Thread: Japan Earthquake: Fukushima

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Just in case you don't remember.

It's just over 1 month ago if my memory serves me correctly.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Yes there are still problems.

Certainly as there is a fire raging in an ancilary piece of equipment.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Yet the cooling is now working on all reactors. Admitted not in a closed circuit yet.

I'll believe that when they can show us some pictures.

Fuel rod fragments at bottom of vessels

No meltdown risk if cooling efforts continue


Melted fuel rod fragments have sunk to the bottoms of three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and could theoretically burn through the pressure vessels if emergency water-pumping operations are seriously disrupted, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan said Friday.

If too many of the melted fuel fragments puddle at the bottom, they can generate enough concentrated heat to bore a hole in the pressure vessel, which would result in a massive radioactive release to the environment..
"It will take at least two or three months ... until the situation of fuel rods is stabilized" said Takashi Sawada, vice chairman of the nuclear body.


remainder of article:

Fuel rod fragments at bottom of vessels | The Japan Times Online

One month on, debris fields barely dented

A month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, the challenges seem as daunting as ever: Thousands are missing and feared dead, tens of thousands have fled their homes, the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant continues to leak and powerful aftershocks keep coming.

Vast tracts of the Tohoku region are demolition sites: The stuff of entire cities is sorted into piles taller than three-story buildings around which dump trucks and earthmovers crawl. Ankle-deep water stagnates in streets, and massive fishing boats lie perched atop pancaked houses and cars. The occasional telephone poll or bulldozer is sometimes the only skyline.


One month on, debris fields barely dented | The Japan Times Online

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Certainly as there is a fire raging in an ancilary piece of equipment.

There is no fire raging. There was a small fire after the 7.0 earthquake that was quickly controlled and put out.

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

I'll believe that when they can show us some pictures.

It is the position of the IAEA. And even Greenpeace confirmed that the Japanese Government statements regarding radiation are correct as far as they can check them and they have checked quite thouroughly.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

And even Greenpeace confirmed that the Japanese Government statements regarding radiation are correct as far as they can check them and they have checked quite thouroughly.

So Greenpeace has access to the reactors?

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

So Greenpeace has access to the reactors?

Says who?

Originally Posted by Takeovers

Says who?

I'm asking you the question and based upon your quote.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

And even Greenpeace confirmed that the Japanese Government statements regarding radiation are correct as far as they can check them and they have checked quite thouroughly.

Were they allowed access to the reactors and to see their exact condition themselves?

Originally Posted by Loy Toy

Were they allowed access to the reactors and to see their exact condition themselves?

I did not say that and it would be difficult to read it out of my statement. Greenpeace confirmes the radiation readings outside. That has been questioned by many, saying they are surely much higher than admitted.

If there were a core melting to an extent that the containment was breached the radiation would be higher and more dangerous isotopes would be measured. That again confirmed by the IAEA. See the link

Originally Posted by misskit

Fuel rod fragments at bottom of vessels | The Japan Times Online

Like so many other articles the headline is as alarmist as the facts allow, actually more so. But basically it says the reactor cores are not breached and are very unlikely to be breached in the future.

The plutonium detected is so low that it may be from bomb testing in the 60ies. Way too low to come from any possible containment breach.

TOKYO/FUKUSHIMA: Japanese engineers began dumping zeolite mineral to check sea water contamination near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant , even as desperate efforts were launched today to combat the surge in the level of highly radioactive water in the reactor's tunnel.

As efforts continued to stabilise the plant, an aftershock of 5.9 magnitude struck the Kanto region in eastern Japan today at 11:19 am local time and was centred about 79 km below the ground in southern Ibaraki prefecture, according to the country's Meteorological Agency.

New 5.9 quake jolts Japan; Zeolite dropped in Pacific - The Economic Times

Originally Posted by Mid

the plant in coastal Niigata prefecture

Goofus maps has it wrong again. Niigata is on the west coast at the top of the map, not where pointed.

Thanxs , map deleted

JAPAN, THURSDAY: Tsunami survivors take a bath in the devastated town of Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture.
Photo: Yasyoshi Chiba

The First Post | News, comment, opinion, people, arts, sport & life

Originally Posted by Mid

Smoke at another Japan nuclear plant


Operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex were suspended for two years from 2007 following an earthquale

Deleted
Map

TOKYO — Smoke briefly rose Saturday from a control panel at a Japanese nuclear power plant operated by the same company battling to stop radiation seeping from a quake-stricken facility, a report said.

