7/25/2011 TEPCO tackles trouble with decontamination units

Source: NHK World
Date:





The Tokyo Electric Power Company is trying to figure out why a system to decontaminate radioactive water at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant remains unstable.

The system funnels in radioactive water accumulated in the underground facility and reuses it as a reactor coolant after decontaminating radioactive substances.

TEPCO started the operation late last month.

The system sends 3.8 cubic meters of water per hour to each of the No.1 and No.2 reactors.

However, the operation has been unstable for the last 3 days. On Friday, the amount of water injected suddenly decreased to 3.4 cubic meters per hour at No.2 reactor, and then fell to 3.2 cubic meters on Saturday.

At No.1 reactor, water levels decreased to 3.3 cubic meters on Sunday morning.

The utility is examining the pumps each time the amount of water goes down in order to return the system to its previous volume.

On Sunday, the system was halted for 7 hours due to trouble with a device to remove salt from radioactive water. TEPCO restored operation with a back-up mechanism.

The utility says it will closely watch each system and try to track down the causes of the instability.

Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)

7/25/2011 Contaminated water on increase at Fukushima plant

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 14:12 +0900 (JST)


Tokyo Electric Power Company is injecting fresh water from a nearby dam to make up for the shortage of water in its system for cooling the reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The system decontaminates radioactive water that has accumulated in the plant and circulates it.

TEPCO halted the process of removing salt from contaminated water after an alarm went off around noon on Sunday due to a problem with the installation of the desalination equipment. It resumed the operation in the evening after installing another device.

The new device is only able to treat half the amount of water. The amount of contaminated water has been increasing since the problem occurred.

TEPCO began using the new circulatory water injection system late last month. Last week, the government and the utility announced the completion of the first stage of the plan to stabilize the cooling of the reactors.

NHK's reporter points out that as a result of Sunday's trouble, the amount of contaminated water is increasing. He adds that the recycling of cooling water, a key element of bringing the accident under control, cannot be maintained.

TEPCO is investigating the cause of the problem. The utility says the decontamination system as a whole is not operating stably and it needs to improve its reliability.

7/25/2011 Radiation tester in hot demand via beef scare

Source: The Japan Times
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Kyodo

Retailers and consumers are inundating a private institute testing various items for radioactive materials to confirm the safety of beef products amid reports that cattle exposed to cesium were shipped nationwide, institute officials said.

Isotope Research Institute Inc., which is based in Yokohama, said it has received more than 150 inquiries including by phone and dozens of beef samples from all over the country since high levels of radioactive cesium were detected July 11 in straw fed to cattle at a farm in Fukushima Prefecture.
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7/25/2011 Fukushima mobilizes 3,900 to help decontaminate 'hot spots'

Source: Kyodo News via Japan Today
Date: Jul. 25, 2011 - 04:46PM JST

FUKUSHIMA — Decontamination efforts began at several “hot spots” – areas where especially high radiation levels were detected - in and around Fukushima City on Sunday and continued Monday. Some 400 experts and 3,500 residents are participating in the effort. Residents worked to haul mud and debris from gutters and deweed the area.

Additionally, a specialized cleaning vehicle decontaminated certain roads, especially those used by children to commute to school. After the initial cleanup, residents reported Monday morning that the radiation level had dropped by about half, from 10 to around 5 microsieverts an hour.

The cleanup area is about 90 kilometers away from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, outside of the mandatory evacuation zone. But concerns began to rise when a high reading of 3.83 microsieverts/hr was measured in June. The cleanup was initiated in the hopes of avoiding the need for an evacuation of the area, local officials said.

Fukushima Update, July 25 2011

Source: The Paltry Sapien
Date: 7/25/2011
by: Matthew Payne

US NRC Reports and the Nation’s Leaders Yawn

So, the New York Times has a retrospective on the political fallout from Fukushima.  In it, it repeats a clearly mistaken evaluation of causality:

The odds are remote that this country will confront a similarly powerful earthquake followed by an even more destructive tsunami — the twin blows that disabled Fukushima.

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7/24/2011 Japan Passes The Computer Network Monitoring Law To Cleanse The Internet Of “Bad” Fukushima News

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: July 24, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Japan has passed a law that will enable the police and contractors to monitor internet activity without restriction to “cleanse” the Internet of any “bad” Fukushima radiation news.
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7/25/2011 Gov. releases radiation forecast system data

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)




Japan's nuclear watchdog has released results of their analysis on how radioactive substances spread after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency released data analyzed by a computer forecasting system designed to track the movement of radioactive substances based on wind and weather.

The System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, or SPEEDI, calculated 6 days' worth of data, from March 12th through 17th.

The results show the amount of radioactive substances in the atmosphere, external exposures and accumulation on the ground.

A map from March 12th, a day after the disaster, shows radioactive substances first flowed towards the southeast and then gradually moved north.

The Agency says it calculated the data based on updated figures obtained from the nuclear reactors through June.

The 600 pages of information are available on the internet.

The Agency will provide all the data to Fukushima Prefecture. It wants to use the information when conducting health research for its residents to estimate their amount of radiation exposure.

7/25/2011 Workers at Fukushima plant report harsh conditions

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 09:51 +0900 (JST)




Workers involved in the restoration of the areas hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say their working conditions have been harsh.

About 1,500 temporary workers of subcontractors hired by leading construction companies gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss the situation.

A man who took part in the construction of emergency housing in Iwate Prefecture said he had been promised 20,000 yen, or 250 dollars, per day, but received only about one-third of the amount.

He said there were inadequate meals and workers had to sleep together 40 per room.

There were also reports about the conditions for those engaged in treatment of radioactive water and piping construction at the Fukushima plant.

The workers were forced to work without any explanation about the risk of radiation or any measures against heat strokes.

Another worker said he has received only half of the wages he had been promised for building temporary housing in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. He said he wants the government to do something about the unfair working conditions.

The organizers say these issues have not surfaced before because many workers find it inappropriate to complain when they think about the hardships of people in the disaster-hit areas.

7/23/2011 - 7/24/2011 Chinese Bullet Train Derails (Videos)

NHK World: China's high-speed train derails

Sunday, July 24, 2011 01:52 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: China decides to dismiss senior railway officials

Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: China rushed to build high-speed train network

Sunday, July 24, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: Chinese Internet users criticize train accident

Sunday, July 24, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)

RT News: Video of crashed China bullet trains after collision kills 35

7/24/2011 Upload date