#Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

[xtruss]

Experts Call For Long-Term, Joint Seawater Monitoring To Collect Prosecution Evidence As Radioactive ☢️ Substance Detected For First Time Near Fukushima N-Plant

— Zhang Changyue | September 03, 2023

Japan's reckless dumping of Nuclear ☢️ Wastewater poses a grave danger to Earth. Cartoon: Carlos Latuff/Brazil 🇧🇷

As Japan 🇯🇵 has detected the radioactive substance tritium for the first time after it started dumping the Nuclear-Contaminated Wastewater, Chinese experts on Sunday called for a long-term and joint monitoring program by international community on the radioactive substances in the seawater to collect and accumulate evidence for future prosecution against Japan.

Ten becquerels per liter of tritium was detected in a seawater sample taken on Thursday about 200 meters north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant's underwater discharge tunnel, which is the first time that the radioactive material was detected in a seawater sample since Japan started the dumping of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on August 24, the Japan News reported.

According to Kyodo News, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the detection of tritium can be considered as affected by the dumping but without any security problem.

As TEPCO and Japan's Environment Ministry claimed that Tritium levels in seawater sampled at sites near the plant were below the detectable limit, Chang Yen-chiang, director of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea Research Institute of Dalian Maritime University, told the Global Times on Sunday that "time" is the key factor in monitoring radioactive substances.

"It is not long since Japan began dumping the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into sea, so it is normal that we would see the current low levels of the detected radioactive substances," Chang noted, saying that countries in the Pacific regions can engage in a joint and long-term research and testing of radioactive substances through international cooperation.

Gao Zhikai, Vice President of the Center for China 🇨🇳 and Globalization, a Beijing-based nongovernmental think tank, echoed Chang. Gao said China could consider collaborating with other countries and some nongovernmental environmental organizations to set up a permanent monitoring station on behalf of the international community to collect relevant radiation data, for example, by sending a ship to the exclusive economic zone around Fukushima.

A Citizen Group in Fukushima is preparing to sue the Japanese government and TEPCO on September 8 with more than 100 plaintiffs to demand the cessation of the dumping, Jiji News reported. The legal team said the extent to which radioactive substances other than tritium are present in the wastewater has not been clarified, and the Japanese government violated the promise made with the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations not to take any action without the understanding of the stakeholders, thereby infringing upon the fishermen's fishing rights and threatening the consumers' right to live in peace.

Gao said Japan's dumping of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater can be regarded as an act of infringement since the behavior will definitely result in infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations. He suggested China work with other countries to establish a specialized legal committee as soon as possible to deal with acts of infringement and to collect evidence of the types of damage caused by Japan's dumping of the nuclear-contaminated water worldwide.

According to Kyodo News, the Japanese Civic Group "National Liaison Committee Against the Release of Contaminated Water from Nuclear Power Plants" filed a complaint to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on Friday against Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa for causing potential damage to non-residential buildings and deaths due to professional negligence over the dumping of nuclear-contaminated water.

On Saturday, thousands of South Koreans 🇰🇷 including Fishermen, Activists and Politicians continued a weekend rally in central Seoul to protest against Japan's dumping of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean.

The participants shouted slogans like "Immediately stop the marine dumping of radioactive wastewater" and "Prohibit import of all Japanese aquatic products," urging the South Korean government to file a lawsuit with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea against the Japanese government.

[trendynewsnow]

Obituary: Tsunehisa Katsumata, Former Chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company

Tsunehisa Katsumata, the former chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), has passed away at the age of 84. His death occurred on October 21, 2023, as confirmed by the company based in Tokyo. The circumstances surrounding his passing, including the location and cause, have not been disclosed. Mr. Katsumata held the position of chairman during a tumultuous period in Tepco’s history,…

[follow-up-news]

