Ministry of Agriculture Enlists "Miss Campus" from 9 Universities to Be "Eat and Support East Japan" Ambassadors

（UPDATE 2/17/2012: Enjoy the video, too.)

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The Japanese government is going to make these young women eat food from the nuclear-disaster affected Tohoku and Kanto to support the recovery.

This is simply beyond my comprehension. Some on Twitter call it "student mobilization", just like during the World War II; the government knowingly putting young people in danger so they can remain in their positions a while longer.

From Sankei Photo News (2/15/2012):

ミスキャンパスが震災復興の応援大使 　農水省

"Miss Campus" to become "ambassadors" to support the disaster recovery, says Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

　東日本大震災の被災地の農林漁業を支援しようと、農林水産省は15日、青山学院大や学習院大などのミスキャンパス9人を「食べて応援学生大使」に任命した。9人は震災復興に加え、食料自給率の向上に向けた活動も展開していく。　

To support the agriculture, forestry sand fisheries industries in the disaster-affected areas, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries appointed 9 "Miss Campus" (beauty queens) on 9 campuses including Aoyama Gakuin University and Gakushuin University as "Eat and Support student ambassadors" on February 15. The nine young women will participate in activities not only for the disaster recovery but also for improving the food self-sufficiency rate.

東京・霞が関の農水省で開かれた任命式で、鹿野道彦農相は「食にさらなる関心を持って活躍してほしい。国産の農林水産物の魅力を、食料自給率向上の鍵を握る多くの若者世代に伝えてもらうことを期待している」と述べた。　

In the swearing-in ceremony at the Ministry in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, Minister Michihiko Kano said to the students, "I would like you to play an active part with keen interest in food. I am looking forward to your effort to appeal the charm of domestically grown agricultural, forest and fishery products to the younger generation, as they are the key to improving the food self-sufficiency."

メンバーは任命にあたってそれぞれ抱負を披露。成蹊大の蛇川真菜さ(20)は「東日本の食材をもりもり食べます」、立教女学院短大の藤田美沙さん (22)は「東北の果物を使った米粉スイーツを毎週１個考え、食べていきます」と意気込んでいた。（写真は、「食べて応援学生大使」に任命され、鹿野農相と記念写真に納まるミスキャンパスたち＝15日午後、農水省）

Upon being sworn in, each member spoke of their plans. Miss Seikei University (age 20) said, "I will eat food items from east Japan heartily". Miss Rikkyo Women's College (age 22) said enthusiastically, "I will come up with one desert a week using fruits from Tohoku, and eat it." (Photograph of "Miss Campus" members with Minister Kano, February 15 afternoon)

"Charm" of domestic produce? You mean radionuclides are a charm?

Agricultural products like rice and vegetables from Tohoku and Kanto are contaminated with radioactive materials in varying degrees. You don't want to eat fish caught off the coast of Tohoku and Kanto if you don't want to eat cesium and strontium (and God knows what else). Fruits from Tohoku are particularly bad, with kiwis, blueberries regularly exceeding the provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium). Peaches, apples, persimmons have all been found with radioactive cesium. Mushrooms are routinely found with radioactive cesium easily exceeding the safety limit.

I wonder what the Ministry offered these women in return. As Haruki Madarame famously said, "It's about money". If not money, it should still be something of value, enough to offset the potential health risk of promoting recovery by eating Tohoku and Kanto produce.

From the Ministry's webpage, it seems a photo magazine called B.L.T. is involved in the project. Maybe these young women get to pose for the magazine, and that will be the reward for them...

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Haruki Madarame: "No Memory of First Week of the Accident Because I Couldn't Sleep"

The NISA's head in the early days of the accident says he didn't advise the PM because he was a liberal arts major.

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) set up by the Japan's Diet is eliciting some interesting reactions (or excuses I should say) from the officials in charge of Japan's nuclear policies who also oversaw the initial government response to the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident.

The Commission held its fourth hearing on February 15, 2012 which was net-cast live (archived here, if you understand Japanese). The following is from what's been reported in the media about the hearing, as tweeted by the Commission (@jikocho):

From Sankei Shinbun (2/15/2012):

官邸への助言など、事故当時のそれぞれの行動について、班目氏は「１週間以上寝ていないのでほとんど記憶がない。私がいた場所は固定電話が２回線で携帯も通じず、できる助言は限りがあった」と説明。

About the advice to the Prime Minister and other activities during the early days of the accident, Mr. Madarame said, "I didn't sleep for more than a week, and I hardly remember anything. There were only two landlines where I was, and there was no cellphone signal. What advice I could give was limited."

寺坂氏は「私は文系なので、官邸内の対応は理系の次長に任せた」と述べた。

Mr. Terasaka [who was the head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency then] said, "I am a liberal arts major. So I delegated the dealings with the Prime Minister's Residence to my subordinate who was a science major."

班目氏は津波や全電源喪失に備える原発の安全指針について「瑕疵（かし）があったと認めざるを得ない。おわびしたい」と謝罪。指針が改善されなかった背景について「低い安全基準を事業者が提案し、規制当局がのんでしまう。国がお墨付きを与えたから安全だとなり、事業者が安全性を向上させる努力をしなくなる悪循環に陥っていた」と言及し、「わが国は（対策を）やらなくてもいいという言い訳に時間をかけ、抵抗があってもやるという意思決定ができにくいシステムになっている」と述べた。

As to the safety guidelines for nuclear power plant to prepare for the tsunami and station blackout, Mr. Madarame apologized by saying "I have to admit there were flaws. I would like to apologize." As to why the guidelines weren't improved, Madarame said, "Low safety standards are proposed by the plant operators, and the regulatory agencies simply rubber-stamp them. With the approval from the national government, they are considered safe, and there is no incentive for the operators to improve safety. It is a vicious cycle." He also said, "The system in this country is set up so that people spend much time in making up excuses for not doing anything, and decision-making is not done against opposition."

