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TEPCO - December 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (東京電力株式会社, Tōkyō Denryoku Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 9501), also known as Toden (東電, Tōden) or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
With the Tokyo Olympics, Tokyo 2020
now even more in the limelight !
Please read the daily news at NHK here
Since November 2013, NHK has a new feature, "Nuclear Watch" !
source : www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english
. Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 and Fukushima
東京オリンピック 2020 .
updates on this BLOG
特定秘密保護法案 Tokutei himitsu hogo hōan
The new secrecy bill. secrecy law is dangerous because Japan already has a lot of non-disclosable information and several related laws.
What will happen to the freedom of information, especially with respect to the problems of Fukushima?
- reference -
Geheimhaltungsgesetz, “Schutzgesetz” in Japan
vier Bereiche: Verteidigung, Diplomatie, Spionageabwehr und Terrorismusbekämpfung
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- November 30, 2013 -
- short note from TV
Since all the water storage tanks are full, Tepco will stop doing anything about the infected water for a while.
(meaning, it will flow into the ocean without treatment or anything . . .)
Fukushima people learn how to deal with radiation - NHK news
Experts on radiation protection have met with residents around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to discuss how to deal with daily exposure to harmful substances. . . . The residents added that many young people have not returned to the area because they are worried about exposure to radiation.
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- December 03, 2013 -
ALPS system shut down over leak - Japan Times
A trouble-prone system used to decontaminate radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was switched off Sunday because of a chemical leak, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Hydrochloric acid, used to neutralize alkaline water being decontaminated, was found seeping from a pipe joint, Tepco said in a statement.
The joint was wrapped in a vinyl bag to contain the leakage, Tepco said, adding it was investigating the cause of the trouble.
About 1 liter of hydrochloric acid has been contained in the bag.
The leak was found at one of three Advanced Liquid Processing System units designed to remove radioactivity from contaminated water at the plant, where a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 sent nuclear reactors into meltdown.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/12/02/national/alps-system-shut-down-over-leak/#.Up0YGycqtBk
Govt. panel urges additional wastewater measures - NHK
A government panel has drafted a report on additional measures to control the radioactive wastewater accumulating at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The government in September announced drastic measures, such as freezing the soil around the reactor buildings to prevent groundwater from getting in.
On Tuesday, the panel called for the rapid implementation of 5 backup measures, including building large storage tanks with double outer walls, and sealing cracks and piping holes with concrete.
It says a plan to pave the ground with asphalt to prevent rainwater from seeping in will be effective, while a measure to surround the wall of frozen soil with another wall was put off for later discussion.
The panel also said the handling of wastewater containing radioactive tritium should be studied by a team of experts to be set up by the government this month.
The measures will be implemented with reference to proposals by experts and engineers in Japan and abroad.
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- December 05, 2013 -
IAEA: Tritium may have to be discharged into sea - NHK
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency say tritium in wastewater at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have to be discharged into the ocean.
The IAEA probe team released a preliminary report on Wednesday on its investigation, started on November 25th, to help in the decommissioning work at the plant. They interviewed government and plant operator officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company and conducted on-site inspections at the plant.
The report says TEPCO should step up efforts to remove radioactive substances from wastewater accumulating in the plant's tanks and other places. ...
A team of experts sent by the International Atomic Energy Agency suggested Wednesday that Tokyo Electric Power Co. should consider discharging toxic water from the Fukushima No. 1 plant into the ocean after lowering the level of radioactive materials to less than the legal limit.
The proposal by the international nuclear watchdog was part of its call on Tepco to improve its management of the increasing amount of radioactive water at the crippled facility and ensure a safe decommissioning process.
Such a step would draw an angry reaction from people, including commercial fishermen, worried about further contamination of the Pacific.
“Controlled discharge is a regular practice at all nuclear facilities in the world,” Juan Carlos Lentijo, director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, told a news conference in Tokyo as the team wrapped up its inspection of the plant.
Lentijo headed the team of 19 experts that arrived Nov. 25 to check the decommissioning efforts, including the radioactive water problem and the removal of fuel rod assemblies from the spent fuel pool high in the reactor building 4.
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- December 06, 2013 -
Highest radiation levels measured outside reactor - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says radiation levels are extremely high in an area near a ventilation pipe at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
TEPCO found radiation of 25 sieverts an hour on a duct, which connects reactor buildings and the 120-meter-tall ventilation pipe.
The estimated radiation level is the highest ever detected outside reactor buildings. People exposed to this level of radiation would die within 20 minutes.
The exhaust pipe in question was used to release radioactive gases following the outbreak of the accident 2 years ago.
TEPCO says radioactive substances could remain inside the pipes.
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- December 10, 2013 -
Govt. panel calls for quick wastewater measures - NHK
A government panel has called for quick backup measures to control radioactive wastewater accumulating at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The government is working to freeze soil around the plant's reactor buildings to keep out groundwater. It's also building a wall along a coastal embankment to keep wastewater from seeping out to sea. But the measures are taking too long, and their effectiveness is in doubt.
The panel recommended a series of supplemental measures that include building double-walled storage tanks and sealing cracks in the buildings with concrete to keep out groundwater. It also called for paving large parts of the plant's compound with asphalt to keep rainwater out.
The panel also suggested that a team of experts assess the risks and technological challenges of handling wastewater containing radioactive tritium, and reach a conclusion by the end of March.
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- December 12, 2013 -
18 firms told to end overwork at Fukushima plant - NHK
Japan's labor watchdog has told 18 firms to end overwork among employees at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
A labor standards inspection office in Fukushima Prefecture gave the correction advice to Toshiba and its 17 subcontractors.
Officials with the Fukushima Labor Bureau say the firms made employees work around radioactive water longer than legally allowed.
Japan's labor standards law permits only 10 hours of work a day when there are potential health risks. That includes maximum overtime of 2 hours.
Toshiba and its subcontractors admitted having some workers put in a few hours more a day between July and October.
Company officials told NHK they mistakenly understood that hours spent in preparation or waiting did not have to be counted in the daily limit.
The officials say they have corrected their practices after receiving the advice.
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- December 13, 2013 -
TEPCO releases findings on meltdown - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says an early breakdown of a cooling system likely led to a meltdown at one of the facility's reactors after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Friday released its findings on the accident at the Number 3 reactor, in a follow-up to a study made public in June 2012.
The previous study said the meltdown began at about 10:40 AM on March 13th -- 2 days after the disaster.
The new report includes an analysis of how the accident started. It says readings of a gauge early that morning showed that water levels inside the reactor were low enough to expose part of its fuel.
The low levels indicate that an emergency cooling system had malfunctioned.
The report also says fire engines began injecting water soon after 9 AM that day, but that the measure may have been ineffective because of pipe leaks.
The firm says similar leaks occurred at the 2 other reactors at the plant that had meltdowns.
The utility plans to continue looking into why and how massive amounts of radioactive substances were released from the damaged reactors.
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- December 16, 2013 -
IAEA demonstrates aerial radiation monitor - NHK
The International Atomic Energy Agency has demonstrated an unmanned aerial vehicle designed to measure radiation levels in areas too dangerous for humans to access.
The aircraft on Monday hovered over Fukushima City near the site of the 2011 nuclear accident.
The prototype was designed based on a disc-shaped aircraft used for inspecting post-disaster sites around the world.
Presently, an unmanned helicopter developed by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency monitors radiation levels over evacuation zones in the prefecture.
But the IAEA 6-rotor prototype is easier to maneuver. It can thread its way close to building walls and electric cables.
It is radio-controlled. It can fly on automatic pilot by pre-programming data regarding the topography and buildings in the area.
The IAEA hopes to make the aircraft available to Fukushima prefecture in 2 years after test flights in the no-go zones.
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- December 18, 2013 -
French journalists inspect Fukushima Pref. - NHK
French journalists have toured Fukushima Prefecture to see how residents are tackling radiation contamination from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
French radiation protection specialists arranged the tour for about 20 journalists. The specialists are concerned that French media reports on Fukushima may not have been accurate.
The journalists visited Yanagawa Town in Date City. They observed radiation checks of dried persimmons, a local specialty. Firms recently resumed shipments of the persimmons for the first time in 3 years.
The reporters heard that contamination levels have all been within the safety standard.
They also visited a former peach orchard that now serves as a first point of storage for contaminated soil.
The journalists learned that authorities were able to secure the use of the site with the cooperation of locals.
Pierre LE HIR, a reporter for Le Monde newspaper, said it was impressive to see how hard people are working to ensure local farm produce is safe for consumption.
He said he hopes to correct sometimes biased views about Fukushima in France through his reporting.
TEPCO decides to decommission 2 more reactors - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has officially decided to decommission the facility's 2 reactors that escaped serious damage in the 2011 disaster.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, made the decision at its board meeting on Wednesday. Four of the plant's 6 reactors were crippled due to meltdowns or hydrogen explosions in their buildings.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September urged the utility to decommission the plant's No. 5 and 6 reactors. The 4 others were already being decommissioned.
TEPCO gained approval for the decision from 2 host towns last week. The firm's president Naomi Hirose plans to report on the move to Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday.
The decision means the utility needs at least 260 million dollars more for decommissioning. Part of the additional cost is expected to be passed on to consumers through higher electricity fees.
TEPCO does not plan to immediately dismantle the No. 5 and 6 reactors and their buildings. They are to be used to test technologies and train workers to remove melted fuel and dismantle facilities at the plant's No.1 to 4 reactors. . . .
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- December 20, 2013 -
Radioactive cesium detected in deeper groundwater - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says radioactive substances have been detected in water samples taken from deep underground at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Highly radioactive substances had been detected in previous months in shallow groundwater that was found to be leaking into the ocean.
But for the first time in December, TEPCO investigators detected radioactivity in groundwater taken from a layer 25 meters beneath the No. 4 reactor's well facing the ocean.
In a water sample taken on Tuesday of last week, 6.7 becquerels per liter of Cesium 137 and 89 becquerels per liter of strontium and other beta ray-emitting radioactive substances were detected.
TEPCO officials say radioactive substances may have been mistakenly mixed during the process of getting the sample.
But they are concerned that if contamination of deeper layers of groundwater is confirmed, it could be another source that is leaking into the ocean. The inspectors plan a further examination.
Meanwhile, at the No. 2 reactor, the density of beta ray-emitting radioactivity in groundwater has been rising since November. On Thursday, it registered a record 1.9 million becquerels per liter.
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- December 22, 2013 -
Water leaks found near Fukushima tank barrier - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says 1.6 tons of radioactive water is estimated to have drained into the ground from the barrier surrounding tanks storing contaminated water.
TEPCO officials said they found water coming from the barrier's foundation joints on Saturday afternoon.
They also said they measured 93 becquerels per liter of strontium 90 in the water remaining within the fence. The radiation level is about 9 times the national limit for water allowed to be released from the barrier.
The officials said they believe cause of the leakage was deteriorated joints.
They also said that, from the radiation level, they believe the leaked water is not radioactive water from the tanks but rainwater that had collected inside the fence.
They added that they think the high level of strontium 90 was detected because the rainwater absorbed radioactive materials that have been spreading in the environment since the March 2011 accident.
They confirmed that no radioactive water leaked into the ocean, as there are no drainage systems leading to the sea near the site.
- a bit later it was
New fix may be needed for leaks from tank barrier
TEPCO officials say an estimated 2.6 tons of water leaked through joints at 2 locations on the barrier's concrete bottom.
They say up to 190 becquerels per liter of strontium 90 were detected in the water inside the barrier. That radiation level is about 19 times the allowed national limit for radioactive water to be released from the barrier. . . .
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- December 23, 2013 -
TEPCO taking watertight measures for barriers - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is coating the surface of all barriers around contaminated water tanks at the plant to prevent further radioactive water leaks.
TEPCO officials found radioactive water seeping out of the barriers at 4 locations over the weekend.
They say that at two locations degraded resin that seals concrete seams caused the leak. They made sure the leaks had stopped after repairing the seals.
At 2 other locations, they say water was leaking from cracks in the concrete, which they suspect was caused by cold weather. They plan to fill the gaps.
The utility plans to coat the surface of all of the barriers, about 20, as similar problems could appear in other locations.
TEPCO says more than 3 tons of water leaked, and the radiation levels were higher than the allowed national limit for radioactive water to be released from the barriers. But the utility denies the water flowed into the sea, as there are no drainage systems leading there.
Falling water levels within barriers hint at leaks - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says water levels have dropped sharply inside another 2 barriers surrounding contaminated water tanks.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says its workers discovered the phenomenon on Tuesday at 2 barriers near the number 4 reactor building. The water levels in question were last checked on Friday.
TEPCO officials say the water levels dropped 11 centimeters from Friday inside one barrier, and 7 centimeters in the other.
They say nothing suggests that the water leaked into the surrounding ground. And they have noticed no changes in water levels in tanks in the area.
TEPCO officials say the water within the barriers contains up to 440 becquerels per liter of radioactive strontium--- 44 times the government limit for radioactive water to be released from the barrier.
The officials suspect that the water might have gradually seeped into the soil beneath the tank lots.
They plan to drain the water within the barriers and find out what caused the water levels to fall. The utility suspects cracks in the concrete barriers.
Contaminated water leaks from similar lots have already been discovered at 4 different locations over the weekend.
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- December 27, 2013 -
Deteriorated joints may be cause of water leaks - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says deteriorated resin filler probably caused water leaks from barriers surrounding contaminated water tanks.
Tokyo Electric Power Company found a total of 225 tons of water leaked from 2 concrete barriers at the plant on Tuesday.
It also found that the remaining water in the barriers contained radioactive strontium at a level of up to 44 times higher than the government limit.
TEPCO says it drained the water from the barriers and no cracks were seen at the bottom of the concrete.
After applying resin over the joints on bottom, no water leaked.
Thus the utility concludes the joint resin filler probably deteriorated, causing the leaks.
Water leaks in other barriers were discovered earlier this month. A drop in temperature is believed to have widened the space among joints.
TEPCO says it will apply resin on the bottom of all of about 20 barriers at the plant and step up monitoring water levels.
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. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
. - - - Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 - and Fukushima - - -
東京オリンピック 2020 .
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Showing posts with label - 2013 TEPCO. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - 2013 TEPCO. Show all posts
12/27/2013
11/11/2013
TEPCO - November 2013
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TEPCO - November 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (東京電力株式会社, Tōkyō Denryoku Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 9501), also known as Toden (東電, Tōden) or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
With the Tokyo Olympics, Tokyo 2020
now even more in the limelight !
Please read the daily news at NHK here
Since November 2013, NHK has a new feature, "Nuclear Watch" !
source : www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english
. Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 and Fukushima
東京オリンピック 2020 .
updates on this BLOG
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- November 01, 2013 -
US ready to help decommission reactors in Fukushima - NHK nuclear watch
The visiting US Energy Secretary says the United States is ready to help Japan decommission reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, if needed.
Ernest Moniz related this in his speech in Tokyo on Thursday. He said the success of the cleanup of areas around the Fukushima plant and decommissioning of reactors have global significance. Moniz said the US has a direct interest in seeing the next steps are done efficiently and safely.
He noted that from the beginning of the Fukushima accident, the US government has supported the Japanese government by sending experts to cope with the accident. . . . The Energy Secretary also asked Japan to join an international pact on compensation for nuclear accidents as soon as possible. Moniz said that if Japan ratifies the treaty, the US will be able to help the country more easily in the work.
Groundwater flows from nearby mountains into the plant compound, absorbs radioactive substances there and then leaks into the ocean. TEPCO is still unable either to identify exactly where radioactive water is leaking or to keep track of the movement of groundwater.
Moniz reportedly said Energy Department researchers are currently working on technologies to contain contaminated water and they can be of help.
A radiation leak at the Hartford nuclear site in the state of Washington earlier this year prompted the US Energy Department to set up a research institute to develop technologies to handle such accidents.
Moniz and Hirose agreed to strengthen technical cooperation in 5 fields. These include disposal of radioactive water, preventing the contamination of underground water and the removal of melted nuclear fuel.
The US Energy Secretary says his government and US companies could help Japan in removing hard-to-filter radioactive tritium from waste water at the country's crippled nuclear plant.
Aso to study state funding for Fukushima cleanup - NHK
Japan's finance minister says he will study a proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party that the government finance the effort to clean up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Taro Aso told reporters on Friday that he respects and will carefully study related recommendations by an LDP taskforce.
The recommendations were made on Thursday by the taskforce on speeding up the effort to rebuild regions hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, pays for the government's effort to clean up areas contaminated by nuclear fallout.
Govt. to turn TEPCO into a holding company - NHK
Japan's industry ministry started procedures to turn the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into a holding company. It also plans to create a body specializing in decommissioning reactors at the plant under the new firm's wing.
The ministry began the move on Thursday after a taskforce of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved proposals designed to swiftly address radioactive water and scrap reactors at the plant.
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- November 02, 2013 -
Ishiba calls for restart of nuclear power plants - NHK
The secretary general of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party says the country's idle nuclear reactors should be restarted once their safety is verified.
