NUCLEAIRES !JAPON, le 16 juillet 2007
SUIVI
Suite revue de presse japonaise
26 juillet
Source Sortir du Nucléaire
NUCLEAIRES !| Niigata puts
quake damage at 1.5 trillion yen and counting
07/25/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707240617.html KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--In a preliminary estimate of financial losses caused by the July 16 earthquake, the Niigata prefectural government on Tuesday put the damage at 1.5 trillion yen. Watermelons are offered to quake evacuees at a school gymnasium in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Tuesday to fight the heat.(Minako Yoshimoto/ The Asahi Shimbun) In a report, it said about 700 billion yen would be lost from the suspension of operations at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, where fire broke out and radioactive materials leaked. Prefectural authorities also estimated that Niigata farmers would lose between 100 billion and 200 billion yen due to consumer fears about radioactive fallout from the nuclear power plant. Repairs to infrastructure will also run up costs. The prefecture estimated that 70 billion yen will be needed to repair roads and harbors. It said 10 billion yen will be required to restore electricity, water and gas supplies. An additional 200 billion yen would be needed for housing construction. The prefecture also estimated that tourism and other industries would lose some 300 billion yen in revenues. Meanwhile, Kashiwazaki city officials confirmed Monday that the number of fatalities from the temblor had risen to 11 with the death of Kimio Tomimatsu. Tomimatsu, 47, suffered burns while working at a foundry when the earthquake struck and was being treated at a Nagaoka hospital. Meanwhile, local fishermen said they stood to lose out badly at the start of the season for catching red sea bream because the earthquake had dislodged thousands of logs from the seabed that were now clogging their fishing nets. Fishermen said logs buried in the seabed were shaken loose by the earthquake and had floated to the surface across an area of about 20 kilometers off the Sea of Japan coast, close to the focus of the July 16 temblor. On Monday, eight fishing boats from Izumozaki, which neighbors Kashiwazaki, spent about four hours using nets to haul logs that had broken free. Fishermen said about 25 tons of logs had been collected off Izumozaki port so far. The problem could not have come at a worse time as red sea bream are now in season. The fish normally sell for about 2,000 yen per kilogram. Local fishermen said the catch was now only about one-fifth of a normal year because of the interference from logs. Meanwhile, on land, some evacuees were showing symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), dubbed economy-class syndrome, due to the cramped conditions they face while staying in temporary shelters. A team of doctors from the Niigata University medical school and the Niigata National Hospital checked 418 evacuees from July 18 and found that 70 had symptoms of DVT as of Monday. Of that number, 28 were found to have blood clots in their calf veins. Doctors said the percentage of people with DVT symptoms was higher than would be expected from people leading normal lives. Doctors were calling on evacuees to move around as much as possible and to increase their intake of liquids.(IHT/Asahi: July 25,2007) Water from pipe flooded reactor floor 07/25/2007 http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707250114.html BY HIDEYUKI MIURA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--Up to 2,000 tons of water from an outdoor pipe broken in the July 16 earthquake inundated the basement of a nuclear reactor building here, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said. The basement at the TEPCO-run Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is a "radiation-controlled area" containing radioactive materials. It must be completely shut off from the outside environment. However, the earthquake showed that the area can be linked to the outside environment. According to TEPCO officials, the ground around the building that accommodates the No. 1 reactor sank by about 20 to 30 centimeters during the earthquake. Underground electric cables leading from the first basement floor of the building to the outside were pulled down by the ground subsidence, creating a large space on the outer wall. An underground water pipe for fire extinguishing near the cables ruptured in the quake, allowing water to flow into the basement areas through the space. "It was beyond our imagination that a space could be made in the hole on the outer wall for the electric cables," a TEPCO official said. However, he stressed: "As the air pressure in the radiation-controlled area was reduced, no air leaked from the area to the outside environment. No radioactive materials leaked to the outside." TEPCO officials said the building itself did not subside because it had been built on solid ground. But the ground around the building sank because it consists of layers of sand. The water that entered the building flowed down a drainpipe to the fifth basement floor, a radiation-controlled area. The water entered a waste water tank, which soon overflowed, inundating the floor with water to a height of 48 centimeters. An estimated 2,000 tons of water spilled on the floor, equivalent to the volume in five 25-meter-long swimming pools. The flooding also apparently damaged motors that send waste water containing radioactive materials to filtering devices, the officials said. But they added that the radioactive-contamination level of the water that flowed onto the floor was low. "We have already closed the space (of the hole on the outer wall). We never imagined that such a situation could take place," one of the officials said. According to the officials, TEPCO is now considering measures to discharge the water from the building.