He speaks the truth on that point.

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Nuclear Experts from Germany, UK, France, Japan Visiting Taiwan to Review Nuclear Facilities

The experts from the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) are inspecting Taiwan's nuclear power plants at the request from the Taipower, state-owned power generation company.

From Focus Taiwan (2/15/2012):

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) Four foreign nuclear energy experts are visiting Taiwan to review local nuclear power generation facilities but have not yet made any suggestions for improvement, state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said Wednesday.

"The experts arrived in Taipei Feb. 6 from Germany, Britain, France and Japan, respectively, and are scheduled to stay until Feb. 18," Taipower spokesman Lee Hung-chou told CNA.

As a member of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), Taipower is entitled to seek technical support mission from the London-based organization, Lee said.

Taipower can apply for up to four WANO support missions every year since it has four nuclear power plants, Lee said, adding that the company twice applied for such missions last year.

Taipower has conducted thorough safety checks and taken measures to reinforce safety at its nuclear plants following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year, and Lee said the experts were invited to review those new measures.

Over the past few days, he said, Taipower staff have taken the four experts to the country's three nuclear power plants in operation and the fourth one under construction.

According to a bilateral confidentiality agreement, Taipower cannot disclose any opinions or suggestions expressed by WANO specialists without the organization's prior consent, Lee said.

"As the experts are still in the process of inspection, they have not yet made any definite suggestions," Lee said, adding that Taipower will unveil the content of their final report only after obtaining the WANO's agreement.

(By Huang Chiao-wen and Sofia Wu)

Here's a photo of Taipower's No. 3 Nuclear Power Station, right on the popular Nanwan beach where tourists can swim in the water with discharge from the nuke plant (as it appeared in the Age, 4/29/2008 in the article titled "Swimmers dive in to nuclear reactor cooling water", quoting Reuters):

It's really cute with windmills. Nice sand hills. Not a problem! say locals.

(H/T Enformable)

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214,200 Bq/Kg of Radioactive Cesium from Crushed Stones from Namie-machi, Fukushima

Remember the radioactive apartment complex in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima, where the concrete foundation contained the supposed "radioactive" crushed stone from the stone pit in Namie-machi, bordering the "no-entry" zone?

Fukushima Prefecture finally released the data on the radioactivity of the stones, and it was indeed high. The survey by the Fukushima prefectural government and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is still ongoing, in an effort to identify the elevated radiation levels coming off the concrete that used these crushed stones. Good luck.

Jiji Tsushin (2/15/2012) reports:

...県は、１月２０日に実施した砕石場の現地調査の結果も公表。屋根のない保管場所では生コン用砕石から１キロ当たり最大１２万２００ベクレル、路盤材用砕石からは同２１万４２００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたという。

...Fukushima Prefecture also announced the result of the survey at the stone pit [in Namie-machi] conducted on January 20. The crushed stones for concrete stored in the open without a roof were found with the maximum 120,200 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, while the crushed stones used as subbase course materials were found with 214,200 becquerels/kg.

(At least) 7 tonnes of stones (for building exterior) from Fukushima Prefecture were sold in Tokyo last year, as I reported in my post on January 22, 2012. I haven't heard news of whatever happened to them.

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Professor Dapeng Zhao of Tohoku Univ: Fukushima I Nuke Plant Could Be Hit by Epicentral Earthquake

From Daily Mail (2/14/2012):

Stricken Fukushima nuclear plant at dire risk of massive new earthquake, scientists warn

By Damien Gayle

Scientists have issued a dire warning that the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is at risk of a massive new earthquake.

Research using data from more than 6,000 recent tremors has found that last March's disaster has reactivated a seismic fault practically beneath the power station.

Now scientists are telling Japanese authorities to urgently shore up the damaged reactor in expectation of more massive 'quakes.

Fukushima Daiichi was the scene of the worst nuclear disasters in history after it was damaged by the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9 earthquake and following tsunami.

But this tremor's epicentre was about 100 miles from the site, off the coast of Japan, and a much closer one could occur in the future at Fukushima.

Dapeng Zhao, geophysics professor at Japan's Tohoku University, said: 'There are a few active faults in the nuclear power plant area, and our results show the existence of similar structural anomalies under both the Iwaki and the Fukushima Daiichi areas.

'Given that a large earthquake occurred in Iwaki not long ago, we think it is possible for a similarly strong earthquake to happen in Fukushima.'

The April 11, 2011, magnitude 7 Iwaki earthquake was the strongest aftershock of the 11 March earthquake with an inland epicentre.

It occurred 37 miles south-west of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, 124 miles from the March 11 epicentre.

The research, published in European Geosciences Union's open-access Solid Earth journal, shows that the Iwaki earthquake was triggered by fluids moving upwards from the subducting Pacific plate to the crust.

The Pacific plate is moving beneath north-east Japan, which increases the temperature and pressure of the minerals in it.

This leads to the removal of water from minerals, generating fluids that are less dense than the surrounding rock. These fluids move up to the upper crust and may alter seismic faults.

Ping Tong, lead author of the paper, said: 'Ascending fluids can reduce the friction of part of an active fault and so trigger it to cause a large earthquake.

'This, together with the stress variations caused by the 11 March event, is what set off the Iwaki tremor.'

The number of tremors in Iwaki increased greatly after the March earthquake. The movements in the Earth's crust induced by the event caused variations in the seismic pressure or stress of nearby faults.

