tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post8132319361439348844..comments2023-05-27T00:08:34.330+09:00Comments on Japan - after the BIG earthquake: TEPCO - October 2013Gabi Grevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-53878883917960359182013-10-30T10:05:16.282+09:002013-10-30T10:05:16.282+09:00Japan Times
Tepco refuses to fund outside cleanup...Japan Times<br /><br />Tepco refuses to fund outside cleanup<br />Utility leaves ministry holding ¥30 billion bill; exemption eyed<br /><br />Tokyo Electric Power Co. is refusing to reimburse the Environment Ministry for more than ¥30 billion that was spent to decontaminate land hit by radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the ministry said Tuesday.<br /><br />Under the special decontamination law adopted in August 2011, the state is responsible for leading and initially financing the decontamination effort, but it can ask Tepco, responsible for the Fukushima crisis, to pay the bill later.<br /><br />Tepco has paid ¥6.7 billion so far, while the Environment Ministry has sought ¥40.4 billion.<br /><br />The ministry said Tepco is unwilling to pay for work not directly involving decontamination. For instance, the bill includes costs related to public relations and research and development.<br /><br />The ¥6.7 billion Tepco has paid covers direct decontamination work such as washing road surfaces and removing tainted soil.<br /><br />MORE<br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/29/national/tepco-refuses-to-fund-outside-cleanup/#.UnBbGFOGdIUGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-11938584059402660402013-10-30T06:22:08.660+09:002013-10-30T06:22:08.660+09:00NHK news October 29
Koizumi, Yoshida agree on nuc...NHK news October 29<br /><br />Koizumi, Yoshida agree on nuclear-free society<br />Former prime minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi and the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party have agreed that the country should stop generating nuclear power.<br />SDP leader Tadatomo Yoshida, who assumed his post this month, met Koizumi in Tokyo on Tuesday.<br />Koizumi said continuing nuclear power generation would be irresponsible and impossible. He said the public cannot understand the policy of building nuclear waste disposal sites in the earthquake-prone country.<br /><br />Yoshida asked Koizumi to work with him toward achieving a nuclear-free society.<br />Koizumi said each party must work to achieve the goal.<br />He added that he will continue his own efforts, and that appealing to public opinion is the only way to get the government to end nuclear power generation.<br /><br />Yoshida later told reporters that he hopes to create a larger movement toward a nuclear-free society, now that he's confirmed that he and Koizumi share ideas.<br /><br />http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131029_44.html<br />Gabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-50348864433728506542013-10-29T06:39:23.705+09:002013-10-29T06:39:23.705+09:00晴れ続くフクシマの野にバッタ見ず
hare tsuzuku fukushima no no ni b...晴れ続くフクシマの野にバッタ見ず<br />hare tsuzuku fukushima no no ni batta mizu<br /><br />in the field in Fukushima<br /> where sunny days continue<br /> I see no grasshoppers<br /><br /> Kimihisa Takashima 高嶋公久<br />(Tr. Fay Aoyagi)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-14344434461431673382013-10-28T08:48:45.646+09:002013-10-28T08:48:45.646+09:00Japan Times
Nuclear regulators can’t win
The Nuc...Japan Times <br />Nuclear regulators can’t win<br /><br />The Nuclear Regulation Authority – , which observed the first anniversary of its creation on Sept. 19, faces two diametrically opposed criticisms. Proponents of nuclear power generation criticize the NRA as the root cause of the delay in the government’s policy to promote nuclear power, while “no-nuke” groups brand the body as a mouthpiece of the “nuclear power village” (the strong network of public organizations and power companies that work toward expansion of nuclear power).<br /><br />These bitter criticisms coming from both ends of a spectrum seem to summarize the contradictions of Japan’s nuclear power policy. The NRA has become a skewed organization because the idea behind creating it was to satisfy both proponents and opponents of nuclear power. That has resulted in the lack of capabilities to execute its missions, thus making nuclear power plants in Japan even more dangerous than before.<br /><br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/10/27/commentary/nuclear-regulators-cant-win/#.Um2mGlOGdBk<br />.Gabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-8561334479085117582013-10-27T06:24:47.305+09:002013-10-27T06:24:47.305+09:00Japan Times - - -
