"Trap of Prometheus" Series Part 2 - Resignation of a Researcher (3/4)

(Recap from my previous "Prometheus" post:)

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Asahi Shinbun's "Trap of Prometheus" series is still on-going, and right now it's Part 3 about suppressing the scientific data. It continues to be an excellent article, and it continues to be printed on the "third page" (see my post on the Part 1 of the series).

I just finished reading the Part 2 "Resignation of a Researcher", which has 21 installments. Even though Asahi Shinbun is busy taking down the blog sites that compile all the series articles for convenient reading, they cannot suppress them all, and I read it on this blog.

In it, there is a very curious piece of information about SPEEDI simulation, the NISA and the PM's Office's decision to set the evacuation zone in concentric circles. In short,

• The Ministry of Education had ordered the SPEEDI simulations from the beginning and knew exactly where to send the official to do the actual measurements in Namie-machi, Fukushima;

• Not only the Ministry of Education ordered SPEEDI simulation calculations but also the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ordered its own SPEEDI simulation calculations with much more accuracy;

• NISA was setting the evacuation zone on March 11 evening based on the simulation;

• NISA stopped their work as soon as the PM's Office, based on no credible information or agreed-on procedure, announced the concentric circle evacuation zones.

Reading the Part 2 of the series, it sure looks as if almost everything bad that happened afterwards could have been prevented if the politicians and bureaucrats on the initial (and crucial) 1st and 2nd days of the nuclear accident had acted to protect the public, which I think is their constitutional duty. Instead, they played games, a turf war as if this was just another ordinary day in Kasumigaseki.
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In the Installment 11, we learned that the Ministry of Education knew exactly where to look for high radiation because it had SPEEDI simulation result, but it didn't bother to tell anyone about the radiation levels when the information would have made the difference. In the Installment 12, we learned that it was a surprise for the Ministry of Education when the PM's Office didn't follow the agreed-upon protocol to use SPEEDI and unilaterally issued an evacuation order in concentric circles.

In the Installment 13, we'll learn how the NISA was on the verge of coming up with the "correct" evacuation map that was not in concentric circles.

研究者の辞表（１３）送られなかった167枚

Resignation of a Researcher (13) 167 simulation maps that were never sent

SPEEDIの予測データはどう流れたのだろうか。（＝上地兼太郎朝日新聞記者）

How was the SPEEDI simulation data shared? (reporting by Kentaro Uechi)


震災から約4時間後の3月11日午後7時3分、国は原子力緊急事態宣言を出す。首相官邸に原子力災害対策本部ができた。

7:03PM on March 11, about 4 hours after the earthquake/tsunami. The national government declared nuclear emergency. The Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters was set up in the Prime Minister's Official Residence.

経済産業省の原子力安全・保安院は、対策本部の事務局を担う一方、同省別館3階に緊急時対応センター（ＥＲＣ）を立ち上げた。他省庁からも人がかき集められた。

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry acted as the secretariat of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters. But at the same time, it also set up the Emergency Response Center (ERC) on the 3rd floor of the annex building of the Ministry. People from other ministries were also called in.

SPEEDIの予測は本来、文部科学省が原子力安全技術センターを使って1時間ごとに行う。出来た予測図は保安院にも送られるが、保安院は独自の予測も出そうとした。それに向け、同日夜には同センターのオペレーターをＥＲＣに入れた。

SPEEDI simulation is normally done every hour by the Nuclear Safety Technology Center under the direction of the Ministry of Education and Science. The simulation map is sent to NISA. But NISA wanted to do its own simulation, and invited an operator from the Nuclear Safety Technology Center to its ERC.

保安院が独自で行った1回目のSPEEDI予測は午後9時12分に出た。翌12日午前3時半に福島第一原発2号機でベント（排気）をした場合、放射性物質はどう拡散するかという予測だ。放射性物質は南東の太平洋へ飛ぶ結果が出た。

The 1st SPEEDI simulation result by NISA came out at 9:12PM. The simulation was about how radioactive materials would disperse if the vent was done on Reactor 2 of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant at 3AM on March 12. The result showed that radioactive materials would be dispersed southeast over the Pacific Ocean.

12日午前1時12分に2回目の予測。今度は同時刻に1号機のベントを仮定した。これも海へ拡散していた。保安院は16日までに45回173枚の独自予測をはじき出した。

The 2nd simulation result by NISA was out at 1:12AM on March 12. This time, the assumption was the vent of Reactor 1 at 3AM. Again, radioactive materials would disperse over the ocean. By March 16, NISA would create its own 173 maps in 45 simulations.

保安院の予測の特徴は、様々な情報を集めて放射性物質の放出量を推測したことだ。放出量を1ベクレルと仮定した文部科学省に比べ、予測の精度は高かった。

What was unique about NISA's simulations was that they estimated the amount of radioactive materials that would be released, using various data. Unlike the simulations done by the Ministry of Education that used the unit emission (1 becquerels/hr), the accuracy of the NISA simulations was much higher.

官邸の地下には、各省実働部隊が詰めるオペレーションルームがある。保安院は課長補佐以下の職員数人をそこに出していた。保安院から予測図を受け取る専用端末も備（そな）えられていた。

There was an operation room in the basement of the Prime Minister's Official Residence where the working groups from various ministries were stationed. NISA had several officials (assistant manager class) there. The room was equipped with the dedicated terminal to receive the simulation maps from NISA.

官邸5階には首相の管直人ら災害対策本部の中枢が陣取っている。避難区域を決めたのはこの中枢であり、その決定にはSPEEDIの情報を参考にすることになっている。ということは、予測図は専用端末を経て５階まで運ばれていなければならなかった。しかし・・・。

The core members of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters including Prime Minister Naoto Kan remained on the 5th floor of the PM's Official Residence. It was this core members who decided the evacuation zone, and that decision was to be based on the SPEEDI information. Which means the simulation maps should have been received at the terminal [in the basement] and then carried to the 5th floor. But...

オペレーションルームの専用端末に送られたのは１，２回目の予測図だけ。保安院が独自で行ったSPEEDI予測のうち、４３回１６７枚はＥＲＣ内で止まっていた。

Only the 1st and the 2nd simulation maps were sent to the dedicated terminal in the operation room. Of all SPEEDI simulations that NISA did on its own, 167 maps from 43 simulations remained at [NISA's] ERC.

しかもプリントアウトして内閣官房の職員に渡したのは２回目の分だけだった。２回目の予測図はＡ４判で計３枚だが、そのうち何枚を渡したか、渡した後どうなったかも保安院は確認を取っていない。何故（なぜ）こんなことになったのか。

Worse, only the 2nd simulation maps were printed out and handed to an official of the Prime Minister's Office. There were three pages of maps for the 2nd simulation, but NISA does not know how many pages were handed to the official, or what happened to them afterwards. How did this happen?

Stay tuned for the last segment of this appalling saga of bureaucrats and politicians being bureaucrats and politicians (i.e. doing what they knew how, best) in the face of the grave nuclear accident.

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