Abe Administration's Plan to "Expedite" Corium Removal at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant As July Upper House Election Ploy?

The national government and TEPCO announced the revised "roadmap" (draft) for the decommissioning of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on June 10, 2013, in which the removal of corium (fuel debris) is to be expedited by one and a half year ahead of the original schedule.

And no one says/asks/wonders (except for people like "Happy" and Ryuichi Kino),

WHY?

Mainichi doesn't ask that kind of fundamental question either. Instead, it sort of speculates, by quoting someone else and not as the paper's opinion or analysis. Sort of cross between the tabloid newspaper and the government PR department.

What are the speculations? That it is a ploy to secure the win for the LDP in the coming Upper House election in July, and that it is to prompt residents in the former evacuation zones around the plant to return sooner.

From Mainichi Shinbun (6/10/2013):

福島第１原発:燃料位置さえ不明　廃炉予定も変わらず

Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Locations of fuel debris unknown, decommissioning schedule unchanged

「絵に描いた餅」「参院選へのアピール」の見方も

"Pie in the sky", may be just the ploy for the Upper House election

　東京電力福島第１原発事故で、原子炉に残った溶融燃料の取り出し開始を最大１年半、前倒しする改定案が１０日公表された。しかし、廃炉予定時期は「３０〜４０年後」と当初計画のままだ。溶融燃料の場所なども把握できていないのが実態で、新たな技術開発が伴わなければ工程表は「絵に描いた餅」になる可能性もある。

The revised roadmap was announced on June, in which the removal of fuel debris inside the reactors at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant would be expedited by the maximum one and a half year. The decommissioning was still scheduled to end sometime "between 30 and 40 years" from now. The reality is that we don't even know where the fuel debris is. Unless there is a new technology development, the "roadmap" could be nothing but "pie in the sky".

　福島原発では１〜３号機の原子炉に計１４９６体、１〜４号機の使用済み核燃料プール内に計３１０６体の核燃料がある。原子炉内の燃料は「デブリ」（塊の残骸）と言われ、金属などと混じり合って固まっているとみられる。燃料は１体約３００キロ。散らばった放射性物質の塊約４５０トンを遠隔操作で切断し、回収するには高度な技術を要する。

There are [or rather, was] total 1496 fuel assemblies inside the reactors in Reactors 1 through 3, and total 3106 fuel assemblies in the Spent Fuel Pools in Reactors 1 through 4. The fuel inside the reactors is called "debris" (corium), which is considered to be a mass of fuel mixed with metals. A fuel assembly weighs about 300 kilograms. It would require sophisticated technology to cut and collect the [total] 450 tonnes of radioactive fuel debris by remote control.

　前倒しには炉内を水で満たす「冠水」作業の成否も鍵になる。放射線を遮蔽（しゃへい）するための手法だが、福島原発では水をためる原子炉に穴が開いており、損傷場所の特定・修理作業が課題だ。

In order to expedite the removal, the key would be the success of "water entombment" of the reactors. It is a technique to shield radiation, but there are holes in the reactors at Fukushima I Nuke Plant which must be filled with water. Identifying and repairing the holes would be a problem.

　政府と東電は来年度中に、廃炉技術を精査したうえで、前倒しが可能かどうかを最終判断する。

The national government and TEPCO will examine the decommissioning technology, and decide by the end of the next fiscal year whether it is possible to expedite the removal of fuel debris.

　「前倒しは研究開発次第。場合によっては今より後ろにずれる」。経済産業省資源エネルギー庁の担当者も１０日の記者会見で、計画が遅れる可能性を示唆した。改定は茂木敏充経産相主導だったこともあり、前倒しは「政権交代の成果を示すための参院選へのアピール」との見方もある。

The official in charge at the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry indicated the possibility that the plan may be delayed, during the press conference on June 10, saying "Expediting the debris removal depends on the R&D. It could be pushed further back." The revision of the roadmap has been spear-headed by Minister of Economy Toshimitsu Motegi, and some see this push for expediting the debris removal as "PR for the Upper House Election to show the positive result of the regime change".


　廃炉に詳しい東京大の田中知（さとる）教授は「住民の早期帰還を促すために、計画を前倒ししたことを評価したい。だが、未知の技術が多く、政府は技術開発を今後も支援する必要がある」と話す。

Professor Satoru Tanaka of Tokyo University, who is knowledgeable about decommissioning, says, "I would like to commend the government for expediting the decommissioning schedule in order to encourage early return of the residents. However, there are many technologies to be developed, and the government need to continue the support for new technology development."

Dr. Satoru Tanaka was the 33rd chairman of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (aka "nuclear village").

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