#Fukushima I NPP: 2.2 Million Bq/L of All-Beta from Water Sample from an Observation Well Near the Plant Harbor

What's more significant than the number is Fukushima Minyu's interpretation that the contamination may be from the water in the trench(es) that contain extremely highly contaminated water from April/May 2011.

From Fukushima Minyu (1/11/2014):

海側井戸で220万ベクレル検出　第１原発、上昇傾向続く

2.2 million becquerels [per liter] detected from a well near the harbor at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, upward trend continues

東京電力福島第１原発の海側にある観測用井戸の水から高濃度の放射性物質が検出されている問題で、東電は１０日、ストロンチウム９０などベータ線を出す放射性物質の濃度がさらに上昇し、過去最高値の１リットル当たり２２０万ベクレル検出したと発表した。

A large amount of radioactive materials have been detected from observation wells on the ocean side of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. On January 10, TEPCO announced that the density of all-beta including strontium-90 had further increased and the latest measurement was 2.2 million becquerels per liter, the highest recorded so far.

井戸は２号機の東側にあり、海までの距離は約４０メートル。水は９日に採取した。昨年１２月３０日採取分の２１０万ベクレルを上回り、依然として上昇傾向が続いている。

The well is located on the east side of Reactor 2, about 40 meters from the plant harbor. The water sample was collected on January 9. The density was even higher than the sample taken on December 30, 2013 which had 2.1 million becquerels/liter.

この井戸の近くには、２０１１（平成２３）年３月の事故直後に極めて高い濃度の汚染水が漏れた電源ケーブル用の地下道（トレンチ）があり、汚染が地中で拡散しているとみられる。

The well is located near the underground trench for electrical cables where water with extremely high contamination was found leaking right after the March 2011 accident. It is likely that the contamination is spreading into the surrounding soil.

Jiji Tsushin reports the same news but it says "The cause of the high all-beta measurement is unknown."

The level of radioactive cesium in this water was ND (not detected).

How "extremely high" was the contamination of the water that was found leaking from the Reactor 2 turbine building via the trench into the harbor in April 2011?

From TEPCO's press release, 4/5/2011:

• Iodine-131: 5.2 billion Bq/Liter (or 5.2 million Bq/cm3)

• Cesium-134: 1.9 billion Bq/Liter (or 1.9 million Bq/cm3)

• Cesium-137: 1.9 billion Bq/Liter (or 1.9 million Bq/cm3)

The air dose rate measured above the water in April 2011 was over 1 Sievert/Hour (survey meter went overscale).

If this trench water is spreading in the soil, it makes sense that cesium is not detected from the water, as cesium has been bound to the soil.

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For Japanese Politicians, Contaminated Water Leak at #Fukushima Is All About "Who to Blame" (Other Than Themselves, Of Course)

Now that the 2020 Summer Olympic is in the bag, Japanese politicians have resumed the blame game instead of actually trying to solve the problems of contaminated water storage and leaks at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

DPJ politicians are afraid of being criticized for their (lack of) response to the nuclear accident when they were in power. LDP politicians are afraid of being criticized for their (lack of) response to the nuclear accident now. But they can both criticize Ministry of Economy and Trade and Industry. So let's do that...

From Yomiuri Shinbun (9/8/2013; part):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の汚染水問題を巡る国会審議の日程が、与野党の駆け引きに翻弄されている。

Scheduling of the debate in the National Diet over the contaminated water problems at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is going nowhere because of political bargaining.

民主党は政府の対応を追及しようと閉会中審査の開催を求めるが、政権担当時の汚染水対応への負い目からか、腰が定まらない。一方の自民党にも政府への不満がくすぶっており、審査日程が決まる見通しは立っていない。

Democratic Party of Japan demands an "inspection while the Diet is not in session" [a special Diet procedure] in order to press on the government's response, but the party's effort lacks determination perhaps due to its own response to contaminated water while it was in charge of the government. On the other hand, there is a smouldering discontent inside Liberal Democratic Party over the government response, and there is no prospect that the date is set any time soon.

閉会中審査は、民主党の海江田代表が８月２６日の記者会見で求めた。これを受け、同３０日の衆院経済産業委員会理事懇談会で、民主党側が９月中旬までの開催を要求。だが、自民党が「政府の対応を見たうえで検討したい」と回答すると、民主党もこれをすんなりと受け入れた。

Head of DPJ Kaieda requested an "inspection while the Diet is not in cession" during his August 26 press conference. On August 30 during the informal gathering of the Lower House Economy and Industry Committee members, DPJ members requested that the "inspection" be started by the middle of September. However, they readily accepted the response from LDP that they would consider it after how the government responds.

...　民主党のちぐはぐな対応の背景には、自らの政権時代の対応を逆に批判されかねないとの懸念がある。海江田氏は６日、「民主党もただ単にケチをつけるのではなく、政権与党にあった時代の事故に対して大きな責任がある」と述べており、政府を攻めあぐねる展開も予想される。

Behind DPJ's inconsistent attitude is the fear that their own handling of the problems when they were in charge of the government may be criticized. Mr. Kaieda said on September 6 that "DPJ cannot just criticize LDP, as it shares a large responsibility for the accident that happened when the party was the ruling party". They may not be able to effectively attack the government on the issue.

一方の自民党も一枚岩ではない。政府の汚染水対策を議論した４日の経済産業部会などの合同会議では、出席議員から「今回の問題は経産省にある。今度（汚染水問題が）起こったら経産相が責任を取るということでいいのか」と批判の声が上がった。

On the other hand, LDP does not have monolithic solidarity either. In the meeting on September 4 to discuss the government response to the contaminated water problems, there were members of the Diet who criticized METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) saying "METI is the cause of the current problems. If it (contaminated water problem) happens again, are we correct in assuming Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry will take responsibility [and resign]?"

Where have I heard something similar just recently? Oh yes, about Tokay Reprocessing Plant and its highly radioactive liquid waste and plutonium. NRA Commissioner Oshima, who is from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just wanted to know if Ministry of Education would be held responsible, instead of being interested in understanding the situation and coming up with the solution.

While I wholeheartedly agree that METI is the cause of the current and past problems regarding the nuclear plant (most recently a METI career bureaucrat with his "assumption" about 300 tonnes of "contaminated water" into the ocean every day), it is just tired old déjà vu of politicians whose only interest is to cover their behind, whether they are DPJ politicians or LDP ones.

What's amazing to me personally is that after nearly two and a half years of abysmal track record of the national government when it comes to dealing with the nuclear accident and its aftermath (contamination, decontamination, compensating the victims, monitoring, etc.), many Japanese are still looking longingly to the national government for magical solutions.

"TEPCO cannot be trusted!" they say. But somehow they can still trust their government.

Soaring Nikkei index does wonders. It is up more than 300 points today, as investors celebrate 2020 Tokyo Olympic by buying up the stocks of construction companies and real estate companies.

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Head of #Fukushima Fisheries Associations Agrees to the Release of Uncontaminated Groundwater from Fukushima I Nuke Plant

After the career bureaucrat at the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy within the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry spoke of his assumption at the August 7, 2013 press conference that "300 tonnes of contaminated (ground)water" is leaking into the sea every day, I wrote in my August 9 post:

Oh well. The horse is out of the barn. The powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has spread baseless rumors around the world.

I'm starting to believe it is deliberate. The Agency of Natural Resources and Energy wants TEPCO to be able to dump uncontaminated groundwater drawn upstream into the ocean, but the talk with the fisheries associations in Fukushima has stalled after the detection of radioactive materials from the observation holes in the embankment in June.

Here's the bargain the Agency could use with the fishermen: Do you want the leak of "300 tonnes of contaminated groundwater" to continue? Or would you rather have us release uncontaminated groundwater drawn upstream, and keep the contaminated groundwater in tanks?

I may be right after all. The head of the federation of the fisheries associations in Fukushima Prefecture wants to have uncontaminated groundwater released, aka "groundwater bypass plan", rather than having contaminated groundwater leaking unchecked. And he wants all the associations to come up with "yes" answer.

