Counterpunch: "The Perils of Technological Hubris-Nuclear Titanics"

From Counterpunch (4/16/2012), by Karl Grossman:

The Perils of Technological Hubris
Nuclear Titanics

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, The Japan Times yesterday ran an editorial titled “The Titanic and the Nuclear Fiasco” which stated: “Presenting technology as completely safe, trustworthy or miraculous may seem to be a thing of the past, but the parallels between the Titanic and Japan’s nuclear power industry could not be clearer.”

“Japan’s nuclear power plants were, like the Titanic, advertised as marvels of modern science that were completely safe. Certain technologies, whether they promise to float a luxury liner or provide clean energy, can never be made entirely safe,” it said.

It quoted from a piece by Joseph Conrad written after the Titanic sank in which he noted the “chastening influence it should have on the self-confidence of mankind.” The Japan Times urged: “That lesson should be applied to all ‘unsinkable’ undertakings that might profit a few by imperiling the majority of others.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120415a1.html

Yes, the same kind of baloney behind the claim that the Titanic was unsinkable is behind the puffery that nuclear power plants are safe. The nuclear power promoters are still saying that despite the sinking of atomic Titanics: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and now the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants.

In fact, underneath the PR offensive are government documents admitting that nuclear power plants are deadly dangerous.

...

The current issue of Popular Mechanics features an article “Why Titanic Still Matters” by Jim Meigs, the magazine’s editor and chief, which states: “In one respect, little has changed. As the recent loss of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia demonstrates, bad decision making can overcome even robust engineering. Virtually all man-made disasters—including the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the space shuttle Challenger explosion, and the BP oil spill—can be traced to the same human failings that doomed Titanic. After 100 years, we must still remember—and, too often, relearn—the grim lessons of that night.”

Indeed, human error is a big part of what can go wrong at a nuclear power plant. However, even without human error, nuclear power is fraught with the potential for immense catastrophe. A mechanical malfunction simple or complex, an earthquake, a tornado, a tsunami, a hurricane, a flood, a terrorist attack, these and other threats can result in catastrophe. Nuclear power plants and the process of atomic fission in them are inherently dangerous—at a scale of technological disaster that is unparalleled. ...

(The entire article at the link.)

For the counter-argument, there is always George Monbiot of The Guardian, who expressed love for nuclear precisely because of Fukushima.

(h/t John Noah)

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Must Read: Asahi Shinbun "Trap of Prometheus" Series Part 1 - Men in Protective Clothing (2,3) "We Were the Only Ones Who Didn't Know"

(Installment 1, Installments 2 and 3, Installments 4 and 5, Installment 6, Installments 7 and 8, Installments 9 and 10, Installments 11 and 12)

In the first installment, two mysterious men in white protective gear told Mizue Sugano, resident of Tsushima Discrict in Namie-machi in Fukushima Prefecture, to flee the place. She had been taking care of the evacuees from the area near Fukushima I Nuke Plant all day.

============================================

防護服の男（2）

Men in Protective Clothing (2)

　３月１２日夕、菅野みずえは自宅に駆け戻り、防護服の男たちの話を避難者に伝えた。議論が始まった。

Evening of March 12. Mizue Sugano ran back inside her house, and told what the men in protective gear just told her. Argument ensued.

　「本当に危険なら町や警察から連絡があるはずだ。様子をみよう」。やっと落ち着いたばかりで、みんな動きたくなかった。

"If it is really dangerous, the town or the police will surely tell us. Let's wait and see." People were just settling down, and didn't want to move.

　しかし深夜、事態が急変する。数台のバスが、避難所になっている公民館に入って行った。それに避難者の１人が気付く。バスの運転手は「避難者を移動するのだ」といったという。

But in the midnight, the situation changed. Several buses went in to the community center which was used as emergency shelter. One evacuee noticed the buses. One of the bus drivers told the evacuee that he was to "move the evacuees".

　当時、浪江町は、逃げ遅れた２０キロ圏内の町民たちを津島地区までバスでピストン輸送していた。しかし、みずえはそんなことは知らず、やはりここは危ないのではないかと思った。みずえは寝ていた人々を起こし、再び議論となった。

At that time, Namie-machi was shuttling the remaining residents within the 20-kilometer radius to Tsushima District. Mizue didn't know that, and concluded that this place was in danger, as the men had told her. She woke up the evacuees, and they discussed the situation again.

　多くは動きたがらなかった。しかし、一人の女性が「みんながいたら、菅野さん家族が逃げられないでしょう」といった。それで決まった。

Many still didn't move. But one woman said, "If we all stay, then Sugano's family cannot escape." That decided it.

　「車のガソリンが尽きるところまで避難しよう」

"Let's escape as far as the gasoline lasts."

　深夜０時すぎ、若い夫婦２組が出発した。２月に生まれたばかりの乳児や、小さい子どもがいた。

Just past midnight, two young couple with small children departed. They had a baby who was born in February, and small children.

　夫婦は最初、「こんな深夜に山道を逃げるのはいやだ」と渋ったが、「子どもだけでも逃がしなさい」とみずえがいい、握り飯を持たせた。

At first, they were reluctant. "We don't want to escape through the mountain route in the middle of night." Mizue persuaded them by saying "Let your children escape", and gave them rice balls.

　翌１３日の朝食後、再び話し合った。前夜「逃げない」といっていた若い夫婦連れが「子どものために逃げます」といった。年配の女性が、夫婦に自分の車を貸した。

They discussed again after breakfast on the next day, March 13. A young couple who had said they wouldn't escape now said "We will escape, for our child." An elderly woman let the couple use her car.

　「私は１人だから、避難所でバスに乗るわ」

"Since I'm alone, I can ride the bus at the shelter."

　夕方までには、２５人全員が福島市や郡山市、南相馬市などへそれぞれ再避難した。

By evening, all 25 evacuees at her house re-evacuated to Fukushima City, Koriyama City, and Minami Soma City.

　みずえは近くの家で避難している人たちにも、防護服の男たちのことを伝えた。１人が笑って答えた。

Mizue told what the men in protective gear had told her to the evacuees in the nearby houses. One of them said to her, laughing.

　「おれは東電で働いていた。おれらのつくった原発がそんなに危ないわけねえべ」

"I used to work for TEPCO. The nuclear power plant that I helped build cannot be that dangerous."

　男は原発事故からではなく、津波から逃れてきたのだ。みずえはこれで気が抜けた。みずえと長男の純一（２７）は避難を取りやめた。

The man had escaped from tsunami, not the nuclear accident. Mizue was relieved at his word. Mizue and her eldest son Junichi (age 27) decided not to evacuate.

　純一は避難所の活性化センターの炊き出し係で、握り飯をつくっていた。

Junichi was in charge of cooking for evacuees at the shelter, making rice balls.

　「おれだけ逃げるわけにいかないよ」。このとき津島地区から１０キロほどの地点で、３０マイクロシーベルト用測定器の針が振り切れていた。（前田基行）

"I cannot just escape by myself." At that time, the survey meter that could measure up to 30 microsieverts/hour went overscale 10 kilometers from Tsushima District. (Reported by Motoyuki Maeda)

------------------

防護服の男（３）警察官、なぜあんな格好を

Men in Protective Clothing (3) Why are policemen dressed that way?

３月１３日に菅野家の２５人が出て行った後も、津島地区の避難者は大半が残っていた。

Even after 25 people at the Sugano's house evacuated on March 13, most of the evacuees remained in Tsushima District.

　避難指示は１２日午前５時４４分に１０キロ圏内に拡大。１号機が水素爆発した後、午後６時２５分に２０キロ圏内に広がった。

The evacuation order was expanded to 10-kilometer radius at 5:44AM on March 12. After the hydrogen explosion of Reactor 1, it was expanded to 20-kilometer radius at 6:25PM.

　しかし官房長官の枝野幸男は１２日夜の記者会見で、「放射性物質が大量に漏れ出すものではない。２０キロ圏外の地域の皆さんに影響を与えることにはならない」と語った。

However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in the press conference on March 12 evening, "It is not that a large amount of radioactive materials is leaking. People outside the 20-kilometer radius won't be affected."

