Fukushima I NPP Telephone Game (Nth Time): "Ice Plug for Trench Water Not Working" Morphed into "Frozen Soil Wall Around Reactor Buildings Not Working"

It involves both the Japanese media and the foreign media, both in Japanese and in English, following the usual pattern of:

1. Original Japanese article appears in the Japanese media;

2. Original Japanese article is then translated into English incorrectly;

3. English article freaks out the foreign readers;

4. English article is then translated back into Japanese;

5. Japanese readers freak out reading the translated Japanese article.

In this telephone game still being played out as of June 18, 2014, the original article was by NHK Japan (6/17/2014), which was correctly translated (except for the paragraph order) by NHK World into English.

The news is about the frozen water barrier, or ice plug, that TEPCO is trying to form in the trench from the Reactor 2 turbine building to the plant harbor near the water intake for the reactors. The trench contains extremely contaminated water that has been sitting there since April 2011 when a worker found it pouring from the crack into the open culvert in the plant harbor. The dosimeter went overscale at 1,000 millisievert/hour over the water.

It is NOT about the frozen soil impermeable wall that TEPCO/Kajima have started constructing around the reactor/turbine buildings.

From NHK World (6/16/2014 UTC; emphasis is mine):

TEPCO finds water in tunnels not yet frozen

Workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant say their effort to freeze radioactive water in underground tunnels hasn't gone as planned.

In April, they began pouring chemical solutions into tunnels at the No.2 reactor. They hoped to freeze the water to stop it flowing out to the sea.

But tests show the water remains above freezing temperature.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company believes objects in the tunnels are preventing the coolant from spreading evenly. They also said running wastewater is slowing the process.

They say they are planning to find ways to control the water currents and add pipes to pour in more coolant.

They say they may not be able to complete the frozen barrier by the end of the month, and dry up the tunnel next month, as scheduled.

They are trying the same process in a tunnel around the No.3 reactor. About 11,000 tons of wastewater is believed to be in tunnels at the two reactors.

TEPCO hopes to remove wastewater from tunnels around all reactors in fiscal 2014.

The utility also has to deal with groundwater flowing into the plant from nearby hillsides and mixing with contaminated materials. Workers have been creating a 1.5-kilometer underground wall of frozen soil surrounding all four damaged reactors.

The problem lies, I think, in the paragraph order in the original Japanese news article by NHK. The bit about the frozen soil wall, which is placed at the end of the news piece in the English NHK article above, is in the middle of the news in the Japanese NHK news.

So, the focus of the writers who wrote up the articles on the topic based on the NHK Japan's Japanese report may have been diverted away from the ice plug by freezing the trench water to the different topic of the frozen soil wall to stop groundwater. Or the writers simply did not follow enough on the on-going work on the plant.

(Of all people) Japan's English-language paper Japan Times wrote an article (6/18/2014) supposedly quoting AFP, Jiji and Reuters and confusing the ice plug for trench water with the frozen soil wall for groundwater. The writer clearly does not understand what "trench" TEPCO was talking about:

[My comments in square brackets in italic]

Tepco’s ice wall runs into glitch at Fukushima No. 1

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the refrigerated ice wall being built to slow the movement of water beneath damaged reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant isn’t working as expected. [No, TEPCO didn't say that.]

Tepco said the project, which remains in its early stages, is experiencing a problem with an inner ice wall designed to contain highly radioactive water that is draining from the basements of the wrecked reactors.

“We have yet to form an ice plug because we can’t get the temperature low enough to freeze the water,” a Tepco spokesman said Tuesday.

Trenches are being dug for a huge network of pipes under the plant that will have refrigerant pumped through them. If successful, it would freeze the soil and form a physical barrier, significantly slowing the rate at which uncontaminated groundwater flows into the reactor basements and becomes contaminated. [Japan Times is talking about frozen soil wall, not the ice plug that TEPCO's spokesman was talking about.]

“We are behind schedule, but have already taken additional measures, including putting in more pipes, so that we can remove contaminated water from the trench starting next month,” a spokesman said.

The coolant used in the operation is an aqueous solution of calcium chloride, which is cooled to minus 30 degrees. The ice wall employs the same technology as the trench project and involves the same contractor, Kajima Corp.

The idea of freezing a section of the ground was proposed last year. Engineers have used the technique to build tunnels near watercourses. But scientists point out it has never been used on such a large scale, or for the length of time Tepco is proposing.

Coping with the huge amount of water at the plant is proving to be a major challenge for Tepco, as it tries to clean up the mess after the worst nuclear disaster in a generation.

As well as having to collect vast quantities of water used to cool the melted down reactors, Tepco has been pumping up and storing water that drains down from inland mountains to the sea.

Full decommissioning of the plant is expected to take several decades. An exclusion zone remains in place, and experts warn that some former residential areas may have to be abandoned as settlements because of persistently high levels of radiation.

Foreign media outlets that also have the Japanese web presence then wrote articles in Japanese, saying "NHK said frozen soil wall is not working." Voice of Russia's Japanese article (6/17/2014) and Huffington Post Japan's article are two such examples. There are English sites and blogs that quoted the erroneous Japan Times article.

After three-plus years of confused information and confused information dissemination regarding the Fukushima nuclear accident, an increasing number of people seem to be resorting to the "devil's proof" - can you prove that the news (as per Japan Times and others) is 100% wrong?

In this case in fact it is 100% wrong, as the news is not about the frozen soil wall but about the extremely contaminated trench water which is apparently running, or flowing, and which remains above freezing temperature.

That's much scarier to me than the groundwater (target of the frozen soil wall), as it means this extremely contaminated trench water may not be standing water but may be constantly flowing and constantly leaking, possibly into the surrounding soil and into the plant harbor. I haven't read anyone paying attention to that possibility. (Certainly not NHK.)

But no matter. An increasing number of people have also started to speak like Hillary Clinton (over Benghazi): What difference does it make?

Apparently, confusion in reporting in English is such that TEPCO issued an English press release (6/18/2014) to try to set the record straight. I think it will likely fall on deaf ears, but here it is (emphasis is mine):

Fukushima - June 18, 2014, TEPCO has started freezing the water at intersections of turbine buildings inside the trenches (tunnel) from April 28, 2014, which contain contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi NPS. This operation is one of the first steps to remove contaminated water from the trenches which is a major mile stone for TEPCO's decommissioning at Fukushima Daiichi NPS.

On June 16, TEPCO has announced some difficulties that were encountered with an effort to freeze standing water inside the tunnel which TEPCO has been implemented countermeasures since early June. However, this has nothing to do with the "ice wall (Land-side impermeable wall with frozen soil)" which is constructed by freezing the soil surrounding pipes that carry circulating refrigerant. Unfortunately, there are some miss understandings as relating to the ice wall that is being built around the perimeter of the four reactor units for the purpose of blocking groundwater.

