Earthquake and the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant

[Han Chan]

French experts finds 67 flaws in Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant

French experts find 67 flaws in Japanese nuclear plant
PARIS, July 20, 2007 (AFP) - French nuclear experts said Friday they had found at least 67 problems on the site of Japan's largest nuclear power plant following an earthquake there earlier this week.
The Research Institution for Nuclear Safety (IRSN) said in a statement that investigations into the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant so far showed nothing to suggest there was a problem with the way it was maintained.
But it warned it could take "several months" to reopen the plant, which has been closed indefinitely since Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake occurred just nine kilometres (five miles) away.
IRSN said that the plant had not been designed to withstand such strong tremors and this "can explain the large number of anomalies."
The plant, which supplies some 10 percent of electricity to the nation's largest power company, Tokyo Electric Power Co. suffered a radiation leak and dozens of other problems during the quake, which killed 10 people.
In their statement, IRSN noted that a fire broke out on a voltage transformer outside one of the reactor buildings, "the first known case of a fire in a nuclear power station caused by an earthquake."
It was probably sparked when the land under a pylon carrying electric cables moved, creating a short-circuit, the institute said, adding that the extinguishing system also appeared to have been damaged by the quake.
It noted that the fire was not reported for two hours after it started.

A water leak was also reported soon after the quake but its radioactive nature was only noted five and a half hours later, IRSN said, adding that the doses involved were "extremely weak".

 

[Han Chan]

Will anyone still claim that everything is fine at Kashiwazaki?

Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007


Quake-hit N-plant may be shut a year: IAEA
Kyodo News
The head of an International Atomic Energy Agency team of experts indicated Friday that it could be a year before a Niigata Prefecture nuclear power plant damaged by the July 16 earthquake can resume operations.

Speaking to reporters in Tokyo after a four-day inspection of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station, Philippe Jamet said the process of restarting the plant could take "months or a year."

It is "not something you can do very fast. It was a very big earthquake," he said.

Japanese nuclear experts have said it would take at least a year to put the plant back into operation, but it was the first time that a third-party body such as the IAEA has expressed such a forecast.

Asked whether a report the IAEA will issue about damage to the plant would contain negative news for Japan, Jamet, director of the IAEA's Nuclear Installation Safety Division, said, "I'm not too worried."

Jamet suggested it would take some time before the Vienna-based U.N. nuclear watchdog publishes the report, but said, "Some information, I think, will be released fairly shortly," indicating an outline or key part may be made public soon.

But he declined comment on what he and five other members saw in the plant, which faced a radiation leak following the magnitude-6.8 quake. The plant will remain idle until the safety of its seven reactors is fully ensured.

The mission held talks Friday with plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and Nuclear Safety Commission, and discussed its preliminary conclusions from the survey with the Japanese side. The delegation, consisting of two IAEA experts and four seismic safety specialists, was scheduled to leave Japan on Saturday.

Jamet hinted that the mission had heated talks with nuclear regulators and Tepco, saying, "I cannot tell you that we agreed on everything, but we had a very serious, very in-depth, technical and very fruitful confrontation.

"To a certain extent, it's our job to push them as far as we can to make sure that what they said is really trustable," he said. "So that's what happened."

Jamet said that when the IAEA makes its independent assessment of the quake-hit plant under the leadership of Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, "We are taking into account those discussions where we don't always agree."

During the four-day examination of the plant, the delegation looked inside all seven reactor buildings. But it did not see the reactor vessels, as they have remained sealed since the temblor, which killed 11 people and injured about 2,000.

Japan had initially been reluctant to allow the IAEA to inspect the plant, but changed its tune following petitions from local officials eager for a third-party assessment to allay public concerns over the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan, which have drawn criticism due to a slew of accidents and coverups.

Tepco and the nuclear regulators have emphasized that the amount of radioactivity leaked was extremely low and poses no threat to the environment and local residents.

