North Anna Nuke Plant: Quake May Have Exceeded Nuclear Plant's Safety Specs

But don't worry, says NRC, the plant is "less safe", not more dangerous.



From NBC News Washington (8/29/2011):

Despite being built to sustain more than the maximum expected shaking, last week’s earthquake may have exceeded the design parameters of the two nuclear reactors knocked offline.



That conclusion by Dominion Virginia Power and an independent government analysis prompted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to send inspectors to the nuclear plant in Virginia.



The Dominion-operated North Anna Power Station 12 miles from the epicenter of the 5.8-magnitude quake in Louisa County temporarily lost power, but there was no significant damage to safety systems, according to the NRC. A low-level emergency was declared temporarily Tuesday after the incident.



The additional inspection should not be interpreted to mean the plant is less safe, the commission said Monday.



Nuclear power plants are built with margins of safety beyond the maximum expected shaking, and the damage detected so far at North Anna has been minimal.



(The article continues.)

In the meantime, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency now says there are 14 newly identified active faults near the nuclear facilities in Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures: 5 of them around TEPCO's Fukushima I and II Nuclear Power Plants, and 9 around the Tokai II Nuclear Power Plant operated by Japan Atomic Power Company and Tokai Fuel Reprocessing Facility operated by Japan Atomic Energy Agency. (From Kyodo News Japanese, 8/30/2011)



Don't worry, says NISA, they are all minor faults incapable of producing major earthquakes.

More about → North Anna Nuke Plant: Quake May Have Exceeded Nuclear Plant's Safety Specs

Workers Entered Fukushima II (Daini) Reactor 4

While the attention is on Fukushima I, TEPCO has been quietly working on Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant located in Naraha-machi and Tomioka-machi.



On August 29, workers entered the Containment Vessel of Reactor 4 at Fukushima II for the first time since March 11. No details of the work inside the Containment Vessel have been released by TEPCO yet.



From NHK News (8/29/2011):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所とともに事故を起こした、福島第二原発では、２９日午前中から、４号機の原子炉を覆う格納容器の中に作業員が入り、内部が破損しているかや、放射線の量を調べています。



Workers entered the Containment Vessel of Reactor 4 at Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant to check the damages if any and measure radiation levels.



福島第一原発と第二原発で、事故のあと、格納容器に人が入るのは初めてです。



It is the first time after the accident that anyone entered the Containment Vessel of any reactor at either Fukushima I or Fukushima II.



福島第二原発は、３月１１日の地震で４つの原子炉がすべて自動停止したあと、４号機を含む３つの原子炉では、海水を使って原子炉を冷やす設備の一部が津波によって壊れ、十分に冷やすことができなくなりました。



At Fukushima II, after the automatic shutdown of all 4 reactors after the March 11 earthquake, part of the cooling systems that use seawater to cool the reactors was broken by the tsunami in three of the reactors including Reactor 4, and the reactors were not cooled sufficiently.



このうち、４号機の原子炉は、外部電源を使った冷却によって、地震の４日後に１００度以下の冷温停止状態となり、東京電力はその後も原子炉の状態が安定しているとして、２９日午前１０時すぎから、およそ１０人の作業員が原子炉を覆う格納容器の中に入り、内部の調査をしています。



Reactor 4 was brought to a cold shutdown 4 days after the quake using the cooling system with external power supply. TEPCO determined that the condition of the reactor was stable, and sent about 10 workers inside the Containment Vessel to conduct the survey of the inside.



福島第二原発の４号機は、原子炉の圧力が一時高くなるなどしており、東京電力は設備が壊れているかを調べるとともに、内部の放射線量や温度などを測定するということです。



The reactor pressure rose temporarily in Reactor 4 after the quake. TEPCO is going to check for damages as well as measure the radiation levels and temperature inside.



福島第一原発と第二原発で、事故のあと、格納容器に人が入るのは初めてで、東京電力は、２９日の調査で得られた結果を基に、今後内部で作業をするために必要な装備などを検討していくということです。



It is the first time since the accident that anyone entered the Containment Vessel in Fukushima I or Fukushima II. TEPCO says it will decide on the necessary work to be done inside the Containment Vessel, once it gets the result of the survey on August 29.

TEPCO is not just working on the Containment Vessel at Fukushima II by the way. It's been working on the heat exchanger for Reactor 4 also, as evidenced by TEPCO's announcement that one worker from a TEPCO affiliate company fell ill due to excess heat in the heat exchanger building while he was re-routing the temporary cable.