Get Koizumi: Nuclear village goe...Japan Times - - -<br />Get Koizumi: Nuclear village goes on offensive<br /><br />Since spring, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has become increasingly vocal in his opposition to nuclear power. Though he decided Japan should abandon atomic reactors after the Great East Japan Earthquake set in motion the Fukushima crisis, he was already retired from politics. The mass media paid no attention.<br /><br />Then he sat for an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun in summer and described a trip he took to Europe, at his own initiative and in the company of several nuclear industry executives, to inspect the Onkalo nuclear-waste repository in Finland and the situation in Germany, which has moved away from atomic energy. Despite the presence of men whose job it was to convince him otherwise, he returned even more resolute in his belief that Japan must reject nuclear.<br /><br />The response has been divided along predictably ideological lines. Politicians who are against the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s plan to reopen as many plants as possible are delighted to have the former president of the LDP on their side. Since Koizumi is one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s mentors it might be bad form to criticize him, but last week he called Koizumi’s idea “irresponsible” on TV Asahi.<br /><br />The official party position seems to be to ignore him. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga remarked that like any citizen, Koizumi “can say anything he wants,” though Economic Revitalization Minister Akira Amari told reporters that Koizumi’s stance demonstrates that he’s not thinking about what he’s saying.<br /><br />All this beating around the bush hardly mattered to the average person, but on Oct. 20 Koizumi gave a lecture in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, and invited TV cameras to record it. That night, every station showed clips of the speech and suddenly the ex-premier couldn’t be ignored, since the general public could see for itself that he is adamant in his opposition to nuclear energy, which he supported when he was a lawmaker. The speech itself was nothing special, but the fact that he was making it — and making a big deal of it — was.<br /><br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/26/national/get-koizumi-nuclear-village-goes-on-offensive/#.Umwyp1OGdIUGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-86149932216657235372013-10-24T08:15:14.081+09:002013-10-24T08:15:14.081+09:00Japan Times
Tepco eyes fuel removal from Fukushima...Japan Times<br />Tepco eyes fuel removal from Fukushima reactor 4 pool in early November<br /><br />The process, to continue until the end of next year, will mark a new stage in the decommissioning of the reactors 1 to 4, which were severely damaged in the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11, 2011, mega-quake and tsunami.<br /><br />Reactor 4 unit was the only one of the four not to experience a meltdown because its fuel had been in the spent-fuel pool during maintenance work. But there is concern over the continued storage of the more than 1,000 fuel assemblies in the pool, which is located inside a reactor building that suffered a hydrogen explosion.<br /><br />Tepco had planned to begin the process from mid-November, but it has nearly completed preparations, including the installation of a crane to remove the fuel.<br /><br />If the safety of the equipment is confirmed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Tepco will start taking out the fuel.<br /><br />The fuel will be placed in containers and taken to what has been called a common pool in a different building about 100 meters away that is expected to provide more stable conditions for keeping the fuel cool.<br />Gabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-77862013331818568312013-10-21T09:46:35.659+09:002013-10-21T09:46:35.659+09:00Experts play down fish radiation fear
Tests show c...Experts play down fish radiation fear<br />Tests show cesium declining; less strontium believed released<br />by Reiji Yoshida<br /><br />The plague of radioactive water at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 power plant has renewed fears both in Japan and abroad over the contamination of seafood and the habitat it comes from.<br /><br />The government is trying to reassure consumers that all fish that find their way to market are safe, pointing to marine life sampling data and regulations regarding shipment of contaminated marine products.<br /><br />But how safe — or dangerous — could fish caught in the Pacific be? On what data and safety standards is the government basing its claims of safety?<br />snip<br />“(Contamination levels) of fish now coming to the market are well below the government safety threshold. We consider them safe to eat,” said Jun Misonoo, a consulting researcher at the Marine Ecology Research Institute, a government-linked nonprofit research body based in Tokyo.<br /><br />MIsono - He pointed out that even if someone were to ingest 1 kg of fish contaminated with cesium of 100 becquerels per kilogram every day for a year, that person would receive an internal radiation exposure of 0.47 millisievert.<br />“And you would never keep eating 1 kg of fish every day. It’s quite unrealistic,” he said.<br />.<br />MORE<br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/20/national/experts-play-down-fish-radiation-fear/#.UmR5D1OGdIUGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-24842520035798727502013-10-21T09:44:52.262+09:002013-10-21T09:44:52.262+09:00Whether Tepco fails or not, it’s taxpayers’ tab