Around Iwaki, Japan's seismic network recorded over 24,000 tremors from March 11, 2011 to October 27, 2011, up from under 1,300 detected quakes in the nine years before, the scientists report.

The 6,000 of these earthquakes selected for the study were recorded by 132 seismographic stations in Japan from June 2002 to October 2011.

The researchers analysed these data to take pictures of the Earth's interior, using a technique called seismic tomography.

Professor Zhao explained: 'The method is a powerful tool to map out structural anomalies, such as ascending fluids, in the Earth's crust and upper mantle using seismic waves.

'It can be compared to a CT or CAT scan, which relies on X-rays to detect tumours or fractures inside the human body.'

While the scientists can't predict when an earthquake in Fukushima Daiichi will occur, they state that the ascending fluids observed in the area indicate that such an event is likely to occur in the near future.

They warn that more attention should be paid to the site's ability to withstand strong earthquakes, and reduce the risk of another nuclear disaster.

The scientists also note that the results may be useful for reviewing seismic safety in other nuclear facilities in Japan, such as nearby Fukushima Daini, Onagawa to the north of Fukushima, and Tōkai to the south.

The paper at Solid Earth Open Access Journal of the European Geosciences Union is here.

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Temperature at Reactor 2 RPV Thermocouple (69H1) Slowly Coming Down

It doesn't look like the behavior of a thermocouple that has been broken, but what would I know?

From TEPCO's plant parameter, Reactor 2 RPV temperatures, hourly (latest: 2/15/2012 10AM):



In the meantime, the temperature at the CRD (control rod) Housing has been rising again. Again, instrument failure. (Brown line in the graph. 69H1 is light green.)

From TEPCO's plant parameters, Reactor 2 RPV temperature (2/15/2012):

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 2 RPV: 8 Thermocouples out of 41 Show Abnormality, TEPCO Says

From Kyodo News (2/14/2012):

福島第１原発２号機で原子炉圧力容器底部の温度計の数値が異常に上昇した問題で、東電は１４日、他の温度計の点検を進め、圧力容器に４１個ある温度計のうち計８個に異常がみられると発表した。

As the temperature at the bottom of the Reactor 2 Pressure Vessel shot up extremely high, TEPCO announced on February 14 that the company had conducted the test of 41 thermocouples on the RPV, and found 8 of them showing abnormality.

　一時、４００度を超えた温度計１個のほか、２個に温度を測るもととなる電気抵抗値に異常が見つかった。残りの５個は故障と判断していた。東電は残る３３個の温度計で圧力容器全体の温度傾向を監視する。

In addition to the thermocouple that exhibited the temperature above 400 degrees Celsius, 2 other thermocouples had abnormal electrical resistance. 5 had been deemed broken. TEPCO will continue to monitor the temperature trend of the RPV with the remaining 33 thermocouples.

　経産省原子力安全・保安院から、故障とみられる温度計に代わる温度監視の策を求められたことについて、東電は「新たに温度計を設置するのは難しい。実現可能性含め対応したい」としている。

As for the request from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to submit a plan to monitor the temperatures at the locations where the thermocouples failed, TEPCO says, "It is difficult to replace the thermocouple, but we would like to consider further whether it is possible at all."

8 out of 41 showing abnormality? That's not quite what I read in the TEPCO's report in December 2011. Page 1-64 of the report has a table that shows the numbers of thermocouples in Reactors 1, 2, 3 that were evaluated with equivalent circuit. In the case of Reactor 1 RPV,

• No. of thermocouples that can be used with equivalent circuit: 32

• No. of thermocouples that cannot be used with equivalent circuit: 1

• No. of normal (functioning) thermocouples: 2

So, as far as I can understand (correct me if I'm wrong, as I could be very wrong) one of the 32 thermocouples on the Reactor 2 RPV shows a certain value, and TEPCO compares it with the value of the equivalent circuit, and figure out over time whether the value shown by the thermocouple can be used after equivalent circuit calibration.

TEPCO's report says the standard deviation for Reactor 1 RPV's thermocouples is about 15 degrees Celsius, and 8 degrees Celsius for Reactor 2 RPV's thermocouples. Thus the margin of 20 degrees Celsius mentioned by TEPCO for the maintenance of "cold shutdown state", I think, to be on the safe side of 15 degrees Celsius.

The report says 14 thermocouples on the Reactor 3 RPV can be used with equivalent circuit calibration, while 18 thermocouples cannot. There is no normal thermocouple on the Reactor 3 RPV.

Hmmm. Maybe it is Reactor 3 we should be worrying about.

FYI, the latest temperature information of Reactor 3's RPV is here.

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91,600 Bq/Kg of Radioactive Cesium from Sunflowers in Iitate-mura, Fukushima

So the sunflowers DID concentrate radioactive cesium in soil. It was not where the Japanese government wanted you to find.

According to one Iitate-mura villager, Mr. Itoh, who had his sunflowers tested, the radioactive cesium was IN THE ROOTS. He suspects that the government knew, and cherry-picked the data that seemingly supported the foregone conclusion that sunflowers do not work in decontaminating the soil.

Why? Because the government wants and needs to distribute big money to big businesses that closely work with the government in the "decontamination" bubble that they've created.

From his tweets on February 7, 2012:

ヒマワリの根　セシウム１３４　39,500ｂｑ／ｋｇ セシウム１３７　　52,100ｂｑ／ｋｇ セシウム計　　91,600ｂｑ／ｋｇ。ヒマワリの根の灰については、焼却温度が低く、体積が１／４程度にしか減らなかった、２，２００ｇの根を燃やし４６０ｇの灰が出た。

Sunflower roots: Cesium-134, 39,500 Bq/kg; cesium-137, 52,100 Bq/kg; total 91,600 Bq/kg. Since the roots were burned at low a temperature, the roots were reduced to only one-quarter in mass. 2,200 grams of the roots were burned, resulting in 460 grams of ashes.

