Wednesday, August 3, 2011

TEPCO Is Not Providing English Translation of Its Report to NISA on Emergency Cooling Scheme That Assumes Fuel and Reactors Intact at Fukushima I

The Japanese government seems to be "instructing" TEPCO not to release certain information in English.

TEPCO submitted the report to its regulatory agency Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) "on the measures to continue water injection into reactors of Units 1 to 3 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station" on August 3. It's in Japanese only, and it may or may not be translated into English.

According to TEPCO:

We have provided a Japanese press release version of the instruction document received from NISA. However, at this time we have reserved the right not to provide an English version due to potential misunderstandings that may arise from an inaccurate rendering of the original Japanese text. We may provide the English translation that NISA releases in our press releases. However, in principle we would advise you to visit the NISA website for timely and accurate information.

(From TEPCO's English press release on August 3 explaining why they are releasing the information only in Japanese.)

The 34-page Japanese report is here.

It is an excellent report in "Extend and Pretend", full of elaborate diagrams and flow charts, which states that TEPCO will be able to resume water injection into the 3 (broken) reactors at Fukushima I Nuke Plant within 3 hours at most, more likely within 30 minutes, in case of an emergency which causes the water to stop for any reason - pump failure, power outage, even the total station blackout.

It almost makes me wonder that the reason for not providing English translation is not to avoid "potential misunderstanding" but out of embarrassment.

Why? Because:

  • The report talks about the fuel inside the Reactor Pressure Vessels;

  • It talks about the reactors as if they were sound;

  • It states that zirconium will start to interact with water at a certain temperature (1,200 degrees Celsius).

Most likely, there is no fuel left inside the RPVs at Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Even if there is, it is not fuel any more but "corium" - fuel, control rods, instruments, whatever inside the RPV, melted together. TEPCO has already admitted that there are holes in the RPV, and holes in the Containment Vessels. There is no zirconium left because there is no cladding left.

In fact, nowhere in the report does the company say anything about melted fuel, broken reactors, water in the basements, or extremely high radiation at certain locations in the plant.

But the report goes on to describe the elaborate backup pump system and power system as if what they are dealing with is normal (i.e. without cracks or holes at the bottom) reactors with intact fuel rods inside the RPVs with control rods safely deployed in a clean nuclear power plant, and all they need to worry is how they can continue the cooling; or as if the salt-encrusted molten mess of everything that was inside the RPV behaves just the same as normal fuel rods in a normal reactor.

One of the first responses required in almost all emergency cases described in the report requires the plant personnel hurrying to the parking lot on the ocean-side of the main administrative building to carry out the necessary task. What if it's again the earthquake/tsunami situation where the plant workers cannot come to the parking lot? Any contingency plan for that?

No.

Why was TEPCO asked by NISA to submit this report to begin with? So that the national government can begin the discussion with the local municipalities within the 20-kilometer radius evacuation zone for the return of the residents to their towns and villages. The discussion is to begin this month, and TEPCO's report will be used to reassure the residents that Fukushima I Nuke Plant is so stable now with the solid plans (to be approved by NISA, which no doubt will happen very soon) to cool the fuels in the reactors even in case of an emergency.

Remember the mayor of Naraha-machi, where Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant is located? He wants TEPCO to restart the plant so that 5,000 jobs will return to the town. He also wanted to invite the government to build the final processing plant of spent nuclear fuels in his town. He would be the first one to highly approve of the report so that his town can continue to prosper with nuclear money.

As Haruki "Detarame" Madarame said so well, "It's all about money, isn't it?"

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

To All Readers: Every post I read I am increasingly grateful to Ultraman (this blog's host) for his service - I believe he is changing the course of history by translating into English the lies that TEPCO and the Japanese government would like to hide from us! They aren't hiding it from the Japanese they are hiding it from those who don't speak Japanese! EVERYONE ELSE BUT THEIR OWN PEOPLE I encourage everyone who is grateful to this blog's host to DONATE TODAY! Click on the DONATE button on the upper right side of the page and contribute whatever money you can to support the continued reporting and translation that we have grown so dependent on.

It will be at least a week or two before I can afford to do this myself so I really do understand that not everyone can afford to contribute money to this blog but for those who can - let's show our appreciation with money.

Viola said...

Quote:

"According to TEPCO:

However, at this time we have reserved the right not to provide an English version due to potential misunderstandings that may arise from an inaccurate rendering of the original Japanese text."

That's not new. It's common procedure since month; just found the 1st at 7th, June and all the way long since then.

I don't find much at the NISA-site, though...
That's why I keep looking at your blog from daily - you don't get much information anymore if you don't speak japanese, apart from here.

Anonymous said...

"So that the national government can begin the discussion with the local municipalities within the 20-kilometer radius evacuation zone for the return of the residents to their towns and villages."

The residents will return to their villages, and we're to suppose people with radiation meters will be banned from the exclusion zone?

We will see how blunt this effort becomes.

Anonymous said...

In this report so far in this article, they are contradicting them self, regarding the fact that TEPCO them selfs admitted that the reactors had a melt thrue. And riddeled with holes.
And even wurse, its radiation is increasing and the situation looks even more dangerous than just some weeks ago.

Sorry to say that this goes from bad to wurse, and no posetiv developments what so ever regarding fallout. TEPCO have in reality done nothing. And we are cept in the dark.

And again, the consequecess are mounting and accumulating.

Do we simply have to sitt and wait for the deaths to rise in numbers in a scale, that eventualy will sett the alarm of.
I am afraid that is what the gov. and TEPCO is going to do, and I know that the endresult will be horrifying. Then it will be to late for the majorety of the People, they will be dangerously contaminated.
Then what.

I am numb.

Anonymous said...

Why are delusional incompetent greedy idiots occupying almost every high ranking position in governments and major corporations worldwide these days?

Anonymous said...

Question: is there the possibility that the corium not only melted through the RPV but that it carved a well into the basement of the reactors and into the water table?
There are a few inconsistency that might be explained considering this possibility. Sewer and ocean contamination, plutonium found in lots of places, neutron beams in first days of accident (?). I am not an expert, I know that there are many possible explanations for the above.
I just would like to know if the experts seriously considered and discarded this possibility as corium is known to carve into concrete quite quickly according to wikipedia page.
Thank you.

Anonymous said...

I live 5,800 miles from Fukushima and the rain here is radioactive, as is the tap water. The food produced here is not safe. My land is now contaminated. My future and that of my children grim.
It would be nice if the termites in charge over there would tell the truth once in awhile. I think the only way to apply pressure on your 'leaders' a global boycott all Japanese products.
B

Anonymous said...

Tepco polluted the planet , not Just Japan . Even the sheeple who can't tell up from down will figure this out as the death toll rises. First will be the
birth disasters of the Japanese people , followed by those living in the plume. This could turn nasty.

apeman2502 said...

This, ladies and gentlemen, is where corruption leads you. Be it 9-11, the oil well blowout at the Maconda prospect, or this disasterous radiation release giving out painful deadly cancers like millions of raffle tickets. Line the top criminals all up against a wall. Starting with the Americans who sited this facility after shaving down the hill to put it on the beach.

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