　要するに、たいしたことはないが念のため避難してくれ、という趣旨だ。人々は３０キロの津島地区は安全だと信じていた。

The gist of his message was, "It is no big deal, but please evacuate just in case". People believed Tsushima District, 30 kilometers from the plant, was safe.

　東電の社員が１２日と１３日に浪江町の津島支所を状況報告に訪れた。彼らは防護服ではなかった。「ここは危ない」ともいっていない。菅野みずえが会った男たちの様子とは大きく違っていた。

TEPCO employees came to the Tsushima branch of Namie-machi town hall on March 12 and 13 to report on the situation. They were not in protective gear. They didn't say "this place is dangerous". They were totally different from the men Mizue had met [on March 12 evening].

　役場職員も区長も、みずえの会った防護服の男を見ていない。しかし、みずえは見聞きしたことをしっかりメモに書きとめていた。

The branch officials and the district chief didn't see the men Mizue had met. However, Mizue wrote down what she had seen and heard.

　１５日早朝、前日の３号機に続いて、２号機で衝撃音がし、４号機が爆発した。政府は初めて２０～３０キロ圏内の「屋内退避」を要請する。

March 15 early morning, after Reactor 3 had exploded the previous day, there was an explosive sound in Reactor 2 and an explosion in Reactor 4. For the first time, the national government asked the residents to "evacuate indoors" for the area between 20 and 30 kilometer radius.

　津島地区の住民が避難したのはそのころだった。町長の馬場有らが１４日の３号機の爆発をテレビで知り、隣の二本松市に１５日から自主避難することを決めたのだ。

It was about that time the residents of Tsushima District started to evacuate. The Mayor Baba and his staff had learned of the explosion of Reactor 3 on March 14 on TV, and decided to evacuate voluntarily to the neighboring Nihonmatsu City starting March 15.

　福島第一原発の正門では、１５日午前９時に毎時１万１９３０マイクロシーベルトの高い放射線量が観測された。それでも枝野の発言は楽観的だった。

At the front gate of Fukushima I Nuke Plant, 11,930 microsieverts/hour radiation was recorded at 9AM on March 15. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano still sounded optimistic.

　「放射性物質の濃度は２０キロを越える地点では相当程度薄まる。人体への影響が小さいか、あるいはない程度になっている」

"The density of radioactive materials is significantly diluted past 20 kilometer radius, to the degree that it has only a small or no effect on humans."

　「１号機、２号機、３号機とも今のところ順調に注水が進み、冷却の効果が出ている」

"Water injection to Reactors 1, 2 and 3 is proceeding smoothly, and the reactors are being cooled."

　原子炉が１２日のうちにメルトダウンを起こしていたことが国民に知らされるのは、後になってからだ。

It would be some time before the Japanese were told that the reactors had had a meltdown on March 12.

　１２日朝、浪江町で交通整理などにあたる警官が、防護服を着用した。

On March 12 morning, policemen controlling traffic in Namie-machi were wearing protective clothing.

　「警官はなぜあんな格好をしているのか」

"Why are policemen dressed like that?"

　住民は不安を抱いた。浪江町議会議長、吉田数博（６５）は津島地区の警察駐在所を訪れ、「不安を与えるので防護服は着ないでほしい」と要請した。

The residents wondered and feared. Kazuhiro Yoshida (age 65) was the Chairman of the Town Assembly. He visited the police station in Tsushima District, and requested that the police stop wearing the protective gear as they were making the residents fearful.

　吉田はいう。

Yoshida now says.

　「知らないのはわれわれだけだったんだ」（前田基行）

"We were the only ones who didn't know." (Reported by Motoyuki Maeda)

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(Yukio Edano is the current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. We should never forget what he said since the start of the accident, and hold him accountable for the lies he spewed "to prevent panic", supposedly.)

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Must Read: Asahi Shinbun "Trap of Prometheus" Series Part 1 - Men in Protective Clothing (1) "Why Are You Here? Flee!"

(Installment 1, Installments 2 and 3, Installments 4 and 5, Installment 6, Installments 7 and 8, Installments 9 and 10, Installments 11 and 12)

Asahi Shinbun print version (including digital print) has started a series called "Trap of Prometheus (プロメテウスの罠)" - comparing nuclear energy to the mythical fire that the Greek god gave to humans. The first installment of Part 1 "Men in Protective Clothing" was published on October 3, 2011. The series is written by the Asahi Shinbun journalist Motoyuki Maeda.

It is an astonishing read. Part 1 "Men in Protective Clothing" deals with 25 people in Namie-machi in Fukushima Prefecture, where no information about the seriousness of the plant accident reached, and where many evacuees from within 10 kilometers radius from the plant sheltered. There are 12 installments for the Part 1 so far.

Tsushima District of Namie-machi in the article is about 30 kilometers northwest of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, considered very safe from radiation. The government and the experts who appeared on TV right after the accident were all saying "The further you evacuate from the plant the safer it gets, and there is no worry for people outside the 10 kilometer radius".

It looks Asahi, after nearly 7 months after the accident, finally feels guilty enough to report the truth for a change.

The following is my quick private translation of the 1st installment of Part 1, as it appeared in Asahi Shinbun digital version on October 3, 2011. It deals with March 12 night in Tsushima District in Namie-machi.

=========================

防護服の男（１）

Men in Protective Clothing (1)

　福島県浪江町の津島地区。東京電力福島第一原発から約３０キロ北西の山あいにある。

Tsushima District in Namie-machi, Fukushima Prefecture lies in the mountains about 30 kilometers northwest of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

　原発事故から一夜明けた３月１２日、原発１０キロ圏内の海沿いの地域から、１万人の人たちが津島地区に逃れてきた。小中学校や公民館、寺だけでは足りず、人々は民家にも泊めてもらった。

On March 12, one day after the nuclear accident, 10,000 people fled from the coastal area within the 10 kilometer radius from the plant to Tsushima District. Elementary school, middle school, community center, temples were used to house them, but there were not enough public shelters. People were housed in private residences in the district.

　菅野（かんの）みずえ（５９）の家にも朝から次々と人がやってきて、夜には２５人になった。多くが親戚や知人だったが、見知らぬ人もいた。

Mizue Kanno (age 59) welcomed these evacuees at her home all day. By nightfall there were 25 people. Most of them were her relatives and acquaintances, but some were total strangers.

　築１８０年の古民家を壊して新築した家だ。門構えが立派で、敷地は広い。２０畳の大部屋もある。避難者を受け入れるにはちょうどよかった。門の中は人々の車でいっぱいになった。

Her home is a newly built home after demolishing the 180-year-old house. It has a large gate, and the compound is large. It has a big room with 20 tatami mats [32.4 square meters, or 349 square feet]. Quite ideal for accepting evacuees. Soon, inside the gate, the yard was full of evacuees' cars.

　「原発で何が起きたのか知らないが、ここまで来れば大丈夫だろう」。人々はとりあえずほっとした表情だった。

"I don't know what happened at the nuke plant, but we should be OK here". People looked relieved, at least for now.

　みずえは２台の圧力鍋で米を７合ずつ炊き、晩飯は握り飯と豚汁だった。着の身着のままの避難者たちは大部屋に集まり、握り飯にかぶりついた。

Mizue cooked 7 cups of rice in each of the two pressure cooker she had. The supper for the evacuees was rice balls and miso soup with pork and vegetables. The evacuees, with only the clothes they happened to wear when they fled, gathered in the big room and ate supper.

　夕食の後、人々は自己紹介しあい、共同生活のルールを決めた。

After supper, people introduced themselves, and decided on the community rule.

　一、便器が詰まるのを避けるため、トイレットペーパーは横の段ボール箱に捨てる。

- To avoid clogging up the toilet, toilet paper should be discarded in the paper box next to the toilet.

　一、炊事や配膳はみんなで手伝う。

- Everyone helps in cooking and laying out the dishes

　一、お互い遠慮するのはやめよう……。

- Let's not be too shy.

