Japan’s Plutonium Problem

by Shannon Tiezzi / via The Diplomat / According to the Japan Times, both Japanese and U.S. government sources have confirmed that the Obama administration wants Japan to return over 300 kg of plutonium that was given to Japan “for research purposes” during the Cold War. It’s estimated that the plutonium could be used to make between 40 and 50 nuclear weapons. The plutonium is currently kept at the Japan Atomic … Continue reading

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Water leaks from barrier found at Fukushima plant

via NHK World / February 16, 2014 / The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says officials have found water leaks at 7 locations in a barrier that surrounds tanks holding contaminated water. Tokyo Electric Power Company officials said they confirmed on Sunday that water had leaked from the barrier near the Number 4 reactor. It’s one of 30 barriers in the compound. The officials said the amount … Continue reading

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U.N. Agency Eyes Flushing More Fukushima-Contaminated Water

by Diane Barnes / NTI.org / February 14, 2014 / The U.N. nuclear watchdog urged Japan to weigh dumping radioactive water from its Fukushima plant to help control the fluid’s “enormous” quantity. Japan should consider “all options” to manage radiation-tainted fluid from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, “including the possible resumption of controlled discharges to the sea,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report prepared at Japan’s request … Continue reading

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Safety screening sought for Hamaoka reactor

via NHK World / February 14, 2014 / Chubu Electric Power Company has applied for a safety screening for a nuclear reactor in central Japan. Such screenings are required for restarting reactors. Executive Vice President Masatoshi Sakaguchi filed the application on Friday with the Nuclear Regulation Authority for the No.4 reactor at the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. The plant has five reactors, two of which are shut down for … Continue reading

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Record cesium levels reported at Reactor 1 (again)

via RT.com / February 14, 2014 / A record high level of radioactive cesium has been found in groundwater beneath the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, it operator TEPCO revealed. On February 13, Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported 37,000 becquerels of cesium-134 and 93,000 becquerels of cesium-137 were detected per liter of groundwater sampled from a monitoring well earlier that day. Water samples were taken from the technical … Continue reading

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Hokkaido city filing suit to stop construction of nuclear plant in Aomori

from Asahi Shimbun / February 12, 2014 / The Hakodate municipal government will file a lawsuit demanding a halt to construction of a nuclear power plant across the Tsugaru Strait, arguing that an accident there could have catastrophic consequences for the city. The lawsuit against the central government and the electric power company building the nuclear plant in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, on the northern tip of Japan’s main island of … Continue reading

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Cracks found in floor near storage tanks

via Asahi Shimbun / February 12, 2104 / Two cracks were discovered in a concrete floor near radioactive water storage tanks on the grounds of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the plant operator said Feb. 11. Officials with Tokyo Electric Power Co. said some of the contaminated water from the melting snow blanketing the area may have seeped into the ground through the cracks. Workers on patrol … Continue reading

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Nuclear regulator raps TEPCO over inaccuarte radiation readings

By Mari Saito / reuters.com / February 12, 2014 / Japan’s nuclear regulator has criticised the operator of the stricken Fukushima plant for incorrectly measuring radiation levels in contaminated groundwater at the site. Almost three years since the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi station, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) still lacks basic understanding of measuring and handling radiation, Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said on Wednesday. The … Continue reading

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J-Gov to adopt new energy program in light of Masuzoe’s election

via apperspective.net / February 11, 2014 / Sources within the government are saying that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be adopting a new energy policy as early as this month to put into writing the mid and long-term energy plans for the country. This comes after former Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe’s victory in the recently-concluded Tokyo gubernatorial elections, a victory that has strengthened the government’s position on … Continue reading

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Tokyo election loss for anti-nukes lets Abe push for restarts

by Miya Tanaka / via Japan Times / February 10, 2014 / The defeat of two anti-nuclear candidates, including former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, in Sunday’s Tokyo gubernatorial election has given the central government a boost of confidence as it prepares to move forward with an energy policy supporting the use of atomic power. “We plan to compile a feasible and balanced Basic Energy Plan (for medium- to long-term energy … Continue reading

