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Recent news related to Fukushima
Trial fishing resumes off Fukushima after radiation tests
KYODO
SEP 25, 2013
FUKUSHIMA – Local fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday restarted operations suspended late last month after heavy amounts of contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was found leaking into the ocean.
A fleet of 20 fishing boats set off at around 2 a.m. from the port of Matsukawaura in the city of Soma, 45 km north of the nuclear complex that was severely damaged in March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The boats returned shortly after 2 p.m. and began unloading their catches, according to the Soma Futaba fisheries cooperative, an arm of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations.
Trial operations. suspended for 15 months amid the nuclear crisis, restarted in June 2012 only to be halted Aug. 28 after Tokyo Electric Power Co. disclosed the water leaks the day after the Upper House election.
On Tuesday, the federation decided to resume trial fishing ...
KYODO
SEP 25, 2013
FUKUSHIMA – Local fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday restarted operations suspended late last month after heavy amounts of contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was found leaking into the ocean.
A fleet of 20 fishing boats set off at around 2 a.m. from the port of Matsukawaura in the city of Soma, 45 km north of the nuclear complex that was severely damaged in March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The boats returned shortly after 2 p.m. and began unloading their catches, according to the Soma Futaba fisheries cooperative, an arm of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations.
Trial operations. suspended for 15 months amid the nuclear crisis, restarted in June 2012 only to be halted Aug. 28 after Tokyo Electric Power Co. disclosed the water leaks the day after the Upper House election.
On Tuesday, the federation decided to resume trial fishing ...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/25/national/trial-fishing-resumes-off-fukushima-after-radiation-tests/#.UkOqOuAyHdk
Radioactive cesium levels drop in Fukushima fish, but strontium remains a mystery
September 25, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Radioactive cesium levels have steadily declined in fish off Fukushima Prefecture, but samples taken closer to the wrecked nuclear power plant were still showing high readings, according to studies.
And the government, which plans to take charge of the persistent problem of radioactive water leaks at the plant, can only guess at the extent of strontium contamination among marine life in northeastern Japan.
According to the Fisheries Agency, only three, or 0.6 percent, of 472 marine samples tested between Sept. 1 and 19 in Fukushima Prefecture showed radioactive cesium levels exceeding the government safety standard for food of 100 becquerels per kilogram. That compares with 2.7 percent of the samples tested in July and August, and 53 percent during the early stages of the nuclear crisis in the March-June period of 2011.
Of the latest samples, 13.3 percent had levels between 10 and 100 becquerels per kilogram, while 86 percent had concentrations of 10 becquerels or less per kilogram or were undetectable, according to the agency.
In other prefectures, the ratio of samples breaching the safety threshold of 100 becquerels dropped from 6.5 percent...
September 25, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Radioactive cesium levels have steadily declined in fish off Fukushima Prefecture, but samples taken closer to the wrecked nuclear power plant were still showing high readings, according to studies.
And the government, which plans to take charge of the persistent problem of radioactive water leaks at the plant, can only guess at the extent of strontium contamination among marine life in northeastern Japan.
According to the Fisheries Agency, only three, or 0.6 percent, of 472 marine samples tested between Sept. 1 and 19 in Fukushima Prefecture showed radioactive cesium levels exceeding the government safety standard for food of 100 becquerels per kilogram. That compares with 2.7 percent of the samples tested in July and August, and 53 percent during the early stages of the nuclear crisis in the March-June period of 2011.
Of the latest samples, 13.3 percent had levels between 10 and 100 becquerels per kilogram, while 86 percent had concentrations of 10 becquerels or less per kilogram or were undetectable, according to the agency.
In other prefectures, the ratio of samples breaching the safety threshold of 100 becquerels dropped from 6.5 percent...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201309250072
TEPCO finds loose bolts on bottom of leaky radioactive water storage tank
By DAISUKE SUDO/ Staff Writer
Five loose bolts discovered on the bottom of a storage tank are believed to be the cause of the leak of 300 tons of radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sept. 20.
TEPCO is currently disassembling the leaky storage tank to inspect its interior. The plant operator said the loose bolts were from bottom panels near the eastern edge of the storage tank.
The bolts are designed to be fastened to set an impermeable rubber seal that blocks an opening along a juncture of steel panels. A loose bolt can leave such an opening unblocked.
"The leak likely took place there, but we will study the matter further," said Masayuki Ono, acting general manager of TEPCO's Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division.
TEPCO said sealing sections to block openings along junctions were found bulging in eight areas...
By DAISUKE SUDO/ Staff Writer
Five loose bolts discovered on the bottom of a storage tank are believed to be the cause of the leak of 300 tons of radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sept. 20.
TEPCO is currently disassembling the leaky storage tank to inspect its interior. The plant operator said the loose bolts were from bottom panels near the eastern edge of the storage tank.
The bolts are designed to be fastened to set an impermeable rubber seal that blocks an opening along a juncture of steel panels. A loose bolt can leave such an opening unblocked.
"The leak likely took place there, but we will study the matter further," said Masayuki Ono, acting general manager of TEPCO's Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division.
TEPCO said sealing sections to block openings along junctions were found bulging in eight areas...
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201309210043
Niigata puts Tepco’s reactor inspection request on hold
KYODO
SEP 25, 2013
NIIGATA – Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said Wednesday that his decision on whether to let Tokyo Electric Power Co. request safety tests for two idled reactors in Niigata Prefecture won’t be made for some time.
“I will keep this issue on hold,” Izumida told Tepco President Naomi Hirose at the prefectural government’s headquarters during their second meeting on restarting reactor Nos. 6 and 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant.
Tepco, facing massive compensation and cleanup costs from the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, is desperate to bring its idled reactors back online to reduce growing fuel costs from its return to thermal power generation.
But Tepco is having a difficult time persuading Izumida to approve its requests for safety checks at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex. In light of the Fukushima crisis, all seven reactors at the complex were taken offline by March 2012.
Hirose told reporters ...
KYODO
SEP 25, 2013
NIIGATA – Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said Wednesday that his decision on whether to let Tokyo Electric Power Co. request safety tests for two idled reactors in Niigata Prefecture won’t be made for some time.
“I will keep this issue on hold,” Izumida told Tepco President Naomi Hirose at the prefectural government’s headquarters during their second meeting on restarting reactor Nos. 6 and 7 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant.
Tepco, facing massive compensation and cleanup costs from the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, is desperate to bring its idled reactors back online to reduce growing fuel costs from its return to thermal power generation.
But Tepco is having a difficult time persuading Izumida to approve its requests for safety checks at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa complex. In light of the Fukushima crisis, all seven reactors at the complex were taken offline by March 2012.
Hirose told reporters ...
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/09/25/national/niigata-puts-tepcos-reactor-inspection-request-on-hold/
