Fukushima 117... 5/3/2018-8/2/2018

August 2, 2018

Fukushima’s J-Village has returned to being Japan’s national soccer training center. A high school “friendly” match marked the reopening on July 28. Since the 2011 nuke accident, it has served as a base for accident recovery activities, including personnel contamination checks, worker decontamination, donning anti-contamination clothing, and the distribution of personal dosimeters. The facility was Japan’s soccer training center from 1997 until 2011. J-Village Vice President Eiji Ueda said, “I am grateful especially to the devoted efforts of those involved in the work (to return the facility to soccer training).” He hopes the return of soccer training will help dispel on-going fears of lingering Fukushima accident radioactivity. Though primarily focused on the 2020 Olympics, the J-Village will also be the site of training for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/j-village-stadium-to-revert-to-original-role-as-soccer-training-center-having-contributed-to-the-stabilization-of-fukushima-daiichi/ -- http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004620584
(More on last week’s Fukushima ambassadors story…) Three teenage Fukushima Reconstruction Ambassadors visited Taiwan to share insight on earthquake recovery. They met with the Mayor of Hualien, Taiwan, which suffered a major earthquake in February. Fukushima Minpo’s Jun Sakuma read a prepared message, which included, "The power of young people and strong bonds will help us open the way for a bright future whatever hardship we may face." Reconstruction ambassador Yumeka Ichijo , a 17-year-old, said, "I was surprised to find post-quake recovery well under way in Hualien, and would like to report on the present situation back at school." The ambassadors also met with students from Taipei Municipal Minquan Junior High School. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=906
Tepco will open a nuke accident and recovery museum in Tomioka town. It will open in late in November. The facility that will become a museum is now being used as a base for visitors to the plant site. The museum will have 1,900 m²of floor space.The second floor will be devoted to the accident itself, recreated as a drama, and lessons learned from the experience. The first floor theme will be decommissioning of the reactors. A life-sized cross-section image of a reactor will be displayed so that visitors can see how a robot moves inside the reactor during a probe. Tepco says there will be no admission charge. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180730_18/
Namie resumes its annual samurai parade. The parade was part of the annual Soma-Nomaoi festival that has been postponed since 2011. Mounted warriors represented five hometowns covering the Soma-Nakamura domain that ruled northeastern Fukushima Prefecture. It was the first time the parade had been held in eight years. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807280033.html
Tepco considers decommissioning some of the units at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station. The company responded to a request from one of the host municipalities saying it is too risky to operate all seven units at the station. Kashiwazaki Mayor Masahiro Sakurai wants Tepco to only restart units #6 & #7, which have passed the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s safety screening. Tepco says they will consider it. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180802_36/
The plan to use floating wind turbines to supply Fukushima Prefecture is failing. The windmills are being operated on a trial basis before diving into the full-fledged government-backed program. Theoretically, the windmills should produce a 30% capacity factor (the ratio of actual output to the maximum possible). Only one of the three test units has reached that level of reliability. Only the 2 MWe unit reached the desired capacity factor with 34%. The 5 MWE unit attained a CF of 12%, and the 7 MWe unit only a CF of 2%. The Industry Ministry says the reason for the tiny 7 MWe turbine CF is defects in the gearbox and “other parts”. Whether or not to commercialize the existing units will depend on their profitability. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807290001.html
The full relocation of Iwate and Miyagi prefecture disaster victims should be complete in 2020. Prime Minister Abe said, "Securing homes is an important step toward reconstruction. We'll do all we can so people no longer have to live in temporary housing.” The government has designated fiscal 2016-2020 as a period for the reconstruction and revitalization of disaster areas after a five-year intensive reconstruction period. As for revitalizing livelihoods, Abe said, "We'll continue to support livelihood reconstruction with full force." https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018080201015