Here's the latest from Nikkei Shinbun (8/21/2013):

地下水の海洋放出、福島県漁連会長は容認

Head of the Fukushima Prefecture Fisheries Associations approves release of groundwater into the ocean

福島県漁業協同組合連合会の野崎哲会長は20日、「汚染水の流出を止めるという漁業者の要求実現の一助になる」とし、放射性物質に汚染される前の地下水を海に流すことを容認する意向を明らかにした。28日の組合長会に向け各漁協に意見集約を急ぐよう求めた。県漁連が開いた組合員向けの説明会で語った。

Mr. Tetsu Nozaki, head of the Federation of Fisheries Associations in Fukushima Prefecture, signaled his intention to agree to the release of groundwater drawn before it becomes contaminated with radioactive materials into the ocean, as "it will be helpful in realizing the fishermen's goal of stopping the leak of contaminated water". He requested each fisheries association to come up with the opinion as an association [i.e. agree to the release, in Japanese parlance], in preparation for the meeting of the association heads on August 28.

同席した政府と東電の担当者は汚染前の地下水をくみ上げ、海に流す「地下水バイパス計画」に改めて理解を求めた。漁協関係者から「早く結論を出さないと汚染水の放流に発展しかねない」として計画に理解を示す声も上がった。

The officials from the government and TEPCO who attended the meeting asked again for understanding of their "groundwater bypass plan", in which uncontaminated groundwater will be drawn and released into the ocean. There were some at the meeting who were sympathetic to the plan, as "it may well lead to the release of contaminated water if we don't come to a conclusion soon."

ただ県内では漁獲物の風評被害への懸念も根強く、各漁協が同意でまとまるかはなお流動的だ。福島県の佐藤雄平知事は20日の関係部長会議で「国家としての非常事態」と厳しい認識を表明。「国が前面に立って対処してもらいたい」と述べ、政府の対応を促した。

However, there is a persistent fear of baseless rumors in Fukushima Prefecture on catch of fish, and the situation remain fluid whether the fishermen agree [to the bypass plan] as a whole. Governor of Fukushima Yuhei Sato spoke harshly in a meeting on August 20 that this was "a national emergency". He demanded the response from the national government, saying "The national government should lead the effort."

Mr. Nozaki speaks as if he was unaware of the 300-tonne highly contaminated water leak from a RO waste water tank. Unlike the slightly contaminated groundwater leaking through the embankment soil into the open culvert and the plant port, the drain near the RO waste water tank area (H4) goes directly to the ocean OUTSIDE the port.

Governor Sato, who was so glad that he became famous because of the Fukushima nuclear accident, wants the national government (= Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Agency of Natural Resources and Energy) to lead the work at the plant. Good luck.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: 1st Well in Operation, 13 Tonnes of Groundwater Drawn in 6 Hours

Assuming the same pace throughout the 24-hour period, it would be only 52 tonnes of water - about half of much publicized 100 tonnes per well per day, totaling "300 tonnes of contaminated water" assumption by METI.

From TEPCO's English press release, from the Japanese email alert for the press, 8/9/2013:

Status of Pumping up Groundwater from the Water Collection Pit at the East Side of the Unit 1, 2 Turbine Building in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

At 2:10 PM today (on August 9), groundwater was pumped up from the water collection pit (south) installed at the east side of the Unit 1, 2 Turbine Building and transferred to Unit 2 vertical shaft C.

Amount of groundwater pumping up from the water collection pit as of 8:00 PM today (on August 9) is approx. 13m3. Of those, approx. 3m3 are transferring to the vertical shaft C.

So, TEPCO is pumping up the groundwater in the embankment area to dump it back in Shaft C, where the highly contaminated water from April 2011 has been sitting. TEPCO's representative at yesterday's meeting of Nuclear Regulatory Authority's working group on dealing with contaminated water at the plant was saying the operation would be useful in diluting the density of radioactive materials in the highly contaminated water.

Uh...

Here's the pit that became operational (from TEPCO's Photos and Videos Library, 8/9/2013):

Groundwater is pumped up by the suction pump (small black thing on the left), then transferred to the filtration tank (red tank in the middle), then to the gray water tank. Then it will be transported to Shaft C in the flexible blue tube you see coming out of the gray tank.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Historical Radioactive Cesium Levels in Seawater Near Water Intakes Inside Plant Harbor - From 71 Million Bq/L to 200 Bq/L in 2 Years

(Warning: the post is very long. It's for my record.)

The post was being written for my Japanese blog in early August, but I may write it up for here as well for my record, in light of the off-handed remark of "300 tonnes of contaminated water leaking every day" by a career bureaucrat from the most powerful government ministry in Japan.

The remark was actually a mere assumption by the official and his office but was reported as "fact" by the reporters from Japanese and foreign media who were present at the press conference and who heard the official repeat the word "assumption" a number of times throughout the press conference.

It was not just established mass media but also some independent journalists who decided to go with the "300 tonnes of contaminated water" assumption, because it fits their narrative of hopeless situation at Fukushima (plant) and in Fukushima (prefecture).

The latest article (8/11/2013) by one of the independent journalists covering the nuclear accident presents an amazing story - a hearsay supposedly directly from workers at the plant that this "300-tonne-a-day contaminated water" is flowing like a river, no, it's worse, it's pouring out like a waterfall. Needless to say, this article in Japanese is being retweeted at a furious pace. No doubt it will be translated into English and spread throughout the world very soon, if not already.

After the remark by the METI bureaucrat was widely reported as "fact", the mental image held by people outside Japan (and many inside) seems to be that the "highly" contaminated water directly from the basements of the turbine building at Fukushima I Nuke Plant is flooding into the Pacific Ocean unchecked and polluting marine life, some experts claim as far away as in southern hemisphere.

The actual "highly" contaminated water, whose contamination is so high that it is expressed in Bq/cm3 instead of Bq/Liter (as in "millions of becquerels of radioactive cesium per cubic centimeter"), sits in the underground trenches coming from the turbine buildings. It's been mostly sitting there since April and May 2011.

These trenches may have been damaged by March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, or by subsequent strong aftershocks, and part of this water may have been seeping into the layers of crushed stones beneath the trenches and into the surrounding soil, which then gets mixed with the groundwater that's been flowing from the mountain-side (west side) of the plant. Radioactive cesium, all-beta including strontium, tritium, and several other gamma nuclides have been detected in the sample water (probably this mixture of groundwater and the trench water) from the observation holes dug along the embankment.

The density of radioactive cesium in the sample water from the observation holes is expressed in liter instead of in cubic centimeter, as the contamination is far less than the water in the trenches, and as the contamination of seawater is measured in liter. Instead of millions of becquerels of cesium per cubic centimeter (or in liter, billions of becquerels) as in the water in the trenches, the sample water from the observation holes has between 10s and 1000s becquerels of cesium per liter.

And what about the seawater itself? The seawater samples have been taken almost every day since April 2011 from right outside the water intakes for the reactors, which is located along the embankment. TEPCO calls it "open culvert". Each water intake location is somewhat sealed off by silt screen, and the open culvert is also somewhat sealed off by silt screen from the rest of the plant harbor.

Diagram from TEPCO's "Enhancement of Monitoring Plan at the East Side of Unit 1-4 Turbine Buildings and in the Port at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station", 6/26/2013, showing the plant harbor and the open culvert area (in gray) where the water intakes are located. Silt screens are indicated in curved lines in red:

As of August 1, 2013, the highest measurement of radioactive cesium in seawater was 66 becquerels/liter of cesium-134, and 140 becquerels/liter of cesium-137, inside the silt screen of Reactor 3 water intake in the open culvert. Outside the silt screen, the numbers drop to 13 Bq/L for cesium-134, and 23 Bq/L for cesium-137.

Maximum amount of cesium in discharge water allowed for Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant BEFORE the accident, per liter:

• Cesium-134: 60 becquerels/liter

• Cesium-137: 90 becquerels/liter

From TEPCO's Nuclide Analysis Result Page (in Japanese only):

Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant nuclide analysis of seawater inside the plant harbor, released on August 1, 2013

• Unit：　Bq/L (liter)

• Maximum density：　Seawater at Reactor 3 water intake screen (inside the silt fence) Cesium-134　66 Bq/L, Cesium-137　140 Bq/L　

Now, going back in time, what was the density of radioactive cesium in the extremely contaminated water that was pouring out from the crack in the concrete wall near the Reactor 2 water intake screen in April 2011?