焼却温度が高ければ１／１００、とすると２００万ｂｑ？。農水省は税金を投入し大臣自ら植えたヒマワリの実験畑の除染効果は無いと断言したが、ある思いを持っての実験、効果なしの結論を前提にしたものだったから。農水省の放射性廃棄物の検査は何故か“根”を外しているから。

If they were burned at a higher temperature, maybe the concentration would be 100 times, resulting in about 2 million Bq/kg of radioactive cesium, maybe? After pouring in taxpayers' money and the minister himself planting sunflowers in the experimental plot in the village, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has declared sunflowers have no decontamination properties. It is because that conclusion was pre-determined with one purpose in mind. The ministry's test of radioactive wastes inexplicably excluded the sunflower "roots".

ヒマワリに除染されたのでは利権が発生しない、要は利権が簡単に得られる従来型の公共工事による“除染”こそ懐を簡単に肥やす方法だから。１０００年に一度の大震災でも役人や政治家が考えることはこの程度。誰だこの程度の政治家を選んだのは。

If sunflowers could decontaminate, there would be no subsidies and handouts. In essence, "decontamination" via the public works loaded with pork is the easiest way to get rich quick. Even in the face of the biggest disaster in 1,000 years, that's the level where the bureaucrats and politicians operate. Who elected these pols?

Mr. Itoh no doubt knows well it is the Japanese people who elected these pols and keep electing them, but that doesn't mean Mr. Itoh himself is complicit. He may have voted to oust these politicians in his district, in vain.

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Seiichi Nakate on March 11 Nuclear Accident: "We Weren't Told About Anything, and Cover-Up and Safety Propaganda Engulfed Fukushima"

Mr. Nakate is the head of "Fukushima Network to Protect Children from Radiation (子どもを放射能から守る福島ネットワーク)". He held a talk, one of the series, on January 17, 2012 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. He said he would be moving to Hokkaido himself. Fukushima was now almost forgotten by people in Japan, he said.

Following is from his talk as compiled into the togetthers (here and here, if you read Japanese) created by people who watched the USTREAM (archived here, nearly 2 hours).

"What is happening in Fukushima Now: What has happened to the children in Fukushima, where the contamination level far exceeds that from the Chernobyl accident? What are the responsibilities of the adults?"

Looking back on the March 11 nuclear accident:

3/13にはポータブルのものでもはっきり測れる程の異常がでていた。文部省には原子力研究所があり、測定の専門家がいる。率直にいえばマニアックな人達 で、平気で計測し、平気でHPに公開していた。でも、私達にはその数字がわからなかった。数百倍、場所によっては数千倍の線量だったのに。

On March 13, the radiation levels were so abnormal that even a portable survey meter could tell. The Ministry of Education and Science has the nuclear research lab [JAEA?] and there are specialists who measure radiation. They are nuclear science geeks, frankly, who measured the radiation levels and published the results on the homepage. But we didn't know what those numbers meant. They were hundreds of times, even thousands of times more than the normal levels.

NHK・ETV取材班によれば、文部省が測った数値、浪江の対馬地区・赤宇木は333μSv/hだった。通常0.03～0.06程。3時間で１mSv、１ 日で８mSv、3日で今の避難基準を超える。一週間いれば、原発作業員でさえ絶対ありえない、まさに「ただちに健康に影響がでるような」数値に。

According to NHK's ETV, the Ministry of Education measured 333 microsieverts/hour in Akougi in Tsushima District of Namie-machi. The normal levels were 0.03 to 0.06 microsievert/hour. 1 millisievert in 3 hours, 8 millisieverts in one day, and in 3 days it would have exceeded the current standard for evacuation [20 millisieverts]. If you stayed for one week, it would have been the level which "would affect the health immediately". It would have been the level not even the nuclear plant workers are exposed.

立派な機材を積んだモニタリングカーがその辺を計測してまわり、その傍らには何も知らない住民たちが日常を送っていた。浪江の対馬地区は、原発の南西 30km位のところで、3/12に避難指示がでたため、20km圏内の人が避難してきていた。避難してきたはずが何十倍も被曝してしまった。

A monitoring car with good equipment came and measured the radiation levels. The residents continued to live there, knowing nothing. Tsushima District of Namie-machi is located at about 30 kilometers southwest [sic. it is northwest] of the plant, and many people inside the 20-kilometer radius evacuated there after the evacuation order was issued on March 12. They were supposed to have escaped from radiation, but they ended up getting irradiated several tens of times more.

（地図を示しながら）この阿武隈山地が防波堤のように防いでくれていた。が、3/15の波は阿武隈山地も乗り越えて、大量の放射能が中通り、新幹線の通る 一帯、福島や郡山のあるところまで達してしまった。そして隠ぺい工作、安全デマが福島県内を覆いつくした、市民には真実は伝えられなかった。

(Showing the map) This Abukuma Mountains acted like a breakwater [against radioactive materials). But the wave on March 15 went over the mountains, and a large amount of radioactive materials reached Nakadori [middle 3rd of Fukushima], areas where the Shinkansen bullet train runs, Fukushima City, and Koriyama City. Then the cover-ups and "safety" propaganda completely engulfed Fukushima. Residents were not told the truth.