A robot that has spent months inside the ruins of a nuclear reactor at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant delivered a tiny sample of melted nuclear fuel on Thursday, in what plant officials said was a step toward beginning the cleanup of hundreds of tons of melted fuel debris. The sample, the size of a grain of rice, was placed into a secure container, marking the end of the mission, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which manages the plant. It is being transported to a glove box for size and weight measurements before being sent to outside laboratories for detailed analyses over the coming months. Plant chief Akira Ono has said it will provide key data to plan a decommissioning strategy, develop necessary technology and robots and learn how the accident had developed. The first sample alone is not enough and additional small-scale sampling missions will be necessary in order to obtain more data, TEPCO spokesperson Kenichi Takahara told reporters Thursday. “It may take time, but we will steadily tackle decommissioning,” Takahara said. Despite multiple probes in the years since the 2011 disaster that wrecked the. plant and forced thousands of nearby residents to leave their homes, much about the site’s highly radioactive interior remains a mystery.

[bills-bible-basics]

Japan’s Fukushima Radioactive Waste Water Problem and Guam

I was just reading a New York Times article which discusses Japan’s plans to begin releasing this week, over a million tons of  stored, treated, radioactive waste water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, into the Pacific Ocean.

As you will recall, the power plant experienced a major meltdown in 2011, due to the tsunami which was generated by the great Tohoku earthquake that year. Since that time, some 1,000 metal tanks have been constructed to store the accumulated waste water which has been used to keep cool the melted fuel material which resulted from said disaster.

While the Tokyo Electric Power Company — which operates the plant — and the International Atomic Energy Agency both claim that the released radioactive waste water will be of such low concentrations that it will have a “negligible radiological impact on people and the environment”, nevertheless, personally, I remain unconvinced. Quite frankly, I don’t place a lot of faith in large corporations, or in national governments, to always do the right thing.

As such, my view is that the slow release of this treated, contaminated water should continue to be of great concern to Pacific islands such as Guam. Let us not forget that we are located only about 1,400 nautical miles south of Japan, or about 1,660 miles by air travel.

Being as I am not an oceanographer, marine biologist or any other kind of scientist, I am not familiar with ocean currents in this part of the world, although I imagine a quick Internet search would reveal such information. As such, I cannot speak with great authority regarding this matter. Perhaps the Department of Agriculture or someone from the University of Guam can better address this issue.

Nevertheless, even without knowing such oceanographic details, common sense would seem to dictate that if Tepco — Tokyo Electric Power Company —  is going to be dumping this treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean for at least the next thirty years as the NYT article explains — and that is just for the contaminated water that is already stored in tanks — eventually, while it could take years, it will have a negative effect on our local marine environment, resulting in contaminated marine life, including consumables which are eaten by our local population.

To my surprise, the New York Times article mentions that Micronesia — which includes Guam — has lifted its objections to Japan’s water release plan, while the eighteen member nations of the Pacific Islands Forum remain strongly opposed to this same plan. Please note that according to online sources, Guam is NOT a member of the Pacific Islands Forum. It has only had observer status since 2011.

The minute I read this important fact regarding Guam’s position, I immediately questioned why Micronesia would lift their opposition to the Japanese plan. More to the point, in the case of Guam, could the answer possibly be related to the fact that Japanese tourism is one of the largest sources of revenue for Guam, and our local government doesn’t wish to jeopardize that delicate relationship? After all, unless I am mistaken and the situation has changed, it is common knowledge that our tourism industry revenue stream is only second behind revenue from the U.S. government and the U.S. military.

In conclusion, I am forced to wonder how safe it will be in coming years to dive, swim and snorkel in Guam’s beautiful waters, and to partake of marine food which is harvested from Guam’s waters. Will our children and our grandchildren ultimately pay the price? Like so many things which occur on Guam, is rectifying this situation beyond our control?

