This is another clearinghouse diary for the posting of additional news (with links to their source) and intelligent commentary about the ongoing nuclear disaster(s) in Japan.
THE JNI coverage is for reporting and analysis of events in Japan following the March 11 Disaster -- the earthquake, tsunami and meltdowns at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. JNI is NOT a place for editorializing or POVs on nuclear power. The ROV does not replace breaking news, but rather serves as homebase for ongoing updates throughout the week.
Please provide links to credible news stories.
Most Current News
Update
TEPCO has managed to get a successful test run of their water filtration system. The Kurion cesium filters only performed as intended only when used in combination with the Areva system which desalinates the highly radioactive water. Operated without the Areva system the Kurion filters only work at ten percent capacity.
By the end of the month TEPCO hopes to have the recirculation system using the decontaminated water running to cool the reactors.
TEPCO hopes to be using the decontaminated water for a recirculation system to cool the rectors by the end of the month.
Decontamination system meets performance target - NHK WORLD English
Water treatment system at Fukushima plant achieves decontamination | Kyodo News
TEPCO is storing more water in the Process Main Building. This is probably what is buying them some time to get the Areva/Kurion system working before the plant overflows. See rja's comment for links and more info.
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Update h/t ricklewsive
TEPCO found that one of the Kurion valves had the "Open" and "Shut" mislabeled which caused the highly radiated water to only pass through one, rather than three filter chambers.
Improper water flow blamed for filter failure | NHK WORLD English
The utility discovered on Wednesday that a US-made device in the system only succeeded in lowering the concentration of radioactive cesium in the water to 1 percent of the previous amount, instead of to 0.1 percent as initially expected.
Contaminated water was supposed to pass through 3 absorbent chambers. But it was found that some water passed through only one chamber, because "open" and "shut" indications on a valve had been incorrect.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 12:35 +0900 (JST)
Graphic illustrating the problem with the mislabeled valve.
Cesium Decontamination instruments Diagram(Valve status in H4 skid)
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Currently, TEPCO is struggling with handling the vast quantities of highly radioactive water at their Fukushima nuclear power plant. Last week there were press reports that the water will overflow in a week. This week they report the water will overflow in a week. Some reports have indicated that the plant won't overflow until the end of this month so who knows?
Also, every time the water filtration breaks they say they will have it working properly in a day or two but, so far, it keeps breaking when they run it full steam.
TEPCO installed an Areva water filtration system using filters made by the American based Kurion to reduce the high contamination levels so they can use the water for recirculation systems. The cesium Kurion filters reached full capacity in five hours rather than the expected five weeks. TEPCO has also had problems with an Areva pump. The most recent problem is that the Kurion cesium filter is only reducing the cesium to 1/100 contaminated levels rather than the 1/1000 expected. The highly contaminated water that threatens to overflow continues to accumulate.
TEPCO thinks it has figured out the problem but only say they will "try" to sort out a fix.
Water filters at Fukushima still not working | NHK WORLD English
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The utility says it discovered on Wednesday that a US-made device in the system only succeeded in lowering the concentration of radioactive cesium in the water to one percent of the previous amount, instead of 0.1 percent as initially expected.
The device has 6 absorbent chambers lined up in a row.
The utility says radioactive readings in the lower chambers surged to 15 millisieverts per hour on Wednesday from 3 millisieverts per hour on Tuesday.
This occurred even though dosages in the lower chambers should have remained low, compared with those higher up where most of the filtering was supposed to have occurred.
It says this suggests that the problem could have been caused by the uneven flow of water through the chambers.
It says it will continue to try and identify the cause of the problem so that it can begin operating the system as soon as possible before the water begins to overflow from the facilities, which are almost full.
Thursday, June 23, 2011 06:11 +0900 (JST)
TEPCO considers new locations for storing contaminated water as overflow threatens - The Mainichi Daily News
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Furthermore, on June 21 a system being used to treat the contaminated water was halted because of a problem with a French-made pump. The system had been in test operation, and with the new delay workers are now aiming for a resumption of full-scale operations in two to three days' time.
The system has had stability problems since it was put into full-scale operation on June 17. A previous problem that occurred with a section of American-made equipment also caused a shutdown.
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TEPCO is checking on the safety of tanks it is setting up to take water with low-level radioactive materials to see if they can store highly radioactive water.