(IHT/Asahi: July 25,2007) http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707250496.html Crane for reactor damaged by quake 07/26/2007 BY HIDEYUKI MIURA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has confirmed for the first time that damage from last week's earthquake extended to the interior of a reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant here. The problem will slow down the inspection and repair of the reactor itself, TEPCO officials said Tuesday. The damage was found in a crane attached to the ceiling above the No. 6 reactor. The crane is examined annually as part of a wider annual inspection. Because no irregularities were uncovered during the inspection prior to the July 16 earthquake, TEPCO officials concluded the temblor was the cause of the damage to the crane, which was positioned directly above the reactor when the magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck. The crane is used to lift up lids to the reactor pressure vessel and the primary containment vessel. The problem will likely further delay efforts to check for any damage from the earthquake to the reactor itself because the lids to the reactor vessel have to be uncovered for a visual inspection. TEPCO officials said they would also inspect the cranes installed in the other six reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture. Company officials said the crane is located at the center of a steel bar about 35 meters long. The machine's total weight is about 310 tons. A motor and wheel apparatus attached to both ends of the steel bar holding up the crane is used to move the crane along rails attached over the reactor building ceiling. The steel axles connecting the wheels to the motors were found to be damaged, crippling the mobility of the crane. While TEPCO officials were still uncertain of the specific cause of the damage, they said there was no danger of the crane falling on top of the reactor. That is because the crane is supported by rails at both ends of the crane bar. TEPCO officials are now considering a visual inspection of the No. 6 reactor by mid-August. They are contemplating opening the lid of the primary containment vessel and checking for damage to the pressure vessel, control rod mechanism and recirculation pump within the vessel. One problem, however, is the expected difficulties in repairing the crane which is located high above the reactor. That location will make it difficult to set up a sturdy foothold, especially with the possibility of aftershocks. Unless the crane can be repaired, other inspection and repair work at the reactor will also be delayed. That could pose problems for any team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said Tuesday he welcomed the Japanese government's decision to allow IAEA inspectors to check the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant and indicated that inspectors could arrive within a few weeks. The crane in the reactor was considered to have B-class level of importance in the central government's three grade classification from A to C for importance of anti-quake design. The crane must have 1.8 times the ability of an ordinary structure to withstand seismic energy. Another B-class piece of equipment was damaged during an earthquake in 2000 when turbine piping was damaged at the No. 6 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2007) http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707250500.html Towels used to mop up nuke spill 07/26/2007 BY HIDEYUKI MIURA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--When reporters entered the quake-damaged Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) nuclear reactor building here Wednesday, the scene was rather primitive. Armed with paper towels, workers wearing protective clothing were wiping up radioactive water that had overflowed from a spent nuclear fuel storage pool when the magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Niigata Prefecture on July 16. Radioactive water spilled from a pool inside the No. 6 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. It then leaked into the Sea of Japan through drainage ditches. The overflow was in the operating floor area, where workers offload the nuclear fuel. The used paper towels--containing radioactive water--were placed in clear plastic bags and stacked nearby. More than 100 full bags were already piled there. Near the spent