ScribbleLive

@lillymunster it is so frustrating that nobody is verifying tepco's data 'on the ground'

I think if any other agency were going to get in that plant it would have happened by now, terrible that the world has stood by and l;et tepco call the shots

@lillymunster I must try to sleep get up early and find a plumber wish me luck and tis good to be back

@elainekirk good to have you back! I am off to sleep too. I think I might be catching the bug going around. Should be around in the early AM.

@all - please make sure to post any news overnight and bump the page if you stop by

@lilly so what was the end conclusion about the fire? That it was burning off hydrogen?

@Ian yesterday in the dark the light was coming from between the buildings. The flashing now is precisely beside #3.

and now the big crane has a flashing red light.

oooh, bad bad tsunami, bad water, bad weather. poor teppy.

Japanese only -suprise - suprise
www.tepco.co.jp
Press Release (Dec 02,2011)
Release of the interim report of Fukushima Nuclear Accidents Investigation Committee

Fukushima firms advised to put safety labels on products

NEW YORK, Dec. 1, Kyodo

Internationally active Japanese companies Thursday advised Fukushima Prefecture firms to put labels on food and other products to show they had passed safety tests to reassure overseas consumers worried by the impact of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The advice came as Fukushima business leaders met with representatives of Japanese companies operating in the United States at the Japanese Consulate-General in New York to discuss how best to cope with the impact of the nuclear crisis on Fukushima products, meeting participants said.

Fukushima products ranging from food to screws were initially subject to import restrictions overseas due to radioactive contamination fears after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The safety labels would be put on products that clear radiation tests, recognizing them as free from radioactive contamination.

''I thought that the safety label proposal was a good idea,'' said Kenichi Shishido, who runs an insurance agency in Koriyama in the prefecture. ''I would like to tell my business colleagues in Fukushima that we should positively sell our products in the world.''

The companies also recommended Fukushima business leaders consider investment in wind and other non-nuclear electricity generation projects as well as advanced medical technology and other areas to create employment in the prefecture.

==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jp

TEPCO pays 39.1 bil. yen to farmers in 17 pref. over nuclear crisis

TOKYO, Dec. 2, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it has paid 39.1 billion yen in compensation to agricultural organizations in 17 prefectures for damage caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, bringing the total sum given to the farmers so far to about 88.9 billion yen.

Councils comprising mainly of agricultural and dairy cooperatives in Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, Hokkaido, Chiba and 12 other prefectures have sought a total of 111.3 billion yen in compensation by Nov. 15 on behalf of the farmers. TEPCO did not provide details on individual sums paid to each organization.

For the remaining claims, TEPCO said in a statement that it will pay the compensation once it completes verifying the applications. The company has drawn criticisms for its slow handling of compensation issues related to the nuclear crisis.

==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jp

i simply would not buy them, no matter what is written on the sticker.

UPDATE2: Japan to export nuclear technology if wanted, Noda says

TOKYO, Dec. 2, Kyodo

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Friday that Japan will consider exporting its nuclear technology, in principle, as long as it is still wanted by other countries.

Noda said Japan will not provide its nuclear technology and expertise to any country without restriction, noting that peaceful use and other requirements must be ensured.

But Noda told a House of Representatives panel he believes it is ''meaningful to provide things with high levels of safety'' to other countries.

Noda's remarks came as Japan's bilateral civil nuclear cooperation accords with Jordan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam are due to be approved by parliament this month, despite public concerns about the safety of atomic power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

The accords, which will lay the legal foundations for Japanese companies to supply nuclear equipment and technology to other countries, were approved by the committee on foreign affairs in the afternoon.

Japan signed the pacts with the four countries before the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Before the crisis, the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan regarded exporting the country's nuclear technology, especially to fast-growing economies, as one of the most promising ways to generate economic growth.

Noda told the lower house panel that the government is seeking the parliamentary passage of the accords as necessary domestic procedures have already been completed in Jordan, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam. He said those countries are still hoping to have Japan's cooperation even after the nuclear crisis -- which has yet to be brought under control.