Shigeru Ishiba delivered a speech in Sapporo on Saturday on the government's energy policy.
Ishiba said Japan should reduce nuclear dependence by working on renewable sources such as wind and solar.
But he said the current supply is on a tightrope. He advocated putting back online those reactors that pass screenings.
All the reactors are currently offline for safety checks.
Ishiba noted that new reactors are being built in many countries including China, most with Japan's technology.
The LDP secretary general stressed Japan should further advance its nuclear technology and promote its export.
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- November 04, 2013 -
Govt. to be more involved in Fukushima cleanup - NHK
The Japanese government plans to increase its involvement in recovery efforts from the Fukushima nuclear accident. Efforts include financing work to remove radioactive material from soil and decommission reactors at the Fukushima plant.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a speech in Tokyo on Monday that it's high time to review the policy for recovery efforts.
Suga said the previous government, led by the Democratic Party, chose to have Tokyo Electric Power Company respond to the accident on its own, even though the government could have taken charge of some of the work.
Suga said the government will coordinate its policy with proposals from the main governing Liberal Democratic Party.
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- November 05, 2013 -
Japan to study nuclear accident risk system in US - NHK
Japanese and US officials have agreed to explore ways to introduce a system in Japan for assessing the risk of accidents at nuclear power plants. Such a system is already in place in the United States.
... The US assessment method quantifies factors such as natural disasters, unexpected equipment malfunctions and human error to determine which areas of a nuclear power plant are at high risk.
IAEA dispatches marine analysts to Fukushima
The International Atomic Energy Agency is sending marine monitoring experts to Japan. They will advise on handling radioactive wastewater leaking into the sea from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi power plant. . . . IAEA chief Yukiya Amano says Japan needs to cooperate with international organizations on the Fukushima plant problems.
Ishiba hints at review of decontamination goal - NHK
An executive of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has hinted at a review of the long-term goals in the decontamination of areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
... The report calls for the government to better inform local residents that its goal of reducing yearly radiation levels to one millisievert or below cannot be achieved quickly through decontamination work alone.
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- November 06, 2013 -
TEPCO preparing new report on Fukushima - NHK
The head of Tokyo Electric Power Company says the utility is preparing a new report on what caused the crisis at its Fukushima plant.
The step is seen as part of the company's efforts to gain understanding for restarting 2 reactors in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan.
TEPCO President Naomi Hirose told a Lower House panel on Wednesday that the company plans to shortly release its findings on Fukushima.
Hirose said TEPCO has continued to examine the cause of the March 2011 disaster through an expert panel. Members include US and British nuclear power experts.
The new report follows one released in June 2012 on the results of the company's own investigations. But the first report left many questions unanswered.
Hirose said TEPCO will also present the report to Niigata Prefecture for review.
A prefectural technical panel is examining safety features of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, where the utility hopes to restart 2 reactors.
TEPCO apparently decided a further probe into Fukushima was needed to gain the prefecture's approval.
No.4 reactor pool shown to media - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant has shown the media the pool for nuclear fuel units at the No.4 reactor. Work to remove the units will begin this month. ... Workers will use a crane to transfer the units to a container designed to block radiation. It will be filled with 22 units before being lowered to the ground and transported to a storage facility.
Fukushima decommission at starting line - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant is preparing to take a key step towards decommissioning the nuclear reactors. It will start in mid-November to remove more than 1,500 fuel rods from one cooling pool.
The operation is the start of a long process expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Tokyo Electric Power Company personnel will begin at reactor no. 4. Its pool stores 1533 fuel units, most of which are highly radioactive spent rods.
TEPCO will also need to clear rods from pools at 3 other reactors in a worse state. Reactor no. 1's pool has 392 units, no. 2 has 615, and No. 3 has 566.
TEPCO officials hope to begin removing rods from those pools in about 2 years. They have been hampered by intense radiation and problems like inflow of rainwater.
They're anticipating a bigger challenge in removing molten fuel from reactor containers. TEPCO hopes to start that stage in 2020.
Workers are prevented by high radioactivity from fully studying the reactor interiors. They are attempting to use remote-control cameras.
TEPCO officials are seeking international cooperation to develop a machine that can remove the molten fuel, an operation never tried before.
The company is also facing other challenges including radioactive-water leakage into the sea and a lack of sufficient skilled workers.
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- November 09, 2013 -
Tainted water leaks again at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have discovered a new leak of contaminated water, this time through a barrier that surrounds wastewater storage tanks.
The workers were inspecting tanks on Saturday when they found tainted water had leaked out of the barrier near the No.4 reactor. They tried to contain it with sandbags.
They reported finding puddles of water 80 centimeters long and 100 centimeters wide beyond the barrier. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company detected 140 becquerels per liter of radioactive strontium.
The utility says the leak occurred near the valve used to drain water inside the barrier. But it says the valve was closed, so it was unlikely to be the cause.
TEPCO officials say no contaminated water reached the ocean.
Engineers at the plant are still investigating. They say faulty joints in the body of the barrier may be to blame. The barrier is made up of concrete blocks bound by metal boards that are fitted either by welding or with bolts.
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- November 11, 2013 -
Ruling parties propose ideas for nuclear cleanup - NHK
Japan's ruling coalition parties have made a proposal for the clean-up and decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Party officials say the proposal would help accelerate recovery from the 2011 accident.
Senior officials of the Liberal Democratic and the New Komeito parties turned in the proposal to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday.
The plan identifies decontamination at the plant as the government's highest priority and imminent task. It asks the government to undertake the task as a public works project after current decontamination plans are carried out.
It also calls for legislative measures to allow the government to take the initiative in decommissioning and dealing with the radioactive water issue. Such measures would be needed to secure funds for such work.
On handing in the proposal, former LDP Vice President Tadamori Oshima urged Abe to lead recovery efforts to help communities and people affected by the nuclear accident. He asked Abe to work out details in line with the proposal.
Abe said the government will lead efforts in decommissioning and dealing with the contaminated water.
Govt., TEPCO target Fukushima water leaks - NHK
Officials from the Japanese government and the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have agreed on measures to protect the plant from heavy rainfall. They are hoping to limit leaks of radioactive water.
Senior Vice Industry Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said an unusually large number of typhoons and storms over the past month caused radioactive rainwater leaks. Part of the water may have seeped outside of the facility and possibly into the sea. ... A team of 22 people, including members of a government committee to manage contaminated water, conducted geological inspections at the Fukushima plant on Monday.
Experts call for change in radiation measuring - NHK
A panel of experts is urging the Japanese government to change the way it measures radiation exposure for evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear accident when they return home.
The panel at the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday endorsed draft proposals covering state support for people who want to return to their homes near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The proposals call on authorities to allow evacuees to return only after yearly radiation levels in their communities have fallen to below 20 millisieverts.
The proposals also say it should be a long-term aim to bring annual exposure levels for people to one millisievert or less.
To date, officials have estimated exposure based on radiation levels in the environment. But the panel says they should measure exposure by equipping individuals with radiation monitors called dosimeters.
Radiation measurements made by dosimeters tend to be one-third to one-seventh of readings estimated through environmental monitoring.
The draft proposals include making maps that show areas with high radiation levels and using dosimeter measurements to enable more effective decontamination work.
The panel also calls for assigning local government officials and health nurses as advisors in each community.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority will officially compile the proposals and submit them to the government.
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- November 12, 2013 -
NRA finishes checks before fuel removal - NHK
Japan's nuclear watchdog has finished facility checks before the removal of nuclear fuel from a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Removing the fuel units is the first milestone in a decommissioning project that's estimated to take about 40 years. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, plans to decommission 4 damaged reactors.
The firm is preparing to remove 1,533 fuel units from a storage pool in the plant's No.4 reactor, which stores the most fuel units among the 4.
On Tuesday, officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority told the utility that they found no problems with a crane, the building's cover, and various facilities. The regulators had been checking since September.
The NRA plans to start checking work procedures on Wednesday to make sure that debris in the pool will not damage fuel units, most of which are highly radioactive spent rods.
If the agency finds no problem with the procedures, Tokyo Electric is to start removing the fuel in mid-November.
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- November 13, 2013 -
Robot pinpoints leaks on Fukushima reactor - NHK
A robot at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has for the first time identified exactly where highly radioactive water is leaking from a reactor.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Wednesday succeeded in sending a remote-controlled robot close to the lower part of the No.1 reactor's containment vessel.
The lower section is filled with contaminated water injected to cool molten nuclear fuel. Extremely high radiation levels have hampered efforts to probe that section.
A camera on the robot captured images of water leaking from 2 holes in the containment vessel into the building housing the reactor.
TEPCO engineers say they're not sure how much water is leaking. But they say one of the leaks looks as if tap water is gushing out.
Radiation levels in the area were extremely high at 0.9 to 1.8 sieverts an hour.
Engineers suspect that damage to containment vessels at the No. 2 and 3 reactors is also causing similar leaks of highly radioactive water.
They say Wednesday's finding is important not only in solving water contamination problems but also in carrying out decommissioning. TEPCO will continue to use robots to look for other leaks.
Niigata Governor calls for more explanation
Governor Hirohiko Izumida noted that the NRA decided to proceed, even though radioactive water continues to leak at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. . . .
Agency: Japanese marine products are safe
A senior Japanese fisheries official has told foreign reporters Japanese sea products are safe. The Fisheries Agency is trying to dispel concerns about radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Masanori Miyahara said some radioactive substances were detected in seawater within the Daiichi port in tests from March 2011 - September this year. But he said the level outside the port is mostly below detectable limits. . . .
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- November 14, 2013 -
TEPCO yet to pinpoint reactor vessel damage - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has yet to determine from what parts of the No.1 reactor containment vessel water is leaking.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, on Wednesday sent a camera-equipped remote-controlled robot close to the lower part of the No.1 reactor containment vessel. The camera captured 2 locations where water was leaking onto the floor of the building housing the reactor.
In one location, water was trickling down the surface of the suppression chamber and pooling on the floor. The doughnut-shape suppression chamber is a part of the containment vessel.
In another, water was flowing out of the tip of a broken pipe. The pipe had been installed to collect dew condensation.
TEPCO believes the water is coming from damaged parts of the containment vessel.
It is the first time that possible leak sites have been confirmed in the No.1 to No.3 reactor containment vessels.
If the damage is pinpointed, it may be possible to draw up measures to suppress the accumulation of wastewater.
It could also help speed up the process of decommissioning the reactor by allowing the filling of the containment vessel with water to extract melted nuclear fuel.
However, high radiation levels and wastewater in the area are likely to hamper efforts to find the damaged parts and take effective measures.
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- November 15, 2013 -
Lawmakers to explore nuclear waste disposal plan - NHK
Japanese lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are set to launch a parliamentarians' group to discuss disposal of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
The move follows a call for a nuclear power-free society by former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to decide promptly on a zero nuclear policy instead of restarting idled reactors.
Koizumi cited as a reason, difficulties associated with the construction of disposal sites for highly radioactive waste.
The new group will include lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic and New Komeito parties and the opposition Democratic Party.
The members plan to study how other countries manage their radioactive waste and discuss a wide range of issues, including the possibility of new technological developments.
They also plan to look into ways to select the locations of disposal sites.
The lawmakers say they will face the issue head on to encourage public debate.
Fuel rod removal set to start at Fukushima plant - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to take the first step in decommissioning the facility next week, more than 2 and a half years after its triple meltdown.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Friday that workers will start removing nuclear fuel rod units from a storage pool at the plant's Number 4 reactor on Monday.
. . . The reactor pool is still littered with small debris that could hamper smooth removal of the units.
The job will require extreme caution, as any damage to the fuel or casks could unleash high-level radiation.
If trouble occurs, workers' exposure could reach the safety limit, seriously setting back the removal process.
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- November 17, 2013 -
Fuel rod unit removal to start at Fukushima plant - NHK
The removal of fuel rod units at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan starts on Monday.
This is the first critical step in decommissioning the facility in Fukushima Prefecture.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said that workers will start removing units of nuclear fuel rods from a storage pool at the plant's Number 4 reactor.
The pool holds 1,533 units of which 1,331 are highly radioactive spent fuel rod units and 202 that are unused.
... They plan to transfer the units into a cask under water in the pool, then use a crane to lift out the cask and transfer it to an outside storage pool about 100 meters away.
In the morning an empty cask will be lowered into the pool and the fuel rod units will be placed into it in the afternoon.
The pool is still littered with small debris that could hamper smooth removal of the units. ...
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- November 19, 2013 -
Nuclear fuel to be taken out of storage pool - NHK
Workers are to take out nuclear fuel from a storage pool at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Fuel removal is a key step for scrapping the damaged facility.
A crane will lift a container with its maximum capacity of 22 fuel units from the pool at the No.4 reactor building on Wednesday.
Removal of the fuel began on Monday. Workers finished transferring the 22 units of unused fuel into the container on Tuesday. . . .
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- November 20, 2013 -
2 more Fukushima reactors to be decommissioned - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company is planning to decommission the 2 reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that were not damaged in the March 2011 disaster.
TEPCO officials said they will first consult with officials in Fukushima Prefecture and in the towns of Futaba and Okuma. An official decision to decommission the Number 5 and 6 reactors could come next month. . . .
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- November 21, 2013 -
TEPCO moves cask from reactor building - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has moved a container, or cask, of nuclear fuel outside of the number 4 reactor building.
Workers just after 1 PM on Thursday moved the cask on a trailer to a separate storage pool 100 meters away.
The cask contains 22 assemblies of unused nuclear fuel rods. . . . The workers will now proceed to transfer the 22 fuel assemblies from the cask to the pool.
"Cask" containing fuel moved into safer pool
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant says it has removed the first batch of nuclear fuel from the reactor 4 building to a safer storage pool. . . .
TEPCO says the building housing the separate pool can withstand an earthquake as strong as the March 2011 disaster that badly damaged the plant.
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- November 22, 2013 -
1st fuel transfer ends at Fukushima Daiichi plant - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the first batch of nuclear fuel has been transferred from a reactor building to a safer storage pool.
The first 22 fuel assemblies were moved from the storage pool in the No.4 reactor building on Thursday, to a nearby facility housing the safer pool.
Workers unloaded the 22 unused fuel units from a cask container one by one and finished placing each in storage racks inside the pool on Friday evening.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to start the second transfer after reviewing whether there were any problems with the first round of work. If not, the utility may start removing spent fuel units that are highly radioactive. . . .TEPCO plans to repeat the process around 70 times to transfer all the fuel units by the end of next year.
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- November 25, 2013 -
Spent fuel to be removed from Fukushima reactor - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant says it will begin removing highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from one of its reactor buildings on Tuesday.
On Friday, Tokyo Electric Power Company completed the removal of a cask containing 22 assemblies of unused fuel rods from the storage pool of the Number 4 reactor building to a nearby separate storage pool. . . .
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- November 30, 2013 -
Since all the water tanks are full, Tepco will stop doing anything about the infected water for now.
(meaning, it will flow into the ocean without treatment or anything . . .)
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. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
. - - - Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 - and Fukushima - - -
東京オリンピック 2020 .
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
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TEPCO - November 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (東京電力株式会社, Tōkyō Denryoku Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 9501), also known as Toden (東電, Tōden) or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
With the Tokyo Olympics, Tokyo 2020
now even more in the limelight !
Please read the daily news at NHK here
Since November 2013, NHK has a new feature, "Nuclear Watch" !
source : www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english
. Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 and Fukushima
東京オリンピック 2020 .
updates on this BLOG
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- November 01, 2013 -
US ready to help decommission reactors in Fukushima - NHK nuclear watch
The visiting US Energy Secretary says the United States is ready to help Japan decommission reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, if needed.
Ernest Moniz related this in his speech in Tokyo on Thursday. He said the success of the cleanup of areas around the Fukushima plant and decommissioning of reactors have global significance. Moniz said the US has a direct interest in seeing the next steps are done efficiently and safely.
He noted that from the beginning of the Fukushima accident, the US government has supported the Japanese government by sending experts to cope with the accident. . . . The Energy Secretary also asked Japan to join an international pact on compensation for nuclear accidents as soon as possible. Moniz said that if Japan ratifies the treaty, the US will be able to help the country more easily in the work.
Groundwater flows from nearby mountains into the plant compound, absorbs radioactive substances there and then leaks into the ocean. TEPCO is still unable either to identify exactly where radioactive water is leaking or to keep track of the movement of groundwater.
Moniz reportedly said Energy Department researchers are currently working on technologies to contain contaminated water and they can be of help.
A radiation leak at the Hartford nuclear site in the state of Washington earlier this year prompted the US Energy Department to set up a research institute to develop technologies to handle such accidents.
Moniz and Hirose agreed to strengthen technical cooperation in 5 fields. These include disposal of radioactive water, preventing the contamination of underground water and the removal of melted nuclear fuel.
The US Energy Secretary says his government and US companies could help Japan in removing hard-to-filter radioactive tritium from waste water at the country's crippled nuclear plant.