There were no injuries but the cause of the smoke at the plant in coastal Niigata prefecture was not clear, Kyodo news said, citing Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).

Probably just an auxiliary structure, nothing to worry about.

Government considering plan to dismantle TEPCO



A secret plan to dismantle Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is circulating within the government. The proposal, which is associated with a faction of bureaucrats who have long supported liberalization of Japan's power industry, envisages the passing of a special measures law that would put the company under close government supervision before eventually bankrupting it and completely restructuring its remnants.



There are also proposals to smash the company's powerful influence on politicians and the mass media and force executives to give all their pay and severance settlements to victims of the earthquake.



However, a rival faction in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) and politicians with links to the power industry may try to fight or emasculate the radical proposals.
Sources said internal government discussions about how to handle TEPCO began in earnest around March 28, as it became clear that trillions of yen would be required just to compensate residents of Fukushima Prefecture affected by the nuclear disaster. The plan to dismantle the firm was being circulated by the end of the month.



At its center is a special measures bill placing TEPCO under government supervision and paving the way to pulling it apart.
A former ANRE official who supports the plan said: "The special measures law will be necessary when we consider the need for comprehensive reform of TEPCO's management, including the establishment of a third-party organ to certify compensation decisions, a way to come up with the funds to pay compensation, and the separation of the company's nuclear energy department."



According to an outline draft proposal, there would be four main measures within the bill.

An independent committee would be established within the government to oversee TEPCO's management. It would monitor the selection of executives, the compensation process and management reform.
The law would allow the government to guarantee all loans from financial institutions needed to pay for the disaster response at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Business transactions, such as payments for fuel, would also be protected.
Finally, the law would put a moratorium on the repayment of debt, including corporate bonds, from before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
A key issue in handling the issue will be timing. If the government uses public funds to save the company before the compensation to be paid out is decided, the burden on the public is likely to be increased.



Even if the central government injects capital into TEPCO in exchange for preferred stock, that stock would have a subordinate claim to the assets of the company compared with debt held by financial institutions and corporate bonds. Its claims would be the first to be pushed aside in bankruptcy proceedings.
A government official said it would be folly to "inject fresh water into polluted water, because that water would end up becoming polluted as well."
Instead, supporters of the restructuring plan want to keep TEPCO in its current form in the short term and use government guarantees to keep it running.
Those guarantees would not extend to financial claims dating from before the finalization of the government bailout plan, including approximately 2 trillion yen ($23.6 billion) in emergency loans recently extended by major financial institutions.
A government source said those loans had been "something the private sector did based on its own risk assessments."



The plan expects bankruptcy proceedings to begin once the amount of compensation is settled and the total cost of handling the Fukushima accident can be estimated.
According to the company's financial statements for the fiscal year ending in March 2010, TEPCO had 13.2 trillion yen in assets and 10.6 trillion yen in liabilities. If compensation exceeds the difference between those amounts, TEPCO would have excess liabilities. Some estimates put the cost of compensation and handling the Fukushima accident at approximately 10 trillion yen, meaning TEPCO is already effectively bankrupt.



The plan envisages a drastic restructuring of TEPCO during the bankruptcy and rehabilitation process.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, a financial dissolution plan would be compiled after most of the debt was finalized. That plan would likely include eliminating all the company's capital and asking financial institutions to forgive debt.
To lessen the impact on the corporate bond market, the discounting of bonds would likely be less severe than the writing off of debt from financial institutions.
The biggest issue at the rehabilitation stage is likely to be a proposal supported by some METI officials to separate the power generation and power transmission arms of TEPCO.



When Britain privatized its electricity generation industry, it was separated into two distinct sectors: companies handling power generation and firms responsible for power transmission. The aim was to keep down the price of electricity by encouraging competition in the industry.
In Japan, all nine electric power companies handle both power generation and transmission, and they have been fighting the idea of separating the two functions for years.



Under the plan, TEPCO would first be made a holding company and subsidiaries would be established to separately handle power generation and power transmission. Conventional thermal and hydro power plants owned by the power generating arm would be gradually sold off to new entrants to the market. Selling off plants and profitable subsidiaries would lessen the financial burden on the public.



