WND
Fukushima releases mysterious steam plume
By Steve Elwart

The bad news from Fukushima seems to keep coming.

New reports say a mysterious steam plume is emanating from the Japanese power plant crippled in the 2011 tsunami. While TEPCO, the utility that owns the plant, has confirmed the presence of a steam plume coming from what looks like the fifth floor of the building, the source of the plume is unknown.

What is being viewed seems to be a steam release coming from the hot rubble of the structure.

Fairewinds Energy Education, an organization that tracks nuclear energy issues, posted a statement on its website today saying the reactor is not going to explode. The statement noted that the plant is in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is winter, and the lower air temperature is making the steam more visible.

But there are three major issues with the Fukushima cleanup operation that are of concern:

Three reactor cores are not visible and their disposition is unknown.

Radioactive water has been leaking from the plant in larger quantities than has been reported.

Eleven thousand spent nuclear fuel rods from all six reactors in the complex need to be removed for inspection and final disposition. A percentage of the fuel rods are located in the exposed reactors, and removing the rods, which are emanating lethal levels of radiation and are at tens of thousands of degrees in temperature, will be particularly dangerous.

The latest developments have added to the sense of urgency to not only stop the release of radiation into the environment, but also determine just how much damage is being done to the environment and what actions should be taken to reduce the impact of the disaster.

The worlds’ worst nuclear crisis in 25 years was set off at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011 by a massive earthquake and tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people.

Immediately after the disaster hit, Japan implemented the first stage of its emergency response plan. The government ordered the immediate evacuation of all persons who were within a 12-mile radius of the complex. For those within a 12- to 18-mile radius, residents were requested to “shelter in place,” staying inside with all the doors and windows closed.

A controversy erupted shortly after the orders came down. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos issued a recommendation based on Nuclear Regulatory Council (NRC) guidelines that people living within a 50-mile radius evacuate the area. The recommendation prompted Japan to complain that the U.S. was fear-mongering.

Since the incident, TEPCO implemented several mitigation strategies to clean up the mess.

The latest, controversial strategy is to employ the homeless to clear away the rubble to give inspectors a clearer view of the situation they are facing.

The cleanup, said to be the worst job in Japan, is falling behind schedule due to a lack of oversight and a shortage of workers. TEPCO is trying to make up for lost time by casting a large net for workers, now recruiting the homeless for the dangerous job. Men like Seiji Sasa are hunting the Sendai Station in Northern Japan looking for people to work for minimum wage to go through the rubble. Sendai has emerged as an unofficial center for hiring the homeless for low-skilled, low-wage jobs.

The quality of the cleanup job has been called into question not only because of the quality of workforce but also because many of the subcontractors recruited for the job have alleged ties to Japan’s organized crime syndicate, the Yakusa.

Complaints have emerged from workers that they are not being paid and are essentially in a state of slavery to their employer. The workers are charged room and board during their stay on site, and their wages sometimes don’t cover the cost of their living expenses.

“I don’t ask questions; that’s not my job,” Sasa said in an interview with Reuters. “I just find people and send them to work. I send them and get money in exchange. That’s it. I don’t get involved in what happens after that.”

While the cleanup has had its problems, other countries are trying to determine the extent of the radiation coming from the plant and the effects it is having on their respective landscapes.

Following the disaster in Fukushima, most countries with nuclear power plants issued statements expressing the need for a complete review of safety procedures to prevent a similar meltdown.

For its part, the United States ordered a review of its nuclear plants. As a result, several plants have been shut down following determinations that it was too costly to implement the required design and operational improvements.

To date, five nuclear reactors are being built in the United States, in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. But in the past year, utilities have permanently shut down four others and plan to take a fifth out of service next year. Two other planned projects have been shelved. Part of the reason for the shutdowns and shelving new plants, however, is a combination of a weak demand due to a slowing economy and also to the increased gas production due to new production techniques.

Japan issued orders to shut down all 50 of its nuclear plants pending review, but the process of getting approval to restart the units is already under way. Authorities say the process is being done deliberately and is expected to take some years to complete.

Restarting the reactors is a critical strategic decision for Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s government as the country’s reactors had provided approximately 30 percent of its electricity and was expected to increase to at least 40 percent by 2017. Post-Fukushima, that figure is expected to be only 20 percent. It could have severe implications for a country that imports 84 percent of its energy.

The immediate replacement for nuclear power in Japan is oil. Some in the Abe government are particularly concerned, because of current tense relationship with China over the disputed Senkaku Islands (known to the Chinese as the Diaoyu Islands). If relations worsen, a blockade of oil to the Home Islands would have a severe impact on Japan’s economy. Thus, Japan is pushing to get as many nuclear plants on line as possible.

Other countries have taken more radical steps than Japan…

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