nuclear fuel pool was a second, outer concrete lid used to cover the reactor containment vessel, which is already sealed with another lid. The outer lid is 2 meters thick and weighs 700 tons. On the ceiling directly above the reactor containment vessel, a 310-ton crane dangled. It is used to maneuver the outer lid into place. The crane broke during the earthquake. When the temblor hit, the No. 6 reactor was being readied for inspections prior to its scheduled restart at the end of July. The jolt occurred just before the outer lid was to be lifted onto the reactor housing. The reactor had already been loaded with nuclear fuel. The reactor containment vessel is now covered with a temporary dust sheet. The crane measures 35 meters by 12 meters, and is 6 meters thick. Its rotating axis broke just as the crane was positioned above the container. TEPCO officials said repairs on the crane cannot begin as long as aftershocks continue. Another strong aftershock hit Wednesday at 6:52 a.m., just before reporters were to enter the building. That temblor registered an intensity of 4 in Nagaoka and 3 in Kashiwazaki. There is no way to confirm the condition of the sealed reactor, but TEPCO officials said they believe the fuel rods are undamaged. "The amount of radioactivity in the water circulating around the fuel rods is not at abnormal levels, our tests show," TEPCO said.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070725TDY03004.htm Amari: Fault check near N-plant inadequate The Yomiuri Shimbun The government did not sufficiently inspect the faults in the seabed near Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, where the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake's focus was located, at the time the plant was built, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari admitted Tuesday. "Asked whether [the government] took insufficient measures, I can't help but say yes," Amari said at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, answering questions over whether Tokyo Electric Power Co. investigated the faults thoroughly enough and whether the government took necessary measures in response to research conducted when the power plant was built. According to an analysis by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention and other entities that was conducted after experts complained TEPCO's inspection had been inadequate, the fault lines may extend beneath the power plant. Amari said the government would set up an independent committee to undertake a comprehensive study of possible antiseismic measures for nuclear power plants at the time of an earthquake. Tokyo Univ. Prof. Haruki Madarame is expected to chair the committee. The committee will review incidents that occurred due to the recent earthquake--including the fire that broke out in a transformer, damage to firefighting facilities and a radiation leak--so that other nuclear power plants can learn from the results. The committee also will study measures the companies that operate nuclear power plants and the government should take to reinforce the earthquake resistance of nuclear power plants and other measures against earthquakes. === 'Please use less electricity' With operations suspended at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, TEPCO has announced it will ask about 800 companies to cut their use of electricity even further than the firms promised in contracts on energy conservation during power shortages. TEPCO made this request to JFE Steel Corp. on Monday and Showa Denko K.K. on Tuesday. The power company will ask about 800 firms to conserve a total of more than 1.08 million kilowatts of electricity. With the plant out of action, the Kanto region and some other areas provided with electricity by TEPCO may face power shortages in mid-summer, when the demand for electricity peaks. TEPCO is prepared to provide 62.14 million kilowatts of electricity this summer, over 1 million kilowatts more than the highest electricity demand expected in an ordinary summer of average temperature--61.1 million kilowatts. However, it is urgent to take additional measures as the highest electricity demand is expected to increase up to 64 million kilowatts if the temperature rises due to the La Nina weather pattern, which is said to cause heat waves and other climatic aberrations. JFE Steel showed willingness to accept TEPCO's request when the power company's officials visited the steel firm. === Niigata gov. presses Abe for help Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida on Tuesday met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Prime Minister's Office and reported on damage from the earthquake. Izumida told Abe: "Some victims are still struggling with double and triple loans incurred after the Chuetsu Earthquake [in 2004]. We want some encouraging news from the government." Abe told Izumida he would consider offering financial assistance to help people recover from the disaster. Izumida's requests included financial aid from the central government toward the planned prefectural reconstruction fund. He also said the earthquake should be designated as a "serious disaster" as soon as possible