NRA & TEPCO Agree to Start Frozen Underground Wall at Fukushima No. 1 in Stages

via The Japan Times /  February 15, 2016 / The Nuclear Regulation Authority and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have broadly agreed to start operating the frozen underground wall at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in stages. The agreement, reached Monday, is on the frozen underground wall that officials hope will surround the buildings housing reactors 1 through 4 and reduce the amount of groundwater flowing into the facilities. The … Continue reading

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Current State of Post-Accident Operations at Fukushima NPP – July to December 2015

via Citizens Nuclear Information Center / February 2, 2016 / State of the Plant Many of the measuring instruments installed in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) measuring system continue to malfunction as a result of the accident and there is no guarantee of the accuracy of values being measured. However, from the water temperature in the containment vessels and the spent fuel pools, and from the state of … Continue reading

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Fukushima Daiichi NPS today – 5 Years Since The Disaster Began

via Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center / February 2, 2016 / 1) After 5 years, still very little is known about the causes and effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. A whole five years will soon have passed since the severe accident occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS). Nonetheless, the causes of the accident have not yet been clarified. Which was the main cause of the accident: the … Continue reading

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Fukushima Myth: Declassified Fuel Releases (video)

via Goddard’s Journal / January 1, 2016 / SOURCES USED: Story that declassified documents reveal 100% fuel loss from Fukushima Unit 4 spent fuel pool (SFP): https://rt.com/news/325663-fukushima-… Time-framed Google search shows inundation of mostly alt-media sources with the bogus story https://www.google.com/search?q=fukus… Links to Reality… The declassified NRC document in question: http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1212/M… Paragraphs in question highlighted on PDF-pages 7 to 8. First flyover shows steaming Unit 4 fuel pool (March 2011) … Continue reading

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Proving Negligence in TEPCO Case Daunting

By Kunihiko Yoshizawa and Toru Asami / via The-Japan-News.com / August 22, 2015 / On July 31, the Tokyo No. 5 Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution announced its decision that former Tokyo Electric Power Co. Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata (pictured), 75, and two other former company executives “should be indicted” in connection with the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster. In this case the “will of the people” has … Continue reading

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20-Ton Debris Removed From Fukushima Daiichi Fuel Pool

By Jun Hongo via Wall Street Journal August 3rd, 2015 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it successfully removed the largest piece of debris from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant’s Unit 3 reactor, which had fallen inside the spent-fuel pool following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. According to Tepco, the company used two 600-ton cranes to lift the 20-ton fuel-handling machine, which was sitting on top of more than 500 fuel … Continue reading

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TEPCO Execs to be Charged Over Fukushima Disaster

by Kentaro Hamada and Osamu Tsukimori via Reuters July 31, 2015 A Japanese civilian judiciary panel on Friday forced prosecutors to indict three former Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) (Tepco) executives for failing to take measures to prevent the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The decision is unlikely to lead to a conviction of the former executives, after prosecutors twice said they would not bring charges, but means they will be summoned … Continue reading

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TEPCO Gave 50 Contracts To Company Tied To Kariwa Mayor

By SATOSHI OTANI / Asahi Shimbun / July 21st, 2015 / The father of pro-nuclear Kariwa Mayor Hiroo Shinada is a director of a company that received contracts worth millions of yen for work at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. In addition, a gasoline stand run by Shinada’s wife is frequented by TEPCO employees as well as workers at nuclear plant-related companies. Shinada, 58, said … Continue reading

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3,100 Fukushima Residents File For Damages From TEPCO

via Japan Times / July 21st, 2015 / Around 3,100 residents in the city of Fukushima are demanding ¥18.3 billion in damages related to the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, lawyers said. A total of 3,107 residents of the Watari district want an out-of-court settlement for their psychological distress, including health concerns due to radiation exposure. The demand was filed Tuesday with a public … Continue reading

