Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 1845

Kan orders new rules to restart nuclear reactors

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has ordered members of his cabinet in charge of supervising nuclear plants to set new rules on restarting reactors after regular inspections.

He made the remarks at a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee on Wednesday.

Kan said under the current rules, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the industry minister can make a judgment on whether a nuclear reactor should allowed to be restarted after regular checkups.

But the prime minister said he thinks that the public will no longer be convinced with the current system. Kan said he ordered industry minister Banri Kaieda and nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono to draw up new regulations to judge whether reactors should be restarted and allowed to continue operating.

He added that the new rules should include the so-called "stress test" advocated by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to fully convince the public.

At the meeting, Akira Kasai of the opposition Communist Party said it is inconsistent for the government to say it will draw up new rules, while it has already asked local municipalities to allow the restarting of the Genkai power plant in southwestern Japan.

Asked whether the government will withdraw its request for restarting the Genkai plant, Kan said the resumption of its operations should be judged under new rules if the assessment under the current ones is not sufficient.

The prime minister hinted that he will not make a hasty judgment about restarting the Genkai plant.

Wednesday, July 06, 2011 20:25 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 7/6/2011 3:33:26 PM

be back in a bit...
by dean 7/6/2011 3:39:33 PM

@lillymunster and @elainekirk you had asked me about the Japanese in an article published by the Social-Democratic Party here about #4. My friend has read it and it says that a TEPCO official told politicians that the building housing #4 is so fragile that even a small EQ could take it down at this point, and warning that this could have devastating effects across Northern Japan.
by bo
by Edano 7/6/2011 3:39:49 PM

@Peter Melzer I need to work on my approach, I wasn't trying to denigrate what you said, my only point was Copyrighting of a hazard warning symbol reccommended by the IAEA. Seems pathetic to me. Has nothing to do with SOME controlled distibution of radiation warning symbology. I don't want the teens to wrap their school in rad tape during senior week. LOL:)
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 3:40:48 PM

EQ 00:15 JST 07 Jul 2011 36.4N 141.8E very shallow M5.8 Ibaraki-ken Oki
www.jma.go.jp
by estacion via Jma.go.jp 7/6/2011 3:42:58 PM

@Edano The translation of the news article makes all the quakes all the more concerning.
by lillymunster 7/6/2011 3:46:52 PM

@Edano I would assume these microbes concentrate the radioactivity, much like a sunflower. The problem the becomes collecting these radioactive microbes. This is actually OLD science for various industrial toxins. The problem becomes how to accumulate and remove these microbes after they accumulate the toxin (in this case radioactivity).
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 3:49:01 PM

Fukushima: What don't we know? thebulletin.org
by bo 7/6/2011 3:49:31 PM

@RBeaner : imagine "2.5 grams of cesium mixed in water, and about 90 grams of microbes."
by Edano 7/6/2011 3:50:10 PM

this is pure science fiction, nothing else.
by Edano 7/6/2011 3:50:59 PM

@Edano science fiction has cool characters
by bo 7/6/2011 3:51:37 PM

@Edano I haven't paid alot of attention to the aftershocks (though I keep an eye on veenie, lol), but haven't they had many aftershocks of 6 or even more? SFP#4 is still relatively intact, and gets stronger every day.
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 3:52:44 PM

www.jma.go.jp
not much shaking in fuku
www.jma.go.jp
by Edano via Jma.go.jp edited by Edano 7/6/2011 3:55:35 PM

@RBeaner : sure it gets stronger every day, that's why they drop the water level to +350 mm.
by Edano 7/6/2011 3:57:19 PM

@Edano Microbes have been significant in "tying up" oil from various spills. www.scientificamerican.com I acknowledge that microbes can also sift out radioactive materials. What I don't understand, is how those microbes could be better removed from the enviornment. They will still be radioactive, and need some kind of filtration.
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 3:58:33 PM

@RBeaner SFP#4 is only waiting for the right EQ at the right location. Only a matter of time.
by estacion 7/6/2011 4:00:15 PM

Also, some insights from a dinner chat with a wise Japanese friend of mine. I asked about the row with the minister resigning, and he said that this is a dilemma of the Democratic Party. The LDP has held power for over 5o years and has a good infrastructure for disciplining members as they rise through the ranks. The Democratic Party has had no power and so it is currently a coalition of weak and local groups. As a result, people are appointed who are essentially abusive bosses of small companies and who have no political experience and they can exhibit their small mindedness as was done by Matsumoto. This is just one more chink in the armor of the Democratic Party that will let it be taken down by the LDP, the traditional power holders and enablers of corporate Japan.
by bo 7/6/2011 4:00:46 PM

now, this really is cool !

Kyushu Electric sought to distort local views over reactors restart

FUKUOKA, July 7, Kyodo

Kyushu Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that companies linked to the utility ordered their employees to post online comments in favor of the resumption of the utility's two nuclear reactors for a local cable television program aimed at seeking support for the resumption.

Industry minister Banri Kaieda said in a statement that such conduct by the employees, acting as general citizens, fundamentally undermined the purpose of the industry ministry-organized event to respond to their candid questions.