This freezing the standing water inside the trenches are entirely different from the ice wall, which the technology is used to freeze soil, creating a frozen wall - not really an "ice wall" but in fact a wall of frozen soil - was tested and demonstrated to be effective before construction on the wall began in May. Instead of freezing the soil, TEPCO has to freeze standing water inside the trenches.

The difficulties encountered in freezing the contaminated water does not in any way represent a "setback" in development of the "ice wall," for which construction is proceeding as planned.

TEPCO will continue the decommissioning operation and contaminated water management safely and diligently with a support and the knowledge gain from our domestic and other international partners.

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#Fukushima I NPP on Google Maps

Google Maps finally updated the satellite photograph of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. It shows the more-or-less current plant condition in great details.

(Click to enlarge the screenshots; Google Map at the bottom of the post.)

Instead of mangled steel beams and trusses completely covering the Reactor 3 operating floor, you actually see the Spent Fuel Pool, with water, with the half-submerged fuel handling machine:

Contrary to a belief still popular with people around the world (including Mr. Koide of Kyoto University) that the Reactor 4 building is still a smoking wreckage about to collapse at any moment, it now actually looks like this:

Removal of fuel assemblies from the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool is now 70% finished, as of 6/16/2014. You can still see a lot of debris on the east side (ocean side) of the Reactor 4 building. Debris immediately around the reactor buildings has extremely high radiation contamination, according to the survey by TEPCO (I'll try to locate the document later).

Probably to suppress radiation and to prep for the frozen soil impermeable wall construction, the roads around the reactor buildings and the turbine buildings look to be paved with metal plates. Right where the trailer with Hitachi logo on top is where the frozen soil impermeable wall is being constructed near Reactor 1:

Almost all trees have been cut to reduce radiation levels inside the plant. It's particularly apparent around the wells to draw groundwater for the groundwater bypass scheme. This location used to be covered with ever-green trees.

A pile of what looks to be low-radiation waste and debris, near the groundwater bypass wells:

There are two barges inside the plant harbor; you can see the silt screen that somewhat separates the water in the open channel in front of the water intakes for the reactors:

At the southern end of the plant harbor, you can see the wall of steel pipe sheet piles in the water in an attempt to stop groundwater from flowing into the harbor and flowing out of harbor:

The high-radiation strip between the turbine building and the plant harbor seems to have been cleared of debris enough for various works. Here again, you can see the metal plates on the ground to lower the radiation for the workers:

Fukushima I NPP on Google Maps:

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(OT) FIFA World Cup Soccer Opens, Japanese Ref Effectively Gives Brazil an Opening Victory While Japan Loses to Ivory Coast

FIFA World Cup has started, and many sports fans in Japan seem to be losing sleep trying to catch the games.

Japan's all-star team lost today (6/14/2014) to Ivory Coast 1 to 2, in a match that had little to write home about.

But what floored me was not the Japanese team but the Japanese referee who presided over the opening game on June 12, 2014 between the host country Brazil and Croatia.

In that game, Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura

- yellow-carded Brazilian player for elbowing a Croatian player in the face, instead of red-carded - a collective sigh of relief from the stadium;
- allowed a penalty kick on what looks to be a blatant dive (aka "simulation") by a Brazilian player;
- disallowed a legitimate goal by Croatia

In doing all these, Mr. Nishimura was aided by two sub-referees, who were also Japanese.

From UK's Daily Mail (6/12/2014; part):

Neymar escapes red card in World Cup 2014 opener as referee Yuichi Nishimura hands Brazil soft penalty after Fred appeared to dive

Brazil's poster boy clashed with Luka Modric in Sao Paulo opener

The Barcelona player appeared to elbow the Real Madrid man in first-half

Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura brandished yellow to relief of host nation

Fred earned Brazil a soft penalty which Neymar scored to give Brazil lead

Nishimura ruled out a late Croatia goal for a foul on Julio Cesar by Ivica Olic

Croatia manager Niko Kovac blasted referee Yuichi Nishimura for his poor performance during the opening match of the 2014 World Cup.

The Japanese official had a night to forget, allowing Neymar to stay on the pitch following a cynical elbow on Luka Modric in the first-half, before awarding the tournament hosts a soft penalty and disallowing what looked like a legitimate equaliser by Croatia.

Kovac said Nishimura was out of his depth and that someone else should have been appointed to officiate if he wasn't up to the job.

Kovac said: 'I must say the referee was completely out of his depth.

'If someone's not up to scratch to referee the first game then find someone else. Two and a half billion people saw this wasn't a penalty.'

Yup. I saw it. But clearly not Japanese soccer fans in Japan, vast majority of whom tweeted how they supported the Japanese referee's decisions in the match and how proud they were of him for setting the standard for refereeing in this World Cup. At least in the world of Twitter, dissenting from that position doesn't seem to be allowed.

According to Yomiuri Shinbun's report, a major Brazilian newspaper (Folha de S. Paulo) is thanking the referee Nishimura for being part of the team.

AP reports that Croatian players claim Nishimura was speaking Japanese to them.

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(OT) STAP Cell Researcher Says, "I Want to Be Reunited with My Sons from Whom I've Been Separated"

So, the so-called "STAP cells" have undergone gender reassignment - from "princess" cells as Ms. Obokata (lead author of the two Nature papers) once wanted to name them, to "my sons".

There's got to be a better profession for this so-called researcher than being a researcher. A comedienne or a politician comes to mind.

According to Mainichi Shinbun (6/11/2014), Ms. Obokata, who has been staying at a hospital, has been in fact "advising" Riken researchers how to create the so-called STAP cells since last month.

Mainichi also quotes the lead attorney employed by Ms. Obokata (she has four attorneys), who told the press that his client says she wants to look for her sons (STAP cells) whom she has been separated from.

One prominent Japanese scientist (and a mother) who heads a laboratory in a US research institution is furious, and she tweeted, "You have already made a mockery of biology. Stop insulting women and female researchers further. I'm ashamed."

Other net citizens wonder aloud how Ms. Obokata could look for her "sons" when the "sons" may not have been born to begin with.

Nikkei Science and NHK reported today (6/11/2014) that her "sons" may not be STAP cells but ES cells (embryonic stem cells) with a particular genetic defect. That particular defect, "trisomy" (having three copies) of chromosome 8, has been found in almost all cells that were presented as STAP cells which was supposedly made from one-week-old mice.

Trisomy of chromosome 8 results in death of an embryo. In other words, there cannot be any mouse born with trisomy of chromosome 8, and STAP cells cannot be made from cells taken from a mouse with trisomy of chromosome 8.

