A week since the Big Snow. We've been treated to the unusual sight of trucks taking the snow away and there are diggers knawing at side roads and car parks in an attempt to remove the ice. Even with temperatures above zero this past week, Koriyama is a windy city and the snow has stayed frozen. But today we had rain. That's novel: the first rain in four months. So maybe the ice will start to melt.
Recently I said all was quiet at Fukushima Daiichi but there's been a fresh incident. Last Wednesday (19 Feb.) contaminated water was mistakenly diverted to a storage tank which overflowed, leaking 100 tons of contaminated water. An alarm had rung 9 hours previously but was ignored. But there was worse to come. It seems that valves had mistakenly been left open and, after the accident, mysteriously closed. Tepco has interviewed over 100 staff but not yet got to the bottom of the matter.
I know they're short of staff and the staff are tired but these kind of mistakes would seem to hint at basic problems in the overall management of Fukushima Daiichi. And it's particularly worrying as proposals to re-open Japan's closed reactors are currently under consideration and 10 reactors at 6 plants could be opening in the next few months.
On a different note, Azby Brown of Safecast, the independent organisation which measures radiation worldwide, has been to Geneva to talk to the IAEA. Great job, guys. Very informative post here:
Azby in Geneva
Azby in Geneva
Bye for now
Anne