Tepco tech chief disputes Abe’s “under control”f assertion
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. executive created a stir Friday by stating that he doesn’t believe the radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 plant are under control – contradicting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bold assertions in Tokyo’s Olympics presentation in Buenos Aires.
During the Tokyo bid team’s appeal for the 2020 Games on Sept. 7, Abe assured the International Olympic Committee that “the situation is under control” and “the effects from the contaminated water have been perfectly blocked within the (artificial) bay” of the wrecked nuclear complex.
At a meeting Friday in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, however, Kazuhiko Yamashita, Tepco’s top technology executive, reportedly told Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers that he “does not believe (Tepco) is able to control” the situation.
Later in the day, Tepco released a press release claiming Yamashita was only talking about some unexpected leaks at some of the hundreds of water tanks and other troubles at the compound, and that only the seawater in the utility’s artificial bay had been affected.
“In that sense, we share the same understanding as that of the prime minister,” Tepco executive and spokesman Masayuki Ono said at Friday’s press conference at the utility’s headquarters.
By saying “the situation is under control,” Abe and Tepco meant to say that the densities of the radioactive contaminants in seawater outside that bay are far below their legal limits, Ono said.
In the meantime, Ono admitted that the water in the artificial bay is being constantly refreshed by the ocean, which presumably allows radioactive contaminants to be swept out to sea.
Some experts say the radiation densities are being kept low by dilution rather than any steps by Tepco to “control” the flow of contaminated leaks and groundwater into the sea.
Asked about this view, Ono argued that Tepco has made various efforts to control the situation, including measures to keep the melted fuel in the damaged reactors cool.
Despite the fact that emergency cooling measures are the sole cause of all the radioactive water leaving the plant, Ono gave Tepco’s “measures” credit for keeping the density of the radioactive elements entering the seawater low outside the bay.
Reiji Yoshida, Japan Times Staff Writer, September 13, 2013
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/13/national/tepco-tech-chief-disputes-abes-under-control-assertion-2/#.Uj-oU39jbRY
Abe’s assurance over Fukushima radioactive water comes under question
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assurance that the situation surrounding the radioactively contaminated water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is “under control” during Tokyo’s final presentation for the 2020 Olympics have come under question, prompting plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to send an inquiry to the government.
Abe stated in his presentation at the International Olympic Committee meeting in Buenos Aires on Sept. 7, “Some may have concerns about Fukushima. Let me assure you, the situation is under control. It has never done and will never do any damage to Tokyo.” He also said the effect of the water leak has been “completely blocked” within an area of 0.3 square kilometers in the waters from the plant.
“His remarks don’t convey the facts accurately,” said one observer in criticism of the prime minister’s statement.
At a press conference on Sept. 9, TEPCO faced a barrage of questions from media representatives about data corroborating Abe’s remarks. In response, a TEPCO official admitted that the utility has asked the government about its true intentions, betraying a difference in their perceptions of the situation at the crippled nuclear plant. At the same time, the official said, “We will strive to stabilize the situation at the earliest possible date.”
In the plant’s 0.3-square-kilometer bay surrounded by breakwaters are impermeable walls to prevent contaminated water from flowing out into the sea and silt fences to prevent the spread of contaminated water within the bay. Liquid glass has also been rendered to solidify the seawall along the plant’s premises.
However, contaminated water has leaked into the bay, with 1,100 becquerels per liter of radioactive materials including strontium as well as 4,700 becquerels per liter of tritium detected in seawater inside the silt fences. While TEPCO explains that the concentration of radioactive materials outside the silt fences contain up to one-fifth of that inside those fences, the contaminated water inside the silt fences and outside the fences have been shifting by 50 percent each day. Furthermore, tritium penetrates through the silt fences because the material has a property similar to water. Although the levels of radioactive materials detected at the mouth of the bay and at a location three kilometers off the shore fall below measurable limits, experts point out that radioactive materials have “simply been diluted by large quantities of seawater.”
Moreover, contaminated water keeps rising as 400 tons of groundwater permeates into the collapsed reactor buildings each day, while some 300 tons of highly contaminated water has leaked from an aboveground tank, part of which has likely leaked outside the bay by way of drain ditches directly leading to the sea. With a series of trouble having taken place as a result of insufficient measures taken by TEPCO, there remains the possibility of further risks arising hereafter.
