#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: They Laid Power Cables Without Bothering to Clear Debris First

Another "Duh" moment for the on-going saga of Fukushima I Nuke Plant crisis.

I reported here before that after 10 days from the earthquake the Self Defense Force finally wised up and decided to send its armored vehicles (tanks) that could be fitted with blades to safely shove aside radioactive debris at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

The tanks duly arrived on the morning of March 21, but they are sitting there idly. All the news in Japan is about power being restored to the Reactor No.3 control room. (The control room is located in the adjacent building.)

Why?

Thank TEPCO and the government, for their decision to hasten to lay power cables to restore power to the plant. Now the cables are all over the place the huge tanks (Model 74) cannot move the debris without threatening to cut the cables.

This bit of information was buried toward the end of an article that appeared in Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 11:52PM JST 3/22/2011), which cheerfully talks about power being restored to the plant, grossing over the fact that many pumps and controls are broken.

It's hard to believe there are any engineers at TEPCO and in the government. The prime minister, who boasts that he graduated from Tokyo Institute of Technology with a degree in physics and knows all about technology including nuclear technology and who has set himself up as the leader of the government-led team to deal with the disaster, didn't even think of clearing the debris before ordering any substantial work at the plant. I guess it was below him to think about such a rudimentary task - clearing the debris.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: TEPCO Screw-Ups Not Reported Outside Japan

And they are not reported by the major news organization in Japan on their websites. Here's what I've collected so far from the message boards and blogs in Japan. I don't think they are mere hearsays or make-up stories (although that's possible, with just about everyone in Japan hates TEPCO's guts at this point); rather, they may be snippets of information available on TV news in Japan (other than NHK), or local papers, or dug up by bloggers. Nevertheless, I can't guarantee their authenticity.

Emergency power generators that failed:

They failed because they were located outside the Reactor buildings, exposed to the elements. So when tsunami came rushing, they got swept away.

Duh. I found a confirmation of this comment. Here's Kahoku Shinpo 2 days after the quake/tsunami (in Japanese; 3/13/2011):

TEPCO director Akio Komori disclosed that "the emergency power generators were initially working [after the earthquake]. But then tsunami engulfed the plant compound, and knocked out those generators." They got soaked with sea water and stopped working.

There's also a rumor that these generators were so old and weren't working properly even before the earthquake. I think I've seen the news to that extend somewhere, I'm looking for it right now, and link it when I find it.

Emergency power generators that were to replace the ones that died:

Additional emergency power generators were brought in after the generators at the plant went dead. But they used a different type of plug from the ones at the plant, so TEPCO couldn't use them.

Duh, duh.

There's a rumor that TEPCO is hiring temp workers for Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

Timeline of the Reactor No.1 explosion, which indicates it was as much man-made disaster as natural disaster (and it was created by TEPCO and Prime Minister Kan):

1. The US military sent boric acid, and suggested TEPCO pour it in the Pressure Vessel.

2. TEPCO turned down the suggestion, as it feared it would be difficult to make the reactor operational again if it poured boric acid in the reactor. They decided instead to cool with water.

3. However, part of the pipe was broken, and not enough water was entering the Pressure Vessel and the water level failed to rise.

4. TEPCO asked the government for permission to release the steam from the Vessel in the early hours of March 12.

5. However, it was the day when Prime Minister Kan was scheduled to visit the plant. So the government ordered TEPCO not to conduct the release of the steam.

6. The release of the steam was delayed until after the visit of Prime Minister Kan.

7. Because of this delay, the pressure inside the Containment Vessel rose to twice the limit.

8. Steam was finally released after 2PM, but an explosion happened at 3:30PM on March 12.

9. TEPCO finally gave up keeping the Reactor 1 operational, and decided to pour in boric acid and sea water.

By the way, TEPCO's president, Masataka Shimizu, who seems to be hiding out somewhere for at least a week, is a graduate of Keio University who majored in economics. A non-engineer in a engineering company in in the gravest engineering crisis for the company. Good luck, Mr. Shimizu.

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#Japan #Earthquake: First Tsunami Waves Hit the Coast Only 9 Minutes After the Quake

Just heard it on NHK World News. Japanese experts had predicted that a large earthquake in the Tohoku region would cause 7 to 8-meter (23 to 26-foot) tsunami, which would arrive onshore in about an hour.

Instead, 14 to 15-meter waves arrived in 9 minutes.

The tsunami drills, that Japanese citizens have dutifully done all these years, were not designed for big waves that arrived in such a short time. In some of the harder hit towns up in northern inlets, people who ran for their lives on foot survived, while those who tried to escape by car perished, stuck in the traffic.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Sound of Near-Silence in Japan on Damage to Fuel Rods

Since I posted the Asahi Shinbun article yesterday on the damage to the fuel rods now confirmed by the air sample test, I've been looking for the similar article from other Japanese news sources. I've found only one, by Jiji News.

Jiji News' article is even briefer than Asahi's. It doesn't say where the air sample was taken, how much iodine and cesium and what type of iodine and cesium was detected, except for iodine-131. It does say these radioactive materials are thought to have been released from the damaged fuel rods.

Jiji's article says one interesting thing that wasn't in Asahi's article. According to Jiji,

The analysis of air samples [at the plant] is normally done once a month. March 19 was the first time the analysis was done after the earthquake. TEPCO now plans to do the analysis every day.

So it didn't occur to the employees at TEPCO to measure the air quality at the plant until 8 days after the earthquake.

But the world is being told there's nothing to worry about, move along, the stock market is going up, don't you know? This US fund manager even demands that the US media apologize for "over-hyping" the Japan's nuclear crisis.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Bloomberg's Blatant Lie About "Cooler Temperatures" in Spent Fuel Pools

Or do their Japanese reporters know what everyone else doesn't?

Bloomberg has an article today about Japanese Prime Minister Kan's latest, optimistic assessment that he sees "the light at the end of the tunnel".

Regardless of whether that's the light of the coming train's headlights or not, the Bloomberg reporters in Tokyo, Yuji Okada and Tsuyoshi Inajima, say the following in the article:

Kan’s optimistic statements are the strongest yet from a Japanese official amid the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. The battle to prevent a meltdown entered its 12th day as reports of radiation contamination at sea and on land multiplied. Cooler temperatures in pools holding spent fuel rods indicate the positive effect of thousands of tons of seawater sprayed over the reactors since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out reactor cooling systems.

"Cooler temperatures in pools holding spent fuel rods"??? Where the hell did these reporters get the data?

The latest press release by NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) at 11:00PM on March 21 shows that they don't even have the measurement of temperatures of the Spent Fuel Pool water for the Reactors No.1, 3, and 4!

The temperature of the Spent Fuel Pool of the Reactor No.2 is listed at 50-degree Celsius, but in earlier press releases they didn't have the number for the Reactor No.2 either. The last measured temperature of the Spent Fuel Pool of the Reactor No.4 was 84-degree Celsius, at 4:08AM of March 14th.

So where DID the Bloomberg reporters get their data that the Spent Fuel Pool water temperatures have gone down?

Or are they simply looking at the thermal imaging released by NHK and saying, alongside the Defense Minister, that the temperatures are low and that must mean the Spent Fuel Pools' water temperatures are low?

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Reactor No.3 Smoke Subsided, Says NISA

If you can believe NISA (Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency), that's the good news. The white smoke has been rising from the Reactor No.2, by the way.

From NISA's latest press release (in Japanese; 11:00PM JST 3/21/2011):

White smoke rising from the Reactor No.2, at 6:22PM.

Gray smoke was seen rising from the Reactor No.3, at 3:55PM; at 5:55PM there was no smoke.

As of 11:00M March 21, the white smoke on the Reactor No.2 was still on-going. No update so far from the Agency or the Japanese news media, which seems to be conducting a full-on positive spin on all news at all cost.

According to TEPCO, right after the gray smoke started to rise from the Reactor No.3, the radiation level measured at the Plant's front gate rose sharply (which later subsided). (Yomiuri Shinbun, 1:12AM JST 3/22/2011)

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: 3 Different Shots of Reactor No.3 - How Bad Is It?

The gray smoke started to rise from the Reactor No.3 in the afternoon of March 21 (Japan) and TEPCO has temporarily evacuated its workers from the site.

How bad is the situation? No one really knows, and those who must know are not telling much.

Usually the the photos of the Fukushima reactors are aerial photos. Like this one, Reactor No.3 from Digitalglobe:

Or the close-up shot like this one, taken from the Self Defense Force's video they shot when they did the dousing of the Reactor No.3 on March 18:

They both show a badly damaged Reactor No.3 building, but looking at these photos, it still seems there's some semblance of structure. Particularly the SDF's video screenshot seems to show that the mangled building is almost as high as the other reactor buildings (like the Reactor No.4 building to the right). Yes, it is shot from a low angle and close, but even after discounting the low-angle factor you could still figure out the shape of the original building.

Then I found this long-shot photo of the Reactor No.3 at AP, as released by TEPCO. It looks as if the Reactor No.3 building has further collapsed. I don't think I've ever seen the shot taken from a distance like this before, and it just looks worse than what's been reported.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Radioactive Iodine and Cesium in Sea Water Detected

From Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 2:07AM JST 3/22/2011):

TEPCO announced that radioactive materials were detected beyond the limit set by the government in the sea water sample taken near the water outlet from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on March 21.

Iodine-131 was 126 times the limit, cesium-134 was 25 times the limit. TEPCO has informed Fukushima Prefecture and Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

It is possible that radioactive water from dousing the Reactors No.3 and 4 and rain may have reached the ocean.

Additional info from Asahi Shinbun (in Japanese; 2:32AM JST 3/22/2011):

TEPCO took 0.5-liter sea water near the plant's water outlet at 2:30PM on March 21.

In addition to iodine-131 and cesium-134, cesium-137 was found, 16.5 times the limit.

That would also mean that because of the dousing and rain, radioactive materials may have seeped wider and deeper into the soil.

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#Japan #Earthquake: A Quiet Run on Mizuho Bank?

Not really, but Mizuho Bank has been having a lot of problem with its computer systems since March 15, when it could not process direct deposits because of a system overload at one branch in Kansai. It has halted withdrawal on all of its ATMs in Japan. Transactions over the Internet have also been halted. It hasn't been able to fix the system yet.

Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 3/20/2011) reports that on March 20 alone, 69,000 depositors of the bank withdrew the total 3.7 billion yen (US$45 million) at Mizuho's 440 branches.

Though withdrawal from the ATMs is halted, people can still go to the tellers at the bank and withdraw up to 100,000 yen (US$1,235) if they show their passbook or cash card, and some form of personal identification. Mizuho is opening the branches on March 21 (holiday in Japan) again to accommodate the depositors.

On March 19, 85,000 depositors withdrew the total 4.97 billion yen (US$61 million).

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#Japan #Earthquake: Government That Kills - Police Refuses to Issue Travel Permit to Medical Workers

Did you even know that people need to obtain a special permit to travel to the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami?

One episode reported by Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese, not a word for word translation; 2:35PM JST 3/21/2011):

Frustration mounted as the police in inland Iwate Prefecture refused to issue an emergency travel permit to medical workers. The workers had sought the permit so that they could deliver much needed medicines to the hospitals in coastal area.

This particular police has issued hundreds of this permit to medical workers and local officials. With this permit, they can travel to the areas restricted to traffic. Since the permit also allows preferential allocation of fuel at gas stations, people have sought to obtain the permit to secure the fuel for their cars and trucks.

However, the police has stopped issuing this emergency travel permit except for the long-distance travel on the highway.....

The reason? The police cannot issue the permit to people who simply want to secure the fuel under their current system. So what do they do? They stop issuing it for all applicants.

Yes, even to the medical workers who wanted to deliver medicines to hospitals along the coast that are without food, water, heat, and medicine for the patients.

I bet that if these medical workers depart for the coastal area without the permit anyway, they will be stopped by the police on the way; the police will insist that they turn back because they do not have the necessary permit. If the workers still refuse to turn back, they will probably be arrested.

It's not just information that the Japanese government at all levels wants to control. It controls the access to the affected areas. And it tells the citizens it's all for their own good.

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#Libya Military Intervention: Japan All For It, China Regrets

Japan, ever a faithful ally of the US, is all for the military intervention in Libya by the US, France, and Great Britain.

On the other hand, China, who abstained from the UN Security Council vote that authorized the intervention along with 4 other nations (actually, those who abstained were BRIC nations plus Germany.... interesting), has expressed regret, and hopes "the situation in Libya stabilizes soon, and that the armed conflict will not expand further and the civilian deaths be prevented," according to Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 3/20/2011)

I have a decidedly mixed feeling. Much I hate the Gaddafis killing Libyans with abandon, what are the 120+ Tomahawk missiles for? "Shock and awe" Libya version, using up old inventory of Tomahawks by the US military? Like Serbia received heavy bombing with depleted uranium...

I am particularly disturbed when there is not a peep from the Obama admin about Saudi Arabia, whose military is killing protesters in neighboring Bahrain. It is almost as if the US is using Libya as a cover to let Saudis do what they're doing without attracting international attention. Wag the dog. Three-card Monte. (Tinfoil hat on.)

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Now It's Official - Fuel Rods Are Damaged

From Asahi Shinbun (in Japanese; 11:14AM JST 3/21/2011):

TEPCO released the test result of the air sample taken from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant today [March 21]. Analysis of the sample, collected on March 19 at 200 meters from the northwest corner of the Reactor No.1, showed the level of radioactive iodine at 6 times as high as the safety limit; it also showed the existence of cesium.