Eventually, TEPCO would end up as a power transmission company on a far smaller scale than it is at present.
Sources said separation into power generation and transmission companies would probably happen two or three years after passage of the special measures law.
There are also proposals for a ban on political donations by TEPCO and its labor union. The power industry is known for its strong political connections, with key backers including Lower House member Akira Amari and other Liberal Democratic Party members, who make up the commerce lobby, and Upper House Democratic Party of Japan member Masashi Fujiwara, who has roots in the Federation of Electric Power Related Industry Worker's Unions.
Another issue that may be addressed is TEPCO's influence over the mass media, maintained using a huge advertising budget, which was used to foster the widespread belief that nuclear plants did not pose a safety risk.
There are also proposals to force all TEPCO executives to donate all of their remuneration and severance pay to victims of the nuclear accident, to cut corporate adviser posts, and to prevent retiring executives from getting jobs at related companies, a practice known as "amakudari."



The fate of the plans may partly rely on bureaucratic politics, and, specifically, the relative influence of two rival bureaucratic factions within METI and ANRE.
Around 2004, when Katsusada Hirose and Seiji Murata were METI vice ministers, a group arguing for liberalization of the electric power industry was in the ascendancy. But bureaucrats defending the status quo, under the patronage of Hideji Sugiyama and Takao Kitabata, who later served as vice ministers, have made a comeback and now hold a number of important ministry posts. The plan to dismantle TEPCO is associated with the liberalizing group.
One high-ranking ANRE official emphasized that the plan had not yet been authorized, and a mid-level METI bureaucrat said, "It is only being talked about by those in the Prime Minister's Official Residence and the National Policy Unit."
There is a strong possibility that the plan will be watered down by politicians in the Diet or emasculated by officials in METI and ANRE, which has been chosen as the lead agency overseeing the future of TEPCO.


asahi.com

Originally Posted by misskit

Government considering plan to dismantle TEPCO

A secret plan to dismantle Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is circulating within the government...... The proposal... envisages the passing of a special measures law that would put the company under close government supervision before eventually bankrupting it and completely restructuring its remnants. There are also proposals to smash the company's powerful influence on politicians and the mass media and force executives to give all their pay and severance settlements to victims of the earthquake....

The plan expects bankruptcy proceedings to begin once the amount of compensation is settled and the total cost of handling the Fukushima accident can be estimated.....

Some estimates put the cost of compensation and handling the Fukushima accident at approximately 10 trillion yen, meaning TEPCO is already effectively bankrupt.....

The plan envisages a drastic restructuring of TEPCO during the bankruptcy and rehabilitation process.
During the bankruptcy proceedings, a financial dissolution plan would be compiled after most of the debt was finalized. That plan would likely include eliminating all the company's capital and asking financial institutions to forgive debt.

The biggest issue at the rehabilitation stage is likely to be a proposal supported by some METI officials to separate the power generation and power transmission arms of TEPCO.

When Britain privatized its electricity generation industry, it was separated into two distinct sectors: companies handling power generation and firms responsible for power transmission. The aim was to keep down the price of electricity by encouraging competition in the industry.

In Japan, all nine electric power companies handle both power generation and transmission, and they have been fighting the idea of separating the two functions for years.

Under the plan, TEPCO would first be made a holding company and subsidiaries would be established to separately handle power generation and power transmission. Conventional thermal and hydro power plants owned by the power generating arm would be gradually sold off to new entrants to the market. Selling off plants and profitable subsidiaries would lessen the financial burden on the public. Eventually, TEPCO would end up as a power transmission company on a far smaller scale than it is at present.
Sources said separation into power generation and transmission companies would probably happen two or three years after passage of the special measures law.

The fate of the plans may partly rely on bureaucratic politics, and, specifically, the relative influence of two rival bureaucratic factions within METI and ANRE.

One high-ranking ANRE official emphasized that the plan had not yet been authorized, and a mid-level METI bureaucrat said, "It is only being talked about by those in the Prime Minister's Official Residence and the National Policy Unit.".......

