Update #23: July 2, 2011-07-02
At NHK this morning, some good news for a change. The heat exchanger system installed on the Unit 3 SFP (spent fuel pool) has successfully lowered the temperature in the pool to 40°C in 3 days. The a similar system for SFP at Unit 2 has is also working to reduce temperature. So that means only Units 1 and 4 SFP's still require injections (or spraying) of cooling water. This means the amount of highly contaminated water being produced by the cooling is declining. Although there is no plan yet for how to install a cooling system in Unit 4.
TEPCO: Nuclear fuel pool cooled to stable level
"The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reported progress in its work to stabilize the facility's spent fuel rods.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the cooling system that began operating at the No.3 reactor on Thursday has brought the temperature of the nuclear fuel storage pool of the reactor to just below 40 degrees Celsius from the previous level of 62 degrees.
TEPCO says the temperature of the pool was 39.9 degrees as of 5 AM on Saturday.
As cooling has progressed faster than initially expected, TEPCO says the temperature will likely stabilize at around 30 degrees in a few days. The temperature of the spent fuel pool of the No.2 reactor has already declined to that level.
As for the No.1 and No.4 reactors, the utility plans to begin operating cooling systems by the end of this month. Until then, the company needs to inject cooling water on a regular basis.
TEPCO is concerned about possible difficulty in installing the cooling system at the No.4 reactor. A hydrogen explosion in March damaged piping necessary for the system and debris left there is hampering construction work.
The company says there may be a delay in its installation plan."
Saturday, July 02, 2011 13:22 +0900 (JST)"
Contamination measurement results are not so heartening. Although the story says paved roads and parking lots have lower levels of contamination since the rain tends to the radiation away, they do not point out that the "washed away" radiation will go into ditches and/or storm drains and ultimately into groundwater or to the sea. The amounts listed are microSv per hour, but no calculations of exposure levels on an annual basis are given.
Higher radiation detected on fields than asphalt
"A government survey has found higher levels of radiation on fields and forests than on asphalt pavements in towns about 10 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The Cabinet Office and the ministry of science monitored radiation for more than 10 days from June 13th at 400 locations in Namie and Tomioka towns, which fall within a 20-kilometer no-entry zone.
The survey centered on JR Namie station, about 8 kilometers from the plant, and JR Tomioka station, about 10 kilometers from the plant. Measurements were made at one centimeter and one meter above the ground.
The highest level in Tomioka was detected on an unpaved road 2 kilometers northwest of the station, where the reading at the one-centimeter point was 39.1 microsieverts per hour.
In Namie Town, 25.4 microsieverts was detected at the one-centimeter point in a forest about one kilometer west of the station.
Readings were generally lower — around several microsieverts — on roads and parking lots covered by asphalt and higher on fields and forests.
Radioactive substances are believed to be easily washed away by rain on asphalt but adhere to soil and plants.
The government plans to monitor radiation at more than 3,400 locations in no-entry zones and evacuation advisory zones by the end of August.
Measurements will be taken at gardens of private homes and roof gutters, where radiation tends to be high, as well as roadside ditches."
Saturday, July 02, 2011 11:05 +0900 (JST)
EnergyNews reports on a story in the Japanese press from a leading cancer expert in Japan. Here is the English summary from the Asia Pacific Journal site of the original Japanese-language story. The summary contains many links to other stories at the site. This is a very damning report.
Japanese Cancer Expert on the Fukushima Situation
Jul. 01, 2011
By Matthew Penney
"Japan's leading business journal Toyo Keizai has published an article by Hokkaido Cancer Center director Nishio Masamichi, a radiation treatment specialist. The piece, entitled "The Problem of Radiation Exposure Countermeasures for the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: Concerns for the Present Situation", was published on June 27 and is consistent with the critical coverage of the Fukushima crisis that has appeared in independent weekly magazines, notably Shukan Kinyobi, which have taken a strong anti-nuclear stance since the March 11 earthquake-tsunami-meltdown, and have repeatedly focused on the dangers of radiation exposure while calling for far-reaching measures to protect those at risk….
Nishio's article provides a realistic, nuanced portrait of the problems currently facing Fukushima and Japan. The Japanese government has addressed some of them on a limited scale, but serious deficiencies remain. Nishio's powerful statement, however, appearing in a major establishment outlet, is indicative of a shift in public discussion of radiation issues as more critical Japanese scientists outside of the circle of "academic flunkies" (goyo gakusha) make their voices heard."
USA Nuke Site Update
EnergyNews (http://enenews.com/) has much coverage of the Fort Calhoun and Cooper Nuclear sites flooding and the Los Alamos fire from many sources.
The main point seem to be that the entire dam system on the Missouri River from as far north as Big Bend Dam in South Dakota is under stress from the amount of floodwater, as in, "will they hold"? Also a group of "private citizens" (an irrigation district commission or the like?) detonated a levee north of Fort Calhoun that caused a 3 to 4 inch increase in water levels at the site. Yikes, eh?
The news at Los Alamos centers around the fact that nuclear waste was buried years ago at off-site locations that have now burned.