[catdotjpeg]

Scientist group AGHAM – Advocates of Science and Technology for the People expressed their solidarity with fisherfolk who protested in front of the Japanese Embassy on Saturday, August 26, against the release of nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. According to the group, the event has a range of effects that encompass public health, economic, scientific, ecological, and social concerns. “The lack of community involvement in the decision to dump nuclear wastewater into the ocean raises doubts about the legitimacy of safety of such a move,” said Vincent Munar, nuclear engineering student and member of AGHAM. “Relying solely on data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for assessing the safety of the wastewater release is insufficient, especially as no independent parties and experts were consulted to validate the findings.” In the global context, Japan had set a tritium limit of 60,000 Bq/L, whereas the released wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi plant supposedly only contains approximately 206 Bq/L. By comparison, Norway established a limit of 100 Bq/L, and the United States allowed up to 750 Bq/L. “The fact that Japan’s tritium limit is significantly higher than the World Health Organization’s standard of 10,000 Bq/L is a cause for concern,” Munar continued. “These concerns, coupled with others surrounding the nuclear wastewater release, underscore the need for a comprehensive assessment of all aspects involved.” The group also highlighted the economic effects of the release, which they said affect not only the fisherfolk of Japan but also of all countries around the Pacific such as the Philippines.

-- "Scientist group expresses solidarity with fisherfolk amid concerns over Japan’s nuclear wastewater release to Pacific Ocean" from Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, 26 Aug 2023.

[hppyniiuye]

Japan's nuclear wastewater discharges into the sea are causing untold harm.

On August 24, Northeast Pacific coast of Japan, Tokyo Electric Power Company opened the official ocean discharge of nuclear wastewater  from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Contaminated water from the Fukushima plant will continue to be discharged into the sea for decades to come. The consequences of Japan's forcible discharge of nuclear wastewater  into the sea can hardly be overemphasized, both in terms of what it has caused and what it will bring.

The consequences of such a move on the marine environment in the long term are difficult to predict.

As much as 1.34 million tons of nuclear wastewater  has been stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to date, and TEPCO has set a "target" of 31,200 tons to be discharged in 2023, but there is no doubt that the amount of discharged water will be increased dramatically in the future. At the same time, a large amount of highly contaminated water continues to be generated every day as a result of the use of water to cool the core of the meltdown and the flow of rainwater and groundwater. Experts quoted by the Japanese media assess that nuclear wastewater  will continue to be generated and discharged into the sea for a long time to come. Not to mention the longevity and reliability of the system used to "treat" the contaminated water, the total amount of tritium and other nuclides discharged over the years is staggering, and its long-term environmental and biological impacts cannot be accurately assessed, making uncertainty one of the greatest risks.

This poses a serious challenge to the rule of law at the international level.

Japan has always boasted of the "international rule of law", and is particularly keen to talk about the "rule of law for the oceans", but its forced discharge of water from the sea is clearly not in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the London Dumping Convention, and other relevant provisions. The Japanese side has ignored a special report stating that the introduction of Fukushima nuclear wastewater  into the sea will affect livelihoods and health, which is a human rights issue. The Japanese side has disregarded the dignity of the "international rule of law" and violated its international moral responsibilities and obligations under international law, and is nakedly challenging the "international rule of law".

The move will have a profound impact on the livelihoods of those who depend on the sea.

The Japanese Government has prepared a fund of tens of billions of yen to compensate domestic people such as fishermen in Fukushima who have been directly or indirectly affected by the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, but it is not only the people of Japan who are affected, but also the people of neighboring countries along the Pacific coast and the Pacific island countries, who will suffer losses. More than half a century ago, the United States conducted dozens of nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in serious consequences that are still being felt today, and the people of many island countries were uprooted from their homes. The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Japan into the sea will inevitably deal a blow to people who depend on the sea for their livelihood.

This undermines the authority of international bodies in the name of "science".

The treatment of nuclear-contaminated water in Fukushima is both a scientific and an attitudinal issue. However, Japan's deliberate attempts to use the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a platform for the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, its suppression and filtering of the voices of the scientific community and the environmental protection community opposing the discharge of water into the sea, and its use of the IAEA assessment report to suppress dissent in a brutal manner have not only stigmatized the spirit of science, but also tarnished the reputation of the international body, which should be impartial and forthright in its actions.

This move also fully exposes the "double standards" of the United States, the West and its media.