• Cesium134　1.8 million Bq/cm3 (or 1.8 billion Bq/Liter）

• Cesium-137　1.8 million Bq/cm3 （or 1.8 billion Bq/Liter）　

(Photo from TEPCO's Photos and Videos 4/2/2011)

What about the density of radioactive cesium in seawater when the above "highly" contaminated water was pouring out of the crack?

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside　the plant harbor, released on April 5, 2011:

• Unit：　Bq/cm3 (cubic centimeter, or 1/1000 of liter)

• Maximum density：　seawater at the Reactor 2 water intake screen　Cesium-134　35,000 Bq/cm3　（or 35 million Bq/Liter）, Cesium-137　36,000 Bq/cm3　（or 36 million Bq/Liter）

The density of radioactive cesium in seawater then rapidly fell down. Nearly three months later, the density was low enough to be expressed in becquerels per liter, instead of becquerels per cubic centimeter.

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside the plant harbor, released on July 31, 2011

• Unit：　Bq/L (Liter)

• Maximum：　Seawater in front of Reactor 3 water intake screen (inside the silt fence) Cesium-134　1,300 Bq/L, Cesium-137　1,500 Bq/L

Expressed in liter, the density of radioactive cesium in seawater went from 71 million Bq/L in April to 2,800 Bq/L in July, 2011.

By the end of 2011, the density of radioactive cesium in seawater right in front of water intake screens dropped to three digits, from 4 digits in July.

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside　the plant harbor, released on December 22, 2011

• Unit：　Bq/L　

• Maximum：　Seawater in front of Reactor 3 water intake screen (inside the silt fence)　Cesium-134　310 Bq/L, Cesium-137　340 Bq/L

One year later in December 2012, the density further dropped to two digits, but still above the legal limit for discharge water from the normal nuclear power plant (Cs-134: 60 Bq/L, Cs-137: 90 Bq/L).

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside　the plant harbor, released on December 31, 2012

• Unit：　Bq/L　

• Maximum：　Seawater in front of Reactor 3 water intake screen (inside the silt fence)　Cesium-134 40 Bq/L, Cesium-137　76 Bq/L

In early 2013, the density dropped below the legal limit of radioactive cesium in the discharge water from the normal nuclear power plant (again, Cs-134: 60 Bq/L, Cs-137: 90 Bq/L).

Here's from April 1, 2013, one day before TEPCO started the construction of the impermeable wall by driving down sheet piles with vibratory hammer along the embankment.

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside　the plant harbor, released on April 1, 2013

• Unit：　Bq/L　

• Maximum：　Seawater in front of Reactor 4 water intake screen (inside the silt fence)　Cesium-134　17 Bq/L, Cesium-137　49 Bq/L

The data released on April 2 and April 3 do not show much difference. However, from the seawater sample taken on April 3, one day after the construction using sheet piles and vibratory hammer started, radioactive cesium was found again exceeding the legal limit for Cs-137.

Nuclide analysis of seawater inside　the plant harbor, released on April 4, 2013

• Unit：　Bq/L　

• Maximum：　Seawater in front of Reactor 3 water intake screen (inside the silt fence)　Cesium-134　59 Bq/L, Cesium-137　110 Bq/L

Depending on the locations, some samples show the density of radioactive cesium one order of magnitude larger than the samples taken before the start of the construction work, from two digits to three digits. Since then, the density of cesium in the seawater in front of water intake screens has been fluctuating between two-digit numbers and three-digit numbers.

Here's a chart plotting the density of radioactive cesium in seawater at the Reactor 3 water intake screen, inside the silt fence. It's a composite of the chart released on April 20 and the chart released on August 1. The thin red line indicates 10 to the power of 2 (1.0E+2). (Y-axis is in log scale.)

Toward the end of April, as the construction of the impermeable wall with sheet piles progressed, the density of radioactive cesium in seawater started to fluctuate wider.

Still, as far as radioactive cesium is concerned, the seawater in front of the water intake screens has not at all reached the level of contamination that obtained when the truly highly contaminated water from the Reactor 2 turbine building was pouring out into the ocean in April 2011.

It is safe, I believe, to assume that the highly contaminated water that still exists in the trenches and which has radioactive cesium in billions of becquerels per liter is not leaking in great quantity into the seawater yet.

If the density of radioactive cesium in the seawater in front of the water intake increases to 4 digit numbers per liter, I might start to worry. So far, it hasn't happened, despite TEPCO's (and METI/Agency of Natural Resources and Energy's) ill-conceived attempt to stop the groundwater flow with waterglass.

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Reporting of the "300 Tonnes of Contaminated Water Leaking Every Day from #Fukushima I Nuke Plant" Assumption by METI Official

(UPDATE) Here comes IAEA, pledging support to Japanese government in dealing with contaminated water leak at Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Jiji Tsushin in English reports "IAEA Ready to Help TEPCO over Tainted Water Leak". ("Tainted"??)

=====================

The press decided to simply quote the government official, despite their misgivings.

There's a word for that in Japanese: げたを預ける (to leave a matter completely in someone else's hand)

It is rather apparent if you watch the video of the press conference on August 7, 2013 that reporters from Japanese press and foreign press either did not understand what Mr. Tatsuya Shinkawa, official in charge of dealing with the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident at the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy at METI, said about the "300 tonnes leak", or had varying degrees of doubt as to the veracity of the numbers.

Particularly when Mr. Shinkawa, to answer the persistent questions from the reporters throughout the press conference from Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, NHK, Wall Street Journal, AP and others, had to repeatedly cite TEPCO's numbers which had nothing to do with the actual or potential leak:

TEPCO told us they will start drawing 100 tonnes of water each day from three wells.

On hearing that from TEPCO, the conclusion at his place of work, the most elite ministry of the Japanese government with Japan's best and brightest, was that this water must be leaking right now, because the wells were yet to be operational.

Judging by the questions and how the reporters asked them, it is clear that they didn't buy Shinkawa's "assumption" or hypothesis (仮定), the word Shinkawa repeatedly used.

But what happened when the reporters wrote up their articles for their respective papers?

With the exception of Tokyo Shinbun reporter, they made no reference to how Mr. Tatsukawa came up with the number ("assumption" from TEPCO's numbers which were not about the amount of leak), and treated Tatsukawa's remark at face value, as a given fact that officially came from the national government.

If it is wrong, it's Tatsukawa's and the government's problem, not the reporters. What can go wrong by citing the government official? And in the process of quoting the government official, so what the groundwater morphed into either "highly contaminated water" or "nuclear waste water"? What minor difference!

The amount of groundwater flowing into the ocean is unknown. It could be 300 tonnes, it could be more. It could be less. The degree of contamination is known, to the extent of the actual monitoring of the seawater right outside the water intakes at the embankment; the data shows radioactive cesium in slightly over 100 Bq per liter at the maximum, no radioactive iodine.

The highest measurement of radioactive cesium is in front of the Reactor 3 water intake. At other locations, the density of cesium is between 10 and 50 percent of the legally allowable density in discharge water from a nuclear power plant. Tritium and all-beta are not regularly monitored. (Here's the latest seawater monitoring data, released by TEPCO on August 10, 2013.)

The video archive of the August 7, 2013 press conference at IWJ: http://iwj.co.jp/wj/open/archives/95298

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"300 Tonnes of Contaminated Water" Leaking from #Fukushima I Nuke Plant: "It's Just an Assumption", Says Energy Agency Official

"300 tonnes of highly contaminated water is leaking everyday from Fukushima I Nuke Plant! The government official in charge of the nuclear accident in the Ministry of Economy admitted!"

This bad news is all over the world, for a change. Even a financial analyst is talking about it (the groundwater has morphed into highly contaminated nuclear waste water in his article).

Is it? Did he?

Reporter: So, uh... you say 300 tonnes of contaminated water per day is leaking into the ocean. What is the basis for your estimate? How did you calculate? Any monitoring data or anything?

Tatsuya Shinkawa, in charge of dealing with the Fukushima nuclear accident at the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry: Uh... The amount of water that will be drawn is going to be 100 tonnes for each well, as we learned from TEPCO at our hearing.

Reporter: Amount of water to be drawn? So, what you're saying is a mere assumption?

Shinkawa: Yes it is, in that sense.

Reporter: I don't quite understand your logic that the entire 100 tonnes of water [per well] is contaminated.

Shinkawa: Naturally, the groundwater flows from the mountainside. If the amount of water to be drawn is 100 tonnes, we supposed those 100 tonnes must have been leaking.