On the other hand, 20 to 30 percent of cultured ES cells are known to have trisomy of chromosome 8, according to Nikkei Science and NHK who quote both Riken researchers and Tokyo University researchers who analyzed DNA of the STAP cells.

Oh well, minor details for non-scientists or people with little to no interest in science who are the majority of people in Japan and probably elsewhere. Post-Fukushima Japan (and perhaps elsewhere) seems to think that if you cannot 100% prove certain things do not exist - be they STAP cells or acute effect of long-term low-dose radiation exposure - then it is possible, or even highly probable that these things do exist.

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Aerial Photo by Asahi Shows Desolation Around #Fukushima I NPP

While I do not think much at all of the initial editorialization of the confidential testimony given by Plant Manager Masao Yoshida to the government investigation of the accident and which Asahi somehow obtained, the special webpage dedicated to reporting on the testimony has some good photographs.

Here's one for the "epilogue" (so their reporting is ending already) about the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool.

According to the credit of the photo, it was taken from Asahi's helicopter on December 15, 2013. Unlike photographs of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant which mostly show the plant only, this one shows Okuma-machi (south of the plant) and Futaba-machi and toward Namie-machi (north of the plant).

No one (officially) lives in Okuma or Futaba. The coastal area of Futaba and Namie (above Fukushima I NPP in the photo) looks to have been wiped out by the March 11, 2011 tsunami. There are houses hugging the hills in Okuma, but the abandoned fields look overgrown. No one there to till the land.

No one is returning anytime soon to the area right below (south) of the plant. The area is called Ottozawa. The highest ambient air dose level in Ottozawa at present is 28 microsieverts/hour as measured on June 5, 2014.

Ottozawa has had one of the highest ambient air dose levels inside the former evacuation zone, located right up against Fukushima I NPP. In February 2012, contract workers "decontaminated" the area in 70 to 130 microsieverts/hour radiation (see my post on 2/9/2012).

Using the formula to calculate additional annual radiation exposure even with using the coefficient of 0.2 (instead of 0.4 for wooden structure; see my 6/8/2014 post), it would be additional 114 millisieverts in one year at the current ambient radiation level.

But then, there are many scholars and researchers around the world who would say that level would be safe enough for residents to return and live a life they can enjoy, instead of living in a crowded temporary housing. (See my posts here for some of the researchers over the past three years.)

Image from Asahi Shinbun "Yoshida Testimony - Epilogue" page:

(Click to see the entire image)

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Japanese Government Is Rumored to Revise Decontamination Target from 0.23 Microsievert/Hr to 0.4 to 0.6 Microsievert/Hr

Confusion and misunderstanding ensue, following the reporting on the Ministry of the Environment's plan (yet to be officially announced) to raise the radiation target level after decontamination in Fukushima from the current 0.23 microsievert/hour to 0.4-0.6 microsievert/hour.

The Ministry of the Environment (supposedly) says the additional exposure from the radiation under the new target level will be still under 1 millisievert per year.

The empirical data so far collected in Fukushima Prefecture (glass badges worn by residents, monitoring posts, actual measurements before and after decontamination, for example) seem to endorse the position by the Ministry, but this particular ministry unfortunately lacks credibility after having been headed by Goshi Hosono (DPJ) and now by Shintaro Ishihara's son who once wanted to ban the use of personal survey meters by citizens.

The Ministry and the municipal governments involved seem to be doing this for very wrong reason, if what Fukushima Central TV (FCT)'s reporting is correct.

To them, it is about cost-performance - too costly and time-consuming to decontaminate to the 0.23 microsievert/hr level. But again, this is according to the TV station reporting, and the official word from the Ministry is not expected for two to three months, according to Asahi Shinbun.

About this yet-to-be-official change in the government's decontamination policy, from Fukushima Central TV (FCT) (6/6/2014):

除染後の目標値　約２倍に引き上げを協議

Raising the target [radiation] level after decontamination to about twice the current level is being discussed

原発事故からの復興の前提となる除染について、環境省が新たな方針を自治体と協議していることがＦＣＴの取材で分かった。

FCT has found that the Ministry of the Environment has been discussing with the municipal governments [in Fukushima] on the new policy on decontamination which is considered to be prerequisite for recovery from the nuclear accident.

それは、除染で達成すべき空間放射線量の目標で、これまで１時間あたり０．２３マイクロシーベルトとしていたものを、およそ２倍に引き上げようというもの。

The new policy would raise the target ambient radiation level that decontamination should achieve from the current 0.23 microsievert/hour to about twice as high as the current level.

環境省は、除染ガイドラインで、除染後の空間放射線量を毎時０．２３マイクロシーベルトとする目標値を定めている。

In the decontamination guideline by the Ministry of the Environment, the target ambient radiation level after decontamination is set at 0.23 microsievert/hour.

この数値は、年間の追加被ばく線量の１ミリシーベルトから算出されている。

This number is calculated from the additional annual radiation exposure [target] of 1 millisievert.

環境省はこの目標値について、今のおよそ２倍の毎時０．４から０．６マイクロシーベルト前後に引き上げる方向で、自治体と協議を進めていることがＦＣＴの取材で分かった。

The Ministry of the Environment has been discussing with the municipal government involved to raise the target level to 0.4 to 0.6 microsievert/hour, which is about twice as high as the current level.

除染後の線量の目標については、県内の一部の自治体から「０．２３マイクロシーベルトの達成は難しい」として、環境省により現実的な目標に見直すよう要望が出ていた。

Some municipal governments in Fukushima Prefecture have requested the Ministry of the Environment to revise the target radiation level to something more realistic. The current target of 0.23 microsievert/hour is too difficult to achieve, according to these municipal governments.

環境省などでは、これまで目標値の毎時０．２３マイクロシーベルトを上回っても実際に被ばくする線量は年間１ミリ以下におさえられるとしていて、今月１５日にも自治体を集めて、除染目標の引き上げについて話し合いを行うとしている。

Officials at the Ministry of the Environment say the actual additional radiation exposure per year will still be under 1 millisievert even if the ambient radiation level after decontamination exceeds the current target level of 0.23 microsievert/hour. They will have a meeting on June 15 with the municipal governments involved to discuss raising the target level for decontamination.

The effective dose measured by glass badges is shown to be about half to one-third of the dose calculated by the Ministry of the Environment from the ambient radiation levels indicated by monitoring posts.