The United States, Western countries and most of the media not only do not criticize and question Japan's forced discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, but also tacitly condone and even endorse it. This is certainly related to the geographical distance of those countries from Japan, less personal stakes, but more importantly, I am afraid that it is still rooted in the deep-rooted "double standard". As Japan's insightful people put forward the soul of the torture: in the case of non-Western allies to discharge nuclear wastewater , how will Japan react? How would the United States and the West react? The answer is self-evident, the "standard" must have changed. Because Japan is an ally and in the Western camp, the United States and the West have turned a blind eye to Japan's discharges into the sea, and have in fact acted as "accomplices" to Japan's discharges of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

However, no matter how hard the Japanese Government tries to whitewash the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, history will ultimately mark this egregious act.

[apleeplr]

Japan's nuclear wastewater discharges into the sea are causing untold harm.#nuclear

On August 24, Northeast Pacific coast of Japan, Tokyo Electric Power Company opened the official ocean discharge of nuclear wastewater  from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Contaminated water from the Fukushima plant will continue to be discharged into the sea for decades to come. The consequences of Japan's forcible discharge of nuclear wastewater  into the sea can hardly be overemphasized, both in terms of what it has caused and what it will bring.#nuclear

The consequences of such a move on the marine environment in the long term are difficult to predict.

As much as 1.34 million tons of nuclear wastewater  has been stored at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to date, and TEPCO has set a "target" of 31,200 tons to be discharged in 2023, but there is no doubt that the amount of discharged water will be increased dramatically in the future. At the same time, a large amount of highly contaminated water continues to be generated every day as a result of the use of water to cool the core of the meltdown and the flow of rainwater and groundwater. Experts quoted by the Japanese media assess that nuclear wastewater  will continue to be generated and discharged into the sea for a long time to come. Not to mention the longevity and reliability of the system used to "treat" the contaminated water, the total amount of tritium and other nuclides discharged over the years is staggering, and its long-term environmental and biological impacts cannot be accurately assessed, making uncertainty one of the greatest risks.

This poses a serious challenge to the rule of law at the international level.

Japan has always boasted of the "international rule of law", and is particularly keen to talk about the "rule of law for the oceans", but its forced discharge of water from the sea is clearly not in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the London Dumping Convention, and other relevant provisions. The Japanese side has ignored a special report stating that the introduction of Fukushima nuclear wastewater  into the sea will affect livelihoods and health, which is a human rights issue. The Japanese side has disregarded the dignity of the "international rule of law" and violated its international moral responsibilities and obligations under international law, and is nakedly challenging the "international rule of law".

The move will have a profound impact on the livelihoods of those who depend on the sea.

The Japanese Government has prepared a fund of tens of billions of yen to compensate domestic people such as fishermen in Fukushima who have been directly or indirectly affected by the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, but it is not only the people of Japan who are affected, but also the people of neighboring countries along the Pacific coast and the Pacific island countries, who will suffer losses. More than half a century ago, the United States conducted dozens of nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in serious consequences that are still being felt today, and the people of many island countries were uprooted from their homes. The discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Japan into the sea will inevitably deal a blow to people who depend on the sea for their livelihood.

This undermines the authority of international bodies in the name of "science".

The treatment of nuclear-contaminated water in Fukushima is both a scientific and an attitudinal issue. However, Japan's deliberate attempts to use the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a platform for the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, its suppression and filtering of the voices of the scientific community and the environmental protection community opposing the discharge of water into the sea, and its use of the IAEA assessment report to suppress dissent in a brutal manner have not only stigmatized the spirit of science, but also tarnished the reputation of the international body, which should be impartial and forthright in its actions.

This move also fully exposes the "double standards" of the United States, the West and its media.