　人々は菅野家の２部屋に分かれて寝ることになった。みずえは家にあるだけの布団を出した。

The evacuees were to sleep in two rooms in the house. Mizue rounded up all the futons there were in the house for the evacuees.

　そのころ、外に出たみずえは、家の前に白いワゴン車が止まっていることに気づいた。中には白の防護服を着た男が２人乗っており、みずえに向かって何か叫んだ。しかしよく聞き取れない。

Then, Mizue stepped outside and noticed there was a white wagon parked in front of her house. There were two men in white protective gear in the wagon, and they shouted at her. But she couldn't hear well.

　「何？　どうしたの？」

"What? What is it?"

　みずえが尋ねた。

Mizue asked.

　「なんでこんな所にいるんだ！　頼む、逃げてくれ」

"Why do you remain here? Please, we beg, flee."

　みずえはびっくりした。

Mizue was shocked.

　「逃げろといっても……、ここは避難所ですから」

"Flee? But this is a shelter."

　車の２人がおりてきた。２人ともガスマスクを着けていた。

Two men came out of the wagon. Both were wearing gas masks.

　「放射性物質が拡散しているんだ」。真剣な物言いで、切迫した雰囲気だ。

"Radioactive materials are spreading." They spoke seriously and urgently.

　家の前の道路は国道１１４号で、避難所に入りきれない人たちの車がびっしりと停車している。２人の男は、車から外に出た人たちにも「早く車の中に戻れ」と叫んでいた。

In front of her house was the Route 114, lined with cars of people who couldn't find shelters. Two men shouted at people who were stepping out of their cars, "Get back inside the car quick!"

　２人の男は、そのまま福島市方面に走り去った。役場の支所に行くでもなく、掲示板に警告を張り出すでもなかった。

Two men then drove away toward Fukushima City. They didn't go to the town office branch or post a warning on the message board.

　政府は１０キロ圏外は安全だと言っていた。なのになぜ、あの２人は防護服を着て、ガスマスクまでしていたのだろう。だいたいあの人たちは誰なのか。

The national government said it was safe outside the 10-kilometer radius. Then why were these two men wearing the protective clothes and gas masks? Who were they anyway?

　みずえは疑問に思ったが、とにかく急いで家に戻り、避難者たちにそれを伝えた。（前田基行）

Mizue didn't know the answers. But she hurried back inside the house, and told the evacuees what the men just told her. (Reported by Motoyuki Maeda)

----------

ギリシャ神話によると、人類に火を与えたのはプロメテウスだった。

According to the Greek mythology, Prometheus gave fire to humans.

　火を得たことで人類は文明を発達させた。化石燃料の火は生産力をさらに伸ばし、やがて人類は原子の火を獲得する。それは「夢のエネルギー」とも形容された。しかし、落とし穴があった。

By obtaining fire, humans developed civilizations. Fire from fossil fuel increased the productivity. Then, humans obtained fire from nuclear energy. It was dubbed as "dream energy". But there was a pitfall.

　プロメテウスによって文明を得た人類が、いま原子の火に悩んでいる。福島第一原発の破綻（はたん）を背景に、国、民、電力を考える。

Humans, who obtained civilization by Prometheus fire, are troubled by the nuclear fire. This series will consider the nation, the people, and the electricity in the backdrop of the failure of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

　　　　　◇

　「プロメテウスの罠（わな）」は、数カ月にわたり長期連載します。第１シリーズ「防護服の男」は十数回の予定です。文中はすべて敬称を略します。

"Trap of Prometheus" series will be written over the next several months. The 1st in the series "Men in Protective Clothes" will have over 10 installments. In the series, names will be listed without honorifics.

================================

(Translation for the 2nd and 3rd installments are on this post.)

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6.11 No-Nukes Demonstration in Japan: Ground-Zero Report by "J" in Tokyo (Guest Post)

My friend's friend's friend "j" attended not just one but two demonstrations in Tokyo (one in Nerima-ku, and the other, bigger one in Shinjuku-ku) and sent her level-headed and frank observation (original in Japanese).

Several interesting bits of information that I've never seen elsewhere in the news:

• The Social Democratic Party (former Japan Socialist Party) was there big-time, as if to try to hijack the grassroots movement;

• Lack of anger toward the government agencies and organizations who have promoted nuclear energy;

• Volunteer organizations collecting donations during the demonstrations in a manner that ordinary Japanese find hard to say no.
  

The first point is not surprising to me. It is like the neoconservative right claiming to be the leaders of the "tea party" movement in the US. But I've never read about their presence in the demonstration anywhere else.

The second one is not so surprising either. Trust in the government runs deep, not just in Japan but elsewhere. It is more likely that TEPCO has been obliged to do whatever the government has ordered them to do, including not disclosing the information, but the people's anger are being cleverly directed to the big bad greedy capitalist TEPCO.

The last one reminds me of a street musician group in Paris 10 years ago. They were playing wonderful music, but as we listened, a person with a donation box came and stand in front of the audience, stuck the donation box in front of my face and asked for money. I thought that was crass, not befitting the superb music they were playing.

Still, "j" seems to think it was a significant event, just to show to the rest of Japan and the world that there are people in Japan who are anti-nuclear across the different political and social spectrum.

The following is her personal observation on 6.11 No-Nuke demonstrations in Tokyo, Japan:

昨日の新宿、結構な人数が集まって（首都圏として考えると少ないと思うけど）それなりの盛り上がりをみせてました。午前中のゆるい「練馬アクション」でのモヤモヤを帳消しにはできました。

Yesterday [June 11]'s Shinjuku had a sizable crowd (though not that big considering how big Tokyo is) and a decent action, enough to dispel my vague dissatisfaction with the "Nerima Action" demonstration in the morning.

ただね、参加した私の感想としては、なんだかすごーーーく違和感があったの。それは朝の練馬のときからありました。

But things didn't feel quite right for me, and that feeling started from the Nerima demonstration in the morning.

今回の「6.11脱原発100万人アクション」に私が参加しようと思ったのは、民衆主導のデモだということ、“脱原発”を訴えることが趣旨だということ、の2点。

I decided to participate in the "6.11 No-Nukes One Million People Action" event for 2 reasons: One, it was a grassroots movement; and two, it was to appeal for no nuclear energy.

でもさ、のっかってるんですよ「社民党」が。ガッツリのっかってる。

But then, the Japanese Social Democratic Party was right there at the demonstrations, free-riding the grassroots movement.

私は、これまで個々で活動していた市民団体が一体となって、民衆の声として起こしたものだと思っていたので、これにはかなりゲンナリしました。

I thought this was the people's movement, the small individual citizens groups got together and joined forces. I was rather disgusted to see the Social Democrats there.

練馬でも社民党の旗が振られ、新宿でも同じ旗が振られ、あげく宣伝カーまできて、議員がマイクで一発ぶっちゃう始末。

The Party's flags were waved in the Nerima event, same in Shinjuku, then the Party's PR car came and some party Representative started to make a speech.

これだとさ、いち民衆として参加している私からすると、まるで社民党支持者にさせられているような気分になります。政党がかかわるなら最初から表明してほしかった。

For me, participating in the event as an ordinary citizen, it felt like I was forced to become a supporter of the Social Democratic Party. If a political party was going to be involved, I would have liked to know it from the beginning.

そもそも社民党って、民主党政権発足時に連立組んでたよね。民主党の原発推進マニフェストを受け入れていたってことでしょ。それを今になって「社民党はずっと反原発でした」みたいな顔でのっかってこないで欲しい。

The Social Democratic Party became a coalition partner when the Democratic Party of Japan first became the ruling party. That means these Social Democrats accepted the DPJ's manifest of promoting nuclear energy. Now they're trying to hijack the movement saying they have been anti-nuke all along? Give me a break.

これ1つとっても、この先、デモに参加するかどうか考えてしまう。

Makes me wonder whether I should participate in a no-nuke demonstration from now on.

それと、デモにつきもののシュプレヒコールですが、その内容にも一言いいたい。

I'm not happy with the slogans at the demos either.

今回の趣旨は「脱原発」のはず。

The whole point of the demonstration was to appeal for "no nuke".

東電の責任に関するものは今回は違う気がしましたよ。

Not about accusing TEPCO.