(Mainichi Japan) June 22, 2011
TEPCO has also tried reducing the amount of water it is using for cooling. In the past this hasn't worked out well because of heat increases. This time they are having good luck with reducing the amount of water by .5 tons per hour for reactors 1 and 2 but reducing the water by 1 ton per hour for 3 caused a rise in temperature. The reduction of water injection amounts will only buy TEPCO some time. It would not be a long-term solution as massive amounts of water will be required for effective cooling for the foreseeable future.
Temperature at No.3 reactor rises | NHK WORLD English
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On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company reduced the amount of fresh water it has been injecting into 3 of the plant's reactors. The volume was cut back by 0.5 tons per hour at the No. 1 and 2 reactors, and by 1 ton at the No.3 reactor.
TEPCO says that by 5 AM on Wednesday, temperatures at the upper and lower parts of the No.3 reactor had risen by 4 and 7 degrees Celsius, respectively, from the day before. But it says temperatures at the other 2 reactors remained relatively stable.
The company says it will carefully monitor the No.3 reactor but will keep the rate of water injection unchanged. It added that it will further reduce the rate of water injection into the other 2 reactors by 0.5 tons per hour.
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011 13:04 +0900 (JST)
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Radiation, the gift that keeps on giving. They are now up to 23 hot spots outside the evacuation zone.
h/t ricklewsive
Radioactive material detected in Iwate pastures | NHK WORLD English
The prefectural government found on Tuesday radioactive cesium exceeding the limit of 300 becquerels per kilogram in grass collected from pastures in four areas, including Tono and Otsuchi. The areas are located about 150 to 200 kilometers north of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Cumulative radiation reaches as high as 82 millisieverts - The Mainichi Daily News
Cumulative radiation outside the 20-kilometer radius of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the past three months has reached as high as 82 millisieverts, more than four times the yardstick of 20 millisieverts a year, a science ministry estimate showed Tuesday.
The highest level was detected in a part of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, around 22 kilometers northwest of the nuclear plant crippled since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
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Of 160 monitoring sites in the designated areas outside the no-entry zone, 23 registered radiation levels exceeding 20 millisieverts over the three-month period, the ministry said.
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(Mainichi Japan) June 22, 2011
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More in what seems to be a perpetual horror story for the workers at Fukushima.
h/t ricklewsive
1,400 Fukushima plant workers waiting for radiation exposure results - The Mainichi Daily News
While authorities slammed Tokyo Electric Power Co. for exposing workers at its crippled nuclear power plant to radiation levels exceeding the allowable limit, particularly for internal exposure, around 1,400 of the company's workers are still waiting for detailed checkup results.
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On June 3, two TEPCO employees working at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were confirmed as having received radiation doses of 678 millisieverts and 643 millisieverts, more than twice the legal limit of 250 millisieverts for people working dealing with the crisis.
(Mainichi Japan) June 15, 2011
h/t Just Bob
More workers have received doses of radiation that exceed the limit of 250 millisieverts that the Japanese government raised from 100 milliseiverts.
6 more nuclear plant workers exposed to radiation above limit: TEPCO | Kyodo News
Six more workers involved in efforts to contain the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are feared to have been exposed to radiation above the prescribed limit, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday, bringing the total number of such workers to eight.
Tokyo Electric said that the preliminary radiation doses of the six employees were between 264.7 and 497.6 millisieverts, compared with the maximum allowable limit of 250 millisieverts, which has been set exclusively for workers dealing with the Fukushima crisis.
More info: Growing exposure problems at Fukushima \ NHK WORLD English
Another TEPCO worker exceeds radiation limit | NHK WORLD English
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The ministry said one of the workers -- part of the maintenance staff at the plant -- is suspected of having been exposed to 335 millisieverts.
The figure exceeds the limit of 250 millisieverts set by the government for emergency situations.
The checks came after TEPCO found 3 additional workers had been exposed to radiation beyond the legal limit. Five more workers are suspected of having received doses of radiation above the limit.
...Monday, June 20, 2011 19:55 +0900 (JST)
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h/t rja
TEPCO released its plans to cover the Fukushima plant with panels of poly.
TEPCO to cover reactor with polyester sheets | NHK WORLD English
...Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, plans to enclose the reactor buildings with polyester sheets. The covering of the No.1 reactor building will begin later this month.
The roughly one-millimeter-thick sheets will be attached to the steel frames of the 54-meter-high building.
To minimize workers' exposure to radiation, TEPCO will use a special method with very few personnel. A large crane designed to ward off radiation will set up 62 pre-assembled parts at the reactor building.
