Fukushima Clean-Up Attracts Bids for $14 Billion in Projects...>>..Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi atomic plant has been leaking radiation since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disabled cooling systems leading to the meltdown of uranium fuel rods in three reactors. Cracks in the containment vessels for the melted fuel have allowed radiation leaks that will leave some areas uninhabitable for two decades or more, according to a government estimate in August...>> ..AP2011 The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors stand in line intact in Okuma town in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Radiation has covered the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and blanketed parts of the complex, making the job of rendering the plant safe so that it doesn't threaten public health and the environment, or "decommissioning", a bigger task than usual.

Fukushima Clean-Up Attracts Bids for $14 Billion in Projects

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Sumitomo Corp., IHI Corp. and Obayashi Corp. are among companies seeking to win decontamination contracts around the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant as Japan sets aside $14 billion for the clean up.

Fukushima prefecture has received 143 preliminary proposals, mostly to decontaminate radiated soil and water, from companies, universities, non-profit organizations and individuals, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg News from the prefectural government.

Japan's environment ministry will budget more than 1.1 trillion yen for decontamination by the end of the next fiscal year, Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the response to the nuclear crisis, said Sept. 30.

“Estimating how much decontamination will cost is very difficult, so the government is trying to figure out rough figures through test projects,”said Tadashi Inoue at the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry who is advising the Fukushima government. “The cost will be enormous.”

Iitate village, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Fukushima nuclear plant, announced a decontamination cost estimate on Sept 28 of 322.4 billion yen, suggesting the government budget isn't big enough.

The Environment Ministry will increase the budget if it proves insufficient, said Tsutomu Utsunomiya, an assistant director at the environment management bureau at the ministry. He didn't say by how much.

Experience Needed

Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima Dai-Ichi atomic plant has been leaking radiation since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disabled cooling systems leading to the meltdown of uranium fuel rods in three reactors. Cracks in the containment vessels for the melted fuel have allowed radiation leaks that will leave some areas uninhabitable for two decades or more, according to a government estimate in August.

Companies with nuclear engineering experience such as Hitachi and IHI will see demand for their decontamination technology, said Masashi Hayami, a Tokyo-based analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. “There are a limited number of companies that can do decontamination work because it requires sophisticated nuclear power technology.”

IHI, a Japanese heavy machinery maker, proposed a mobile water decontamination system to filter out radioactive material and a waste storage container for soil and debris, Hiroshi Nakamura, the head of IHI's reconstruction team for the earthquake, said in an interview.

Tests First

The Fukushima government will set up test decontamination projects by the end of this month, said Katsumasa Suzuki, an official at the headquarters for disaster control in the Fukushima government. The prefecture hasn't estimated the decontaminate costs, he said.

Obayashi, a construction contractor, is pitching a radiation monitoring system, according to the documents. Obayashi spokesman Sanshiro Kobayashi confirmed it has made proposals for decontamination projects. He declined to elaborate.

Hitachi Zosen Corp., an industrial machinery maker, proposed a radioactive soil treatment facility, according to the documents. Hitachi Zosen spokesman Teruaki Yamada confirmed it offered its technology and declined to comment on details.

Sumitomo Corp., Shimizu Corp. and a unit of Marubeni Corp. also offered proposals, according to the documents.

“It's vital to start decontamination immediately, for the sake of residents,” said Keizo Ishii, professor of quantum science and energy engineering at Tohoku University who is advising Fukushima city. “It's easy to tell effective from non- effective technologies once decontamination starts.”

--With assistance from Makoto Miyazaki in Tokyo. Editors: Peter Langan, Aaron Sheldrick

Asia & Pacific - WORLD

Paper Shows Japan Feared Aftershocks at Nuke Plant

Published October 15, 2011

| Associated Press

• AP2011
  The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors stand in line intact in Okuma town in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Radiation has covered the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and blanketed parts of the complex, making the job of rendering the plant safe so that it doesn't threaten public health and the environment, or "decommissioning", a bigger task than usual.
  
  

TOKYO-- Japan feared three months after the Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit by a tsunami that aftershocks could further damage one of its fuel storage pools, causing rods inside to melt and spew radiation within hours, according to a newly released document.

The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization said it carried out a simulation that showed some 1,500 mostly used fuel rods at the plant's No. 4 reactor building could start breaking in two hours if aftershocks further damaged the pool and caused cooling water to escape. The fuel rods could start melting within eight hours, the organization said in a report dated June 30 and published Friday.

The report shows that the pool remained vulnerable for nearly four months until its operator completed reinforcement work in July. Tokyo Electric Power Co. had said before then that the building could withstand major aftershocks without reinforcement, but made repairs after acknowledging structural damage and water leaks from the pool area.

The March 11 quake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at the plant's three reactors. Explosions also damaged their buildings, plus Unit 4 next to them.

The simulation was based on a scenario that cooling water was lost in the Unit 4 spent fuel storage pool, located on the top floor of the building. The Unit 4 pool was considered high risk as it contained more fuel than the other three pools, as it also stored fuel rods that had been moved from the unit's reactor core, which was being fitted with new parts.

In the report, the government-funded JNES said a loss of pool water due to additional cracks from aftershocks could cause the fuel rods to overheat. Their casings could break and start spewing radiation in about 2 hours. Fuel pellets inside each rod could start melting within 7.7 hours at about 2,800 Celsius (5,000 Fahrenheit), it said.

The report was part of hundreds of pages of documents containing simulation results on dozens of accident scenarios by JNES earlier in the crisis.

Plant workers are still struggling to contain radiation still leaking from the plant, although the amount is far less than before.

TEPCO said Friday that Unit 1 -- one of the most damaged buildings -- now has an outer shell made of airtight polyester designed to contain radioactive particles inside the building. Similar covers are also planned for other buildings.

Government officials are also making massive decontamination efforts in areas around the plant, from where tens of thousands of people had to evacuate.

Recent discoveries of radiation "hot spots" in and around Tokyo have also caused fears among people there, where many concerned parents routinely check their neighborhoods for radiation.

In most cases the reading is estimated to be below the internationally accepted annual limit, but critics say the standard exceeds Japan's cap before the accident and the government should expand the scope of decontamination.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/15/paper-shows-japan-feared-aftershocks-at-nuke-plant/#ixzz1b1WoAp5e