Reporter: How do you know all the water is contaminated?

Shinkawa: At least the water that comes to this particular area may be contaminated, we think.

Watching the video of the August 7, 2013 press conference by the Nuclear Disaster Response Headquarters of the Japanese national government where it all started (at Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ archive), I just have to laugh so hard that my sides start to hurt. The above dialog is from about 55 minutes into the 2-hour video.

Probably more than 80% of the press conference was about "300 tonnes of contaminated water". Toward the end, both Mr. Shinkawa and the reporters were too tired to realize they were just repeating themselves over and over again.

Probably due to fatigue, Reuters' reporters wrote in their article (8/7/2013):

"Shinkawa described the water as "highly" contaminated."

I watched the entire press conference, and didn't hear him say that.

Probably due to fatigue also, almost all Japanese newspapers and news agencies simply wrote what Shinkawa said as truism, except for Tokyo Shinbun whose reporter doubted the wisdom of basing the countermeasures on such a flimsy assumption.

Here's one-page document that Mr. Shinkawa distributed to the press:

Oh well. The horse is out of the barn. The powerful Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has spread baseless rumors around the world.

I'm starting to believe it is deliberate. The Agency of Natural Resources and Energy wants TEPCO to be able to dump uncontaminated groundwater drawn upstream into the ocean, but the talk with the fisheries associations in Fukushima has stalled after the detection of radioactive materials from the observation holes in the embankment in June.

Here's the bargain the Agency could use with the fishermen: Do you want the leak of "300 tonnes of contaminated groundwater" to continue? Or would you rather have us release uncontaminated groundwater drawn upstream, and keep the contaminated groundwater in tanks?

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Ministry of Economy's Money Grab Using #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination

(UPDATE) And just to show it knows something about contaminated water, the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy under METI just declared that 300 tonnes of contaminated water is flowing out to the ocean every day from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, according to Kyodo News.

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There may no line of command and they may be "blind", but that doesn't stop Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and its Minister Toshimitsu Motegi from using the "crisis" over the contaminated groundwater at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant for money grab.

As Japanese and foreign media's coverage of "highly contaminated" groundwater that may have gone over the top of the underground impermeable wall into the "ocean" (open culvert outside the water intakes inside the plant harbor) without much raising the radioactivity in the seawater there reaches a crescendo, Motegi and his Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry which (surprisingly) still retains the main role in Fukushima I Nuke Plant decommissioning ride to the rescue.

According to the Japanese papers (Asahi, Nikkei, Jiji and others) are reporting on August 7 that:

• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will ask for at least 40 billion yen from the fiscal 2014 national budget for the construction of the frozen impermeable wall to surround the reactor buildings and turbine buildings at Fukushima I Nuke Plant to stop the groundwater from entering the buildings;

• Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will formally instruct Minister of Economy Toshimitsu Motegi to hurry up with countermeasures to deal with the contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuke Plant during the meeting of Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters [yes, it still exists] in the afternoon of August 7;

• "There is no precedent in the world to build such an extensive frozen wall like this", says Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, "So the national government should step forward to carry out the project".

Fiscal 2014 starts in April 2014. Some urgency. And the national government wants to take credit because it will be the first ever in the world (their favorite - "No.1! Number One!"). Or at least so in their mind.

That indicates to me that METI and Motegi are using the problem of contaminated groundwater that may be slowly saturating the space between the turbine buildings and the seawall and potentially destabilizing the underground trenches as a tool to grab money for themselves, to show the Ministry is still powerful and influential in distributing goodies to their buddies (in this case minimum 40 billion yen to Kajima to build the frozen wall).

Nikkei Shinbun makes a curious put-down on Nuclear Regulatory Authority:

昨年９月に経産省から独立して発足した原子力規制委員会は当初、廃炉作業から距離を置き、官庁の監督体制も弱まった

Nuclear Regulatory Authority, which was created separate from Ministry of Economy, Trade in Industry in September last year, distanced itself initially from the decommission work, and the regulatory oversight by ministries weakened.

As if NRA had any choice, and as if it was because of NRA that the oversight weakened.

The tenor and timbre of the Japanese papers are:

Finally! National government is doing something! and it will be Ministry of Economy in charge. Isn't it wonderful?

Nuclear Regulatory Authority's Kinjo said in the Reuters' article that TEPCO's "sense of crisis is weak". The same can be said about METI and Abe's government. For that matter, it can be said about the entire populace.

Normalcy bias has been pervasive and strong in Japan from the day one of the nuclear accident.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Accident: The Blind (METI) Still Leading the Blind (TEPCO)

So Nuclear Regulatory Authority finally butted in, formed its own committee and started ordering TEPCO to do something (probably wrong "something", again, but...) over the groundwater saturating the embankment at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant because of TEPCO's ill-conceived underground impermeable wall.

I was wondering why it took NRA until very recently to actively participate in dealing with the accident, until I read independent journalist Ryuichi Kino's tweet just now. It is because Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is in charge of decommissioning the plant:

福島第一の現場で何かが行われているのか、何を基準に工法や、工事の優先順位を決めているのか、この判断理由が外からはまったく見えない。事故収束作業の管理監督をしているのは資源エネルギー庁を事務局とする廃炉対策推進会議だけども、エネ庁はコストの確認をしていない。

What is going on at Fukushima I Nuke Plant? Who decides what method of construction to use on what criteria, and who decides which construction to be given the priority? From outside, the decision-making is completely opaque. The entity in charge of managing and supervising the works to control the plant is the Council on Decommissioning Measures with the Agency of Natural Resource and Energy [under Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry] acting as the secretariat, but the Agency does not know the cost of works at the plant.

The Council was set up by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as of February 8, 2013, and so far has had 5 meetings. The members are (information from TEPCO):

• Chairman: Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

• Deputy Chairman: Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

• Council members: President of TEPCO, Director General of JAEA, President of Toshiba, President of Hitachi

• Secretary: Advisor to Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in charge of energy and technology

• Observer: Nuclear Regulatory Authority/Nuclear Regulatory Agency

Nuclear Regulatory Authority/Nuclear Regulatory Agency is just an observer, which in case of Japan has a privilege to sit in the meeting and literally "observe" the meeting but not say much (or at all).

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) had to relinquish NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) in September last year when the new nuclear regulatory body (NRA) was created. Or so I thought.

Reuters' article from yesterday quoting Mr. Kinjo, who is the observer to this Council, fails to mention that it is still good old METI in charge of decommissioning work.

Kino says the Secretary to the Council is a career bureaucrat, and the current one was rotated into this position in June this year. Just a part of career stepping stone for bureaucrats at the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy.

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry is ex-McKinsey consultant Toshimitsu Motegi, who just dispensed consulting advice to "the parties concerned" regarding Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant.

For politicians and bureaucrats, it's "Après moi, le déluge". Literally.

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Reuters: Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an "emergency", water could breach surface

OK, it may be an emergency after all.

From Reuters Japan, who regularly sends reporters to press conferences by TEPCO and Nuclear Regulatory Authority, on the groundwater contamination along the embankment of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant (8/5/2013):

EXCLUSIVE-Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an "emergency"

* Fukushima radioactive groundwater could breach surface, regulator says

* Watchdog panel head says Tepco's 'sense of crisis is weak'

* Official says leaks into ocean exceed legal limits

* Tepco apologises, says taking steps to block further leaks into ocean (Adds comments from outside experts, background)

By Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an "emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country's nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.

Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co are only a temporary solution, he said.

Tepco's "sense of crisis is weak," Kinjo said. "This is why you can't just leave it up to Tepco alone" to grapple with the ongoing disaster.

"Right now, we have an emergency," he said.

Tepco has been widely castigated for its failure to prepare for the massive 2011 tsunami and earthquake that devastated its Fukushima plant and lambasted for its inept response to the reactor meltdowns. It has also been accused of covering up shortcomings.

It was not immediately clear how much of a threat the contaminated groundwater could pose. In the early weeks of the disaster, the Japanese government allowed Tepco to dump tens of thousands of tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific in an emergency move.

The toxic water release was however heavily criticised by neighbouring countries as well as local fishermen and the utility has since promised it would not dump irradiated water without the consent of local townships.

"Until we know the exact density and volume of the water that's flowing out, I honestly can't speculate on the impact on the sea," said Mitsuo Uematsu from the Center for International Collaboration, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo.

