(This post is by Christine McCann)

Here’s the latest of our news bulletins from the ongoing crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

State of Nuclear Politics in Japan

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda insisted again this week at a Diet committee meeting that the government will not restart reactors based on the nation’s power needs, but rather primarily will consider their safety. He made his comments in light of recent polls that show that the public largely distrusts the government assessment of reactors’ safety and has concerns that Noda will disregard public opposition to restarting idled reactors.

Yukio Edano, the head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, said this week that obtaining approval from the governors of Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures is imperative to restarting the idled reactors at the Oi power plant in Fukui Prefecture. “If we do not win acceptance from the two, it means that a certain level of local understanding has not been obtained.” However, both governors have said that they will refuse to grant approval.

In another sign that the move to restart reactors lacks public support, a new survey of over 900 Japanese citizens conducted by the Mainichi Daily News shows that 84% do not believe that the government’s stress tests on idled nuclear reactors are adequate barometers of safety. In addition, a majority of respondents, 62%, oppose restarting reactors #3 and #4 at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture, which is operated by Kansai Electric.

In the meantime, Edano has ordered utilities across Japan to submit estimates of power output and forecasts for this summer, threatening to punish any false reports, in an effort to determine if there will be shortages. Some power companies are predicting power deficits, but many people are now questioning those numbers in the wake of numerous cover-ups and inaccurate statements by the nuclear industry. Edano said, “I would like to collect the reports and impose punishments on power companies [that falsify reports] based on the Electricity Business Law. I will have experts study the reports to find whether power companies have hidden or overlooked any supply capacity.” Japan’s Electricity Business Law requires power companies to submit reports and supporting materials to Edano if he requests them. Refusal to do so can result in a fine of up to 300,000 yen.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120402004434.htm

Efforts to pass legislation to form the new Nuclear Regulatory Agency (NRA) have failed within the Diet, in spite of the fact that the agency was scheduled to begin operations April 1. Deliberations on the bill have not even started, making a quick resolution to the problem unlikely. For the time being, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) will continue to regulate nuclear power in Japan. However, public trust in these two agencies has largely eroded since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and many experts say that no reactors should be restarted until the NRA has officially been established and is operating.

In addition, both NISA and the NSC are facing uncertainty regarding how to function without having a sense of how long they will hold responsibility for regulating power. NSC Chair Haruki Madarame, whose appointment was due to expire on April 1, has agreed to stay on, although he has expressed significant concerns. “It’s irresponsible for the government to ask us to debate these issues without knowing how long our commission will last,” he said. Three other members’ appointments will expire on April 16, with no replacements confirmed. Environment Minister Goshi Hosono met with the three departing members last week, but was unable to convince them to rescind their resignations. The panel only has five members, and at least three are needed to make any binding decisions. With only two members remaining, including the Madarame, the NSC will effectively be rendered powerless.

The delay in creating the NRA is expected to have significant impact on the stress test approval process for restarting idled nuclear reactors in Japan. Currently, 16 power companies have submitted stress test results, but NISA and the NSC have approved only two, reactors #3 and #4 at the Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture.

A new government report released this weekend sharply revises the maximum height of a tsunami that could hit Japan’s Pacific Coast if a magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurs. The new estimates, based on updated research, say that a tsunami 34 meters high (112 feet) is possible. Previous estimates, released in 2006, gave the maximum tsunami height as less than 20 meters (66 feet). In addition, a separate report estimates that a huge earthquake could strike Tokyo, affecting a radius 20 times larger than previously thought. The Tokyo metropolitan area is home to over 33 million people.

The tsunami study revealed that Chubu Electric’s Hamaoka plant is at risk of a 21-meter tsunami, which would far exceed the 18-meter seawall the utility has been building. An earlier study predicted that the Hamaoka plant has a 90% chance of being hit by a magnitude 8.0 or more powerful earthquake within the next 30 years. NISA has ordered Chubu to submit a report on the impact of the revised tsunami estimates on the Hamaoka plant by April 16.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has released documents showing that it received 250 million yen ($3 million) from the Federation of Electric Power Companies, an industry group, as well as from individual nuclear power plant operators. The JAEA is an independent government agency that falls under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) and works to promote nuclear research and development. However, its agency officials hold prestigious positions on panels and committees at both the NSC and NISA, which are supposed to regulate nuclear power. Officials from power companies are refusing to comment on the donations.

