NUCLEAIRES !JAPON, le 16 juillet 2007
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27 juillet
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NUCLEAIRES !| http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707260112.html
N-safety manuals to be revised 07/26/2007 HE ASAHI SHIMBUN The government will revise its safety evaluation manuals for the construction site of nuclear power plants in response to unexpected damage caused by the July 16 earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, sources said. The manuals, which have not been updated in 29 years, detail the safety requirements of geological and soil conditions for the construction of nuclear power plants. Damage to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) resulted in the spillage of radioactive water, causing the plant to shut down. The quake had a seismic intensity stronger than anticipated under the current guidelines. The government's Nuclear Safety Commission, chaired by Atsuyuki Suzuki, decided to revise the manuals in response to growing criticism that they were outdated. When TEPCO conducted soil surveys on the nearby seabed in 1979 and 1980 before building the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, it found four fault zones. However, it concluded, wrongly as it turns out, that they were not active faults which could cause an earthquake. After last week's temblor, TEPCO acknowledged that one of the four fault zones detected in its surveys nearly 30 years ago may have caused the July 16 earthquake, triggering doubts about the reliability of its subsequent evaluation of fault zones. Experts in geological surveys said the government should update the manuals, incorporating the latest survey methods for undersea fault zones. The government manuals were introduced in 1978, before TEPCO conducted the surveys. Sources close to the Nuclear Safety Commission said the planned revisions will incorporate the latest research results and developments into the manuals. The planned review will follow the revisions to the guidelines on the quake-resistance of structures of nuclear power plants. The original quake-resistance guidelines were also implemented in 1978 but were revised in September 2006 after nearly five years of heated discussions. The quake-resistance guidelines require that nuclear power plants are able to withstand the strongest earthquakes caused by active fault zones found in geological surveys.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070727TDY02003.htm N-plant won't open until fall '08 The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, damaged in the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake, is unlikely to resume operation until autumn next year at the earliest, according to a professor who will become chairman of a new government panel. Haruki Madarame, professor at Tokyo University, specializing in nuclear power, said the resumed operations could be further delayed depending on the circumstances. It is certain electric power will be in short supply not only this summer, but also next summer. (Jul. 27, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070727TDY02004.htm Lines form in Kashiwazaki for temp homes The Yomiuri Shimbun More than 100 citizens lined up Thursday morning inside Kashiwazaki city hall in Niigata Prefecture to apply for temporary housing, as many homes were deemed too dangerous to live in as a result of the Niigata Prefecture Chuestu Offshore Earthquake on July 16. Matsuno Ozaki, 68, lives with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in a house skewed so badly by the quake that it is impossible to walk in a straight line in the corridors. Ozaki built the two-story wooden house 35 years ago. Initially, the land was leased, but the family bought the land 10 years ago using her severance allowance. "I never thought of rebuilding the house during the present generation," she said. Ozaki was first in line at 6:30 a.m., two hours before the application process was due to begin. She said she was very excited although she knew that selection was not made on a first-come first-served basis. "I don't want to leave the city. I want to build our house in the same place," she said. Naoe Murayama, 52, currently resides with five other members of her family in an evacuation center based in a middle school gymnasium. "We want to have a place for our large family to live for the time being," Murayama said. The ground surrounding Murayama's house was distorted by the quake and furniture was scattered throughout the house. Earth was washed away from a slope in front of the house and several parts of the road facing her home were elevated by the temblor, making it impossible for cars to pass. "We're uncertain about the future of our house and neighborhood. Our house has been destroyed and we're still paying our mortgage," Murayama said. Temporary housing will be provided at 30 locations in the city and the deadline for applications is Aug. 3. If the number of applicants outweigh the number of dwellings, city officials will choose successful candidates according to their individual circumstances. However, an official from the prefecture's antidisaster headquarters, which is in charge of constructing the dwellings, said, "We believe the number of the houses is sufficient, but we'll be flexible if there are further requests." (suite)