What is TEPCO up to? Restart Fukushima II? That's what the mayor of Naraha-machi wants TEPCO to do.



I also wonder whatever happened to the 3000 tonnes of contaminated water in the basement of the plant.

More about → Workers Entered Fukushima II (Daini) Reactor 4

More on Fukushima II (Daini): Loss of Function to Remove Residual Heat for Up to 2 Days and 23 Hours, March 11 to 14

I hardly paid any attention to Fukushima II (Daini) Nuclear Power Plant in the early days of the crisis, but I got curious reading the comment from the reader "Joe Neubarth" to the post on the eyewitness account of Fukushima II on the day of the earthquake:

"Core Damage comes from a loss of cooling. I know of no report of loss of cooling at that facility. Did they go dark when the one electrical transmission tower fell north of Fukushima during the earthquake? Did they then have a delay if the startup of Emergency Diesel Generators? If there was a delay or if they lost the EDG's totally THEN there might be a melt down, BUT I have not heard of this happening."

I didn't know either (or I totally forgot). Did they or didn't they? So I went to TEPCO's site and see what they say.



Fukushima II Nuke Plant has 4 reactors. When the earthquake hit on March 11, control rods were successfully inserted in all 4 reactors at 2:48PM. Then the tsunami hit, and at 6:33PM on March 11:

Occurrence of a Specific Incident Stipulated in Article 10 of the Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness (loss of function to remove residual heat)

This happened on Reactors 1, 2, and 4, at the same time.



Then, the Residual Heat Removal System re-started one by one, on March 14:



Reactor 1: 1:24AM, March 14

Reactor 2: 7:13AM, March 14

Reactor 4: 3:42PM, March 14



So, the reactors weren't cooled for as long as 69 hours in case of Reactor 4, and 55 hours in case of Reactor 1.　Is 55 hours long enough for the coolant (water) inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel to evaporate and for at least part of the fuel rods to be exposed and get damaged?



For all 4 reactors, the Reactor Coolant Filtering System came online between June 4 and July 17.



TEPCO also says the Suppression Chambers of Reactors 1, 2 and 4 suffered some event that caused the "loss of function to suppress pressure" in the morning of March 12. The function was restored on March 14 morning.



The above information is from TEPCO's status report on Fukushima II (Daini) Nuclear Power Plant as of August 21 (click to enlarge, or go to the link):

More about → More on Fukushima II (Daini): Loss of Function to Remove Residual Heat for Up to 2 Days and 23 Hours, March 11 to 14

#Fukushima II (Not I) Nuke Plant Eyewitness Account on March 11

White smoke seen rising from Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant in Tomioka-machi after the quake but BEFORE the tsunami.



It was related by people (husband and wife) who were in Kawauchi-mura, west of Tomioka-machi, quoting the unnamed acquaintance of theirs who works at the plant. They said they couldn't name the person as he is higher up in the organization.



The couple was speaking in an event organized by an independent journalist Yasumi Iwakami.

More about → #Fukushima II (Not I) Nuke Plant Eyewitness Account on March 11

Mayor of Naraha-Machi Wants Fukushima II Back Online

Now that Fukushima I Nuke Plant went bust, Fukushima II is all we've got, says Mayor Takashi Kusano of Naraha-machi, Fukushima Prefecture where Fukushima II Nuke Plant is located. He says "We'd better get the best use of it."

Naraha-machi is located in Futaba-gun ("gun" is a bigger region), which has both Fukushima I and Fukushima II.

A brief interview with the mayor that appeared on News Post Seven (7/24/2011):

人口約7700人の福島県双葉郡楢葉町は福島第一原発の南側に位置し、周辺20km内の「警戒区域」にあたる。町内には、原発事故への対応拠点であるJヴィレッジや現在運転停止中の福島第二原発が立地する。町民たちは、県内のいわき市や大沼郡会津美里町での避難生活を余儀なくされている。だが、遠く離れたところから、口先で「脱原発」を叫ぶのは容易い。草野孝・町長（76歳）が切実な事情を語る。

Naraha-machi in Futaba-gun in Fukushima Prefecture, population 7,700, is located south of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and within the 20-kilometer no-entry zone. J-Village, the staging area for the power plant work, and Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant are located in town. The town's residents have been living in shelters in Iwaki City and Aizu Misato-machi in Onuma-gun. Mayor of the town is Takashi Kusano (aged 76), who thinks it is easy for people who are far away from a nuclear power plant to call for "no nukes".