Here's a chart from the report by Date City in November 2013. Date City is located in Nakadori (middle third) of Fukushima Prefecture with elevated ambient radiation levels in western part of the city:

(English labels are by me)

The calculation used by the government (Ministry of the Environment) is as follows:

予測年間追加被ばく線量（mSv）＝空間線量率（μSv/h）× （8h ＋ 16 h × 0.4） × 365 (日)÷1000

Expected annual additional radiation exposure (mSv) = (ambient radiation - background radiation of 0.04 μSv/h) x (8h + 16h x 0.4) x 365 / 1000

In other words, expected annual additional radiation exposure in millisievert is calculated by:

(1) Subtract background radiation level of 0.04 μSv/h (pre-accident Fukushima average) from the current ambient radiation level.
(2) Multiply (1) by 8 hours as number of hours one stays outdoors per day.
(3) Multiply (1) by 16 hours as number of hours one stays indoors per day, then multiply by the coefficient 0.4 to account for shielding effect of the buildings (houses, offices, etc.).
(4) Add (2) and (3), then multiply it by 365 to come up with the annual additional exposure dosage in microsievert.
(5) Divide (4) by 1000 to come up with the number in millisievert.

Instead of saying "Decontaminating until the ambient radiation level drops to 0.23 microsievert/hr is too costly and near-impossible to achieve," the Ministry of the Environment could admit its mistake in setting the coefficient at 0.4 (to account for one- or two-story buildings made of wood, according to National Institute for Radiological Science).

Date City's result indicates that the coefficient of 0.2 (to account for one- or two-story concrete buildings) would be closer to the actual effective radiation dose. Children and adults in white-collar jobs may be spending the bulk of their time in buildings that are more than three-story high and made of concrete (schools, office buildings), and the coefficient for such buildings is 0.1.

We will have to wait for two to three months until Shintaro Ishihara's son (Minister of the Environment) officially announces the change, but Japanese Twitter is already full of people thinking that the national government is raising the additional radiation exposure per year allowed for Fukushima to 2 millisieverts.

(H/T @drsteppenwolf)

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#Fukushima I NPP: Construction of Frozen Soil Wall Around the Reactor Buildings and Turbine Buildings Has Started

Following the grudging approval from Nuclear Regulation Authority, the construction of the frozen soil impermeable wall around the reactor buildings and turbine buildings has promptly started.

The first place that the contractor (Kajima) started to drill holes in was the northwest corner of the wall right near the Reactor 1 building.

The frozen soil wall plan by Kajima has been criticized by the media and net citizens as "untested" and "costly". I don't personally share much of that sentiment after looking at the presentation by Kajima and those by two competitors (see my post from May 30, 2013), but I do worry, as the modus operandi of TEPCO is to cut cost by any means. I have a nagging feeling that TEPCO will manage to sabotage Kajima's work somehow.

From TEPCO's photos and videos library (6/2/2014):

An aerial photo by Yomiuri (how they got away with taking a picture is a mystery to me, given the warming from the government/TEPCO on the physical protection) shows how close the wall would be to the reactor building (Reactor 1, in this case). The drilling location is marked with a red circle:

The exhaust stack you see on the right has a spot where the dosimeter went overscale at 10,000 millisieverts/hr (or 10 Sieverts/hr) back in August 2011. TEPCO did calculate how high the radiation might be in November 2013, and it was at least 25 Sieverts/hr on the surface of the pipe. Ambient radiation levels near the pipe range from 19 to 95 millisieverts/hr.

TEPCO's survey map on March 23, 2011 made public for the first time outside TEPCO shows the area with the radiation levels between 6 to 130 millisieverts/hr:

After painstaking removal of highly radioactive debris that littered the location by human workers and remote-controlled heavy equipment, the radiation levels as of May 14, 2014 are mostly between 0.2 to 0.8 millisieverts/hr. The level near the drilling location looks to be 0.35 millisievert/hr:

Still, 0.35 millisieverts/hr is 350 microsieverts/hr; it is nowhere near the level for workers to work without concern for radiation exposure. Three-hour work on that location, and you may exceed 1 millisievert per year excess radiation exposure.

In Fukushima City today (6/5/2014), the radiation levels are mostly below 0.25 microsievert/hr, according to Fukushima Prefecture radioactivity measurement map:

In Tokyo today, a monitoring post in Shinjuku shows the level at 0.0343 microgrey/hr, according to Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health. It is back to the level before the nuclear accident. At 1 meter off the ground, the radiation level is 0.06 microgrey/hr:

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(UPDATED: OT) Nature Magazine Says There Were No STAP Stem Cells, Which May Be Just a Mixture of Two Different Types of Stem Cells According to Latest Analysis

(UPDATE 3) The story gets richer by the day. Now it's been found that Professor Charles Vacanti, head of Anesthesiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the corresponding author of the Nature paper which he finally agreed to retract after just about everything in the paper was found to be more fantasy than reality, has been awarded US$700,000 grant from the Department of Defense via AxoGen, Inc., "the emerging leader of the $1.6 billion U.S. peripheral nerve repair market" according to the PR on June 4, 2014.

“I am excited about the potential to address challenging nerve repair cases through the use of regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies,” said Vacanti

The US taxpayers are thrilled to fund his research, I suppose.

(UPDATE 2) Yomiuri and other papers reported on 6/5/2014 that Ms. Obokata's job application paper for Riken's position ("unit leader" with close to 100,000 dollars salary) was found to contain more copying and pasting - from her doctoral thesis which is itself full of copying and pasting and from patent applications submitted by Harvard University. It would be a surprise if there is anything, anything at all that this so-called researcher has ever produced without copying and pasting someone else's work.

(UPDATE) So it was a pressure exerted by Nature Magazine on Charles Vacanti. According to Asahi Shinbun (6/5/2014), Nature strongly suggested Vacanti agree to withdraw the papers (only Vacanti and Obokata were holding out) instead of Nature doing it without his consent. After Vacanti folded, Obokata folded.

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Fraud through and through, it seems to me.

The latest developments came on June 3, 2014, when NHK reported on two different investigations done on these so-called STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells (which was originally to be called "princess cells" - princess woken up by a kiss from a prince, no less - by the lead author of the two papers accepted by Nature).

According to NHK News (6/3/2014):

- Genetic analysis of the cells created from STAP cells shows these cells were from the mice different from those supposedly used in the experiment detailed in the Nature papers.

- The cells were supposed to be created from "F1" mouse according to the Nature papers, but in fact they were from "B6" and "CD1" mouse.

- Cells from "B6" mouse are similar to "ES cells (embryonic stem cells)", and cells from "CD1" mouse are similar to "TS cells (trophoblast stem cells).

Ms. Obokata's secret recipe may have been to mix ES cells and TS cells cleverly. There was no STAP stem cell, there is no STAP stem cell, as even the magazine that published the two papers now admits.

