Monday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site:

TEPCO, Government to Revise Timetable for Returning Evacuees

October 17, 2011

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues

• Tokyo Electric Power Co. expects to achieve a stable “cold shutdown condition” of reactors 1, 2 and 3 by the end of the year, a month earlier than originally planned, according to a revised“Roadmap Towards Restoration From the Accident at Fukushima Daiichi.” The report says TEPCO has brought the release of radioactive materials under control. NHK World reported that the revised timetable will allow the government to begin discussions on allowing evacuees to return to their homes.
• As of Oct. 13, TEPCO has decontaminated more than 128,000 cubic meters of highly radioactive cooling water at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors. The company told Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency it expects to treat about 250,000 cubic meters by March. The decontamination and recycling efforts have been instrumental in the company’s being able to bring the temperatures at the bottom of reactors 1-3 below 100 degrees Celsius.

Plant Status

• TEPCO reports it has completed attaching the heavy polyester covering to the steel frames it has installed around Fukushima Daiichi reactor 1. The company expects to complete testing of the effectiveness of the cover by the end of the month. It is considering installing similar covers for reactors 3 and 4.

Media Highlights

• The Associated Press and RTTNews note the IAEA report praising the radiation remediation measures being conducted by Japanese authorities. Japan’s Mainichi Daily News reports on thedecontamination efforts being conducted in towns surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi facility.
• Reuters takes note of the advice in the IAEA report for the Japanese government to “avoid becoming over-conservative” in future remediation efforts, such as topsoil removal, so as to preclude creating unnecessarily large quantities of radioactive waste requiring storage and disposal.