by...Whether Tepco fails or not, it’s taxpayers’ tab<br />by Tomoko Otake<br /><br />It is impossible to put a price tag on all the pain and suffering inflicted on people as a result of the March 2011 meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.<br /><br />The ongoing crisis has created more than 140,000 wandering “nuclear refugees,” has stripped farmers and fishermen of their livelihoods, and continues to expose hundreds of plant workers to daily health risks as they battle to contain the radioactive water accumulating in leaky storage tanks and pipes and flowing into the ocean as groundwater, as well as other hazards.<br /><br />The monetary cost alone is immeasurable because the crisis is far from over and the decontamination of areas hit by the radioactive fallout is way behind schedule. Just neutralizing the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns and the other reactor whose fuel pool looms as a major danger will take decades.<br /><br />But one thing is clear: the final tab will be huge, and the public will end up paying for it, either through taxes or utility bills. While estimates vary, the total cost will probably top ¥10 trillion — or 20 percent of what the central government collects every year through taxes, experts say.<br /><br />MORE in the Japan Times<br /><br />http://japan-afterthebigearthquake.blogspot.jp/2013/10/tepco-october-2013.htmlGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-24486373205012544812013-10-19T16:43:02.082+09:002013-10-19T16:43:02.082+09:00Strontium readings spike 6,500-fold in one day
Wat...Strontium readings spike 6,500-fold in one day<br />Water radiation soars at Fukushima No. 1<br /><br />FUKUSHIMA – <br />Radiation levels in groundwater under Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant are soaring, Tepco said Friday after taking samples from an observation well.<br /><br />Tepco said 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances such as strontium were detected in water sampled Thursday from the well located some 15 meters from a storage tank that leaked about 300 tons of highly radioactive water in August.<br /><br />The level of becquerels, a record high for water in that well, was up 6,500-fold from the 61 becquerels found Wednesday.<br /><br />Tepco was planning to pump groundwater up from different wells about 100 meters from the leaky tank for release into the Pacific before the water flows into the damaged reactor buildings and becomes heavily contaminated with radioactive materials.<br /><br />But that plan appears in jeopardy because the sharp increase in the levels of radioactive materials in the observation well suggest the radioactive groundwater is spreading.<br /><br />MORE<br />http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/18/national/water-radiation-soars-at-fukushima-no-1/#.UmI3JFOGdBkGabi Greve Newshttp://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/18/national/water-radiation-soars-at-fukushima-no-1/#.UmI3JFOGdBknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-79600576452401645482013-10-12T05:48:59.839+09:002013-10-12T05:48:59.839+09:00Whitebait catches resume in disaster-hit Fukushima...Whitebait catches resume in disaster-hit Fukushima<br /><br />Fishermen have resumed catching whitebait in waters off Fukushima Prefecture for the first time since the nuclear accident in March 2011.<br />Thirty-four fishing boats set out early Friday from Matsukawaura Port in the city of Soma. They began arriving back to unload the catches around 9AM.<br /><br />A local fisheries cooperative decided to resume catching whitebait on the grounds that hardly any radioactive substances have been detected in a series of tests conducted since the nuclear accident.<br />Cooperative officials say they tested the fish for radiation before and after boiling and processing, and found no trace of radioactive materials.<br /><br />Now that the whitebait has been found safe, it will be distributed to local supermarkets and fish stores on Monday. The fish will be shipped to Tokyo's Tsukiji market as well.<br />The cooperative resumed trawl fishing in some areas on September 25th. It had been suspended after radioactive water was found to be leaking into the ocean from the damaged nuclear plant.<br /><br />Whitebait fishing can be conducted in relatively shallow water, so many small boats will be able to take part.<br />Cooperative officials are hoping that the first commercial catches since the accident will pave the way for the resumption of full-scale whitebait fishing.<br /><br />Oct. 11, 2013 - NHK news<br />http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131011_32.htmlGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388372827914524197.post-75075060329352979622013-10-03T15:38:08.585+09:002013-10-03T15:38:08.585+09:00Safety screening of 2 KEPCO plants to take time
T...Safety screening of 2 KEPCO plants to take time<br /><br />The operator of 2 nuclear plants in central Japan and the country's nuclear regulatory body remain at odds over safety screenings for the plants' restart.<br /><br />Kansai Electric Power Company aims to resume operations at the Ohi and Takahama nuclear plants in Fukui Prefecture.<br /><br />Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday held discussions over 3 active faults that run near the plants. The faults are the basis for assessing the plants' earthquake resistance.<br /><br />Kansai Electric repeated its claim that the faults would not shift simultaneously, after assessing sonar surveys of regional topography.<br /><br />But experts say such an interpretation is convenient for the utility.<br /><br />Regulation authority member Kunihiko Shimazaki said the assessment won't continue, as there is no definite proof that the faults will not shift simultaneously. He has instructed Kansai Electric to conduct additional surveys.<br /><br />NHK news<br />http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20131003_13.htmlGabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.com