JAPAN EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI UPDATE

Transcription

1 Thursday 28 April 2011 REPORT # SOR JAPAN EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI UPDATE Updated reporting on corrective measures being taken by TEPCO still top the headlines as TEPCO releases its latest data concerning radiation levels measured near the plant. Relief operations have been scaled down while Maritime and Air Self-Defense forces return to their original roles in intelligence gathering and surveillance. Regional reporting was minimal with countries lifting radiation alerts and easing the food restrictions.

2 Japan Nuclear Reactor and Radiation Concerns Radiation detected in Fukushima fish, vegetable... 3 TEPCO to rid 200,000 tons of radioactive water... 3 TEPCO monitoring No.1 reactor... 4 TEPCO: Water isn't leaking from No. 4 reactor pool... 4 TEPCO unveils plan to process contaminated water... 5 TEPCO revises nuclear fuel damage ratios... 5 TEPCO worker may have inhaled radioactive material... 6 Japan to scrap workers' annual radiation dose limit at normal times... 6 Radiation measured in the waters and air ( Fukushima Plant )... 7 Recovery/ Relief Operations Defense force quake relief operations to be downsized... 8 Regional Reactions Nuclear Reactor and Radiation Concerns Russia Russia's Far East lifts radiation alert over Japan's nuke plant... 8 Japan will overcome crisis Putin... 9 Malaysia Ease on Japan food products... 9

3 Japan Nuclear Reactor and Radiation Concerns Radiation detected in Fukushima fish, vegetable NHK (4/28/2011) Radioactivity exceeding safety limits has been detected in fish and spinach from Fukushima Prefecture, where the battle to stabilize a disaster-hit nuclear power plant continues. On Tuesday, 2,600 to 3,200 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected in 2 samples of a fish species called the sand lance caught off Iwaki City. That's 5 to 6 times higher than the permissible level. Spinach harvested in Otama Village on Sunday was also found to contain 960 becquerels of cesium. 510 becquerels of cesium was detected in spinach from Tamura City on Monday. The government set the safety standard for the leafy vegetable at 500 becquerels. The government has already banned shipments of some kinds of vegetables and fish harvested or caught in Fukushima Prefecture and is warning people not to eat them. TEPCO to rid 200,000 tons of radioactive water NHK (4/28/2011) The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it aims to begin disposing of highly radioactive water starting in June. The contaminated water is hampering efforts to reactivate the cooling systems in the plant's reactors. On Wednesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced it would set up the treatment system to eliminate radioactive materials. The utility firm says 87,500 tons of contaminated water has accumulated in the No.1 to 4 reactors. becomes highly radioactive. It estimates that up to 200,000 tons of highly contaminated water will be produced by the year end if all the water used to cool the reactors The company says it plans to start installing the system in early May and begin operating in June.

4 It hopes to dispose of 1,200 tons of highly contaminated water per day once the system is in place. TEPCO monitoring No.1 reactor NHK (4/28/20011) Tokyo Electric Power Company is monitoring one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to determine whether more water could be pumped inside to cool the fuel rods. Tokyo Electric plans to submerge the fuel rods at 2 reactors in water by July this year. On Wednesday morning, the utility increased the amount of water injected into the No.1 reactor from 6 tons per hour to 10 tons per hour on an experimental basis. As a result, the temperature at the top of the reactor was degrees Celsius Thursday morning, down 24.7 degrees from before the water increase. The temperature at the bottom of the reactor had dropped 12 degrees to 98.5 degrees Celsius. Pressure inside the reactor containment vessel was also down. Tokyo Electric says it's not yet known how deep the water inside the reactor container is, but that no leakage outside the reactor building has been confirmed. The utility had initially planned to increase the amount of water injected to 14 tons per hour on Wednesday, but it says it will continue to monitor temperatures and pressure through Thursday evening. TEPCO: Water isn't leaking from No. 4 reactor pool NHK (4/28/20011) Tokyo Electric Power Company now says it is unlikely that water is leaking from the spent fuel rod pool of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant's No.4 reactor. Water is being injected into the pool to replace coolant that is evaporating due to the high temperature of its 1,535 spent fuel rods. Despite sporadically injecting 140 to 210 tons of water a day, the company says the water level in the storage pool is still 10 to 40 centimeters lower than estimated. TEPCO initially believed that the pool could have suffered damage in an explosion soon after the March 11th quake and tsunami disaster.

