NUCLEAIRES !JAPON, le 16 juillet 2007
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28 juillet
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NUCLEAIRES !| http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707270135.html
Watchdog to review crane capabilities at quake-hit plant 07/27/2007 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Government safety experts are taking a fresh look at the strength capabilities of a crane used in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture because it broke in the July 16 earthquake. There could have been serious problems if the ceiling-mounted crane above the No. 6 reactor had been moving lids of up to 140 tons from the reactor container when the 6.8 magnitude temblor struck, a senior power plant official said. For example, it could have dropped onto the reactor. The investigation is being carried out by the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The quake started a fire at a transformer for the No. 3 reactor and caused a leak of radioactive water from the No. 6 reactor. As it happened, the 310-ton steel crane over the No. 6 reactor was idle at the time. As the temblor was so powerful, it broke the steel axles attached to both ends of the crane bar, which connect the wheels to motors. The crane is used to lift and replace the 40-ton lid of the reactor container, as well as the 97-ton lid of a smaller container within, called the pressure vessel, which contains the reactor. It is also used to lift the 700-ton outer lid in five parts. After the earthquake, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), checked the seven reactor buildings for "east-west," "north-south" and "up-down" shaking. TEPCO said that except for the up-down movement at the No. 5 reactor, the force of the earthquake was far greater than anything it had anticipated when the reactors were designed. In the case of the No. 6 reactor building, the up-down shaking reached 488 gals (a gal is a unit of acceleration equal to 1 centimeter per second squared)--more than double the 235 gals anticipated as the upper limit by TEPCO. TEPCO said a review of quake-resistance standards for cranes and other machinery was inevitable.(IHT/Asahi: July 27,2007) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070729a2.html Foreign press hit for 'inaccuracies' and quake nuke scare Kyodo News The Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry blamed foreign media organizations Friday for what the ministries say were inappropriate or inaccurate reports on a nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture damaged by a powerful earthquake that as a result caused misunderstanding and a drop in tourism. Niigata Prefecture is meanwhile trying to dispel concern among vacationers by conducting radiation checks at beaches and on marine products that it says have so far tested negative for radiation following troubles, including radioactive water and other radiation leaks, at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s shoreline Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. In a statement released Friday, the Foreign Ministry noted there was some damage, including a fire at a transformer facility after the magnitude-6.8 July 16 temblor, but it claimed there were no safety problems posed to any of the seven reactors at the station, the world's largest in terms of output. It was reported at the time, however, that the fire took over two hours to extinguish and that the plant, which has been shut down and is not expected to restart for at least a year, lacked proper equipment to handle such a blaze. It was also reported that the plant was only designed to withstand a magnitude-6.5 quake, and that the complex actually sits on the fault line along which the quake occurred. Leaks into the air and the sea of minute doses of radioactive materials from two reactors were "substantially lower than the standards under law" and did not impact the surrounding environment, the Foreign Ministry said, claiming the leaks have already been "stopped." The Foreign Ministry said the leak into the air was around one-10-millionth of the amount of radiation the general public receives from the natural environment in one year, or one-millionth the amount a passenger on a round-trip flight between Tokyo and New York would receive. RELATED STORIES "Despite such facts, misperception has circulated due in part to inaccurate reports by some overseas media, and an adverse impact has regrettably been caused on travel to our country and other areas," the statement reads, in an apparent reference to the cancellation of a trip to Japan by an Italian pro soccer team after the quake. The Foreign Ministry also asked diplomatic offices abroad Thursday to explain to government officials and the media in their countries about the situation at the plant and to dispel harmful rumors regarding the prefecture. METI also said in a statement, "Some overseas media inaccurately reported on impacts of the earthquake on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station and consequently invited misunderstanding." The government thus instructed its diplomatic missions Thursday in major countries and nations where allegedly inaccurate reports have been made to explain the quake's impact on the power station as well as measures taken by the government in providing information to the U.N. nuclear watchdog and key nuclear powers. In Niigata, a local government official said, "In order to stem damage from rumors, there is nothing we can do other than disseminate correct information." The local government checked radiation at 11 beaches in Kashiwazaki and elsewhere in the prefecture and on 30 marine products, including red sea bream and seaweed. In July and August last year, the prefecture had around 3.9 million visitors at its beaches, or around 30 percent of all the visitors that year, according to local officials. The beaches at Kashiwazaki have been popular with tourists from metropolitan Tokyo. The city of Nagaoka, about 40 km northeast of Kashiawazaki, also has a cluster of seafood shops in addition to a beach. According to the association of mayors in the prefecture, accommodation facilities and tourism event organizers