"We also should check what the levels are like in the sea water. If it's only inside the port and it's not flowing out into the sea, it may not spread as widely as some fear."

NO OTHER OUTLET FOR WATER

Tepco said it is taking various measures to prevent contaminated water from leaking into the bay near the plant. In an e-mailed statement to Reuters, a company spokesman said Tepco deeply apologised to residents in Fukushima prefecture, the surrounding region and the larger public for causing inconveniences, worries and trouble.

The utility pumps out some 400 tonnes a day of groundwater flowing from the hills above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the basements of the destroyed buildings, which mixes with highly irradiated water that is used to cool the reactors in a stable state below 100 degrees Celsius.

Tepco is trying to prevent groundwater from reaching the plant by building a "bypass" but recent spikes of radioactive elements in sea water has prompted the utility to reverse months of denials and finally admit that tainted water is reaching the sea.

In a bid to prevent more leaks into the bay of the Pacific Ocean, plant workers created the underground barrier by injecting chemicals to harden the ground along the shoreline of the No. 1 reactor building. But that barrier is only effective in solidifying the ground at least 1.8 meters below the surface.

By breaching the barrier, the water can seep through the shallow areas of earth into the nearby sea. More seriously, it is rising toward the surface - a break of which would accelerate the outflow.

"If you build a wall, of course the water is going to accumulate there. And there is no other way for the water to go but up or sideways and eventually lead to the ocean," said Masashi Goto, a retired Toshiba Corp nuclear engineer who worked on several Tepco plants. "So now, the question is how long do we have?"

Contaminated water could rise to the ground's surface within three weeks, the Asahi Shimbun said on Saturday. Kinjo said the three-week timeline was not based on NRA's calculations but acknowledged that if the water reaches the surface, "it would flow extremely fast."

A Tepco official said on Monday the company plans to start pumping out a further 100 tonnes of groundwater a day around the end of the week.

The regulatory task force overseeing accident measures of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, which met Friday, "concluded that new measures are needed to stop the water from flowing into the sea that way," Kinjo said.

Tepco said on Friday that a cumulative 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium had probably leaked into the sea since the disaster. The company said this was within legal limits.

Tritium is far less harmful than cesium and strontium, which have also been released from the plant. Tepco is scheduled to test strontium levels next.

The admission on the long-term tritium leaks, as well as renewed criticism from the regulator, show the precarious state of the $11 billion cleanup and Tepco's challenge to fix a fundamental problem: How to prevent water, tainted with radioactive elements like cesium, from flowing into the ocean. (Additional reporting by Kentaro Hamada; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Asahi's article: http://digital.asahi.com/articles/TKY201308030013.html?ref=comkiji_txt_end_kjid_TKY201308030013

It looks like "three weeks" is Asahi's own calculation.

I hope TEPCO has at least stopped the injection of waterglass into the artificial soil, but hope is a dirty four-letter word.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: TEPCO's Ad-Hoc Underground Impermeable Wall in Embankment Made It Worse

This is just too ... (I can't even come up with the right word to describe).

Amateurish, maybe. Pathetic, maybe. And sad.

Because radioactive materials started to get detected in June this year in observation holes along the embankment in orders they didn't expect, TEPCO hastily decided in early July to inject waterglass in the soil of the embankment to create an impermeable wall in the ground. Since it is hot during the day at the plant, they made the workers work at night in full protection gear, from 7PM to 7AM, in the area with high radiation.

According to the articles below, we now know what many of us may have been suspecting all along. The idiom "Haste makes waste" exists for TEPCO.

It turned out that injection of chemicals to create the impermeable wall was too successful. It not only stopped the flow of groundwater, but raised the groundwater level significantly. So now, the groundwater is probably going up and over the hastily built underground impermeable wall, and through the porous, top part of the embankment into the open culvert.

The embankment is artificial, built on top of a natural sandy beach which had existed before the plant was built. There is no way to inject chemicals to solidify the top 1.8 meters. Even if it is possible, the water will simply go around the sides.

(The opening sentence of Nikkei's article below is wrong, though. There is no highly contaminated water leaking from the plant, yet. The highly contaminated water is mostly in the underground trenches, where it has been since 2011. Some may be leaking into the groundwater flowing from the west and that groundwater may be leaking into the open culvert.)

From Nikkei Shinbun (8/3/2013):

福島第１の汚染水、地下の遮水壁越え海に流出か

Contaminated water from Fukushima I Nuke Plant may be leaking into the ocean over the underground impermeable wall

東京電力福島第１原子力発電所から高濃度に汚染された水が流出している問題で、地下の「遮水壁」を乗り越えて海に漏れ出ている可能性が高いことが２日、明らかになった。原子力規制委員会の作業部会で、更田豊志委員らが指摘し、東電も認めた。魚など海洋生物などへの影響が懸念されるため、規制委は東電に緊急対策を指示した。

Regarding the problem of highly contaminated water leaking from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, it was revealed on August 2 that it was highly likely that the contaminated water is going over the underground "impermeable wall" and leaking into the ocean. Nuclear Regulatory Authority's working group met on August 2, and commissioners including Toyoshi Fuketa pointed out the possibility and TEPCO admitted to the possibility. As there are worries over the effect on marine creatures including fish, Nuclear Regulatory Authority ordered TEPCO to come up with emergency countermeasures.

　東電は地下の汚染水が海に流出するのを防ぐため、７月上旬から護岸沿いに水ガラスと呼ぶ特殊な薬液を注入して土を固め、遮水壁をつくる工事を進めていた。遮水壁は地下1.8メートルよりも深い部分に設置されている。

In order to prevent the underground contaminated water from leaking into the ocean, TEPCO has been injecting special liquid called waterglass [sodium silicate solution] along the embankment to solidify the soil and build an impermeable wall since early July. The wall is set deeper than 1.8 meters from the surface.

　作業部会は地下水の水位が最近になって上昇し、遮水壁の上端部を越えた可能性が高いとの結論に達した。壁で地下水をせき止めたのが原因とみられる。地下水は壁を乗り越えるほか、横からも漏れる恐れがある。

The working group came to the conclusion that because the underground impermeable wall stopped the flow of groundwater, the level of groundwater rose recently, and went over the top of the wall. Not only the groundwater could go over the impermeable wall but go around the wall and leak from the sides of the wall.

　東電は遮水壁の近くに井戸を掘り、地下水をくみ上げて水位を下げる工事に着手。今月末までの完成を目指す。地下水は山側から１日に100トンほど流れ込んでおり、これを超す量をくみ上げる必要がある。水の保管方法などは今後検討する。

TEPCO will start digging wells near the impermeable wall to draw groundwater and lower the water level. The company hopes to finish by the end of this month. Groundwater is flowing in from the mountain side (west) at the rate of 100 tonnes per day, and TEPCO needs to draw more than that amount. Storage of the water thus drawn will be discussed later.

(Diagram from Nikkei Shinbun, English labels are by me.)

Now, what is the point of drawing the contaminated groundwater along the embankment? In haste? Particularly when the levels of cesium, all-beta, and tritium in the open culvert have not risen in a significant manner? Do they even stop and think?

They have to somehow stop the groundwater upstream, before it reaches the space between the turbine buildings and the embankment and gets contaminated.

According to an article by Mainichi Shinbun that only appeared in Fukushima local edition (7/24/2013), the embankment was a landfill:

この一帯は原発建設時の１９６０年代に埋め立てられたもので、東電は「なぎさに泥岩、砂岩を積み上げてできた土地」と説明する。

This area was reclaimed in the 1960s when the plant was being constructed. TEPCO explains that the land was made by piling up mudstones and sandstones on the beach.

And just like anything else - from removing fuel rods from the spent fuel pools to removing the corium from the broken reactors - TEPCO has been made to promise the wells will be dug "ahead of schedule", starting this weekend, according to Yomiuri Shinbun (8/6/2013).

The Yomiuri article makes no mention of what will happen to the water drawn from the wells.

What's the point of drawing the water "ahead of schedule" when you don't even know what to do with it?

I am more convinced that construction of the impermeable wall in the ocean by driving sheet piles in the open culvert with vibratory hammer has caused the leak by disturbing the underground trenches and joints that were already damaged by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The trenches and shafts were filled with highly contaminated water from April/May 2011 leak from the turbine buildings for Reactors 2 and 3.