Aso to study state funding for Fukushima cleanup - NHK
Japan's finance minister says he will study a proposal by the Liberal Democratic Party that the government finance the effort to clean up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Taro Aso told reporters on Friday that he respects and will carefully study related recommendations by an LDP taskforce.
The recommendations were made on Thursday by the taskforce on speeding up the effort to rebuild regions hit by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, pays for the government's effort to clean up areas contaminated by nuclear fallout.
Govt. to turn TEPCO into a holding company - NHK
Japan's industry ministry started procedures to turn the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into a holding company. It also plans to create a body specializing in decommissioning reactors at the plant under the new firm's wing.
The ministry began the move on Thursday after a taskforce of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved proposals designed to swiftly address radioactive water and scrap reactors at the plant.
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- November 02, 2013 -
Ishiba calls for restart of nuclear power plants - NHK
The secretary general of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party says the country's idle nuclear reactors should be restarted once their safety is verified.
Shigeru Ishiba delivered a speech in Sapporo on Saturday on the government's energy policy.
Ishiba said Japan should reduce nuclear dependence by working on renewable sources such as wind and solar.
But he said the current supply is on a tightrope. He advocated putting back online those reactors that pass screenings.
All the reactors are currently offline for safety checks.
Ishiba noted that new reactors are being built in many countries including China, most with Japan's technology.
The LDP secretary general stressed Japan should further advance its nuclear technology and promote its export.
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- November 04, 2013 -
Govt. to be more involved in Fukushima cleanup - NHK
The Japanese government plans to increase its involvement in recovery efforts from the Fukushima nuclear accident. Efforts include financing work to remove radioactive material from soil and decommission reactors at the Fukushima plant.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a speech in Tokyo on Monday that it's high time to review the policy for recovery efforts.
Suga said the previous government, led by the Democratic Party, chose to have Tokyo Electric Power Company respond to the accident on its own, even though the government could have taken charge of some of the work.
Suga said the government will coordinate its policy with proposals from the main governing Liberal Democratic Party.
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- November 05, 2013 -
Japan to study nuclear accident risk system in US - NHK
Japanese and US officials have agreed to explore ways to introduce a system in Japan for assessing the risk of accidents at nuclear power plants. Such a system is already in place in the United States.
... The US assessment method quantifies factors such as natural disasters, unexpected equipment malfunctions and human error to determine which areas of a nuclear power plant are at high risk.
IAEA dispatches marine analysts to Fukushima
The International Atomic Energy Agency is sending marine monitoring experts to Japan. They will advise on handling radioactive wastewater leaking into the sea from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi power plant. . . . IAEA chief Yukiya Amano says Japan needs to cooperate with international organizations on the Fukushima plant problems.
Ishiba hints at review of decontamination goal - NHK
An executive of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has hinted at a review of the long-term goals in the decontamination of areas around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
... The report calls for the government to better inform local residents that its goal of reducing yearly radiation levels to one millisievert or below cannot be achieved quickly through decontamination work alone.
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- November 06, 2013 -
TEPCO preparing new report on Fukushima - NHK
The head of Tokyo Electric Power Company says the utility is preparing a new report on what caused the crisis at its Fukushima plant.
The step is seen as part of the company's efforts to gain understanding for restarting 2 reactors in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan.
TEPCO President Naomi Hirose told a Lower House panel on Wednesday that the company plans to shortly release its findings on Fukushima.
Hirose said TEPCO has continued to examine the cause of the March 2011 disaster through an expert panel. Members include US and British nuclear power experts.
The new report follows one released in June 2012 on the results of the company's own investigations. But the first report left many questions unanswered.
Hirose said TEPCO will also present the report to Niigata Prefecture for review.
A prefectural technical panel is examining safety features of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, where the utility hopes to restart 2 reactors.
TEPCO apparently decided a further probe into Fukushima was needed to gain the prefecture's approval.
No.4 reactor pool shown to media - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant has shown the media the pool for nuclear fuel units at the No.4 reactor. Work to remove the units will begin this month. ... Workers will use a crane to transfer the units to a container designed to block radiation. It will be filled with 22 units before being lowered to the ground and transported to a storage facility.
Fukushima decommission at starting line - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant is preparing to take a key step towards decommissioning the nuclear reactors. It will start in mid-November to remove more than 1,500 fuel rods from one cooling pool.
The operation is the start of a long process expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Tokyo Electric Power Company personnel will begin at reactor no. 4. Its pool stores 1533 fuel units, most of which are highly radioactive spent rods.
TEPCO will also need to clear rods from pools at 3 other reactors in a worse state. Reactor no. 1's pool has 392 units, no. 2 has 615, and No. 3 has 566.
TEPCO officials hope to begin removing rods from those pools in about 2 years. They have been hampered by intense radiation and problems like inflow of rainwater.
They're anticipating a bigger challenge in removing molten fuel from reactor containers. TEPCO hopes to start that stage in 2020.
Workers are prevented by high radioactivity from fully studying the reactor interiors. They are attempting to use remote-control cameras.
TEPCO officials are seeking international cooperation to develop a machine that can remove the molten fuel, an operation never tried before.
The company is also facing other challenges including radioactive-water leakage into the sea and a lack of sufficient skilled workers.
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- November 09, 2013 -
Tainted water leaks again at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have discovered a new leak of contaminated water, this time through a barrier that surrounds wastewater storage tanks.
The workers were inspecting tanks on Saturday when they found tainted water had leaked out of the barrier near the No.4 reactor. They tried to contain it with sandbags.
They reported finding puddles of water 80 centimeters long and 100 centimeters wide beyond the barrier. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company detected 140 becquerels per liter of radioactive strontium.
The utility says the leak occurred near the valve used to drain water inside the barrier. But it says the valve was closed, so it was unlikely to be the cause.
TEPCO officials say no contaminated water reached the ocean.
Engineers at the plant are still investigating. They say faulty joints in the body of the barrier may be to blame. The barrier is made up of concrete blocks bound by metal boards that are fitted either by welding or with bolts.
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- November 11, 2013 -
Ruling parties propose ideas for nuclear cleanup - NHK
Japan's ruling coalition parties have made a proposal for the clean-up and decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Party officials say the proposal would help accelerate recovery from the 2011 accident.
Senior officials of the Liberal Democratic and the New Komeito parties turned in the proposal to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday.
The plan identifies decontamination at the plant as the government's highest priority and imminent task. It asks the government to undertake the task as a public works project after current decontamination plans are carried out.
It also calls for legislative measures to allow the government to take the initiative in decommissioning and dealing with the radioactive water issue. Such measures would be needed to secure funds for such work.
On handing in the proposal, former LDP Vice President Tadamori Oshima urged Abe to lead recovery efforts to help communities and people affected by the nuclear accident. He asked Abe to work out details in line with the proposal.
Abe said the government will lead efforts in decommissioning and dealing with the contaminated water.
Govt., TEPCO target Fukushima water leaks - NHK
Officials from the Japanese government and the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have agreed on measures to protect the plant from heavy rainfall. They are hoping to limit leaks of radioactive water.
Senior Vice Industry Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said an unusually large number of typhoons and storms over the past month caused radioactive rainwater leaks. Part of the water may have seeped outside of the facility and possibly into the sea. ... A team of 22 people, including members of a government committee to manage contaminated water, conducted geological inspections at the Fukushima plant on Monday.
Experts call for change in radiation measuring - NHK
A panel of experts is urging the Japanese government to change the way it measures radiation exposure for evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear accident when they return home.
The panel at the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday endorsed draft proposals covering state support for people who want to return to their homes near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The proposals call on authorities to allow evacuees to return only after yearly radiation levels in their communities have fallen to below 20 millisieverts.
The proposals also say it should be a long-term aim to bring annual exposure levels for people to one millisievert or less.
To date, officials have estimated exposure based on radiation levels in the environment. But the panel says they should measure exposure by equipping individuals with radiation monitors called dosimeters.
Radiation measurements made by dosimeters tend to be one-third to one-seventh of readings estimated through environmental monitoring.
The draft proposals include making maps that show areas with high radiation levels and using dosimeter measurements to enable more effective decontamination work.
The panel also calls for assigning local government officials and health nurses as advisors in each community.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority will officially compile the proposals and submit them to the government.
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- November 12, 2013 -
NRA finishes checks before fuel removal - NHK
Japan's nuclear watchdog has finished facility checks before the removal of nuclear fuel from a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Removing the fuel units is the first milestone in a decommissioning project that's estimated to take about 40 years. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, plans to decommission 4 damaged reactors.
The firm is preparing to remove 1,533 fuel units from a storage pool in the plant's No.4 reactor, which stores the most fuel units among the 4.
On Tuesday, officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority told the utility that they found no problems with a crane, the building's cover, and various facilities. The regulators had been checking since September.
The NRA plans to start checking work procedures on Wednesday to make sure that debris in the pool will not damage fuel units, most of which are highly radioactive spent rods.
If the agency finds no problem with the procedures, Tokyo Electric is to start removing the fuel in mid-November.
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- November 13, 2013 -
Robot pinpoints leaks on Fukushima reactor - NHK
A robot at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has for the first time identified exactly where highly radioactive water is leaking from a reactor.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Wednesday succeeded in sending a remote-controlled robot close to the lower part of the No.1 reactor's containment vessel.
The lower section is filled with contaminated water injected to cool molten nuclear fuel. Extremely high radiation levels have hampered efforts to probe that section.
A camera on the robot captured images of water leaking from 2 holes in the containment vessel into the building housing the reactor.
TEPCO engineers say they're not sure how much water is leaking. But they say one of the leaks looks as if tap water is gushing out.
Radiation levels in the area were extremely high at 0.9 to 1.8 sieverts an hour.
Engineers suspect that damage to containment vessels at the No. 2 and 3 reactors is also causing similar leaks of highly radioactive water.
They say Wednesday's finding is important not only in solving water contamination problems but also in carrying out decommissioning. TEPCO will continue to use robots to look for other leaks.
Niigata Governor calls for more explanation
Governor Hirohiko Izumida noted that the NRA decided to proceed, even though radioactive water continues to leak at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. . . .
Agency: Japanese marine products are safe
A senior Japanese fisheries official has told foreign reporters Japanese sea products are safe. The Fisheries Agency is trying to dispel concerns about radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Masanori Miyahara said some radioactive substances were detected in seawater within the Daiichi port in tests from March 2011 - September this year. But he said the level outside the port is mostly below detectable limits. . . .
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- November 14, 2013 -
TEPCO yet to pinpoint reactor vessel damage - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has yet to determine from what parts of the No.1 reactor containment vessel water is leaking.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, on Wednesday sent a camera-equipped remote-controlled robot close to the lower part of the No.1 reactor containment vessel. The camera captured 2 locations where water was leaking onto the floor of the building housing the reactor.
In one location, water was trickling down the surface of the suppression chamber and pooling on the floor. The doughnut-shape suppression chamber is a part of the containment vessel.
In another, water was flowing out of the tip of a broken pipe. The pipe had been installed to collect dew condensation.
TEPCO believes the water is coming from damaged parts of the containment vessel.
It is the first time that possible leak sites have been confirmed in the No.1 to No.3 reactor containment vessels.
If the damage is pinpointed, it may be possible to draw up measures to suppress the accumulation of wastewater.
It could also help speed up the process of decommissioning the reactor by allowing the filling of the containment vessel with water to extract melted nuclear fuel.
However, high radiation levels and wastewater in the area are likely to hamper efforts to find the damaged parts and take effective measures.
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- November 15, 2013 -
Lawmakers to explore nuclear waste disposal plan - NHK
Japanese lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are set to launch a parliamentarians' group to discuss disposal of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
The move follows a call for a nuclear power-free society by former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Koizumi called on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to decide promptly on a zero nuclear policy instead of restarting idled reactors.
Koizumi cited as a reason, difficulties associated with the construction of disposal sites for highly radioactive waste.
The new group will include lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic and New Komeito parties and the opposition Democratic Party.
The members plan to study how other countries manage their radioactive waste and discuss a wide range of issues, including the possibility of new technological developments.
They also plan to look into ways to select the locations of disposal sites.
The lawmakers say they will face the issue head on to encourage public debate.
Fuel rod removal set to start at Fukushima plant - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant plans to take the first step in decommissioning the facility next week, more than 2 and a half years after its triple meltdown.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Friday that workers will start removing nuclear fuel rod units from a storage pool at the plant's Number 4 reactor on Monday.
. . . The reactor pool is still littered with small debris that could hamper smooth removal of the units.
The job will require extreme caution, as any damage to the fuel or casks could unleash high-level radiation.
If trouble occurs, workers' exposure could reach the safety limit, seriously setting back the removal process.
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- November 17, 2013 -
Fuel rod unit removal to start at Fukushima plant - NHK
The removal of fuel rod units at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan starts on Monday.
This is the first critical step in decommissioning the facility in Fukushima Prefecture.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said that workers will start removing units of nuclear fuel rods from a storage pool at the plant's Number 4 reactor.
The pool holds 1,533 units of which 1,331 are highly radioactive spent fuel rod units and 202 that are unused.
... They plan to transfer the units into a cask under water in the pool, then use a crane to lift out the cask and transfer it to an outside storage pool about 100 meters away.
In the morning an empty cask will be lowered into the pool and the fuel rod units will be placed into it in the afternoon.
The pool is still littered with small debris that could hamper smooth removal of the units. ...
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- November 19, 2013 -
Nuclear fuel to be taken out of storage pool - NHK
Workers are to take out nuclear fuel from a storage pool at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Fuel removal is a key step for scrapping the damaged facility.
A crane will lift a container with its maximum capacity of 22 fuel units from the pool at the No.4 reactor building on Wednesday.
Removal of the fuel began on Monday. Workers finished transferring the 22 units of unused fuel into the container on Tuesday. . . .
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- November 20, 2013 -
2 more Fukushima reactors to be decommissioned - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company is planning to decommission the 2 reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that were not damaged in the March 2011 disaster.
TEPCO officials said they will first consult with officials in Fukushima Prefecture and in the towns of Futaba and Okuma. An official decision to decommission the Number 5 and 6 reactors could come next month. . . .
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- November 21, 2013 -
TEPCO moves cask from reactor building - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has moved a container, or cask, of nuclear fuel outside of the number 4 reactor building.
Workers just after 1 PM on Thursday moved the cask on a trailer to a separate storage pool 100 meters away.
The cask contains 22 assemblies of unused nuclear fuel rods. . . . The workers will now proceed to transfer the 22 fuel assemblies from the cask to the pool.
"Cask" containing fuel moved into safer pool
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant says it has removed the first batch of nuclear fuel from the reactor 4 building to a safer storage pool. . . .
TEPCO says the building housing the separate pool can withstand an earthquake as strong as the March 2011 disaster that badly damaged the plant.
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- November 22, 2013 -
1st fuel transfer ends at Fukushima Daiichi plant - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the first batch of nuclear fuel has been transferred from a reactor building to a safer storage pool.
The first 22 fuel assemblies were moved from the storage pool in the No.4 reactor building on Thursday, to a nearby facility housing the safer pool.
Workers unloaded the 22 unused fuel units from a cask container one by one and finished placing each in storage racks inside the pool on Friday evening.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to start the second transfer after reviewing whether there were any problems with the first round of work. If not, the utility may start removing spent fuel units that are highly radioactive. . . .TEPCO plans to repeat the process around 70 times to transfer all the fuel units by the end of next year.
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- November 25, 2013 -
Spent fuel to be removed from Fukushima reactor - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant says it will begin removing highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from one of its reactor buildings on Tuesday.
On Friday, Tokyo Electric Power Company completed the removal of a cask containing 22 assemblies of unused fuel rods from the storage pool of the Number 4 reactor building to a nearby separate storage pool. . . .
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- November 30, 2013 -
Since all the water tanks are full, Tepco will stop doing anything about the infected water for now.
(meaning, it will flow into the ocean without treatment or anything . . .)
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. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
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10/20/2013
TEPCO - October 2013
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TEPCO - October 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (東京電力株式会社, Tōkyō Denryoku Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 9501), also known as Toden (東電, Tōden) or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !
. TEPCO - Problems since June 2013 .
With the Tokyo Olympics, Tokyo 2020
now even more in the limelight !
Please read the daily news at NHK here
source : www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english
. Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 and Fukushima
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October 01, 2013
Nuclear regulator criticized for 'red tape' job - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator is coming under fire from intellectuals. They're being criticized for bureaucratic behavior.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority fielded comments on Monday from 6 experts who are studying the crisis in Fukushima. The discussion was a review of the NRA's first year of operation.
Shuya Nomura is a lawyer who served on a Diet panel that investigated the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Nomura criticized the NRA for its handling of the radioactive water leaks. He said NRA members should go to the plant, instead of demanding explanations from its operator's executives.
Journalist Yoichi Funabashi said drafting rules and standards isn't enough to win public trust. He described the plant as a battleground and urged regulators to take a more proactive stance in dealing with the crisis.