There is a strong possibility that the plan will be watered down by politicians in the Diet or emasculated by officials in METI and ANRE, which has been chosen as the lead agency overseeing the future of TEPCO.


asahi.com

I shortened the full quote above, just for simplicity sake to capture the high points - most of which are captured in the first paragraph. Fox broke similar but less detailed news a few days ago, and I believe even Bloomberg may have covered this topic. Its all interesting - reading what was published in Japan. The details speak about the shameful public private incest that delivered this industry to its current low ethic less state, now exposed by the disaster. It is shameful when influence, buys out regulatory safety, for the sake of profits - and heads are turned away from the growing scientific research that pointed to elevated risks (specifically EQ assesments, Tsunami hardening against impled risks). Consequences will follow......

I spent two years working for an independent power producer in Northern New England back in the late 80's. That company was only a generation company, and used regional utility grids and power purchase agreements to market its power via the Major Utilities.

The power industry break up - into generation companies and transmission companies had not yet taken place. That was pushed though about a decade or so later - touted as a real win-win for the consumer - allowing them to purchase lowest cost power - wheeled across the grid.

So MOM and POP could sign up with many different power companies for their juice. Bills received would include generation price (often with a fuel adjustment factor involved) - there would also be a "stranded cost" portion - to pay for grid services (based as well on Kw use factor). Sadly once put in practice.... These bills (totaling generation and distribution costs together) proved to be a significantly higher cost for electric power than rate payers were used to.

By allowing the break up and deregulation into functional separate entities - It removed some of the efficient rate regulation by state public service board approvals for rate increases, in the industry. Regulation measures that replaced some PSB's methods were less effective. Some states managed the process better than others, but overall it was a major failure for the consumer. The idea of better competition to benefit lower consumer pricing was a pure fantasy. Yes there would be more competition by energy generation companies. However there is no real competition in distribution sectors. There is not a lot of rural redundancy in distribution grids. Power Distribution will always be a choke point in the energy cost equation to rate payers. Transmission and distribution grids are major investments and have high costs. They are tied to geography, and will never have a large amount of competition. They grew organically from former regional utilities as they expanded electrification projects from the power industry at its infancy. No one builds distribution networks from scratch in hope of developing customers. Not in this day and age, The costs for land, right of way, permitting etc is way to high to recover the investment.

Formerly with a unified power (generation and distribution under the same company) - profits from the generation side, covered grid upgrades and maintenance. PSB's regulated rate increases based on a careful need assessment. Split into stand alone functional groups, PSB's had to assess rate increases for transmission company's separately from those of generation companies. Making it easier for these separate groups to make cases for rate increases, because revenue streams were different.

With transmission / distribution having firm geographic footing, and generation companies forced much hard to compete for customers, is not gain for consumers or for power system reliability. Consumers got gouged for the T&D costs, and generation companies were forced to run leaner models (based on higher competition) - ultimately reducing private industry generation reliability. When bad weather and ice storms swept through - T&D companies costs could not absorb all the costs so rates were raised. This split up was a sham sold to the public and passed across many state and regional utility territories.

In my former US residence. My regional utility changed names and changed hands. My power came from its generational assets - which had been sold a British Company. The distribution service came across the same old grid (as before), but was billed at a rate, almost as high as my former total power cost alone. Equally it was not welcome to recognize my power costs, were generating profits for a foreign company.

Yes I was free to shop for lowest cost generation companies (anywhere), but by the time the power wheeling & grid costs were factored in - It remained lowest cost to by my power locally, but at a significantly higher than before this break up along function lines took place.

This kind of functional break up will be a net loser for the Japan consumer as well. Large Utilities will often prefer the older model - because it gives them a stable monopoly on their distribution territory. It makes future system planning and budgeting easier, as well, because they can very well model system growth and conservation measures as well, and upgrades such as smart grid technology.

Traction for the new model is best where generational assets and grid assets are old and outmoded. As split entities its easier to get rate increases for separate refurbishment of pieces, rather than across the board for their entire system. In the ERA of new environmental regulations (and future carbon taxation models) - It is much easier to abandon old fossil fuel dirty generation assets at or near end of life and develop new Cogen cycle plants using LNG / LPG cycles and get a rate set for good life cycle cost recovery than to hold on and extend old assets. Spliting utilities along function lines - Makes this easier to do, than with the old model. When those advantages are well understood - Utilities get behind the break up along functional lines.