July 26, 2018

Fifteen new “Fukushima Reconstruction Ambassadors” begin their work. The students were selected by Fukushima Minpo Company to visit parts of Japan and other countries to bring global attention to the prefecture’s post-2011 reconstruction. Minpo’s Masayuki Hanami told the new envoys, “We would like you to convey your thoughts to many people at home and abroad, build a network of acquaintances and expand infinite possibilities.” Senior rumor control official Akiyoshi Usami briefed the group on the current status of earthquake, tsunami, and nuke accident recovery. The group’s duties are expected to begin very soon. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=903
Tepco has decided to begin damaged nuclear fuel recovery with unit #2. The work will be done through existing piping penetrations, previously used the make video and radiation level inspections. Unit #2 has been selected as the first of the three severely damaged units because there is much less physical damage inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel pedestal, allowing an easier time in accessing the debris bed in the bottom. Technicians will use a rod-shaped device equipped with a camera, LED light, and an apparatus to grab the debris. They will be able to determine the condition of the debris bed to see if it is fused together or not. Granular material can be grabbed by the probe and removed, if small enough to fit through the piping penetration. The work is planned to begin before the end of March, 2019. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180726_42/ -- http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807260065.html
Another Fukushima beach reopens. Haragamaobama beach in Soma had between 30,000 and 50,000 visitors per year before the quake and tsunami of 2011. Anti-tsunami levees have been rebuilt and tsunami debris removed. Water quality checks have found that radioactivity is well-below Japan’s standards. The beach is only the fourth to reopen out of the 18 swimming beaches in Fukushima Prefecture. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/2140bb33c29c-beaches-ravaged-by-2011-tsunami-open-to-public-1st-time-in-8-years.html
(More on the F. Daiichi Tritiated water issue, post 7/19.) On July 13, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) discussed the F. Daiichi Tritiated water issue. The volume of the stored liquid was about 1,050,000 cubic meters (tons). Additional capacity was about 320,000 m³. Building the additional tanks in order to reach that capacity could interfere with damaged fuel removal, adding new spent fuel storage facilities, and other decommissioning work. It was agreed that there are two NRA approved options: either releasing to the ocean or evaporation. Three other options were addressed, but they would require additional NRA approval before implementing. Since the situation with storage capacity approaches the critical point, the two NRA-approved options will be focused upon. ANRE also discussed draft materials explaining the societal effects of unfounded fears and rumors. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/anre-to-hold-explanatory-meetings-and-public-hearings-on-handling-of-tritium-water/
A court rejects a damages suit filed by families of fishermen subjected to fallout from the 1954 Bikini Atoll H-bomb test. The suit alleged that Tokyo hid key records about the exposure. The Kochi District Court’s Presiding Judge Osamu Nishimura said, “We cannot conclude that the state persistently gave up providing support and conducting health surveys to hide the radiation exposure.” Plaintiff’s lawyer Morimitsu Kajihara, said, “We can't accept the decision which didn't acknowledge the (state's) responsibility for neglecting the fishermen." The plaintiffs wanted $680,000 in damages, claiming negligence on the part of both the United States and Tokyo by ceasing the investigation after the 60-year statute of limitations expired, while additional evidence still needed to be examined. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180720/p2g/00m/0dm/066000c
Former Prime Minister, and current antinuclear fanatic, Junichiro Koizuma, continues his crusade. He has criticized the current PM Abe administration for its pro-nuclear energy stance and called for the policy to be made an election issue when Japanese go to the polls next year. He is touring Japan trying to unite all opposition (minority) political parties and make nuclear energy the most important issue in future elections. At a recent news conference, he said, “When I met Prime Minister Abe, I repeatedly told him, ‘Don’t be fooled by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (which is in charge of energy policies).’ But he only smiled! Though five years have passed (since I announced my anti-nuclear stance), Abe is still unaware (of the problems of nuclear power generation). It isn’t possible any more for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to end nuclear power generation. He did not try to do so, even though he could have.” http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807240057.html
CNN says that there might be minute traces of Fukushima radioactive particles in California wines. A French team has been monitoring California wines from before and after the March 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi. To no-one’s surprise, some Cesium-137 was found in the post 2011 wines that exceeded the bomb fallout levels in the pre-2011 wines. However, the levels are too low to be a safety concern. https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/23/health/california-wine-radioactive-fukushima-trnd/index.html

July 19, 2018

A government panel will hold hearings in August on releasing harmless Tritiated water. Another hearing will be held in Tokyo to gather public opinions. Nearly 900,000 tons of this water are currently languishing in massive storage tanks on the premises of F. Daiichi Station. Tritium is the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, and as such is a physical part of the water itself. Thus, it is almost impossible to separate the radioactive water molecules from the non-radioactive. Aside - While biologically innocuous, Tritium causes dread in the minds of millions of radiophobic Japanese. - End aside. Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa has said the only and best option is releasing the water into the sea after reducing the concentration of Tritium. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180713_40/
A small minority of Tepco shareholders seek a court injunction to block company support of the restart of Tokai unit #2. Aside – Soon after the F. Daiichi accident, a few anti-nuclear customers bought shares of Tepco stock in order to obstruct the company’s nuclear business, driving up costs. – End aside. Earlier this month, the NRA unanimously found that the unit meets or exceeds Japan’s new safety standards. Three of Tepco’s numerous shareholders filed the request for injunction in Tokyo District Court. They argue that operating Tokai #2 will never allow the company to recover its investment because Tokai’s operator, Japan Atomic Power Company, is currently running in the red due to the national nuclear moratorium. The also feel that Tepco’s attention to Tokai #2 will reduce its ability to safely deal with F. Daiichi decommissioning. The plaintiffs’ lawyer says Tepco will be throwing money down the drain. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180713_06/
An evacuation drill for Tokai unit #2 was held on Monday. Some 400 residents of Tokai village participated. This was the first such “out-of-village” drill for the area surrounding the nuke station. The drill scenario was a severe loss of water from the spent fuel pool. Unit #2 has passed its safety examination with the NRA on June 4^th. https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018071600497
The NRA approves placing partially used and unused fuel bundles from one reactor unit into another. The Press calls this “reuse”, which is misleading. There are 264 partially used, but not exhausted, bundles inside units #1&2, and another 216 unused bundles stored in their fuel pools Both units will be decommissioned. All of this useful fuel can now be transferred to operating units #3 & #4. The NRA will give its formal approval after hearing opinions from the Japan Atomic Energy Commission and other concerned parties. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/f2c53652b99d-japan-oks-reuse-of-nuclear-fuel-from-scrapped-reactors-for-1st-time.html
A long-time antinuclear voice says Japan should not reduce its domestic Plutonium stockpile by manufacturing MOX fuel. MOX is a mixture of domestic Plutonium with standard Uranium fuel. Alan J. Kuperman of the University of Texas says the concept contradicts his opinion on the matter. He says making MOX is it is impossible, counterproductive, slow, and unsuitable for most domestic Plutonium. What he refuses to admit is that MOX fuel has been fabricated for more than 30 years and used extensively. He further exaggerates the cost of MOX, uses hyperbole to magnify the hypothetic risks, and overlooks the fact that domestic Plutonium is worthless as a weapon’s material because of the fact that there’s simply too much non-fissile, neutron-scavenging Pu-240 and Pu-241 in the matrix. Kuperman is coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project and a vocal anti-nuclear opponent of MOX fuel for many years. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/f91d38319475-refiling-opinion-how-not-to-reduce-japans-plutonium-stockpile.html

