Fukushima

Japan to issue gravest Fukushima nuclear warning in two years: agency 20 Aug 2013 Japan will dramatically raise its warning about the severity of a toxic radioactive water leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant, its nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, its most serious action since the plant was destroyed in 2011. The deepening crisis at the Fukushima plant will be upgraded from a level 1 "anomaly" to a level three "serious incident" on an international scale for radiological releases, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said. That will mark the first time Japan has issued a warning on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) since the three reactor meltdowns.

Fukushima bay radiation levels highest since measurements began 20 Aug 2013 Reports from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, say that measurements of radioactive tritium in seawater -- seeping out of the nuclear complex via groundwater into the sea -- show levels at 4700 becquerels per liter, the highest tritium level in the measurement history. The highest tritium levels have come in the past 15 days, the same reports show. TEPCO also revealed that the highest levels of radiation in seawater were detected near reactor 1. Previous measurements showed the levels at 3800 becquerels per liter near reactor 1, and 2600 becquerels per liter near reactor 2, but the measurements have been showing increased radiation levels in the past 2 weeks.

Tank leaks 300 tons of highly radioactive water at Fukushima plant 20 Aug 2013 An estimated 300 tons of highly radioactive water has leaked from a tank at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, with much of the polluted water apparently seeping into the ground. Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, said Aug. 20 it has been unable to specify the area of the tank from where the water leaked. A radiation level of 100 millisieverts per hour was detected near the surface of a puddle around the tank.

Fukushima operator says workers dusted with radioactive particles 19 Aug 2013 The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Monday two workers were found to be contaminated with radioactive particles, the second such incident in a week involving staff outside the site's main operations center. Two dust monitors sounded alarms earlier on Monday outside the operations center, where radiation levels are usually low enough to avoid the need for full face masks, Tokyo Electric Power Co said in an emailed statement. Two workers waiting for a bus at the end of their shift were found to be have been contaminated with radioactive particles, which were wiped off their bodies before they left the site, Tokyo Electric, also known as Tepco, said.

Tepco preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from damaged Fukushima reactor building 15 Aug 2013 The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the U.S. atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed tightly together need to be removed from a building that is vulnerable to collapse, should another large earthquake hit the area. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) is already in a losing battle to stop radioactive water overflowing from another part of the facility, and experts question whether it will be able to pull off the removal of all the assemblies successfully.