And what is Riken going to do? Nothing. They have said they will continue their effort to recreate the experiment that supposedly created so-called STAP cells. Their best luck would be to mix ES cells and TS cells, just like the lead author (and probably the corresponding author Charles Vacanti) probably did. The top management of Riken seems eager to protect their star scientist Sasai, who was the mentor to Ms. Obokata and the promoter of her and her STAP cells, and shut down the investigation before it ensnares him.

Then today (6/4/21014), Nikkei Shinbun reports that Ms. Obokata has finally agree to retract the Nature paper, as well as the letter. NHK says the corresponding author Professor Charles Vacanti may now be willing to retract the paper.

About time to put this sorry saga to rest, but many net citizens (mostly males) in Japan continue to firmly believe it is some kind of a huge conspiracy by male-dominated research institutions and the national government to monopolize these so-called STAP cells. Poor little girl, they say.

The lead attorney assisting Ms. Obokata in dealing with Riken says she is still hospitalized and too weak (from unspecified illness, like some celebrities or politicians) and says she has probably been pressured by Riken to accept the retraction.

So far, there is no investigation by Harvard University and Nature Magazine. Waseda University, which conferred Obokata her doctoral degree, apparently does not understand what's wrong with copying and pasting without citations in writing a doctoral thesis.

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Radium Waste in Swiss Dump Emitting 300 Microsieverts/Hr, Government Authorities Withheld Information from Local Residents for 18 Months

From Yahoo News quoting AFP (6/1/2014; emphasis is mine):

Highly radioactive substance found in Swiss dump: report

Geneva (AFP) - A highly radioactive substance, emitting in some places radiation 100 times the permitted amount, has been discovered in Switzerland, local media reported Sunday, adding that authorities had covered it up for 18 months.

Swiss weeklies Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung reported that federal, regional and local officials decided not to reveal the fact that they had found radium deposits in an old dump in the town of Bienne so as not to scare the 50,000 local inhabitants.

"120 kilogrammes of radioactive waste was obtained after sorting. We measured doses of several hundred microsieverts at the source," Daniel Dauwalder, a spokesman for the Swiss federal office for public health (OFSP), told Le Matin Dimanche.

In certain places, measurements of 300 microsieverts per hour were taken, more than 100 times the permitted amount for an old dump, the newspapers reported.

Exposure for three hours to that level of radiation would be equivalent to the tolerable level over a whole year.

The waste came from a paint used by the watch-making industry to illuminate the numbers on watch faces.

The substance, which has been banned since 1963 due to its radioactive nature, was discovered when roadworks were started at the site.

The OFSP judged the risk to public health "weak", although SonntagsZeitung said that tests on the water table would begin next month.

Public health authorities have shifted the blame back and forth, with local officials saying the OFSP should have informed the public about the incident, and the OFSP saying the responsibility lay with municipal authorities.

The president of the federal commission in charge of monitoring radiation (CPR), which was not informed of the incident, said the various authorities had made a "mistake".

"This will all come back to bite us and it is much more difficult to stay credible and win back the public's trust," Francois Bochud told Le Matin Dimanche.

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#Fukushima I NPP Reactor 3 MSIV: Leak Is From Expansion Joint That Connects to Main Steam Pipe

Just like the survey above the grating on April 23, 2014, TEPCO's workers inserted the pan-tilt camera from the floor above to identify the location of the leak in the MSIV room in Reactor 3 on May 15, 2014. They used a hook to lift a portion of the grating so that the camera could go below the grating.

They found a leak, and it was from the expansion joint that connects to the Main Steam Pipe D, one of the four Main Steam Pipes.

From TEPCO's photos and videos library, 5/15/2014:

Leak was found from the expansion joint to the Main Steam Pipe D, which is in fact hidden from view. What you see in the foreground is the Main Steam Pipe C and the Expansion Joint C. Leak is marked by red circles in the photo (English labels are by me):

So, the MSIV (Main Steam Isolation Valve) itself may have worked exactly as it is designed for, which is to shut off the steam from the reactor in case of a severe accident that would necessitate the scram (we don't know for sure, unless someone enters the MSIV room and investigate), but the leak is from the joint right before the MSIV.

Here's the video, showing the leak (look very closely after 33 seconds):

Bad news, I think, for reactors around the world, but no one in the media has picked up on the significance of the news so far.

This is the typical reporting that I've seen in the Japanese media:

"A leak was found on the Containment Vessel of Reactor 3 for the first time."

Clearly, reporters don't bother to know what MSIV - Main Steam Isolation Valve - is. They don't seem curious either to ask questions like:

How did the expansion joint get damaged?
Was it by the earthquake?
Was it by pressure that exceeded the spec?
Was it by high heat that exceeded the spec?
If it was high pressure, what caused the high pressure?
If it was high heat, what caused the high heat? What are the implications for other nuclear power plants in Japan (and the world) that use this type of joints for many critical safety components in the plants?

Instead, they'd rather write about "nosebleed" in Fukushima Prefecture and how TEPCO's employees "disobeyed" the order and fled from Fukushima I NPP on March 15, 2011 (that's according to fanciful Asahi Shinbun). (More later, maybe.)

Below are the tweets from "Happy", who was hoping that the leak would be from one of the auxiliary pipes that comes through the Containment Vessel, such as the drain pipe:

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/466915608441790464 3号機のMSIV室の漏洩は、やっぱりドレンじゃなくてベロー部からだったでし。PCV漏洩止水にスポットがあたってるけどオイラは、これが地震による配管破断だとしたらとても大きな事で、全国の原発再稼働に待ったをかけるべきなんだけど…。

The leak in the Reactor 3 MSIV Room was from the bellows [expansion joint], not from the drain pipe. A focus is on how to stop the leak from PCV (Primary Containment Vessel), but I think it's a serious stuff if this is a rupture of the pipe because of the earthquake, and the restart of nuclear power plants in Japan should be halted...

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/466925690588123137 3号機MSIVのベロー部漏洩が地震による配管破断だとしたら、何故大きな問題になるかと言うと、この伸縮継手は重要な配管やPCVやRPVベッセル等々、至る所で使われているタイプで国内全ての原発が同じタイプを使ってると言っても過言じゃないんだ。

The reason why it is a big problem if the leak from the bellows in the Reactor 3 MSIV Room was from the rupture of the pipe caused by the earthquake is because this type of expansion joints are used everywhere on important pipes, PVCs, and RPVs (Reactor Pressure Vessels), etc. It's no exaggeration to say that every single nuclear power plant in Japan uses the same type of expansion joints.