July 12, 2018

Japan’s Olympic torch relay will begin in Fukushima Prefecture on March 26, 2020. The Olympic Games’ coordination council decided today at a meeting in Tokyo. The torch relay will last 121 days, traveling through all 47 prefectures until the Games’ opening ceremony on July 24, 2020. The specific route within prefectures will be decided by a local committee yet to be established. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004579149
Fukushima rice wine wins a prestigious international award. Okunomatsu Adatara Ginjo has won the International Wine Challenge's Champion Sake award for 2018. Representative Director of Okunomatsu Sake Brewery Co. Joji Yusa said, "We're in our 302nd year in business, and we've received such a big prize for the first time. We're deeply honored. "We suffer from bad rumors, but we'll produce good sake that will be enjoyed widely." There were 1,639 brands entered in the competition. https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018071200306
About half of Fukushima’s residents do not want government radiation monitors removed. Tokyo In a poll run by Fukushima Minpo (the Prefecture’s daily news) and Fukushima Television, it was found that 46% of the respondents are opposed to Tokyo removing 2,400 area monitor located throughout the prefecture. A Nuclear Regulation Authority official explained the reasons for removal, “We believe that continuous measuring is unnecessary in areas where dose rates are low and stable. The equipment requires huge maintenance costs. We have to effectively use the limited amount of funds.” The resident dissenters say they need peace of mind during decommissioning of F. Daiichi, won’t feel safe if the devices are removed, and need to confirm the safety of children. It turns out that 25% of the respondents are in favor of the NRA removing the monitors, 23% say they are indifferent, and 6% say they “don’t know”. Of those favorable, many feel the monitor are no longer needed, and others say the devices contribute to harmful rumors. Of those opposing the move, one said the idea is “out of the question”! The Aizu-Wakamatsu city government says, “There are citizens who are concerned about the radiation’s potential impact on their health and possible accidents that could happen during decommissioning work, and such people can feel relieved by visually checking dose rates constantly with monitoring systems.” The prefectural government says it is “calling on the central government to proceed with the plan while winning consent from residents at the same time.” The announcement was made July 2^nd. Other than Fukushima Minpo, it seems only the Asahi Shimbun posted on it. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=901 -- http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201807090004.html

