"A Fukushima, les solutions mises en œuvre ne sont qu'un pis-aller" Le Monde.fr | • Mis à jour le | Propos recueillis par Pierre Le Hir Directeur général adjoint de l’Institut de radioprotection et de sureté nucléaire (IRSN), en charge de la radioprotection, Jérôme Joly décrypte la situation de la centrale nucléaire japonaise de Fukushima, où a été annoncée une fuite de 300 tonnes d’eau radioactive provenant d’un réservoir de stockage. Lire : Fukushima : la dernière fuite de réservoir classée en "incident grave" L’Autorité japonaise de régulation du nucléaire (ARN) a classé, mercredi 21 août, au niveau 3 – celui d’incident "grave" – une fuite d’eau contaminée dans la centrale de Fukushima. Quelle est la nature exacte de cette fuite ? Jérôme Joly : Le séisme et le tsunami du 11 mars 2011 qui ont provoqué la catastrophe de Fukushima ont aussi mis hors service tout le système de drainage des eaux du site nucléaire. C’est d’un de ces réservoirs que s’est échappée de l’eau contaminée, dans un volume d’environ 300 tonnes selon l’autorité de contrôle japonaise.
Deux ans d'impuissance et d'incidents à Fukushima Le Monde.fr | • Mis à jour le | Par Audrey Garric Depuis le 11 mars 2011, les incidents, en particulier les fuites d'eau radioactive, se sont multipliés dans la centrale accidentée. 11 mars 2011 A 14 h 46 heure locale, se produit un séisme de magnitude 9, le plus important jamais mesuré au Japon. L'épicentre est situé au large du nord-est du Japon, à 130 km des côtes. Un tsunami survient cinquante minutes plus tard, qui déferle sur la côte orientale du pays. 12 au 14 mars 2011 Des explosions vont toucher successivement les réacteurs 1, 3, puis 2. 1er – 6 avril 2011 520 m3 d'eau contaminée, ayant servi au refroidissement du réacteur 2, s'écoulent dans l'océan. Fin juin 2011 Tepco estime stocker plus de 100 000 tonnes d'eau contaminée ayant servi à refroidir les réacteurs. Mai 2012 Lire (édition abonnés) : La situation demeure critique à Fukushima Lire : Fukushima : Faut-il craindre une catastrophe à la piscine du réacteur 4 ? 12 octobre 2012 Mi-mars 2013 5 et 7 avril 2013 25 juin 2013 7 août 2013
Fukushima nuclear plant still 'unstable', regulator says 2 September 2013Last updated at 17:02 GMT Contaminated water may have to be filtered and dumped in the ocean, officials say The crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant "has not ended", the country's nuclear watchdog has warned, saying the situation there is "unstable". Watchdog chief Shunichi Tanaka also accused the plan's operator of careless management during the crisis. He added that it may not be possible to avoid dumping some contaminated water into the ocean. The comments come a day before the Japanese government is due to unveil plans to rescue the clean-up operation. Mr Tanaka's comments come after Fukushima's operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), said radiation levels near one tank were 18 times higher than previously thought. However, Mr Tanaka said that reports that this level of radiation could be lethal to workers after four hours of exposure were exaggerated. "Supposing the figure of 1,800 millisieverts per hour is correct, it is beta radiation.
Ask Umbra: What can Fukushima teach us? Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, How much does Fukushima (land loss, clean-up, rehousing people) add to the average cost of electricity (kWh) in Japan over the period they have not been running reactors? Compared to renewable, etc.? Matthew B. A. Your letter made its way to my inbox before the latest concerns over leaks at Fukushima hit the news. As a refresher for those who are fuzzy on the facts, several reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo melted down in March 2011 after a major earthquake and tsunami hit. It also showed us just how tricky this energy business can be. What happened next? Japan also started looking at other power sources. But all that hasn’t been enough to make up the difference. In the Not a Coincidence Department, Japan reported record-high carbon emissions this year. Of course, one promising, low-carbon fuel source is … nuclear power. Are you still with me, Matthew? Otsukaresama-ly, Umbra
Review of our Roadmap towards Decommissioning, etc. of Units 1-4 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) We are currently in the midst of implementing decommissioning measures based on the "Mid-to-long Term Roadmap towards the Decommissioning of Units 1-4 of TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station" established at the Government-TEPCO Mid-and-long Term Response Council*1. We would like to announce that our roadmap towards decommissioning will be reviewed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The review by the IAEA will be performed in response to a request from the Japanese government for the purpose of conducting an evaluation and obtaining advice on how to maintain stable reactor conditions, leakage prevention of contaminated water, and controlling the release of radioactive materials, etc. which are critical to the process of implementing measures towards decommissioning based on the mid-to-long term roadmap. The review will be performed from April 15 to April 22, 2013 by the IAEA and experts from each country*2.
Fukushima is not Chernobyl? Don’t be so sure. Fukushima City, view from the train station, Nov. 2012. The March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami caused the deaths of approximately 16,000 persons, left more than 6,000 injured and 2,713 missing, destroyed or partially damaged nearly one million buildings, and produced at least $14.5 billion in damages. The earthquake also caused a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japan’s eastern coast. Bullet train, symbol of Japanese modernity, entering Fukushima station. But as reporting on the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP unfolded, an unsettling story of stonewalling and sloppiness emerged that was eerily reminiscent of the Chernobyl catastrophe. Recently-released video footage of the early days and weeks of the Japanese crisis reveals that some of the same mistakes made during the Soviet state’s blighted response to Chernobyl were repeated at Fukushima Daiichi. “No one knows what really happened here” Our guide in Otsuchi was Mr.
Melted fuel removal at Fukushima plant seen optimistically starting in 2020 Work to remove melted fuel from the three crippled reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could start in 2020, the government and Tepco optimistically said Thursday, based on a revised, albeit vague, plan to decommission the stricken complex, a process expected to take decades. Notification You’ve reached your story limit as a non-registered user. To read more, please sign up or log in via one of the services below. This will give you access to 15 additional stories this month. TEPCO unable to foot the Fukushima bill | Asia | DW.DE | 14.08 The Japanese government has refrained from meddling in the management of power utility Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, even though it has been the company's primary shareholder for a year. The company was left to itself to deal with the damaged Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima and the compensation payments for the losses incurred on account of the radioactive contamination in the region. This lax attitude now haunts the government, which has had to admit that contaminated groundwater under the plant has been leaking into the Pacific for two years now. And it has been no small amount - according to the latest estimates, around 300 tons of water have been flowing into the ocean every day. A research group from the Institute for Industrial Sciences at the University of Tokyo has recently published findings on the consequences this has had on the seabed off the Fukushima coast. Too much to handle Tepco chief Kazuhiko Shimokobe (l) requested financial support from the government