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Japan’s nuclear restart bogged down in safety checks and paperwork

via Asahi Shimbun / February 10, 2014 / Hundreds of technicians and engineers are camped out in Tokyo hotels trying to revive Japan’s nuclear industry, shut down in the wake of the Fukushima disaster almost three years ago. It’s proving a hard slog. A new, more independent regulator is in place, asking difficult questions and seeking to impose tougher safety rules on powerful utilities that were largely their own masters … Continue reading

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Pro-nuclear candidate elected Tokyo governor

via Al Jazeera / February 9, 2014 / Yoichi Masuzoe (pictured), a former health minister backed by Japan’s ruling party, has been elected as the new governor of Tokyo, after defeating two candidates who had promised to end nuclear power nearly three years after the Fukushima disaster. Masuzoe’s victory on Sunday was declared in exit polls on public broadcaster NHK within minutes after voting closed. “I want to make Tokyo the … Continue reading

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?Fukushima well radiation levels underestimated by five times

via RT.com / February 8, 2014 / TEPCO has revised the readings on the radioactivity levels at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant well to 5 million becquerels of strontium per liter – both a record, and nearly five times higher than the original reading of 900,000 becquerels per liter. Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium produced by nuclear fission with a half-life of 28.8 years. The legal standard … Continue reading

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Eight more Fukushima kids found with thyroid cancer; disaster link denied

via Japan Times / February 7, 2014 / Eight more Fukushima children have been confirmed as having thyroid gland cancer following the prefecture’s checkups, a local panel of experts said Friday, ruling out any link to the Tepco triple-meltdown calamity. The prefecture began the checkups in 2011 due to the nuclear disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 power station. Those subject to the measure were 18 or … Continue reading

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Groundwater Bypass Plan: TEPCO/METI Prepare for Release of ‘Uncontaminated’ Water into Ocean

via EX-SKF / February 5, 2014 / The word “uncontaminated” in the title above is in quotation marks, because there may be radionuclides left in the groundwater to be released, particularly tritium, even though it is the water drawn from the wells placed on the west side of the reactor buildings – i.e. before the groundwater enters the reactor buildings and gets contaminated. From Jiji Tsushin (2/3/2014), after the regular … Continue reading

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Fukushima governor to ask permission to store radioactive soil in two towns

via Japan Daily Press / February 6, 2014 / As one possible solution to the ongoing problem of disposing contaminated waste as a result of the nuclear meltdown in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato is proposing that some of the radioactive soil be stored in two towns where the radiation levels are still too high. He informed Okuma Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe and Futaba Mayor Shiro Izawa … Continue reading

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Construction plans for mid-sized geothermal plants booming across Japan

via Mainichi News / February 4, 2014 / Construction plans for dozens of mid-sized geothermal power plants have surfaced across Japan, with its rich geothermal resources coming under the spotlight in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Chuo Electric Power Co. will herald the move in April by initiating the operation of a new geothermal plant in Kumamoto Prefecture — the country’s first such facility to be inaugurated … Continue reading

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Construction Begins on #Fukushima Solar Station

via bloomberg.com / February 3, 2014 / JFE Holdings Inc. (5411)’s engineering unit began construction of a 26.2-megawatt solar power station in the prefecture of Fukushima, north of Tokyo, on behalf of a health foods company. The plant at a former golf club is expected to be completed in March 2015, JFE Engineering Corp. said in a statement today. The station will be run by Nagano prefecture-based Sunny Health Co., … Continue reading

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3 of the 4 Tokyo Gubernatorial Candidates Against Nuclear Power

by Masaaki Kameda / via The Japan Times / February 2, 2014 / Whether the powers that be liked it or not, nuclear power took center stage in a debate involving four major candidates for the Tokyo gubernatorial election that was streamed live on the Internet Saturday. Three of the candidates came out firmly against atomic power. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration has done its best to keep the issue … Continue reading

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Tepco Decomissions Two Surviving Fukushima Reactors

via Japan Times / February 1, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. decommissioned the No. 5 and No. 6 reactors at its meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture on Friday. The two units were the only ones that survived the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the aging six-reactor plant in March 2011. Tepco, as the utility is known, will now focus on containing … Continue reading