It appears this like this disaster and the question of TEPCO - is about to open the door for this kind of utility structural change in Japan. People have to be careful for what the wish for - because it probably is not going to be lower cost or better for the consumer.

The question of TEPCO's future is pretty clear. They are not financially strong enough to cover the damages and service debts. They are toast just from that fiscal point of view. But it goes deeper than that. Regardless of how weak or strong the final agreement will become - TEPCO will be gutted, broken up, sold off, because of TEPCO's persona and public perception - punitive action will also be placed against all executives as well.

TEPCO will be maintained in some skeleton form to serve as a glaring example to others in the business - of what happens when power and influence go array and where arrogance arises to the point where they believe they can re-write their own conduct rules, which ignore their public duty of putting safety first, and which incorrectly bolstered a believe they can squeeze and cut corners like other rabid "for profit" large industries in Japan. When you are a utility - you must meet mission and safety first, profit marginally after that. TEPCO seems to have forgotten that. They will pay heavily for that breach of public trust.

They are destined to remain crucified and strung up - like the bodies along the Appian Way - the central road that lead into ROME - as evidence that those on the path must bear witness to the consequences of forgetting their allegiance to Rome and the laws that govern her citizens. TEPCOs going to be strung up and left waving in the breeze... It will be part of the shake up in the Japan power sector, and will usher in a full restructure of the Nuclear power and Nuclear safety industries as well.

Where that is going to end up is hard to predict, but Its fair to say the Japanese public has probably lost faith in its own mechanisms and will demand the highest accountability and independent safety assessments across the board. It will likely mean a shuttering and decommissioning of any nuclear facilities close to the end of their economic life. It will mean deep safety assessments and hardened of back up power redundancy for other Nuclear plants with significant remaining economic life. It will mean a major shift away from spent nuclear fuel storage on site - With a costly governmental solution being drafted and implemented.

The Japanese sentiment with their resolve and focus will push these things to the forefront and slay these dragons - as a new norm model that the rest of the worlds nuclear industries should take note of.

Japan as a last prong will be pushing alternative energies as well, other more modern non nuclear utilities, and the core Nuclear plants will remain the major work horses that service their industrial power needs.

These are likely the agenda items that will tumble as Japan picks up Nuclear and Utility power issues in the future. MissKit did a great service do drag out and post this good quote - Its a tale of the tape to come, and its an example of the political unwinding that is sweeping as a result of this disaster. This unfortunate chain of events, are proving to be the tipping point for change for greater transparency in Japans power sector.

I remain hopeful they shy away from the model of split function between generation and distribution - Thats clearly a losing game for customers.

Japan's crisis: one month later

Japan is just in the beginning of the long term recovery effort from the earthquake that struck off northeastern Japan on March 11. The crisis alert level from the damage to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has now been raised to the highest level of impact, the same as the Chernobyl Russia incident 25 years ago. Searchers continue to look for the dead, displaced Japanese live in shelters, protests continue over use of nuclear power, Japan's economic engine may be disrupted, the massive cleanup of debris is just underway, aftershocks are feared and many continue to mourn those who were lost. The photos collected here are from one month to the day of the quake and beyond. -- Lloyd Young (36 photos total)

Buddhist monks, Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, firefighters, and other relief workers observed a moment of silence on "Hiyori Yama," or Weather Hill, in Natori, Miyagi prefecture, on April 11, 2011, exactly one month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan. Local fishermen used to climb the manmade hump and decide whether it was safe to fish. (Koichi Nakamura,Yomiuri Shimbun/Associated Press)


2
Elementary school children crouched under their desks at their school in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, on April 12, 2011, as a powerful aftershock hit northern Japan. Japan added to the evacuation zone around the stricken nuclear plant, as a powerful aftershock rattled the nation a month after its biggest recorded earthquake wrought devastation. (AFP/Getty Images) #


3
Mud and trees covered part of a road after a landslide caused by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on April 11, 2011, in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. (Kyodo News/Associated Press) #


4
An evacuee sat in a partitioned "room" at a gymnasium converted into a shelter in Kamaishi, Iwate prefecture, on April 12, 2011, a month after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami hit the northeastern coast of Japan. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images #