July 5, 2018

The injunction against restarting Oi units #3 & #4 is reversed. On July 4^th, the Nagoya High Court reversed the May 2014 order of the Fukui District Court to prohibit operation of the units. Antinuclear groups have been coordinating their efforts across Japan for several years, filing numerous lawsuits for temporary injunctions prohibiting restarts. Unless an order of injunction is issued by the Supreme Court, nukes are allowed to operate. Antinuclear groups have thus pursued a “provisional disposition” as a tactic to delay nuke operations as soon as the decision is rendered. Presiding Judge Masayuki Naito said, "Although it is possible to scrap nuclear power generation itself in light of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident, making such a decision is beyond the role of the judiciary, and it therefore should be left for politics to decide." Resident’s lawyer Hiroyuki Kawai deplored the decision, "It is the worst possible court ruling we can think of." http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/court-of-second-instance-approves-operation-of-ohi-npps/ -- https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/58dd34c484b3-update1-court-rejects-suspension-of-oi-nuclear-power-plant.html
Tepco prepares for resumption of construction at Higashidori Station, Aomori Prefecture. Company President Tomoaki Kobayakawa says, "As we restart the (Higashidori) project, I want to make sure that a new plant would excel in safety. The geological survey is a very significant step to move forward on the joint development of Higashidori." Tepco envisions resumption of construction of the first 1385 MWe Advanced BWR around 2021, with a second to begin being built at some point thereafter. The site also has an idled nuke owned by Tohoku Electric Company. It is an 1100 MWE BWR that began operation in 2005, but has been shut down due to the Tokyo moratorium since 2011. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/06/e6cd4468167a-tepco-willing-to-resume-higashidori-nuclear-plant-construction.html
Fukushima Prefecture wants to supply locally-grown products, including rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches, to the athlete’s village for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. The prefecture will embark on a campaign focusing on catering companies to buy Fukushima-produced food for athletes and other participants. Meals at the athletes' village will be selected by the Tokyo 2020 Games organizing committee. All foods must have the Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) food safety certification. Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori says, "We will make efforts to increase GAP certification and, while publicizing the safety of our food, have our farm produce enjoyed by people from Japan and abroad during the Tokyo Olympics." http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=900
A robotic probe has entered the F. Daiichi unit #2 refueling deck and found radiation levels that are too high for humans to work, by Japan’s stringent exposure standards. Last month, TEPCO effected a 35 m² opening in the wall of the building in order to use a camera-equipped robot to make a detailed map of exposure levels on the deck. Levels of up to 59 millisieverts per hour were identified, which exceeds the 50 mSv annual exposure limit. Because of this, Tepco says they cannot let people work on the refueling deck. How the defueling of unit #2 spent fuel pool will be performed has yet to be determined. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180702_35/
Tokai unit #2 passes the NRA’s safety standards. The Nuclear Regulation Authority announced its decision on July 4^th. Tokai #2 is the 15^th unit to have met Japan’s post-Fukushima accident regulations, and the third Boiling Water Reactor. The nuke still needs to clear two more NRA screenings by November when it reaches its 40 year licensing limit, otherwise it could face decommissioning. Ibaraki Governor Kazuhiko Oigawa told reporters, "I want to closely monitor the remaining screenings. I call on the NRA to conduct strict examinations." https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018070400751 -- https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/2ea49c56d936-nuclear-watchdog-oks-restart-of-aging-nuclear-plant-hit-by-tsunami.html

June 28, 2018

The F. Daiichi unit #2 refueling deck’s outer wall has been opened. Removable concrete blocks have been slid out of the wall, causing a 35 square meter opening. A robot will be fitted with a camera and radiation monitor and sent onto the deck to monitor the physical conditions and provide a detailed mapping of radiation fields. There are 615 fuel bundles in the Spent Fuel Pool that need to be removed and stored at ground level. The opening will allow for the removal, as well as access for any machinery that might be needed. Actual conditions on the deck have been quite unknown since the March, 2011 accident caused by the worst tsunami ever recorded in Japan. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180622_02/ -- Photos http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2018-e/201805-e/180528-01e.html
Naraha opens a shopping center for its more than 3,400 returnees. Ten businesses including a supermarket, hardware store and restaurants, opened their doors on Tuesday. The 3,300 square meter facility includes medical institutions and public housing. The town is operating free shuttle bus services between all its districts and the shopping center. Town population in 2010 was about 7,700. In 2014, a year before the evacuation order was lifted, more than 7,000 people remained registered as residents. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180626_22/
Environment Minister Masaharu Nakagawa says decontamination outside Fukushima Prefecture is “all done”. He added that "environmental regeneration in Fukushima is progressing steadily." Nakagawa reported this at the 20th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting held in Suzhou, China, to preface a plea for all Chinese food import restrictions to end. 10 Prefectures remain under the bans. His request was also heard by the South Korean representative. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/06/ab2db24b3be5-japan-touts-completion-of-fukushima-cleanup-at-environment-meeting.html
The town of Date is running a full-scale wild boar-skin leather business. It is being run by the Date Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Public Corporation. The demand for the products is actually exceeding production. The wild boar are captured by resident hunters and the skins are fully scanned for contamination before tanning. The meat cannot be sold because the 2011 ban on such activity remains in-place. The shop currently employs 16 artisans. The corporation’s secretary-general, Katsunori Sagawa, says, “We are determined to go headlong, like a boar, into strengthening our brand and expanding our sales channels.” http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=899
Tokai unit #2 passes a key earthquake safety test; NRA restart safety screening approval is imminent. The test was run on a scale model of at the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, located in Miki, Hyogo Prefecture. The institute has a building that can replicate earthquakes. The test was to see if the blowout panels in the refueling deck walls ill remain in place when struck by a worst-case quake. After the test quake ended, a 5 centimeter opening appeared on some parts of the panel. While the results met the safety requirement, Japan Atomic Power Company will redesign the equipment to have it remain sealed, no matter how severe the quake might be. On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said it is now set to complete the unit’s restart safety screening. NRA Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa said, "We can forecast the prospects for the screening." http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201806220040.html -- https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180628/p2a/00m/0na/016000c