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Japan radio host quits after nuclear issues banned

via RT.com / January 31, 2014 / A veteran radio show host has quit his job at Japan Broadcasting Corp. after the program director told him not to discuss nuclear power for fear his comments “would affect voting behavior” in the upcoming Tokyo gubernatorial election. Toru Nakakita, a professor of economics at Tokyo University, was the host of the Business Outlook segment on the Radio Asa Ichiban for the past … Continue reading

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TEPCO fears 3-cm hole in Fukushima reactor No.2

via RT.com / January 30, 2014 / The suppression pool of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit No. 2 reactor may have a 3-centimeter hole in it, through which the highly radioactive water might be leaking out, the plant operator said. The information is based on the data gathered by a robot sent into the suppression pool at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel earlier in January. The … Continue reading

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Hundreds file lawsuit against makers of Fukushima nuclear plant

via RT.com / January 30, 2014 / About 1,400 people have filed a joint lawsuit against three companies that manufactured Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, saying they should be financially liable for damage caused by its 2011 meltdowns. Lawyers for the plaintiffs, who are seeking compensation of 100 yen ($1) each, say the lawsuit is meant to set a new legal precedent on current regulations, which give big corporations immunity … Continue reading

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Congress Launches Inquiry Into Health Impacts of Fukushima Disaster Relief

by Matthew M. Burke / Stars and Stripes / January 27, 2014 / Congress has instructed the Defense Department to launch an inquiry into potential health impacts on Navy first-responders from Japan’s March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The request, made in the explanatory statement from the House that accompanied the fiscal 2014 budget bill that passed Congress this month, comes as a growing number of sailors and Marines … Continue reading

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TEPCO begins work on underground ice wall at Fukushima Daiichi

by Lucas W. Hixson / Enformable.com / Tokyo Electric workers are to begin work at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to create underground frozen walls at the Unit 2 and Unit 3 turbine buildings on Wednesday. The utility is also digging wells across the compound to determine whether or not water is leaking directly from the reactor buildings. Enormous amounts of coolant water is injected around the clock to … Continue reading

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Our Radioactive Ocean: First Results Show #Fukushima Radiation Has Not Reached US Coast

via Our Radioactive Ocean / January 28, 2014 /The first results from seawater samples come from La Jolla and Point Reyes, Calif., and Grayland and Squium, Wash. Four samples from these three locations show no detectable Fukushima cesium. We know this because Fukushima released equal amounts of two isotopes of cesium: the shorter-lived cesium-134 isotope (half-life of 2 years) and the longer-lived cesium-137 (half-life of 30 years). Cesium-137 was found … Continue reading

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Japan still counting Fukushima energy cost

via World Nuclear News /  January 27, 2014 / Costly fossil fuel imports have helped push Japan into a trade deficit for a third consecutive year as the country’s nuclear plants remain off line. Preliminary 2013 figures released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance reveal a deficit of JPY 11.5 trillion ($112 billion), up 65% on 2012′s deficit of 6.9 trillion ($67.5 billion). A major contributing factor has been the cost … Continue reading

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Drones used to measure #Fukushima radiation

by Maan Pamintuan / via Japan Daily Press / January 27, 2014 / A drone manufactured to measure radiation levels has been developed by the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency and the Japanese Space Exploration Agency. It is operated using a remote control and unlike manned aircrafts, it has the option to fly lower, with a minimum of 300 meters in altitude. As the earthquake and tsunami hit area of Fukushima … Continue reading

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Alaska Gov Not Testing for Radiation

by Jennifer Canfield / Juneau Empire / January 23, 2014 / The Department of Environmental Conservation isn’t actively testing fish for radiation, Commissioner Larry Hartig told the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday. A radiation leak from a nuclear power plant in Japan after a March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami continues to worry some about whether it’s safe to eat fish from the Pacific Ocean, but Hartig said those … Continue reading

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Canadians buying potassium iodide in bulk over fears of Fukushima radiation

via RT.com / January 23, 2014 / Health officials in the coastal Canadian province of British Columbia are cautioning residents not to try and qualm fears of radioactive contamination by ingesting mass quantities of potassium iodide. Journalist Dan Fumano of BC’s The Province newspaper wrote this week that potassium iodide pills have been flying off the shelves of area drug stores after reports published on the internet advised people that … Continue reading