TEPCO aims to complete the covering operation in late September.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011 07:26 +0900 (JST)
See rja's comment for links to the the plans.
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h/t rja
TEPCO is having problems properly cooling the #4 spent fuel pool. They hope to have a recirculating system established next month but there is no way to know if that is realistic or magical thinking on TEPCO's part. The NHK story indicates it will be a difficult fix.
TEPCO forced to review reactor 4 cooling plan | NHK WORLD English
Water injection from a special vehicle has not been intense enough to cool the water in the pool, allowing the temperature to remain at more than 80 degrees Celsius.
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On Friday, workers entered the 4th floor of the No.4 reactor building where the pool is located for the first time since the nuclear disaster took place.
They found a large hole in a wall created by the March 15th explosion. They also discovered that a nearby pipe necessary for the cooling system had been mangled.
TEPCO says the repair team found it hard to work near the pool as equipment had been destroyed and debris was scattered on the floor.
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Sunday, June 12, 2011 05:07 +0900 (JST)
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Statistics
Disaster figures from June 11, three months after the quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The dead and missing numbers are for the quake and tsunami.
- 15,405 dead
- 8,095 missing
- 90,109 people in shelters
- 70,000 people lived within 20 km of the Fukushima plant have been evacuated
- 136,000 people who live within 20–30 km from the Fukushima plant, have been advised to stay indoors
- The government has also advised people to evacuate some radioactive hot areas outside the 30 km zone
- Children, pregnant women, and hospitalized patients should stay out of some areas 20-30 km from the nuclear complex.
- 3 reactors at Fukushima (1, 2 and 3) melted through with the nuclear fuel burning through the inner containment vessels and entering outer steel linings. TEPCO is cooling the reactors and trying to contain radioactive leakage. The operator has installed a circulatory cooling system for the spent nuclear fuel pool at reactor 2.
Recent Coverage@Kos
Michio Kaku: TEPCO LIED! Warns of Aftershock Danger - Adept2u
Fukushima: cores are sitting on concrete - polecat
Fukushima was, is and will be far worse than we've been told. - workingforprogress
Open thread for night owls: Another Senate hearing on nuclear safety does not soothe - Meteor Blades
Fukushima's Sludge Problem - Siri
eSci: Unsafe Radiation Found Near Tokyo, Vast Area of Japan Contaminated - FishOutofWater
Polyester Entombment Dome Proposed For Fukushima Unit 1 Revealed at Tepco Today - HoundDog
Let's Analyze This Fukushima Footage - Adept2uFollow
High Levels of Strontium 90 Detected in Groundwater and SeaWater Near Fukushima - HoundDog
Daily Kos: Radioactive Steam Rising at Fukushima #1 - akmk
Fukushima Status Update - An Apology - kbman
Fukushima 4 Spent Fuel Pool in Critical Condition - FishOutofWater
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Regularly Updated Data Sources
@Kos: A database of temperature, pressure, radiation levels, etc readings over time can be found in:
The Daiichi Database: This is an evolved diary has stopped being updated regularly.
Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF)
RSOS Emergency & Disaster information Services - Japan
EPA RadNet Map View
Scribble Live
Japan Municipal Water Charts in Japanese
TEPCO livecam
h/t Joieau
Tokyo Radiation Levels Citizen Page h/t jgnyc
FNPP1 reactor parameters (units 1 to 3) « Info on #FNPP1 and Irradiation
State of the reactor pressure reactor nuclear power plant in Fukushima (individual for all units) - Japanese
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Best News Sources
Kyodo Nuclear News Feed
NHK Japan Live
The Mainichi Daily News
National News Archive | The Mainichi Daily News
Asahi on Facebook
Fukushima Wikispaces
WHO situation reports
METI Twitter Feed
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Thu Jun 23, 2011 at 8:59 PM PT (boatsie): METI
23 June 6:00 Plant Parameters: www.meti.go.jp 23 June Radiation Monitoring: www.meti.go.jp 23 June NISA Report 178: www.meti.go.jp 22 June NISA Report 177 (English): www.nisa.meti.go.jp 23 June JAIF NPP Status 170: www.jaif.or.jp 23 June JAIF Earthquake Report 121: www.jaif.or.jp TEPCO NPP Information: www.tepco.co.jp MEXT Environmental Radiation Readings (dust, air, water, by-prefecture): www.mext.go.jp TEPCO Press Releases: www.tepco.co.jp