June 21, 2018

Genkai unit #4 becomes Japan’s ninth restarted reactor plant. Kyushu Electric Power Company reactor operators began the slow, sequential raising of control rods to uncover nuclear fuel bundles early on Saturday. Criticality (self-sustaining fission chain reaction) was achieved around midnight, the same day. This will probably be the last reactor restart in Japan for 2018. About 150 protesters gathered in front of the plant, chanting their typical slogans and displaying the usual banners protesting the restart. Most news outlets called the Genkai #4 “trouble-hit” because of a pre-startup mechanical issue that was corrected, yet another example of scaremongering by the Japanese Press. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180616_15/ -- https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180616_17/ -- https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/06/9a38312be60b-update1-trouble-hit-nuclear-reactor-in-southwestern-japan-resumes-operations.html
The Fukui governor scolded the NRA over “slow examinations”. On Monday, Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Toyoshi Fuketa exchanged regulatory opinions with Governor Issei Nishikawa of Fukui Prefecture. Nishikawa was not happy with the NRA’s slowness in making safety checks before their approval, “The examination process does not take time into consideration. Delays in the examinations have adversely affected local municipalities’ abilities to take economic and employment measures, which troubles us extremely. The examinations focus on documents in Tokyo, far from the actual sites.” Fuketa essentially deflected the admonishment saying merely increasing the staff is not the way to go. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/fukui-governor-castigates-nra-chairman-over-slow-examinations/
A new Japanese nuclear information organization will begin operation on July 1. The Atomic Energy Association (ATENA) will be formed out of the joint efforts of the Federation of Electric Power Companies and the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association. Ei Kadokami, special advisor to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. will be the first chairman of ATENA. He promises that the group will raise nuclear safety to a higher level. He said ATENA will use a three-pronged approach: (1) Promotion of effective safety measures through efforts by the entire nuclear industry, (2) effect substantive dialogue with the NRA, and (3) communicate group efforts to stakeholders. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/new-association-to-be-launched-in-july-with-ei-kadokami-at-the-helm/

June 14, 2018

The June update on Fukushima evacuee compensation has been posted.
Tepco posts the plans for extraction of fuel debris from damaged F. Daiichi units. The plan is inserting a robotic arm through an opening in each of the Primary Containment structures, accessing the pedestal area where some, if not most of the escaped Reactor Pressure Vessel corium has been identified. Smaller debris that can fit through the containment penetration will be removed first. Larger material will be removed by a yet-to-be-determined method. Tepco says they are not planning to open new apertures, but rather only use pre-existing openings. One problem is with unit #3, when the desired robotic arm insertion is currently under water. The water will have to be drained before damaged fuel removal can happen. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=896
Tepco announces it will decommission undamaged Fukushima Daini station. TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa informed Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori today. Kobayakawa said the reason is negative rumors about the station that keep evacuees from returning home, hampering reconstruction efforts. He said it "is a drag on the recovery" of Fukushima. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180614_20/ -- https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018061400691
The number of child evacuees living in Fukushima Prefecture drops below 10,000. As of October 1, 2017, the official count was 9,912. In addition, the number of child evacuees living in other prefectures dropped to 7,575. The stated reasons for the continuing decline are lifting of evacuation orders and completion of public housing. One official said, "We would like to partner with municipal governments in allowing children to return to their hometowns in the prefecture and to push ahead with measures to ensure an environment where parents can raise children with peace of mind.” The Prefectural government posted this on June 4^th, but (as usual) the popular Press failed to report the good news. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=897
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Matsukawaura fishing port in Soma. They wanted to see how well post-disaster fishing industry recovery had progressed. They visited the rebuilt Soma Haragama wholesale market and interacted with some of the workers. The Emperor asked one of them, “Which one (species of fish) tastes best?” This will be Akihito’s last Fukushima venture prior to his approaching abdication. https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018061100778
The Mayor of Namie will resign due to illness. Tamotsu Baba has submitted his resignation to the town assembly. He will leave office June 30. He has been mayor since 2007. He has been one of the most influential voices in the Prefecture’s disaster recovery planning. Last year, Baba approved the lifting of Tokyo’s 2011 evacuation advisories for Namie residents. He has overseen the slow return of residents since then. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004509485
Japan’s largest newspaper calls for calm discussion about restarting units at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa station. The reason is the election of a new governor in Niigata Prefecture - Hideyo Hanazumi – who is not believed to be as nuclear-critical as his predecessor. The election was due to the resignation of former governor and K-K opponent, Ryuchi Yoneyama, over his questionable relationship with a woman. Hanazumi says he will support completion of Yoneyama’s snail’s-pace investigation into the Fukushima accident in order to not make the issue a point of dispute. He says he might hold another gubernatorial election “to seek residents’ confidence” after the investigation is completed. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004511653