Others pressed for reforms at the NRA Secretariat. It's staffed mostly by personnel from the previous regulator which was under a government umbrella that promoted nuclear power.
NRA chief Shunichi Tanaka said he feels the organization has been given a mandate that's bigger than its capacity, but that members will try to improve.
TEPCO proposes rainwater drainage rules - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has compiled criteria for discharging rainwater accumulated inside the barriers around storage tanks containing radioactive water.
Until now, Tokyo Electric Power Company had no such criteria. Last month, when a tropical storm hit the area, workers measured the radioactivity of the accumulated rainwater. They moved highly radioactive water into tanks, and released low-level waters into gutters.
Under the new criteria the utility submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday, rainwater will be transferred to a specific tank, where workers will measure its radioactivity levels.
The utility will discharge rainwater if the level of beta-ray-emitting substances is below 10 becquerels per liter. The standard is one third the limit of strontium-90 levels at which the government allows discharging into the sea.
TEPCO also places the radioactive cesium level at one third of the government's limit.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority will study what to do with tritium levels, since it takes time to measure the substance.
The NRA asked the utility to accelerate its investigation into an accident at a storage tank that resulted in the leakage of 300 tons of radioactive water. The regulators demanded that TEPCO remove the bottom of the tank and examine its concrete foundation, to determine the cause of the accident.
Tainted rainwater overflows at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant face another challenge.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says 4 tons of radioactive rainwater has seeped into the ground after overflowing from a storage container.
The spill occurred on Tuesday when workers were pumping into the container rainwater that had collected around wastewater storage tanks. Officials of the firm say the overflow occurred because the workers transferred the water to the wrong container.
A tropical storm in September and subsequent rain led to the buildup of tainted rainwater in barriers surrounding the tanks.
The officials say the level of radioactive substances in the water just after the storm was 160 becquerels per liter. That's five times the government limit for releasing water into the ocean.
The operator is checking radioactivity levels of the overflowed water.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it found 390 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, believed to be mostly strontium, in water inside the container.
The level is much higher than the government limit for releasing strontium-tainted water into the ocean, which is set at 30 becquerels per liter.
The level is also higher than the 160-becquerels-per-liter detected in rainwater around the wastewater storage tanks just after the storm.
TEPCO officials say they will look into why the radiation level increased.
The officials explain the overflows occurred because the rainwater was transferred into the wrong container.
They plan to investigate the pipe system layout, and other factors, to find out why there was a container mix up.
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October 02, 2013
NRA members critical of TEPCO - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator has decided to begin its assessment of the safety of 2 reactors at one of the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
However, in reaching the decision at a meeting on Wednesday, members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority also criticized TEPCO for its handling of the situation at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
TEPCO last week applied for the safety screening of 2 of the reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The screening is required before the idle reactors can be restarted.
At Wednesday's meeting, NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said the regulator will proceed with the safety screening at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa but indicated that it will watch over TEPCO's handling of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Tanaka stressed that the issue of radioactive water leaks must be strictly dealt with.
NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa also said TEPCO must first focus on resolving the tainted water problem and reducing risk at the Fukushima plant. He said the Fukushima plant and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant cannot be treated as 2 different matters.
Commissioner Kayoko Nakamura said she was surprised that TEPCO made the application for the safety screening.
She said she does not think TEPCO has sufficient knowledge of radioactive materials, in apparent reference to the company's handling of the situation at the Fukushima plant. Nakamura said she doubts if the authority can tell local residents that the reactors in question at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant are safe.
TEPCO is one of 5 power companies which have applied for the screening of a total of 14 reactors. At present, all of Japan's 50 reactors have been taken offline, mostly for inspections.
Contaminated water detected in Fukushima - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have detected highly-radioactive substances in water within a barrier surrounding contaminated water storage tanks.
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says it found 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium, in the water. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
TEPCO says its workers have found water leaking from the upper part of one of the tanks within the barrier.
The utility says it is investigating whether the contaminated water has leaked into the surrounding ground. It says some of the water may have reached the ocean by way of a drainage system.
The tank is located near the Number-4 reactor.
More than 300 tons of tainted water was found to have leaked from a tank in a different area in August.
Miscommunication caused tainted water overflow - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says miscommunication with a subcontractor resulted in tainted rainwater accidentally escaping from a storage container.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the incident occurred as workers were transferring rainwater from inside one of the barriers that have been set up around the contaminated water tanks. The rainwater was found to be radioactive.
The workers sent the water to a small tank by mistake. About 5 tons of the radioactive water overflowed and seeped into the ground.
Another leak found at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have found more highly radioactive water leaking from a storage tank. They say some of the water may have reached the ocean.
Workers at the plant found the water was leaking from the upper part of a tank near the No.4 reactor.
They measured the radiation level of the water inside a barrier that surrounds the tank. They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
The water was leaking from a joint between the top and side panels. Some of the water is thought to have flowed along a walkway that overhangs the barrier before dripping to the ground.
Engineers at the plant say they don't know how much water leaked out of the tank or how much of it seeped out of the barrier.
They say some of the water may have reached the ocean which is about 200 meters away. They have blocked drains with sandbags.
Nuclear regulators have ordered the operator to collect soil from around the tank and analyze the water in the drainage system.
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October 03, 2013
Leak traced to overfilling of tank built on slope - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest leak of radioactive wastewater has been traced to the overfilling of a storage tank built on a slope.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials apologized at a news conference on Thursday for the leaks that surface on an almost daily basis.
The tank is on the mountain side of the plant's No.4 reactor. The TEPCO officials said the tank was built on ground that slopes toward the ocean, and the leak occurred on the side that faces the sea.
They estimate that 430 liters of wastewater seeped outside the barrier around the tank and say some of this water may have flowed into the sea, about 200 meters away.
Workers had been careful not to fill the tank to the top. But on Wednesday, they put in too much rainwater that had pooled nearby.
Shortly after 8:00 PM on Wednesday, workers found wastewater leaking from the upper part of the tank.
They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water pooled inside the barrier around the tank. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
In August, TEPCO officials discovered that more than 300 tons of radioactive wastewater had leaked from a storage tank in a different area of the Fukushima plant.
Fukushima govt. to measure radiation in seawater - NHK
The Fukushima prefectural government has decided to launch its own inspection of the seawater around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Its decision came on Thursday following reports of another leakage of radioactive water from a storage tank at the nuclear complex the previous night. The water is suspected to be spilling into the ocean.
Speaking in an emergency meeting of senior officials, Governor Yuhei Sato said the latest leakage occurred just after TEPCO President Naomi Hirose pledged to give highest priority to containing wastewater when he attended the prefectural assembly.
Sato said he now questions the president's honesty. The governor harshly criticized the utility's sloppy management of contaminated water accumulating in the complex.
A prefectural official in charge of atomic power said they will measure levels of radioactive substances as early as Thursday in waters near the end of the drainage through which the leaked water is suspected to have seeped into the ocean.
Other prefectural officials voiced concern that the plant operator is not doing enough to prevent contaminated water from leaking, and urged it to quickly implement measures to stop the water from seeping into the ocean.
TEPCO: Leak caused by lack of caution - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest radioactive water leak from one of the facility's storage tanks resulted from lack of caution.
About 430 liters of highly radioactive wastewater leaked from the top of the tank on Wednesday. The water was found to have 200,000 becquerels of beta ray-emitting radioactive materials per liter. The government limit for releasing such water into the ocean is 30 per liter.
Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said the leak occurred at one of the 5 tanks connected by pipes.
The tanks were built along a slope. Only the one at the highest position was equipped with a water gauge.
Workers believed that if they kept the water level in the tank at 98 percent, or 50 centimeters from the top, no water would spill, even from the lowest tank.
The workers kept pouring into the tanks contaminated rainwater that had pooled nearby. The spill occurred at the lowest tank.
TEPCO officials say their estimation was incorrect, and that the water likely drained into the sea about 200 meters away.
TEPCO faces an increasing workload as the firm must not only build more tanks but also cope with an increase in contaminated rain and groundwater and repeated leaks.
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October 04, 2013
TEPCO stops ALPS operation at Fukushima plant - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has halted operation of a new wastewater treatment system at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The system is designed to eliminate almost all radioactive substances from wastewater.
TEPCO says an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities in its Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, shortly before 7AM on Friday. Workers at the utility are looking into the cause of the alarm.
The utility resumed its test-runs of the new system on Friday of last week following a month-and-a-half suspension. But it had to shut down the system less than 24 hours later due to technical problems, and resumed operations last Monday.
Suga: No leaks from ALPS at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Japan's top government spokesman says a new wastewater treatment system is being investigated at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following reports of abnormalities.
Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday morning that no abnormalities, including leaks of contaminated water, have yet been found.
Tokyo Electric Power Company halted test-runs of its Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, after an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities earlier on Friday. The system is designed to eliminate almost all radioactive substances from wastewater.
Suga said he was told that the water treatment process was suspended after the alarm.
TEPCO urged to prevent contaminated water leaks - NHK
The Secretariat of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has criticized the president of Tokyo Electric Power Company for repeated errors that caused radioactive water to leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
NRA Secretary-General Katsuhiko Ikeda summoned TEPCO President Naomi Hirose on Friday, and demanded that the utility immediately come up with plans to prevent such problems.
Ikeda said it is regrettable that the leakage was caused by human error. He said the company's on-site management is extremely poor.
Highly radioactive water was found to be overflowing from a storage tank at the plant on Wednesday. Workers had continued to pump water into the tank located on a slope.
Ikeda added that he wants TEPCO to send personnel from other power plants to help with the work at Fukushima Daiichi.
Ikeda also asked TEPCO to show whether safety measures are in place at the Kashiwazaki-Kariya nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
The utility applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority last month for the safety screening needed to restart 2 of the idle reactors at the Niigata plant.
Hirose apologized for the problems at Fukushima Daiichi, saying the company had recently changed its system for processing contaminated wastewater, and workers are not used to the new procedures. He said TEPCO will use all possible resources to deal with the problem.
Abe pledges to tackle radioactive water issue - NHK
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his government will do all it can to deal with the massive buildup of radioactive water at the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Abe on Friday met Seiichiro Murakami, a lower house member of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party who heads a LDP panel on the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Murakami said uncovering the cause of the accident and containing the problem of contaminated water are pressing matters, as Japan reconsiders its energy policy.
Abe said the radioactive water issue will be a major topic of debate in the upcoming Diet session. He said the Abe administration will do all it can to tackle the problem.
IAEA to send decontamination support team to Japan - NHK
The International Atomic Energy Agency will send a team of experts to inspect and give advice on the decontamination in and around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The international nuclear watchdog announced on Friday that 16 experts from inside and outside of the Agency will work in Japan from October 14th through 21st.
It will be the second such team to be sent to support the clean-up in Fukushima, following the team that came in October 2011.
Their mission is to verify whether decontamination work is being carried out properly and to provide Japan with recommendations.
The experts will meet officials from Japan's Environment Ministry and other organizations to share ideas.
They will visit Fukushima Prefecture between October 16th and 18th to inspect work sites.
TEPCO: System failure stopped ALPS - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company has resumed operation of a new wastewater treatment system at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after a half-day suspension.
The Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, automatically stopped on Friday morning after an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities.
The system is described as a pillar to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water.
Workers found the system halted because 2 contradictory signals were sent at the same time to a tank that temporarily stores contaminated water.
One signal was to refuse to receive external water to add chemical agents. But when workers stirred the agents and water inside, water levels lowered and another signal that allows receiving water was sent.
TEPCO's officials say this malfunction can happen during test-run operations and that they will have to improve the system.
Operation was resumed in the evening, but the utility plans to stop the system for 3 days from Saturday for maintenance.
TEPCO resumed its test-runs of the ALPS on Friday of last week after a month-and-a-half suspension. But it had to shut down the system less than 24 hours later due to a careless mistake by a worker. They resumed operations Monday.
NRA to Tepco: Fix water mess, even add workers - Japan Times
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Friday ordered Tokyo Electric Power Co. to bring under control the massive amount of radioactive water gushing from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex, including by boosting worker numbers on-site.
Hirose bowing
“I want you to implement on-site management appropriately even if it requires bringing workers from Tepco’s other nuclear power plants,” Ikeda warned Hirose.
source : Japan Times
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October 06, 2013
Abe: Japan wants advice on water leaks - NHK
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan wants to obtain advanced knowledge from other countries for use in preventing leaks of contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Abe made the remark at the opening ceremony of the 10th annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto on Sunday.
Abe called the Fukushima Daiichi accident a "bitter lesson". He called on participants at the forum to contribute in their most advanced knowledge for use in coping with problems at the plant, including radioactive water leaks. . . .
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October 07, 2013
Power failure briefly halts cooling at Fukushima - NHK
A partial power failure at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Monday briefly halted the injection of cooling water into one of the reactors. The plant operator believes human error to be the cause of the blackout.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says an alarm indicating falling voltage sounded at a power switchboard at the No.1 turbine building on Monday morning.
TEPCO says a pump that injects water to cool nuclear fuel inside the No.1 reactor had stopped. But a backup pump quickly kicked in. It says the reactor's temperature remained unchanged.
The operator says the blackout also halted systems that decontaminate radioactive gases in the No.1 and 2 containment vessels. But backup systems there also took over.
TEPCO believes the power failure occurred when a worker mistakenly pushed the switchboard's stop button during an inspection.
In March, a rat entered a makeshift outdoor power distribution board at the plant, causing a short circuit. Systems to cool a pool in which spent fuel rods are stored were down for as long as 29 hours.
Four months later, the No.6 reactor's cooling machinery was suspended for about 2 hours due to worker's mistake.
TEPCO aims to eliminate human error - NHK
The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company says the utility will take steps to prevent problems caused by human error at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Naomi Hirose was speaking before an Upper House panel on Monday. Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka were also in attendance.
Hirose acknowledged the need to improve the working environment at the plant following a series of problems caused by human error. He said workers should not be allowed to become exhausted and that his company plans to increase the workforce and open more employee lounges.
Tanaka touched on the utility's application for safety screenings for the idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
He said regulators will carefully consider how to proceed with the screenings. He said the situation at Fukushima Daiichi has not been sufficiently stabilized to reassure the public about nuclear safety.
Tanaka added that the Authority is asking the utility for a report on safety management at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa by the end of the week.
Motegi expressed caution about the concept of liquidating Tokyo Electric Power Company.
He said that if the utility goes bankrupt under current laws, administrators would use its assets to pay institutional investors before compensating Fukushima residents or paying subcontractors at Fukushima Daiichi.
He said that if this happens, efforts to deal with the massive amounts of contaminated wastewater would be delayed.
Motegi suggested that the government consider how to support the company by taking into account future energy policies and progress being made on compensation.
The panel was convened to discuss the massive wastewater problem at the plant while the Diet is not in session.
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October 09, 2013
Corroded tank plates caused Fukushima leakage - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says they've discovered the reason that radioactive water leaked from a storage tank in August. The cause was gaps created on steel plates that had corroded at the bottom of the tank.
In the accident, more than 300 tons of contaminated water leaked from the tank. Some of the water is believed to have flowed into the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Tuesday they found small gaps around 2 bolt holes that join steel plates at the bottom of the tank.
They discovered corrosion around the gaps. It measured 1 to 2 centimeters long and 3 millimeters wide for each. They believe that contaminated water seeping into the bolt holes corroded the steel plates, causing the gaps to widen.
There are more than 300 storage tanks holding water contaminated at Fukushima Daiichi.
Tokyo Electric Power says it plans to replace the tanks with ones with welded steel plates as soon as possible to prevent a recurrence of the leakage.
Pipe detachment causes leak at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have caused a fresh leak of contaminated water by mistakenly detaching a pipe.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says at least 6 workers were sprayed with the contaminated water and are being checked for radiation exposure.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says the workers mistakenly detached a water pipe from a joint near a desalination device on Wednesday morning.
The accident caused contaminated water to leak for about 50 minutes.
TEPCO says the water is contained inside a 60-meter-long, 12-meter-wide barrier that surrounds the device and has not leaked outside the compound.
The water is highly radioactive, containing 37 million becquerels of beta ray-emitting material per liter.
Worker errors have been occurring frequently at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, as TEPCO struggles to keep the facility under control.
Fukushima plant workers exposed to radiation - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says 6 of its workers were exposed to radiation on Wednesday morning due to a contaminated water leak caused by human error.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Wednesday evening that the workers had been decontaminated and that it will step up efforts to prevent a recurrence.
It says the workers mistakenly detached a water pipe from a joint near a desalination device at around 9:30 AM.
The accident caused about 7 tons of contaminated water to leak for about an hour. TEPCO says the water is contained inside a 60-meter-long, 12-meter-wide barrier that surrounds the device.
The water is highly radioactive, containing 34 million becquerels of beta ray-emitting material per liter.
Six of 11 workers at the site were sprayed with the radioactive water.
TEPCO says the affected workers were decontaminated and that the maximum level of their exposure to beta rays was 1.2 millisieverts. The government sets the exposure limit for skin at 500 millisieverts per year.
