware of this fact for seven and a half months.
The seismometers originally installed in Units 1 through 4 to determine the emergency shutdown of the reactors were rendered unusable by the tsunami and accident 10 years ago. In April of last year, TEPCO installed two of the earlier seismometers to monitor the shaking of the Unit 3 reactor building, which had been damaged by a hydrogen explosion, but in the end, none of the “valuable data” that Ono emphasizes was obtained.
After the February earthquake, the water level in the containment vessels of Units 1 and 3, where melted-down nuclear fuel (debris) remains, dropped. It is believed that the damaged areas created during the accident have spread. The positions of 53 tanks that store contaminated water and other materials in the process of being cleaned up have also shifted by up to 19 centimeters. If the pipes connecting the tanks were to come loose, a large amount of contaminated water could leak out.
The extent of the damage is unknown.
Making earthquake preparedness difficult is the high level of radiation in the building. One worker said, “I can’t see inside, so I don’t know how the damage is spreading.
Katsumi Takiguchi, a professor emeritus at Tokyo Institute of Technology who specializes in reinforced concrete buildings, compiled a performance assessment of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant buildings at a subcommittee of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan in 2019. He said, “Reactor buildings have walls that are 1.5 or 2 meters thick,” and pointed out that there is little fear of collapse.
What concerns Takiguchi is the localized deterioration of the buildings. If the reinforcing steel in the walls rusts and swells, exposing the concrete, the rusting will accelerate, so cracks and other abnormalities must be noticed quickly. Although seismograph observations are valuable in detecting deterioration trends, he asserts, “They are not a substitute for visual inspections.
◆ “TEPCO is losing its nerve.
According to TEPCO, the exterior of the Unit 1-3 buildings has been visually inspected about once a year since FY19. Little is known about the inside of the buildings beyond a robotic survey conducted immediately after the accident. The company aims to conduct inspections with people inside the buildings after April of this year, which, if realized, will help strengthen countermeasures.
However, it is essential to minimize the radiation exposure of the workers, and the method and frequency of inspections are still under consideration. Inspections of the reactor equipment in Units 1 through 3, where debris remains and the tops of the containment vessels are contaminated with extremely high concentrations of radioactive materials, will be extremely difficult.
The safety of the site is also a top priority for the removal of spent nuclear fuel and debris from the pools. The number of veteran employees with knowledge of the accident has been reduced, and some workers are heard to say, “TEPCO is losing its sense of urgency. Mr. Ono, who is in charge of decommissioning the plant, said, “I think the plant was highly sensitive to the tsunami. We also have to think about earthquakes,” he stresses, “but will we be prepared in time? The next earthquake could come at any time.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/92694?fbclid=IwAR3Y8kYYXRoDAh8DPDAodsD6p5itoAJufNvcRDJoK_jiSux5HrPv5f-rd98
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