“It is hard to tell what can be called as being ’under control,’ but it is certain that you can’t say the contaminated water has ’been completely blocked’ in a technical sense,” said a senior official with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Mainichi Shimbun, September 10, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130910p2a00m0na035000c.html
Leaked toxic water found at another site at Fukushima plant: TEPCO
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it has detected 3,200 becquerels per liter of radioactive substances in a well near a leaky water storage tank at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The radioactive substances emitting strontium and other beta rays were detected in samples taken Sunday from a well about 20 meters north of the water storage tank in the H4 area where toxic water had leaked. On Thursday, TEPCO said it had detected 650 becquerels per liter of such radioactive substances in another well located about 20 south of the storage tank.
The latest finding raises the possibility that leaked toxic water has reached groundwater at the power plant, which was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
To prevent groundwater from being contaminated at the reactors, TEPCO plans to use wells to pump up the groundwater before it flows into the reactor buildings and is discharged into the sea.
But the latest finding could affect the utility’s plan as the nearest well to be used to pump up groundwater is only 130 meters away from the monitoring well where highly radioactive contamination was found in samples on Sunday.
Kyodo News, September 10, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130910p2g00m0dm032000c.html
Toxic water may have leaked into Pacific Ocean: TEPCO
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday it has detected radioactive substances in a drainage ditch directly connected to the Pacific Ocean, suggesting toxic water may have reached the sea near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Radioactive substances of 220 becquerels per liter were found in samples taken Wednesday from the ditch, located around 150 meters from the sea. The radiation level of strontium, cesium and other substances emitting beta rays was about 12 times that of samples taken at the ditch on Tuesday, the plant operator said.
Workers have been engaged in decontamination work at an upstream ditch for several days and TEPCO suspects that toxic water seeped through sandbags placed to prevent the leakage of contaminated water.
The upstream ditch is located near a water storage tank from which around 300 tons of highly toxic water was found to have leaked in the H4 area.
The latest finding could undermine Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks during Tokyo’s final presentation to the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires that leakage of radioactive water has been “completely confined” to waters 0.3 square kilometers from the plant.
On Saturday, Tokyo won the right to host the 2020 Olympics.
The operator of the Fukushima plant, damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, has not taken measures to prevent the leak of radioactive substances from the drainage ditch connected to the Pacific Ocean.
TEPCO maintains no abnormalities have been detected in the radiation levels of seawater, with its evaluation based on samples taken around 100 meters south of the drainage outlet.
The level of strontium-90, which makes up about half of the beta ray-emitting radioactive substances detected in the samples taken from the ditch, is believed to have exceeded the threshold set by the government.
Kyodo News, September 13, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130913p2g00m0dm041000c.html
Tepco discharges tainted rainwater from storage tank areas
Tainted rainwater was discharged into the ocean Monday to prevent the damaged Fukushima No. 1 power plant from being flooded by the passage of Typhoon Man-yi, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The radioactivity of the rainwater, which had accumulated within circular barriers around makeshift storage tanks holding water tainted by emergency cooling operations, was low enough to release into the sea, the beleaguered utility said.
Tepco said it decided to discharge the rainwater, tainted by strontium-90, because it was threatening to spill over into the rest of the complex. So it opened the barriers and released the water from the storage area, mainly through rainwater ditches, into the sea.
The barriers are designed to contain leaks from the more than 1,000 hastily built storage tanks at the plant, which suffered three core meltdowns after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
The utility said the rainwater was discharged from barriers at seven locations and contained strontium 90, which can cause bone cancer if ingested. The beta radiation given off by the strontium did not exceed the governmentÅfs limit of 30 becquerels per liter, it said.
Tepco said the radiation level of the water overall, including strontium 90, which accounted for about half of the beta ray emissions, maxed out at 24 becquerels per liter.
In areas where water samples were highly toxic, however, Tepco took a different approach and transferred it elsewhere through makeshift pumps. One of those areas contained rainwater that was emitting 170,000 becquerels per liter, far higher than allowed.
Kyodo News, September 16, 2013
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/16/national/tepco-discharges-tainted-rainwater-from-storage-tank-areas/#.Uj_8MX9jbRY
Rainwater dumped into sea from Fukushima plant totals 1,130 tons
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday that it has dumped into the Pacific Ocean about 1,130 tons of rainwater that had accumulated at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Monday due to a typhoon.
The rainwater was accumulating inside barriers set up around huge tanks to store radioactive water, but radioactive substances in it were below the allowable limit for release into the sea, according to TEPCO.
