Fukushima Update – What’s Happening at Fukushima

Update #10: May 30th, 2011

by Nelle Maxey

More "admissions' from Tepco this morning. After all the fanfare two weeks ago that the timelines weren't changing, now we learn that, of course, they ARE changing.

The addition of two months would bring the timeline for stabilizing the reactors into March of 2012.

Stabilizing reactors by year's end may be impossible: Tepco

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110530a2.html

"Stabilizing the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant by the end of the year may be impossible, senior officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, throwing a monkey wrench into plans to let evacuees return to their homes near the plant.

…Even though the fuel in the No. 1 reactor was later found to have melted through the pressure vessel, the utility said as recently as May 17 that it did not see a need to revise its projections.

But "the nine months is just a target deadline for which we are making efforts," a senior Tepco official said, indicating that the likely delay will affect the plan to review the evacuation of local residents. The government is hoping to review the order once the reactors are brought under control.

Tepco was taking steps until early May to completely fill the containment vessels housing the pressure vessels with water so the fuel could be cooled.

But on May 12, it was confirmed that a meltdown had occurred at the No. 1 reactor, forcing the utility to abandon the water entombment idea and try to install a new cooling system that decontaminates and recycles the radioactive water flooding the reactor's turbine building instead.

Given that the contaminated water has leaked from the No. 1 reactor's containment vessel, a Tepco official said, "We must first determine where it is leaking and seal it."

The official added, "Unless we understand the extent of the damage, we don't even know how long that work alone would take," noting the need for one or two months more than previously thought to establish an entirely new cooling system."

Nelle's comment: In a related story at NHK this morning, we see outside work at Fukushima has stopped due to the heavy rains from the typhoon. Of course these sorts of delays were not in the timeline. Two concerns here: the rising levels of contaminated water and rain getting into "electrical facility" buildings and shutting down cooling functions. Oh dear.

Work suspended at Fukushima plant due to hard rain

"The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has suspended some of its outdoor work due to heavy rain and strong winds caused by a tropical storm.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it is watching closely to ensure that contaminated water in reactor buildings and elsewhere do not flow outside as the water levels have been rising because of the rain.

It has been raining since Sunday in the areas around the Fukushima plant.

The utility has stopped spraying chemicals to prevent radioactive dust from spreading. It is also considering suspending work to remove debris.

It has piled up sandbags to prevent rain from getting inside electrical facility buildings to ensure the reactor cooling systems continue to function.

TEPCO has also secured a giant storage barge that was deployed to contain contaminated water to a quay.

Monday, May 30, 2011 12:51 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_13.html

Nelle's comment: The next 2 stories concern the problems reported last week at Unit 2 reactor continue.

Radioactive cesium levels are twice as high as in Unit 1 and no real solution to stop the boiling in the spent fuel pool.

With 99.9% humidity (!) inside the reactor building (this is one that still has a roof), it's basically raining inside the building as water boils off the pool.

Two big questions here:

1) How will the workers install a heat exchanger (that may not work anyway) in these conditions?

2) Where is all this water going? Trenches were reported a few days ago to at high levels again.

Contaminated water build-up is a huge problem only exacerbated in buildings and trenches by the typhoon rains.

The second story records the actual levels of radiation detected in sea water at the Unit 2 intake.

TEPCO says they don't know why the levels which had been falling are rising again.

High radioactivity level at No. 2 reactor

"The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the radioactivity level and humidity are high in the Number 2 reactor building, which will make internal operations hard. Workers entered the building last week to measure humidity and to gauge levels of radioactive substances in the atmosphere.

The results show the Number 2 reactor building's radioactive cesium level is twice as high as the cesium level in air not purified in the Number 1 reactor building. Steam is filling the Number 2 building, and humidity has reached 99.9 percent. The high humidity means an air purification unit cannot be used to lower the level of radioactivity.

In order to cool the spent fuel storage pool that's causing the steam, TEPCO will put in place a heat exchanger on Tuesday to serve as a cooling system.

But TEPCO does not know how effective the system will be, so it will be a while before it can install the purifier to lower the radioactivity level."

Monday, May 30, 2011 07:04 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_07.html

Radioactive level up again at reactor water intake

The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant says it has detected higher levels of radioactive materials in seawater samples taken near the water intake at one of the reactors.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it detected 24 becquerels of radioactive iodine-131 per cubic centimeter in samples collected near the water intake for the Number 2 reactor on Saturday. The figure is 600 times higher than the national limit, though levels at the spot had been falling. A day earlier, a level 130 times the limit was detected.

TEPCO says the level of radioactive cesium is also rising at that spot, though the level of that substance had been falling, too.

The samples were taken at the same site where iodine-131 at a level 7.5 million times the limit was detected on April 2nd.

TEPCO says the reason for the upward trend is not yet clear, and that it will monitor the situation closely.

Radioactivity levels have been falling at other spots, such as offshore areas and the water intake at the Number 3 reactor.

Monday, May 30, 2011 06:05 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_01.html

Nelle's comment: Then there are 3 stories on radioactive contamination of workers at the plant and one about populations of two prefectures.

The first reports horrific levels of radioactive iodine in the thyroids of two workers (internal exposure). These are the fellows that waded in radioactive water without protective boots.

In the second story we learn that less than 40% of workers have been checked for internal radiation exposure. That leaves about 2,500 unchecked workers.

Don't worry though, more measuring devices are coming in a couple of months!

In the 3rd story, the regulators are "expressing concern". . .they will "study" the situation, but no definitive actions ordered!