5
Rui Sato, 2, showed off his key chain while playing with a Japan Red Cross member at an evacuation center in Fukushima, northeastern Japan, on April 11, 2011. (Hiro Komae/Associated Press) #


6
Teru Sutou, 8, and his brother Ren, 9, ate a distributed hot stew and rice at a parking lot in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, on April 12, 2011. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that the Fukushima nuclear plant is gradually stabilizing and that the amount of radiation being released is falling. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


7
A volunteer cleaned a family photo that was washed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami as baby photos were placed to dry at a volunteer center in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, April 12, 2011. (Toru Hanai/Reuters) #


8
Japanese police officers climbed up a slope in Minamisanriku, Miyagi prefecture, after receiving a tsunami warning following a powerful tremor, one of hundreds of aftershocks stemming from the massive earthquake a month ago. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


9
Fisherman Koichi Sasaki looked for his wedding ring, which was lost a month earlier during the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, at a damaged area in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture. (Toru Hanai/Reuters) #


10
Shoppers looked for vegetables during a sale of produce from the city of Iwaki in Fukushima prefecture on April 12, 2011. The government is trying to support farmers in Fukushima who are hurting from dropped sales due to rumors of the spread of radiation from the troubled nuclear power plant. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


11
Kiyoi Oikawa, 74, collected water from a well with a recycled bucket to wash her clothes from her destroyed home in Minamisanriku on April 12, 2011. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said that the Fukushima nuclear plant is gradually stabilizing and that the amount of radiation being released is falling. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


12
A Japanese man cleaned up his workshop in the area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the town of Minamisanriku. (Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press) #


13
Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan spoke at a news conference at his official residence in Tokyo on April 12, 2011. China said on Tuesday it was still concerned about Japan's nuclear calamity, a disaster Japan put on a par with the world's worst nuclear accident, Chernobyl. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters) #


14
Japan's Nuclear Safety Agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama spoke during a news conference on the announcement on nuclear accident severity level in Tokyo on April 12, 2011. Japan raised the severity of its nuclear disaster to seven, the highest level, on Tuesday, putting it on a par with the world's worst disaster nuclear accident at Chernobyl after another major aftershock rattled the quake-ravaged east. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters) #


15
Fire could be seen in the sampling building near a water drain of TEPCO Fukushima No.1 (Dai-Ichi) nuclear power plant in the town of Okuma in Fukushima prefecture. The fire broke out at the stricken nuclear plant in the morning of April 12, 2011, but was soon extinguished. (TEPCO/AFP/Getty Images) #


16
An employee inspected auto parts on the production line of Iwaki Diecast Co.'s plant in Yamamoto, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. Toyota Motor Corp. told US dealers that assembly disruptions triggered by last month's record earthquake and tsunami in Japan may thin supplies of vehicles into the third quarter. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg) #


17
A man looked at the closing price of Japan's Nikkei share average (top center) displayed along with major indices outside a brokerage in Tokyo. The Nikkei average dropped for a second straight day April 12 on growing worries that the impact of the March 11 earthquake may be more severe than hoped and as Japan put its nuclear crisis on par with Chernobyl. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters) #


18
A man looked for his personal belongings at a collection center for items found in the rubble of an area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in Natori, northern Japan. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) #


19
Japan Self-Defense Force members searched for victims in debris caused by the March 11 tsunami in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on April 12, 2011. (Lee Jin-man/Associated Press) #


20
During an event in Tokyo to promote safety of agricultural products, a man used a radiation detector to measure the level in strawberries produced in Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture. (Koji Sasahara/Associated Press) #


21
A man was tested for contamination in Koriyama, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, on April 12, 2011. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters) #


22
A Buddhist monk prayed for earthquake victims at a burial site in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture, one month after the earthquake and tsunami struck northern Japan. Across the country people stood in silence at 2:46 p.m. local time on April 11 to remember the thousands killed. (Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images) #


23
Greenpeace activists and other environmentalists lit candles amid hundreds of paper cranes at the Heroes' Monument at suburban Quezon city, Philippines, on April 11 in solidarity to the Japanese disaster victims. The protesters are calling for an end to nuclear power around the world. (Bullit Marquez/Associated Press) #