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Struggling TEPCO to Gain Additional Funding From 3 National Mega-Banks

from The Asahi Shimbun / June 24, 2015 / In a show of “confidence”, the nation’s top three banks and other financial organizations who have been funding embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. have agreed to extend 280 billion yen ($2.26 billion) in loans to the utility for the fiscal year. [emphasis added] The entities concluded that TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, has been … Continue reading

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7,000 Japanese Claim $297mn in Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Damages

via RT.com / June 15, 2015 / Some 7,000 people in Japan’s Tochigi prefecture have sought $297 million in compensation over the Fukushima nuclear disaster. They are also demanding a decontamination fund, health checks, and an apology from the plant’s operator. The residents’ lead lawyer, Koji Otani, said it is “irrational” for his clients to be treated differently than Fukushima residents, as the same amount of radiation was detected in … Continue reading

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TEPCO Executives Recognized Need For Improved Tsunami Protection in 2008

via Enformable.com / June 19, 2015 / Tokyo Electric, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, has released a document during a lawsuit brought by over 40 shareholders which reveals the utilities acknowledgment that tsunami defenses at the plant were not adequate. The internal document from 2008 noted that TEPCO executives had agreed that it would be “indispensable” to further build up coastal defenses for the plant … Continue reading

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Japanese “Over-Confidence & Complacency” Proved Deadly In Fukushima

via Zero Hedge / June 9th, 2015 / In a stunning report by The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Director General Yukiya Amano fingers Japanese over-confidence and complacency among the main reasons why the country was unprepared to the Fukushima Daiichi disaster of 2011. As Sputnik News reports, Amano exclaimed “there was a widespread belief in Japan that Japanese nuclear power plants are very safe and there would never be … Continue reading

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Fukushima Fuel Debris Retrieval To Start In 2021

via world-nuclear-news.org / June 4, 2015 / Japan expects to start the retrieval of fuel debris from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2021, the executive director of the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corporation (NDF) said yesterday. Three of the plant’s six reactors suffered core meltdowns in the March 2011 accident, leaving melted nuclear fuel debris on the floor of their containment vessels. NDF was established in September … Continue reading

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Pressure Relief System Failed at Reactor #2 After Disaster, TEPCO Reveals

via RT.com / May 21, 2015 / The latest report by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has shed more light on the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, revealing a failure in one of the reactors’ pressure relief systems. The new report looks into data discovered by a robot that ventured into the Fukushima Daiichi Reactor-2 building (pictured) in October. It measured radiation levels at various places and studied the conditions of … Continue reading

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Risk of Hydrogen Explosion From Leaking Containers At Fukushima

by Hiromi Kumai / Asahi Shimbun / May 23, 2015 / Inspections of containers holding contaminated water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant found that at least 10 percent have leaks, which could trigger a hydrogen explosion. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, reported its findings at a meeting with a study group from the Nuclear Regulation Authority on May 22. It said no radioactive water was … Continue reading

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TEPCO To Sell Large Portion Of Uranium Reserves

via Enformable.com / May 19, 2015 / Tokyo Electric Power Company has not used any uranium to produce electricity since the March 11th, 2011 nuclear disaster.  None of the reactors owned by TEPCO have been restarted and remain offline. The utility has been struggling to stay ahead of the mounting financial problems as it has to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and pay compensation for damages without generating … Continue reading

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TEPCO May Need to Dump Fukushima Water Into Sea, UN Says

via bloomberg.com / May 15, 2015 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. should consider discharging water contaminated by the Fukushima Daiichi reactor meltdowns into the Pacific Ocean, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. More than four years after the nuclear power-plant disaster in Japan, the United Nations agency renewed pressure for an alternative to holding the tainted water in tanks and offered to help monitor for offshore radiation. “The IAEA team … Continue reading

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Video: TEPCO Starts Removing Cover For Fukushima Reactor

via NHK World / May 15, 2015 / The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant began work on Friday morning to dismantle the cover of the No.1 reactor building. The cover was installed after the March 2011 nuclear accident to prevent radioactive dust from dispersing. The reactor experienced a hydrogen explosion at the time of accident. Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to remove the cover in order to clear … Continue reading