The utility said an estimated 8.85 million becquerels of radioactive substances emitting beta rays, such as strontium-90, have been discharged.
The barriers were built to prevent possible radioactive water leaks from tanks from spreading further outside. But rainfall from the typhoon that hit Japan’s mainland created fears that the water inside the barriers may overflow.
To deal with the situation, the utility on Monday released the rainwater by opening some of the drain valves attached to the barriers.
The water discharged contained a maximum 24 becquerels per liter of radioactive substances emitting beta rays, lower than the allowable level of 30 becquerels.
As for rainwater found with a radiation level close to the allowable limit or higher than that, TEPCO said it decided to store it in tanks instead of discharging it.
Kyodo News, September 16, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130917p2g00m0dm083000c.html
NRA launches cesium contamination study of seafloor
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has launched an investigation of the seafloor off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture to check current contamination levels from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdowns.
A Geiger counter will be trailed from a ship over about 1,000 sq. km. of the seafloor to help determine the density of radioactive cesium there.
While past studies have focused on certain points in the Pacific around the radiation-leaking Fukushima plant, the NRAÅfs investigation aims to analyze more broadly how the contamination has spread on the seabed.
The results will be compiled by March and the data could be used to confirm the safety of marine products, although it is not clear whether the investigation will take up the effects that radioactive water leaks have on the plankton flowing through the area.
The NRA outsourced the project, which began Wednesday, to a team involving the University of Tokyo and the National Maritime Research Institute.
The team started with a sonic survey and other activities to check the geological formation of the seafloor. It will start measuring the cesium density between November and February, covering an area 20 km of the coast, 50 km north and 50 km south of the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
An official of the NRA secretariat said the study must continue for at least three years to properly gauge the changes in contamination.
The amount of highly radioactive water is increasing by the day at the plant because of the emergency cooling operations for the three crippled reactors. The water used is being stored in more than 1,000 huge tanks set up at the site, posing a risk of leaks.
Kyodo News, September 19, 2013
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/19/national/nra-launches-cesium-contamination-study-of-seafloor/#.UkAOuX9jbRY
Namie town assembly protests PM Abe’s ’under control’ comment
The town assembly of nuclear disaster-hit Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, passed a protest resolution against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sept. 20 for declaring the situation surrounding the radioactively contaminated water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant “under control.”
The prime minister made the controversial comments during Tokyo’s final presentation at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s general meeting in Buenos Aires on Sept. 7, saying, “Some may have concerns about Fukushima. Let me assure you, the situation is under control.” He also said the effect of the water leak has been “completely blocked” within the 0.3 square kilometers of the plant’s harbor.
The Namie Town Assembly unanimously passed the Sept. 20 protest resolution stating that there is a “serious problem” with Abe’s remarks as they “contradict reality.” The protest also calls the situation at the plant, where some 300 metric tons of radioactively contaminated water is leaking into the ocean every day, “serious.”
“The situation has never been ’under control,’ nor is the contaminated water ’completely blocked,’” the protest read.
Regarding Abe’s claim that “there are no health-related problems until now, nor will there be in the future,” the Namie resolution pointed out that there had been 1,459 deaths related to the triple disasters in Fukushima Prefecture thus far.
“We can’t help but feel resentment against the government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., both of which are disregarding Fukushima Prefecture,” the protest stated.
The entire town of Namie has been designated as an evacuation zone since the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Mainichi Shimbun, September 21, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130921p2a00m0na008000c.html
Abe may have referred to Fukushima without knowing details
TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assurances to the international community that radioactive water is being contained inside the port of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have come without him knowing exactly which area he was talking about.
Abe told the International Olympic Committee earlier this month the “influence of the contaminated water is completely blocked within the 0.3 square-kilometer area of the plant’s port.” He made the remarks during Tokyo’s final presentation for the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in an attempt to erase concerns over the buildup of radioactive water at the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
However, during a visit to the Fukushima complex Thursday, he asked the plant’s chief Akira Ono in the presence of reporters, “Where is the 0.3 (square-km area)?” prompting Ono to point to the relevant area.
Meanwhile, TEPCO said Friday that five bolts at the bottom of a tank that has leaked about 300 tons of toxic water, some of which has reached the adjacent Pacific Ocean, were found to be loose.
Kyodo News, September 21, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130921p2g00m0dm009000c.html