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182739
Tue, 05/17/2011 - 16:45
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UPDATE1: Japan gov't eyes nuke compensation payment process from around fall
TOKYO, May 17 Kyodo -
(EDS: UPDATING 6TH, 10TH, 12TH-13TH GRAFS)
The government said Tuesday it will start paying compensation to people affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant by around the fall as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. would strive to bring an end to the country's worst nuclear crisis by around January at the latest.
In an updated version of Tokyo Electric's road map toward settling the crisis, the utility said it will stick to its initial plan to stabilize the crippled reactors sometime between around October and January, although some changes were seen in the details based on recent findings that suggest a fuel meltdown in the No. 1 reactor.
Calling people affected by the disaster ''victims of the state's policy'' of promoting nuclear power, the government said in a paper issued Tuesday, ''Even if the road toward restoration is long, the government will stand at the forefront and take responsibility in dealing with the issue to the very end.''
The announcement was made as one month has passed since the utility known as TEPCO unveiled its road map on how to restore the plant's crippled reactors, which lost key cooling functions in the wake of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Under the plant's restoration road map issued April 17, TEPCO said it aimed to bring in about six to nine months the damaged Nos. 1 to 3 reactors to a stable condition known as a ''cold shutdown,'' in which water temperatures inside the reactors are stably brought below 100 C.
The process toward ending the nuclear crisis so far ''has been going as we initially expected,'' Sakae Muto, vice president of TEPCO, said at a press conference, adding the firm is expected to bring the crippled reactors to a stable cooling condition in mid-July as a first step.
As for the No. 1 reactor, workers were expected to fill the reactor's primary container with water to a level covering the 4-meter-long fuel rods inside the pressure vessel, and create a system that would enable the coolant water to circulate around the reactor to stably keep the fuel cool.
But TEPCO said in its updated road map that it will review the plan to flood the container with water, after recent findings suggested that a large part of the fuel melted and dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel.
The level of water inside the vessel was far lower than expected, apparently because coolant water injected into the reactor as an emergency post-disaster measure to keep the fuel cool has leaked out from the damaged vessel.
While Muto said the nuclear meltdown has not been hampering the company's efforts to cool the No. 1 reactor, TEPCO will still seek to set up a coolant circulation system by using the water that now exists inside the reactor and nearby buildings.
More than two months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, TEPCO is still struggling to restore key cooling functions at the reactors and spent fuel pools of the Nos. 1 to 4 units in the six-reactor complex.
The utility, meanwhile, pledged Tuesday to step up measures to prevent highly radioactive water detected at the plant from spreading as concerns grow that such tainted water could pollute soil and the sea, harming human health in the future.
TEPCO also vowed to establish devices to decontaminate seawater near the power station, which has already contained a large amount of radioactive materials.
The disaster has led people living within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant and some areas beyond to evacuate. The 20-km zone is now set as a legally binding no-entry zone.
Under the government schedule, the government plans to take several steps before considering whether to lift the no-entry zone warning, such as allowing residents to take out their cars, and measuring the radiation level in the area.
(EDS: UPDATING 6TH, 10TH, 12TH-13TH GRAFS)
The government said Tuesday it will start paying compensation to people affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant by around the fall as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. would strive to bring an end to the country's worst nuclear crisis by around January at the latest.
In an updated version of Tokyo Electric's road map toward settling the crisis, the utility said it will stick to its initial plan to stabilize the crippled reactors sometime between around October and January, although some changes were seen in the details based on recent findings that suggest a fuel meltdown in the No. 1 reactor.
Calling people affected by the disaster ''victims of the state's policy'' of promoting nuclear power, the government said in a paper issued Tuesday, ''Even if the road toward restoration is long, the government will stand at the forefront and take responsibility in dealing with the issue to the very end.''
The announcement was made as one month has passed since the utility known as TEPCO unveiled its road map on how to restore the plant's crippled reactors, which lost key cooling functions in the wake of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Under the plant's restoration road map issued April 17, TEPCO said it aimed to bring in about six to nine months the damaged Nos. 1 to 3 reactors to a stable condition known as a ''cold shutdown,'' in which water temperatures inside the reactors are stably brought below 100 C.
The process toward ending the nuclear crisis so far ''has been going as we initially expected,'' Sakae Muto, vice president of TEPCO, said at a press conference, adding the firm is expected to bring the crippled reactors to a stable cooling condition in mid-July as a first step.
As for the No. 1 reactor, workers were expected to fill the reactor's primary container with water to a level covering the 4-meter-long fuel rods inside the pressure vessel, and create a system that would enable the coolant water to circulate around the reactor to stably keep the fuel cool.
But TEPCO said in its updated road map that it will review the plan to flood the container with water, after recent findings suggested that a large part of the fuel melted and dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel.
The level of water inside the vessel was far lower than expected, apparently because coolant water injected into the reactor as an emergency post-disaster measure to keep the fuel cool has leaked out from the damaged vessel.
While Muto said the nuclear meltdown has not been hampering the company's efforts to cool the No. 1 reactor, TEPCO will still seek to set up a coolant circulation system by using the water that now exists inside the reactor and nearby buildings.
More than two months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, TEPCO is still struggling to restore key cooling functions at the reactors and spent fuel pools of the Nos. 1 to 4 units in the six-reactor complex.
The utility, meanwhile, pledged Tuesday to step up measures to prevent highly radioactive water detected at the plant from spreading as concerns grow that such tainted water could pollute soil and the sea, harming human health in the future.
TEPCO also vowed to establish devices to decontaminate seawater near the power station, which has already contained a large amount of radioactive materials.
The disaster has led people living within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant and some areas beyond to evacuate. The 20-km zone is now set as a legally binding no-entry zone.
Under the government schedule, the government plans to take several steps before considering whether to lift the no-entry zone warning, such as allowing residents to take out their cars, and measuring the radiation level in the area.
