Japan Gone Nuts: NISA Declares No Contaminated Water Leak From Fuku-I, in the Past, Now, and the Future

At this point, I can only laugh. Totally predictable.

As the national government under Prime Minister Noda (who looks like a popular manga character Patalliro, except Pata is extremely smart) prepares to declare a cold shutdown "state" and is about to become the laughing stock of the world, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is busy rewriting the definition of "leak".

Tokyo Shinbun reports that NISA has decided to basically "nullify" the leaks of contaminated water from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in the past, and declare that there will be no leak in the future either, even if there is actually a leak or deliberate discharge. Why? Because NISA says so.

From Tokyo Shinbun (via Asyura, so that the link doesn't disappear; 12/16/2011):

保安院　海への汚染水　ゼロ扱い

NISA considers the amount of contaminated water into the ocean to be zero

福島第一原発事故で、何度も放射性物質を含む汚染水が海に漏出したが、経済産業省原子力安全・保安院は「緊急事態」を理由に、法的には流出量は「ゼロ」と扱ってきたことが本紙の取材で分かった。今後、漏出や意図的な放出があってもゼロ扱いするという。政府は十六日に「冷温停止状態」を宣言する予定だが、重要な条件である放射性物質の放出抑制をないがしろにするような姿勢は疑念を持たれる。

There have been several leaks of water contaminated with radioactive materials from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Tokyo Shinbun has found out through own investigation that the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has treated the amount of the leaks as "zero" from a legal [or regulatory] point of view, because it was a "state of emergency". The Agency has said it will treat the future leaks and deliberate discharges into the ocean the same way. The national government is scheduled to declare a "cold shutdown state" on December 16, but we are suspicious of the government's position that seems to ignore the suppression of the radioactive materials released from the plant, which is one of the important conditions [of the cold shutdown "state"].

　原子炉等規制法により、電力事業者は、原発ごとに海に出る放射性物質の上限量を定めるよう決められている（総量規制）。福島第一の場合、セシウムなどは年間二二〇〇億ベクレルで、年度が変わるとゼロから計算される。

The Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law specifies that the operator needs to set the maximum amount of radioactive materials released into the ocean for each nuclear power plant (total emission control). In the case of Fukushima I Nuke Plant, the maximum amount allowed is 220 billion becquerels per year for radioactive cesium. The amount is set to zero again at the beginning of a new fiscal year.

　しかし、四月二日に２号機取水口近くで高濃度汚染水が漏出しているのが見つかり、同四日には汚染水の保管場所を確保するため、東京電力は建屋内のタンクに入っていた低濃度汚染水を意図的に海洋に放出した。

However, a leak of highly contaminated water was found on April 2 near the Reactor 2 water intake, and TEPCO conducted a discharge of low contamination water that was stored in a tank inside the plant buildings to make space to store the highly contaminated water.

　これら二件の漏出と放出だけで、原発外に出た放射性物質の総量は四七〇〇兆ベクレル（東電の試算）に達し、既に上限値の二万倍を超える。

This leak and the discharge alone released radioactive materials outside the plant to the tune of 4,700 terabecquerels (according to TEPCO's estimate), already more than 20,000 times as much as the maximum amount allowed.

　試算に対しては、国内外の研究機関から「過小評価」との異論も出ている。

Both domestic and foreign research institutions have disputed TEPCO's estimate as "too low".

　今月四日には、処理済みの汚染水を蒸発濃縮させる装置から、二六〇億ベクレルの放射性ストロンチウムを含む水が海に漏れ出した。

On December 4, the water that contained 26 billion becquerels of radioactive strontium was found leaking into the ocean from the apparatus that evaporates and condenses the treated water.

　さらには、敷地内に設置した処理水タンクが来年前半にも満杯になる見込み。この水にもストロンチウムが含まれている。東電はできるだけ浄化して海洋放出することを検討している。漁業団体の抗議を受け、当面は放出を見送る方針だ。

Furthermore, the storage tanks that are set up inside the compound are expected to become full in the first half of the next year. The water in these storage tanks also contains radioactive strontium. TEPCO is contemplating the discharge of the water into the ocean after further decontaminating it, but facing the protest from the fisheries associations the company has said it will postpone the discharge for now.

　保安院は本紙の取材に対し、事故への対応が最優先で、福島第一は損傷で漏出を止められる状態にない「緊急事態」だった点を強調し、総量規制を適用せず、四七〇〇兆ベクレルの漏出をゼロ扱いする理由を説明した。

Responding to the questions from Tokyo Shinbun, NISA emphasized that responding to the accident came first, and Fukushima I Nuke Plant was in a "state of emergency" where it was not possible to stop the leak, due to the damage the plant had sustained, and that was the reason for not applying the rule of "total emission control" and treating the 4,700-terabequerel leak as zero leak.

　「緊急事態」に伴う特例扱いは「事故収束まで」続くとも説明したが、具体的な期間は「これからの議論」とあいまい。

The special treatment under the "state of emergency" will last until the accident winds down, according to the Agency; but it was vague as to how long the special treatment will last, saying "it will be decided in the future discussions".

　今後、仮に放射性物質を含んだ処理水を放出したとしても、ゼロ扱いを続けるという。

The Agency said even if the treated water that contains radioactive materials is released into the ocean, the Agency will continue to treat it as zero release.

Well, why should NISA stop at the water leak? They should simply declare that there was no emission of radioactive materials in the air, because the plant was in a state of emergency and in no shape to prevent the emission.

The national government declaring a cold shutdown "state" on broken reactors without even knowing where the corium has gone; government experts declaring 20 millisievert radiation is totally OK after one-month deliberation; the government agency declaring there was, is, will be no contaminated water leak or discharge from Fuku-I even if there was, is, will be a leak or discharge.

Gone nuts.

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