June 7, 2018

The massive die-off of Pacific Ocean birds in 2014-15 was not due to Fukushima radioactive contamination. Rather, the problem was caused by an area of the ocean, just off the North American coast, that experienced a 3.5^o C increase in temperature. This marine phenomena is colloquially referred to as “The Blob”! Recently published in Geophysical Research Letters, a research team says the die-off occurred because the warmer water greatly reduced the quantity of food available to three species of bird. The Blob first emerged in 2013 and kept growing until 2015. The thermal anomaly caused a “lens of warm water [that] had the effect of shifting the entire ocean ecosystem,” said Julia Parrish, professor at the University of Washington. “It made it better for some species, and worse for others, and we can say very definitely it made it worse for these birds. With such large-scale changes in the ocean we had very dramatic responses. We had a window into a future of a warmer ocean. We are getting a sense of who the winners and losers might be in a warmer world.” https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/the-blob-a-marine-heat-wave-caused-massive-die-off-of-west-coast-birds/ -- https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL076164
Tepco opens room in the ground-level common pool by using dry cask storage. By August, 483 fuel bundles will be moved from the common spent fuel pool facility and into the storage casks. This will make enough room in the common facility for the 566 bundles now in the Unit #3 SFP. 52 of the unit #3 bundles were never used. This process began on May 27^th, but was widely ignored by Japan’s mainstream news media. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/tepco-opens-up-space-in-common-pool-at-fukushima-daiichi-to-receive-spent-fuel-from-unit-3/
While nuclear business in Asia is picking up, Japanese reactor exports have hit a wall. The construction of new nukes has dropped world-wide since the Fukushima accident, but it looks like business will be picking up in Asia. Rapid economic growth has created an increase in electricity demand across the continent. The most significant growth is in China. China has put more than 20 new reactors in operation since 2011, and now has the fourth-most operating units in the world. This could increase another 80% by 2020. Their large number of nukes being built is because nukes don’t emit greenhouse gasses or particulates into the atmosphere, and air pollution has become a major health hazard in China. The country’s state-run nuclear companies are providing the expertise for nuke construction, and have even exported their product overseas. Competition could come from companies in Japan and South Korea, but Japanese firms have run into roadblocks they might have trouble overcoming. Toshiba has withdrawn from an overseas project, and Mitsubishi is also having problems with foreign sales. Hitachi has a possible project on the horizon in England, but that’s because the British government might provide financial assistance. The main problem is ever-swelling costs due to post-Fukushima safety requirements. While some business could open up overseas, Japanese domestic nuke construction has become essentially non-viable. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004495147 -- http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004495489

May 31, 2018

Tepco prepares to remove 615 fuel bundles from F. Daiichi unit #2 storage pool. 29 concrete blocks are being removed from the western wall of the refueling deck, opening a hole measuring 5 by 7 meters. The work is being done by remote control and is expected to end in mid-June. No airborne radioactive dust was stirred up as the work commenced. Once the hole is fully opened, radiation levels on the deck will be measured near the end of June using remotely-controlled monitoring. Then, the company will plan how to best remove the bundles from the pool while minimizing personnel exposure. The company plans fuel removal and transfer to the ground-level storage facility in 2023. https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2018/images/handouts_180528_02-e.pdf -- https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180528_21/
Radiation levels in Fukushima forests have dropped 74% since 2011. In 2011, the average exposure level was 0.91 microsieverts per hour. At the end of March, to average level among the 362 monitoring points was .23 µSv/hr, which is Tokyo’s target level for decontamination. 226 of the locations were measured below the government’s target. The reason given for the significant drop is the natural decay of radioactive Cesium. The downward trend is not only in the forests. The prefecture-wide survey of 1,300 locations shows a similar decline. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=892
Fukushima’s governor told the international community that most of the prefecture has been decontaminated and food exports are steadily increasing. At a Press conference on Wednesday at One World Trade Center in New York, Masao Uchibori said, "Our consistent efforts over the seven years have borne fruit and recovery is under way." He announced that 97% of the planned decontamination has been completed and "the radiation levels of the cities within the prefecture are now the same as any other major cities in the world." As of May 17^th, some 12,000 Fukushima residents remain under evacuation orders. https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/05/f59979acd9f3-fukushima-tells-world-radiation-is-down-exports-up-after-nuke-crisis.html
A Fukushima entrepreneur will use hops grown in Tamura for a future craft brewery. Makoto Honma, the president of Hop Japan Inc., told Tamura farmers, “I can’t wait to drink delicious beer made from homegrown hops.” His craft brewery dream started while studying in the United States (Seattle) a decade ago. In 2014, a friend asked for help in negotiations for Tohoku-grown hops. Honma opened Hop Japan in 2015. He applied for start-up financial aid through a Fukushima bank, and got it. Tokyo’s Reconstruction Agency asked him to grow hops in Tamura because the town’s tobacco production plummeted after the 2011 quake and tsunami. Honma is currently living in Sedai, but will move to Fukushima City by the end of the year. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=894
Shikoku Electric Co. applied for permission to install dry fuel storage at Ikata station. The application to the Nuclear Regulation Authority has been submitted, as well as formal requests to build the facility to Ehime Prefecture and Ikata Town. It will have a capacity of 45 dry metal casks. The dry storage will be used for temporary storage before shipping the bundles to Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant in Aomori Prefecture. The facility is scheduled for operation in 2023. The spent fuel pool at Ikata unit #3 is currently 78% full. The present transfer of bundles from Ikata unit #1 will continue and further fill the unit #3 pool. Thus, the dry storage will be needed, perhaps as soon as 2023. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/shikoku-electric-power-applies-to-install-spent-fuel-dry-storage-facility-for-operation-in-2023/