Noda said diplomatic relations must be taken into account with regard to the four accords as well as others Japan began negotiating prior to the crisis, including with Brazil, India and Turkey.

As for new agreements, Noda said the government must examine how Japan can cooperate for the peaceful use of nuclear energy taking into account the findings on the Fukushima accident.

To date, Japan has concluded bilateral nuclear accords with seven countries -- Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Kazakhstan and the United States -- and the European Atomic Energy Community.

A vote on the four nuclear accords in a lower house plenary session, which was initially due to take place on Friday, has been rescheduled for next week.

If all goes smoothly, they will come into force early next year after also being approved by the opposition-controlled House of Councillors during the current parliamentary session, which will end Dec. 9 unless extended.

In Jordan, a consortium of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and French nuclear power company Areva is competing with Russian and Canadian companies for contracts.

Jordan, which plans to conduct a bid to build a nuclear power plant by the end of this year, has urged Japan to approve their nuclear cooperation accord soon, according to diplomatic sources.

==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jp

Edano, what was the rough tons of fuel you were using for the calculation from yesterday? TEPCO is claiming 68 tons?

Expert urges more disclosure from TEPCO

Professor Hisashi Ninokata of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who is analyzing the accident, says the report explains more clearly how it progressed and puts forward measures to prevent similar incidents.

But he says the in-house probe by the utility had its limitations, as the report has no mention of why workers stopped the emergency cooling system at the No.1 reactor, an act that eventually led some fuel rods to meltdown.

He says officials in charge of the probe may have feared that providing details could force someone in the company to take responsibility.

He urges TEPCO to disclose more about the chain of command and communications at the plant, saying that such information is necessary to learn lessons from the accident and regain public trust in nuclear power.

Friday, December 02, 2011 19:17 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp

TEPCO: Cooling stoppage info was not shared

A miscommunication between workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could have delayed a response to the accident on March 11th.

The operator says the plant's chief did not know for several hours that the only backup cooling system for the Number 1 reactor was manually shut down on the day of the earthquake and tsunami.

NHK has obtained Tokyo Electric Power Company's interim report on the accident to be released on Friday.

The report says workers in the reactor's control room stopped an emergency cooling system shortly after 6 PM. It says the plant chief, Masao Yoshida, and others in the facility's office building were unaware of the manual shut-down.

TEPCO says it was not until around midnight that the plant chief noticed the system was not working. A rise in the radiation levels at the reactor building alerted him to the possibility of damaged fuel rods.

The emergency system uses steam to cool down a reactor when there is no electricity supply. It was the only workable cooling system at the reactor after the plant lost its major power sources.

The report says the misunderstanding occurred because a malfunctioning gauge failed to show that the water level had dropped, exposing the fuel rods.

TEPCO estimates that damage to the exposed fuel rods occurred about 4 hours after the quake. It says this generated large amounts of hydrogen that caused the first explosion at the plant on the following day.

Friday, December 02, 2011 10:20 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp

Proposal made for new "nuclear safety agency"

A panel of experts has proposed creating a third-party watchdog to monitor the performance of Japan's new nuclear safety agency to be launched next April.

The panel said in its report on Friday that the existing system is inadequate as it involves 2 different bodies both checking nuclear safety.

It said the system has come to function in name only, and failed to prevent the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The 2 regulatory bodies are the industry ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office.

The panel proposed uniting the 2 bodies under the new nuclear safety agency. It also proposed creating a third-party commission to monitor and advise on the agency's regulatory performance.

The panel also called for a new legal framework to ensure the latest knowledge and technologies are duly reflected in nuclear plants and utilities.

The panel's chief said the new agency should be supervised by the third-party body of experts who can point out any shortcomings.

The new nuclear regulator is due to operate as an outside body of the Environment Ministry and not the industry ministry, which is in a position to promote nuclear power.

The government is to submit a bill to create the agency early next year.

Friday, December 02, 2011 18:12 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp