JAPAN: NUCLEAR POWER: ADDITIONAL MISHAPS AT

UNCLAS TOKYO 003296 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG JA TRGY SUBJECT: JAPAN: NUCLEAR POWER: ADDITIONAL MISHAPS AT KASHIWAZAKI-KARIWA REF: TOKYO 03263 1) SUMMARY: On July 17, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced additional problems that occurred at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture due to the powerful earthquake that hit the prefecture on July 16. However, Japanese government sources indicated to ESTOFF that these problems pose no increased threat to the environment or human safety based on their current understanding of the situation. END SUMMARY. 2) Most notably, TEPCO reported an increased amount of radioactive substances emitted into the atmosphere. TEPCO issued a corrected statement on July 18 in which it admitted it miscalculated the amount of radiation leakage. Originally it reported 60,000Bq of radiation had been released, however, after recalculation, TEPCO determined the estimated amount to be 90,000Bq of radioactivity material. 3) At the No.7 reactor that automatically stopped operations due to the quake, radioactive iodine, cobalt, and chromium were detected in a filter of the main ventilation system when it was removed in a weekly routine exchange and then measured. The total detected amount of radioactivity is estimated to be 3X10 8Bq. However, radiation dose from this radioactivity is estimated to be approximately 1.1X10 -7mSv, which is quite less than legal safety standards (1mSv/year). Therefore, there is no impact on the surrounding environment, according to Japanese official reports. In the Radioactive Solid Waste Storage House No. 2, approximately 100 drums toppled and lids of several drums were open. TEPCO said that after inspecting the floor, 0.5 vectors of radiation per square meter were released. The contamination is still under investigation, however, according to Post's contact in the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, the drums contained low-level nuclear waste and pose no imminent threat to the environment. SCHIEFFER