24
People wearing masks and raincoats took part in an antiradioactivity rally in Seoul, South Korea, to urge the government to quickly release information about "radioactive rain" and other risks on April 12, 2011. China and South Korea have been critical of the crippled nuclear plant operator's decision to pump radioactive water into the sea, a process it has now stopped. (Jo Yong-Ha/Reuters) #


25
Family members looked at their collapsed house in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, on April 11, 2011, a month after the earthquake and tsunami. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images) #


26
Japanese Self-Defense Forces cleaned the rooms at the Okawa elementary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture. Japan said it was to widen the evacuation area around a crippled nuclear plant to include territory outside the current 12-mile exclusion zone. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


27
A Japanese man rode a bicycle along a flooded street at an area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the port town of Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, Japan. (Sergey Ponomarev/Associated Press) #


28
A man looked at newspaper reports about the earthquake and tsunami on display at the Miyagi Prefectural Government building in Sendai, northeastern Japan. (Vincent Yu/Associated Press) #


29
Survivors prayed at the wreckage of a house in Natori, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan. (Lee Jin-man/Associated Press) #


30
Abandoned flowers wilted within the exclusion zone of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Futaba Town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. (Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images) #


31
A deserted street in Futaba inside the exclusion zone around from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. (Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images) #


32
Debris was strewn in Namie, within the exclusion zone around Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raised the crisis alert level from level five to seven, the highest level on the scale. (Athit Perawongmetha/Getty Images) #


33
Members of the Japan's Self-Defense Force cleaned up debris on April 11 in an area destroyed a month ago by the tsunami in Natori, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan. (Vincent Yu/Associated Press) #


34
A month after the tsunami devastation, 2-year-old Ayaka and family members prayed for her missing grandmother and great-grandmother at a vacant lot where they lived in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #


35
Masataka Shimizu (center), president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. , flanked by vice presidents Takashi Fujimoto and Sakae Muto, bowed during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on April 13. The president defended the utility's response to the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl and pledged pay cuts as workers struggle to control radiation leaks from a crippled atomic power station. (Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg) #


36
The sun set on April 13, 2011, over debris still piled up nearly five weeks after the earthquake and tsunami disaster devastated the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture. The impact of Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis rippled through the economy as the government downgraded its outlook and Toyota announced more temporary plant shutdowns overseas. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images) #

WBNS 10TV : Home - WBNS-10TV, Central Ohio's News Leader

Apr 18, 12:34 AM EDT

Japan sends robots in to stricken nuclear plant


AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama

TOKYO (AP) -- Nuclear safety officials say the first radiation measurements taken inside two reactor buildings at Japan's crisis-stricken nuclear plant show a harsh environment but not one that will be impossible for humans to work in.

Nuclear safety agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama said Monday the measurements taken by two robots sent in to units 1 and 3 of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant mean that workers trying to restore plant systems will only be able to stay for short intervals inside the reactor buildings.

He said the radiation would not delay progress toward achieving a cold shutdown of the plant within nine months.

Gov't under fire for disaster response; TEPCO chief heckled in Diet


Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks in the Diet on Monday.
POOL PHOTO

Gov't under fire for disaster response; TEPCO chief heckled in Diet

Monday 18th April, 12:15 PM JST

TOKYO —

A blueprint for ending radiation leaks and stabilizing reactors at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant drew a lackluster response Monday, as polls showed diminishing public support for the government’s handling of the country’s recent disasters.

The plan issued by Tokyo Electric Power Co over the weekend, in response to a government order, is meant to be a first step toward letting some of the tens of thousands of evacuees from near the company’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant return to their homes.

Those forced to flee due to radiation leaks after a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami on March 11 knocked out the plant’s power and cooling systems are frustrated that their exile will not end soon. And officials acknowledge that unforeseen complications, or even another natural disaster, could set that timetable back even further.

“Well, this year is lost,” said Kenji Matsueda, 49, who is living in an evacuation center in Fukushima after being forced from his home 20 kilometers from the plant. “I have no idea what I will do. Nine months is a long time. And it could be longer. I don’t think they really know.”

Pressure has been building on the government and TEPCO to resolve Japan’s worst-ever nuclear power accident, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan is facing calls for his resignation.

“You should be bowing your head in apology. You clearly have no leadership at all,” Masashi Waki, a lawmaker from the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, shouted during an intense grilling of Kan and members of his cabinet in parliament Monday.