The 4th story is again about the exposure of the population in areas of, so far, voluntary evacuation.

Radiation exposure for 2 workers may exceed limit

"Two workers at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant may have been exposed to high levels of radiation exceeding the safety limit set by the government.

If confirmed, these are the first cases of radiation exposure since the health ministry raised the limit in March following the accident.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Monday the 2 workers are men. One is in his 30s and the other in his 40s. Both worked at the control rooms of the Number 3 and 4 reactors, and elsewhere, after the accident broke out at the plant.

TEPCO said a test conducted at an institute last Monday found 9,760 becquerels and 7,690 becquerels of radioactive iodine-131 in the workers' thyroids. This means they are likely suffering from internal radiation exposure after inhaling radioactive substances. These figures are more than tenfold the other workers.

It was confirmed that the 2 contaminated workers have been exposed to external radiation of 74 and 89 millisieverts so far.

TEPCO said these combined readings suggest that the 2 may have been exposed to radiation levels exceeding the safety limit of 250 millisieverts set for emergency situations.

TEPCO says that so far, the workers have not complained of health problems."

Monday, May 30, 2011 16:03 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_18.html

Fukushima workers exposed to high radiation

"The operator of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima has been slow in checking workers at the plant for internal exposure to radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Company began internal checks-ups on March 22nd, 11 days after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

It takes about a week to get the results of a check-up. Workers go to the utility's Fukushima Daini nuclear plant or its Onahama Coal Center in Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture for the screening.

To date, less than 40 percent of about 3,700 workers at the damaged Daiichi plant have received internal check-ups for radiation exposure….

TEPCO says 30 workers have been externally exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation.

Two of them were exposed on March 24th while working with their feet soaked in radioactive water in the basement of the Number 3 reactor's turbine building. One was found to have been internally exposed to 240.8 millisieverts of radiation and the other to 226.6 millisieverts, the highest levels in the checks so far.

TEPCO uses 4 devices to measure internal radiation exposure. It plans to introduce 5 more devices in July."

Monday, May 30, 2011 21:00 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_30.html

Internal exposure concerns

"Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission has expressed concerns about internal radiation exposure for workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

High levels of radioactive substances have been detected in the bodies of 2 workers at the plant.

After a meeting on Monday, commission member Shizuyo Kusumi told reporters that the organization had concerns about whether protective masks can fully protect workers from internal exposure. She added that the commission would study the two cases based on data to be sent from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Another member, Osamu Oyamada, noted the need for comprehensive management of the work environment, saying a better environment should be in place before the summer.

He also said consideration should be given to the effects of the summer heat on workers' health, while keeping radiation exposure to a minimum."

Monday, May 30, 2011 18:44 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_24.html

Radiation exceeds limit in Iitate & Namie

"The science ministry says the accumulative radiation exposure level has exceeded the government limit for evacuation at two locations more than 20 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The ministry said on Monday that the cumulative exposure had reached 20 millisieverts in a district in the mountain village of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture. The district is about 33 kilometers northwest of the plant.

On Sunday, the ministry said that total radiation exposure had exceeded 35 millisieverts at one location in Namie Town, 31 kilometers northwest of the plant.

Both Iitate and Namie are within the expanded evacuation zone, where residents have been asked to leave due to concerns over dangerous levels of radiation…."

Monday, May 30, 2011 18:44 +0900 (JST) http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/30_23.html

David Shipway forwarded this letter from a Fukushima mother which poignantly expresses the situation in Japan:

"When Tomoko-san, a mother of two in Fukushima City, heard from an NGO worker that I was going to be in Fukushima to report on a story about radiation levels at local schools, she was kind enough to volunteer her time to speak to me – and handed me this letter. I promised to translate it and share it with you. So here it is:

To people in the United States and around the world,

I am so sorry for the uranium and plutonium that Japan has released into the environment. The fallout from Fukushima has already circled the world many times, reaching Hawaii, Alaska, and even New York.

We live 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the plant and our homes have been contaminated beyond levels seen at Chernobyl. The cesium-137 they are finding in the soil will be here for 30 years. But the government will not help us.They tell us to stay put. They tell our kids to put on masks and hats and keep going to school.

This summer, our children won't be able to go swimming. They won't be able to play outside. They can't eat Fukushima's delicious peaches. They can't even eat the rice that the Fukushima farmers are making. They can't go visit Fukushima's beautiful rivers, mountains and lakes. This makes me sad. This fills me with so much regret.

Instead, our children will spend the summer in their classrooms, with no air conditioning, sweating as they try to concentrate on their lessons. We don't even know how much radiation they've already been exposed to.

I was eight years old when the Fukushima Daiichi plant opened. If I had understood what they were building, I would have fought against it. I didn't realize that it contained dangers that would threaten my children, my children's children and their children.

I am grateful for all the aid all the world has sent us. Now, what we ask is for you to speak out against the Japanese government. Pressure them into taking action. Tell them to make protecting children their top priority.

Thank you so much,

Tomoko Hatsuzawa

Fukushima City

May 25, 2011"

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NOXD7oPXsiFuG8fW8Hy1SHXfHJxTlogNhMHvI83Y338/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1

Rod Mariner forwarded this comprehensive story from Veterans Today. The answer to the headline question is Fukushima = 50 Chernoblys.

Fukushima: How Many Chernobyls Is It?

by Bob Nichols

Read the full article here:

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/05/28/fukushima-how-many-chernobyls-is-it/

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