to enable the state to provide additional subsidies for reconstruction. (Jul. 25, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070725TDY01007.htm Waves in pool over 1 meter high The Yomiuri Shimbun The Yomiuri Shimbun Waves over 1 meter high were created in a fuel storage pool at the No. 3 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant of the Tokyo Electric Power Co., after the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake hit the plant on July 16, according to images taken by a security camera. TEPCO on Tuesday unveiled a series of images taken by its security camera situated at the fuel storage pool in the plant's No. 3 reactor in Niigata Prefecture. The camera captured still images every six seconds. According to the images, white bubbles were produced in the center of the pool due to the earthquake's strong pitching movement. The bubbles eventually grew into waves over 1 meter high and overflowed onto the poolside. The water surface is usually 40 centimeters below the top edge of the pool. However, the waves overflowed by surpassing a metal rail that is nearly 1-meter high and surrounds the pool. Even more than 30 minutes after the earthquake hit, the waves had not subsided, as the images showed small waves still developing on the surface of the water. As part of preparations for a plutonium-thermal power generation program, a mixed oxide form of plutonium and uranium is kept inside the storage pool of the plant's No. 3 reactor. Therefore, a surveillance camera was installed for security only at this reactor among the plant's seven reactors. === Structural faults led to water leak Meanwhile, the nuclear power plant has a structural problem in the reactor building that led to a radioactive water leak following last week's earthquake, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has said. Yasuhisa Komoda, director general of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry agency, said at the plant Monday: "There are many things to be improved, such as the fire control system and the system for sharing information when a radioactive substance has been leaked. (Jul. 25, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070725TDY02001.htm
A village mayor in Akita Prefecture has revealed his intention to apply for his village to become a candidate for a disposal site for high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. Kamikoanimura Mayor Hiraoki Kobayashi said Monday he was considering applying to have a feasibility study conducted to assess his village's suitability as a nuclear waste disposal site as a way of helping restore the village's tattered finances. He added, however, that he would withdraw the plan if the majority of the village residents opposed it. Kobayashi will visit all the residents' associations in the village to explain the project. "If we're able to get financial support by cooperating with the central government, it's like killing two birds with one stone," Kobayashi told The Yomiuri Shimbun. "A high-level radioactive waste site is incomparably safer than a nuclear power plant." Selection of the disposal site is made based on applications from local governments, with the final decision made after two years of documentation screening and four years of detailed research. During the initial two-year selection period, the central government will provide an annual subsidy of 1 billion yen to candidate municipalities, which they can spend how they like. (suite)
|
suite:
When the study advances to the next stage, up to 7 billion yen in subsidies will be granted by the central government over four years. The candidate municipality will receive more than half of the subsidies, while the rest is granted to adjacent local governments. But Akita Gov. Sukeshiro Terada indicated his opposition to the mayor's bid. "It's too shortsighted to apply for the feasibility study just because it will restore the village's fiscal health. [The mayor] should think more about neighboring municipalities and the entire prefecture," Terada said. High-level radioactive waste, which is left after reprocessing used nuclear fuel, needs to be buried at least 300 meters belowground because of its high radioactivity. The central government plans to open a high-level radioactive waste site in the 2030s. (Jul. 25, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070726TDY03002.htm 13 radiation leak sources suspected at N-plant The Yomiuri Shimbun Thirteen instances of damage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture are suspected to have caused radioactive leaks, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday. The damage is believed to have been caused by the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, which hit the prefecture last week. So far, the leak of radioactive materials has been confirmed at two locations in the power plant. The details of five of the cases are not yet fully known, according to TEPCO, which operates the plant. In a further six cases, the company is still unable to begin repairs. Inspectors have discovered that ventilation ducts that extract air from the reactor buildings and channel it to the main exhaust