Both iodine and cesium are byproducts of nuclear fission. The test seems to confirm that the nuclear fuel rods in the Pressure Vessels and in the Spent Fuel Pools at the Plant have been damaged.

It took TEPCO 2 days to analyze the sample, as the sample had to be taken to Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant for analysis.

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#Japan #Earthquake: Japanese Government to Set Up "Recovery Agency" for Quick Response to Disaster Relief and Recovery

Hahahahaha I laughed so hard for the first time since the March 11 Japan earthquake.

So they've been criticized (albeit extremely mildly by the Japanese media) for their sheer lack of coordination, incompetence and slow response to the disaster because of their huge bureaucracy. So what do they do? They create more bureaucracy, of course! No joke.

(For more on Japanese bureaucracy, see my post here.)

Yomiuri Shinbun (and others, in Japanese; 8:48AM JST 3/21/2011) reports:

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the Japanese government have started the planning for setting up the "Recovery Agency" [translation is my guess; "復興庁"in Japanese] to deal with the earthquake relief and recovery.

The Agency is expected to coordinate the various Ministries and provide a quick response. A cabinet minister will be appointed as the head of the Agency.

The concept of the Recovery Agency is based on the similar agency set up right after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, "Imperial Capital [Tokyo] Recovery Agency ["帝都復興院"]. As the cost for relief and recovery may exceed 10 trillion yen by some estimates (US$123 billion), the DPJ and the government have decided that an umbrella organization to oversee the various aspect of relief and recovery is necessary.

At this point, the DPJ and the government are planning to create the Agency under the control of the Cabinet. However, there are others who prefer an independent agency. The details will be worked out in coming days.

($123 billion? I would make it $1 trillion..)

The Great Kanto Earthquake was Magnitude 7.9.

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Typical Reporting in Japan: Cite Foreign News Source to Criticize

A Kyodo News Japanese article (3/20/2011) cites a Wall Street Journal article (3/19/2011) which is critical of the response by the Japanese government and TEPCO in the on-going crisis (though seemingly stabilized) at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

So typical. The Japanese media cannot, or would not, write anything openly critical of the government. They take a small jab at the government, but open criticism is left for bloggers and personal comments from experts (which they do report). When they do criticize, as the news organization, they often cite the foreign media.

It's been done this way in Japan for long time. No need to change that, even in this crisis. Not just the government which has fallen back to its familiar style (i.e. carrying out bureaucratic rules and regulations no matter what), but the media has fallen back to their familiar style of reporting - use the foreign media to criticize the government, while hyping the good news.

AERA, a weekly magazine by Asahi Shinbun, had to apologize profusely for putting the face of a man with full protective gear against radiation on the magazine cover, with the caption "Radiation is coming." The magazine was accused of "fear mongering".

Speaking of "fear mongering", it seems wind is blowing in all directions, some from the ocean toward the land. Good luck people, trusting the official figures and utterance.

Alas, the trust runs deep.

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#Japan #Earthquake: 75-Foot Tsunami in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture

Iwate Nippo (local newspaper in Iwate Prefecture, in Japanese; 3/20/2011) reports:

Tsunami that hit Sanriku-cho in Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture was as high as 23 meters (75 feet), according to the survey done by Port and Airport Research Institute in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. [Port and Airport Research Institute is a quasi-government agency.]

Survey results for tsunami height in other cities and ports in Iwate Prefecture:

Chaya-mae in Ofunato City: 9 - 9.5 meters (30 - 31 feet)
Nagasaki Fishing Port in Ofunato City: 11 meters (36 feet)
Kamaishi Port, Kamaishi City: 7 - 8 meters (23 - 26 feet)
Kuji Port: 13 meters (43 feet)
Hachinohe Port: 8 meters (26 feet)

In Miyagi,
Onagawa Port (near Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant): 15 meters (49 feet)

Now, no one is publicly saying how high was the tsunami that hit Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Quickly checking Google Earth, the elevation of the plant where the reactors are located is between 50 and 60 feet; and yet we hear that there are extensive damages from tsunami.

Some Japanese blogs say it was 14-meter (45-foot) tsunami that hit the Plant, twice the height for which the plant was designed, or 7 meters (23 feet).

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Koshien High School Baseball Invitational Tournament Will Open on March 23, As Scheduled

Things can't be all that bad in Japan, right? They are holding their annual Spring Koshien High School Baseball Invitational Tournament, as scheduled. The Tournament will open on March 23.

Koshien Stadium is located in Osaka.

The ostensible reason for holding the tournament, instead of delaying or canceling altogether, is to cheer Japanese people, particularly those in Tohoku severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami. See? How these high school kids play baseball!