そこで住民は普通の暮らしをしていた。情報の隠蔽、安全デマがものすごい勢いで福島県内に押し寄せ、被曝を拡大させた。正直、住民は大丈夫だよ、と言って欲しかった。安全を裏付ける情報を必死で求めた。そういう状況だった。ただ、やはり本当の情報が必要だと思った。

People were living the normal lives. Information was hidden, and the "safety" propaganda flooded Fukushima, causing even more exposure to radiation for the residents. To be honest, the residents wanted to be told "It's OK, nothing to worry about." They did all they could to look for information that would support "safety". That was how it was. I thought we needed the real information.

(to be continued)

It is perfectly understandable that Fukushima residents wanted assurance from the authorities in the early days of the accident. Everyone did. They wanted to believe the word of Yukio Edano, Chief Cabinet Secretary and the mouthpiece of the Kan administration, when he told the nation "There is no immediate effect on health". Now we all know that he only meant the radiation levels were not going to cause acute radiation poisoning.

After all, for more than a half century, the majority of the Japanese believed nuclear power was safe, and that Japan was leading the world by peaceful use of atomic energy. Despite the Fukushima accident, the majority still do, this time with the added delusion that nuclear power is necessary to prevent global warming.

That aside, I wonder if the US government, military or the NRC had anything to say to the Japanese counterparts about the way the Japanese authorities were not informing the people in Japan about the disaster and the danger of radiation exposure. They raised issues with how the Japanese government was handling the plant accident. Since they had access to SPEEDI data from very early on, thanks to Jerome Ryan, Second Secretary in the Political Section of U.S. Embassy Tokyo, they must have also known about the extremely high radiation levels in wide areas outside the immediate vicinity of the plant, and that people continued to live in places like Namie-machi and Iitate-mura, which were finally designated as planned evacuation zone in late April.

I wonder if they were OK with the cover-ups and safety lies.

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Reactor 2 RPV Bottom Temperature at Support Skirt Junction Also Fluctuating Widely

The location whose thermocouple (69H1, bottom head) apparently broke after the resistance test by TEPCO yesterday and the location at the support skirt junction are both located at 0 degree.

The thermocouple at the support skirt junction, 69F1, is not spiking up or continuously trending up like 69H1, but the range of fluctuation is rather wide, compared to the other two at the same height at different angles.

Hmmm. Next to go?

From the latest plant parameter on Reactor 2 RPV temperature, hourly, 69H1 (bottom head at 0 degree) and 69F1 (support skirt junction at 0 degree) highlighted:

Hourly temperature fluctuation at the thermocouples at the support skirt junction:

69F1 (at 0 degree): by 0.1 to 11.7
69F2 (at 135 degrees): by 0.1 to 0.3
69F3 (at 270 degrees): by 0.1 to 0.2

By the way, TEPCO released the graph of the thermocouple 69H1 (2/13/2012). It sure looks like TEPCO's resistance test did something:

People are chiming in on Japanese Twitter, saying "Yes I've done exactly that, pushing one test too far..."

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The Film "Nuclear Nation" Featuring Mayor Idogawa of Futaba-machi Screened at Berlin Film Festival

Mainichi Daily, quoting Kyodo News (2/13/2012):

BERLIN (Kyodo) -- A documentary film featuring residents forced to evacuate their town, home to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, was screened Sunday at the Berlin International Film Festival.

"I hope nobody in the world will have such an experience like ours again," Katsutaka Idogawa, mayor of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, said in a video message shown after the screening of the tentatively titled "Nuclear Nation" by director Atsushi Funahashi.

"We had attracted the nuclear power plant to promote our town. But I changed my mind because of the accident. While a final disposal site for nuclear waste is not set, it is quite dangerous that many nuclear power plants are built in the world," the mayor said.

The documentary depicts residents taking shelter at a former school building in Saitama Prefecture and scenes of Futaba town, which was evacuated due to a nuclear crisis following the March 2011 quake and tsunami.

The film director said after the screening, "I hope many people in the world will look at the current situation of people from Futaba. I will continue keeping a record until they find a permanent dwelling place."

Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who composed piano music used in the documentary, also attended the screening.

Sakamoto said he plans to produce an album under the theme of Fukushima this summer and stage a performance with fellow musicians.

For more on Mayor Idogawa of Futaba-machi, see my previous post.

The film maker, Atsushi Funahashi, says he started shooting in late March when people were still focused on the aftermath of March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Despite the 4 explosive events in Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, I do remember that back then many people in Japan were still talking about fulfilling their duty to go out and spend money to help people in the disaster-affected area and prevent the collapse of the economy. Good old, ignorant days when the nuclear accident was a minor nuisance.

On second thoughts, it is still a minor nuisance for the majority.

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58,000 Bq/Kg of Cesium in Recycled Farm Soil in Chiba: Unthinking, Mind-Numbing Urge to Recycle Even After Nuclear Disaster

A "third sector" company in Chiba was recycling the soil from the plastic greenhouses and selling it to plant nurseries, until 57,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found recently.

From Jiji Tsushin (2/13/2012):

千葉県などが出資する第三セクター「千葉園芸プラスチック加工」（同県東金市）は１３日、県内農家から集めた使用済みビニールハウスから洗い落とした土１４０トンから、国が指定廃棄物として定める１キロ当たり８０００ベクレルの約７倍に当たる１キロ当たり最大５万８０００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。

Chiba Engei Plastic Kako (Chiba Horticultural Plastic Processing) in Togane City in Chiba Prefecture, a third-sector company with investment from the Chiba prefectural government, announced on February 13 that the maximum 58,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found from 140 tonnes of dirt that had been washed off from the used plastic greenhouses the company had collected from farmers in Chiba. The amount of radioactive cesium is more than 7 times the amount allowed by the national standard for regular disposal which is 8,000 becquerels/kg.

　同社は、使用済みビニールハウスを洗浄しリサイクル処理している。土は既に市内７カ所の植木畑に運び込まれているが、今後全て回収し、同社施設内で県の指導に従い保管する。洗浄に使った水は浄化処理をしており、放射性物質は検出されなかった。

The company washes down the dirt off the used plastic greenhouses and recycles the dirt collected. The dirt has already been brought in at 7 plant nurseries. The company plans to recall all the dirt, and will store it in the company's facilities according to the guidance from the prefectural government. The water used for washing was treated, and no radioactive materials were detected.

After I tweeted the Jiji news yesterday, people immediately dug up information of this company. It turns out the company is one of three that was partially owned and operated by the agricultural producer co-op, JA, in Chiba Prefecture. But on the JA Chiba's website, the company has gone missing. One person searched the cache, and found that the JA's site had this company on the page until January 29.

My guess is that's when they found out about radioactive cesium in the recycled dirt, but had kept quiet for 2 weeks.

The JA Chiba has two other "subsidiaries", no doubt third-sector companies: LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) company and a funeral home.

By the way, Chiba's governor is an ex-TV actor turned politician, a mind-numbingly unthinking person who uses his stage name instead of his real name (really, very pedestrian).

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Additional Info on That "Broken" Thermocouple on Reactor 2 RPV

From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/13/2012):

東京電力は１３日、温度上昇を示していた福島第一原子力発電所２号機の原子炉圧力容器底部の温度計が同日午後の点検後、記録上限の４００度を超えて振り切れるなど、異常な数値を示したと発表した。

TEPCO announced on February 13 that the thermocouple on the bottom of the Reactor 2 Pressure Vessel at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, which had been showing the rising temperature, exhibited the abnormal temperatures after the inspection in the afternoon on February 13, at one time going overscale over 400 degrees Celsius which is the limit.

　東電は「ほぼ確実に故障している」とみている。温度計は炉心溶融で高温にさらされた後、湿度の高い環境に置かれていた。

TEPCO thinks it is "most certainly broken". The thermocouple had been exposed to high temperature from the core meltdown, and has been in the high humid condition [inside the Reactor 2 Containment Vessel].

　東電は同日午後２時頃から、中央制御室内で温度計の電気回路の点検を実施。回路の電気抵抗が通常より大きく、温度計の指示値が高く出やすいことが判明した。検査直後、回路を元に戻した際には３４２度を示し、一時振り切れるまで数値が上昇した。

TEPCO conducted the test of the electric circuit of the thermocouple from the central control room from 2PM. The electrical resistance was higher than normal, which would result in the temperature indicated by the thermocouple higher [than the actual temperature]. Right after the test, the temperature showed 342 degrees Celsius, and it rose sharply at one time and went overscale.

　温度計は、２種類の金属を接合したセンサー（熱電対(ねつでんつい)）で温度を検知する。センサーが熱を受けると電流が流れる仕組みで、回路に異常が生じたために電圧が変化し、極端な値が表示された可能性がある。

The thermocouple is a bi-metal sensor to detect temperature. It produces a voltage when it is heated. It is possible that an abnormality occurred in the circuit which caused the voltage to change, resulting in the extreme measurements displayed.

In the press conference yesterday, TEPCO's Matsumoto said it was a copper-constantan thermocouple. Constantan is a copper-nickel alloy.

I was watching the press conference live, and was quite amused that TEPCO's Matsumoto and the junior PR manager were rather put off and irritated at some of the senior journalists who kept asking tough questions. They are not the usual fixture these days at TEPCO's press conferences.

These journalists, unlike the regulars (dwindling number, these days) who are mostly young boys and girls in their 20s and early 30s at most who hunch over their laptops and ask questions from behind the laptop display screen while they type, looked straight into Matsumoto, and ask questions with a pen in hand and a notebook on the desk.

Old fashioned way of journalism, which I thought was refreshingly effective. You have to knock TEPCO's PR people out of their kilter to get an edge and draw answers which TEPCO didn't intend to give.

As I mentioned in my post reporting the press conference, Matsumoto was particularly announced by the 2 questions:

One was posed by a reporter from Yomiuri Shinbun (he's a regular). The reporter asked if the test itself broke the thermocouple. (Bingo...) Matsumoto denied the possibility, saying the test was conducted distantly from the central control room, not at the thermocouple (no way, as it is inside the CV).

The other was posed by an independent journalist who kept asking Matsumoto if TEPCO was consulting the manufacturer of the thermocouple for insight and technical assistance. That really set off Matsumoto, who immediately said TEPCO was fully capable of the maintenance of the thermocouples at the plant. Despite repeated questions, Matsumoto refused to give the name of the manufacturer or whether the representative of the manufacturer was on hand at Fukushima I Nuke Plant.

Never mind that this is not an ordinary maintenance of the thermocouples in a functioning reactor.

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TEPCO Evening Press Conference 2/13/2012: Reactor 2 RPV Thermocouple Is Broken, Matsumoto Says

Press conference live link is here.

Reactor 2 RPV's thermocouple that's been going up seems to have finally broken. (0r else...)

15:00 285.4 degrees Celsius
16:00 260.9
17:00 275.9

Screen capture from the press conference screen:

The last time this particular thermocouple went to that level, it was March 2011.

TEPCO was measuring the electrical resistance of the thermocouple before the temperature suddenly shot up to 285 degrees at 3PM.

Resistance 500 to 530 ohm.

The instrument has totally failed, says TEPCO's Matsumoto.