had received around 50,000 cancellations by July 20, and cancellations have been rising. On Thursday, the federation of local chambers of commerce and industry asked Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida to step up dissemination of information, saying damage from rumors does not seem to be contained even 10 days after the quake. The Japan Times: Sunday, July 29, 2007 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20070730a8.html Water also leaked from Niigata reactor Radiation level was low and was contained within building, Tepco says KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Pref. (Kyodo) Water containing a small amount of radioactive material spilled not only from spent nuclear fuel storage pools but also from the No. 1 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. The water spilled onto the floor outside the reactor as a result of the magnitude-6.8 earthquake that hit the area July 16, but there was no effect on radiation levels outside the structure because the level of radioactivity was low and the water did not get out of the building, Tepco said Saturday. Under a safety agreement with Tepco, teams from the Niigata prefectural and local municipal governments inspected the plant to confirm the locations at the facility's seven reactors where coolant spilled from spent nuclear fuel rod pools. The prefecture was informed of the spill involving the No. 1 reactor by Tepco the day after the quake but conducted the inspection to confirm the facts following a media report it believes could lead to harmful rumors, Hirofumi Watanabe, prefectural disaster prevention chief, told a news conference. At the time of the powerful quake, the No. 1 reactor was suspended for regular checks and the lids of its reactor pressure vessel and container were open, Tepco said. All of the reactor's nuclear fuel had been transferred to a storage pool, but the waterway connecting the pool and the reactor was open in preparation for moving the fuel back to the reactor when the quake rattled the facility, causing water to spill from the reactor itself. Meanwhile, Tepco opened the reactor operating floor and other locations inside the radiation-control area of the No. 3 reactor to the media. It was the first time journalists have entered the area since the quake. The spent fuel storage pool is located in the operating floor, but the spilled water has already been removed, Tepco officials said. The pool at the No. 3 reactor contained 1,543 units of spent fuel and 28 units of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel, but no irregularities have been detected, the officials said, adding that they opened the area to the media as visual checks have found no damage to key equipment in the reactor building. They also allowed journalists into the reactor container and showed the acceleration detection device located in the fifth basement level of the building that sensed the quake. The Japan Times: Monday, July 30, 2007 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070728TDY03003.htm Rainwater leaks into N-plant's radiation area The Yomiuri Shimbun Four flooded areas containing a total of 30 tons of water were found Thursday at a radiation-controlled area of the problem-plagued Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, and were caused by rainwater trickling into the areas, it has been learned. The areas are those in which radioactive materials are used. The leakage is believed to be the result of a heavy rainfall that hit the power plant from Wednesday night to Thursday morning. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said the rainwater leaked in from tiny spaces made by the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake on July 16. According to TEPCO, no radioactivity was found in the water. There is no possibility radioactive material would escape the area because the zone has low atmospheric pressure compared with elsewhere, TEPCO said. Paper floorcloths used to soak up the water will be disposed of as low-level nuclear waste because they were in the radiation-controlled area. Water was found in four places. One pool containing 17 tons of water was found at the entrance of a storage area containing nuclear waste drums; another pool of 12 tons was found at a pump room of No. 1 reactor's turbine building; puddle of 470 liters was found in a corridor connecting to the building; and a fourth puddle of 120 liters was found at No. 3 reactor's turbine building. TEPCO said there was no leaking of rain into the radiation-controlled area before the earthquake. The company explained that at the storage area, the height of groundwater has increased due to the rain, and it leaked in through a apertures in walls made by the quake. (Jul. 28, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070728TDY03001.htm Quake moved fault edge closer to N-plant The Yomiuri Shimbun The top edge of one of the faults that caused the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake was lifted to within only a few kilometers of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, closer than previously thought, according to a report released by the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI). The GSI's report, released Thursday, describes the opposite movement of the two faults under the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s facility in a way that is at odds with the explanation contained in a separate analysis made by other researchers soon after the July 16 earthquake. The Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture-based GSI conducted a detailed analysis of data on crustal movements, as well as other factors detected by the global positioning system and Daichi satellite to estimate the location and slope of the faults that were the source of the recent temblor. As a result of the analysis, the GSI concluded one of the faults, measuring about 10 kilometers long and 10 kilometers, first moved down. It was then followed by a lifting of the other fault measuring about 12 kilometers long and 10 kilometers, and located southwest of the first fault. The GSI also estimated the first fault's top edge moved to a level about 5.2 kilometers below the seabed, while the top edge of the second fault reached the level of only about 1.2 kilometers from the seabed, quite close to the land surface. However, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), as well as other seismological centers, initially presumed the opposite--that the aftershock distribution and other data indicated the fault in the southeast lifted up while the other part in the northwest sank. (suite)