 

[Mars Man]

I don't know. I guesstimate that things will be patched up properly before kicking back into action, however. I don't see any near time concerns about that the moment--although I will admit that I have no inside or extra information to go on, at all.

Let's see what happens.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

My opinion.
In old days,
I was skeptical about the safety that Japanese atomic energy-related people explained.
However,
By this earthquake, kashiwazaki Nuclear Power Plant proved safety ability more than my imagination.
Perhaps,
I think that Japanese many inhabitants having a nuclear power plant felt relieved about this matter.
Because,
After an earthquake, the Japanese mass communication increased the negative news in a nuclear power plant.
However, I have not watched a demonstration / protest.
Japan was able to acquire data for the latest safety measures by this earthquake.
A safer nuclear power plant.
And peaceful practical use of atomic energy is proved.
I think that what a nuclear power plant can repair in one year is splendid.
Because this nuclear power plant does a stop for one year,
As for the Japanese discharge of CO2, 2% increase.
I pray for early repair.

 

[Mars Man]

Thanks for that information too Nagashima san. I'll see if I can get around to talking to one of the physics professors over at the uni, who does a lot with energy. It'll have to wait until much later in August, or September, though.

 

[Han Chan]

Scientists call for Kashiwazaki plant to be closed

Now I am not the only one who think that the plant should be closed:

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007

RISK OF ANOTHER QUAKE DEEMED TOO GREAT

Close Niigata nuclear plant for good: scientists

Kyodo News

A group of scientists and engineers called Tuesday for the closure of the quake-hit Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, citing the possibility of another huge earthquake in the area.

"This region is right in the middle of the Uetsu-Shinetsu fold zone, an area of particularly high crustal activity in the Japan Sea Eastern Margin Mobile Belt and has many active faults," the group said in a statement released in Tokyo.

A detailed investigation of the nuclear plant, beginning with the inside of the No. 1 reactor's pressure vessel, and a scientific examination of the ground of the site should be carried out, the statement said. "However, these should not be carried out on the assumption that the plant will be restarted," it added.

The plant has not operated since it was damaged by the July 16 magnitude-6.8 quake.

"As long as we cannot confirm how badly the plant was damaged, it should remain shut down," Hiromitsu Ino, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, who belongs to the group, told a news conference while releasing the statement.

"We have to enable a more open discussion without ruling out the possibility of closing the plant," though there is a general belief the plant will be restarted, he added.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report saying there is no significant visible damage to the nuclear power plant, while suggesting that a detailed examination should continue on the No. 1 reactor vessel, core and fuel.

 

[Mars Man]

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency released a report saying there is no significant visible damage to the nuclear power plant, while suggesting that a detailed examination should continue on the No. 1 reactor vessel, core and fuel.

(bold mine)

Now that sounds like an old, 'the straw that broke the camel's back' event. (and kind like a Hollywood story) Those who are doing it for the money, prestige, or political power saying 'we can't see anything wrong, so... and then the scene shifts to show some micro cracks that had been in a kind of out of the way spot.

Another quake hits, and it starts blowing....so they call in Jack what's-his-name to try to save the day.

I'll agree that it should be checked out very, very carefully, and in no rush at all. And, if there is a good majority understanding--by second and third parties--maybe restart it. (I still haven't had the chance to meet that professor.)

 

[spacerat]

I wonder why nobody mentioned the Hamaoka powerplants so far - I mean they are build directly in the Epicenter of the next Tokai quake and there was just a strong increase in the Ions near Kanagawa, which means that a strong quake may follow

www,stop-hamaoka,com
news,www,infoseek,co,jp/society/story/19fuji320080519013/
d,hatena,ne,jp/intelswimmer/20080520/1211260998
news,goo,ne,jp/hatake/20080514/kiji1780.html
www,e-pisco,jp/
www,spectrum,ieee,org/dec05/2367
(you need to replace , by . )