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Japanese researchers use cosmic rays to see nuclear fuel

via Channel News Asia / January 23, 2014 / Japanese researchers said on Thursday they had succeeded in using cosmic rays to find nuclear fuel inside a reactor, a technology that might be helpful in the complicated decommissioning at Fukushima. By observing the way the particles behaved near reactors, container vessels and spent fuel pools, they were able to obtain a clear visual picture of the fuel, they said. “We … Continue reading

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Yeah, about that #Fukushima radiation …

via Alaska Dispatch / January 22, 2014 / Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I’ve been trying to find Zen with the the ongoing Fukushima nuclear mess. Between colossal tax cuts for oil companies, a budget forecast that induces acid reflux, and Medicaid un-expansion, I barely had the brainspace to worry whether my dad’s smoked sockeye was going to give me colon cancer or turn me into a … Continue reading

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#Fukushima Daini Reactors Can Be Safely Offline for 10 More Years

via pddnet.com / January 22, 2014 / The Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday confirmed that one of the aging reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daini plant can remain offline safely for another 10 years, after assessing the deterioration level of related equipment and the impact of the March 2011 natural disasters. The Fukushima Daini plant (pictured) is located about 12 kilometers south of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which … Continue reading

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Reactor 3: Water Leak Most Likely From Inside Pressure Vessel

via EX-SKF / January 19, 2014 / This is today’s update on the water leak from the MSIV (Main Steam Isolation Valve) Room of Reactor 3 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. (Previous posts on the subject are here and here.) TEPCO says they did the nuclide analysis of the water sample that the robot collected. The temperature and the levels of contamination indicate it is the water that comes … Continue reading

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David Suzuki ‘regrets’ dire #Fukushima warning

via National Post / January 20, 2014 / Three months after making the wildly overblown claim that a second nuclear emergency at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant would require the evacuation of the North American West Coast, environmentalist David Suzuki said he “regrets” the comments. Nevertheless, the Nature of Things host did not seem to go so far as to renege the claim, which has baffled nuclear scientists. “I regret having … Continue reading

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Reactor 3: Water Leak From MSIV Room Could Be A Huge Problem

via EX-SKF / January 18, 2014 / TEPCO released the video which was being taken by the robot on the first floor of Reactor 3 and which was being monitored by a TEPCO employee who noticed the water. The flow looks significant and fast. From TEPCO’s photos and video library, 1/18/2014: Location of the MSIV Room:   Radiation levels on the 1st floor of Reactor 3, from yesterday’s post: The … Continue reading

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TEPCO May Spend 2.67 Trillion Yen to Expand Beyond Fukushima

via bloomberg.com / January 19, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, is considering spending about 2.67 trillion yen ($25.6 billion) on strategic investments through partnerships as it seeks to move beyond the Fukushima disaster. Of the planned investments, the utility known as Tepco plans to borrow 2 trillion yen in fresh loans from lenders, President Naomi Hirose (pictured), 60, said in … Continue reading

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Radiation at Fukushima well hits ‘record high’

via Russia Today / January 18, 2014 / A record high level of beta rays released from radioactive strontium-90 has been detected at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant beneath the No. 2 reactor’s well facing the ocean, according to the facility’s operator. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) measured the amount of beta ray-emitting radioactivity at more than 2.7 million becquerels per liter, Fukushima’s operator said as reported in Japanese … Continue reading

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Water leak found inside reactor 3

via NHK / January 18, 2014 / The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has found water pouring into a drain inside the number 3 reactor building. Tokyo Electric Power Company says it is yet to determine where the water comes from, or how much radioactive material it contains. The company said that the water leak was spotted on the first floor of the reactor … Continue reading

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Our Radioactive Ocean: New crowdfunded project seeks to monitor #Fukushima radiation in the Pacific

via OurRadioactiveOcean.org The world’s oceans contain many of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, as well as the remnants of nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 60s. Starting in 2011, fallout, runoff, and continued leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant added to this baseline and sparked fears of wide-ranging impacts to the marine ecosystem and human health. Despite concerns, there is no U.S. government agency monitoring the spread of … Continue reading