「清水出てこーーーい！」「福島原発をさっさと終息させろ！」（それは、現場ではやってますって）とかは、また別のデモなんじゃないの？って。「東電は全ての原発を停止・廃炉にせよ」「東電は情報を全て公開しろ」だったらOK。

"Shimzu [TEPCO's president], come out!!" or "Do something quick about Fukushima I Nuke PLant!" (they ARE doing something at Fukushima I) - that's another demonstration, isn't it? I'm OK with the statements like "TEPCO should stop all nuke plants and decommission them" and "TEPCO should disclose all information."

そもそも、東電の責任を訴えるのであれば、これまでクソの役にも立ってこなかった、原発関連法人の解体も訴えるべきだし、保安院出てこい！原発推進してきたヤツら出て来い！って、同列に言うべき。

If you're going to hold TEPCO responsible, you should also demand the dismantling of the government corporations for nuclear energy which haven't done sh-t [her word], and shout "NISA, come out! Everyone who's promoted nuke plant, come out!"

なにかこう、東電だけにもってこう的な違和感を感じてしまった。もちろん東電に責任があることは事実だけど、「だけじゃない」でしょ、っていうね。

It felt strange to me, holding only TEPCO responsible. Not that TEPCO is not responsible, but they are not alone, are they?

あとはさ、アルタ前広場ってのは良くなかったね。いや、良かったのか？ あそこは広場と名がつくものの、実は狭～いので、多少のヒトが集まるとそれ以上のヒトが集まっているように見える「アルタ前広場効果」なるものがありますからねぇ。

And then, the choice of the Alta Plaza [for Shinjuku demonstration] wasn't good. Oh wait, was it good? It's called "plaza" but the place is actually very small. So, even the small number of people could look big. The "Alta Plaza Effect", so to speak.

東京にはコンコルド広場なみの広場が無いからなぁ。私としてはあれくらいが埋まらないと大規模デモとは呼べないけどね。

Tokyo doesn't have a big space like the Concord Plaza [Place de la Concorde, in Paris, France]. To me, a big demonstration is the one that would fill the Concord Plaza.

あとさ、募金回収が行われているのもちょっとした違和感。

Also, donation solicitation was pretty awkward.

今回のことは、有志が自発的に起こしたものなのに、横断幕や準備にお金がかかったのでぜひ募金を！と練馬でも新宿でも言われたんだよね。しかもヒトが箱持って回ってくるから、日本人としては断りづらいじゃない？（苦笑）でも、なんかそれってヘン。練馬では身元がハッキリしてたので10円募金（ケチ！）したけどさ、新宿のなんか、誰でどこの所属なのか分からんもん。だからスルーした。

The event, as far as I knew, was voluntary. But people came for money in Nerima and Shinjuku, saying it cost money to prepare for the demonstrations so please donate. They stuck a donation box in front of the participants. As a Japanese, it was difficult to say no, but I didn't like it. In Nerima, I donated 10 yen [12 cents] (I'm cheap) because they were what they said they were. But in Shinjuku, I couldn't tell who they were. So I ignored them.

署名もそうね。皆、自分の氏名と住所という大事な個人情報を記入するのに、どこの団体がやっているものなのか、とかあんまり気にしてない。「雰囲気」とか「ノリ」で署名するのって危ないよ。

Same with signature gathering. No one beside me seemed to care very much who they were signing for and gave away the personal information like name and address. It's not safe to give away your information in the excitement of the event, without much thinking.

...とまあ、日本のデモはまだまだ未熟だな～という感じでした。それでも、日本でも所属・思想は別として「脱原発」と思っている民衆が居るのだ、というアピールにはなったと思います。

Overall, my feeling was that Japanese people are inexperienced when it comes to demonstration. Still, I think it achieved the purpose of appealing [to the rest of Japan and the world] that there are people in Japan who are against nuclear power, regardless of the social status or political leaning.

これからは予め募金や寄付をつのって神宮球場とか横浜球場で、ちゃんと舞台作って、主催者をはっきりさせて入場料（500円でワンドリンク付きとか）とって、フェスみたいな感じで集まるのが良いのではないかと思う。

I think in the future it may be better to organize the event as some kind of a festival in a big venue like baseball stadiums, soliciting donations beforehand to plan for the event, and selling tickets (500 yen for admission and a drink, something like that) for people to participate.

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#Radiation in Japan: Gifu Prefecture Doesn't Have Potassium Iodide Pills Ready for Residents

Gifu Prefecture, which sits right about the middle of Japan and downwind from the "Genpatsu Ginza" (Nuke Plant Thoroughfare) in Fukui Prefecture where 14 nuclear reactors including the fast breeder Monju are located right on the pristine Wakasa Bay, admits that it didn't have potassium iodide pills for the residents ready for a nuclear accident. Gifu Shinbun reported on June 7 (in Japanese).

According to Gifu Shinbun, the Gifu prefectural government used to store about 2,500 doses, but that was ditched in 2006, partly because there was a company that manufactured potassium iodide pills in the prefecture. The government decided to rely on the company and the pharmaceutical industry associations in the prefecture to supply the pills to the government as necessary in a nuclear accident.

Gifu Prefecture has a population of over 2 million as of August 2010.

The newspaper reports that in late March this year after the Fukushima accident, the pharmaceutical company donated 35,000 doses of potassium iodide, which then were distributed to seven hospitals in 5 areas.

Well, Gifu Prefecture is not alone. Back on March 16, CBS News in the US reported that the Japanese national government only had 230,000 doses of potassium iodide.

(Is it any wonder that 2 TEPCO employees who exceeded 250 millisievert/yr limit by wide margin didn't take potassium iodide after one day? Maybe there were no more doses...)

Nuclear power plants have been sold to the populace as "safe" for almost a half century in Japan. Stocking up on potassium iodide has been considered an awkward admission that the nuke plants may not be so safe, and therefore hasn't been done at least publicly. It turns out it hasn't been done privately either.

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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: "Chinese Are Going for the Safe, Thorium Reactors, and They Are Doing Mankind a Favour"

The Telegraph's commentator also thinks, along with many nuke proponents that inhabit the world, that "there has never been a verifiable death" in the West from the nuclear power. (I suppose he doesn't include Russia as part of the West.)

Right.

In his own words, from The Telegraph 3/20/2011 right before he headed off to the Mayan Highlands:

Safe nuclear does exist, and China is leading the way with thorium

A few weeks before the tsunami struck Fukushima’s uranium reactors and shattered public faith in nuclear power, China revealed that it was launching a rival technology to build a safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper network of reactors based on thorium.

This passed unnoticed –except by a small of band of thorium enthusiasts – but it may mark the passage of strategic leadership in energy policy from an inert and status-quo West to a rising technological power willing to break the mould.

If China’s dash for thorium power succeeds, it will vastly alter the global energy landscape and may avert a calamitous conflict over resources as Asia’s industrial revolutions clash head-on with the West’s entrenched consumption.

China’s Academy of Sciences said it had chosen a “thorium-based molten salt reactor system”. The liquid fuel idea was pioneered by US physicists at Oak Ridge National Lab in the 1960s, but the US has long since dropped the ball. Further evidence of Barack `Obama’s “Sputnik moment”, you could say.

Chinese scientists claim that hazardous waste will be a thousand times less than with uranium. The system is inherently less prone to disaster.

Ah. China is known for its safety records for sure.

“The reactor has an amazing safety feature,” said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer at Teledyne Brown and a thorium expert.

“If it begins to overheat, a little plug melts and the salts drain into a pan. There is no need for computers, or the sort of electrical pumps that were crippled by the tsunami. The reactor saves itself,” he said.

“They operate at atmospheric pressure so you don’t have the sort of hydrogen explosions we’ve seen in Japan. One of these reactors would have come through the tsunami just fine. There would have been no radiation release.”

Then why aren't the nuke reactors in the world thorium-based, by now? Evans-Pritchard says it's because thorium cannot be made into weapons:

US physicists in the late 1940s explored thorium fuel for power. It has a higher neutron yield than uranium, a better fission rating, longer fuel cycles, and does not require the extra cost of isotope separation.