May 24, 2018

The grazing of beef cattle returns to Iitate village. Five farmers restarted breeding when the evacuation order was lifted in March of 2017. Now, some of the cattle will be allowed to graze on green grass for three months as a test for open grazing. Farmer Takeshi Yamada, 69, who had six of his beef cows graze on the green grass, commented, "Grazing is less stressful than breeding in barns. It makes it possible to produce fresh beef." Yamada wants to revive the local "Iitate Beef Cattle" brand. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180524/p2a/00m/0na/009000c
Chigoku Electric Co. asks local governments for permission to start Shimane unit #3. The 1,373 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor unit remains under construction, but is nearing completion. The company has decided to pursue local consent before applying to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for its start-up safety screening. This is the second new unit to begin pre-start-up procedures, the first being Oma #1. Ironically, if all goes according to plan, Shimane #3 will begin operation before Oma #1. Chigoku President Mareshige Shimizu submitted the paperwork to the mayor of Matsue City, the host community, on Tuesday. He said, “We’re going to thoroughly implement safety measures and offer sufficient explanations (to the local communities and prefectural government).” https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180522_21/ -- http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201805220043.html
F. Daiichi’s amount of purified tritiated water nears capacity. About 160 tons of radioactive waste water is produced every day due to cooling damaged reactors in units #1, #2, & #3. The water is then purified, removing all radioactive isotopes except Tritium, which cannot be removed for physical reasons. Rainwater runoff and groundwater drain out flows add even more to the daily production of stored waters. Station storage capacity for waste water is 1.13 million tons. About 1.07 million tons is currently stored. There is little room on the F. Daiichi property to construct more tanks, but full capacity could expand to 1.37 million tons by the end of 2020. There are no plans on what to do there-after. Although the tritiated water is biologically innocuous, the wide-spread existence of extreme radiophobia makes it a political nightmare to do the right thing and release it to the sea. The Industry Ministry appointed a committee to decide on the problem nearly two years ago, but has only met eight times during the interim. But, they are aware that time is running short. One committee member says, “In order to advance the decommissioning, the number of tanks should be decreased at an early date.” How long this political football will be kicked around is anybody’s guess, but the days before reaching a conclusion are numbered. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004451987
Holes and corrosion are found control room ventilation ducts at 12 nuclear units. The Nuclear Regulation Authority says it is examining the possible impact of the condition, even though the owners say the holes will not cause worker radiation exposure during an accident. Kyodo News says there are concerns that radiation could pass into the control rooms during an accident, but no source for these worries was identified. The NRA investigation began with corrosion found in the ducting of Shimane #3 in December of 2016. The NRA says it found the condition in specific units at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, Onagawa, Fukushima Daiichi, Hamaoka, Shiga, and Tokai stations. All units are Boiling Water Reactors. Plant owners say they will increase inspections and install dehumidifiers to prevent this in the future. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180523_21/ -- https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180523/p2g/00m/0dm/082000c

May 17, 2018

Tepco posts its latest quarterly safety reform plan overview. TEPCO continues to implement nuclear safety reforms and initiatives designed to “keep the Fukushima Nuclear Accident firmly in mind.” On April 1 at Fukushima Daiichi, D&D Engineering welcomed Akira Ono as a new president. On March 30, the Niigata Headquarters created the “Mamoru (protect), Sonaeru (prepare), Kotaeru (respond) Action Plan” (aka “Action Plan”) to show the company’s desire to become more involved with the people of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa region and Niigata Prefecture. For more on the latest quarterly report, click on the following link. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/betu18_e/images/180516e0101.pdf
Japan says it will need all possible nukes by 2030. The Advisory Committee for Natural Resources proposed the country maintain a previously set target of generation at 20-22 percent. The target could be met by restarting all the nukes now in the planning stage and finishing those now under construction. Thought not mentioning more construction, the possibility is clearly implied. According to other reports, without new construction or expansion of existing plants it would be difficult to fulfill the target quotas. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2018/05/16/More-nuclear-power-needed-by-2030-Japan-says/6941526488687/
Ohi unit #4 was shuttered last Thursday afternoon due to a low steam generator water level alarm. The shutdown occurred while ramping up its power level following its restart. It turns out that a water level monitor had malfunctioned, causing the automatic shutdown. After the monitor was fixed, the startup resumed at 1:35am on Friday. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180511/p2a/00m/0na/024000c
Tokyo approves an anti-terrorist plan for Sendai station. Japan's nuclear regulator Okayed the plan to build terrorism-response facilities for Sendai unit #1. The plan insures there are no problems in a system to remotely cool the reactor if a large aircraft were to be crashed into the containment building. In addition, the designs are appropriate for the plumbing and valves used to direct cooling water to the reactor from a tank yet to be built. Details of the plan cannot be disclosed for security reasons. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180516_12/

