Hmmmmm. Seems Japan can function without most of its nukes!

[robdogbucky]

Interesting, no?




80% of Japan's reactors out of service

Another nuclear reactor in Japan will soon be shut down for regular inspections, leaving nearly 80 percent of the country's reactors out of service.

Kyushu Electric Power Company says it will begin work on Wednesday to halt operations at the No.2 reactor at the Sendai nuclear power plant. The reactor will be shut down by Thursday morning....

...After the Fukushima accident, underhanded practices of power companies and the government have come to light...

After the Sendai No.2 reactor is shut down, 42 nuclear reactors among 54 in Japan will be out of service.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 11:17 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/31_11.html




14 locations near nuclear plants could become active faults, agency warns


Some 14 locations near nuclear facilities in Japan have been found to have the possibility of turning into active faults in the future, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has announced.

NISA said on Aug. 30 that it has confirmed a total of 14 faults and other locations whose possibility of turning into active faults in the future cannot be ruled out near the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants and Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 Power Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.

NISA had instructed plant operators to re-evaluate those locations after aftershocks following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered the Yunotake fault in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, to slip even though it had been believed to be inactive.

As a result of the re-evaluation, it emerged that five locations near the Fukushima nuclear plant, including the Yunotake fault, have a possibility of moving in the future due to crustal twists and increased seismic activity in the wake of the March 11 quake. A total of nine locations near the Tokai No. 2 Power Station and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Tokai nuclear fuel reprocessing plant were also revaluated...

(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na024000c.html




2 workers showered with highly radioactive water

Tokyo Electric Power Company says 2 male workers at its troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were showered with highly radioactive water by mistake.

The accident occurred on Wednesday morning. The two subcontracting workers were suddenly splashed with water leaking from a container whose valve was not shut. The container was part of the contaminated water processing system.

TEPCO says one of the 2 workers was found to be exposed to 0.16 millisievelts of radiation, which is higher than the safety limit, and was decontaminated.

The other, who was wearing a raincoat, was exposed to 0.14 millisievelts of radiation, a slightly smaller dose than the other man...

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 22:23 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/31_34.html






TEPCO finds possibly active faults near Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Company suspects there are 5 active faults near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that could affect the crippled plant if they cause a tremor.

TEPCO made the discovery after the Japanese government requested utilities and nuclear agencies to reexamine faults around nuclear plants.

The directive followed a strong earthquake on April 11th from a fault thought to be inactive, 50 kilometers from the Fukushima plant.

TEPCO said on Tuesday that geological deformations were observed for the first time at 5 faults, suggesting they are active...

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 06:16 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/31_03.html

[robdogbucky]

1. Local governments closing tsunami lost-and-found rooms

Local governments in tsunami-hit areas are starting to close rooms holding photographs and other items of unknown ownership recovered from the rubble and must decide what to do with the left over items.

The city of Miyako in Iwate Prefecture closed most of its lost-and-found rooms on Aug. 17, but at least for now, the items will be kept. Lists of the items in storage will be made available.

The Iwate town of Yamada, however, which is closing its rooms at the end of August, will "incinerate or otherwise dispose of items other than photographs of the deceased and mortuary tablets," according to the town's government.

In a lost-and-found room there, Fumeko Takahashi, 53, searched for pictures of her deceased mother-in-law and father-in-law amongst crowded personal items that included preserved umbilical cords, often saved in Japan...

(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na015000c.html




TEPCO presents plan to extract melted rods

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has announced a plan to extract melted nuclear fuel rods at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

TEPCO presented the 9-stage plan on Wednesday to an expert panel of the Atomic Energy Commission, which is discussing a process to decommission the plant's reactors.

The first 3 stages of TEPCO's plan are devoted to removing radioactive materials from the reactors' buildings to repair containment vessels and stop water leaks.

The utility plans to then put water in the vessels and take pictures to determine the amount of nuclear fuel that has leaked from the reactors...

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 20:38 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/31_32.html




Fukushima nuke plant workers irradiated on job ignored alarm: TEPCO

Two workers exposed to high doses of beta radiation at the crisis-stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on Aug. 28 were ignoring their dosimeter readings, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced on Aug. 30.

The two men were both blasted with beta radiation while they and one other worker were replacing filters on a water decontamination system at the plant -- a task that requires pulling components out of the water. TEPCO stated that they ignored the radiation count on their dosimeters and continued to do the filter replacement despite absorbing radiation doses of 23.4 and 17.1 millisieverts respectively, exceeding the 15-millisievert limit for the operation.

According to TEPCO, the men's radiation alarms sounded when their doses exceeded the 15-millisievert maximum, but they decided to complete the task with the help of the third worker as they had very little left to do. The utility also said the men's radiation control manager was not present at the time. Testing revealed the third worker absorbed a 1.1-millisievert dose.