Interesting question from a reporter from Nico Nico: Are you going to test the other two thermocouples at the bottom of the RPV?
A: No.

Yomiuri: Did measuring the resistance break the thermocouple?
A: We don't know why the temperature shot up after we finished the measurement.

Yomiuri: Do you know when this thermocouple broke?
A: At least, until the end of January it was showing the same trend as the other two. We want to carefully compare with other thermocouples.

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Jiji Tsushin says right before 3PM, the temperature was 342.2 degrees Celsius.

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Q: Who decided that the thermocouple was broken? Was the manufacturer consulted?
A: TEPCO decided. We have experience in maintenance of the thermocouple. (Matsumoto sounds very testy.)

Q: Is there a possibility of a thermocouple showing temperature lower than what really is and therefore it is broken?
A: If this thermocouple were correct, there would be other thermocouples that would show higher temperature. The other temperatures are trending down. So we think this particular thermocouple is broken.

Q: The temperature rise in early February - was it related to the instrument failure now?
A: We think so. But we didn't know at that time whether it was actually a rise in temperature or the instrument failure. The temperature did go down after increasing the water injection.

Q: How reliable is it to judge "recriticality" by xenon-135?
A: We think it is a reliable indicator.

Q: When was 342.2 degrees Celsius recorded?
A: We finished the testing at 2:54PM. So it must be between that time and 3PM. We'll have to check.

Q: How high did the temperature go? (looking at the graph that was provided)
A: It went overscale, so the graph shows temperatures like that [over 400 degrees Celsius].

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Reactor 2 RPV Bottom Temperature: 94.9 Degrees Celsius at Noon, 2/13/2012

(UPDATE: Instrument deemed broken, as the temperature at 5PM on February 13, 2012 is 275.9 degrees Celsius. It was as high as 342 degrees before 3PM. See my new post.)

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10:00 91.2
11:00 93.7 (from TEPCO's Plant Parameter, 2/13/2012 noon)
12:00 94.9 (Mainichi Shinbun, 2/13/2012, last update 12:57PM)

Mainichi does not have much to say beyond what I've already reported in the posts, here and here. Most certainly it is the instrument failure, TEPCO, NISA say.

The measurement of the temperature at noon must have been disclosed during the press conference held by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency after the TEPCO's press conference. There was no mention of the temperature at noon, as the press conference was brief and was over by 11:30AM.

There are nuclear engineers and experts who doubt this foregone conclusion of "instrument failure". I will write a post about it later once I understand it myself.

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TEPCO's All 17 Nuclear Reactors Will Be Out of Service on March 26, 2012

As Reactor 6 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant goes into the scheduled maintenance, all 17 nuclear reactors operated by TEPCO will be offline as of March 26, 2012.

By late April, all of Japan's 54 commercial reactors will go offline, unless Kansai Electric manages to obtain the permission to restart its Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.

Since last fall, there has been no rolling blackout, no rationing of electricity anywhere in Japan. Even the government officials have admitted that the rolling blackouts and rationing right after the March 11 quake/tsunami/nuke accident were "an experiment" and a lesson to teach the Japanese the importance of nuclear power.

Japan's need for electricity in winter is no less than in summer these days, as most households and businesses have come to rely on electricity for heating after a decade of campaigns by the utility companies pushing for "All-Electric Home". In retrospect, that push was for the push for more nuclear power plants.

From Market Watch (2/9/2012):

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday it will suspend operations of the No. 6 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture on March 26 for a periodic check, a plan that will take all of its 17 reactors out of service, Kyodo News reported.

The No. 6 reactor with a power output of 1.356 million kilowatts is the last to be suspended out of the plant's seven reactors.

It will be the first time all 17 units have been halted since the April 15-May 6 period of 2002, when they were suspended after a public outcry over revelations that TEPCO had hidden problems at its nuclear plants.

Out of the seven at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 as well as the No. 7 reactors have been suspended as a result of periodic checkups and a 2007 earthquake that badly damaged the prefecture and its vicinity.

On Jan. 25, TEPCO suspended the No. 5 reactor at the plant for a periodic check, leaving the No. 6 reactor the only one in service both at the plant and throughout the utility's service area.

TEPCO says it wants to restart the operations of the seven reactors in stages, starting in fiscal 2013 or later.

But Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said the factors that triggered the 2011 crisis at the six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi plant must be examined and identified before the seven are allowed to restart operations. The nearby Fukushima Daini plant also run by TEPCO has four reactors.

Among Japan's 54 commercial reactors, only two will be in operation -- the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari plant in Hokkaido and the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture. Both will go offline for regular checkups by late April.

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Reactor 2 RPV Bottom 91.2 Degrees Celsius (TEPCO Press Conference 11AM, 2/13/2012 11AM)

(UPDATE 2: Instrument deemed broken, as the temperature at 5PM on February 13, 2012 is 275.9 degrees Celsius. It was as high as 342 degrees before 3PM. See my new post.)

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(UPDATE: 94.9 degrees Celsius as of noon on February 13, 2012. Instrument failure most likely, the company says.)

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The temperature at the bottom of Reactor 2 RPV (69H1):

2/13 5:00 89.6
2/13 (missed the time, I think Matsumoto said 10:00) 91.2

It is not responding to the increased amount of water injected (about 18 tonnes/hour). The temperatures at the other two locations (69H2, 3) are going down. Therefore, it is the instrument failure most likely, TEPCO's Matsumoto concludes.

TEPCO will maintain the amount of water injected for the time being. No plan to change the amount for the time being.

Q: The steady rise of temperature like this doesn't seem like instrument failure.
A: We want to investigate whether such "failure" is possible where the temperature rises in small increments.