TEPCO did not want to deal with the highly contaminated water, and instead decided to inject waterglass, thinking that would stop any water from flowing into the ocean.

My guess is that by hastily injecting waterglass TEPCO wanted at least few weeks of non detection or low detection of radioactive materials from the observation holes, so that they could somehow proceed on releasing the uncontaminated groundwater drawn from upstream into the ocean.

For now, TEPCO cannot release any water, and groundwater keeps flowing from west to east without any hindrance.

The photo below is from July 16, as workers injected waterglass in an effort to stop the groundwater (from TEPCO's Photos and Videos Library 7/17/2013):

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: 20 to 40 Trillion Bq of Tritium May Have Been Released Since May 2011

But even that would still be within the annual regulatory target (22 trillion becquerels of tritium) for Fukushima I Nuclear Power plant.

The information about the amount of tritium released since the accident came from TEPCO during the August 2 meeting of the NRA working group to deal with contaminated water at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

So far, reports of radioactive materials in water have been focused mostly on I-131 (no longer detected) and radioactive cesium. TEPCO does measure other nuclides including tritium and strontium in seawater and fish, but the total estimates haven't been presented, until yesterday for tritium (August 2, 2013).

First, the news from Kyodo (8/2/2013):

トリチウム数十兆ベクレル流出か　福島第１原発の汚染水
Dozens of trillions of becquerels of tritium may have leaked from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant

福島第１原発の汚染水が海に流出している問題で、東京電力は２日、２０１１年５月以降に汚染水に含まれて流出した放射性物質のトリチウムの量が２０兆～４０兆ベクレルに上るとの試算を明らかにした。原子力規制委員会で開かれた汚染水対策を検討する作業部会に報告した。

Regarding the problem of contaminated water leaking into the ocean from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, TEPCO disclosed the estimate on August 2 showing the amount of tritium in the contaminated water that leaked since May 2011 to be between 20 to 40 trillion becquerels. The estimate was reported during the meeting of the working group set up within Nuclear Regulatory Authority to deal with the contaminated water [at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant].

東電は、体内に蓄積しやすく健康影響が懸念される放射性ストロンチウムも流出総量を今後試算するとともに、原発周辺海域での魚介類への影響調査を始める。

TEPCO will also estimate the total amount of radioactive strontium that has leaked from the plant, as strontium is easily accumulated in body and may affect health. The company will start the survey of fish and shellfish in the ocean near the plant.

The very last sentence in Kyodo News is not true. The survey has been ongoing. TEPCO has admitted so far only to the leak into the open culvert in front of the water intake canals, and not into the water in the plant harbor.

Before we collectively freak out on the huge number like 40 trillion becquerels, let's take a look at what it was before the accident for Fukushima I Nuke Plant and what it probably continues to be at all the other nuclear power plants in Japan when it comes to releasing tritium.

Here's a page (page 38) from the 2011 report by Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry regarding the nuclear waste management at Japan's nuclear power plants, showing the amount of tritium released yearly by nuclear power plants (English labels added by me; click to enlarge):

Before the accident, Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant was releasing tritium in the order of trillion becquerels per year. In 2009, the amount was 2.0E+12 becquerels, or 2 trillion becquerels of tritium.

Nuclear power plants with pressured-water reactors release more tritium (the numbers in 2011 circled in blue in the table). Hokkaido's Tomari Nuclear Power Plant, for example, released 3.8E+13 becquerels, or 38 trillion becquerels of tritium in 2011.

The total amount of tritium released from Japan's commercial nuclear power plants in 2011 was, according to the table, 3.1E+14 becquerels, or 310 trillion becquerels. The order of magnitude is the same in all years in the table, at 100s of trillions becquerels per year.

The pre-accident target set for Fukushima I Nuke Plant for tritium release per year was 2.2E+13, or 22 trillion becquerels, according to TEPCO's document on tritium released on February 28, 2013. (Here's the results of 2006, showing ND for all nuclides tested except for tritium.)

So, according to TEPCO's estimate, release of tritium after the accident in 40 trillion becquerels, or 20 trillion becquerels per year, would be still within the company's pre-accident annual target, and about the same as amounts released by nuclear power plants with pressured-water reactors.

The density of tritium in waste water that can be released is 60,000 Bq/Liter, according to the law and regulations governing the operating nuclear power plants.

What's more worrisome is strontium, which many suspect has exceeded the target.

(H/T Kontan-Bigcat for NISA/METI document, TEPCO's document)

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: High Contamination Confirmed in Water in Shaft B Connected to Reactor 3 Turbine Building

But the level of contamination is less than water in Shaft C that connects to Reactor 2 turbine building.

TEPCO announced the results of nuclide analysis of the water sample taken from the Shaft B (see the diagram below, from TEPCO's 7/26/2013 document, with added English labels) at different water levels in the shaft.　Shaft B and the seawater intake pipe trench that connects to the shaft go to Reactor 3's turbine building.

In an effort perhaps to make the data more accessible to mere mortals, in addition to announcing the results in liter TEPCO also spelled out the numbers instead of using "x.xE+x" format. (I wish they just used Bq/cm3. Too many zeroes, and I couldn't grasp the numbers right away.)

From TEPCO's 8/1/2013 handout for the press in Japanese (English labels are by me):

Comparing Shaft B for Reactor 3 and Shaft C for Reactor 2, you will note:

• Chloride content is one order of magnitude bigger in Shaft B than in Shaft C.

• Cesium content is one order of magnitude smaller in Shaft B than in Shaft C.

• All-beta content is one order of magnitude smaller in Shaft B than in Shaft
  C.

Therefore, unlike the water in Shaft C and seawater pipe trench for Reactor 2, the water in Shaft B for Reactor 3 is not likely to be the highly contaminated water that leaked to the ocean in April 2011. Rather, the density is in the same order of magnitude as in the water that is currently in the Reactor 3 turbine building basement.

According to the most recent analyses of the contaminated water inside the turbine buildings,

Water in the Reactor 3 turbine building basement (as of 6/13/2013) has:

• Cs-134: 1.5E+04 Bq/cm3, or 15,000 Bq/cm3

• Cs-137: 3.1E+04 Bq/cm3, or 31,000 Bq/cm3

For reference, water in the Reactor 2 turbine building basement (as of 7/22/2013) has:

• Cs-134: 1.1E+04 Bq/cm3, or 11,000 Bq/cm3

• Cs-137: 2.5E+04 Bq/cm3, or 25,000 Bq/cm3

The numbers are comparable to water in the Reactor 3 turbine building basement but one order of magnitude smaller than the water sitting in the Shaft C and trenches connected to it.

Put the information yet another way for easier comparison, the numbers in Bq/cm3 instead of Bq/liter, except for chloride (click to enlarge):

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: No One Fully Knows Exactly Where Trenches and Ducts Are Located, How They Are Connected

Tokyo Shinbun has a pictorial showing the locations of the known trenches along the seawall.　I think it is more helpful than TEPCO's pictorial, which does not show the embankment which is clearly created artificially. It also nicely summarizes the entire article.

It shows the possibility of seawater and groundwater mixing beneath the sea level. If the highly contaminated water in the trenches from the turbine buildings to the water intake along the embankment bordering the open culvert are leaking somewhere, they will go to the layers of crushed stones underneath the trenches (standard construction method) and leak to the surrounding soil

From Tokyo Shinbun (7/26/2013, English labels are by me):

Tokyo Shinbun's article itself has some misunderstanding:

何より問題なのは、建屋の地下だけで七万五千トンにのぼる高濃度汚染水がトレンチに流れ込んでいることだ。

The biggest problem is that highly contaminated water is flowing into the trenches from the [turbine building] basements which hold 75,000 tonnes of such water.

No it isn't. Tokyo Shinbun doesn't know or forgot to check the density of radioactive materials found this time from the seawater pipe trench for Reactor 2. The density is one order of magnitude GREATER than the density of contaminated water inside the Reactor 2 turbine building, indicating the water in the trench is the same water that leaked into the ocean in April 2011.

I see two big problems, one of which is shared by Tokyo Shinbun.

「トレンチが地下数メートルから三十メートル近い深さまで各所をめぐり、どんな状態なのか東電も把握できていない」
"Crisscrossing trenches run several meters from the ground surface all the way down to 30 meters deep, and TEPCO doesn't exactly know what their conditions are."