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The NIED and other researchers then estimated one fault likely moved up to the level of about 20 to 25 kilometers below the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility. The GSI's latest report, however, says that although one fault did not move to the area directly below the power plant, it may have reached the vicinity of the land surface near the facility. The GSI's analysis will be discussed at a meeting of the government's earthquake research committee to be held Aug. 8. TEPCO to reinspect seabed TEPCO announced Thursday it would reinspect the seabed around the focus of the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake from the end of August, to check the earthquake resistance of the quake-damaged nuclear power station. TEPCO plans to investigate the location and length of active seabed faults using acoustic waves, within a time frame of about two months. The results of the inspection will be used to calculate the likely magnitude of potential earthquakes, thus helping nuclear power plants prepare for seismic events. The inspection will cover a 7,000-square-kilometer area, stretching 140 kilometers along the coast and 50 kilometers out to sea. Inspectors will direct acoustic waves at the seabed to investigate geological conditions at a depth of up to two kilometers, and check for the existence of faults. The nuclear power station conducted a similar inspection in sea areas stretching 60 kilometers along the coast and 30 kilometers out to sea. Its inspection found four faults and an active fault, but concluded that they likely would have little impact on the power station. However, as it is believed the recent earthquake's focus was located in an extension of the faults found in the previous inspection, TEPCO expanded the area to be inspected. (Jul. 28, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070729TDY03004.htm Niigata, govt blast foreign media / 'Inaccurate' reports on N-plant radiation leak tarnishing country's image The Yomiuri Shimbun The Niigata prefectural government and the Foreign Ministry have expressed concern over what they claim is inaccurate reporting by foreign media of the radioactive leaks at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, fearing it could tarnish the nation's image. The governor has sent a message to foreign travel agencies in an effort to promote the safety of his prefecture. Meanwhile, the ministry has contacted foreign media through its embassies, asking reporters to provide accurate information. Overseas news organizations have extensively covered the radioactive leaks caused by the recent Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake. Correspondents from more than 20 foreign news organizations in Japan have conducted interviews with Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Kashiwa-zaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. However, TEPCO has said that employees had found a July 19 article by an Italian news agency on its Web site that said the water leaked was 30 times more radioactive than it actually was. In the United States, a financial news agency distributed a July 16 article saying cracks had been found in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear reactor. A major newspaper in that country carried the article in its July 17 edition, but later issued a correction. A TEPCO spokesman said the nuclear industry was a field that required expertise to fully understand, and that a language barrier had likely made it even more difficult for reporters to grasp--even after they received detailed briefings. Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said overseas reports gave the impression that the country was covered in a radioactive fog. In an attempt to prove the prefecture is safe, the prefectural government asked the central government to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to examine the nuclear power plant to dispel the rumors. However, an Italian Serie-A soccer team, which was scheduled to play a friendly game in the prefecture, canceled its trip, citing the radioactive leaks. The South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry also called on South Koreans to refrain from traveling to the prefecture. The prefectural government has sent a message to travel agencies in South Korea and Taiwan, saying the earthquake caused only limited damage, and Joetsu Shinkansen trains and highways are operating as usual. The prefectural government also has sent a message to foreign correspondents in the country to emphasize the prefecture's level of safety. The ministry and the Nuclear and Industrial Agency have asked 190 Japanese diplomatic missions in 130 countries to brief governments and news organizations about the earthquake. The prefectural government's message promoting the prefecture's safety also has been posted on the missions' Web sites. The Construction and Transport Ministry, meanwhile, is concerned about adverse effects on the Visit Japan Campaign, a government initiative to increase the annual number of tourists to Japan to 10 million by 2010. Through its overseas offices, the Japan National Tourist Organization is keeping tabs on reaction and reporting on the leak, calling on relevant organizations to provide accurate information. === Expert team to inspect facilities The Yomiuri Shimbun NIIGATA--The Niigata prefectural government will dispatch Wednesday and T hursday a team comprising nuclear plant safety management experts to inspect t he plants following a number of accidents at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear p lant in the prefecture. The inspection will be conducted under an agreement signed by Tokyo Electric P ower Co., which operates the plant, and the municipal governments that host then