Situation grave at world's largest nuclear plant
by Deep Harm
Wed Jul 18, 2007 at 06:25:27 AM PDT
The world's largest nuclear plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, experienced a fire and damage after two earthquakes on Monday. Accounts of the damage worsen with each new report, and now data indicate that the plant sits directly over a fault line. The plant's seven reactors are currently shut down, but keeping them safely shut down will be difficult. If technicians cannot keep cooling water flowing to the radioactive cores, those could overheat, resulting in a meltdown and massive release of radiation. The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has urged Japanese authorities to investigate the accident fully.
There are disparities regarding the magnitude and even the number of earthquakes. But, Bloomberg currently gives this account.
The quake struck at 10.13am Japan time on Monday, 24km from Kashiwazaki and 240km from Tokyo, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said on its website. It revised the magnitude to 6.6 from a preliminary 6.8. The Japan Meteorological Agency initially put the level at 6.6 before revising it to 6.8.
A second quake of 6.8 magnitude struck 13 hours later and 330km to the west, causing no damage.
Japanese authorities seemed surprised at the extent of the damage. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant supposedly was designed to withstand an earthquake. If, however, there was more than one epicenter, the effect of seismic waves approaching from different angles would be far more devastating than a single quake, or even multiple tremors from the same epicenter.
Bloomberg reports two other recent quakes, of similar magnitude: one in October 2004 and one in March of this year. Possibly, the earlier quakes strained plant structures, leaving them vulnerable to Monday's quake.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), operator of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, has been slow to reveal to authorities and the public the nature and full extent of damages.
The earthquake Monday off the Japanese coast killed nine people, started a small fire at the sprawling Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex and caused 312 gallons of radioactive water from the plant to spill into the Sea of Japan. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which owns the plant, didn't announce the leak until nearly 12 hours after the quake struck.
"They were hiding the truth," said Masako Sawai, researcher at Tokyo's Citizens' Nuclear Information Center.
An accurate assessment of the situation is needed so that citizs can prepare to take appropriate precautionary measures, such as evacuating the vicinity. But, there is no evidence that such a plan has been prepared.
On Tuesday, plant officials dropped another shoe, confirming that "about 100 drums containing nuclear waste at a warehouse had fallen over and "several" lost their lids." TEPCO admitted to a second release of radiation, followed by an admission that the release was twice as large as reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe blasted Tokyo Electric. "They raised the alert too late," he said. "I have sent stern instructions that such alerts must be raised seriously and swiftly. Those involved should repent their actions."
Just in case TEPCO had any ideas about restarting the reactors, the mayor of Kashiwazaki, on Wednesday, ordered a halt to operations on Wednesday for "safety reasons."
On Wednesday, the operators announced that 400 drums of nuclear waste, not 100, have been tipped over, and 40 have lost their lids. But, repeated issuance of round numbers suggests that plant officials are making very rough estimates, perhaps as a way of easing in worse news to come.
Additional malfunctions, listed in an Associated Press report, include the following (as of July 17).