I don't think TEPCO knows what trenches are there, where, or how many. The original blueprint wouldn't help, and all the blueprints of site and facility upgrades are, I believe, still in the condemned building at the plant.

And second, solidifying the artificial soil using the chemicals are possible only up to 20 meters deep.

Some trenches are 30 meters deep? Uh oh.

Since April 2011, TEPCO knows the highly contaminated water from the turbine buildings filled the trenches that goes out to the water intake, but didn't do anything about it until now. Even now, I don't know how they even attempt to empty the trenches, as the water is just too radioactive.

TEPCO's 7/26/2013 handout shows the air dose level as high as 100 millisieverts/hour, and that's when measured from the top of the pit at the turbine building where the trench starts, not near the water surface.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: 2.35 Billion Bq/L of Cesium in Water in Trench That Comes from Reactor 2 Turbine Building

(UPDATE 7/27/2013) TEPCO just released (7/28/2013) the data on tritium from this observation hole (B1-1): 8,700,000 Bq/L.

The observation hole No.1-2 has been consistently found with high levels of tritium, with most recent measurement at 350,000 Bq/L from the sample taken on July 22, 2013.

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5,000 cubic meters, or 5,000 tonnes of this water is in the trench.

It's one thing or another at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, and now it's back to contaminated groundwater along the seawall.

After sheepishly admitting the groundwater that got somehow contaminated along the way to the seawall may have been seeping into the sea after all (but only into the open culvert outside water intake canals enclosed by the silt screen, not even inside the plant harbor), TEPCO took samples from the trench for electrical wires and seawater pipe that connects Reactor 2 turbine building and the water intake for Reactor 2 in an effort to identify the source of contamination of the groundwater sampled along the seawall.

The trench for electrical cables is where the extremely contaminated water was flowing freely from the Reactor 2 turbine building into the open culvert back in April 2011.

The surface radiation level of that water in April 2011 was over 1 Sievert/hour (the survey meter went overscale).

The Reactor 2 turbine building basement is filled with contaminated water that comes from the reactor building every day as water is being injected to cool the corium, though the density of radioactive materials is being diluted daily with groundwater that seeps into the reactor/turbine building.

TEPCO just announced the result of the analysis of the sample taken on July 26, 2013 from the trench, and to be expected, the result was comparable to the highly contaminated water back in April 2011.

From TEPCO's email notice for the press, 7/27/2013 (part):

...本日（７月27日）、海側トレンチ内高濃度汚染水の汚染源の特定などの調査の一環として、新たに観測孔を設置した２号機取水電源ケーブルトレンチ（Ｂ１－１：海水配管基礎部）の７月26日に採取した測定結果が以下の通りとりまとまったことからお知らせします。...

Today (July 27), we would like to announce the result of the analysis of the sample taken on July 26 from a new observation hole in the Reactor 2 water intake electric cable trench (B1-1: at the foundation of seawater pipe trench) as follows.

平成23年４月に発生した２号機取水口スクリーン室への漏えい水の濃度と比較すると同程度となっております。

The numbers are comparable to those of the water leaked to the Reactor 2 water intake screen room, which happened in April 2011.

＜Ｂ１－１：２号機取水電源ケーブルトレンチ（海水配管基礎部）＞
・７月26日採取分：
塩素　8,000 ppm
セシウム134　 7億5千万 Bq/L（75万 Bq/cm3）
セシウム137　 16億 Bq/L（160万 Bq/cm3）
全ベータ 7億5千万 Bq/L（75万 Bq/cm3）

B1-1: Reactor 2 water intake/electric cable trench (foundation of seawater pipe trench)
Sample collected on 7/26/2013:
Chloride: 8,000 ppm
Cesium-134: 750 million Bq/L (750,000 Bq/cm3)
Cesium-137: 1.6 billion Bq/L (1.6 million Bq/cm3)
All-beta: 750 million Bq/L (750,000 Bq/cm3)

＜Ｂ２：２号機取水電源ケーブルトレンチ＞（お知らせ済み）
・７月17日採取分：
塩素　70 ppm
セシウム134　 1200万 Bq/L（1万2千 Bq/cm3）
セシウム137　 2400万 Bq/L（2万4千 Bq/cm3）
全ベータ  2300万 Bq/L（2万3千 Bq/cm3）

B2: Reactor 2 water intake/electric cable trench (result already announced)
Sample collected on 7/17/2013
Chloride: 70 ppm
Cesium-134: 12 million Bq/L (12,000 Bq/cm3)
Cesium-137: 24 million Bq/L (24,000 Bq/cm3)
All-beta: 23 million Bq/L (23,000 Bq/cm3)

＜平成23年４月の２号機取水口スクリーン付近から漏えいした汚染水の性状＞
・セシウム134　18億 Bq/L（180万 Bq/cm3）
セシウム137　18億 Bq/L（180万 Bq/cm3）

Contaminated water that leaked from near the Reactor 2 water intake screen in April 2011
Cesium-134: 1.8 billion Bq/L (1.8 million Bq/cm3)
Cesium-137: 1.8 billion Bq/L (1.8 million Bq/cm3)

It does look like the same water that leaked in April 2011, and it looks like the water has been sitting inside the trench after TEPCO managed to stop the leak. The density of radioactive materials in the water in the duct is higher than the water in the turbine building. The question is whether the water is leaking outside the duct, and how to find that out.

Location of the trench, from TEPCO (7/26/2013; page 5, English labels are mine):

When the highly contaminated water was found leaking (the red circle in the picture above), all TEPCO and everyone else cared about was the electrical cable duct - the one in yellow. I do not think TEPCO looked into the duct for seawater pipe - the one in green - at all.

According to the same TEPCO information dated 7/26/2013, the amount of contaminated water in the trench for seawater intake pipe for Reactor 2 is about 5,000 m3, or 5,000 tonnes. The similar trench for Reactor 3 has about 6,000 m3, or 6,000 tonnes:

The density of radioactive materials for Reactor 2 seawater duct in the table above is the data from July 17, 2013 above. With the data from July 26, 2013, the density is in the same order of magnitude as that for Reactor 3 seawater duct.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Contaminated Groundwater Leak Caused by Construction of Impermeable Wall Along the Ocean?

I am still in the middle of trying to understand the whole picture, but there is a compelling argument (here (link in Japanese, post and comment section) and here) that construction of the impermeable wall along the ocean side, east of the turbine buildings at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, may have caused and/or accelerated the leak of groundwater contaminated with high levels of tritium, strontium, and in one observation hole high cesium.

Construction of the impermeable wall started in early April this year, with steel pipe sheet piles driven into the pre-loosened soil using a vibratory hammer and a hydraulic hammer. Loosening of soil had started in June last year to prep the site for driving the steel pipe sheet piles using high-power hammer, probably to mitigate damage from the impact in the area probably already fragile from the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

From TEPCO's Photos and Videos, 4/2/2013:

At the end of April, they started to drive down the sheet piles in the sea right off the Reactor 1 turbine building. In early May, tritium levels inside the port started to increase.

The first section of the impermeable wall was finished by mid June, and that's when the samples taken from the observation holes dug to monitor the groundwater started to show elevated amount of tritium and all-beta including strontium, particularly in the observation holes No.1 (1-1, 1-2, and now 1-3).

From TEPCO's Photos and Videos, 6/26/2013, a section of the impermeable wall near Reactor 1-4 water intake:

From the same document, the location of the photograph in diagram:

The locations of groundwater observation holes, from NRA's document, with the finished impermeable wall marked in green:

I am still trying to understand the argument. I'll update.

But if they are right in their argument, will it be "soh-teh-gai" (beyond expectation) or "soh-teh-nai" (within expectation)? At this point, those who have followed the accident and have been attending TEPCO's press conferences are saying it's the latter.

(H/T TSOKDBA blog with meticulous, detailed study of the Fukushima nuclear accident, and the commenter "inja")

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: Now It is New Observation Hole No.1-3, Showing 92,000 Bq/L All-Beta

You can read all the posts about groundwater contamination discovery of June-July 2013, at this link. The link is also in the right column of the blog.

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The entire Japan is too obsessed with the Upper House Election and not many are paying attention enough to appreciate the clever spin that TEPCO's PR puts in the press release.