pipe, have slipped out of place in five reactor buildings. If they had been damaged when the reactors were still operating, radioactive gas could have escaped from the ducts. As they are located high within the reactor buildings, inspectors have been unable to examine the ducts manually for fear of another aftershock, leaving radioactive leaks and other details unconfirmed. It also has been discovered that up to 2,000 tons of water leaked from an area designed to handle radioactive substances on the fifth basement floor of the No. 1 reactor building due to damage to water pipes used for firefighting. Although the amount of radioactive material in the water was too small to be detected, according to TEPCO, such a massive amount of water surpassed expectations. The utility said it is uncertain when it will be able to complete repairs to the exhaust ducts and the water pipes. So far, two radiation leaks have been discovered at the plant. Some water that overflowed from the fuel storage pool at the No. 6 reactor poured into a noncontrolled area, in which radioactive substances were not supposed to be handled. Eventually, TEPCO says, a minute amount of radioactive materials leaked into the sea. In addition, a trace amount of radiation was emitted from an exhaust pipe in the No. 7 reactor due to its mishandling by officials after its operation was suspended immediately following the temblor. However, no radioactive substances have been found in the environs of the nuclear power plant. It is believed that the concentration of radiation became diluted to a level safe to humans. It has been discovered that water leaked from fuel storage pools at all seven reactors of the plant. As of Tuesday, the water has been drained at four locations. TEPCO said officials have completed major visual inspections, but they will investigate further. About 1,200 TEPCO employees work at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, and many of their homes were damaged during the temblor. Currently, only 600 or 700 of the employees are able to come to work, according to TEPCO's public relations department. So far, the plant has confirmed 64 instances of damage, including the aforementioned 15 cases. It was newly discovered Tuesday that a ceiling crane in the No. 6 reactor building was damaged. As inspectors are unable to start examining the reactors' cores, the actual health of the plant is not fully known. (Jul. 26, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070726TDY02006.htm
Tourist spots in Niigata Prefecture would normally be looking forward to the peak summer season at this time of year. Instead, many are bracing for the worst as visitors are staying away after reports of radiation leaks from a nuclear power plant in the prefecture. About 48,000 reservations for Japanese-style inns and hotels were canceled in the five days after the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake on July 16, according to the prefectural association of city mayors and association of town and village mayors. These areas are likely to face hard times in the months ahead, despite the tourism industry claiming they are safe and the radioactive materials that leaked from the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant have no harmful effects on humans. A fish market in Teramadori district in Nagaoka in the prefecture--about 35 kilometers from the hard-hit Kashiwazaki--is usually bustling with tourists on the lookout for fresh seafood. However, it has been practically deserted since the earthquake. Yamacho, an inn with a Japanese-style restaurant in Nagaoka, had all 240 guests scheduled to stay there in the week from July 17 cancel their reservations. Canceling customers made comments such as, "Is the sea safe to swim in?" and, "I want to hold off until [the area] is confirmed safe." Staff tried to convince the worried callers they would not be in danger, but were met with questions things such as, "How can you tell me what I should bring to stay safe?" "Time will heal any physical damage from the earthquake, but there's nothing we can do about misgivings stemming from the nuclear power plant," owner Hideo Okura, 55, said. According to the Kashiwazaki tourist association, about 1 million of the annual 3.8 million visitors to the city head to its beaches. Beach pavilions offering shade or selling food and drink are open as normal on the city's 15 swimming beaches, but virtually nobody is visiting them. Tomoe Sano, 64, runs a pavilion on Kujiranami beach in the city. Her home was destroyed in the earthquake and she is staying at the beach awaiting the arrival of visitors. "I just have to grin and bear it," she said. Water and exhaust air containing traces of radioactive materials were emitted from the nuclear plant following the temblor. According to Tetsuo Hashimoto, a professor emeritus in radiochemistry at Niigata University, the amount of radiation that Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the prefectural government said leaked into the sea was the equivalent of a nine-liter radon bath. "It wouldn't be enough to harm people in any way," Hashimoto said. However, more than 1,000 people have