Tag Archives: fukushima

Fukushima

TEPCo finds out hard way that it’ll take much longer to get control of Fukushima Daiichi

On 17 April, Tokyo Electric Power Company issued a plan to control the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant.  That plan involved 51 steps, so far as of 10 May, only one is being done; the continued pumping of water to try and cool the reactors and fuel pools.

TEPCo admitted they did not expect such high levels of radiation inside the reactor buildings, and that has been the big hold up.  They can’t do much with such high levels of radiation.

Workers have finally entered the building of Reactor 1, but that is only to help with the water injection and cooling operation.  In other words, still stuck on step one of their 51 step plan.

Fukushima

Government instructs schools to simply bury their radioactive top soil! government experts have their head up their a…

Schools near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant have found radiation contamination in the top soil of their playgrounds.

Normally you remove the top soil and have it hauled away in sealed containers, as nuke waste.  But that’s not what the Japanese government is suggesting.

School officials are being told by the government to simply bury the radioactive soil deeper in the ground.  They say by burying it 50 cm (19.6 inches) into the ground, it will reduce the detectable radiation by 90%.  The suggestion is being made by the Japanese Education and Science Ministry (can you believe that!).

Hello, what happens when a child digs it up?  Or a dog?  This sounds like an expedient way to simply reduce detectable radiation levels, it’s still there waiting for someone to accidentally dig it up!

What about water soaking down through the soil, eventually hitting the ground water?  It’s going to pass through the buried radiation contamination, dragging some of it along with it to the ground water.

 

Fukushima

More than half Japan’s nuclear plants down!

How could a few shut down nuclear plants have such drastic affects on Japan’s industries?  When it’s more than a few, try 60%.

Electrical power shortages will continue thru summer.  Japan has 54 commercial nuke plants, right now 32 are shut down.  Some, like Fukushima Daiichi, were shut down by the 11 March disasters.  Others are down for scheduled maintenance, or government orders.

On top of that, six more plants are scheduled to shut down for maintenance this summer.

 

Fukushima

Radiation contamination in fuel pool coming from reactor core!

Tokyo Electric Power Company admits high levels of radiation contamination in Reactor 3 spent fuel pool, are coming from the reactor’s core!

TEPCo recently tested the water of the spent fuel pool, and found radiation that was not present prior to the 11 March disasters, which damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The readings are 140,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium-134, 150,000 becquerels of cesium-137 and 11,000 becquerels of iodine-131 per cubic centimeter.  The clue that the radiation is coming from the reactor core is the iodine.  Iodine is a short life radioactive isotope, and is created during nuclear fission.  (don’t confuse iodine with iodide)

Fukushima

Closing Japan nuke plant will have direct affect on British nuke plant

The closing of Hamaoka nuclear plant in Japan, because of the danger of a massive earthquake, is having direct affect on a British nuclear plant.

Sellafield MOX plant, in north west England, supplies Hamaoka with the nuclear fuel it needs to make electricity.  Hamaoka uses MOX (mixed oxide) nuclear fuel, and Chubu Electric Power Company (operator of Hamaoka) has a contract with Sellafield as its only supplier.

On top of that the Hamaoka plant is the only user of MOX fuel from Sellafield.

Taxpayers in the United Kingdom shelled out 1.34 billion Pounds (U.S. $2.1 billion) for the Sellafield MOX plant, and the British government wants to build another one.

British officials are scrambling to work with CEPCo officials to figure out how to fulfill their contract.  Maybe the Brits can start selling MOX to the Iranians?

Fukushima

Radioactive fallout map of Japan released

The U.S. Department of Energy, and the Japanese Science Ministry, have put together a map of the fallout pattern of cesium.  The damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been spewing cesium.

The map shows the cesium fallout extends north west of the plant, in a large area. It is depicted with the colors yellow and red. NHK has a report.

Official say radiation levels from the Fukushima Daiichi plant have dropped enough that it is time to conduct more testing of soil for levels, and types, of radiation contamination.

 

Fukushima

Another nuke plant in Japan leaking radiation

Japan Atomic Power Company said its Tsuruga nuclear plant leaked a small amount of radiation on Sunday, 08 May 2011.  But this is not the first time.

On 02 May radiation was detected outside the reactors.  JAPCo officials think the radiation leak is coming from the cooling water for the fuel rods. They are shutting down the plant to inspect.

Tsuruga nuke plant is in Fukui Prefecture, directly west of Tokyo.

Fukushima

More Strontium detected at Fukushima Daiichi! Government may start checking surrounding areas

Radioactive strontium continues to be spewed from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.  Soil samples taken at the plant, on 18 April, tested positive for strontium 89 and strontium 90.

Strontium collects in your bones and can cause various bone cancers.  You get contaminated by breathing it.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says April’s strontium 90 levels are 130 times higher than the levels detected in March!  The levels of strontium 89 are 4,400 becquerels per kilogram of soil!

Because of the increase in strontium levels, officials in the Japanese government are advising that readings need to be taken in areas outside the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Once again, you’d think  they’d already be doing that.

 

Fukushima

Chubu Electric decides to shut down nuke plant, Japanese auto & electronics industries will be hit

After first saying no, CEPCo now says OK they will shut down their Hamaoka plant.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked Chubu Electric Power Company to shut down their Hamaoka nuke plant, because the plant sits on top of a convergence of fault lines, that could produce an 8+ quake.  The plant is not built to withstand such a quake, and the Japanese government wants the plant operators to reinforce the reactors.

The problem for CEPCo is that they have no way to replace the electric power that will be lost when they shut down the reactors.  The Japanese auto industry, and other manufacturers, are worried because they are already dealing with supply problems due to lack of electricity.  The shut down of Hamaoka nuclear plant will only make the supply situation worse.

CEPCo officials say that, so far, they can not come up with any practical alternative to replace the lost electrical power.

Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki have factories in the prefectures that will be affected by the nuke plant shut down.  Also, electronics makers Panasonic, Toshiba and Fujitsu have factories that will be affected by the shut down.

Fukushima

Chubu Electric refuses Prime Minister’s request to shut down nuke plant, for now

Prime Minister Naoto Kan had asked Chubu Electric Power Company to shut down their Hamaoka nuke plant, because it turns out that it is right over a convergence of fault lines, and scientists expect a magnitude 8+ quake.

Hamaoka is south west of Tokyo. Kan wants CEPCo to shut down the plant, and reinforce the reactors to withstand an 8+ quake.

CEPCo officials studied several options, including how to pay for the cost of reinforcing their nuclear plant.  They decided they don’t have the money to reinforce the plant, and it would not be feasible to raise electric rates high enough to pay for it (because customers would refuse to pay the higher rates).

CEPCo also decided that shutting down the plant would make the already bad situation, for Japanese industries dealing with lack of power, even worse.

CEPCo is not ruling out shutting down the Hamaoka plant, if they can do it with out reducing electrical power, and find money to pay for the reinforcing.