information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
30 Août 2013
August 29, 2013
Kyodo
A national fishermen’s organization on Thursday criticized Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s management of the radioactive water accumulating at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and said the utility should act under government guidance to remedy the situation.
“Your company’s radioactive water management has failed,” the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations told Tepco President Naomi Hirose after it invited him to its office in Tokyo. “We want the problem to be fundamentally resolved as early as possible under the government’s leadership.”
Hirose apologized for the recently confirmed leak of highly toxic water from one of the huge storage tanks at Fukushima No. 1, some of which is believed to have reached the Pacific Ocean.
The federation urged the utility to put an end to problems stemming from the massive amount of radioactive water at the plant.
The federation said in its statement that local fishermen are “largely disappointed” by the escalating toxic water problem as they have been waiting to resume their operations.
On Wednesday, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations decided to suspend “trial operations” off Fukushima.
Such trials limit the area of fishing and only allow shipment of products confirmed to be safe.
A fisheries cooperative covering the northern part of the prefecture has been conducting such an operation for more than a year, while another cooperative based in the southern part of the prefecture had planned to resume a similar operation in September.
However, Tepco admitted in July that contaminated groundwater was flowing from the nuclear complex into the sea area inside the breakwaters. It also found last week that a large amount — perhaps 300 tons — of highly toxic water had escaped from a storage tank.
The highly radioactive water had been used to cool the three reactors that suffered meltdowns in March 2011.
In Qatar on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his administration will take charge of the efforts to contain the Fukushima No. 1 disaster, following revelations of the radioactive water leak from the storage tank.
“There is a need for the government to address the issue with a sense of urgency and not just leave it all up to Tokyo Electric Power Co.,” he said.
Abe, who is in Qatar on the last leg of a trip to the Middle East and Africa, said the government will thoroughly disseminate to the people in Japan and abroad information about the containment effort.
In Tokyo on Wednesday, Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, said Tepco’s inexact monitoring of contaminated water stored at Fukushima No. 1 may have led the utility to overstate last week’s storage tank leak.
The loss of 300 metric tons that Tepco reported was based on an assumption that the tank had been full before the leak was discovered, Tanaka. That assumption may not have been reliable because there was no gauge measuring the tank’s water level, he said.
“We have no idea whether it’s actually 300 tons that leaked,” Tanaka said. “We need to look into this issue more.”
Tepco’s management of the contaminated water at the crippled nuclear plant has already drawn fire from Shinji Kinjo, leader of a disaster task force at the NRA, who has said the utility was careless in its monitoring of the storage tanks and failed to keep records of its inspections.
Managing the water, which is increasing at a rate of 400 tons a day, is a fundamental challenge for Tepco as it struggles with the catastrophe.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130829p2g00m0dm092000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A national fishermen's organization on Thursday pressed Tokyo Electric Power Co. to ensure there will be no further leaks of radioactive water from its crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture.
"Your company's radioactive water management has failed," the National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations told TEPCO President Naomi Hirose after it summoned him to its office in Tokyo.
Hirose apologized for the recently confirmed leak of highly toxic water at one of the huge water storage tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, some of which could have flown into the adjacent Pacific Ocean.
The federation urged the utility to put an end to problems stemming from the massive amount of radioactive water accumulating at the plant, saying, "We want the problem to be fundamentally resolved as early as possible under the state's leadership."
Hirose said the radioactive water issue is the "biggest business challenge" to the utility.
"We would like to make sure that we will no longer generate (public) concern as early as possible," he said.
The federation also said in the statement that local fishermen are "largely disappointed" by the escalating toxic water problem as they have been waiting to resume their fishing operations.
On Wednesday, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations decided to suspend at the end of August so-called "trial" fisheries operations off the coast of Fukushima.
A trial operation limits the area of fishing and only allows shipment of products confirmed to be safe.
A fisheries cooperative covering the northern part of the prefecture has employed such an operation for more than a year, while another cooperative covering the southern part of the prefecture had planned to resume the operation from September.
But TEPCO admitted in July that contaminated groundwater was flowing from the nuclear complex into the sea area inside the breakwaters. It also found last week that 300 tons of highly toxic water had escaped from a storage tank.
TEPCO is struggling to manage radioactive water that is created as a result of continuing to inject water into the three reactors that suffered meltdowns during the crisis, triggered by a huge earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
Govt. urged to address contaminated water
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130829_34.html
Japanese fishermen have asked the government to take strong leadership in efforts to prevent further leaks of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, handed a letter of request to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday.
Local fishery cooperatives were due to resume experimental fishing off Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture in September, but they cancelled their plans. This is because 300 tons of highly radioactive water was found to have leaked from a storage tank at the plant, with some of the water feared to have flowed into sea.
The federation is asking the government to lead efforts to come up with fundamental measures to prevent further leaks.
It also is asking the government to take every step to help prevent the spread of negative rumors about the safety of marine products caught off Fukushima.
Suga said the government will soon create a new framework for preventing further leaks at the plant and will explain the system to the fishermen's group.
Kishi told reporters that the discovery of the leakage of contaminated water from the storage tank could not have come at a worse moment, and it has destroyed all the efforts of local fishermen to rebuild their industry.
Aug. 29, 2013 - Updated 09:02 UTC
Fishermen lodge protest with TEPCO on water leak
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130829_21.html
Japanese fishermen have lodged a protest with Tokyo Electric Power Company over leaking radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The chief of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, on Thursday summoned TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to his office.
TEPCO officials acknowledged earlier in August that several hundred tons of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank at the Fukushima plant. They also said some of it may have seeped into the sea. They admitted in July that polluted groundwater was making its way to the ocean.
The leakage has forced local fishermen to stop offshore test-fishing activities. They were hoping to eventually resume commercial fishing.
Federation chief Kishi told Hirose that the problem of contaminated water has an immeasurable impact on the future of the fishing industry.
The TEPCO president apologized and said the leakage, on top of the groundwater problem, are things that never should have happened.
Hirose said his company will step up patrols at the plant to prevent further oversights, and will replace the current tanks with those that are more resistant to leaks.
The federation chief later said he expects the government to show leadership in dealing with the problem. Kishi said he thinks the utility has failed in its handling of the crisis.
Hirose said TEPCO, with the full support of the government, will swiftly put in place measures to prevent further leaks.
Aug. 29, 2013 - Updated 04:54 UTC
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