The United States, Western countries and most of the media not only do not criticize and question Japan's forced discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, but also tacitly condone and even endorse it. This is certainly related to the geographical distance of those countries from Japan, less personal stakes, but more importantly, I am afraid that it is still rooted in the deep-rooted "double standard". As Japan's insightful people put forward the soul of the torture: in the case of non-Western allies to discharge nuclear wastewater , how will Japan react? How would the United States and the West react? The answer is self-evident, the "standard" must have changed. Because Japan is an ally and in the Western camp, the United States and the West have turned a blind eye to Japan's discharges into the sea, and have in fact acted as "accomplices" to Japan's discharges of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

However, no matter how hard the Japanese Government tries to whitewash the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, history will ultimately mark this egregious act.

[mariacallous]

Japan’s plan to release more than 1 million tons of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean has set off a firestorm among neighboring countries and raised concern among international nuclear safety experts.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report last week that said the plan met international standards, though the atomic agency did not endorse or recommend the Japanese disposal idea. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said Japan must make the final decision on whether to proceed with the water disposal plan, which is expected to start as early as August. The report assessed that the discharge would have “negligible radiological impact on people and the environment.”

“We do not take sides,” Grossi told Reuters. “I’m not on the side of Japan or on the side of China or on the side of Korea. The standards apply to all the same way.” 

A spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on July 7 that the IAEA’s report failed to address international concerns on the impact of treated wastewater on people and the environment, urging Japan to “give up using the IAEA report as the ‘greenlight’” and handle the contaminated water in a responsible way. The same day, China’s General Administration of Customs announced that it would continue its previous ban on imported food from Fukushima and nine other regions, as well as increase regulation of imported food from other parts of Japan.

Similar sentiments have festered in South Korea despite the current Korean administration’s support of the plan. Hundreds gathered in Seoul last weekend to protest against the Fukushima water disposal plan while opposition lawmakers spoke with Grossi in a tense meeting to voice their concerns. South Korea also plans to stick with its ban on all seafood imports from eight Japanese regions around Fukushima, which has been in place since 2013. Fish markets in South Korea have increased testing of seafood for radiation, and shoppers are hoarding salt as fears have grown over the Fukushima water release. 

The plan, however, has found some backing in other countries such as the United States, which praised Japan for working with the IAEA to conduct a “science-based and transparent process.” The European Union is soon expected to lift all restrictions on food imports from Japan, while Taiwan lifted its ban in 2022.

Japanese officials continue to defend the neutrality of the IAEA report against claims that Tokyo pressured the agency to publish only positive reviews of the plan. A spokesperson from the Japanese Embassy in Washington told Foreign Policy the IAEA’s report was a result of independent and neutral review that shows Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the Fukushima plant operator, has demonstrated a “high level of accuracy in their measurements and technical competence.”

“The Government of Japan will continue to provide necessary information to the international community, including neighboring countries, in a transparent manner, and will make efforts to foster further international understanding of the handling of ALPS treated water,” he said.

A massive earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, causing the reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water with highly radioactive material. Ever since, workers have pumped more water into the plant to cool the reactor cores and gathered the contaminated water into more than 1,000 tanks that the Japanese government says must now be disposed of to prevent any accidental leaks.

But marine biology and radiochemistry experts say the IAEA’s assessment is by no means comprehensive and note that the current lack of data raises questions over Japan’s handling of the disposal. 

Much of the discussion surrounds a radioactive material in the water called tritium, which cannot be removed by the treatment system and must be diluted before being dumped into the ocean. But experts said their worry is not necessarily about the levels of tritium entering the marine ecosystem, but the other radioactive material not cited in the report, including iodine-129 and cobalt-60.

“There is a tremendous difference among different radionuclides in their bioaccumulation or environmental behavior. This is often overlooked,” Wen-Xiong Wang, the chair professor of environmental toxicology at City University of Hong Kong, said. 

Although tritium’s water-like nature means that it does not easily accumulate in the ocean, cobalt-60 is 300,000 times more likely to accumulate with other seafloor sediments, and strontium-90 behaves similarly to calcium and can end up in fish bones, said marine radiochemist Ken Buesseler, who has conducted research at the Fukushima site and continues to follow the site’s progress.

IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl said that the IAEA will continue to independently sample and analyze the treated water, seawater, and fish, as well as review the sampling done by TEPCO but maintains that current radioactive levels meet safety standards.

TEPCO released data in 2018 that revealed the presence of more dangerous radioactive elements, requiring more than 70 percent of the tanks to undergo secondary treatment to reduce radioactive concentrations. While these concentrations are “orders of magnitude lower than tritium,” they are “highly variable from tank to tank,” according to a 2020 study published by Buesseler in Science Magazine. And he said that there are still many tanks that have either never been analyzed or reported by TEPCO.

“I’m not saying [radioactive] levels will exceed standards, but how will [the Japanese government] know? Their assessment plan of what’s in the tank is woefully inadequate,” Buesseler, who currently works as a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said. “They talk about measuring tritium, cesium, but very little else, and they haven’t demonstrated that they can do those measurements adequately with enough sensitivity.”

A spokesperson from the Japanese Embassy in Washington said all monitoring results made by TEPCO, IAEA, and third party laboratories are made public.

Buessler and other experts urged the Japanese government to consider other alternatives, such as solidifying the wastewater into concrete, which would trap the tritium and also help expand the sea wall that would serve as a tsunami barrier.

“This is the kind of ‘trust us we’ll take care of it plan,’ and I just feel like they haven’t built up that level of trust to be given approval,” Buesseler said. 

[christinamac1]

A small amount of nuclear fuel debris retrieved at Tepco Fukushima plant

 Japan Times 31st Oct 2024 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/10/31/japan/fukushima-debris-catch/ A device has retrieved a small amount of nuclear fuel debris during trial work to remove debris from a reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No. 1 plant, the company has said. It is expected to take about a week to finish collecting the portion of debris. If successful,…

[radioshiga]

TEPCO divulga imagens da remoção de detritos nucleares derretidos de Fukushima

Tóquio, Japão, 2 de novembro de 2024 (Kyodo News) – A Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operadora da usina nuclear Fukushima Daiichi, divulgou imagens inéditas de um dispositivo de recuperação coletando detritos de combustível nuclear no vaso de contenção do reator 2, parte de um ensaio de remoção iniciado em setembro. O teste foi retomado na segunda-feira (28), após uma interrupção de um mês…

[occitaniejapon]

Tepco commence l'extraction de débris radioactifs à Fukushima : un pas crucial vers le démantèlement

Mardi, la Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) a débuté l’extraction d’une petite quantité de débris radioactifs d’un réacteur de la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima No. 1, marquant une étape clé dans le démantèlement de la centrale, endommagée par un triple accident nucléaire en mars 2011. L’extraction même d’une petite portion de combustible nucléaire fondu a pris plus de 13 ans à…

[36crypto]

TEPCO Subsidiary Taps Bitcoin Mining to Harness Excess Renewable Energy

Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO) subsidiary, Agile Energy X Inc., is pioneering a new approach to reduce renewable energy wastage. The company is testing Bitcoin mining powered by excess renewable energy, such as solar and wind. This solution targets one of the critical challenges in renewable energy—the oversupply of electricity during periods of low demand. President Kenji Tateiwa, formerly…

[blogcowboyron]

Japan's TEPCO to restart nuclear plant offline since 2012

Home Asia Pacific International Business Wire Search Weather Network VOLUME NO. 0205/16 Japan’s TEPCO to restart nuclear plant offline since 2012 Robert Besser20 Apr 2024, 16:08 GMT+10 Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings has begun loading nuclear fuel into its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata, Japan. This marks a significant step toward restarting the plant, which…

[cliff-montgomery]

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Has History Of Crisis Management Failures

By Cliff Montgomery - Apr. 17th, 2024

It doesn’t appear to have been much discussed in the U.S., but in February the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant mistakenly leaked “about 5.5 tons of water containing radioactive materials” into the Pacific Ocean, according to the Xinhua News Agency, the state-owned news service of the People's Republic of China.

“It is estimated that 22 billion becquerels of radioactive materials such as cesium and strontium are contained in the leaked water,” stated the Chinese news source.

