Wed Jan 25, 2012
TOKYO Jan 25 (Reuters) - Crude steel output in Japan is set to fall slightly in 2012 from the year before due to weak domestic demand and exports, an industry body said on Wednesday.
Eiji Hayashida, chairman of the Iron and Steel Industry Federation, said production would drop by around 2-3 million tonnes from 107.6 million tonnes in 2011.
Hayashida, also head of JFE Holdings, added that Tokyo Electric Power Co's plan to increase rates for corporate customers would be hard for steel makers to stand.
The utility, known as Tepco, is struggling in the aftermath of the disaster at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
(sourced Reuters)
Showing posts with label Fukushima nuclear plant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fukushima nuclear plant. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Monday, October 31, 2011
Fukushima Released Record Radiation Into Sea
Monday, Oct 31, 2011
he destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was responsible for the biggest discharge of radioactive material into the ocean in history, a study from a French nuclear safety institute said.
The radioactive cesium that flowed into the sea from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was 20 times the amount estimated by its owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., according to the study by the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, which is funded by the French government.
It’s the second report released in a week calling into question estimates from Japan’s government and the operator of the plant that was damaged in the March earthquake and tsunami. The Fukushima station may have emitted more than double the company’s estimate of atmospheric release at the height of the worst civil atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986, according to a study in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal.
The oceanic study estimates 27,000 terabecquerels of radioactive cesium 137 leaked into the sea from the Fukushima plant, north of Tokyo.
Tepco is aware of the estimate from the institute through media reports and has no comment, spokesman Hajime Motojuku said today by phone.
The three melted reactors and at least one damaged spent- fuel pool may have emitted 35,800 terabecquerels of cesium 137 into the atmosphere, according to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal. The estimated amount is about 42 percent of that released into the atmosphere in the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, according to the study.
Japan’s nuclear regulator in June said 15,000 terabecquerels of cesium 137 was discharged.
Cesium 137 is a source of concern for public health because the radioactive isotope has a half-life of 30 years.
A becquerel represents one radioactive decay per second and involves the release of atomic energy, which can damage human cells and DNA. Prolonged exposure to radiation can cause leukemia and other forms of cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association. A terabecquerel is 1 million times 1 million becquerels.
(sourced Bloomberg)
he destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was responsible for the biggest discharge of radioactive material into the ocean in history, a study from a French nuclear safety institute said.
The radioactive cesium that flowed into the sea from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was 20 times the amount estimated by its owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., according to the study by the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, which is funded by the French government.
It’s the second report released in a week calling into question estimates from Japan’s government and the operator of the plant that was damaged in the March earthquake and tsunami. The Fukushima station may have emitted more than double the company’s estimate of atmospheric release at the height of the worst civil atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986, according to a study in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal.
The oceanic study estimates 27,000 terabecquerels of radioactive cesium 137 leaked into the sea from the Fukushima plant, north of Tokyo.
Tepco is aware of the estimate from the institute through media reports and has no comment, spokesman Hajime Motojuku said today by phone.
The three melted reactors and at least one damaged spent- fuel pool may have emitted 35,800 terabecquerels of cesium 137 into the atmosphere, according to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics journal. The estimated amount is about 42 percent of that released into the atmosphere in the Chernobyl explosion in 1986, according to the study.
Japan’s nuclear regulator in June said 15,000 terabecquerels of cesium 137 was discharged.
Cesium 137 is a source of concern for public health because the radioactive isotope has a half-life of 30 years.
A becquerel represents one radioactive decay per second and involves the release of atomic energy, which can damage human cells and DNA. Prolonged exposure to radiation can cause leukemia and other forms of cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association. A terabecquerel is 1 million times 1 million becquerels.
(sourced Bloomberg)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Japan likely to scrap all reactors at contaminated Fukushima nuke plant
Wed, Mar30, 2011 19:28:24
TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano on Wednesday said that it was highly likely that the stricken reactors at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northern Japan would be scrapped.
Speaking at a news conference, the top government spokesperson said that he believed all six reactors at the troubled facility should be decommissioned.
He said scrapping the reactors would be in the best interests of society.
"I believe it is very clear from the viewpoint of society (that the reactors should be decommissioned). That is my perception," the chief cabinet secretary said.
In the absence of Masataka Shimizu, 66, estranged CEO of the nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) who having not been seen for the past two weeks was hospitalized yesterday due to high blood pressure and dizziness, TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said at least four of the reactors should be scrapped.
"We have no choice but to scrap reactors 1 to 4 if we look at their conditions objectively," Katsumata said at a separate news conference.
Edano said that the ongoing crisis will take some time before it is resolved and as such local residents evacuated from the vicinity of the Daiichi facility may not be able to return home anytime soon.
"Unfortunately, some time is needed before the situation is brought under control and we can be sure that people are safe from radiation," said Edano.
Earlier Wednesday the government was mulling taking the unprecedented measure of covering three of the badly damaged nuclear reactor buildings with special fabric caps and fitting air filters to limit radiation leakage.
The idea of anchoring an empty tanker near the troubled No. 2 reactor building so that workers can pump several hundred tons of highly-radioactive water into its storage facilities, has also been floated by government and nuclear experts.
Seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility's No.1 reactor contained radioactive iodine at 3,355 times the legal limit and a spokesperson for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said earlier on Wednesday and extraordinary measures must now be taken.
"The (radiation) figures are rising further," said the agency's Deputy Director-General Hidehiko Nishiyama.
"We need to find out as quickly as possible the cause and stop them from rising any higher. We are in an unprecedented situation, so we need to think about different strategies, beyond those we normally think about," Nishiyama added. (English.news.cn)
Tags : Chernobyl solution, over radiation leaks, Tokyo, Chernobyl disaster
Saturday, March 19, 2011
6.1 quake hits south of stricken Japan nuclear plant
Mar 19, 2011, 03.54pm IST AFP |
OSAKA: A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture south of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the country's meteorological agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake shook buildings in Tokyo, but no damage was immediately reported, public broadcaster NHK said, adding that flights at the capital's Narita Airport were temporarily suspended for safety checks.
OSAKA: A strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake rattled Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture south of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the country's meteorological agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The quake shook buildings in Tokyo, but no damage was immediately reported, public broadcaster NHK said, adding that flights at the capital's Narita Airport were temporarily suspended for safety checks.
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