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/466925830493335552 ベロー部(伸縮継手)の基本設計は、どちらかと言うと耐震性より熱による配管の伸縮吸収を考慮した設計だから今回、もし地震の影響だとしたら基本設計を見直さないとダメなはずなんだよね。原発ムラが一番怖れてるのが、この地震による配管破断なんだ。

The basic design of a bellows (expansion joint) takes into account the expansion and contraction of the pipe by the heat, rather than the seismic resistant capacity. If [the damage] is from the effect of the earthquake, the design would need to be revised. What the "nuclear village" is most afraid of is the rupture of pipes due to an earthquake.

https://twitter.com/Happy11311/status/466926728271515650 だから未だに現場検証も線量が高い理由で実施しないんだと思うんだけどね。これはオイラの予想だけど、たぶん国や東電が考えて出すMSIVの漏洩原因は、｢地震じゃなくて設計圧力以上の圧力がかかった｣とか、｢異常に高い温度熱が原因だった｣とかの発表を数値を出して説明すると思うでし。

That's why I think the on-site investigation hasn't been done, ostensibly due to high radiation. I expect the reason for the MSIV leak that the national government and TEPCO will come up with will be "due to the pressure that exceeded the design pressure, not the earthquake" or "due to extremely high temperature," citing some numbers.

Well, even if they say the damage was due to high pressure or high temperature, I would assume the critical component like this that connects to the super-critical component (MSIV) should not fail in a severe accident that would probably generate high pressure and high temperature that would exceed the design specs.

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(OT) Obamanomics = "Godzilla of Incompetence"

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez at International Business Daily:

I suspect that it will be the same for "Abenomics", except the reason (aka excuse) is not going to be the weather but the "pacifist Constitution" that restricts the prime minister from freely selling arms and sending the Self Defense Force to places where the US troops are (i.e. practically everywhere on the planet Earth).

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Tritium in Seawater Over 30 Years in Japan

TEPCO has started the groundwater bypass operation, releasing the groundwater drawn before it reaches the highly contaminated reactor buildings in Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Fukushima Minpo (5/24/2014) has the information on nuclide analysis of the seawater after the release:

東京電力福島第一原発の「地下水バイパス」計画で東電は２３日、放水前後の海水の放射性物質濃度の測定結果を発表した。放水前後で目立った変動は見られなかった。

TEPCO released the nuclide analysis of seawater before and after the release of groundwater from "the groundwater bypass" scheme on May 23, 2014. No significant change was observed.

東電によると、初めて放水した２１日に地下水バイパスの排水口から南へ約２２０メートル離れた付近で海水を採取し分析したところ、セシウム１３４、１３７は放水前後がいずれも検出下限値未満、全ベータは放水前が１リットル当たり１２ベクレル、放水後が同１１ベクレルだった。

According to TEPCO, the seawater sample was taken about 220 meter south of the groundwater bypass drainage outlet and analyzed. Cesium-134 and cesium-137 were below detection levels before and after the release of the groundwater. All-beta was 12 Bq/L before the release, and 11 Bq/L after the release.

トリチウムは放水前が同３・９ベクレル、放水後が同２・２ベクレルだった。

Tritium was 3.9 Bq/L before the release, and 2.2 Bq/L after the release.

Tritium in single-digit becquerels per liter of seawater. How does this compare to what existed before the Fukushima nuclear accident?

From the database maintained by Japan Chemical Analysis Center (radiation monitoring around nuclear facilities in Japan), the historical range for Fukushima Prefecture from 1979 to 2010 (two nuclear power plants - Fukushima I and Fukushima II) is approximately 0.4 Bq/L to 4 Bq/L.

How does Fukushima compare to other prefectures with nuclear power plant?

Here's a chart plotting tritium levels in Fukushima (two plants with 8 boiling water reactors), Ibaraki (2 plants, one decomissioned, one boiling water reactor from 1978 on), and Hokkaido (one plant with 3 pressurized water reactors, from 1989 on).

Now Fukushima is in red triangles (which I have no control over in the chart creation app at the website), Hokkaido in blue squares, and Ibaraki in black crosses. The range is approximately 0.4 Bq/L to 200 Bq/L (Ibaraki).

Hokkaido's spike above 10 Bq/L in 2011 may be the effect from the Fukushima nuclear accident, but the sample was collected in August 2011, nearly five months after the start of the accident and four months after the leak of extremely contaminated water from Reactor 2.

Now let's add "Nuclear Ginza" - Fukui Prefecture, with 13 reactors (most of which are pressurized water reactors). The range is approximately 0.4 Bq/L to 1100 Bq/L (Fukui).

1100 Bq/L of tritium was measured from the sample taken off Tateishi on April 24, 2009, according to the Japan Chemical Analysis Center database. Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant is located nearby. I couldn't find any incident on or around that date for the plant.

Finally, a chart that includes all prefectures with tritium measurement:

I am trying to find the data on tritium levels in seawater off Fukushima AFTER the accident, but it's not in the Japan Chemical Analysis Center database. The prospect of shifting through the government data on ever-changing links is not very appealing...

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#Fukushima I NPP Groundwater Bypass: 560-Tonne Water from April Is Being Released into the Ocean Today (May 21, 2014)

(UPDATE) TEPCO Nuclear's tweet from 30 minutes ago says they finished the release at 12:42PM. 561 tonnes in total.

Again, the groundwater is NOT highly radioactive, as it is drawn before it enters the reactor buildings.

Cesium-134: 0.022 Bq/L
Cesium-137: 0.039 Bq/L
All alpha (including plutonium): ND
All beta (including strontium): ND
Strontium-90: 0.011 Bq/L
Tritium: 230 Bq/L

--------------------------

Having secured the consent from the Fukushima fishermen with the help from the national government (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which is still in charge of oversight), TEPCO has started releasing the groundwater drawn from the wells before the water reaches the reactor buildings and gets contaminated heavily.

According to TEPCO's alert for the press (5/21/2014),

Release of the groundwater started at 10:25AM on May 21, 2014. The groundwater had been drawn from the groundwater bypass wells and stored in the temporary storage tank.

About 560 tonnes of water will be released today.

The area patrol was done at 10:30AM, and we confirmed there was no leak or other abnormalities [along the pipes].

本日（５月21日）午前10時25分、福島第一原子力発電所において地下水バイパス揚水井から一時貯留タンクに汲み上げていた地下水について、海洋へ排水を開始いたしました。

本日は約560トンの排水を予定しております。

排水状況については、午前10時30分にパトロールを実施し、漏えい等の異常がないことを確認しております。

NHK says the release is from the South Drainage Outlet, which is located south of the plant harbor. That means the water is directly going into the ocean.

As to the contamination levels of the water (which was drawn in April), TEPCO released the nuclide analysis done by both TEPCO and a third-party laboratory (Japan Chemical Analysis Center), as per agreement with the fishermen in Fukushima.