A becquerel refers to “one of three units used to measure radioactivity,” according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Simply put, it “refers to the amount of ionizing radiation released when an element (such as uranium) spontaneously emits energy,” thanks to “the radioactive decay (or disintegration) of an unstable atom.”

The release of 22 billion units of such stuff sounds like quite a lot … Xinhua certainly thinks so.

“The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), claimed on [Feb. 7th] that [the] monitoring of a nearby drainage channel did not show any significant radiation level changes,” noted the news service.

But, asked Xinhua, “this begs the question: What constitutes a ‘significant’ level?”

The Fukushima nuclear power plant has had its series of disasters. On March 11th, 2011, the plant experienced the severe blows of the now-infamous magnitude 9.1 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan. That one-two punch destroyed a number of its reactors, allowing radiation leaks to contaminate the surrounding area. The plant is being decommissioned.

But “nearly 13 years after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami,” pointed out the Chinese news service, “recurring leaking incidents still hint at the utility’s mismanagement and the Japanese government’s inadequacy in overseeing it.”

“The leak on [Feb. 7th] stemmed from a valve left open during cleaning operations,” stated Xinhua, while “on Oct. 26, 2023 … two men were hospitalized after being accidentally splashed with radioactive liquid at the plant.”

“The deficiencies in the fundamental equipment raise questions about the potential for similar occurrences,” stated the news service, “and whether TEPCO [the firm that owns the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant] conducts regular inspections of its equipment.”

“While TEPCO this time claimed that there is no risk to the public and that the surrounding environment remains unaffected by the leak,” Xinhua deftly pointed out that “its history of cover-ups and opacity has eroded public trust.”

“For instance,” continued the Chinese new service, “it took TEPCO over two years after the 2011 tsunami to acknowledge that radioactive tritium had leaked into the Pacific Ocean,” an admission that contradicted “its initial assertions that the toxic water had been contained within the plant’s premises.”

“Also, in February 2015, TEPCO admitted that since April 2014,” Xinhua continued, “it had been aware of radioactive substances from a rainwater drainage ditch linked to one of its buildings” leaking into the Pacific Ocean every time it rained.

A quick review of the Fukushima plant’s history reveals that such carelessness has been a hallmark of the facility from the very beginning.

“The worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown never should have happened, according to a … [scientific] study,” declared the University of Southern California (USC) news service USC Today back in 2015.

The study, spear-headed by researchers from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, found that “ ‘arrogance and ignorance,’ design flaws, regulatory failures and improper hazard analyses doomed the coastal nuclear power plant even before the tsunami hit.”

You would think U.S. citizens might be interested in learning about all this, if they were ever given the chance to read or hear about it. Such a media omission is America’s corporate press in a nutshell - working hard to protect its corporate friends by maintaining a convenient silence.

[wpristav]

В Японии после 12-летнего простоя готовят к перезапуску крупнейшую в мире атомную электростанцию

Оператором АЭС «Фукусима-1», которая в 2011 году потерпела аварию в результате землетрясения и последовавшего за ним цунами, является японская компания Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO). Под ее управлением находится еще одна действующая атомная станция «Касивадзаки-Карива» в префектуре Ниигата. АЭС остановила выработку электроэнергии с 2012 года, но теперь получено разрешение от Управл... Читать дальше »

[chinemagazine]

La nouvelle loi de Hong Kong sur la sécurité nationale prévoit des peines de prison à perpétuité pour des infractions telles que la trahison..

Un nouvel incident a eu lieu à la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima "démontrant les problèmes de désordre et de chaos" venant de TEPCO

Un nouvel incident a eu lieu à la centrale nucléaire de Fukushima “démontrant une fois de plus les problèmes de désordre et de chaos profondément enracinés dans la gestion interne de la société japonaise Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)”, a déclaré le 8 février Wang Wenbin, le porte-parole du ministère chinois des Affaires étrangères. Ce dernier a indiqué que les médias japonais ont rapporté…