5 But the company said on Wednesday that it now believes that the water has been evaporating at a rate in line with calculations by experts. The storage pool is to be reinforced by July. TEPCO unveils plan to process contaminated water NHK (4/27/2011) Tokyo Electric Power Company has unveiled details of its plan to process radioactive wastewater at its damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The wastewater has been hampering efforts to restore the reactors' cooling systems. Tokyo Electric announced on Wednesday it would start building early next month, together with US and French firms, a storage and processing facility for nearly 70,000 tons of highly radioactive water. The utility firm aims to begin operating the system in June of this year. The contaminated water is believed to be pooled inside turbine buildings and utility tunnels at the plant's 1, 2 and 3 reactors. Tokyo Electric had earlier said it aims to set up by July of this year a system to remove radioactive substances from the water and reuse it to cool the reactors. Contaminated water will be put through an oil filter, and the density of radioactive material would be lowered using a mineral called zeolite. Salt would then be removed from the water so that it could be used to cool the reactors again. Radioactive waste from this process would be stored inside the nuclear complex, but the utility has yet to consider methods for its final disposal. TEPCO revises nuclear fuel damage ratios NHK (4/27/2011) The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan has reassessed its estimates of fuel damage in reactors No.1 to No.3. Tokyo Electric Power Company on Wednesday announced new estimates of damage after the country's nuclear safety agency questioned the accuracy of the initial assessments. The utility has revised the estimated fuel damage in the No.1 reactor from 70 percent to 55 percent, saying radiation levels were not correct. TEPCO also says that it acted inappropriately in excluding fuel damage of less than 5 percent in calculating total damage ratios for the No.2 and No.3 reactors.

6 As a result, the utility revised upward its estimates of damaged fuel in the No.2 and No.3 reactors by 5 percentage points each to 35 percent and 30 percent respectively. The company released its initial estimates as of March 15th, based on radiation levels in the reactors and their containment vessels. Earlier this month, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raised the crisis level at the Fukushima plant to the highest 7 on the international scale, based on its estimate of the volume of released radioactive substances. TEPCO says the corrected estimates will not affect the agency's crisis rating. TEPCO worker may have inhaled radioactive material NHK (4/28/2011) The Tokyo Electric Power Company says a female employee who was exposed to radiation levels of more than 3 times the safety limit at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may have inhaled radioactive substances when indoors. The woman, in her 50s, was in charge of material management at the plant. She was found to have been exposed to millisieverts of radiation. This is more than triple the 3-month limit for a female worker, which is set at 5 millisieverts. Closer examination has revealed that the woman suffered 13.6 millisieverts of internal radiation exposure. The woman was in a building which was contaminated by high-level radioactive substances following a hydrogen explosion on March 12th. She may have inhaled some of the airborne radioactive material as she wasn't wearing a protective mask. TEPCO has apologized for its lack of precautions against internal radiation exposure. Two more female workers who were in the same building may have also exceeded their exposure limit. The government's nuclear safety agency has demanded that the utility find out why this happened and draw up prevention measures. Japan to scrap workers' annual radiation dose limit at normal times Mainichi Daily (4/28/2011) The health ministry plans to scrap the annual radiation dose limit for nuclear power plant workers at normal times for the meantime to secure enough workers for maintenance and checkups of nuclear power plants other than the crisis-hit Fukushima power station, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

7 Under Japanese law, nuclear workers cannot be exposed to more than 50 millisieverts in one year and more than 100 millisieverts over five years. The ministry, however, is expected to maintain the 100-millisievert rule, as there is medical evidence that exposure to radiation exceeding 100 millisieverts could increase the risk of developing leukemia and cancer, according to the sources. The move comes as many nuclear workers are being sent to deal with the emergency situation at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, although there are only 70,000 people nationwide who can engage in work at such plants. As workers would not be able to work at other plants once they exceed their radiation dose limit by dealing with the Fukushima crisis, the industry ministry has been calling on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to ease the limit to prevent a possible shortage of such workers. To cope with the Fukushima crisis, the health ministry raised the legal limit on the amount of radiation to which each worker could be exposed in an emergency situation to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts on March 15. But the limit for nuclear workers at normal times was not changed. In the United States, the limit for civilians is 100 millisieverts in an emergency situation. Civilians should not be exposed to more than 50 millisiverts annually in normal times and more than 100 millisieverts over five years. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power station, said that 30 people who worked at the plant were exposed to 100 millisieverts or more. Radiation measured in the waters and air ( Fukushima Plant ) NHK Science & Culture Blog (4/27/2011) Radiation measured in the waters and air near the No.1 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (Source: Tokyo Electric Power Co. TEPCO) No.1 Plant : Radioactive substances detected in the waters From samples collected 30 meters north of the outlets of the Unit 5-6 at 14:30 April 26. Iodine 131: Bq/cc (2.2 times the limit) Cesium 134: 0.21 Bq/cc (3.5 times the limit) Cesium 137: 0.23 Bq/cc (2.6 times the limit) From samples collected 330 meters south of the outlets of the Unit 1-4 at 14:10 April 26. Iodine 131: Bq/cc (0.68 times the limit) Cesium 134: 0.13 Bq/cc (2.2 times the limit) Cesium 137: 0.13 Bq/cc (1.4 times the limit)