The result of nuclide analysis of the groundwater, from TEPCO (5/14/2014; English labels are by me):

(click to enlarge)

Tritium, measured by Japan Chemical Analysis Center, is 230 Bq/L. The rest of radionuclides, including alpha nuclides, are in negligible amounts or ND.

From my post on 8/21/2013, locations of the wells to draw groundwater (map from TEPCO, annotation by Kontan_Bigcat):

The wells in dark blue circles, pipes to transport the water to the ocean in yellow.

The red circle above marks the H4 tank area where highly contaminated (beta nuclides) wastewater (after reverse osmosis treatment) was found leaked in August 2013.

You can also see the South Drainage Outlet in the upper right corner.

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Did Kitty Litter Cause Chemical Reaction That Led to Radiation Leak at WIPP in New Mexico?

The story was on May 13, 2014 on Reuters, before the latest update from the US Department of Energy on May 16, 2014.

It fondly reminded me of TEPCO's use of bath salt (as tracer) and shredded newspaper and baby diaper polymer to plug the leak at the water intake for Reactor 2 back in April 2011.

From Reuters (5/13/2014; emphasis is mine):

Kitty litter eyed as possible culprit in New Mexico radiation leak

Kitty litter used to absorb liquid in radioactive debris may have triggered a chemical reaction that caused a radiation leak at a below-ground U.S. nuclear waste storage site in New Mexico, a state environmental official said on Tuesday.

The waste disposal site, where drums of plutonium-tainted refuse from nuclear weapons factories and laboratories are buried in salt caverns 2,100 feet (640 meters) underground, has been shut down since unsafe radiation levels were first detected there on Feb. 14.

The leak of radiation, a small amount of which escaped to the surface and exposed 21 workers at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, ranks as the worst accident at the facility and one of the few blemishes on its safety record since it opened in 1999.

Investigations of the chamber where the leak occurred suggest a chemical reaction may have generated sufficient heat to melt seals on drums and boxes of contaminated sludge from the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory, releasing radioisotopes such as plutonium, Energy Department officials have said.

Jim Blankenhorn, deputy manager with the contractor running WIPP, told a public meeting last week that a change in the materials used at Los Alamos to package waste may have triggered a reaction between nitrate salts and organic matter.

“Kitty litter is in the field of theories,” Jill Turner, spokeswoman for the New Mexico Environment Department, said about a possible cause for the accident.

Kitty litter is used as an absorbent for liquid contained in radiological debris destined for WIPP, which does not accept fluid waste, Turner said.

Los Alamos, a leading U.S. nuclear weapons lab, and the WIPP contractor, Nuclear Waste Partnership, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Dozens of drums of waste from Los Alamos that have been linked to the radiation accident are deposited in two separate waste disposal chambers at WIPP, managers have said.

The plant last week suspended shipments of that waste to a Texas-based commercial storage facility, which had received 25 drums between April 1 and May 1, said WIPP spokesman Brad Bugger.

The plant in the Chihuahuan Desert in southeastern New Mexico provides for permanent disposal of contaminated items like clothing and equipment from U.S. nuclear laboratories and weapons sites.

It is not expected to resume operations for at least 18 months and may take as long as three years to be fully operational, managers have said.

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Just In: All Three Lines of ALPS Have Stopped at #Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant

The entire ALPS multi-nuclide removal system is down again, as Line C has just been stopped as the water sample from Line C is found with high calcium content.

Line A was stopped three days ago, and Line B has been idle since March this year, when the water treated in Line B was found with high beta (in the order of 10 million Bq/L) and brand-new storage tanks got contaminated.

Stopping ALPS won't affect the cooling of reactors, as the treatment for the cooling water is done by SARRY (removal of radioactive cesium) and by the reverse osmosis apparatus (desalination).

From TEPCO's email alert for the press, 5/20/2014:

多核種除去設備（ＡＬＰＳ）Ｃ系については処理運転中でしたが、本日（５月20日）の定例のサンプリングにおいて、系統水に若干の白濁があること、カルシウム濃度が高いことを確認しました。

Line C of the multi-nuclide removal system ALPS has been in operation. However, we noted in today (May 20, 2014)'s scheduled sampling that the water [coming out of] Line C was clouded, and that it had high calcium content.

　このため、多核種除去設備（ＡＬＰＳ）Ｃ系について、同日午前９時00分、処理運転を停止し、循環待機運転に切り替えました。

Therefore, we stopped Line C at 9:00AM today, and switched it to the circulation stand-by operation. [I don't know exactly what TEPCO means; I'm guessing they are circulating the water within Line C instead of sending treated water into a storage tank.]

　この結果、多核種除去設備（ＡＬＰＳ）は３系統ありますが、全て処理運転を停止している状況となります。

As the result, all three lines of ALPS have stopped treatment operation.

　原因等については、今後調査いたします。

We will investigate the cause.

The cause, if it is the same as Line A which stopped three days ago after the water sample was found with high calcium content, is likely to be the defective cross flow filter, like this one on Line B (from TEPCO's Roadmap update page 24, 4/24/2014) (English labels are by me):

Whether the defective gasket is due to material defect, design defect or irradiation is unknown at this point.

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(OT) "Janjira Nuclear Power Plant" in Japan in "Godzilla" the Movie

Uh... Janjira? In Japan? Not India? The word doesn't mean a thing in Japanese. (Not to mention most Japanese cannot even pronounce "r"...)

That aside, my attention was drawn to minor details, as usual, in the trailers for the summer-blockbuster-in-the-making "Godzilla", which opened this weekend in the US grossing over $93 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

From Godzilla Official Movie Site, screen shots from "Extended Look" trailer:

"Janjira Nuclear Power Plant" in a town at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The town is supposed to be near Tokyo, even if it is this close to Mt. Fuji. A stereotypical nuclear power plant you see often in the US (but none in Japan) with vigorous steam rising from the cooling towers, like the one you see in "The Simpsons" or Three Mile Island NPP.

The plant seems to sit right in the middle of town. Why a nuclear power plant needs so many smoke stacks of different heights is a mystery to me. But take a look at the house in the foreground. Very interesting roof line, with fin-like structures like in a Buddhist temple in Thailand. The sky is blue, with "The Simpsons"-like puffy clouds, but there are two people walking by with umbrellas. The concrete walkway looks wet.

The plant crumbling like the World Trade Center building after an earthquake (which was in fact caused by a monster):

A closer shot:

But it was only a 6.3 earthquake (from Asia Trailer):

Godzilla's foe this time is a huge ancient creature who feeds on radiation, a "MUTO (or Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism)", according to the wiki entry of the movie.

Nice, sarcastic touch, intended or not. Muto is the surname of the vice president of TEPCO when the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident started on March 11, 2011. Mr. Muto gave daily and nightly press briefings in a small room at TEPCO's headquarters in Tokyo in the first week of the accident.