TEPCO dug up a new observation hole, No.1-3, after No.1-2 started to show high tritium and all-beta and No.1 was about to be plugged. The first sample from the new hole was drawn on July 12, 2013, and TEPCO announced the result on July 12.

From TEPCO's email notice for the press, 7/12/2013:

地下水観測孔№1-3の全ベータの測定結果は、近傍にある地下水観測孔№1-2（地下水観測孔№１の南側）の前日データと比較して１０分の１程度の放射能濃度でした。

The result of all-beta measurement of the sample from the groundwater observation hole No.1-3 showed about one-tenths of radioactivity compared to the result of the sample from the nearby observation hole No.1-2 (south of the observation hole No.1) from the previous day.

＜地下水観測孔№1-3（新規）＞Groundwater observation hole No.1-3 (New)
・７月12日採取分： Sample collected on July 12

セシウム134　Cs-134 ＮＤ（0.66 Bq/L）
セシウム137　Cs-137 1.4 Bq/L
全ベータ all-beta 92,000 Bq/L

WHY DOES TEPCO COMPARE IT TO THE HOLE NO.1-2, whose sample was found with 890,000 Bq/L of all-beta on July 11, 2013?

Because the company can then claim the hole No.1-3 had only about one-tenths of all-beta compared to the hole No.1-2. One-tenths, nothing to worry about.

What TEPCO does not say and does not show in the email notice is this (from TEPCO's earlier email notice on July 12, 2013):

All-beta from the observation hole No.1 on July 11: 1,600 Bq/L

All-beta in the sample from the hole No.1-3 is thus 57.5 times as much as that from the hole No.1.

TEPCO's PR wouldn't want to emphasize that, would it?

And speaking of spin, the title of the series of email notices regarding the groundwater contamination along the seawall, east of the turbine buildings, is:

福島第一原子力発電所における港湾内海水のトリチウム測定結果について

Result of measuring tritium in seawater inside the harbor at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant

It is outright false, as the email notices are about groundwater samples from the observation holes dug in the space between the turbine buildings and seawall, and NOT the seawater, and the measurements are on gamma nuclides, all-beta including strontium, and tritium.

TEPCO's English notice title is just as deceptive:

Tritium Density Result of Water Quality Survey inside the Port of Fukushima Daiichi NPS

Just by looking at the titles, I didn't realize these notices were about groundwater samples along the turbine buildings until one day I followed the link in the TEPCO Nuclear's tweet about groundwater samples.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Groundwater Contamination: Now It's Hole No.3, With All-Beta at 1,400 Bq/L from ND a Week Ago

Whatever or wherever it is leaking, it's spreading.

Despite TEPCO's attempt to tell us the cesium contamination in the observation hole No.1-2 was from contaminated dirt particles (or other residues), that still doesn't account for higher all-beta and very high tritium.

Now, the sample taken from another observation hole, No.3, on July 11 suddenly shows higher all-beta amount.

From TEPCO's email notice for the press, 7/12/2013:

＜地下水観測孔No.3＞
Groundwater observation hole No.3

・７月11日採取分 Sample collected on July 11：
セシウム134 Cs-134　 1.9 Bq/L
セシウム137 Cs-137 　4.8 Bq/L
全ベータ all-beta 1,400 Bq/L

・７月４日採取分（お知らせ済み） Sample collected on July 4 (already published)：
セシウム134 Cs-134 1.5 Bq/L
セシウム137 Cs-137 2.8 Bq/L
全ベータ　all-beta ＮＤ（18 Bq/L）

Here's the diagram showing where these holes are located. They are along the seawall, east of the turbine building.

From Nuclear Regulatory Agency (secretariat of NRA) document, 7/10/2013 (original diagram from TEPCO, 6/26/2013):

In the earlier version of the diagram by TEPCO (6/16/2013), the observation hole No.3 is right near the location where a leak of highly contaminated water from Reactor 3 (remember it is a MOX-fuel reactor) was found on May 11, 2011.

The Tokyo University researcher who has written papers on measuring radioactive materials of Fukushima origin, including the one about neptunium-239 discovery in Iitate-mura tweeted an interesting idea on how to find out whether the contamination is coming from any of the reactors:

How about mixing a small amount of radionuclides that are not present in the reactors in the water to cool the reactors, and seeing if these radionuclides are detected in the observation holes?

He withdrew that idea later by saying it may not be a small amount that would be needed.

TEPCO could use bath salts again...

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: TEPCO Seems to Say Cesium-Contaminated Dirt Contaminated Groundwater

No one knows from where, or how, but ever since the higher levels of radioactive cesium started to get detected from the groundwater samples in the observation holes along the seawall at the plant 3 days ago (July 8), particularly in the hole No.1-2, TEPCO's explanation up to that point became, obviously, invalid.

TEPCO had said that the high levels of tritium and all-beta in the groundwater samples were from the extremely highly contaminated water that leaked from a crack near the Reactor 2 water intake in early April of 2011, and that the soil had absorbed radioactive cesium and that was why the water samples were showing very low levels of radioactive cesium.

That explanation went out the door when 9,000 Bq/liter of cesium-134 and 18,000 Bq/liter of cesium-137 were detected from the hole No.1-2.

The Nuclear Regulatory Authority finally ran out of patience, and took up the subject in their regular press conference on July 10. Chairman Tanaka said it was now possible that the plant had been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for the past two years and 4 months. The same day, TEPCO's PR tried its best not to commit to anything by avoiding explanation. (Here's an article by NY Times' Hiroko Tabuchi, an admirable effort to make sense of extremely confusing press conferences by both NRA and TEPCO.)

But now, TEPCO has come up with the new explanation: It is the dirt particles in the water that are highly radioactive with cesium, not the water itself.

To prove it, TEPCO filtered the water using 0.45μm filter, and measured the radioactivity. Lo and behold! The numbers for cesium went down, to 1/100 of the numbers before filtration! Sigh of relief at TEPCO, no doubt.

That still doesn't explain the high levels of tritium and all-beta.

TEPCO's handout for the press (English) (7/10/2013):

(Click to enlarge)

The plan is still on, by the way, to release groundwater that is being pumped into tanks upstream to the ocean. TEPCO/government is still trying to obtain consent from the fishery association of Fukushima Prefecture. Some of local fishermen are saying, according to Tokyo Shinbun, that it doesn't matter anyway, as no one will buy fish caught off the coast of Fukushima anyway.

Once Abe and his minister in charge of countering baseless rumors (aka radioactive materials) have their way after the Upper House election, the fishermen will get to sell their catch, I'm sure.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Radioactive Cesium in Groundwater Sample from Observation Hole No.1-2 Jumps 90-fold in 3 Days

From the sample taken on July 5 from the hole (No.1-2), 99 Bq/liter of cesium-134 and 210 Bq/liter of cesium-137 were detected, along with 900,000 Bq/liter all beta and 380,000 Bq/liter tritium.

Now, TEPCO announced the measurement of the sample taken on July 8, and the results are:

cesium-134: 9,000 Bq/liter
cesium-0137: 18,000 Bq/liter
all beta: 890,000 Bq/liter
tritium: (being measured)

According to Kyodo News, the observation hole No.1-2 is close to the hole where extremely highly contaminated water was found gushing from a crack in the wall into the ocean in early April in 2011. Back then, the radiation level above the water was so high that the survey meter went overscale; it was at least 1,000 millisieverts/hour, or 1 sievert/hour radiation at at least 1 meter off the surface of the water. I don't think TEPCO ever bothered to measure radiation levels outside the Containment Vessels if they were over 1 sievert/hour.

(From TEPCO's Photos and Videos 4/2/2011)

That extremely contaminated water was supposedly coming directly from Reactor 2, and my blogpost from 4/5/2011 says:

Water at the crack, outside the pit: 5.2 million becquerels/cubic centimeter of iodine-131

I couldn't find the numbers for radioactive cesium.

Ah, bad old times. (Image is from Yomiuri Shinbun, 4/5/2011.)

After bath salts, sawdust, shredded newspapers, baby diaper polymer (sorry, links to images are gone), concrete mix, that water finally stopped when special polymer was injected into the base rock beneath the culvert (duct) that was carrying the contaminated water.

At that time, I wrote, "OK. So the water is going elsewhere."

TEPCO says they plan to inject similar polymer along the ocean side of the turbine buildings to stop the contaminated water from reaching the ocean.

The water may go elsewhere.

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