by Nelle Maxey
Update # 8: May 27, 2011
NHK this morning is all about CONTAMINATION problems. Even Bloomberg is noticing:
"As a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency visits Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled nuclear plant today, academics warn the company has failed to disclose the scale of radiation leaks and faces a “massive problem” with contaminated water."
Workers check contaminated water in No.1 reactor
"Workers have entered one of the damaged Fukushima reactor buildings to survey a pool of radioactive water that the plant operator plans to recycle as a coolant.
The No.1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is thought to have suffered a meltdown after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Highly contaminated water is apparently leaking from holes created in the pressure and containment vessels, flooding the building's basement.
Workers entered the reactor building on Friday, preparing to pump out the leaked water before cooling it and sending it back to the reactor.
In the morning, 8 workers lowered a depth sensor into the basement and found that the water is about 5 meters deep. Five other workers then collected samples for analysis.
In the afternoon, different workers attached a hose to the pool for spent nuclear fuel on the 3rd floor. The hose will be part of the pool's new heat exchange system that is due to be installed around July.
Highly radioactive water is also accumulating in other reactor buildings, and some is being pumped into storage at a waste water disposal facility.
However, water from the No.3 reactor building is apparently leaking from the storage site into a passage leading to another building. Workers are monitoring the flow of water, and aim to prevent it seeping into the ground."
Friday, May 27, 2011 19:45 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_33.html
"TEPCO may need to plug leak at Fukushima plant
The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant says highly radioactive water continues to leak from a waste disposal facility in the complex.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Friday that the water level had dropped by around 3 centimeters as of 7 AM from the level observed at 5 PM on Thursday.
TEPCO had transferred to the facility some of the highly radioactive water flooding the basement of the No.3 reactor's turbine building and nearby tunnel, before it suspended the work earlier this week.
On Thursday, the transferred water was found to be leaking into an underground passage to another building.
The utility firm says it is likely that the water level in the facility will stop falling, but added that it may need to plug the leaks.
The work is expected to be difficult as radiation levels of up to 70 millisieverts per hour have been detected on the water's surface.
TEPCO also faces the urgent task of preventing the contaminated water around the No.3 reactor from spilling into the sea or underground."
Friday, May 27, 2011 12:16 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_12.html
Antiscattering chemical to be sprayed on buildings
"The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will spray an anti-scattering agent onto its buildings to prevent radioactive dust from spreading.
Radioactive dust appears to be scattered on the reactor buildings and turbine buildings due to the explosions that occurred in March. The containment work is scheduled to begin on Friday. The chemical hardening agent selected for the task is usually used to contain asbestos…."
Friday, May 27, 2011 06:47 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_02.html
Nelle's Comment: Then there's the population's contamination. Note in the first story, this scanning is for external radiation exposure only, even though the story could be interpreted that this "special equipment to scan a person's entire body" is scanning for INTERNAL RADIATION which is the real killer. Same applies to the dosimeters for the school kids in the the 3rd story below.
190,000 get radioactive screenings
"Fukushima Prefecture, location of the troubled nuclear power plant, says it had conducted radioactive screenings of more than 190,000 people by Wednesday.
That is about one-tenth of the prefecture's population.
The prefecture began the screening service at welfare centers and other locations on March 13th. It uses special equipment to scan a person's entire body and even the soles of the shoes for radioactive contamination.
The prefecture says many of those who come for the screenings are residents with health concerns or persons who make business trips to the prefecture and want to be checked before leaving.
A Fukushima resident in his 60s who received the test on Friday said he was relieved to find he was not contaminated."
Friday, May 27, 2011 14:11 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_20.html
Fukushima begins to decontaminate school grounds
"Work has begun to remove radioactive contaminated topsoil from school grounds in Fukushima Prefecture, where efforts are continuing to bring the disaster-stricken nuclear power plant under control.
The decontamination work began in 26 elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima City on Friday.
In one, Watari Elementary School, the top 5 centimeters or so of soil will be scraped off and replaced with uncontaminated earth.
The municipality says it expects the removal of the topsoil to substantially lower radiation levels at the school to about 0.6 microsieverts per hour from Friday's reading of 3.0 microsieverts per hour."
Friday, May 27, 2011 19:45 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_35.html
Nelle's comment: This is part of the area that was covered by a heavy radiation in the plume from the explosions that traveled NW from the plant. It is outside the exclusion zone.
Radiation monitors given to Kawamata children
"A town near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will distribute dosimeters to all school children and monitor their radiation exposure.
Kawamata Town will deliver the dosimeters to about 1,500 children at local kindergartens, day care centers, elementary and junior high schools. Part of the town falls within the evacuation zone around the stricken plant.
Children will be asked to put on the monitors to measure their radiation exposure. The data will be sent once a month to laboratories to check their cumulative levels of exposure.
The dosimeters will be provided by Kinki University, which has proposed to measure radiation levels of soil on school grounds.
The Fukushima prefectural board of education says this will be the first municipality in the prefecture to provide radiation gauges to every child.
The town's board of education says it hopes the move will help to ease the fears of parents."
Friday, May 27, 2011 10:11 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_07.html
Then there is the G8 blah blah story . . . they will save us all:
G8 calls for new nuclear safety standards
"Leaders of the Group of Eight industrial countries have called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to establish new international standards for nuclear power plants, following the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan.
The G8 leaders announced a declaration focusing on nuclear safety before wrapping up their 2-day summit in the French city of Deauville on Friday.
Friday, May 27, 2011 21:15 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/27_38.html