The plans were shelved because thorium does not produce plutonium for bombs.

Evans-Pritchard further says western-lifestyle needs nuclear power, and no one has died from nuclear power:

I write before knowing the outcome of the Fukushima drama, but as yet none of 15,000 deaths are linked to nuclear failure. Indeed, there has never been a verified death from nuclear power in the West in half a century. Perspective is in order.

We cannot avoid the fact that two to three billion extra people now expect – and will obtain – a western lifestyle. China alone plans to produce 100m cars and buses every year by 2020.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the world currently has 442 nuclear reactors. They generate 372 gigawatts of power, providing 14pc of global electricity. Nuclear output must double over twenty years just to keep pace with the rise of the China and India.

And his parting shot:

So the Chinese will soon lead on this thorium technology as well as molten-salts. Good luck to them. They are doing Mankind a favour. We may get through the century without tearing each other apart over scarce energy and wrecking the planet.

This is my last column for a while. I am withdrawing to the Mayan uplands.

As the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident has made abundantly clear to many people (clearly Evans-Pritchard is not one of them), it is the human errors that make up the accident - from the design of the reactor and the plant, fitting the pipes that don't fit, hiding the condition of the degrading parts and equipments and structures and the regulatory agency who helps the operator to hide them, to name only a few.

It doesn't quite matter how safe thorium is, when the most dangerous and unpredictable component of all is the humans.

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#Radioactive Sewage Sludge and Slag in Tokyo

It was big news when the radioactive sewage sludge and slag were found in Fukushima Prefecture earlier this month (see my posts here, here and here).

And it is almost no news when the highly radioactive (170,000 becquerels per kilogram) sewage slag was found in TOKYO, and the slag's been already sold as construction materials.

Here's a report from a week ago by Nippon Television (3;48PM JST 5/13/2011):

東京都の下水処理施設から出た汚泥の焼却灰から、一キロあたり１７万ベクレルという高濃度の放射性物質が検出されていたことが日本テレビの取材でわかった。

Nippon Television's investigation has revealed that the radioactive materials in very high concentration, 170,000 becquerels per kilogram, had been found in the sewage slag from a sewage treatment facility in Tokyo.

　 東京都によると、江東区の下水処理施設「東部スラッジプラント」で３月２５日に採取した汚泥の焼却灰から、一キロあたり１７万ベクレルの放射性物質が検出 されていた。同じ時期に採取した別の２つの施設の焼却灰からも、一キロあたり１０万ベクレル以上検出されていたという。これらの焼却灰は、すでにセメント や建築資材などに再利用されている。

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan government, 170,000 becquerels per kilogram radiation was detected in the sewage slag sample taken on March 25 at Tobu Sludge Plant, a sewage treatment facility in Koto-ku. The samples taken at two additional facilities also showed radiation over 100,000 becquerels per kilogram. The slag has already been recycled into cement and other construction materials.

　国は、１２日になって福島県に対しては一キロあたり１０万ベクレルを超える汚泥は県内で焼却するなどした上で、焼却灰は容器に入れて保管すべきとの指針を出したが、福島県以外に対する基準は現在もない。

The national government issued a guidance on May 12 as to how to dispose the radioactive sludge and slag in Fukushima Prefecture, which is to burn the sludge and store the burned sludge (slag) in containers. However, there is no such standard for radioactive sewage treatment outside Fukushima Prefecture.

In comparison, the sewage slag from Koriyama City in Fukushima measured 334,000 becquerels per kilogram, and Koto-ku is 225 kilometers away from Fukushima I Nuke Plant.

In the latest test (done on May 10-12), the result for the slag at the Koto-ku facility was lower, at 18,470 becquerels/kg (cesium-134 and cesium-137). Instead, the treatment facility in Edogawa-ku (east of Koto-ku) tested high radiation at 53,200 becquerels/kg.

And the highly radioactive sludge in Fukushima is to be burned. That's just great. According to Sankei News, the national government will allow the radioactive sludge and slag with low radiation (few thousands becquerels per kilogram) to be used as cement materials, as before, as long as the radioactive materials are diluted enough to the level that has no immediate effect on health. Between 10,000 becquerels/kg and 100,000 becquerels/kg, they should be put in a temporary storage. The government guideline doesn't say what will happen when the temporary storage becomes full.

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How GE's Mark 1 Reactor Caused #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Accident

(UPDATE) The presentation was created by the Union of Concerned Scientists, and was posted later at Fairewinds Associates. (h/t anon reader)

---------------------------------------

I found this presentation at Arnie Gundersen's Fairewinds Associates website. I do not know who created the presentation, as there is no credit on the slides. I'm assuming it was Fairewinds Associates. The presentation was posted on their site on April 25.

It shows GE's now notorious Mark 1 BWR nuclear reactor with actual photos and diagrams of the reactor, and explains how the accident progressed, given such design.

Fukushima-Tragedy

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Arsenic-76 Radioisotope from #Hamaoka Nuke Plant Reactor 5 Exhaust Duct

Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the sea water got mixed up in the Reactor 5's RPV (reactor pressure vessel) as the reactor was being shut down, had radioactive arsenic (As-76) released from the exhaust duct of the Reactor 5 ancillary building.

Checking wiki on arsenic isotopes:

Although arsenic (As) has multiple isotopes, only one of these isotopes, ⁷⁵As, is stable; as such, it is considered a monoisotopic element. Arsenic has been proposed as a "salting" material for nuclear weapons (cobalt is another, better-known salting material). A jacket of ⁷⁵As, irradiated by the intense high-energy neutron flux from an exploding thermonuclear weapon, would transmute into the radioactive isotope ⁷⁶As with a half-life of 1.0778 days and produce approximately 1.13 MeV of gamma radiation, significantly increasing the radioactivity of the weapon's fallout for several hours.^{[citation needed]} Such a weapon is not known to have ever been built, tested, or used. Standard atomic mass: 74.92160(2) u.

That's cheerful...

There are so much information of the "incidents" that have occurred at this particular plant I don't know where to start. For now, suffice to say that this was the plant that Godzilla attacked in the 1984 movie ("Godzilla", series No.16); Godzilla must have had a very good reason.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (9:14PM JST 5/18/2011):

中部電力は１８日、運転停止作業中に冷却水に海水が混入するトラブルが起きた浜岡原子力発電所（静岡県御前崎市）５号機に隣接した補助建屋の排気ダクトの出口で、ごく微量の放射性核種「ヒ素７６」を検出したことを明らかにした。

Chubu Electric announced on May 18 that a minute amount of arsenic-76, radionuclide, was detected at the exhaust duct of the ancillary building to the Reactor 5 reactor building at Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, where the sea water got mixed up in the reactor coolant while the reactor was being shut down.

　周辺環境への影響はないという。

The company says there is no ill effect on the environment.

　同社は、トラブルの影響で、海水中に存在する「ヒ素７５」が原子炉内で放射化したものとみている。

The company thinks arsenic-75 present in the seawater turned radioactive inside the reactor.

　また、同社は同日、トラブルの原因調査に向けた点検作業に着手した。混入が確認された「主復水器」内部の水抜きを行った後、混入経路や原因を調べるという。

The company started the investigation as to why the sea water entered the reactor. They will drain the water from the main condenser to find out where the sea water came from and why.

　同社によると、１４日午後、原子炉を冷やす「冷温停止」状態への移行作業中に海水約４００トンが混入するトラブルが発生。放射性物質の外部への漏えいはなかった。

On the afternoon of May 14, as the Reactor 5 was being shut down, about 400 tons of sea water entered the reactor [other news says it was 500 tons]. There was no release of radioactive materials in the environment from the incident.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: TEPCO Just Dumped the Plant Data on the Day of the Earthquake

Very smart of TEPCO and its overseer (NISA) to do it now, after so much radioactive materials have been released and spread in the air, the soil, the ground water, and the ocean. (Remember that it was a Level 7, and that's just by counting the airborne radioactive materials.)

It is like TEPCO and the Japanese government saying "Well it happened, and nothing we can do about it now. So here's the data, if you want."