Many reporters, hardly any questions, and the press conference is over in less than 30 minutes.

Matsumoto said the temperature may change because they are conducting some test of the instrument.

The temperature data is not yet updated on TEPCO's site.

UPDATE: Hourly temperature at Reactor 2 RPV bottom, latest.

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Reactor 2 RPV Bottom Temperature: 89.6 Degrees Celsius, 5AM on Feb 13

(UPDATE: The latest number is 91.2 degrees Celsius as of 10AM, 2/13/2012.)

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For nearly 18 tonnes/hour water injection, the temperature hasn't dropped a bit. It remains high at 89.6 degrees Celsius at the Pressure Vessel bottom, but we're not supposed to worry. It's all nothing but instrument failure, as TEPCO and NISA have assured us.

From TEPCO's plant parameters, 2/13/2012:

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3,000 Bq/kg of Radioactive Cesium in Dried Daikon in Fukushima

Dried daikon was made from daikon grown and harvested in Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture.

I don't know what to say to these farmers and food processors in Fukushima Prefecture, after almost a year since the nuclear accident started. Farmers there continued growing food in the contaminated soil, and in the case of dried daikon, continued making dried food by drying the vegetable outside in the sun as radioactive materials were falling.

I suppose it is "out of expectation" for everybody involved.

The defenders of farmers in Fukushima who grew crops last year, and there are numerous, say they had no choice, that they didn't know, and when these arguments fail they say "The purpose of life for the farmers is to grow crops, and we shouldn't deprive them of the purpose", as I just had one such defender on my Japanese blog.

To a degree, I agree, as in the case of organic rice farmer in Date City, Fukushima who REFRAINED from growing rice for the concern for radiation last year, only to be threatened by the municipal government to cultivate the contaminated land this year. The authorities are limiting choices for those who do not want to grow.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/13/2012):

福島県は１２日、福島市で収穫された大根を使った切り干し大根から、国の暫定規制値（１キロ・グラムあたり５００ベクレル）の６倍にあたる３０００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。

Fukushima Prefecture announced on February 12 that 3,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the dried daikon made from daikon harvested in Fukushima City. The national provisional safety limit is 500 becquerels/kg.

　すでに、ＪＡ新ふくしまが経営する同市内の農産物直売所５か所で計１０２袋（１袋５０グラム入り）が販売されており、県は同ＪＡに対し、自主回収と出荷自粛を要請した。

102 bags of 50-gram dried daikon have already been sold at 5 direct sales depots of JA Shin-Fukushima in Fukushima City. The prefectural government has requested the JA to voluntarily withdraw the products and halt shipment.

　商品名は「干し大根」。福島市の「ここら吾妻店」「ここら黒岩店」「ここら清水店」「ここら大森店」「ここら矢野目店」で販売された。

The brand name is "hoshi daikon (dried daikon". It was sold at JA's 5 direct sales depots in Fukushima City.

The argument by the authorities and the producers is that when the product is reconstituted with water, the radioactivity goes down.

No it doesn't. Per-kilogram radioactivity goes down because 1 kilogram of dried daikon strips may result in 10 kilograms of reconstituted daikon strips. There may be only 300 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the reconstituted daikon, but if you are going to eat 1 kilo of dried daikon strips over time, you will still get 3,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium.

There have been 3 daikon grown in Fukushima City tested since June last year, and radioactive cesium was not detected, according to the Fukushima prefectural government site where you can check the result of the sample tests for Fukushima produce.

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NISA on Reactor 2 RPV Temperature: Not a Problem

(UPDATE: Latest temperature is 89.6 degrees Celsius as of 5AM, 2/13/2012.)

since it is most likely to be the instrument failure.

Yomiuri Shinbun (2/11/2012):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所２号機の原子炉圧力容器の底部温度が保安規定で上限と定めた８０度を上回ったことを受け、経済産業省原子力安全・保安院の森山善範原子力災害対策監は１２日夜、臨時の記者会見を開き、「原子炉全体としては冷却されている。放射性物質の放出量にも変化は無く、安全性に問題はない」と述べ、昨年末に政府と東電が宣言した「冷温停止状態」について、変更する必要はないとの認識を示した。

As the temperature at the bottom of Reactor 2 Pressure Vessel at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant exceeded 80 degrees Celsius, which is the upper limit in the safety regulations, Yoshinori Moriyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency held an ad hoc press conference in the evening of February 12, and said "The reactor as a whole is well cooled. There is no change in the amount of radioactive materials released, and there is no problem with the safety", sharing the agency's view that there was no need to change the status of "cold shutdown state" that the national government and TEPCO had declared at the end of last year.

　保安院によると、複数ある温度計のうち上昇傾向を示しているのは１か所だけで、温度も激しく変化していることから、故障の可能性もあるという。保安院は同日、東電に対し、圧力容器の温度の把握方法や、故障した温度計の保安規定上の取り扱いについて検討し、報告するよう口頭で指示した。

According to NISA, there is only one thermometer among several that shows uptrend and the temperature fluctuates widely, which has led to the speculation that it may be the instrument failure. NISA issued an oral instruction to TEPCO on February 12 to come up with a report to the agency regarding the ways to measure the temperatures of the RPV, and how to handle thermometers that are broken in light of the safety regulations.

Just remember that NISA is staffed with the nuclear and electric power industry people on leave.

In TEPCO's defense, though, the declaration of "cold shutdown state" to the derision of the world (even in Japan, surprise) was made by the prime minister of Japan whose interest seems to be more aligned with the "global" community than with the subjects in the increasingly Orwellian Japan. TEPCO went along with it, for sure.

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