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Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Assembly Removal 10% Completed

via EX-SKF / January 16, 2014 / The fuel assemblies stored in the fuel rack inside the Unit 4 spent fuel pool are to be taken out and transferred to the common pool located within the station site for centralized storage. This fuel removal operation starts on November 18, 2013. Its completion is scheduled for the end of 2014. From TEPCO’s page dedicated to the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool … Continue reading

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Fukushima No. 1 engineer’s warning to Taiwan: Nuclear power unstable

via Japan Times / January 16, 2014 / A Japanese engineer who helped build reactor 4 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant said such plants are inherently unstable, urging Taiwan to ditch atomic energy for renewable resources. Mitsuhiko Tanaka (pictured), arriving in Taipei on Tuesday with a delegation of Diet members for a six-day visit, told a press conference Wednesday that the 1986 Chernobyl disaster changed his views on … Continue reading

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History of Bomb Strontium and Cesium Isotopes in Pacific Compared to #Fukushima Sources

via Daily Kos / January 15, 2014 / The purpose of this diary is to compare the concentrations of Sr-90 and Cs-137 in the North Pacific Ocean over the last 50 years to the concentrations predicted to arrive on the west coast associated with waters affected by release of radionculides from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Given present levels that are being measured in the eastern Pacific and barring release … Continue reading

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Flashback: #Fukushima, the Criminal Complicity of Governments & What May Be in Store for US Reactors

via Boiling Frogs Post / Febuary 28, 2012 / During the nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan’s northeast last March, the world watched in horror as conditions in the plant deteriorated by the day. Despite public reassurances that the situation was under control, we now know that three of the plant’s reactors actually began meltdown within hours and that plans were being made at the … Continue reading

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International Experts Meeting In Vienna To Discuss Radiation Protection

by Michael Madsen / via IAEA / January 15, 2014 / The Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 and the following tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has brought to the forefront important challenges facing the international radiation protection regime. As a result of the disaster, and in line with the IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, the IAEA is hosting an International Experts’ Meeting (IEM) on … Continue reading

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Japanese Govt. approves TEPCO business plan to switch on reactors

via Asia One / January 15, 2014 / Japan’s government on Wednesday approved a fresh business plan for the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant that includes restarting idled reactors elsewhere in the currently nuclear-free country. Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi gave the green light to Tokyo Electric Power’s plan, which involves pursuing the resumption of some operations at the huge Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station (pictured) in northern Niigata prefecture. … Continue reading

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Former Anti-Nuclear Prime Ministers Join Forces For Tokyo Govenorship Run

via Asahi Shimbun / January 14, 2014 / Former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa (pictured left), who is aiming to make Japan a nuclear-free country, said on Jan. 14 that he will run in next month’s Tokyo gubernatorial election with the backing of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (pictured right), another anti-nuclear advocate. The support by Koizumi, a popular former Liberal Democratic Party prime minister, is an embarrassment to the pro-nuclear … Continue reading

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TEPCO employees’ families to return compensation money for evacuation

via Voice of Russia / January 13, 2014 / A number of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) employees, the operator of the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima nuclear plant, accuse the company of demanding their families to return the compensation money for their evacuation during the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 2011. One particular employee’s family has received a letter from TEPCO, demanding that they return the 30 million … Continue reading

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High school newspaper aims to connect with Fukushima Pref.

via The Japan News / January 14, 2014 / Since May 2011, a newspaper published by high school students in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, has been giving readers an update on the situation in Fukushima Prefecture, which was hit hard by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The series “Connecting Fukushima” in the Hikone Higashi High School newspaper also features people in Shiga who assist in the reconstruction of Fukushima, also … Continue reading

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Microalgae, Aquatic Plants Can Remove Radioactive Pollution, Study

By Stephen Adkins / UniversityHerald.com / January 13, 2014 / Microalgae and aquatic plants could help remove radioactive pollution from waters around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Japanese researchers claim. A powerful earthquake and devastating tsunami caused heavy damage to the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011. The plant suffered multiple meltdowns and subsequently released large quantities of radioactivity into the atmosphere. “The volume of radio-polluted water … Continue reading

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