[ RadSafe ] Radioactive gas leaked undetected after Japan quake

[Sandy Perle]

Japan's nuclear plant management credibility continues to spiral out 
of control. This is a continuing problem, for years now. As is always 
the case, the cover-up is worse than the incident being covered up. 
Maintaining a nuclear option where the public remains skeptical, due 
to continuing lies from those who regulate or manage, is almost 
impossible to mitigate.


Radioactive gas leaked undetected after Japan quake

The Seattle Times, Thursday, July 19, 2007 - Updated at 11:27 AM

KASHIWAZAKI, Japan (AP) - Radioactive material leaked undetected for 
days at an earthquake-battered nuclear power plant even as the 
utility was assuring the public that the damage posed no danger to 
those outside the site, company executives admitted today.

The revelation cast more doubt on the plant's emergency measures and 
the response by Japan's largest power company, while the indefinite 
shutdown of the world's most powerful electricity generating facility 
raised serious fears of a summer power shortage.


Tokyo Electric Power Co. confirmed reports that radioactive material 
was leaking as late as Wednesday night, nearly three days after the 
plant suffered a near-direct hit from a quake that killed 10 people 
and injured more than 1,000 in Kashiwazaki on Japan's northern coast.

It was government inspectors who found radioactive iodine venting 
from an exhaust pipe at the plant's No. 7 nuclear reactor, said 
Hisanori Nei, an official with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety 
Agency. It escaped between Tuesday and Wednesday night, Nei said.

Tokyo Electric previously announced other radioactive materials had 
escaped from the pipe, but not iodine. An exhaust fan inside the 
building may not have been turned off as instructed in the operations 
manual, company spokesman Manabu Takeyama said.

Government inspectors concluded the iodine leak was too small to harm 
the environment or public health, Nei said.

The utility also stressed the amount was extremely low and said it 
posed no threat to the environment or local people.

But the revelation reinforced concerns about the plant's safety, 
coming a day after Tokyo Electric issued a list of previously 
unreported damage from the quake - including a fire, burst pipes and 
waste spillage.

The seven reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant shut down 
automatically when the quake hit, and authorities have ordered the 
plant closed indefinitely while inspections and repairs are carried 
out to assure it can be restarted safely.

Tokyo Electric has warned that the closure could cause a power 
shortage in Japan as demand rises from summer use of air 
conditioners.

Six other power companies have said they will cooperate in providing 
emergency electricity and Tokyo Electric is considering restarting 
generating plants fueled by oil and natural gas, the utility said 
late today.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki urged the operators of 
Japan's 55 nuclear reactors - suppliers of one-third of Japan's 
energy - to speed up safety checks for earthquake resistance, a top 
concern in the temblor-prone nation.

"Since there was such a huge earthquake that surpassed our 
expectations, we need to consider future measures for quake 
resistance," Shiozaki said. "I asked them to speed up the assessment 
and checkups wherever possible."

Officials at the plant conceded earlier that they had not foreseen 
the possibility of an earthquake as powerful as the magnitude-6.8 
temblor that hit Monday. They also said the utility hadn't known 
about the nearby offshore fault line in which the quake occurred.

The utility announced today that the force of the quake exceeded its 
resistance guidelines at all seven reactors, sometimes by more than 
double. Public broadcaster NHK said the reading at the No. 1 reactor 
was the strongest quake ever measured at a Japanese reactor.

Tokyo Electric has repeatedly underreported the quake's impact. After 
initially saying it had caused a fire in an electrical transformer 
and the spill of radioactive water into the Sea of Japan, the company 
reported 50 incidents of damage or leaks. Then it upped the number to 
63.

Its stock tumbled again today, sliding 5.6 percent to 3,400 yen a 
share, or $27.88, bringing its losses since the quake to 10.3 
percent.

Members of the Nuclear Safety Commission toured the sprawling plant 
today and criticized Tokyo Electric for missteps in its response to 
the earthquake.

Even so, they concluded none of the errors had threatened public 
health.

The safety of the "plant was fundamentally maintained and we avoided 
the serious consequences of a nuclear accident," commission Chairman 
Atsuyuki Suzuki said in a statement. "The list of problems announced 
by TEPCO have no serious effect on the safety of the reactor."

Tokyo Electric has been punished for failing to accurately inform the 
public of problems in the past.

Four years ago, the utility was forced to halt all of its 17 nuclear 
reactors after admitting it misreported safety problems in the late 
1980s and early 1990s. The halt caused a power shortage in the summer 
of 2003, and other utilities stepped in with emergency electricity 
production.

In that scandal, a trade ministry report revealed 29 cases of cracks 
or minor structural damage in eight of Tokyo Electric's reactors, 
including two reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. The company's top three 
executives resigned, but the utility insisted the cracks never posed 
a serious danger. The last of the shuttered reactors wasn't cleared 
to reopen until July 2005.

The impact of Monday's quake has spread far beyond the region. 
Japan's auto companies had to suspend production because a key parts 
maker sustained damage during the temblor. Officials at the damaged 
factory said they expected to restart production early next week.

People in the Kashiwazaki region struggled to put their lives back 
together but basic services such as water had not been restored to 
some areas.

"We're just getting by day by day," said Masatoshi Ogawa, sitting in 
front of his closed pinball parlor. "Our houses were OK so we didn't 
have to go to evacuation centers, but life without water is really 
inconvenient."

-----------------------------------------
Sander C. Perle
President
Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
2652 McGaw Avenue
Irvine, CA 92614 

Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714  Extension 2306
Fax:(949) 296-1144

E-Mail: sperle at dosimetry.com
E-Mail: sandyfl at cox.net 

Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/