canceled plans to stay at the Shiomiso inn in the Senami hot spring resort in Murakami about 130 kilometers north of Kashiwazaki. Shiomiso staffers have tried in vain to convince people the area is safe, even visiting travel agencies outside the prefecture with newspaper articles stating the amount of radiation leaked was minute. The Yahatakan inn on Sado Island off the coast of the prefecture has had 560 people cancel and has vacancies on many days during the usually busy Bon holiday period in mid-August. Back onshore, about 2,700 people canceled accommodation reservations in Yuzawamachi in the prefecture in the four days following the temblor. According to the town government's tourism section, the problems at the nuclear plant have made many people "somehow scared about Niigata." (Jul. 26, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070726TDY02003.htm
Italian Serie A club Catania has canceled its upcoming tour of Japan due to fears over the leak of radioactive materials at a nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, it was announced Tuesday. Catania was scheduled to arrive Thursday for its first visit to Japan to play matches against J1 clubs Yokohama FC, Shizuoka-based Jubilo Iwata and JEF United Chiba from Monday. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant was struck by a powerful earthquake last week, during which some radioactive water leaked from the plant and barrels containing waste toppled over. A company that arranged the tour and officials at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo assured the Catania club that the plant posed no safety risk, but many members of the Sicilian club reportedly opposed going ahead with the tour. The J.League clubs began refunding tickets to the matches Wednesday. Striker Takayuki Morimoto, who used to play for J.League second-division side Tokyo Verdy, plays for Catania. (Jul. 26, 2007) http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20070725p2a00m0na004000c.html
An overhead crane located in the structure that houses the No. 6 reactor
of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Plant was damaged during last week's
major earthquake, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has said.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070725a8.html
NIIGATA (Kyodo) More than 40 percent of houses in Kashiwazaki and Kariwa,
Niigata Prefecture, that have been evaluated for damage by the July 16
earthquake are "in danger of collapse" or "need attention when going inside,"
according to emergency checks.
A building inspector posts the result of a safety check on a garage last week as part of emergency checks on houses. KYODO PHOTO The town offices of Kashiwazaki and Kariwa checked the structural strength of 33,564 houses, beginning right after the earthquake. Of the total, 4,907, or 15 percent, have been deemed dangerous and residents have been strongly advised not to enter. Those houses are marked with red stickers, officials said Tuesday. Separately, 8,792 houses, or 26 percent, have been judged as needing attention when going inside and are marked with yellow stickers, the officials said. Houses in either category require reconstruction or extensive work to reinforce their structural strength, they said, adding the remaining 19,865 houses do not need immediate safety repairs. For more stories related to the earthquake in Niigata. The Japan Times: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070725a1.html
Core can't be checked until repair is made
The damage does not pose a health threat, Tepco officials said. The crane is used to lift the lid of the pressure container — the main body of the reactor — when confirming the strength of the reactor core. Because the reactor core cannot be checked until the crane is repaired, it is likely to take some time before inspections of the core can be resumed, according to a Tepco official. The utility said it has not yet found any damage to the cranes in the six other reactors at the power station. Earlier in the day, Tepco announced that about 2,000 tons of water had flowed into the building housing one of the seven reactors. The earthquake damaged underground water pipes for firefighting just outside the building housing the 1.1 million kw No. 1 reactor. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070726a3.html
By ERIC PRIDEAUX Staff writer
Tepco Executive Vice President Ichiro Takekuro also revealed the utility lacks the information to gauge the impact that a magnitude-6.8 temblor — uncommon but not unheard-of in Japan — would have on the plant, which apparently sits on the fault line along which the quake occurred but was only designed to weather a magnitude-6-5 shock. Immediately after the quake, Tepco summoned all available manpower at the seven-reactor, 8.2 million kw complex — the world's largest in terms of power output — in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, to assess the impact, Takekuro told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Press Club in Tokyo. But damage to the main office's communication systems impeded efforts to gather and distribute critical information, he said, adding, "There is