Let's see if any nuclear researchers in Japan, whether they are paid by the government or not, steps up and explain the data for the rest of us. They've been awfully quiet, except for a few vocal critics like Chubu University's Takeda and Kyoto University's Koide, and even they don't share their analysis of TEPCO's data very much with the lay people.

In Japanese only for now (English link goes to this Japanese page):

http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/index10-j.html

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PM Kan's Hamaoka Nuke Plant Shut Down Request Was Made Under Pressure from the US

Shigeharu Aoyama, former journalist and a current member of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission who went in and took the ground-level video of Fukushima I Nuke Plant on April 22 and caused consternation at Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, appeared on Asahi TV on the morning of May 8 (Japan Time) and revealed that Prime Minister Naoto Kan requested that Chubu Electric Power Company shut down Hamaoka Nuke Plant because of a strong pressure from the United States since early April.

So much for Kan's words, that he was requesting the shutdown for the "safety and security of the Japanese citizens". (See my previous post on Hamaoka.)

The interest of the US, alleges Aoyama, is the safety of its base in Yokosuka, home to the US 7th Fleet, which is downwind from Hamaoka.

Aoyama said he himself received phone calls from both the US Defense Department and the State Department, and was told by the US officials: "We're just out of Fukushima. That Hamaoka..." (These are his words in English, in the video.)

Aoyama also revealed that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) did the estimate of power demand and supply in case of Hamaoka shutdown at the request from the government, but the Prime Minister didn't request to see the estimate before he made the "request" to Chubu Electric to shut down Hamaoka.

Well, METI bureaucrats didn't bother to offer, either.

As Aoyama said, the area that Chubu Electric covers has Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki, among other companies large and small. Oops.

The video is in Japanese. The talk about Hamaoka and the US pressure is right in the beginning.

(h/t あ)

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#Fukushima Prefecture Has 62 Sewage Treatment Facilities

According to the letter (in Japanese) from Yuhei Sato, governor of Fukushima, to Akihiro Ohata, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, dated May 2, there are 62 sewage treatment facilities in Fukushima Prefecture.

So they tested 20. There are 42 more. Oh boy. The result of the test is here (in Japanese). Pages 4 and 5 are the sludge analysis; they tested only cesium-134, cesium-137, and iodine-131. (They should have tested for strontium and plutonium, too.)

In the letter, the governor of Fukushima shows much concern for the disruption of the sewage treatment in Fukushima, and demands that the national government come up with a safe way to treat radioactive sludge as soon as possible. He says it is absolutely necessary to be able to continue to process the sewage, radioactive or not. His concern seems to be about treatment, and safety for the treatment facility workers.

Ummmm... what about the radioactive cement that has been created out of your radioactive sludge and already been sold, governor? How about radioactive smoke from the incinerator? Or cesium released into the river after the water was treated? Along the way, the rivers into which these facilities release the treated water may be the source of someone else's drinking water or irrigation water for farming.

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Now, Radioactive Sewage Sludge from #Fukushima City

Fukushima I Nuke Plant has been one big "dirty bomb".

After Koriyama City's sewage treatment center was tested positive for high level of radioactive cesium in the sewage sludge and slag and the sludge had been already sold (my post here and here), Fukushima Prefecture ordered the testing in other 19 similar treatment centers in Fukushima. 18 out of 19 centers were found to have high concentration of radioactive cesium.

What a surprise.

At one facility in Horikawa-machi in Fukushima City, 446,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium were found. At Koriyama, it was 26,400 becquerels per kilogram.

They say they'll have to find out where the sludge has gone. And at one of them, the facility in Fukushima City above, radioactive sludge may have nowhere else to go but spill into the river as soon as May 20.

Nice.

Koriyama City is 59 kilometers west of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and Fukushima City, prefectrual capitol, is 62 kilometers northwest of the plant. (Distance with the calculator at this site.)

Koriyama alone sold 928 tons of radioactive sewage sludge in 50 days to Sumitomo Osaka Cement. I hate to think how much total that these treatment facilities in Fukushima may have sold.

Are other prefectures testing their sewage treatment facilities and tracking the shipment? I don't think radioactive fallout stops at the Fukushima border...

From Asahi Shinbun (12:58AM JST 5/9/2011):

　福島県郡山市の下水処理施設の下水汚泥などから高濃度の放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、県は８日、福島市の施設の汚泥からも、より高濃度の放射性セ シウムが検出されたと発表した。県内の１９施設を調査した結果、１８施設で検出。原発事故の影響が県内の広範囲に及んでいる可能性をうかがわせる。

Following the detection of high concentration of radioactive cesium in the sewage sludge at one of the sewage treatment centers in Koriyama City, the Fukushima Prefectural government announced on May 8 that even higher concentration of radioactive cesium was found in the sewage sludge at a treatment center in Fukushima City. 18 out of 19 facilities tested for radioactive materials were found to have radioactive cesium, hinting [here you go, Asahi's understatement No.1] that the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident is affecting a wider area in Fukushima.

　県は、汚泥の搬出先について追跡調査する。また、国は下水汚泥の放射性物質の処理基準を策定中で、基準がまとまり次第、県は処理方法を決める。県内の下水処理施設は汚泥などの搬出を休止しており、基準策定が遅れると下水処理が滞る恐れがある。

The Prefectural government will track where the sewage sludge from the facilities has been shipped. The national government is still in the process of establishing the standard for treatment of the radioactive sewage sludge [understatement No.2; the national government was caught, again, flat-footed], so the Fukushima prefectural government will decide how to treat and dispose the radioactive sewage sludge. Sewage treatment facilities in Fukushima have stopped processing the sewage sludge, and if the national policy on the radioactive sewage sludge is not forthcoming, that will result in further delay in sewage treatment

　郡山市の県中浄化センターでは４月３０日の調査で、汚泥から１キロあたり２万６４００ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出。その後、１９施設を調査した結 果、福島市の堀河町終末処理場の汚泥から同４４万６千ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出された。郡山市の別の施設でも汚泥から高い値を検出。いわき市の施設 では、原発事故前は検出されなかった汚泥の燃え殻から３万５７００ベクレルを検出した。

At a sewage treatment plant in Koriyama City, 26,400 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected on April 30. After conducting the testing at 19 facilities, 446,000 becquarels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected at a facility in Fukushima City (Horikawa-machi final treatment center). They also found a high concentration of cesium in the sewage sludge at another facility in Koriyama City. At a facility in Iwaki City, 35,700 becquerels per kilogram of cesium was found in the incinerated sludge [slag?].

　堀河町終末処理場の汚泥が高濃度になったことについて、県は「下水に対して雨水の割合が高い処理場で、広い範囲の土壌から放射性物質が流れ込んだ」とみている。

As to the high level of radioactive cesium at the Horikawa-machi facility, the Fukushima prefectural government thinks it is because of the higher percentage of rainwater at the facility.

　同処理場を管理する福島市によると、郡山市の施設の問題が明らかになった後は脱水処理や搬出を休止し、汚泥は敷地内でコンテナに保管しているという。福島市は「処理をしなければ今月２０日ごろまでに満杯になり、汚泥が河川に流出してしまう」としている。

According to Fukushima City that manages this facility, they have stopped the dehydration treatment and shipment of the sewage sludge after the news of the Koriyama treatment facility, and the sewage sludge is being stored in a container at the premise. Fukushima City says, "Unless we resume the treatment, the container will be full by May 20, and the sewage sludge has nowhere to go but spill into the river."

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#Fukushima Prefectural Government Didn't Tell Residents About SPEEDI Radioactive Fallout Forecast After Reactor 1 Explosion

Just a headline now at Kyodo News Japanese (5/8/2011):

【ニュース速報…福島第１原発事故】福島県、爆発翌日公表せず　国の拡散予測図

This just in... Fukushima I Nuke Plant Accident: Fukushima Prefectural Government didn't make the SPEEDI forecast of the spread of radioactive materials public the day after the explosion.

We know that SPEEDI forecasts were done even before anything blew up at Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Now we are going to find that Fukushima Prefectural Government may have sat on the forecast even if it could have made it public and alert the residents of the danger.