Company officials say alertness among workers may be decreasing due to an increased burden of preventing further leaks. They add they will redouble efforts to prevent accidents.
- quote - Japan Times
Six workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant were doused Wednesday with radioactive water from a desalination system, Tepco said.
. . . The mishap is the latest in a spate of leaks and problems caused by human error that have added to public criticism of Tepco’s handling of the crisis.
source : www.japantimes.co.jp
Japan to work with IAEA on radioactive wastewater - NHK
Japan and the UN's nuclear watchdog have agreed to work together to dispel global fears over radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met in Tokyo on Wednesday with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano.
Motegi stressed the importance of highly reliable monitoring of radioactive substances in the wastewater, as well as quick public disclosure of accurate information.
He sought help from the IAEA in these areas.
Amano said he believes the crippled plant is generally in stable condition, and promised to cooperate with Japan in monitoring the wastewater.
Nuclear regulator says worker morale is declining - NHK
The head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority says a decline in worker morale at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is one of the causes behind radioactive water leaks and other problems.
NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka made the remark at a news conference on Wednesday in answer to questions regarding a series of troubles at the plant.
Tanaka said some problems can be prevented only in a positive work environment where each employee has strong morale.
Given the fact that many workers at the Daiichi plant are from subcontracting companies, the chairman said officials and employees of Tokyo Electric Power Company must commit themselves to the ongoing work at the site.
TEPCO will submit to the nuclear authority a series of measures to prevent the leak of contaminated water and other problems. Tanaka said he will closely scrutinize the plan.
Last Friday, the secretariat of the nuclear authority asked TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to come up with the measures in about a week. The secretariat proposed the idea of taking more workers from other nuclear plants to cope with the water leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi facility.
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October 10, 2013
Radioactive cesium detected in seawater - NHK
Radioactive cesium has been detected in seawater outside the port of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says it took a seawater sample on Tuesday outside a breakwater about one kilometer off the coast.
The company began monitoring at that spot in August, after it acknowledged in July that contaminated groundwater had been seeping into the ocean.
One-point-four becquerels per liter of cesium-137 was found in the sample. This is the first time that the radioactive material has been detected in seawater taken at that spot.
TEPCO officials say the radiation level is lower than the safety standard for drinking water set by the World Health Organization, which is 10 becquerels per liter.
They say a seawater sample taken from the spot on Thursday did not contain a detectable level of cesium.
They will continue to monitor seawater to find out whether contaminated groundwater is affecting the seawater outside the plant's port.
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October 12, 2013
High radiation reported near tanks - Japan Times
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that high radiation levels have been detected near three water storage tanks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The highest reading was 69.9 millisieverts per hour near one of the three tanks holding radioactive water to the west of the building housing reactor 1.
It is the same area where high radiation levels were detected in early September. The highest reading at that time was 2,200 millisieverts per hour.
MORE
source : www.japantimes.co.jp
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October 13, 2013
UN panel: radiation dose may be underestimated - NHK
A UN panel says Japanese authorities may have underestimated radiation doses workers received in the initial phase of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011.
Investigators from the UN Scientific Committee of Atomic Radiation recently filed their report.
They raised doubts about estimates by the Japanese government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Panel members analyzed records of 25,000 workers who worked at the plant until last October, paying special attention to 12 workers with higher doses.
The UN committee found the Japanese government and TEPCO ignored the effects of radioactive iodine.
Some kinds of iodine have much shorter half-lives than other radioactive substances. Analysts would have had to test workers immediately to discover the true dose.
But the investigators pointed to a substantial delay in measuring procedures. They concluded that current estimates may be 20 percent lower than they should be.
The committee urged the government and TEPCO to observe workers' conditions over the long term.
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October 15, 2013
Fukushima Daiichi braces for strong typhoon - NHK
Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have taken measures against approaching powerful typhoon Nr. 26, Wipha to prevent leakage of radioactive water.
Officials at the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, say workers confirmed on Tuesday that pumps and piping to inject water into the plant's disabled reactors are fixed by ropes.
When a tropical storm approached the plant this month, water flowed over a barrier surrounding tanks storing radioactive water. Another leak of the contaminated water occurred after workers moved water behind a barrier to tanks on a slope. TEPCO says the leakage occurred due to improper prior checks.
The utility says it has secured new storage tanks capable of holding about 4,000 tons of water to prepare for rising water levels. This measure was taken in addition to conventional steps of moving water that accumulated behind a barrier to another barrier and nearby tanks.
The company also says it has secured more than 50 workers dedicated to transferring water.
TEPCO instructed to look for other possible leaks - NHK news
Japan's nuclear regulators have instructed the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to look into the possibility of contaminated water leaking from an unexpected source.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority issued the instruction on Tuesday after data showed hardly any change in radioactive cesium levels in seawater samples taken from the port at the plant in the past 2 months.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, has been taking steps to stop the leakage since July. The measures include solidifying the ground between the damaged reactors and pumping up underground water.
NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa said the data raises doubts about TEPCO's assumptions.
The utility says the water accumulating in reactor buildings is seeping into the ground and mixing with underground water. It assumes that 200 tons of radioactive water is leaking into the ocean every day.
Another expert also pointed out that drainage ditches should be inspected for possible water leaks.
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October 16, 2013
TEPCO checks, releases typhoon rainwater into sea - NHK
TEPCO releases rainwater from typhoon
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released rainwater that had accumulated in the compound from typhoon Wipha. The water has reportedly cleared tests for radioactivity.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the rainwater had accumulated inside barriers surrounding tanks used to store radioactive wastewater. It began releasing the water from 9 locations on Wednesday morning.
The rainwater underwent 5 checks for radioactivity on Tuesday, including tests for cesium and strontium-90.
TEPCO says the levels met standards set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for radioactive wastewater normally released into the sea.
The level of tritium, which takes longer to measure, is also likely to be safe.
In a separate move, TEPCO made an emergency transfer of highly radioactive water that had pooled at 2 other locations. The water was transferred to an adjacent underground storage pool.
TEPCO had not stored water underground since a leak in April. But because rainwater from the typhoon was rising fast, the utility decided to store the radioactive water temporarily in an underground pool that had not leaked. It will then transfer it to a tank for wastewater.
TEPCO has built additional storage tanks and increased personnel and patrols to control contaminated water after a storm earlier this month. Radioactive water flowed over barriers at that time, and seeped out of an overfilled tank.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says it was notified on Wednesday morning of TEPCO's decision to transfer the water to an underground pool.
The authority gave the go-ahead after judging that the risk of a leak was minimal.
It said the tank to which the water was transferred had not been used since passing a safety inspection, and that the tank would only be used temporarily.
The authority asked TEPCO to tighten monitoring for possible leaks.
Abe talks of Fukushima plant - NHK
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says radioactive water leakage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is under control.
Abe made the remark in a lower house session on Wednesday in response to a question from an opposition leader about Abe's policy speech on the previous day.
The questioner asked whether Abe adheres to his remark that the situation at Fukushima Daiichi is under control. The lawmaker argued that a senior official of the plant operator said he cannot confirm that this is the case.
Abe said leaks still occur, but that the radioactive water is affecting a limited area inside the plant's port.
He stressed that the government will keep working to address the problem with preventive measures based on knowhow from around the world.
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October 17, 2013
High radiation detected in Fukushima Daiichi ditch - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the sea, after Typhoon Wipha brought heavy rain.
Workers at the plant are conducting daily radiation checks of water in the ditch. The measure is to examine the effects of contaminated water leaks from storage tanks.
Officials at the Tokyo Electric Power Company say they detected 1,400 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive material at a measuring point 150 meters from the sea on Wednesday.
The figure was more than 70 times higher than readings taken on Tuesday. It's also the highest since monitoring of the ditch water was started in August.
Officials say rain from the typhoon caused contaminated soil to flow into the ditch and created the high radiation. They say they will begin a cleanup operation.
Officials also say they will assess the effects on the surrounding sea.
TEPCO reports another tank leak - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says radioactive water has overflowed from a tank storing pumped-up groundwater.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says an employee found water spilling from the top of the tank Thursday morning.
TEPCO says it has stopped drawing up groundwater. The leakage has been contained within a barrier set up around the tank.
The utility says it is investigating how much water spilled from the tank and why. It says a pump used to send the water from the tank to its storage place in the reactor building may not have been working.
The tank is located on the embankment facing the ocean and near the badly damaged reactors No. 1 and 2.
TEPCO began pumping up groundwater near the reactors in August to reduce the amount of contaminated water flowing into the sea. The groundwater is flowing from the mountains and gets tainted as it passes through the plant premises.
- - - - and soon after
High radioactivity found in Fukushima Daiichi well - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says that it has detected a sharp rise in radioactivity in a well near a storage tank.
The tank leaked more than 300 tons of contaminated water in August. Some of it is believed to have poured into the sea via a ditch.
Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company say that they detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium, at the well on Thursday.
The level is 6500 times higher than the readings on the previous day.
The well was dug to monitor the impact of the leakage and is located at about 10 meters from the tank.
High levels of radioactive tritium, which tends to be transferred easily in water, had been already detected.
TEPCO officials believe Thursday's findings show that radioactive substances such as strontium, which are transferred relatively slowly, have reached the ground water.
There is another well about 100 meters from the tank near the seaside. It's for pumping up groundwater before it seeps into the reactor building and vicinity so as to contain the increase of contaminated water.
TEPCO will remove the contaminated soil around the tank and continue to closely watch radioactivity levels of the groundwater at the monitoring well.
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October 18, 2013
Radiation checks for Fukushima fish - NHK
Fishing cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture will voluntarily check their hauls for radioactivity before shipment.
The national standard for radiation in marine products is 100 bequerels of cesium per kilogram.
The co-ops have set their own standard of 50 bequerels per kilogram and say that only fish below that level will be shipped to markets.
They say that they will dispose of all of a day's catch of a particular species if they detect radiation exceeding their limit.
The co-ops say that so far levels in the species they checked have been under 50 bequerels or undetectable.
But according to the government's Fisheries Agency results released this month, some bottom-dwelling fish such as flounder and cod off Fukushima Prefecture still have radiation levels higher than 100 bequerels per kilogram.
TEPCO to contain tainted underground water - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it plans to take additional measures to contain the spread of contaminated water that leaked from a storage tank.
Tokyo Electric Power Company managers on Wednesday announced they had detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water collected from a monitoring well.
They said the figure is more than 6,000 times higher than the level recorded the day before.
They also said the level of radioactive strontium also tripled to the highest-ever figure of 790,000 becquerels per liter.
The well is some 10 meters from a storage tank that holds radioactive water. More than 300 tons of the water leaked from the tank in August. Some of it is believed to have seeped into nearby soil and also reached the ocean through a ditch.
TEPCO officials have been containing the problem by retrieving contaminated soil near the tank. But their efforts to completely remove the tainted soil are being hindered by the presence of pipes and other fixtures in the area.
TEPCO plans to collect the soil under the pipes and also wants to set up a new well to pump up the tainted water.
It has also announced that some 2,400 tons of water had been released from floodgates when heavy rainfall brought on by Typhoon Wipha caused water levels to rise on Wednesday.
The operator maintains that radioactivity levels have stayed below the government set standard and isn't having a negative impact on the environment.
Test fishing process in Fukushima - NHK
In the test fishing off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, fishermen are allowed to operate in limited waters and catch only certain types of seafood. This is to ensure the products' safety and win consumer trust.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, sea currents were flowing to south. Thus radiation levels were higher in marine products caught in the waters south of the plant.
. . . . Authorities initially limited test fishing to 3 types of seafood in which almost no radioactive materials were detected in sampling. Now fishermen are allowed to catch 18 types.
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October 20, 2013
Radioactive water leaks from 12 barriers - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water has overflowed 12 barriers around tanks holding radioactive water. Tokyo Electric Power Company says some of the water may have reached the ocean.
The utility says workers found water spilling from five barriers Sunday afternoon. They found additional leakages in seven barriers Sunday evening.
TEPCO says the barriers are 30-centimeter-high. Some of them have already contained at least 20-centimeters of rain water. But workers can pump out only a couple of centimeters a day.
More than 100 millimeters of rain was recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant over four hours on Sunday afternoon.
The operator of the crippled plant also says workers released some of the water accumulated inside barriers into the ground. The utility says the water met safety standards for radioactivity set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
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October 21, 2013
TEPCO: Strontium tops safety standards in 6 spots - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive strontium in 6 barriers, around tanks storing contaminated water, exceeded the government safety limit.
Workers found on Sunday that heavy downpours caused water to flow over 11 of the barriers.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says levels of radioactive strontium in 6 of them were above the government-approved limit for releasing the substance.
The highest reading was 71 times the set standard of 10 becquerels per liter.
TEPCO says the water that overflowed may have reached the ocean.
Pumps could not keep up with the rising water levels in the barriers after last week's typhoon and Sunday's downpours. The barriers are 30 centimeters high.
TEPCO plans to double the number of pumps as another typhoon is expected to approach Japan this week.
IAEA experts report on Fukushima decontamination - NHK
A team from the world's nuclear watchdog has presented a report that offers advice on how Japan can proceed with decontaminating the areas around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In a weeklong mission to Japan, radiation experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency inspected decontamination work sites in Fukushima.
They also met officials of the environment ministry and local authorities to be briefed on efforts to manage the toxic waste and discuss issues to be tackled.
The team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo , submitted the report to Japan's Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara in Tokyo on Monday.
The report calls for further government efforts to inform local residents that its goal of reducing yearly radiation levels to one millisievert or below cannot be achieved quickly through decontamination work alone.
It also urges the government to continue to perform radiation checks on all residents in the area.
They say laying out a comprehensive blueprint for decontamination and reconstruction programs is the way to make local authorities and residents fully prepared for disasters, and to allow evacuees to return home.
Ishihara said the government will take the recommendations into full account.
Lentijo later told reporters that although there has been much progress in decontamination efforts, more thought should be given to achieving a balance between resulting benefits and required costs and burdens.
Japan to step up monitoring of radioactive water - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has announced plans to monitor offshore radiation around the clock.
TEPCO officials met with a panel of Nuclear Regulation Authority experts on Monday. The panel is studying the impact of radioactive water leaks from the plant.
TEPCO workers currently measure radiation levels in the port and near the shores once a day.
But many experts have been calling for 24-hour monitoring to allow faster responses to unexpected leaks and provide a clearer idea of how much water has escaped.
TEPCO officials said they will provide more details of the plan at a meeting scheduled for next month.
The nuclear regulators have proposed expanding the offshore monitoring from the current 300 kilometers to between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers.
One regulator said the agency will ask the operators of oceangoing vessels to collect data for northern Pacific Rim countries that are worried about radioactive leaks.
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October 22, 2013
TEPCO struggles with rainwater contamination - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is bracing for more downpours by adding additional pumps to cope with radiation-contaminated rainwater.
A weekend storm caused accumulation of rainwater inside tank barriers that are meant to contain radiation leaks. The tainted water overflowed 11 barriers on Sunday.
At 6 of them, the spilled rainwater contained radioactive strontium above the government-approved release limit of 10 becquerels per liter. Levels at the most contaminated site were at 71 times that limit.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said that pumps installed to drain rainwater from the barriers didn't have enough capacity to keep up with the rising water levels.
TEPCO says it will add 19 more pumps that can drain up 60 tons of water per hour. This will boost the system's pumping capacity to about 4 times the current level.
The utility also plans to use larger draining hoses to speed up the transfer of water from the barriers.
The operator says it will measure radiation levels of water in the barriers before removing it to containers. This is to ascertain its toxicity before it is diluted by added rainwater.
A TEPCO official admitted that the company underestimated the amount of possible rainfall. The official said TEPCO will bring in more workers if necessary.
Tiny amount of cesium detected off Fukushima plant - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says a very small amount of radioactive cesium has been detected about one kilometer off the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant it operates.
TEPCO has been analyzing seawater taken at 5 locations outside the plant's harbor. This is to monitor the spread of radioactive substances in wastewater that's believed to be seeping out with groundwater.
A sample taken last Friday about one kilometer offshore was found to contain 1.6 becquerels of cesium-137 per liter.
The level is far below the 90 becquerels-per-liter limit for releasing cesium-137 into the sea. But it is the second time the substance has been detected at this location since monitoring began in August. The previous finding was on October 8th.
TEPCO says it does not know why cesium has been found at that specific spot. But the company says it poses no environmental risk as the level is near the minimum detection threshold. It adds that hardly any cesium is being found elsewhere in the sea outside of the port.
TEPCO test to freeze contaminated water - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is conducting an unusual test to freeze radioactive water.
The test is part of a project involving the removal of radioactive water from an underground tunnel to prevent contaminated groundwater from flowing into the sea. TEPCO regards the water in the tunnel as the main source of contamination.
The utility believes the groundwater becomes contaminated as it passes through the plant's compound and mixes with radioactive water seeping from a tunnel connected to a turbine building.
The firm plans to freeze the contaminated water, creating an ice wall that would stop the flow of water from the turbine building to the tunnel.