uclear power plant. In addition to officials from the prefecture and the governments of Kashiwazakia nd Kariwa, a committee on the safe management of nuclear power plants in N iigata Prefecture will participate in the inspection. (Jul. 29, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070730TDY02004.htm TEPCO shows reactor containment The Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Electric Power Co. showed journalists the inside of buildings of the No. 3 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station Saturday, including, for the first time, the room containing the reactor that was damaged by the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake. Though TEPCO has shown the inside of a building accommodating the plant's No. 6 reactor, it was the first time that the inside of a reactor containment, which is a radiation-controlled area, was opened to the press. TEPCO also showed the inside of a building housing the reactor turbine. At the time of the earthquake, the No. 3 reactor's electric transformer, which was about 40 meters from the building accommodating the reactor, caught fire. The plant has seven nuclear reactors, and the Nos. 3, 4 and 7 reactors were in operation when the earthquake occurred. All three automatically shut down. TEPCO officials said the No. 3 reactor was chosen for disclosure because its repairs had been the quickest, in a move meant to reassure the public that the plant's core facilities were not damaged by the earthquake. In the operation-control area on the third floor of the building accommodating the No. 3 reactor, water containing a small quantity of radioactivity leaked from a nuclear fuel storage pool. The contaminated water had been mopped up. But one of four wall-borne steel pressure-relief windows, each measuring four by four meters, had not been repaired after it was blown outside building by the force of the quake. Sunlight entered through the hole where the window used to be. The windows are designed to channel excess pressure outside at the time of an accident. Inside the reactor containment area, important equipment, such as a device to move control rods and the main steam isolation valve for preventing radiation leaks in an emergency, superficially appeared undamaged. (Jul. 30, 2007) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20070729TDY01002.htm Quake hit main water pipes in Kashiwazaki The Yomiuri Shimbun Three major pipes distributing tap water in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, were found to have been damaged in about 10 places by the recent earthquake, preventing the early resumption of water supplies, according to the municipal government. The bureau responsible for water and gas supplies believes the pipes were damaged because they had not been upgraded to prevent their joints from rupturing. According to the bureau, the water distribution system was damaged in about 370 places across the city. However, it is the damage to the main pipes that has created the biggest stumbling block in efforts to fully restore water supplies to the city. The city's water is supplied by three reservoirs in the city, via three major pipes that are about 80 centimeters in diameter. Of the three, the one supplying the largest volume of water was the most badly damaged, according to the bureau. Six of its joints were affected. The bureau said more than 80 percent of the damage to the water distribution pipes was caused by joints disconnecting. Although no such problems were found in the quake-resistant pipes, the major pipes were laid before the 1980s and therefore had not been upgraded. The municipal government said financial constraints had prevented it from upgrading the pipes, with one official stating: "We've had to construct a new water treatment plant and also replace meters and other equipment. We just didn't have enough money." (Jul. 29, 2007) http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707280120.html Earthquake topples lucrative summer tourist season 07/28/2007 BY TOMOHIKO KANEKO AND MASATOMO NORIKYO THE ASAHI SHIMBUN KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--The July 16 earthquake that killed 11 people, injured more than 1,000 and flattened numerous buildings is expected to claim another victim over coming weeks: the tourism industry. Tourism, a key moneyearner, is in a shambles after the magnitude 6.8 temblor. Kashiwazaki's 12 beaches, which drew more than 1 million visitors last year, are almost deserted, city officials said. An operator of a boat excursion business had to suspend its service just three days after the opening of the Yuumi tourist center on the west pier of Kashiwazaki port, when the temblor tore a 50-meter-long crack in the facility's brand-new block tiles on the floor. Some parts of the flooring were raised by more than 30 centimeters. The prefectural and municipal governments poured about 260 million yen turning the center into an events venue and advertising the city as a sightseeing destination with beautiful beaches. "If people think that they won't enjoy themselves here, there's nothing we can do about it," said Masamichi Watanabe, president of tour boat operator Kashiwazaki Kanko Kisen. "We have no idea when we'll be back in service." The city's annual seaside fireworks event, always a major tourist attraction, has also been scrapped. About 200,000 visitors crowded into the beaches last summer to watch some 15,000 fireworks light up the night sky. This year, all the fee-based box seats had been sold out. Cancellation of the event will deal a severe blow to the city's inns and hotels, which were counting on the visitors. "(It) is the biggest event and the one that the citizens are most proud of," said Toshio Kasuga, who heads the municipal government's tourism and civic relations section. His team estimates there were 3.8 million tourists to the city last year, of whom about 1 million came in the stifling summer months just to enjoy Kashiwazaki's beaches. There were 100,000 more visitors last year than the previous year, ending a three-year decline in tourist numbers. Local officials fear this summer will be a total washout because of reconstruction work across the city.(IHT/Asahi: July 28,2007) |