Governments of all levels kill.

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TEPCO: "Release of Radioactive Materials from Reactor 1 Building Will Be Small"

and the famous last word, I'm sure. "No ill effect on human health".

The latest from Yomiuri Shinbun (10:26PM JST 5/7/2011):

　東京電力は７日、福島第一原子力発電所１号機の原子炉建屋内から８日午後にも、放射性物質が外部へ放出される可能性があると発表した。

TEPCO announced on May 7 that there is a possibility that radioactive materials may be released in the afternoon of May 8 from the reactor building of the Reactor 1 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

　原子炉建屋内で人が本格的な作業を始めるのに先立ち、原子炉建屋の二重扉を開放するため。東電は発電所周辺の放射線量の監視を強化する。

TEPCO is going to open the double door to the reactor building [for the first time since the accident] so that the workers can work inside the reactor building for longer periods. TEPCO will monitor the radiation level in and around the plant.

　東電によると、タービン建屋との間にあるこの二重扉を利用して敷設した配管で、原子炉建屋内の空気をタービン建屋側に設置した浄化装置に引き込 み、浮遊する放射性物質を除去している。二重扉はタービン建屋側に作った小部屋で覆っているため、両方の建屋は事実上は仕切られていた。

The air inside the reactor building is being fed through the ducts that go through the double door between the reactor building and the turbine building, and to the air filtering system set up inside the turbine building that removes radioactive materials in the air. TEPCO built a compartment to separate the area where the double door is; so far the turbine building and the reactor building have been separated by this compartment.

　しかし、５日に始めた浄化で原子炉建屋内の放射性物質濃度が下がり、作業を本格化させるめどがついた。そのため、東電は８日午後にも小部屋を取り払い、扉を開放することを決めた。

However, [TEPCO says] the level of radioactive materials inside the reactor building has been reduced enough for further works to be carried out inside the building, thanks to the air filtering system that's been in operation since May 5. TEPCO will remove the compartment [between the reactor building and the turbine building] in the afternoon of May 8 and open the double door.

That's diametrically opposite of what the government officials were apparently saying on May 1, when the PM's assistant was on record saying "there will be a large amount of radioactive materials released on May 8".

No estimate or simulation of how low (or high) the level may be of the radioactive materials coming out of the Reactor 1 reactor building. No official (government) word.

For the rest of us, we are supposed to take TEPCO's word and feel secure and comforted that radiation will be low.

This is the company that somehow forgot (didn't bother, I might say) to inform the plant workers of the "dry vent" (the link is in Japanese) that it did on Reactor 1 on March 12, exposing the workers on the ground to high radiation without them knowing. Only a handful operators who did the vent, and some in the operation headquarters at the plant knew about it, and not all workers had dosimeters with them at that time (dosimeters were swept away and lost in the tsunami).

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Political Theater in Japan over Hamaoka Nuke Plant, over Wrong Reason: Tsunami

Hamaoka Nuke Plant, which sits on a soft rock right by the beach, wouldn't need a big tsunami from a big earthquake to get knocked out. All it would take is an earthquake the size that's anticipated in the region (Tokai) for a long time and which is said to be overdue.

Even the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident was not caused by the tsunami. It was the earthquake that knocked down the only power transmission tower that supplied electricity to the plant, and that was the beginning of the crisis at the plant that has affected wide areas in the entire northern hemisphere. Of all the TEPCO's power transmission towers, that was the only tower that fell down.

But never mind the details like that. The embattled PM Naoto Kan would do anything and everything to show to people in Japan that he's in charge, and he "requested" Hamaoka Nuke Plant be stopped because "it does not have adequate measures against the tsunami that may be generated after a big Tokai earthquake.

By the time the tsunami from the big quake hits Hamaoka, there may be not much left to sweep away.

Yomiuri reports (5/7/2011) that:

菅首相は６日夜、首相官邸で記者会見し、中部電力浜岡原子力発電所（静岡県御前崎市）のすべての原子炉の運転停止を、海江田経済産業相を通じて中部電力に要請したと発表した。

Prime Minister Kan held a press conference at the Prime Minister's Official Residence and announced that he had requested Chubu Electric Power Company to halt all the reactors at its Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant (Omaezaki City, Shizuoka Prefecture). The request was conveyed to Chubu Electric by Minister of Economy and Industry Kaieda.

　理由として、静岡県を中心とする東海地震の発生確率が高いとされる中、防波壁の設置など津波対策強化の必要性を指摘した上で、「国民の安全と安心 を考えた。重大な事故が発生した場合の日本社会全体の甚大な影響もあわせて考慮した」と説明した。中部電力も首相の要請を受け入れる方向だ。

As to the reason for the request, Kan pointed out the necessity for stronger measures against tsunami such as breakwater because of the high likelihood of a Tokai earthquake centered in Shizuoka Prefecture, and said "It is for the safety and security for the citizens. I also considered the grave effect on the Japanese society if a serious accident were to happen [at Hamaoka Plant]. Chubu Electric is likely to obey the Prime Minister's request.

The Prime Minster's "request" has no legal basis nor power of enforcement.

Goshi Hosono, the PM's assistant who had said they "didn't feel like announcing" that there was probably a core meltdown at Fukushima, said of his boss' decision that "it was a political decision because of very high probability (84% probability within the next 30 years) of the Tokai earthquake". Right. And natural disasters like earthquake and tsunami will be prevented by that political decision.

Haven't they learned anything in the past 7 weeks or so? Betting on a high probability wouldn't have stopped the earthquake of March 11 (which had been assigned a very, very low probability) and tsunami (also assigned a very, very low probability), or the complete shut down of the power of any source (assigned a very, very, very low probability close to zero).

The opposition groups against Hamaoka Nuke Plant are some of the most vocal, visible, and the most organized of all the groups in Japan that oppose nuclear power plants. Kan must have figured it would be very easy to score some points with these groups.

As for Hamaoka, as this blog has pointed out in the past (here and here), the plant sits on an active fault or two, practically on the beach. The Tokai earthquake itself and the resulting liquefaction would knock the plant out before tsunami would come. (And Godzilla will come...)

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Tsuruga Nuke Plant to Stop the Reactor No.2 on May 7

After the highly elevated levels of radioactive xenon-133 and iodine-133 were detected in the cooling water from the Reactor Pressure Vessel of the Reactor 2 on May 2 (see my post on May 2), Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) has decided to shut down the Reactor 2 at Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture in order to identify which fuel rods are leaking the radioactive materials.

JAPC's latest press release on May 6 shows that the level of xenon-133 has gone up further since May 2. Though the level of iodine-133 dropped to the pre-May 2 level, the level of iodine-131 has since gone up. The level of iodine-131 didn't show any increase on May 2.

JAPC will shut down the Reactor 2 on May 7 by first reducing the power output at 9:00AM, stopping the power generation at 5:00PM, bringing the reactor to a complete stop at 7:ooPM.

Tsuruga Nuke Plant's Reactor 1 is shut down for maintenance (link in Japanese) since January 26, 2011, and won't be back online until March 2012.

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Japanese Government Finally Divulges What It Has Been Hiding: SPEEDI Radiation Simulations from March 12

(UPDATE) The earliest simulation was done at 4:00PM on March 11, assuming the leak of radioactive materials started at 4:00PM. (To see the simulation, go to the bottom of the post.)

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Now, after more than 50 days and after so much contamination of soil, water, air and ocean with radioactive iodine, cesium, strontium, plutonium, americium, curium, among other yet to be disclosed nuclides that have exposed the residents in Japan to heightened internal and external radiations, the Japanese government simply dumps the SPEEDI simulation data on the Ministry of Education's website.

What is, really, the point of telling us now? To say... what? They're sorry that they didn't tell you about the simulation when the radioactive materials were coming at 10,000 terabecquerels/hour and they knew it but were afraid people would freak out? I suppose the people in the administration and in the government would rather have a significant increase in cancer and other illnesses several decades down the line, because by that time they may be no longer in the government or no longer in this world.