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Robot To Enter No. 2 Reactor In #Fukushima NPP

via asiaone.com / May 5th, 2015 / A new small robot will be used to inspect the condition of melted nuclear fuel at the second reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant as early as this summer, marking the first full-scale probe since the disaster caused by the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami in 2011. The use of the robot, which is now being developed, will mark the … Continue reading

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Fukushima Report Delayed as TEPCO Gets New Chance to Explain

via bloomberg.com / May 4th, 2015 / The International Atomic Energy Agency delayed a report about meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to give Japanese officials another chance to explain radiation leaking into the Pacific Ocean. The IAEA’s report about mid- to long-term plans to decommission the stricken reactors will be published in “mid-May,” agency spokesman Serge Gas said in an e-mailed reply to questions. The report had … Continue reading

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Pumps At Fukushima Plant Halted, Toxic Water Leaking Into Ocean – TEPCO

via RT.com / April 21, 2015 / All the eight water transfer pumps (pictured) at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power station have been shut down due to a power outage, leading to a leak of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator said. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) reported a power outage on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency. It follows the line of the toxic leaks that … Continue reading

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Two Malfunctioning Robots Are Now Stuck Inside Fukushima Reactor

via Gizmodo.com / April 22, 2015 / The dangerous and unenviable task of cleaning up the Fukushima reactor has hit its latest snag: Two snake-like reconnaissance bots had to be abandoned inside the reactor—after one got stuck and another’s camera was damaged by radiation. The Fukushima cleanup relies almost entirely on robots because radiation levels inside the reactor are still too dangerous for humans. TEPCO, the company managing the efforts, … Continue reading

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TEPCO/Japan Govt. Mull 3 Options To Remove Melted Nuclear Fuel

via the-japan-news.com / April 11, 2105 / The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. are studying three different plans to remove melted nuclear fuel from reactors at the crippled Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, it has been learned. The Yomiuri Shimbun obtained a draft outline of an operation road map as well as a strategic plan on technical methods concerning the removal of melted fuel rods in reactors Nos. 1 … Continue reading

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TEPCO May Evaporate Contaminated Fukushima Water

via RT.com / April 8, 2015 / Tainted water from Fukushima nuclear plant storage may be evaporated or stored underground instead of following earlier plans to release it into the ocean. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which is responsible for cleaning up the crippled power plant, planned to release the tritium-laced water into the ocean. However, it suffered a setback following protests by local fishermen who are already struggling with … Continue reading

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TEPCO Vows To Release ‘All Fukushima Radiation Data’

via RT.com / March 31, 2015 / The nuclear operator of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has announced that it plans to disclose all data on radiation levels recorded at the site in response to criticism of lack of transparency following the catastrophe. Tokyo Electric Power Co. TEPCO will start disclosing all data sets “as soon as they become available” for release, President Naomi Hirose (pictured right) told a press … Continue reading

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Prosecution of Former Management of TEPCO Dropped Again

via CNIC.jp / March 31, 2015 / The Complainants for Criminal Prosecution of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (CCFN) filed a criminal accusation in June 2012 inquiring into the responsibility for the nuclear accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, but the Tokyo Public Prosecutor’s Office dropped the case in September 2013, and the complainants therefore petitioned the Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution. In July 2014, the Tokyo Fifth … Continue reading

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Current State of Post-Accident Operations at Fukushima Daiichi

By Hajime Matsukubo / CNIC.jp / March 31, 2015 / Many of the measuring instruments installed in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) measuring system continue to malfunction as a result of the accident. Although there is no guarantee of the accuracy of values being measured, if the values from the measuring instruments are taken as the premise, from the water temperature in the containment vessels and the spent … Continue reading