　＊　＊　＊
――都心などでは「脱原発」「反原発」を掲げるデモ行進も多い。

--In places like Tokyo, there are many demonstrations for "beyond nuke" and "no nuke".

「遠くにいて“脱原発”なんて言っている人、おかしいと思う。我々は必死に原発と共生して、もちろん我々もその恩恵でいい暮らしをした。だが同時に、東京の人たちに電気を送ってきたわけだ。何十年先の新しいエネルギーの話と、目の前の話は違う。あるものは早く動かして、不足のないように東京に送ればいい。我々地域の感情としてはそうなる」

"I don't understand anyone who says "beyond nuke" from a distance. We have tried our best to co-exist with the nuke plant, and yes of course we have benefited from it and have had a good life. At the same time, we've been sending electricity to people in Tokyo. New [alternative, renewable?] energy several decades in the future doesn't serve the need of today. What we have now [Fukushima II] we should operate, and send electricity to Tokyo. That's how we feel about it."

――とはいえ、第一原発であれだけの事故が起きた。第二原発についても不安は覚える。

--However, Fukushima I Nuke Plant caused such a big accident. People are fearful of Fukushima II also.

「もちろん、津波防御のための工事やチェックは必要だ。国がしっかりと第一原発の教訓を生かしていくべきところ。第二原発は崖と崖の間に位置していて、真っ平らなところにある第一原発とは地理条件が違う。今回の津波の被害も第一より軽微だった。

"Of course it is necessary to guard against tsunami. The national government should apply the lessons learned from Fukushima I. But Fukushima II is located between the cliffs, geographically different from Fukushima I which is on the flat land. Fukushima II wasn't affected by tsunami as much as Fukushima I.

　そうした違いがあるのに、“脱原発”ばかり。結局“復興”が二の次になってはいないか。双葉郡には、もう第二しかないんだ……。

So Fukushima II is different, but all we hear is "beyond nuke". "Recovery" comes the second. All that's left for Futaba-gun [his town is located within Futaba-gun] is Fukushima II.

　正確に放射線量を測り、住民が帰れるところから復興しないと、双葉郡はつぶれてしまう。第二が動けば、5000人からの雇用が出てくる。そうすれば、大熊町（第一原発の1～4号機が立地）の支援だってできる。

Futaba-gun will cease to exist unless the radiation level is accurately measured and the residents return where it's possible. If Fukushima II becomes operational again, that will create 5,000 jobs. Then we will be able to help out Okuma-machi (where Reactors 1-4 of Fukushima I Nuke Plant are located).

　それなのに、国も県も、何の情報も出さないし、相談もしてこない。新聞やテレビのニュースで初めて知ることばかり。町民の不満は限界に近づいている。言ってやりたいよ。“ばが（馬鹿）にすんのもいい加減にしろ”――と」

"But both the national government and Fukushima prefectural government don't give us information, they don't consult us. We learn things from newspapers and TV news. Frustration of the town's folks is reaching the limit. I wish I could say to the governments, "Stop taking us for fools!""

■聞き手／ジャーナリスト・小泉深

Interviewer: Shin Koizumi, journalist

I wonder if the mayor knows radioactive fallout from Fukushima I Nuke Plant has gone very far and affecting those people in the distance. I doubt it. But even if he does know, he would say that's just the price to pay for having received electricity from the nuke plant.

I also wonder if he thinks of other cities and towns within Fukushima Prefecture which may have even higher radiation level than his hometown thanks to Fukushima I Nuke Plant. They didn't have any say when Naraha-machi (Fukushima II) and Okuma-machi/Futaba-machi (Fukushima I) invited the TEPCO's nuke plants. Not that he should, but it would be nice if he at least thinks of his fellow Fukushima residents, while scoffing at people making the anti-nuke noise from a distance.

By the way, this same mayor wanted to invite Japan's first final processing plant for highly radioactive waste products from the Rokkasho reprocessing plant, back in 2009. Asahi Shinbun reported on March 15 in 2009 about the mayor's plan (no link to the original article at Asahi any more, but the full article has been copied at this site).

According to the article, just for applying as a candidate, the town would get 1 billion yen (US$12 million). If it is selected as the location for the final processing plant, total 160 billion yen (US$2 billion) in tax revenue and 1.7 trillion yen (US$22 billion) economic effects would be expected.