TEPCO engineers started the test in August using a mockup of the tunnel. They installed coolant pipes between the turbine building and the tunnel. They say an ice wall 2 meters high and 2 meters wide was formed in about a month and a half, and they successfully removed water from the mock tunnel.
But the engineers say the test also revealed additional problems. They had to install extra pipes in some places in the tunnel in order to freeze the water uniformly.
A senior TEPCO official says it will not be easy to install coolant pipes evenly in the real tunnel, given radiation levels and other conditions.
The utility plans to start the work to freeze contaminated water early next year. It will start removing about 10,000 tons of radioactive water from the tunnel in the next fiscal year.
No. 1 water woes laid to Tepco’s ineptitude - Japan Times
Cleanup confounded by failure to foresee mess, accept advice
Chico Harlan
Two and a half years after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant experienced its three reactor-core meltdowns, efforts to clean up what remains of the complex is turning into another kind of disaster.
. . . But many lawmakers and nuclear industry specialists say Tepco is perpetuating the kinds of mistakes that led to the March 2011 meltdowns: underestimating the plant’s vulnerabilities, ignoring warnings from outsiders and neglecting to draw up plans for things that might go wrong. Those failures, they say, have led to the massive buildup and spills of radioactive water.
. . . The latest government-led actions are particularly galling for some, who say Tepco should have taken similar measures earlier. One lawmaker, Sumio Mabuchi, who was also an adviser at the start of the crisis to then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan, says Tepco, deep in debt, neglected to take important steps against the groundwater two years ago because of concerns about its bottom line.
MORE
- source : japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/22
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October 23, 2013
Japan hopes culinary honor helps Fukushima - NHK
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says he hopes UNESCO endorsement of the heritage value of Japan's traditional cuisine helps counter rumors about the safety of food from Fukushima.
Suga told reporters on Wednesday that traditional Japanese food culture is grounded in a spiritual respect for nature. He said those values are sure to be passed on to future generations if they are formally recognized by the UN body in December as an intangible cultural asset.
Fukushima Daiichi struggles with threat of typhoon - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is struggling to find storage space for tainted rainwater as another powerful typhoon approaches.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is now seeking approval from the nuclear regulator to use underground pools once deemed too leaky.
Typhoons and downpours have frequently filled barriers around radioactive waste water tanks, producing tainted rainwater.
TEPCO stores the tainted rainwater in tanks unless its radioactivity is below the government-approved level.
But the operator says tanks and a basement in a turbine building allocated for tainted rainwater storage are now almost full.
Typhoon Francisco is set to hit Japan's mainland over the weekend. The utility is asking the Nuclear Regulation Authority for permission to temporarily use 3 underground pools with a storage capacity of about 9,000 tons.
TEPCO suspended using a similar type of pool after some leaked in April. But it now says it has no other option but to use them.
The utility also says it found 59,000 becquerels of Beta-ray emitting radioactivity in an onsite ditch on Tuesday. It says it is transferring the water to a tank.
NRA chief to meet TEPCO head on nuclear safety - NHK
Officials from Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority have criticized a report submitted by Tokyo Electric Power Company on safety measures at its nuclear plants.
The NRA met on Wednesday after TEPCO submitted the report to the authority on Tuesday of last week.
The report outlines the measures TEPCO is taking to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. In the report, TEPCO also says it is capable of safely managing 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The utility has plans to restart the reactors.
At the meeting on Wednesday, a member of the NRA called the report "unconvincing" and expressed doubts about whether TEPCO would be able to deal with problems that may arise in the future.
Another member suggested that if TEPCO says there are no problems at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, then the utility should reassign more workers from there to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka acknowledged the need to properly question TEPCO. He said that, based on the content of the report, it seems like the plants are being handled by 2 different companies. Tanaka plans to hold a meeting with TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to find out how the utility's management sees the situation.
The NRA has yet to decide whether to proceed with safety assessments of the 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. Newly formulated regulations require the assessments before the reactors can restart.
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October 24, 2013
NRA allows simplified release of barrier water - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator has allowed the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to simplify its procedure to release water from barriers around tanks holding water contaminated by radioactivity.
A Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA, taskforce made the decision on Thursday.
It had previously only permitted the Tokyo Electric Power Company to discharge rainwater from the barriers after it moved the water temporarily into other tanks and confirmed the contamination levels were below the NRA-set standard.
However, since last month, TEPCO has not been able to keep pace with the increase in rainwater volume inside the barriers due to recent downpours.
This has caused water above the permitted contamination level to overflow the barriers.
The situation has prompted the NRA to approve TEPCO's proposal to drop the procedure of temporarily transferring the rainwater in the barriers to other tanks.
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October 25, 2013
TEPCO rushes to transfer contaminated water - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is rushing to take measures to prevent radioactive water in outdoor barriers from overflowing as a severe tropical storm approaches.
Water in barriers around tanks has been accumulating after a series of heavy rains since mid-September. The water is contaminated with radioactive substances.
The tainted water overflowed 11 barriers on Sunday.
At 6 of them, the spilled rainwater contained radioactive strontium above the government-approved release limit.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is transferring water from barriers to other tanks capable of holding a total of 4,000 tons.
TEPCO also plans to move the tainted water to underground pools. Some of those pools leaked radioactive water in April.
The utility has added 19 additional pumps, each of which can deal with 60 tons per hour, as well as 12 vehicles such as fire engines and water tank trucks.
But as of 4PM on Friday, the company did not finish the transfer work at some barriers.
On Thursday, Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority allowed TEPCO to simplify its procedure to release water from barriers by eliminating the step of temporarily transferring it to other tanks.
But the measure will be taken only if contamination levels in barriers are below the NRA-set standard.
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October 28, 2013
ALPS partially restarted in Fukushima plant - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has resumed its trial run of a key water decontamination system. It was shut down due to malfunctions.
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Monday began test-running one of 3 channels of the Advanced Liquid Processing unit, or ALPS. ALPS is capable of removing 62 different kinds of radioactive substances, excluding tritium.
Operation of the channel was suspended in June following leaks of unprocessed radioactive water.
TEPCO engineers discovered holes in the tank storing the contaminated water. Corrosion is apparently to blame. Work to prevent corrosion has been ongoing in all 3 channels of the ALPS system.
A test-run of another ALPS channel began about a month ago. The remaining channel is scheduled for a trial-run mid November.
Repeated suspensions of the unit have delayed the start of full-fledged operation till next year. Full operation was due to begin this autumn.
TEPCO plans to build 3 more ALPS channels next year. They also plan to set up a facility with higher water processing capabilities with government aid.
The utility hopes to complete decontaminating all its stored wastewater by March 2015.
But the question remains whether the trouble-marred ALPS system is capable of functioning over long periods.
NRA, TEPCO heads meet over problems at Fukushima - NHK
The head of Japan's nuclear regulating body has summoned the president of Tokyo Electric Power Company to hear how the utility intends to prevent additional trouble at the crippled Fukushima plant.
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka met Naomi Hirose, president of the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday.
Tanaka asked Hirose what TEPCO plans to do to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the plant.
Hirose later said he told Tanaka that he plans to send workers from other parts of the utility firm, including the idled Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant, to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Hirose said he also told Tanaka that his firm will provide support to the workers to ensure that they can make full use of their skills.
Tanaka reportedly said that he wants TEPCO to carry out drastic long-term reforms. He asked Hirose to improve the working conditions inside the Fukushima plant, including the radioactive decontamination process.
NRA Secretary-General Katsuhiko Ikeda, who also attended Monday's meeting, referred to the possibility that the agency will begin safety screening for 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant.
Ikeda repeated his stance that the agency will make a decision after carefully studying how TEPCO intends to improve the situation at the Fukushima plant.
The utility says it will be able to deal with the problems at the Fukushima plant and maintain safety at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant simultaneously.
But many NRA members have expressed skepticism about TEPCO's explanation.
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TEPCO - October 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (東京電力株式会社, Tōkyō Denryoku Kabushiki-gaisha, TYO: 9501), also known as Toden (東電, Tōden) or TEPCO, is a Japanese electric utilities servicing Japan's Kantō region, Yamanashi Prefecture, and the eastern portion of Shizuoka Prefecture.
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October 01, 2013
Nuclear regulator criticized for 'red tape' job - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator is coming under fire from intellectuals. They're being criticized for bureaucratic behavior.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority fielded comments on Monday from 6 experts who are studying the crisis in Fukushima. The discussion was a review of the NRA's first year of operation.
Shuya Nomura is a lawyer who served on a Diet panel that investigated the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Nomura criticized the NRA for its handling of the radioactive water leaks. He said NRA members should go to the plant, instead of demanding explanations from its operator's executives.
Journalist Yoichi Funabashi said drafting rules and standards isn't enough to win public trust. He described the plant as a battleground and urged regulators to take a more proactive stance in dealing with the crisis.
Others pressed for reforms at the NRA Secretariat. It's staffed mostly by personnel from the previous regulator which was under a government umbrella that promoted nuclear power.
NRA chief Shunichi Tanaka said he feels the organization has been given a mandate that's bigger than its capacity, but that members will try to improve.
TEPCO proposes rainwater drainage rules - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has compiled criteria for discharging rainwater accumulated inside the barriers around storage tanks containing radioactive water.
Until now, Tokyo Electric Power Company had no such criteria. Last month, when a tropical storm hit the area, workers measured the radioactivity of the accumulated rainwater. They moved highly radioactive water into tanks, and released low-level waters into gutters.
Under the new criteria the utility submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Monday, rainwater will be transferred to a specific tank, where workers will measure its radioactivity levels.
The utility will discharge rainwater if the level of beta-ray-emitting substances is below 10 becquerels per liter. The standard is one third the limit of strontium-90 levels at which the government allows discharging into the sea.
TEPCO also places the radioactive cesium level at one third of the government's limit.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority will study what to do with tritium levels, since it takes time to measure the substance.
The NRA asked the utility to accelerate its investigation into an accident at a storage tank that resulted in the leakage of 300 tons of radioactive water. The regulators demanded that TEPCO remove the bottom of the tank and examine its concrete foundation, to determine the cause of the accident.
Tainted rainwater overflows at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant face another challenge.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says 4 tons of radioactive rainwater has seeped into the ground after overflowing from a storage container.
The spill occurred on Tuesday when workers were pumping into the container rainwater that had collected around wastewater storage tanks. Officials of the firm say the overflow occurred because the workers transferred the water to the wrong container.
A tropical storm in September and subsequent rain led to the buildup of tainted rainwater in barriers surrounding the tanks.
The officials say the level of radioactive substances in the water just after the storm was 160 becquerels per liter. That's five times the government limit for releasing water into the ocean.
The operator is checking radioactivity levels of the overflowed water.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it found 390 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, believed to be mostly strontium, in water inside the container.
The level is much higher than the government limit for releasing strontium-tainted water into the ocean, which is set at 30 becquerels per liter.
The level is also higher than the 160-becquerels-per-liter detected in rainwater around the wastewater storage tanks just after the storm.
TEPCO officials say they will look into why the radiation level increased.
The officials explain the overflows occurred because the rainwater was transferred into the wrong container.
They plan to investigate the pipe system layout, and other factors, to find out why there was a container mix up.
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October 02, 2013
NRA members critical of TEPCO - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator has decided to begin its assessment of the safety of 2 reactors at one of the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
However, in reaching the decision at a meeting on Wednesday, members of the Nuclear Regulation Authority also criticized TEPCO for its handling of the situation at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
TEPCO last week applied for the safety screening of 2 of the reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The screening is required before the idle reactors can be restarted.
At Wednesday's meeting, NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said the regulator will proceed with the safety screening at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa but indicated that it will watch over TEPCO's handling of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Tanaka stressed that the issue of radioactive water leaks must be strictly dealt with.
NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa also said TEPCO must first focus on resolving the tainted water problem and reducing risk at the Fukushima plant. He said the Fukushima plant and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant cannot be treated as 2 different matters.
Commissioner Kayoko Nakamura said she was surprised that TEPCO made the application for the safety screening.
She said she does not think TEPCO has sufficient knowledge of radioactive materials, in apparent reference to the company's handling of the situation at the Fukushima plant. Nakamura said she doubts if the authority can tell local residents that the reactors in question at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant are safe.
TEPCO is one of 5 power companies which have applied for the screening of a total of 14 reactors. At present, all of Japan's 50 reactors have been taken offline, mostly for inspections.
Contaminated water detected in Fukushima - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have detected highly-radioactive substances in water within a barrier surrounding contaminated water storage tanks.
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says it found 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium, in the water. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
TEPCO says its workers have found water leaking from the upper part of one of the tanks within the barrier.
The utility says it is investigating whether the contaminated water has leaked into the surrounding ground. It says some of the water may have reached the ocean by way of a drainage system.
The tank is located near the Number-4 reactor.
More than 300 tons of tainted water was found to have leaked from a tank in a different area in August.
Miscommunication caused tainted water overflow - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says miscommunication with a subcontractor resulted in tainted rainwater accidentally escaping from a storage container.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the incident occurred as workers were transferring rainwater from inside one of the barriers that have been set up around the contaminated water tanks. The rainwater was found to be radioactive.
The workers sent the water to a small tank by mistake. About 5 tons of the radioactive water overflowed and seeped into the ground.
Another leak found at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have found more highly radioactive water leaking from a storage tank. They say some of the water may have reached the ocean.
Workers at the plant found the water was leaking from the upper part of a tank near the No.4 reactor.
They measured the radiation level of the water inside a barrier that surrounds the tank. They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
The water was leaking from a joint between the top and side panels. Some of the water is thought to have flowed along a walkway that overhangs the barrier before dripping to the ground.
Engineers at the plant say they don't know how much water leaked out of the tank or how much of it seeped out of the barrier.
They say some of the water may have reached the ocean which is about 200 meters away. They have blocked drains with sandbags.
Nuclear regulators have ordered the operator to collect soil from around the tank and analyze the water in the drainage system.
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October 03, 2013
Leak traced to overfilling of tank built on slope - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest leak of radioactive wastewater has been traced to the overfilling of a storage tank built on a slope.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials apologized at a news conference on Thursday for the leaks that surface on an almost daily basis.
The tank is on the mountain side of the plant's No.4 reactor. The TEPCO officials said the tank was built on ground that slopes toward the ocean, and the leak occurred on the side that faces the sea.
They estimate that 430 liters of wastewater seeped outside the barrier around the tank and say some of this water may have flowed into the sea, about 200 meters away.
Workers had been careful not to fill the tank to the top. But on Wednesday, they put in too much rainwater that had pooled nearby.
Shortly after 8:00 PM on Wednesday, workers found wastewater leaking from the upper part of the tank.
They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water pooled inside the barrier around the tank. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.
In August, TEPCO officials discovered that more than 300 tons of radioactive wastewater had leaked from a storage tank in a different area of the Fukushima plant.
Fukushima govt. to measure radiation in seawater - NHK
The Fukushima prefectural government has decided to launch its own inspection of the seawater around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Its decision came on Thursday following reports of another leakage of radioactive water from a storage tank at the nuclear complex the previous night. The water is suspected to be spilling into the ocean.
Speaking in an emergency meeting of senior officials, Governor Yuhei Sato said the latest leakage occurred just after TEPCO President Naomi Hirose pledged to give highest priority to containing wastewater when he attended the prefectural assembly.
Sato said he now questions the president's honesty. The governor harshly criticized the utility's sloppy management of contaminated water accumulating in the complex.
A prefectural official in charge of atomic power said they will measure levels of radioactive substances as early as Thursday in waters near the end of the drainage through which the leaked water is suspected to have seeped into the ocean.
Other prefectural officials voiced concern that the plant operator is not doing enough to prevent contaminated water from leaking, and urged it to quickly implement measures to stop the water from seeping into the ocean.
TEPCO: Leak caused by lack of caution - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest radioactive water leak from one of the facility's storage tanks resulted from lack of caution.
About 430 liters of highly radioactive wastewater leaked from the top of the tank on Wednesday. The water was found to have 200,000 becquerels of beta ray-emitting radioactive materials per liter. The government limit for releasing such water into the ocean is 30 per liter.
Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said the leak occurred at one of the 5 tanks connected by pipes.
The tanks were built along a slope. Only the one at the highest position was equipped with a water gauge.
Workers believed that if they kept the water level in the tank at 98 percent, or 50 centimeters from the top, no water would spill, even from the lowest tank.
The workers kept pouring into the tanks contaminated rainwater that had pooled nearby. The spill occurred at the lowest tank.
TEPCO officials say their estimation was incorrect, and that the water likely drained into the sea about 200 meters away.
TEPCO faces an increasing workload as the firm must not only build more tanks but also cope with an increase in contaminated rain and groundwater and repeated leaks.
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October 04, 2013
TEPCO stops ALPS operation at Fukushima plant - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has halted operation of a new wastewater treatment system at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The system is designed to eliminate almost all radioactive substances from wastewater.