a lot we need to do to make improvements, both in terms of equipment (and) technical matters as well as the aspect of management." Right after the temblor hit, water started leaking from the spent fuel pool at the No. 6 reactor and a transformer fire started at the No. 3 reactor that burned for about two hours. Tepco eventually reported 63 problems at the complex, including low-level radiation leaks. News reports blamed the slowness in extinguishing the fire on swamped telephone lines and weak safety guidelines from the central government. It was also reported that the facility lacked the proper equipment to fight a blaze of this type. Assurances from utilities and government agencies that reactors can be made quake-proof face mounting skepticism, because Tepco and other utilities are no strangers to the act of concealing shortcomings. In March, 12 utilities owned up to 97 incidents of nuclear plant-related malpractice. The most serious involved Tepco and Hokuriku Electric Power Co., which had failed to report reactor control rod accidents leading to uncontrolled criticality accidents. Skeptics wonder how well Japan's 55 nuclear plants can perform in the widely expected eventuality of the Big One. In 2005, the Cabinet office's Central Disaster Prevention Council calculated a 30 percent chance of a massive earthquake in Tokyo within the next decade, and a 70 percent chance within 30 years. Records show that over the past century, Japan has experienced an average of one magnitude-7 or greater quake yearly. The Japan Times: Thursday, July 26, 2007 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070726a2.html
Kyodo News
Workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant remove radioactive material near a spent fuel storage pool at its No. 6 reactor Wednesday. Plastic bags containing radioactively contaminated water are seen placed behind a dividing wall. KYODO PHOTO "If new cases (of damage) are found in the operator's inspections of the facilities, the government will conduct strict investigations," Shiozaki added. He voiced concern that such damage may erode public trust in nuclear plants. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, said Tuesday it has found at least two fractures in the axle of the ceiling crane located in the building that houses the No. 6 reactor. It was the first damage detected inside a reactor building, which should have high resilience to temblors, following the magnitude-6.8 earthquake last week. The reactor core cannot be checked until the crane is repaired. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the world's largest nuclear power station, boasts an overall output of 8.2 million kw from its seven reactors. IAEA team in August
The U.N. nuclear watchdog issued a statement saying IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei welcomes Japan's invitation for specialists to jointly examine the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant and the agency "intends to send a team of IAEA and international experts in the coming weeks." The government initially said it did not want an IAEA inspection. The Japan Times: Thursday, July 26, 2007 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070726a1.html
SAPPORO (Kyodo) Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi on Wednesday criticized Hokkaido Electric Power Co. for failing to prevent a series of suspected arson fires at a reactor construction site in its Tomari nuclear power plant. "We have repeatedly asked the company to prevent a recurrence, and I must say that its measures have been insufficient," Takahashi said. She said the construction work, which has been suspended following the blazes, should not be resumed until sufficient preventive measures are taken. The utility announced measures later in the day to prevent similar incidents from occurring again, including increasing the number of security guards to 70, five times more than previously on the site. The action follows a move by the company on July 12 to establish a fire prevention team after the initial three blazes on July 11, taking such emergency security measures as increasing patrols and tightening access. Four blazes occurred earlier this month at the No. 3 reactor site, including a small fire Tuesday, leading Hokkaido Electric to suspend construction inside the reactor building, though outside work will continue. Workers found a plastic sheet on fire on the second floor of the reactor building and extinguished it immediately, the company said. It is possible the fire was caused by sparks from welding work being carried out about 4 meters away. The other fires broke out July 3, 4 and 11 at sites where there were no fire sources. Hokkaido Electric also said it found Monday that a power cable on a welding machine at the No. 3 reactor building was cut in two places in a way suggesting it was deliberate. On the cut cable, Takahashi said it was done with "malicious intent." According to the company, about 1,500 people, including company employees and construction-related workers, have access to the plant. The Hokkaido government inspected the site Wednesday. The Japan Times: Thursday, July 26, 2007 |