8 Recovery/ Relief Operations Defense force quake relief operations to be downsized Kyodo News (4/28/2011, No Link Available) Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Thursday the Defense Ministry will scale back disaster relief operations by Maritime and Air self-defense forces personnel while maintaining the strength of ground force teams. ''The MSDF and ASDF will have to return to their original roles in intelligence gathering and surveillance as the need for them to transport supplies and rescue people is slightly changing,'' Kitazawa told a news conference. On the Ground Self-Defense Force troops engaged in providing support to the victims and searching for the missing people, Kitazawa said, ''I will not let disaster-hit victims lose the sense of security provided by having uniformed SDF personnel near them.'' In the largest-ever deployment of SDF personnel, around 100,000 were mobilized for relief efforts in the wake of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that devastated Japan's northeastern and eastern regions, and the ensuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Regional Reactions Nuclear Reactor and Radiation Concerns Russia Russia's Far East lifts radiation alert over Japan's nuke plant Kyodo, Japan (4/27/2011) The governor of Russia's Pacific Maritime region said Wednesday the region has lifted an alert issued in the wake of an accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Sergei Darkin, the territory's governor, announced the lifting of the alert, saying abnormal levels of radioactive materials have yet to be measured in the Far East of Russia. The governor said he can say with confidence that the radiation level in the territory poses no threat to human health, adding that the territory will continue to measure the level of radioactive materials. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, located about 220 kilometers from Tokyo, was damaged by the March 11 massive earthquake and tsunami, and the severity level of the emergency at the plant was recognized as the maximum level 7 on an international scale, matching the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.

9 Japan will overcome crisis Putin Voice of Russia, Russia (4/27/2011) Russia is confident that Japan will overcome the consequences of the earthquake, tsunami and the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in Moscow Wednesday. Speaking at the opening ceremony of Figure Skating World Championship he said We are confident that the Japanese people and government will overcome this hard way with courage and dignity and resolve all the problems, he said. In Russia we know firsthand what a nuclear disaster is, Putin said meaning the terrible disaster on the Chernobyl NPP, which 25 anniversary was marked earlier this week. Moscow took over Japan to host Figure Skating World Championship after it became impossible for Japan following the disaster at Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. Malaysia Ease on Japan food products The Star, Malaysia (4/28/2011) Malaysia will accept food products from Japan certified by the Japanese Competent Authority. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the decision, effective yesterday, was in tandem with the improving situation at the Fukushima nuclear reactor following the March 11 tsunami disaster in Japan. The certification would state that the food was harvested or processed before March 11 and that it is from prefectures other than Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Yamagata, Niigata, Kanagawa, Saitama, Tokyo and Chiba. If the food comes from these areas, samples and analyses (test results) for radioactive Iodine- 131, Cesium-134, Cesium-137 have to adhere to the Codex (Alimentarius) standards stated in the certificate, Liow said. The move followed discussions between the two countries on control measures, he said, adding that other countries had also reduced their surveillance levels. On March 16, the ministry implemented Level 5 surveillance checks on food imported from Japan. On April 15, it adopted radioactivity certification on all food items from Japan.

10 Liow said up to now, 229 food samples from Japan had been taken and they all adhered to the Codex standards. On another issue, Liow clarified he did not say that nasi lemak would not be allowed in school canteens. What I mentioned in the past was for students to go for a healthy balanced diet and not just one type of food, he said. He added that a committee comprising representatives from his ministry and the Education Ministry was looking into the kind of food to be served in school canteens. Meanwhile, outgoing Japanese ambassador Masahiko Horie said he was glad Malaysia had accepted the certification from Japan. He also said those who had booked to travel to Japan should not cancel their plans. They can travel anywhere except Fukushima and its surrounding areas. The government checks on food products and will dispose them if they are found to be unsafe, said Horie during his farewell lunch attended by Liow yesterday. Horie, who turns 65 in July, will be leaving Malaysia today to take up the post of adviser with the Japanese foreign ministry.