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Setback at Fukushima No. 1 Plant Threatens Reactor 3 Rod Removal

via japantimes.com / March 27, 2015 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. has disclosed that a 35-ton piece of machinery debris might be resting on the inner gate of the spent fuel pool for reactor 3 of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and that the gate is slightly out of position. TEPCO said Thursday that a fuel-handling machine dislodged during the March 2011 quake, tsunami and meltdown-triggered hydrogen explosions is … Continue reading

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Audit Report: Billions of Yen Wasted on Bad Technology at Fukushima

March 24, 2015 / by Mari Yamaguchi / AP / Japanese government auditors say the operator of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant has wasted more than a third of the 190 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in taxpayer money allocated for cleaning up the plant after it was destroyed by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. A Board of Audit report describes various expensive machines and untested measures that ended in … Continue reading

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Deaths Tied To #Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Up 18%

via Press TV / March 10, 2014 / A fresh report in Japan shows the number of deaths by radiation from the country’s Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in 2011 increased by 18 percent last year. The report published on Tuesday by the Japanese newspaper Tokyo Shimbun said figures from authorities in Fukushima Prefecture showed a total of 1,232 deaths in 2014 were linked to the nuclear disaster. The highest … Continue reading

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4 Years After: 71% of Residents Dissatisfied With Work at Fukushima Nuclear Plant

via asahi.com / March 4, 2015 / Around 71 percent of Fukushima Prefecture residents remain dissatisfied with the central government’s handling of the nuclear disaster four years after the triple meltdown forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, a survey showed. Only 14 percent of respondents were satisfied with the central government’s efforts at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to the telephone survey conducted jointly … Continue reading

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TEPCO Finds New Source Of Radiation Leaking Into Sea

via channelnewsasia.com / February 25, 2015 / The operator of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant said on Tuesday it had found a pool of highly contaminated water on the roof of a plant building and that it had probably leaked into the sea through a gutter when it rained. The finding comes four years after a massive earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc’s Fukushima … Continue reading

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Video: Fukushima Contaminated Water Leakage Still a ‘Challenging Issue’

By Adam Justice /  IBTimes.co.uk / February 9, 2015 / The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team that will review Japan’s decommissioning work at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant this week, said on Monday (9 February) that contaminated water leakage remains a challenging issue. Since the devastating March 2011 earthquake that caused triple meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has struggled with … Continue reading

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Looking Inside Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1

via world-nuclear-news.org / February 10, 2015 / TEPCO said it is installing a muon detection system at the unit. The system comprises two measuring devices. The first was installed on the north side of the reactor building yesterday, while the second was scheduled to be put in place on the west side of the building today. Once the system is installed, it will be ready for testing, the company said. Muons are high-energy … Continue reading

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Fishers Submit Request Over TEPCO Wastewater Plan

via NHK World / January 27, 2015 / Japanese fishers have demanded that the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant gain their understanding before releasing decontaminated water into the sea. The head of a national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, submitted the request to industry minister Yoichi Miyazawa on Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulation Authority last week released a plan to discharge decontaminated water below government standards into … Continue reading

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Plan C Also Failed In Plugging Reactor 2 Trench…Now What?

via EX-SKF.blogspot.com / November 24, 2014 / Plan D of Course! But first, recall that Plan A was to install freezing pipes at the head of the trench leading from Reactor 2 turbine building to create an ice plug so that the extremely contaminated water that had been sitting in the trench since the very beginning of the nuclear accident could be pumped out. TEPCO started the work in April … Continue reading

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TEPCO to bury Fukushima plant trench with concrete to control radioactive water

via mainichi.jp / November 23, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has decided to bury a trench at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant using concrete after an effort to completely stop the flow of radiation contaminated water failed, it has been learned. TEPCO reported its plan to the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on Nov. 21, and the NRA approved it, saying that the plan can at … Continue reading