The town's revenue for 2007 was 6.1 billion yen (US$77 million), thanks to special tax revenue from Fukushima II Nuke Plant. Very rich for a town of 7,700 people.

More about → Mayor of Naraha-Machi Wants Fukushima II Back Online

#Fukushima II's Contaminated Water: Cobalt-60, Cesium-134, Cesium-137

More on the earlier post on 3,000 tons of contaminated water at Fukushima II Nuke Plant.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (1:28PM JST 6/8/2011):

東京電力は８日、福島第二原子力発電所の原子炉建屋などの地下階にたまった低濃度汚染水約３０００トンについて、浄化処理をした後、海へ放出する方針で、関係省庁や地元自治体と相談を始めたことを明らかにした。

TEPCO disclosed on June 8 that it has entered into negotiations with the government agencies and local municipalities to treat the contaminated water in the basements of the buildings at Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant and release it into the ocean.　

同原発では、津波で流れ込んだ海水に、配管類のさびなどから出たとみられる放射性物質のコバルト６０や、約１０キロ北 の福島第一原発から飛来したと考えられるセシウム１３７、１３４などが混ざった汚染水がたまっている。汚染濃度は、海への放出が認められている濃度限界の １０～３０倍程度。

The water is from the tsunami [on March 11], and it contains radioactive cobalt-60 which probably came from the rusty pipes, and cesium-137 and cesium-134 which are considered to have flown from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant 10 kilometers north. The level of contamination is 10 to 30 times the limit allowed for the discharge into the ocean.

Mainichi Shinbun Japanese reports the level of radioactive materials is "normal" for a nuclear plant during the normal operation.

Hmmm. So, in a normal operation, radioactive cesium will fly from a nearby nuke plant and somehow land on the basement of the enclosed reactor building. Right.

TEPCO's press release on the subject is not up yet.

More about → #Fukushima II's Contaminated Water: Cobalt-60, Cesium-134, Cesium-137

#Fukushima II (Not I) Nuke Plant Wants to Dump 3,000 Tons of Water into the Ocean

Did you even know that there was water in the basement of Fukushima II ("Daini")? And that water needs to be treated to remove the radioactive materials?

TEPCO fears that the power supply equipments in the basements may degrade from the salt water from tsunami, but if they have been sitting in the salt water for nearly 3 months, they are practically worthless, I would assume.

Again, a brilliant design by GE, having the power supply in the basement in a nuclear power plant right by the ocean in an earthquake/tsunami-prone country.

From Japan's TBS News (10:58PM JST 6/7/2011; the link will probably be changed or disappear soon, as is often the case with the TV broadcasters):

東京電力が、福島第二原発の原子炉建屋などに溜まっているおよそ３０００トンの水について、海に放出する計画を立てていることが分かりました。ただ、海産物への影響を懸念する農林水産省が猛反発していて、調整は難航しています。

It has been revealed that TEPCO wants to release about 3,000 tons of water in the reactor buildings [and turbine buildings, according to the news clip at the site] of Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant. However, fearing the negative effect on marine products, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is strongly against the plan, making the negotiations between TEPCO and the Ministry difficult.

　福島第二原発の原子炉は現在、冷温停止中ですが、震災で津波を被り大量の海水が原子炉建屋やタービン建屋などに溜まったままとなっています。このため東京電力は、大量の水を海に放出する計画を立て、政府関係者とすでに協議していることが分かりました。

The reactors at Fukushima II Nuke Plant are in "cold shutdown". But the tsunami after the March 11 earthquake inundated the reactor buildings and the turbine buildings. TEPCO planned the release of this large amount of water into the ocean, and has been negotiating with the government officials.

　塩分を含んだ水の量はおよそ３０００トンに達すると見られ、溜まっている期間も長引いているため、このままでは建屋の地下にある電源装置が劣化する恐れもあります。

This salt water is estimated to be about 3,000 tons. Since it has been sitting in the basements for long time now, the power supply equipments in the basements may degrade

　この水について東京電力は、法律で認められているより低いレベルにまで放射能の除染を済ませた上で海に放出すると説明していますが、海産物への影響を懸念する農林水産省が猛反発し、調整が難航しています。（07日22:58）

TEPCO says it will remove the radioactive materials in the water to the level lower than allowed by law before releasing it into the ocean. But the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is strongly against the plan, fearing the effect on the marine products.

More about → #Fukushima II (Not I) Nuke Plant Wants to Dump 3,000 Tons of Water into the Ocean