“I am sincerely apologizing for what has happened,” Kan said, stressing that the government was doing all it could to handle unprecedented disasters.

TEPCO’s president, Masataka Shimizu, looked visibly ill at ease as lawmakers heckled and taunted him.

“I again deeply apologize for causing so much trouble for residents near the complex, people in Fukushima and the public,” Shimizu said.

Meanwhile, polls by several Japanese national newspapers released Monday showed widespread dissatisfaction with TEPCO’s plan and how Kan’s administration has dealt with the nuclear crisis.

“Nothing concrete,” said a headline in the Mainichi newspaper of the plan. “The nuclear timetable does not show enough consideration for the residents,” said the Nihon Keizai, a financial newspaper.

A majority of those surveyed in the polls by the Mainichi, Nihon Keizai and Asahi newspapers expressed support, though, for tax increases to pay for reconstruction of areas devastated by the tsunami.

Goshi Hosono, an adviser to the prime minister and member of his nuclear crisis management task force, said the government would closely monitor TEPCO’s implementation of its crisis plan and hoped it could be carried out ahead of schedule.

The timetable’s first step focuses on cooling the reactors and spent fuel pools, reducing radiation leaks and decontaminating water that has become radioactive, within three months. The second step, for within six to nine months, is to bring the release of radioactive materials fully under control, achieve a cold shutdown of the reactors and cover the buildings, possibly with a form of industrial cloth.

Nuclear safety officials described the plan as “realistic,” but acknowledged there could be setbacks.

“Given the conditions now, this is best that it could do,” said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, adding that conditions at the facility remain unstable.

Explosions, fires and other malfunctions have hindered efforts to repair the stricken plant and stem radiation leaks.

“There is no shortcut to resolving these issues. Though it will be difficult, we have to go step by step to resolve these problems,” he said.

Even with the announcement of the timeline, it remained unclear when evacuees might be able to return home.

The area would need to be decontaminated, including removing and replacing the soil, Nishiyama said.

Hosono said the evacuees would not have to stay in gymnasiums for such a long period, but would be moved into temporary housing.

Some evacuees were unswayed by TEPCO’s plan.

“I don’t believe a word they say,” said Yukio Otsuka, 56, a private school owner whose home is about three miles (five kilometers) from the power plant. “I don’t trust them. I don’t believe it is possible. We have really drawn the short stick on this one.”

Activists criticized the delay in the roadmap’s announcement.

“TEPCO has taken far too long to provide an indication of the direction it plans to take to bring the situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi under control,” said Philip White of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, a group of scientists and activists who have opposed nuclear power since 1975. “We hope TEPCO meets its targets, but there are many challenges ahead and many uncertainties.”

The unveiling of the roadmap came two days after TEPCO - also under pressure from Kan’s government - announced plans to give 1 million yen in initial compensation to each evacuated household, with much more expected later.

Scary frontier footage of Fukushima ruins, images of robots inside reactor

Apologies if this video has been posted here before - new to me. Town residents watching from the top of a hill as their town is swept away - and some residents still fleeing to get to the high ground. Terrifying.

Yeah, posted before...but god knows where....way back in the thread.

Nearly 28,000 dead and missing in Japan disaster


Nearly 28,000 people are dead or missing in the March 11th quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.

The National Police Agency says that as of 3PM Monday, 13,858 people have been confirmed dead, including those who were killed in aftershocks on April 7th and 11th.

14,030 are listed as missing. The police agency says, however, that the number does not include people missing in Sendai City, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, as authorities are checking for any overlapping reports.

Miyagi Prefecture suffered the largest number of deaths at 8,412, followed by 3,996 in Iwate and 1,387 in Fukushima.

About 84 percent, or 11,609, of the recovered bodies have been identified.

The police agency says more than 136,000 people are still living in evacuation centers, with most of them in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures.

Of the approximately 22,000 evacuees outside the 3 prefectures, many of them are from Fukushima Prefecture and are taking refuge from the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.


Monday, April 18, 2011 16:46 +0900 (JST)


NHK WORLD English

Experts doubt TEPCO's timetable for bringing nuke plant under control

Experts doubt TEPCO's timetable for bringing nuke plant under control - The Mainichi Daily News