Perilous
Times
Japan: TEPCO to cement Fukushima seabed to stem high
radiation leaks
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 22, 2012
The operator of Japan's tsunami-crippled nuclear plant is to cover
a large swathe of seabed near the battered reactors with cement in
a bid to halt the spread of high levels of radiation, the company
said Wednesday.
A clay-cement compound will be laid over 73,000 square metres
(785,000 square feet) of the floor of the Pacific in front of the
Fukushima Daiichi plant on the nation's northeast coast, said
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).
The area is equivalent to around 10 football pitches.
"This is meant to prevent further contamination of the ocean... as
sample tests have shown a relatively high concentration of
radioactive substances in the sea soil in the bay," a company
spokeswoman said.
Reactors at the plant went into meltdown after their cooling
systems were knocked out by the monster tsunami of March last
year, which was generated by a huge undersea earthquake.
Contaminated water from the plant leaked into the sea and
radioactive particles concentrated on the seabed. Scientists fear
ocean currents could pollute areas further afield.
The cover will be 60 centimetres (24 inches) thick, with 10
centimetres expected to be eaten away by seawater every 50 years,
the TEPCO official said.
Intense US questions early on over Fukushima
Washington (AFP) Feb 22, 2012 - US officials voiced concern about
a lack of information after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster and
issued a controversial warning not to go near the plant after
intense discussions, transcripts showed.
Transcripts of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, released ahead
of the one-year anniversary of the crisis, showed that US
officials at times relied on information from the media as Japan
initially declined assistance.
"We're getting various information from various sources, most of
which is either conflicting or supporting the little bit of
information that we actually have," Martin Virgilio, a senior
official in charge of nuclear safety, said in one transcript
shortly after the March 11 tsunami smashed into Fukushima.
Nuclear officials debated at length over a decision to urge
Americans to stay out of the 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius around
the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a wider no-go zone than that put in
place by Japanese authorities.
"If this happened in the US, we would go out to 50 miles. That
would be our evacuation recommendation," Bill Borchardt, the
commission's executive director for operations, said in the
transcripts.
The transcripts showed that the commission considered a larger
evacuation if the situation deteriorated or the wind changed
direction. Several European countries issued dire warnings and
urged residents to leave Tokyo.
The no-go zone advice came as Nuclear Regulatory Commission's
chairman, Gregory Jaczko, told a congressional committee on March
16 that Reactor No. Four's pool for spent fuel had dried, meaning
its ability to keep cool was severely diminished and radiation
would spike.
That assessment turned out to be inaccurate. The transcripts
showed Jaczko had discussed the spent fuel pool with aides,
knowing that he would be asked the question during his appearance
on Capitol Hill.
"I'm going to say (the assessment) is from a team that is in Japan
that is embedded that is working closely with the Japanese utility
and the Japanese regulatory agency, is that correct?" Jaczko
asked.
Senior officials replied in the affirmative, although one staff
member -- apparently speaking when Jaczko was no longer on the
conference call -- disputed the assessment.
Last year's earthquake set off a tsunami that left more than
19,000 people dead in Japan's worst post-World War II disaster.
While the disaster crippled the Fukushima plant, has directly
claimed numerous lives from radiation poisoning