TEPCO says an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities in its Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, shortly before 7AM on Friday. Workers at the utility are looking into the cause of the alarm.
The utility resumed its test-runs of the new system on Friday of last week following a month-and-a-half suspension. But it had to shut down the system less than 24 hours later due to technical problems, and resumed operations last Monday.
Suga: No leaks from ALPS at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Japan's top government spokesman says a new wastewater treatment system is being investigated at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following reports of abnormalities.
Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday morning that no abnormalities, including leaks of contaminated water, have yet been found.
Tokyo Electric Power Company halted test-runs of its Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, after an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities earlier on Friday. The system is designed to eliminate almost all radioactive substances from wastewater.
Suga said he was told that the water treatment process was suspended after the alarm.
TEPCO urged to prevent contaminated water leaks - NHK
The Secretariat of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has criticized the president of Tokyo Electric Power Company for repeated errors that caused radioactive water to leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
NRA Secretary-General Katsuhiko Ikeda summoned TEPCO President Naomi Hirose on Friday, and demanded that the utility immediately come up with plans to prevent such problems.
Ikeda said it is regrettable that the leakage was caused by human error. He said the company's on-site management is extremely poor.
Highly radioactive water was found to be overflowing from a storage tank at the plant on Wednesday. Workers had continued to pump water into the tank located on a slope.
Ikeda added that he wants TEPCO to send personnel from other power plants to help with the work at Fukushima Daiichi.
Ikeda also asked TEPCO to show whether safety measures are in place at the Kashiwazaki-Kariya nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
The utility applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority last month for the safety screening needed to restart 2 of the idle reactors at the Niigata plant.
Hirose apologized for the problems at Fukushima Daiichi, saying the company had recently changed its system for processing contaminated wastewater, and workers are not used to the new procedures. He said TEPCO will use all possible resources to deal with the problem.
Abe pledges to tackle radioactive water issue - NHK
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his government will do all it can to deal with the massive buildup of radioactive water at the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant.
Abe on Friday met Seiichiro Murakami, a lower house member of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party who heads a LDP panel on the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Murakami said uncovering the cause of the accident and containing the problem of contaminated water are pressing matters, as Japan reconsiders its energy policy.
Abe said the radioactive water issue will be a major topic of debate in the upcoming Diet session. He said the Abe administration will do all it can to tackle the problem.
IAEA to send decontamination support team to Japan - NHK
The International Atomic Energy Agency will send a team of experts to inspect and give advice on the decontamination in and around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The international nuclear watchdog announced on Friday that 16 experts from inside and outside of the Agency will work in Japan from October 14th through 21st.
It will be the second such team to be sent to support the clean-up in Fukushima, following the team that came in October 2011.
Their mission is to verify whether decontamination work is being carried out properly and to provide Japan with recommendations.
The experts will meet officials from Japan's Environment Ministry and other organizations to share ideas.
They will visit Fukushima Prefecture between October 16th and 18th to inspect work sites.
TEPCO: System failure stopped ALPS - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company has resumed operation of a new wastewater treatment system at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after a half-day suspension.
The Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, automatically stopped on Friday morning after an alarm sounded to indicate abnormalities.
The system is described as a pillar to remove radioactive materials from contaminated water.
Workers found the system halted because 2 contradictory signals were sent at the same time to a tank that temporarily stores contaminated water.
One signal was to refuse to receive external water to add chemical agents. But when workers stirred the agents and water inside, water levels lowered and another signal that allows receiving water was sent.
TEPCO's officials say this malfunction can happen during test-run operations and that they will have to improve the system.
Operation was resumed in the evening, but the utility plans to stop the system for 3 days from Saturday for maintenance.
TEPCO resumed its test-runs of the ALPS on Friday of last week after a month-and-a-half suspension. But it had to shut down the system less than 24 hours later due to a careless mistake by a worker. They resumed operations Monday.
NRA to Tepco: Fix water mess, even add workers - Japan Times
The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Friday ordered Tokyo Electric Power Co. to bring under control the massive amount of radioactive water gushing from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex, including by boosting worker numbers on-site.
Hirose bowing
“I want you to implement on-site management appropriately even if it requires bringing workers from Tepco’s other nuclear power plants,” Ikeda warned Hirose.
source : Japan Times
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October 06, 2013
Abe: Japan wants advice on water leaks - NHK
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan wants to obtain advanced knowledge from other countries for use in preventing leaks of contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Abe made the remark at the opening ceremony of the 10th annual meeting of the Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto on Sunday.
Abe called the Fukushima Daiichi accident a "bitter lesson". He called on participants at the forum to contribute in their most advanced knowledge for use in coping with problems at the plant, including radioactive water leaks. . . .
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October 07, 2013
Power failure briefly halts cooling at Fukushima - NHK
A partial power failure at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Monday briefly halted the injection of cooling water into one of the reactors. The plant operator believes human error to be the cause of the blackout.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says an alarm indicating falling voltage sounded at a power switchboard at the No.1 turbine building on Monday morning.
TEPCO says a pump that injects water to cool nuclear fuel inside the No.1 reactor had stopped. But a backup pump quickly kicked in. It says the reactor's temperature remained unchanged.
The operator says the blackout also halted systems that decontaminate radioactive gases in the No.1 and 2 containment vessels. But backup systems there also took over.
TEPCO believes the power failure occurred when a worker mistakenly pushed the switchboard's stop button during an inspection.
In March, a rat entered a makeshift outdoor power distribution board at the plant, causing a short circuit. Systems to cool a pool in which spent fuel rods are stored were down for as long as 29 hours.
Four months later, the No.6 reactor's cooling machinery was suspended for about 2 hours due to worker's mistake.
TEPCO aims to eliminate human error - NHK
The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company says the utility will take steps to prevent problems caused by human error at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Naomi Hirose was speaking before an Upper House panel on Monday. Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka were also in attendance.
Hirose acknowledged the need to improve the working environment at the plant following a series of problems caused by human error. He said workers should not be allowed to become exhausted and that his company plans to increase the workforce and open more employee lounges.
Tanaka touched on the utility's application for safety screenings for the idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture.
He said regulators will carefully consider how to proceed with the screenings. He said the situation at Fukushima Daiichi has not been sufficiently stabilized to reassure the public about nuclear safety.
Tanaka added that the Authority is asking the utility for a report on safety management at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa by the end of the week.
Motegi expressed caution about the concept of liquidating Tokyo Electric Power Company.
He said that if the utility goes bankrupt under current laws, administrators would use its assets to pay institutional investors before compensating Fukushima residents or paying subcontractors at Fukushima Daiichi.
He said that if this happens, efforts to deal with the massive amounts of contaminated wastewater would be delayed.
Motegi suggested that the government consider how to support the company by taking into account future energy policies and progress being made on compensation.
The panel was convened to discuss the massive wastewater problem at the plant while the Diet is not in session.
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October 09, 2013
Corroded tank plates caused Fukushima leakage - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says they've discovered the reason that radioactive water leaked from a storage tank in August. The cause was gaps created on steel plates that had corroded at the bottom of the tank.
In the accident, more than 300 tons of contaminated water leaked from the tank. Some of the water is believed to have flowed into the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Tuesday they found small gaps around 2 bolt holes that join steel plates at the bottom of the tank.
They discovered corrosion around the gaps. It measured 1 to 2 centimeters long and 3 millimeters wide for each. They believe that contaminated water seeping into the bolt holes corroded the steel plates, causing the gaps to widen.
There are more than 300 storage tanks holding water contaminated at Fukushima Daiichi.
Tokyo Electric Power says it plans to replace the tanks with ones with welded steel plates as soon as possible to prevent a recurrence of the leakage.
Pipe detachment causes leak at Fukushima Daiichi - NHK
Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have caused a fresh leak of contaminated water by mistakenly detaching a pipe.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says at least 6 workers were sprayed with the contaminated water and are being checked for radiation exposure.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says the workers mistakenly detached a water pipe from a joint near a desalination device on Wednesday morning.
The accident caused contaminated water to leak for about 50 minutes.
TEPCO says the water is contained inside a 60-meter-long, 12-meter-wide barrier that surrounds the device and has not leaked outside the compound.
The water is highly radioactive, containing 37 million becquerels of beta ray-emitting material per liter.
Worker errors have been occurring frequently at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, as TEPCO struggles to keep the facility under control.
Fukushima plant workers exposed to radiation - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says 6 of its workers were exposed to radiation on Wednesday morning due to a contaminated water leak caused by human error.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Wednesday evening that the workers had been decontaminated and that it will step up efforts to prevent a recurrence.
It says the workers mistakenly detached a water pipe from a joint near a desalination device at around 9:30 AM.
The accident caused about 7 tons of contaminated water to leak for about an hour. TEPCO says the water is contained inside a 60-meter-long, 12-meter-wide barrier that surrounds the device.
The water is highly radioactive, containing 34 million becquerels of beta ray-emitting material per liter.
Six of 11 workers at the site were sprayed with the radioactive water.
TEPCO says the affected workers were decontaminated and that the maximum level of their exposure to beta rays was 1.2 millisieverts. The government sets the exposure limit for skin at 500 millisieverts per year.
Company officials say alertness among workers may be decreasing due to an increased burden of preventing further leaks. They add they will redouble efforts to prevent accidents.
- quote - Japan Times
Six workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant were doused Wednesday with radioactive water from a desalination system, Tepco said.
. . . The mishap is the latest in a spate of leaks and problems caused by human error that have added to public criticism of Tepco’s handling of the crisis.
source : www.japantimes.co.jp
Japan to work with IAEA on radioactive wastewater - NHK
Japan and the UN's nuclear watchdog have agreed to work together to dispel global fears over radioactive wastewater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met in Tokyo on Wednesday with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano.
Motegi stressed the importance of highly reliable monitoring of radioactive substances in the wastewater, as well as quick public disclosure of accurate information.
He sought help from the IAEA in these areas.
Amano said he believes the crippled plant is generally in stable condition, and promised to cooperate with Japan in monitoring the wastewater.
Nuclear regulator says worker morale is declining - NHK
The head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority says a decline in worker morale at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is one of the causes behind radioactive water leaks and other problems.
NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka made the remark at a news conference on Wednesday in answer to questions regarding a series of troubles at the plant.
Tanaka said some problems can be prevented only in a positive work environment where each employee has strong morale.
Given the fact that many workers at the Daiichi plant are from subcontracting companies, the chairman said officials and employees of Tokyo Electric Power Company must commit themselves to the ongoing work at the site.
TEPCO will submit to the nuclear authority a series of measures to prevent the leak of contaminated water and other problems. Tanaka said he will closely scrutinize the plan.
Last Friday, the secretariat of the nuclear authority asked TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to come up with the measures in about a week. The secretariat proposed the idea of taking more workers from other nuclear plants to cope with the water leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi facility.
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October 10, 2013
Radioactive cesium detected in seawater - NHK
Radioactive cesium has been detected in seawater outside the port of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says it took a seawater sample on Tuesday outside a breakwater about one kilometer off the coast.
The company began monitoring at that spot in August, after it acknowledged in July that contaminated groundwater had been seeping into the ocean.
One-point-four becquerels per liter of cesium-137 was found in the sample. This is the first time that the radioactive material has been detected in seawater taken at that spot.
TEPCO officials say the radiation level is lower than the safety standard for drinking water set by the World Health Organization, which is 10 becquerels per liter.
They say a seawater sample taken from the spot on Thursday did not contain a detectable level of cesium.
They will continue to monitor seawater to find out whether contaminated groundwater is affecting the seawater outside the plant's port.
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October 12, 2013
High radiation reported near tanks - Japan Times
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that high radiation levels have been detected near three water storage tanks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The highest reading was 69.9 millisieverts per hour near one of the three tanks holding radioactive water to the west of the building housing reactor 1.
It is the same area where high radiation levels were detected in early September. The highest reading at that time was 2,200 millisieverts per hour.
MORE
source : www.japantimes.co.jp
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October 13, 2013
UN panel: radiation dose may be underestimated - NHK
A UN panel says Japanese authorities may have underestimated radiation doses workers received in the initial phase of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011.
Investigators from the UN Scientific Committee of Atomic Radiation recently filed their report.
They raised doubts about estimates by the Japanese government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Panel members analyzed records of 25,000 workers who worked at the plant until last October, paying special attention to 12 workers with higher doses.
The UN committee found the Japanese government and TEPCO ignored the effects of radioactive iodine.
Some kinds of iodine have much shorter half-lives than other radioactive substances. Analysts would have had to test workers immediately to discover the true dose.
But the investigators pointed to a substantial delay in measuring procedures. They concluded that current estimates may be 20 percent lower than they should be.
The committee urged the government and TEPCO to observe workers' conditions over the long term.
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October 15, 2013
Fukushima Daiichi braces for strong typhoon - NHK
Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have taken measures against approaching powerful typhoon Nr. 26, Wipha to prevent leakage of radioactive water.
Officials at the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, say workers confirmed on Tuesday that pumps and piping to inject water into the plant's disabled reactors are fixed by ropes.
When a tropical storm approached the plant this month, water flowed over a barrier surrounding tanks storing radioactive water. Another leak of the contaminated water occurred after workers moved water behind a barrier to tanks on a slope. TEPCO says the leakage occurred due to improper prior checks.
The utility says it has secured new storage tanks capable of holding about 4,000 tons of water to prepare for rising water levels. This measure was taken in addition to conventional steps of moving water that accumulated behind a barrier to another barrier and nearby tanks.
The company also says it has secured more than 50 workers dedicated to transferring water.
TEPCO instructed to look for other possible leaks - NHK news
Japan's nuclear regulators have instructed the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to look into the possibility of contaminated water leaking from an unexpected source.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority issued the instruction on Tuesday after data showed hardly any change in radioactive cesium levels in seawater samples taken from the port at the plant in the past 2 months.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, has been taking steps to stop the leakage since July. The measures include solidifying the ground between the damaged reactors and pumping up underground water.
NRA Commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa said the data raises doubts about TEPCO's assumptions.
The utility says the water accumulating in reactor buildings is seeping into the ground and mixing with underground water. It assumes that 200 tons of radioactive water is leaking into the ocean every day.
Another expert also pointed out that drainage ditches should be inspected for possible water leaks.
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October 16, 2013
TEPCO checks, releases typhoon rainwater into sea - NHK
TEPCO releases rainwater from typhoon
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released rainwater that had accumulated in the compound from typhoon Wipha. The water has reportedly cleared tests for radioactivity.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the rainwater had accumulated inside barriers surrounding tanks used to store radioactive wastewater. It began releasing the water from 9 locations on Wednesday morning.
The rainwater underwent 5 checks for radioactivity on Tuesday, including tests for cesium and strontium-90.
TEPCO says the levels met standards set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for radioactive wastewater normally released into the sea.
The level of tritium, which takes longer to measure, is also likely to be safe.
In a separate move, TEPCO made an emergency transfer of highly radioactive water that had pooled at 2 other locations. The water was transferred to an adjacent underground storage pool.
TEPCO had not stored water underground since a leak in April. But because rainwater from the typhoon was rising fast, the utility decided to store the radioactive water temporarily in an underground pool that had not leaked. It will then transfer it to a tank for wastewater.
TEPCO has built additional storage tanks and increased personnel and patrols to control contaminated water after a storm earlier this month. Radioactive water flowed over barriers at that time, and seeped out of an overfilled tank.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority says it was notified on Wednesday morning of TEPCO's decision to transfer the water to an underground pool.
The authority gave the go-ahead after judging that the risk of a leak was minimal.
It said the tank to which the water was transferred had not been used since passing a safety inspection, and that the tank would only be used temporarily.
The authority asked TEPCO to tighten monitoring for possible leaks.
Abe talks of Fukushima plant - NHK
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says radioactive water leakage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is under control.
Abe made the remark in a lower house session on Wednesday in response to a question from an opposition leader about Abe's policy speech on the previous day.
The questioner asked whether Abe adheres to his remark that the situation at Fukushima Daiichi is under control. The lawmaker argued that a senior official of the plant operator said he cannot confirm that this is the case.
Abe said leaks still occur, but that the radioactive water is affecting a limited area inside the plant's port.
He stressed that the government will keep working to address the problem with preventive measures based on knowhow from around the world.
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October 17, 2013
High radiation detected in Fukushima Daiichi ditch - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the sea, after Typhoon Wipha brought heavy rain.
Workers at the plant are conducting daily radiation checks of water in the ditch. The measure is to examine the effects of contaminated water leaks from storage tanks.
Officials at the Tokyo Electric Power Company say they detected 1,400 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive material at a measuring point 150 meters from the sea on Wednesday.
The figure was more than 70 times higher than readings taken on Tuesday. It's also the highest since monitoring of the ditch water was started in August.
Officials say rain from the typhoon caused contaminated soil to flow into the ditch and created the high radiation. They say they will begin a cleanup operation.
Officials also say they will assess the effects on the surrounding sea.
TEPCO reports another tank leak - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says radioactive water has overflowed from a tank storing pumped-up groundwater.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says an employee found water spilling from the top of the tank Thursday morning.