May 10, 2018

Ohi unit #4 becomes the eighth Japanese nuke to restart. Control rods were slowly, sequentially pulled early Wednesday morning. Criticality occurred early today. Power generation and transmission are expected Friday. Commercial operation is scheduled for early June. With Ohi unit #3, two units are now running at Ohi station. Continued operation for both units is nebulous since the 2014 injunction was passed against them in Fukui District Court. The ruling was not finalized and is under appeal at the Kanazawa branch of Nagoya High Court, making this restart possible. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180509_30/ -- https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180509/p2g/00m/0dm/086000c
Former NRA Chair Kunihiko Shimazaki testified that the Fukushima accident was preventable. Shimazaki served on a committee at the Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion from 1995 to 2012 and played a pivotal role in the compilation of a long-term assessment on the probability of major earthquakes. He is an eminent Japanese Seismologist. In 2002, he compiled an earthquake forecast that a 15.7 meter tsunami for F. Daiichi was possible. The forecast was submitted to Tepco and unheeded because the Cabinet Office in Tokyo took issue with "the range in credibility of the data” of the quake forecast, which Shimazaki labeled as a "non-scientific” conclusion. The testimony was offered at the ongoing trial of three Tepco executives alleged to be responsible for the deaths of 44 2011 evacuees by not following Shimazaki’s 2002 forecast. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20180510/p2a/00m/0na/017000c -- http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201805100060.html
The second session of JAIF Annual Conference was held on April 10 where representatives from each of the nuclear vendors present were asked to discuss why their companies had entered the international nuclear field, their strategy and activities, and the prospects seen for the global nuclear market. The said that despite the socio-political aftermath of the Fukushima accident, the presenters were cautiously optimistic. The third session of the conference was held the following day, with presentations by representatives from four Japanese and foreign manufacturers on the innovations required for nuclear energy to continue to play an important role into the future. The moderator stated that it is necessary to innovate for the future through cooperation across different fields. He concluded by evoking the words of young physics enthusiast Taylor Wilson who said, “Innovation will come when other young people are shown that nuclear power is an exciting field.” http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/51st-jaif-annual-conference-session-3-innovations-in-nuclear-power/ -- http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/51st-jaif-annual-conference-session-2-promotion-of-international-activities-by-nuclear-vendors/
Young employees with game pad experience are a valuable commodity with damaged fuel removal. Those who have used the pads to play video games can operate them to take full command of detailed operations. The game pads are suited for remote operation of robots in areas humans cannot reach. Hiroaki Anekawa, senior project manager at Mitsubishi’s Advanced Nuclear Plant & Fuel Cycle Engineering Department, said, “They’re relatively cheap and available for several thousand yen, plus they easily cope with small movements. Young workers in their 20s and 30s are good at handling them.” A game pad was used to control the robots for recent inspections of the unit #2 and unit #3 pedestal areas. http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0004412433
JAIF Chairman Takashi Imai says Japan needs both nuclear and renewables to meet its energy needs. He said this as he addressed the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Annual Conference on April 9&10. Imai stressed that renewable energy and nuclear power are essential for Japan to have from a stable, inexpensive supply of electricity, while addressing global warming issues. He added that he was concerned about use of fossil-fueled power plants and their CO₂ emissions, but also because they harm the national economic burden. It is his belief that nukes are needed, more than anything else! http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/jaif-chairman-says-renewable-and-nuclear-energy-both-needed-in-the-future/

May 3, 2018

Tepco greatly reduces the areas where protective attire is required at F. Daiichi. Nearly all locations external to the plant buildings will no longer require anti-contamination clothing for workers. Eight of the contamination measuring points have less than detectible levels of radioactive substances, and the ninth is so low that it is well below a level where Anti-Cs will be needed. This means that ~96% of the station’s external environs require only regular working clothes. https://www4.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2018/images/handouts_180426_01-e.pdf
Six foreign technical trainees are found to have been working at F. Daiichi, violating TEPCO's decision last February to not to let such trainees work at the nuclear station, because of pressure from government agencies. The six were hired by a subcontractor, working until late last month at a facility outside the radiation controlled area. Radiation levels are so low that the trainees did not have to wear personal dosimetry, and were not given training on how to protect them from exposure. Regardless, this goes against the purpose of Japan's technical intern training program. A Tepco official says, "We deviated from our independent rules on employment. We will make our subcontractors thoroughly check the terms of their contracts." https://jen.jiji.com/jc/eng?g=eco&k=2018050100772 -- https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/05/bedd09794f9a-foreign-trainees-worked-at-fukushima-nuclear-plant-despite-ban.html

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