Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

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Thursday, July 14, 2011

FEPC Information Sheet Regarding the Tohoku Earthquake summarizing events from Update 52 on 7/6

Information Sheet Regarding the Tohoku Earthquake (from FEPC Washington Office)


Please find the updated information sheet below and attached that summarizes the events from Update-52 on 7/6.

For your reference, JAIF (Japan Atomic Industrial Forum) has been posting the translation of news reports on their website. http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/
 

Please direct any questions regarding this document to me, Ishida@denjiren.com or Samuel Lederer, Researcher of FEPC at lederer@denjiren.com.

Update to Information Sheet Regarding the Tohoku Earthquake
The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan (FEPC) Washington DC Office

As of July 14, 2011
All times listed below are Japan Standard Time (JST) unless otherwise noted.

  • Prime Minister’s Announcement on Future Nuclear Power Policy in Japan
    • On July 13, Prime Minister Kan stated that Japan should lessen its dependence on nuclear power in a planned and phased manner, aiming toward a future society that does not depend on nuclear power.
    • FEPC Chairman Makoto Yagi made a comment on this statement as follows. “A drastic review of the nation's energy policy is a crucial issue that could affect the foundation of Japan's future. If Japan takes the wrong path, it'll create serious problems in the future. A conclusion should be drawn after holding thorough nationwide discussions with transparency based on the verification of steady data.”

  • Status of Restart of Nuclear Power Stations after the Completion of Periodical Inspection
    • As FEPC has reported, on June 18, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Minister Kaieda requested that host communities of nuclear power stations allow the restart of reactors that have completed their periodical inspection and maintenance.
    • On July 11, the Japanese government announced the additional safety assessments based on new procedures and rules that utilize stress tests as introduced by countries in Europe as a source of reference. The details are available at:  http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/incident/pdf/stresstest_e.pdf

  • Major Activities at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
    • On July 8, TEPCO announced the results of its analysis of the March 11 tsunami. According to the report, the height of tsunami at the tidal observatory of both power stations was approximately 13m (43 feet) at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and approximately 9m (30 feet) at Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station. The details are available at:
    • On July 10, 12 and 13, the water treatment facility, which is a part of the circulating cooling system of reactor cores, was temporarily suspended due to leaks at the chemical injection line of the coagulation settling equipment. While the water treatment facility was temporarily suspended, injection of water into the reactor cores of Unit 1, 2 and 3 continued.
    • On July 11, TEPCO announced the status and plan for implementing countermeasures against the outflow and diffusion of high level radioactive water to the Pacific Ocean. In addition to the previous countermeasures such as the installation of concrete plates, silt screens, a zeolite silt barrier and a circulating seawater cleaning system, TEPCO will install steel sheet piles at the southern part of Units 1 through 4 open water channel, which had been damaged by the tsunami. The details are available at:
    • On July 12, TEPCO completed the installation of a connection pipe for the injection of Nitrogen into the primary containment vessel of Unit 3.
    • On July 13, TEPCO announced the outlook for the circulating cooling system at the spent fuel pool of Units 1 and 4. TEPCO expects to complete the installation of the system by the end of July at Unit 4 and by early August at Unit 1. TEPCO has been operating the circulating cooling system at the spent fuel pools at unit 2 and 3.
    • On July 14, TEPCO commenced the injection of Nitrogen into the primary containment vessel of Unit 3 as with Unit 1 and 2.
    • Other countermeasures such as injecting Nitrogen gas into primary containment vessels, injecting water into spent fuel pools, and transferring accumulated water continue to be implemented.

  • Radiation Levels
    • The concentration of radioactive nuclides from the seawater sampled at the screen device (installed to remove waste before the intake of seawater) of Unit 2 and sampled near the seawater discharge point (south side) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station were as follows:

Nuclides
(half-life)
Concentration (Unit : Bq/cm3)
Ratio
Sampled inside the silt  fence at the screen of Unit 2
Sampled outside the silt fence at the screen of Unit 2
Sampled at south side discharge point
Maximum Permissible Water Concentration (d)
a / d
b / d
c / d
7/13
7:04AM
  (a)
7/13
7:00AM
(b)
7/13
11:30AM
(c)
I-131
(8 days)
Not Detectable
1.8 x 10-2
Not Detectable
4.0 x 10-2
-
0.45
-
Cs-134
(2 years)
2.2 x 10-1
1.7 x 10-1
Not Detectable
6.0 x 10-2
3.7
2.8
-
Cs-137
(30 years)
2.5 x 10-1
2.0 x 10-1
Not Detectable
9.0 x 10-2
2.8
2.2
-

    • The concentration of radioactive nuclides from the groundwater sampled at sub-drain pits at Unit 1 to 6 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station were as follows:


Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
Samples taken at
7/13
12:45PM
7/13
12:50PM
7/13
13:00PM
7/13
11:49PM
7/13
12:40PM
7/13
12:25PM
Nuclides
(half-life)
Concentration (Unit : Bq/cm3)
I-131
(8 days)
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Cs-134
(2 years)
1.8 x 100
1.0 x 101
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Cs-137
(30 years)
2.3 x 100
1.3 x 101
4.1 x 10-2
Not Detectable
Not Detectable
Not Detectable

    • At 9:00PM on July 14, radiation level at west gate (approximately 3,609 feet from Unit 2 reactor building) of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: 13.0 micro Sv/hour. Other monitoring data at the site are available at:
    • Measurement results of environmental radioactivity level around Fukushima Nuclear Power Station announced at 6:00PM on July 14 are shown in the attached PDF file. Previous data are available at:    http://www.mext.go.jp/english/incident/1304082.htm

  • Plant Parameters (As of 6:00AM on July 14)

  • Plant Status (As of July 12)

Our official sources are:
  • Office of The Prime Minister of Japan
  • Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA)
  • Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Press Releases
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
  • Ministry of Defense (MOD)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Taro Ishida
The Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan
1901 L Street, NW Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036

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