The SPEEDI simulation data is here (in Japanese only):

http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/saigaijohou/syousai/1305747.htm

The earliest simulation that has been disclosed at the site is the simulation done on March 12 for the period from 3:00AM March 12 to 3:00AM March 13. The simulation assumed the accident of the Reactor 1. At 2:48AM on March 12, the pressure inside the Pressure Vessel of the Reactor 1 rose significantly, so whoever was in charge of SPEEDI did conduct a simulation assuming the Reactor 1 would blow. Looking at the simulation, it is clear that they assumed the wind direction to be offshore (west by northwest), and most of the radioactive materials would blow over the Pacific Ocean.

However, by the next simulation for 10:00AM to 8:00PM on March 12, the prevailing wind direction forecast shifted over time from northwest to east by southeast to south, resulting in the simulation that forecasts wide dispersion of radioactive iodine inland. The simulation chart below is the internal radiation exposure at the thyroid gland of a 1-year old by inhaling radioactive iodine:

After the Reactor 1 blew up, they even created the simulation for wider area, which shows they predicted the rapid expansion of the radioactive materials well north of Minami-Soma City and reaching Soma City (0ver 40 kilometers away from Fukushima I Nuke Plant), on a prevailing strong wind from the south. This is the simulation chart for the air radiation level, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM on March 12:

Prompt disclosure of such simulations could have made a huge difference. If the initial simulation when the pressure got high in the Reactor 1 of Fukushima I Nuke Plant had been disclosed, then the people in the immediate vicinity of the plant could have evacuated in a more orderly way instead of in a panic after the Reactor 1 blew up.

Professor Toshiso Kosako, who quit the job as the PM's special advisor in protest of the government response to the Fukushima I accident, said in his resignation statement that there was another program called WSPEEDI, which can cover much wider area ("several thousand kilometers", according to Professor Kosako). WSPEEDI can probably cover the entire Japan (except for outlying islands).

The Japanese government is still sitting on WSPEEDI simulations, if any exists as Professor Kosako says.

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THE EARLIEST SIMULATION DONE WAS AT 4:00PM ON MARCH 11, and that simulation is posted at the Nuclear Safety Agency's site, not at Ministry of Education site. It assumes a minor accident (because they only forecast noble gas to spread) at the Reactor 1. The simulation chart is the air radiation level from 4:00 PM to 5:00PM on March 11:

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Sumitomo Osaka Cement Shipped Radioactive Cement Made From Koriyama Sewage Sludge in Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma Prefectures

It was Sumitomo Osaka Cement Company, the 3rd largest cement manufacturer in Japan after Taiheiyo Cement and Ube-Mitsubishi Cement, who unknowingly bought the radioactive sewage sludge from Koriyama City's treatment center.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (11:06PM JST 5/3/2011):

福島県郡山市の県中浄化センターの汚泥から高濃度の放射性物質が検出された問題で、汚泥がセメント材として栃木県内などに出荷されていたことが３日、わかった。

Regarding the high level of radioactive materials detected in the sewage sludge at a sewage treatment center in Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture, tt was revealed on May 3 that the cement made from the sludge had been shipped to Tochigi Prefecture and other places.

住友大阪セメント（東京）によると、汚泥は栃木県佐野市の栃木工場でセメント原料として再利用されていた。同工場でのセメントの生産・出荷を中止した。

According to Sumitomo Osaka Cement (headquartered in Tokyo), the sewage sludge was recycled as cement material at its plant in Sano City in Tochigi Prefecture. The company has stopped production and shipment of the cement from the plant.

　福島第一原発事故後に使った汚泥は９２８トンに上り、栃木をはじめ群馬、茨城県などに出荷していた。

928 tons of the sewage sludge [from Koriyama facility?] have been used since the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident, and the cement has been shipped to Tochigi, Gunma, and Ibaraki Prefectures and other locations. [The article doesn't say where.]

　汚泥から放射性セシウムが１キロ・グラムあたり２万６４００ベクレル検出されている。

Radioactive cesium of 26,400 becquerels per 1 kilogram has been detected from the sewage sludge.

928 tons? So it is almost double of what was initially reported (500 tons).

Additional info from the cement company's press release on May 2:

• The company received sewage sludge from the treatment center in Koriyama since the Fukushima accident from March 12 to April 30. [So, total of 50 days.]

• The total amount of the sewage sludge received: 928 tons. [18.56 tons per day, NOT 10 TONS per day as initially reported.]

Sumitomo Osaka Cement is understandably upset. In the press release, the company will try to trace the cement already shipped and measure the radiation while demanding the explanation from Fukushima Prefecture.

Understate everything by half. At this point, nothing surprises anyone, does it?

There are 22 other treatment centers in Fukushima that sell sewage sludge. No news on them yet.

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More than 1,000 Times the Normal Level of Radioactive Cesium on the Ocean Floor Off the Coast of #Fukushima I Nuke Plant

Radioactive iodine is also 100 times the normal level.

Kyodo News Japanese (5/3/2011):

　福島第１原発事故で東京電力は３日、原発近郊の深さ２０～３０メートルの海底の土から、通常の１００～千倍の濃 度の放射性物質を検出したと発表した。東電が海底の土を分析したのは事故後初めてで「高い濃度だ。環境への影響は、魚介類を採取して分析、評価したい」と している。

TEPCO announced on May 3 that the radioactive materials were found in high concentration from the ocean soil [on the ocean floor] at 20 to 30 meters deep near Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. The concentration was 100 to 1000 times the normal level. It was the first time since the accident that TEPCO collected the soil samples from the ocean floor. TEPCO said the numbers were high, and it would conduct further environmental impact analysis by catching fish [and other seafood] and test them.

　土を採取したのは、第１原発の北約１５キロの福島県南相馬市と、南約２０キロの同県楢葉町の沖合３キロで、４月 ２９日に実施。放射性ヨウ素が１キログラム当たり９８～１９０ベクレル、セシウムは１キログラム当たり１２００～１４００ベクレルだった。通常はいずれも １キログラム当たり数ベクレルか、検出限界以下。

The locations where the ocean soil was taken are 3 kilometers off the coast of Minami-Soma City, 15 kilometers north of Fukushima I Nuke Plant, and Naraha-machi, 20 kilometers south of the Plant. The sample collection was done on April 29. Radioactive iodine was 98 to 190 becquerels/kilogram, and radioactive cesium was 1200 to 1400 becquerels/kilogram. Normally, they are detected at only a few becquerels/kilogram or ND (below detectable level).

　東電は、放射性物質は空気中に放出されたものが海に落ちたか、汚染水として流れて海底に沈んだとみている。今後、濃度が上昇しないか監視するとしている。

TEPCO thinks the radioactive materials fell from the air into the ocean, or they settled on the ocean floor after they were released in the contaminated water from the Plant. TEPCO will monitor to see if the levels go up.

　一方、文部科学省は第１原発の南約５０キロ地点の沖合約１０キロ、深さ１１７メートルの海底から４月２９日に土を採取して分析。放射性物質は検出されなかったと発表した。

Ministry of Education and Science announced its sampling data of the ocean soil taken on April 29 at 117 meter deep, 10 kilometers off the coast of a location 50 kilometers south of Fukushima I Nuke Plant; no radioactive materials were detected, according to the Ministry.

TEPCO's press release says it is still analyzing for other nuclides. Hopefully they are looking for strontium, plutonium, uranium, and a host of other nuclides we've become familiar with in the past month and a half. Don't hold your breath that the result will be announced anytime soon, though. TEPCO is disorganized, and the government wants to censor.

Here's the actual numbers from TEPCO's press release on May 3:

Location 1 (3 km off the coast of Odaka Ward, Minami-Soma)

• Iodine-131 (half life 8 days): 190 becquerels/kilogram

• Cesium-134 (half life 2 years): 1,300 becquerels/kilogram

• Cesium-137 (half life 30 years): 1,400 becquerels/kilogram

Location 2 (3 km off the coast of Iwasawa Beach, Naraha-machi)

• Iodine-131 (half life 8 days): 98 becquerels/kilogram

• Cesium-134 (half life 2 years): 1,200 becquerels/kilogram

• Cesium-137 (half life 30 years): 1,200 becquerels/kilogram

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