Fukushima Radiation fears spread to forest industry - 26th Dec 2011

Radiation fears stemming from the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant and radiation monitoring activities are raising concern among people handling trees to grow mushrooms and make charcoal.

Forest workers are very concerned about any potential fallout from the nuclear crisis because they have to independently monitor radiation before applying to the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), for compensation, unlike farmers and fishermen who have standing in law.

Decontamination work in the mountains is said to be much more difficult than on flat land and some forest workers are considering switching jobs.

The Forestry Agency in October set a ceiling of 150 becquerels per kilogram for raw wood for mushroom cultivation and in November set limits on radioactive cesium found in firewood and charcoal for cooking at 40 becquerels and 280 becquerels, respectively. Read More

AEC chairman warned people within 170 km of Fukushima plant might need to relocate - 24th Dec 2011

The head of the government's nuclear energy panel warned in March that all residents in areas within a 170-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant might need to be relocated in a worst-case scenario, sources close to the government have disclosed.

Japan Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Shunsuke Kondo made the warning in a report numbering about 20 pages, which he compiled on March 25 -- two weeks after the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a massive tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake -- and submitted it to then Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

At the time, the plant had lost its reactor core cooling functions due to the loss of all external power, hydrogen explosions had ripped through the plant's No. 1, 3 and 4 reactor buildings, and radioactive substances were leaking from the No. 2 reactor due to a meltdown. Workers at the plant had no choice but to manually inject water into the reactors to cool down their cores.

Kondo assumed that in a worst-case scenario, another hydrogen explosion could occur in the No. 1, 2 or 3 reactor buildings, raising radiation levels. Continuing aftershocks would prevent workers from cooling down the reactors for an extended period and that all fuel in a pool for spent nuclear fuel in the No. 4 reactor building pool would melt. At the time, the pool held 1,535 fuel rods that could fill two nuclear reactors. Read More

Fukushima nuke plant worker stopped coolant injection over damage fears

A worker at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear station manually stopped a coolant injection system in the plant's No. 3 reactor following the disaster for fear that the reactor would be damaged and lead to a radiation leak, its operator said.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has defended the worker's judgment as appropriate after analyzing the sequence of events and releasing its findings at the order of its government regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The reactor core isolation cooling (RCIC) system of the No. 3 reactor stopped at 11:36 a.m. on March 12, the day after the plant was hit by a massive tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, causing the water level in the reactor to decline.

In response, its high-pressure coolant injection (HPCI) system, powered by a battery, was automatically activated.

However, the pressure in the reactor subsequently lowered below the standards specified by its operation manual, and vibrations increased. The worker in charge stopped the HPCI system and decided to switch to manual injection of water for fear that the trouble could cause radioactive substances to leak from the reactor, according to the utility. Read More

Japan issues 30 to 40 year plan to scrap reactors - 21st Dec 2011

Japanese officials unveiled a decades-long plan Wednesday to decommission the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where reactor cooling systems failed after the country's devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the work schedule would proceed over three or four decades to scrap the four crippled reactors at the site.

There are three phases, according to the plan.

It will begin with the removal of nuclear fuel in spent fuel pools within two years. That task is scheduled to be completed within 10 years. The plan also calls for commencing the removal of fuel debris within 10 years with the goal of completing that work in 20 to 25 years.

The reactors will be completely decommissioned in 30 to 40 years, according to the plan. Read More

Japan nuclear lab Caught Fire; no radiation leak...they said this before - 20th dec 2011

A building housing an experimental nuclear reactor in Japan caught fire Tuesday, but there was no leak of radioactive materials, officials said, amid nervousness over Japan's atomic industry.

The quasi-public Japan Atomic Energy Agency said sound insulation on the ceiling of a building housing a reactor in central Ibaraki prefecture caught fire around 9:30 am (0030 GMT).

Sparks from welding tools ignited the glass wool insulation as a maintenance crew worked to place a covering over the roof, said an agency spokesman.

The reactor has been stopped for routine inspection since February.

Firefighters were at the scene, but the fire died out on its own two hours after starting, the spokesman added.

"There was no change to monitoring posts around the reactor," the spokesman said.

The news came days after Japan announced it had achieved a state of cold shutdown at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant which had released massive amounts of radioactive materials following the country's March quake and tsunami. Read More