The Osaka municipal and prefectural governments have drafted a proposal demanding the abolition of nuclear power by Kansai Electric “as soon as possible,” and plan to submit it at the utility’s annual shareholders’ meeting in June. Osaka City is the largest single shareholder of Kansai stock, but only owns 9%. However, it has convinced nearby municipalities, which also hold Kansai shares, to join its efforts in eradicating nuclear power. The draft proposal states that Kansai can restart reactors #3 and #4 at its Oi power plant only if it can guarantee “absolute safety.” The inherent dangers of nuclear power generation may make that an impossibility; even Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda recently admitted, “There is no such thing as absolute safety” where nuclear power is concerned. Noda was speaking before world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, is vehemently opposed to the restarts: “As things stand now, I am against [it]. It is absolutely impossible.”

TEPCO

Many local government officials are loudly protesting TEPCO’s 17% rate hike to businesses across Japan, complaining that the utility should make tougher cuts to its own personnel and operating costs before passing them along to large-lot consumers. Kiyoshi Ueda, Governor of Saitama Prefecture, said, “I don’t think TEPCO appreciates the fact that it is in an extraordinary circumstance,” referring to the excessive infusion of public funds TEPCO is receiving from the government.
 
TEPCO and the government-operated Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund have delayed submission of a new business plan to Yukio Edano, Minister of of METI, in spite of the fact that it was due by the end of March. TEPCO has been unable to find a replacement for current TEPCO Chair Tsunehisa Katsumata, who is being forced out, and Edano is unlikely to approve a plan without a new chairman in place. TEPCO now says it will try to submit a revised business plan by the end of April.

Contamination

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has revised food standards for cesium contamination. The new limits, which for most foods went into effect on April 1, lower the limits for cesium contamination in food to 100 Bq/kg for standard items like beef, rice, and vegetables (down from 500 Bq/kg); 50 Bq/kg for milk products and baby food (down from 200 Bq/kg) and 10 Bq/kg for drinking water (down from 200 Bq/kg).

In response to the new law, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries will purchase and destroy contaminated rice from Fukushima Prefecture that fails to meet the newly revised radiation standards. Much of the rice was harvested last October. Officials expect to collect as much as 37,000 tons of rice, and say the program could cost 9 billion yen.

Highly radioactive freshwater fish containing as much as 18,700 Bq/kg of cesium have been discovered in the Niida River in Iitate. Officials say that the measurements are the highest discovered since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred last March, but add that the fish (landlocked masu salmon,) were not sold to the public.

Officials in Fukushima Prefecture have admitted that huge amounts of radioactive soil removed from schools, parks, and other municipal areas during decontamination processes have not been properly disposed of, and in many cases, are sitting right next the areas from which they were removed, including schools and other areas frequented by children. A prefectural official said, “We haven’t been able to reach an agreement with local residents over where to set up temporary storage [of the soil].”

Scientists from California State University, Long Beach have published a new study in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, showing that radioactive iodine levels in giant kelp off the coast of California spiked one month after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. They contend that the discovery demonstrates just how quickly radiation spread across the Pacific Ocean. Iodine levels were over 250 times higher than normal. Researchers said that fish that eat kelp, including opaleye, halfmoon, and senorita, were likely contaminated as well, which could lead to thyroid irregularities or birth defects in the fish. However, they say that they do not pose a hazard to humans.

Evacuation

For the first time, the Japanese government has lifted a no-entry ban on certain parts of three municipalities within the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant: Tamura City, Kawauchi Village, and Minamisoma City, all in Fukushima Prefecture. Each town will be divided into three zones. In areas where cumulative radiation levels are below 20 millisieverts per year, residents may return with no restrictions. In areas where radiation exceeds 20 millisieverts but falls below 50 millisieverts per year, residents can visit their homes freely during the day, but cannot yet permanently return. Areas exceeding 50 millisieverts per year will remain off limits for at least five years. The government is hoping to repopulate the area; however, that may be an uphill battle. In Kawauchi, 90% of the village’s 3,000 residents have not yet returned out of fear of radiation and concerns about lack of access to jobs and essential services.

Compensation

Officials announced that Fukushima Prefecture will pay compensation to all two million residents. Amounts will vary by locality, with those from the most highly radioactive areas receiving the most compensation.

Other Nuclear News

A new study at the Polessie State Radiation and Ecological Reserve in Belarus, close to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, shows that animals there continue to exhibit high levels of radioactive cesium. The area was highly contaminated with cesium-137, strontium-90, and plutonium after the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986. Researchers say that cesium levels dropped between 2001 and 2005, but began to rise again between 2006 and 2010. They have not been able to determine the reason for increased levels. Animals tested included wild boar, Asian black bears, Japanese pheasants, copper pheasants, ducks, and deer.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) ordered an operational halt at California’s San Onofre nuclear power plant last week, until the plant’s operator, Southern California Edison (SCE), can determine the cause of excessive tube wear in steam generators that were installed only two years ago. In January, one of the tubes broke, and radiation may have leaked into the atmosphere. Over 92,000 people live within 10 miles of the plant.