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Fukushima £11bn cleanup progresses, but there is no cause for optimism

via The Guardian / November 14, 2014 / The man in charge of cleaning up the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has admitted there is little cause for optimism while thousands of workers continue their battle to contain huge quantities of radioactive water. The water problem is so severe that the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], and its myriad partner firms have enlisted almost all of their 6,000 … Continue reading

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All Spent Fuel Removed From Fukushima No.4 Reactor

from NHK World / November 5, 2014 / Workers have finished removing highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from one of the reactor buildings at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. The No.4 reactor had no nuclear fuel when the plant was hit by a massive quake and tsunami in March 2011. But there were more than 1,500 units of spent and unused fuel in the pool in the reactor building. The … Continue reading

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Japan Trade Minister In Conflict Of Interest Row Over TEPCO Shares

via theguardian.com / October 24, 2014 / Japan’s government is reeling from its third scandal in a week after the trade minister, who oversees nuclear energy, faced questions over his shares in the company that runs the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Yoichi Miyazawa (pictured) had already faced embarrassment on Thursday when it was revealed that members of his staff had claimed expenses for a visit to a bondage … Continue reading

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3/11 Charges For TEPCO Execs Delayed By 3 Months

via Japan Times / October 25, 2014 / Prosecutors have delayed for three months a decision on whether to charge three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co. for their handling of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, an official with a panel that requested the indictments said Friday. The Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office had been re-investigating the case after an independent judicial panel of citizens ruled in July that three former … Continue reading

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Japan In Depth / TEPCO Measures Fail To Hold Water

By Eiji Noyori and Hiroyuki Oyama / the-japan-times.com / September 11, 2014 / Three and a half years after the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, efforts to contain water contaminated with radioactive substances at the plant are at a crossroads. Resolving the radioactive water issue is the first hurdle toward decommissioning the plant. However, despite the time that has passed since the beginning … Continue reading

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TEPCO Signs LNG Purchase Deal With BP

via naturalgasasia.com / Septmeber 12, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and BP Singapore (BPS), an affiliate of BP Group have signed an agreement under which the Japanese utility will purchase up to 1.20 million tons of LNG per year over 17 years from the British firm. LNG supplies are expected to commence in April 2017 and the gas would be sourced from multiple sources the BP holds, TEPCO … Continue reading

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Fukushima Daiichi Workers To Sue TEPCO

via NHK World / September 1, 2014 / Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are planning to sue Tokyo Electric Power Company, demanding it pay wages suited for the dangerous work. Four male workers at a TEPCO subcontractor will file a lawsuit at the Iwaki branch of the Fukushima district court on Wednesday. The workers are doing plumbing work on tanks that store radioactive water at the plant. … Continue reading

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Fukushima Disaster Bill More Than $105bn, Double Earlier Estimates

via RT.com / August 27, 2014 / The tragedy at the Fukushima nuclear plant will cost 11.08 trillion yen ($105 billion), twice as much as Japanese authorities predicted at the end of 2011. The expenses include radiation clean-up and compensation to residents. The research was led by Kenichi Oshima, environmental economics professor at Ritsumeikan University, and Masafumi Yokemoto, professor of environment policy at Osaka City University. They calculated the costs … Continue reading

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More ALPS Equipment Approved For Use At Fukushima

via Asahi Shimbun / August 28, 2014 / Additional decontamination machines will be installed at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to treat the hundreds of tons of radioactive groundwater collected at the facility daily, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Aug. 27. The multi-nuclide removal equipment, called ALPS (advanced liquid processing system), began operating in late March 2013 and has handled 127,000 tons of contaminated water to date. … Continue reading

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TEPCO Found Liable For Evacuee’s Suicide

via therakyatpost.com / August 26, 2014 / A Japanese court has ruled that Fukushima nuclear operator Tokyo Electric was responsible for a woman’s suicide after the March 2011 disaster and must pay compensation, in a landmark ruling that could set a precedent for other claims against the utility. The civil suit by Mikio Watanabe claimed that Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc (Tepco) was to blame for the July 2011 death … Continue reading

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