TEPCO says it has stopped drawing up groundwater. The leakage has been contained within a barrier set up around the tank.
The utility says it is investigating how much water spilled from the tank and why. It says a pump used to send the water from the tank to its storage place in the reactor building may not have been working.
The tank is located on the embankment facing the ocean and near the badly damaged reactors No. 1 and 2.
TEPCO began pumping up groundwater near the reactors in August to reduce the amount of contaminated water flowing into the sea. The groundwater is flowing from the mountains and gets tainted as it passes through the plant premises.
- - - - and soon after
High radioactivity found in Fukushima Daiichi well - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says that it has detected a sharp rise in radioactivity in a well near a storage tank.
The tank leaked more than 300 tons of contaminated water in August. Some of it is believed to have poured into the sea via a ditch.
Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company say that they detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium, at the well on Thursday.
The level is 6500 times higher than the readings on the previous day.
The well was dug to monitor the impact of the leakage and is located at about 10 meters from the tank.
High levels of radioactive tritium, which tends to be transferred easily in water, had been already detected.
TEPCO officials believe Thursday's findings show that radioactive substances such as strontium, which are transferred relatively slowly, have reached the ground water.
There is another well about 100 meters from the tank near the seaside. It's for pumping up groundwater before it seeps into the reactor building and vicinity so as to contain the increase of contaminated water.
TEPCO will remove the contaminated soil around the tank and continue to closely watch radioactivity levels of the groundwater at the monitoring well.
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October 18, 2013
Radiation checks for Fukushima fish - NHK
Fishing cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture will voluntarily check their hauls for radioactivity before shipment.
The national standard for radiation in marine products is 100 bequerels of cesium per kilogram.
The co-ops have set their own standard of 50 bequerels per kilogram and say that only fish below that level will be shipped to markets.
They say that they will dispose of all of a day's catch of a particular species if they detect radiation exceeding their limit.
The co-ops say that so far levels in the species they checked have been under 50 bequerels or undetectable.
But according to the government's Fisheries Agency results released this month, some bottom-dwelling fish such as flounder and cod off Fukushima Prefecture still have radiation levels higher than 100 bequerels per kilogram.
TEPCO to contain tainted underground water - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it plans to take additional measures to contain the spread of contaminated water that leaked from a storage tank.
Tokyo Electric Power Company managers on Wednesday announced they had detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water collected from a monitoring well.
They said the figure is more than 6,000 times higher than the level recorded the day before.
They also said the level of radioactive strontium also tripled to the highest-ever figure of 790,000 becquerels per liter.
The well is some 10 meters from a storage tank that holds radioactive water. More than 300 tons of the water leaked from the tank in August. Some of it is believed to have seeped into nearby soil and also reached the ocean through a ditch.
TEPCO officials have been containing the problem by retrieving contaminated soil near the tank. But their efforts to completely remove the tainted soil are being hindered by the presence of pipes and other fixtures in the area.
TEPCO plans to collect the soil under the pipes and also wants to set up a new well to pump up the tainted water.
It has also announced that some 2,400 tons of water had been released from floodgates when heavy rainfall brought on by Typhoon Wipha caused water levels to rise on Wednesday.
The operator maintains that radioactivity levels have stayed below the government set standard and isn't having a negative impact on the environment.
Test fishing process in Fukushima - NHK
In the test fishing off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, fishermen are allowed to operate in limited waters and catch only certain types of seafood. This is to ensure the products' safety and win consumer trust.
In the immediate aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, sea currents were flowing to south. Thus radiation levels were higher in marine products caught in the waters south of the plant.
. . . . Authorities initially limited test fishing to 3 types of seafood in which almost no radioactive materials were detected in sampling. Now fishermen are allowed to catch 18 types.
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October 20, 2013
Radioactive water leaks from 12 barriers - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water has overflowed 12 barriers around tanks holding radioactive water. Tokyo Electric Power Company says some of the water may have reached the ocean.
The utility says workers found water spilling from five barriers Sunday afternoon. They found additional leakages in seven barriers Sunday evening.
TEPCO says the barriers are 30-centimeter-high. Some of them have already contained at least 20-centimeters of rain water. But workers can pump out only a couple of centimeters a day.
More than 100 millimeters of rain was recorded at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant over four hours on Sunday afternoon.
The operator of the crippled plant also says workers released some of the water accumulated inside barriers into the ground. The utility says the water met safety standards for radioactivity set by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.
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October 21, 2013
TEPCO: Strontium tops safety standards in 6 spots - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive strontium in 6 barriers, around tanks storing contaminated water, exceeded the government safety limit.
Workers found on Sunday that heavy downpours caused water to flow over 11 of the barriers.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says levels of radioactive strontium in 6 of them were above the government-approved limit for releasing the substance.
The highest reading was 71 times the set standard of 10 becquerels per liter.
TEPCO says the water that overflowed may have reached the ocean.
Pumps could not keep up with the rising water levels in the barriers after last week's typhoon and Sunday's downpours. The barriers are 30 centimeters high.
TEPCO plans to double the number of pumps as another typhoon is expected to approach Japan this week.
IAEA experts report on Fukushima decontamination - NHK
A team from the world's nuclear watchdog has presented a report that offers advice on how Japan can proceed with decontaminating the areas around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In a weeklong mission to Japan, radiation experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency inspected decontamination work sites in Fukushima.
They also met officials of the environment ministry and local authorities to be briefed on efforts to manage the toxic waste and discuss issues to be tackled.
The team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo , submitted the report to Japan's Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara in Tokyo on Monday.
The report calls for further government efforts to inform local residents that its goal of reducing yearly radiation levels to one millisievert or below cannot be achieved quickly through decontamination work alone.
It also urges the government to continue to perform radiation checks on all residents in the area.
They say laying out a comprehensive blueprint for decontamination and reconstruction programs is the way to make local authorities and residents fully prepared for disasters, and to allow evacuees to return home.
Ishihara said the government will take the recommendations into full account.
Lentijo later told reporters that although there has been much progress in decontamination efforts, more thought should be given to achieving a balance between resulting benefits and required costs and burdens.
Japan to step up monitoring of radioactive water - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has announced plans to monitor offshore radiation around the clock.
TEPCO officials met with a panel of Nuclear Regulation Authority experts on Monday. The panel is studying the impact of radioactive water leaks from the plant.
TEPCO workers currently measure radiation levels in the port and near the shores once a day.
But many experts have been calling for 24-hour monitoring to allow faster responses to unexpected leaks and provide a clearer idea of how much water has escaped.
TEPCO officials said they will provide more details of the plan at a meeting scheduled for next month.
The nuclear regulators have proposed expanding the offshore monitoring from the current 300 kilometers to between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers.
One regulator said the agency will ask the operators of oceangoing vessels to collect data for northern Pacific Rim countries that are worried about radioactive leaks.
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October 22, 2013
TEPCO struggles with rainwater contamination - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is bracing for more downpours by adding additional pumps to cope with radiation-contaminated rainwater.
A weekend storm caused accumulation of rainwater inside tank barriers that are meant to contain radiation leaks. The tainted water overflowed 11 barriers on Sunday.
At 6 of them, the spilled rainwater contained radioactive strontium above the government-approved release limit of 10 becquerels per liter. Levels at the most contaminated site were at 71 times that limit.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said that pumps installed to drain rainwater from the barriers didn't have enough capacity to keep up with the rising water levels.
TEPCO says it will add 19 more pumps that can drain up 60 tons of water per hour. This will boost the system's pumping capacity to about 4 times the current level.
The utility also plans to use larger draining hoses to speed up the transfer of water from the barriers.
The operator says it will measure radiation levels of water in the barriers before removing it to containers. This is to ascertain its toxicity before it is diluted by added rainwater.
A TEPCO official admitted that the company underestimated the amount of possible rainfall. The official said TEPCO will bring in more workers if necessary.
Tiny amount of cesium detected off Fukushima plant - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company says a very small amount of radioactive cesium has been detected about one kilometer off the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant it operates.
TEPCO has been analyzing seawater taken at 5 locations outside the plant's harbor. This is to monitor the spread of radioactive substances in wastewater that's believed to be seeping out with groundwater.
A sample taken last Friday about one kilometer offshore was found to contain 1.6 becquerels of cesium-137 per liter.
The level is far below the 90 becquerels-per-liter limit for releasing cesium-137 into the sea. But it is the second time the substance has been detected at this location since monitoring began in August. The previous finding was on October 8th.
TEPCO says it does not know why cesium has been found at that specific spot. But the company says it poses no environmental risk as the level is near the minimum detection threshold. It adds that hardly any cesium is being found elsewhere in the sea outside of the port.
TEPCO test to freeze contaminated water - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is conducting an unusual test to freeze radioactive water.
The test is part of a project involving the removal of radioactive water from an underground tunnel to prevent contaminated groundwater from flowing into the sea. TEPCO regards the water in the tunnel as the main source of contamination.
The utility believes the groundwater becomes contaminated as it passes through the plant's compound and mixes with radioactive water seeping from a tunnel connected to a turbine building.
The firm plans to freeze the contaminated water, creating an ice wall that would stop the flow of water from the turbine building to the tunnel.
TEPCO engineers started the test in August using a mockup of the tunnel. They installed coolant pipes between the turbine building and the tunnel. They say an ice wall 2 meters high and 2 meters wide was formed in about a month and a half, and they successfully removed water from the mock tunnel.
But the engineers say the test also revealed additional problems. They had to install extra pipes in some places in the tunnel in order to freeze the water uniformly.
A senior TEPCO official says it will not be easy to install coolant pipes evenly in the real tunnel, given radiation levels and other conditions.
The utility plans to start the work to freeze contaminated water early next year. It will start removing about 10,000 tons of radioactive water from the tunnel in the next fiscal year.
No. 1 water woes laid to Tepco’s ineptitude - Japan Times
Cleanup confounded by failure to foresee mess, accept advice
Chico Harlan
Two and a half years after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant experienced its three reactor-core meltdowns, efforts to clean up what remains of the complex is turning into another kind of disaster.
. . . But many lawmakers and nuclear industry specialists say Tepco is perpetuating the kinds of mistakes that led to the March 2011 meltdowns: underestimating the plant’s vulnerabilities, ignoring warnings from outsiders and neglecting to draw up plans for things that might go wrong. Those failures, they say, have led to the massive buildup and spills of radioactive water.
. . . The latest government-led actions are particularly galling for some, who say Tepco should have taken similar measures earlier. One lawmaker, Sumio Mabuchi, who was also an adviser at the start of the crisis to then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan, says Tepco, deep in debt, neglected to take important steps against the groundwater two years ago because of concerns about its bottom line.
MORE
- source : japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/22
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October 23, 2013
Japan hopes culinary honor helps Fukushima - NHK
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says he hopes UNESCO endorsement of the heritage value of Japan's traditional cuisine helps counter rumors about the safety of food from Fukushima.
Suga told reporters on Wednesday that traditional Japanese food culture is grounded in a spiritual respect for nature. He said those values are sure to be passed on to future generations if they are formally recognized by the UN body in December as an intangible cultural asset.
Fukushima Daiichi struggles with threat of typhoon - NHK
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is struggling to find storage space for tainted rainwater as another powerful typhoon approaches.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is now seeking approval from the nuclear regulator to use underground pools once deemed too leaky.
Typhoons and downpours have frequently filled barriers around radioactive waste water tanks, producing tainted rainwater.
TEPCO stores the tainted rainwater in tanks unless its radioactivity is below the government-approved level.
But the operator says tanks and a basement in a turbine building allocated for tainted rainwater storage are now almost full.
Typhoon Francisco is set to hit Japan's mainland over the weekend. The utility is asking the Nuclear Regulation Authority for permission to temporarily use 3 underground pools with a storage capacity of about 9,000 tons.
TEPCO suspended using a similar type of pool after some leaked in April. But it now says it has no other option but to use them.
The utility also says it found 59,000 becquerels of Beta-ray emitting radioactivity in an onsite ditch on Tuesday. It says it is transferring the water to a tank.
NRA chief to meet TEPCO head on nuclear safety - NHK
Officials from Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority have criticized a report submitted by Tokyo Electric Power Company on safety measures at its nuclear plants.
The NRA met on Wednesday after TEPCO submitted the report to the authority on Tuesday of last week.
The report outlines the measures TEPCO is taking to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. In the report, TEPCO also says it is capable of safely managing 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The utility has plans to restart the reactors.
At the meeting on Wednesday, a member of the NRA called the report "unconvincing" and expressed doubts about whether TEPCO would be able to deal with problems that may arise in the future.
Another member suggested that if TEPCO says there are no problems at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, then the utility should reassign more workers from there to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka acknowledged the need to properly question TEPCO. He said that, based on the content of the report, it seems like the plants are being handled by 2 different companies. Tanaka plans to hold a meeting with TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to find out how the utility's management sees the situation.
The NRA has yet to decide whether to proceed with safety assessments of the 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. Newly formulated regulations require the assessments before the reactors can restart.
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October 24, 2013
NRA allows simplified release of barrier water - NHK
Japan's nuclear regulator has allowed the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to simplify its procedure to release water from barriers around tanks holding water contaminated by radioactivity.
A Nuclear Regulation Authority, or NRA, taskforce made the decision on Thursday.
It had previously only permitted the Tokyo Electric Power Company to discharge rainwater from the barriers after it moved the water temporarily into other tanks and confirmed the contamination levels were below the NRA-set standard.
However, since last month, TEPCO has not been able to keep pace with the increase in rainwater volume inside the barriers due to recent downpours.
This has caused water above the permitted contamination level to overflow the barriers.
The situation has prompted the NRA to approve TEPCO's proposal to drop the procedure of temporarily transferring the rainwater in the barriers to other tanks.
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October 25, 2013
TEPCO rushes to transfer contaminated water - NHK
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is rushing to take measures to prevent radioactive water in outdoor barriers from overflowing as a severe tropical storm approaches.
Water in barriers around tanks has been accumulating after a series of heavy rains since mid-September. The water is contaminated with radioactive substances.
The tainted water overflowed 11 barriers on Sunday.
At 6 of them, the spilled rainwater contained radioactive strontium above the government-approved release limit.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is transferring water from barriers to other tanks capable of holding a total of 4,000 tons.
TEPCO also plans to move the tainted water to underground pools. Some of those pools leaked radioactive water in April.
The utility has added 19 additional pumps, each of which can deal with 60 tons per hour, as well as 12 vehicles such as fire engines and water tank trucks.
But as of 4PM on Friday, the company did not finish the transfer work at some barriers.
On Thursday, Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority allowed TEPCO to simplify its procedure to release water from barriers by eliminating the step of temporarily transferring it to other tanks.
But the measure will be taken only if contamination levels in barriers are below the NRA-set standard.
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October 28, 2013
ALPS partially restarted in Fukushima plant - NHK
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has resumed its trial run of a key water decontamination system. It was shut down due to malfunctions.
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Monday began test-running one of 3 channels of the Advanced Liquid Processing unit, or ALPS. ALPS is capable of removing 62 different kinds of radioactive substances, excluding tritium.
Operation of the channel was suspended in June following leaks of unprocessed radioactive water.
TEPCO engineers discovered holes in the tank storing the contaminated water. Corrosion is apparently to blame. Work to prevent corrosion has been ongoing in all 3 channels of the ALPS system.
A test-run of another ALPS channel began about a month ago. The remaining channel is scheduled for a trial-run mid November.
Repeated suspensions of the unit have delayed the start of full-fledged operation till next year. Full operation was due to begin this autumn.
TEPCO plans to build 3 more ALPS channels next year. They also plan to set up a facility with higher water processing capabilities with government aid.
The utility hopes to complete decontaminating all its stored wastewater by March 2015.
But the question remains whether the trouble-marred ALPS system is capable of functioning over long periods.
NRA, TEPCO heads meet over problems at Fukushima - NHK
The head of Japan's nuclear regulating body has summoned the president of Tokyo Electric Power Company to hear how the utility intends to prevent additional trouble at the crippled Fukushima plant.
Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka met Naomi Hirose, president of the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday.
Tanaka asked Hirose what TEPCO plans to do to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the plant.
Hirose later said he told Tanaka that he plans to send workers from other parts of the utility firm, including the idled Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant, to the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Hirose said he also told Tanaka that his firm will provide support to the workers to ensure that they can make full use of their skills.
Tanaka reportedly said that he wants TEPCO to carry out drastic long-term reforms. He asked Hirose to improve the working conditions inside the Fukushima plant, including the radioactive decontamination process.
NRA Secretary-General Katsuhiko Ikeda, who also attended Monday's meeting, referred to the possibility that the agency will begin safety screening for 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant.
Ikeda repeated his stance that the agency will make a decision after carefully studying how TEPCO intends to improve the situation at the Fukushima plant.
The utility says it will be able to deal with the problems at the Fukushima plant and maintain safety at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant simultaneously.
But many NRA members have expressed skepticism about TEPCO's explanation.
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