Beta rays are a type of radiation that can penetrate the skin and enter the body, and total exposure is legally limited to 1,000 millisieverts.

(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na001000c.html




TEPCO sets compensation standards for victims of Fukushima nuclear disaster

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced on Aug. 30 standards for calculating compensation to evacuees and other victims of the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

Under the standards based on midterm guidelines released Aug. 5 by a governmental nuclear compensation panel, evacuees will each receive a uniform 5,000 yen per trip within Fukushima Prefecture and those staying at a hotel or inn will receive up to 8,000 yen per night.

Although TEPCO will start a full-scale redress scheme for evacuees, it has postponed a decision to set a basis for calculating compensation to companies and individual business owners.

The utility will start sending applications for full-scale compensation to evacuees on Sept. 12 and corporations and individual business owners within September...

(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na009000c.html

[robdogbucky]

2. Tepco-area power-saving order to end early on Sept. 9

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011


Tepco-area power-saving order to end early on Sept. 9

Summer heat believed over and companies, people have done a good job cutting back

Kyodo

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Tuesday it has brought forward the end of its mandatory curb on electricity consumption for most of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s service area from Sept. 22 to Sept. 9 after determining the hot weather has passed its peak.

The curb will also be lifted ahead of schedule, on Sept. 2 instead of Sept. 9, in areas hit by the March earthquake and tsunami served by Tepco and Tohoku Electric Power Co., including Niigata and Fukushima, which recorded heavy rain in July, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

The government has required large-lot electricity users to cut their consumption by 15 percent from their peak-hour demand last summer due to power constraints caused by the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.

The early lifting of the power-saving order, imposed July 1, is aimed at alleviating its impact on reconstruction work in the disaster-hit areas, as well as on the economy and the public...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110831a2.html

[robdogbucky]

3. Hakodate mayor seeks continued freeze on Aomori nuclear power plant

Hakodate Mayor Toshiki Kudo visited a nuclear power plant under construction in Oma, Aomori Prefecture, on Aug. 30 and sought an indefinite freeze on the project, just 23 kilometers away from the heart of the southwestern Hokkaido city.

"It is so close to Hakodate, and there is nothing to shield (nuclear radiation) if an accident happens," Kudo said of the Oma Nuclear Power Plant with a planned output capacity of 1.38 million kilowatts.

J-Power, the nation's leading electricity wholesaler, is building the nuclear power plant, which will use plutonium-uranium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel.

The company had expected the plant to go on stream in November 2014. But the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the resulting Fukushima nuclear crisis forced J-Power to suspend the project, which had been 37 percent complete...

(Mainichi Japan) August 31, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na016000c.html

[robdogbucky]

4. Strong typhoon nears Pacific coast

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011


Strong typhoon nears Pacific coast

Kyodo


A powerful typhoon traveling west-northwest Wednesday in waters off the Ogasawara Islands, about 1,000 km south of Tokyo, prompted the Meteorological Agency to issue a warning over storm surges and strong winds hitting the eastern coast.

Typhoon Talas is expected to near eastern and western Japan on Friday through Saturday, the agency said. The year's 12th typhoon was moving westward at a speed of 15 kph and packing winds of up to 180 kph, as of noon Wednesday. The atmospheric pressure at its center was estimated to be 965 hectopascals.

More than 200 mm of rainfall have been recorded since Sunday in the Ogasawara island chain. The agency also warned of downpours and thunderstorms Thursday in eastern and western Japan.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110831x3.html

[robdogbucky]

5. Disaster spurs more firms to embrace telecommuting

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011


Disaster spurs more firms to embrace telecommuting

Kyodo


Major companies are developing programs to let employees work from home so they can raise productivity, meet family needs and cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to commuting.


The March earthquake and tsunami has provided a powerful incentive for adopting telecommuting after throwing wide swathes of the country into chaos. Telecommuting would allow more employees to work from home via the Internet.

On the day of the 9.0-magnitude temblor, almost all trains in the Tokyo area and the Tohoku region came to a complete halt, forcing huge numbers of commuters to walk home or spend the night in their workplace.

Then the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and subsequent suspension of other nuclear power facilities forced companies to take steps to save energy amid the greatly reduced electricity supply...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110831a1.html

[robdogbucky]

6. Destroying five myths about earthquakes

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011


Destroying five myths about earthquakes


By SUSAN HOUGH

The Washington Post


1. Animals sense impending earthquakes...

...2. The frequency of large-scale earthquakes has spiked...

....3. Small earthquakes are helpful because they release pressure and prevent larger ones...

.....4. "Don't worry, it was just an aftershock..."

......5. Earthquakes are a West Coast problem...


Susan Hough is a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.


http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20110831a3.html