The impression I got from these trailers is that the movie is way too serious for the loose details. But who cares about details (except me)?

My favorite Godzilla movie remains "Mothra vs Godzilla" (Godzilla was a bad guy). Wonderful loose details galore.

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Public Referendum in Bern, Switzerland Rejects Immediate Shut-Down of Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant by Wide Margin

According to Jiji Tsushin (5/19/2014),

スイスの首都ベルン近郊にあるミューレベルク原発の即時運転停止を問う住民投票が１８日、中部ベルン州で行われ、賛成３６．７％、反対６３．３％で否決された。同原発は２０１９年の廃止が決まっているが、東京電力福島第１原発事故の恐ろしさを実感した住民が発議した。投票率は５１．６％。

A public referendum was carried out in the canton of Bern on May 18 to decide whether to shut down Mühleberg Nuclear Power Plant near the Swiss capital Bern. The measure was defeated, with 36.7% in favor and 63.7% against. Muehleberg Nuclear Power Plant is slated to be shut down in 2019, but residents proposed the measure after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. The turnout was 51.6%.

Muehleberg NPP has been found to have multiple cracks in the core shroud. See my post in March 2012.

40% of Switzerland's electricity comes from nuclear power, and 60% comes from hydroelectricity.

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US Department of Energy Releases Update on Radiation Leak at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, Container with Broken Lid Identified

(UPDATE 5/20/2014) Possible culprit: kitty litter. See my new post.

-------------------------------

And it was a container from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

The first report of radiation leak (plutonium) from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) that necessitated the evacuation of workers and plant shutdown was in February this year.

From Department of Energy WIPP Update (5/16/2014):

New Information Provided About Possible Contributor to the WIPP Radiological Event

The Department of Energy issued the following statement today regarding new information generated during the May 15 entry into WIPP:

Since the February 14 radiological release, the Department and its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant have been working deliberately to safely determine the cause of the release. The team that entered the underground facility yesterday was able to get additional visual evidence that shows a damaged waste container, identified as one from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

In the new pictures, the LANL container has a cracked lid and shows evidence of heat damage. Workers will continue investigating to determine what caused the container breach and if any other containers were involved or damaged,” said a DOE spokesperson.

Community Meetings Scheduled

May 20 – A WIPP Recovery update will be provided at the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County Annual Meeting. The update, which will be provided by a member of the NWP Communications team, is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Location: Hobbs Country Club, 5001 W. Carlsbad Highway.

May 22– The City of Carlsbad and DOE will co-host its weekly meeting featuring updates on WIPP recovery activities. The meeting is scheduled today at 5:30 p.m. Location: Carlsbad City Council Chambers, 101 N. Halagueno Street. Live streaming of the weekly meetings can be seen at http://new.livestream.com/rrv/.

"Evidence of Damaged Drum in Panel 7, Room 7" from DOE WIPP "Photo and Video" section (more photos at the link):

"The May 15 entry into Panel 7, Room 7 produced this photo of a waste container (left) with its lid unsealed and apparent heat discoloration."

There is a video of re-entry to WIPP on May 15, 2014.

According to Japan's NHK reporting on the DOE update, it may take at least three years before the facility resumes operation.

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(OT) Head and Shoulders Topping Pattern in Japan's Nikkei Weekly Chart?

Uh oh... Is about the only "success" story of so-called "Abenomics", Nikkei Stock Index, in danger of collapsing?

If this "head and shoulders" topping pattern (10 months in the making) plays out, the target seems somewhere below 11,500. There is not much of a support until 10,200 or so.

I'm sure Bank of Japan's Governor Haruhiko "wages are rising even as they are falling for 22 months" Kuroda will do whatever it takes to prop up the market.

Or in this new normal world, the topping pattern is actually bullish, signaling the central bank's intervention and sending the stock market even higher.

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US Ambassador to Japan Visits #Fukushima I NPP with Her Son, Praises Workers for Dedication and Determination

From TEPCO's Photos and Videos Library (English), 5/14/2014:

On the operating floor of Reactor 4, overlooking the Spent Fuel Pool. From the left, Chief Decommissioning Officer Masuda, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, TEPCO's CEO and President Hirose:

Ambassador Kennedy speaking with a female TEPCO employee in the Anti-Seismic Building:

So it is true that TEPCO now has female workers working at the plant...

UK's Daily Mail (5/14/2014) has a short video clip of Kennedy speaking to the press, with her son Jack:

"...very grateful for the chance to see. It is hard to visualize and understand the complexity of the challenge when you just read about it. So this was a very informative visit, and I'm very grateful to all those who are working here every day and those who showed us around."

"We stand ready to help in any way we can, going forward."

Ambassador Kennedy's statement, from the press release by the US Embassy in Tokyo:

PRESS RELEASE

米国大使館 報道室 PRESS OFFICE, U.S. EMBASSY, TOKYO
japan.usembassy.gov

14-13R May 14, 2014

Ambassador Caroline Kennedy Statement
on Visit to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Earlier today, I visited the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. I am grateful to the Tokyo Electric
Power Company and relevant Japanese government authorities for making this visit possible.

I was struck that more than three years after the tragic events of March 11, 2011, the destructive force of the
Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting tsunami are still visible. TEPCO and Japan face a daunting task
in the cleanup and decommissioning of Fukushima Dai-ichi. Decommissioning will take years of careful
planning and arduous work, under difficult conditions. Today, I was able to see firsthand these challenges, and
I gained new appreciation for the dedication and determination of the workers at the Fukushima site.

Immediately following the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident, the United States—through the Department of Energy,
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other agencies—began supporting the Government of Japan and
TEPCO in response efforts, decommissioning, and cleanup activities. We are committed to providing support
as long as it is necessary. At Fukushima Dai-ichi, I saw examples of the assistance we provided, as well as the
continuing partnerships between TEPCO, U.S. Government agencies, U.S. national laboratories, and U.S.
companies. The United States Government will offer our experience and capabilities, in particular, toward the
near term resolution of ongoing water contamination issues. We welcome Japan’s steps toward ratification of
the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage which will make it easier for American
and other international firms to add their expertise to Fukushima cleanup and decommissioning efforts.

Tomorrow, I will have an opportunity to visit a wind turbine and a power substation in the Fukushima Floating
Wind Farm Demonstration Project. This project is one of the symbols of the Tohoku region’s recovery from
the Great East Japan Earthquake. It is one of many examples of how the Japanese people have realized new
opportunities, even in the midst of great tragedy. Such projects are creating new employment and industries,
as well as potential trade opportunities. The United States looks forward to continuing a strong cooperative
relationship with Japan in the energy security and clean energy arenas, in addition to our ongoing assistance in
the Fukushima region.

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