''This is outrageous,'' Kaieda said, adding that Kyushu Electric President Toshio Manabe was strongly warned over the issue. english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano edited by Edano 7/6/2011 4:01:22 PM

@Edano yes the water level is lowered, I addressed that..4 SFP water level... It makes sense to keep it as low as possible while strengthening support below, relieves stress and tension on materials. If they aren't doing work above (they aren't currently AFIK) then the reduced radiation shielding above doesn't matter. After concrete poured and sets, they can safely add water to reduce the radiation levels for work above. Sound process. Rememberr radiation and radioactivity/contamination release are not the same thing.
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 12:37:44 PM 8:37 AM
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 4:02:59 PM

@bo not good news :(
by Elaine Kirk 7/6/2011 4:03:09 PM

Well, after a night of top notch shochu with good friends, it is time to hit the tatami. See you all tomorrow.
by bo 7/6/2011 4:06:01 PM

@bo nite bo.
by lillymunster 7/6/2011 4:06:41 PM

@estacion We have to measure progress. I Assume the steal supportd they installed have provided some vertical support. When they add the concrete, it will butress the SFP from lateral movement. Progress is being made!
by RBeaner 7/6/2011 4:07:09 PM

it's not science fiction at all. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by Panserbjorne9 7/6/2011 4:10:03 PM

ugh, this is a little spooky about that microbe: "In 2003, U.S. scientists demonstrated that D. radiodurans could be used as a means of information storage that might survive a nuclear catastrophe. They translated the song It's a Small World into a series of DNA segments 150 base pairs long, inserted these into the bacteria, and were able to retrieve them without errors 100 bacterial generations later." en.wikipedia.org
by Panserbjorne9 7/6/2011 4:13:06 PM

@RBeaner , no sweat, but you reminded me, I once found some kid in the lab using the yellow tape as duck tape. On another occasion, someone tried to use a nice empty packaging box with small rad labels on the side to UPS a gift to their aunt.
by Peter Melzer 7/6/2011 4:13:31 PM

@Peter Melzer We had the same thing happen! someone used a box from Radiology and delivered something to another area of the hospital. It gets better though- they took off the stickers and then RE-USED IT AGAIN, and because someone's rad meter went off, the bomb squad got called and we were under lock down for 4 hours until the robot blew up the box outside. The box had been used for thyroid pellets originally. good times.
by Panserbjorne9 7/6/2011 4:15:11 PM

Hay y'all! Something just occurred to me. If the water in SFP4 had fallen so low the racks were to any degree exposed to open air, the explosion that pulverized the whole building should have pulverized them too. Instead, they're intact and you can even make out fine details in the assemblies in some frames www.youtube.com
by Ian 7/6/2011 4:23:08 PM

A factor I've not seen raised is the rain of bubble rising from SFP4 assemblies. Notice as the camera zooms out right at the end it's like 'pouring' bubbles www.youtube.com Now, if those bubbles are hydrogen, which is very likely, here we have a known source of hydrogen entry into the Unit-4 atmosphere. The water should have been much lower by March 15 (when it blew) and so the water much hotter and probably much more hydrogen output. Might these bubbles be the output of radiolysis?
by Ian 7/6/2011 4:31:42 PM

@Ian no clue what the bubbles actually are but we have seen that pool bubbling and at times what looked like a good boil when they shot video.
by lillymunster 7/6/2011 4:33:52 PM

@Ian the assembly caps probably sit in the frame quite tightly which makes me think of your handle in 3 could that be just the assembly cap? I am non techi so be patient :)
by Elaine Kirk 7/6/2011 4:34:18 PM

What's also curious is that, in contrast to SFP4, we see no bubbles rising in SFP3 : www.youtube.com Yes, there are little debris in SFP3 floating about erratically, but I've not seen a distinct rising bubble in SFP3. This seems a rather notable difference suggesting fundamental differences in the two pools, which is further suggested by the drastically different radionuclide levels in 3 vs 4.
by Ian 7/6/2011 4:39:42 PM

@Elaine, I can see what I think is the square-edge and corner of the rack the apparent SFP3 assembly handle is in, if you look closely, and it's tipped at an angle as if the mountain of debris tipped it www.youtube.com So my guess is that the handle is still attached to the assembly, and the assembly still in its rack, a rack with only one assembly. I'm going to keep calling it the "apparent assembly handle" until I complete a size analysis. I'm going to model the handle by its dimensions in a #d program, but am not yet confident I have enough spacial references in SFP3 video to estimate distance, but suspect I can at least get a rough idea if it's drastically off size wise.
by Ian 7/6/2011 4:48:23 PM

@Ian we can see every day that #4 sfp is boiling off. wouldn't that be enough explanation for the bubbles ?
by Edano 7/6/2011 4:52:44 PM

Industry Views Prevail on Radiation Risks, Health Experts Unheard on Health Effects of Fukushima www.truth-out.org
by Panserbjorne9 7/6/2011 4:53:37 PM

a hydrogen release from zirkonium would afford far higher temperatures.
by Edano 7/6/2011 4:54:32 PM

english.kyodonews.jp

Fire at Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant
Supplied photo shows waste materials containing minute amounts of radioactive substances (C) which caught fire at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant of the Japan Atomic Power Co. in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on July 6, 2011. The fire was extinguished soon and posed no health risks to the plant workers, according to the utility. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Photo provided by the Japan Atomic Power Co.)(Kyodo) english.kyodonews.jp
by Edano via English.kyodonews.jp 7/6/2011 4:56:35 PM

@Ian I have got it !
by elainekirk 7/6/2011 6:05:51 PM

@Edano why does it look like a molten mess if it was just low level waste
by elainekirk 7/6/2011 6:19:03 PM

It looks like it oozed out that crack. Maybe chemical reaction fire?
by lillymunster 7/6/2011 6:27:30 PM

Hmm. What do they do with that liquid sodium they use to cool certain reactors? Some of it has to be made unusable over time.
by lillymunster 7/6/2011 6:28:06 PM