Cynics in Japan and abroad (like me) think commercialism has trampled even the earthquake and tsunami. There is just too much at stake - so much money for all parties involved, from baseball equipment makers who often supply equipment for free, pricey advertisement slots already sold to advanced ticket sales to prospects of lucrative deals for the players from college baseball recruiters and professional baseball recruiters.

In many schools prominent for their baseball teams, the players are recruited from all over Japan out of best junior high school prospects. (And those junior high school ball players are recruited from the Little League players.)

The team captain of the Tohoku High School baseball team said to an interviewer, "I have a mixed feeling about playing baseball, at the time of the national disaster like this, considering how people in the affected area are struggling."

But he and his team will participate (not that they have any choice in the matter). He said "We will play our best under the circumstance."

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: After 10 Days from Quake, SDF Is to Clear Debris at the Plant for More Efficient Dousing

Duh.

The Self Defense Force still has to wait for the formal request from the government.

Duh, duh.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 1:14AM JST 3/21/2011):

The Self Defense Force directed two of its Type-74 tanks to Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on March 20 from its base in Shizuoka. The tanks are expected to arrive near the Plant on March 21 early morning, after being fueled at the SDF's base in Tokyo.

The tanks' thick metal exterior withstands radiation, and the tanks can be fitted with a plate specially designed to push out debris [called "dozer armour"]. Efforts to douse the Reactors in Fukushima I Nuke Plant has been hampered by debris on the ground from tsunami and explosions. As soon as there's a formal request from the government, the SDF will start clearing the debris.

Duh, duh, duh.

By now, those debris on the ground are probably heavily contaminated with radiation. They could have done it much, much earlier. Why did anyone think of this much earlier?

Even if there was someone who thought of using the SDF's tanks, bureaucratic hurdles were just so high and numerous and probably the request would have gone nowhere.

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#Obama Family Visit to Christ the Redeemer in Rio

In the meantime, nothing, - Japan's nuclear crisis, Libya's unfolding (potential) debacle, oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico - nothing deters the Obama's from having a dream vacation in Rio.

(I wish Brazilians told them to head back home.)

(On second thoughts, we don't have much good use of him or them in crisis anyway... But we don't pay for their vacations any more.)

From White House Schedule:

9:50 am	The First Family visits Ciudad de Deus Favela Local Event Time: 10:50 AM BRT Brazil, Ciudad de Deus Favela, Rio de Janiero Travel Pool Coverage
1:40 pm	The President delivers a speech Local Event Time: 2:40 PM BRT Brazil, Rio de Janiero, Theatro Municipal Pooled TV, Open to Correspondents
8:00 pm	The First Family tours Christ the Redeemer Statue Local Event Time: 9:00 PM BRT Brazil, Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janiero Travel Pool Coverage

Screen capture of AP report on their vacation on Yahoo, with Japan's earthquake links above; Libya on his mind? Keep hoping, AP..

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: NHK Analysis with Miniature Model, Complete with Tiny Fire Engine

Live right now. Go see the model.

NHK Live Feed (English)

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#Fukushima Nuke Plant: Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency's Idea of Nuclear Emergency Response

Consensus through bureaucracy that killed, kills, and will kill.

I found a pictorial diagram of Japan's nuclear emergency response, from Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), which I post below.

Never mind what each bubble is about. The lower left-hand corner is the residents affected by the nuclear emergency. The rest are all governments - national, prefectural, city, town, village - and public research institutions, police, the SDF, fire. So NISA and the national government assumed that all these governments, agencies, nuclear research institutions would remain intact in case of nuclear emergency, and that they could continue merrily on setting up committees at every single level, with expert advice from NISA.

Clearly, it never occurred to them that a "nuclear emergency" can happen as the result of a big earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku and Kanto area along the Japan Tranch, one of the most active undersea faults in the world, and that their beloved bureaucratic organizations from the national government agencies on down to town and village level may be wiped out as the result of the earthquake and/or tsunami. Which is exactly what happened.

From what I can tell from my reading so far, NISA thought a "nuclear emergency" would arise from operational mistakes by the nuclear power plant operator.

The circle around the affected residents is small, but even smaller is a red oblong circle in the lower right-hand corner. That is the scene of the nuclear emergency. The arrow going to this red circle comes from the bubble right above, which is the plant operator, research institutions, police, SDF, fire, who are to prevent the accident from getting bigger under the direction from the big bubble in the center - a grand coalition of governments and agencies with committees and advisors.

For the government and NISA, what is more important to them is rather obvious from this diagram: their organization.

Is it any wonder that the Japanese government has been acting clueless ever since the accident?

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