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The municipal government initially planned to build 833 houses at 23 locations. But plans changed slightly after eight new locations were added and 23 houses at one location were canceled after cracks in the ground were found in the vicinity. After the changes were announced, some residents were reportedly surprised and consulted their families over whether to alter their original requests. (Jul. 27, 2007) http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/p20070726p2a00m0na030000c.html Aftershocks from Niigata quake hinder safety inspections at nuclear power plant KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata -- Checks on whether any radiation has leaked from five ventilation ducts at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, which was damaged in the powerful earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture on July 16, have still not been carried out, it has emerged. Power plant officials said they had been unable to perform any detailed checks or confirm whether radiation had leaked from the five ducts, which slipped out of place during the earthquake, due to aftershocks that had made the task difficult. If gaps have opened up in the ducts, small amounts of radioactive material could have leaked out, officials said. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which operates the plant, is struggling to come up with ways to address the problem. "The atomic reactors have now stopped, so we believe that no radioactive material is coming out, but we can't deny the possibility that a tiny amount of radioactive material may have leaked out directly after the earthquake," a TEPCO representative said, adding that the company had still not worked out a timeframe to check the ducts for damage. (Mainichi) July 26, 2007 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070727a2.html EVACUEES APPLY FOR TEMPORARY HOMES Tepco plans 24-hour N-plant firefighters KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Pref. (Kyodo) Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, idled since it was hit by a powerful earthquake on July 16, will take at least one year to restart and even longer if any defect is found in key safety equipment, the head of an expert panel said. Tepco also said Thursday it will equip each of its three nuclear power stations in Japan, encompassing 17 reactors in total, with chemical fire engines in August as part of efforts to boost fire-fighting capability, and have a 24-hour firefighting system in place so it is not caught off guard by a fire such as the one triggered by the July 16 temblor. Residents of Kashiwazaki whose homes were damaged in the deadly magnitude-6.8 earthquake meanwhile were allowed to begin submitting applications to the city for temporary housing Thursday. With some 1,800 people still in evacuation centers, the badly hit city is building about 830 temporary houses at 23 sites, including parks and a baseball field, that will be available to evacuees as early as mid-August, city officials said. By 8:30 a.m., when the city started accepting applications, nearly 100 people were lined up in front of City Hall. "We expect elderly evacuees living alone to be supported by their neighbors" even after moving to temporary housing, a city official said. Kashiwazaki resident Matsuno Ozaki, 68, who stood in line from around 6:30 a.m., said: "My house tilted and I was told that it will require 10 million yen for repairs. I'd like to live near my house if possible, so I can go see my house quickly." Kariwa, a nearby village also heavily affected by the quake, is building some 200 temporary houses and will take applications from Sunday. As for when Tepco may be able to restart its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power complex, the world's largest, Haruki Madarame, head of the expert panel and a University of Tokyo professor specializing in nuclear engineering, said Wednesday night, "At least one year is needed for operations to resume." The government launched the 20-member panel chaired by Madarame on Thursday in a bid to strengthen quake safety measures at nuclear power plants, with its first meeting slated for Tuesday. Panel members include academics, crisis-management experts, journalists and top officials of the city of Kashiwazaki and the village of Kariwa, where the nuclear plant is located. Tepco said Wednesday the utility has yet to work out detailed plans to conduct inspections and confirm safety, and such work could be delayed substantially following its earlier finding that the ceiling crane in the No. 6 reactor building was damaged by the quake. On Thursday, Tepco said it will equip each of its three nuclear power stations with chemical fire engines, and also have 24-hour firefighting systems in place at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant and its two other nuclear power stations, in Fukushima Prefecture, including the six-reactor No. 1 station, and the four-reactor No. 4. The system involves teams of four to five firefighters, with each team taking an eight-hour shift. Currently, the utility does not require firefighting staff to be posted at its nuclear plants around the clock, hence the delay in fighting the fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant triggered by the quake. The measures are part of antiquake steps that Tepco presented the same day to the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to ensure safety at its nuclear plants. Along with Tokyo Electric, 10 other nuclear-related companies submitted similar business improvement plans to the agency based on an order issued last week by Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari. The fire at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant rekindled public concern about the safety of nuclear facilities in Japan. The quake, which hit Niigata Prefecture and its vicinity, also caused a leak of water containing low-level radioactive material at the plant, as well as other reportedly minor radiation leaks. The Japan Times: Friday, July 27, 2007 |
