SIGHTINGS



Tokai Public Radiation
Exposure Much Worse
Than Reported
Magpie Country Nukes Headliner
Nuclear Issues News Brief From Japan
Criticality accident at Tokai uranium processing plant
21st REPORT
10-18-99

 
Magpie Country Nukes Headliner Nuclear Issues News Brief From Japan Criticality accident at Tokai uranium processing plant 21st REPORT 10-18-99
 
 
The union of the employees of JAERI (Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, see ##th Report) worked out an independent estimation of the total radiation dose at 17 monitoring points around the JCO Tokai accident site. The result of their calculation was reported in Mainich Newspaper on 16 and 17 October nationwide. It unequivocally shows that evacuation of at least 600m radius z one (rather than the actual evacuation of 350m zone) should have been encour aged, as it was revealed that the anual dose limit of 1mSv had been reached even at a 400m point.
 
It has also been revealed that the Government's emergency responce unit (hea ded by the Prime Minister Obuchi) was about to issue the evacuation order fo r 500m zone, but it was not issued since it was after midnight (i.e. early h ours of 1 Oct) and it was raining (so a panic could easily be caused). As a result, the population in 350m to 600m zone was left in the neutron bombard.
 
According to NHK (national TV/radio network) news on 18 October, STA (Scienc e and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government) plans to extract the ura nyl nitrate solution that remains in the precipitation tank in which the fis sile uranium elements went criticial. However, the dosage rate in the reconv ersion test building in which the tank in question is installed is still as high as over 10mSv/h (gamma, or gamma + neutron?). Anybody who approaches th e tank will be dosed with unacceptably high amount of radiation. STA says th ey will sort out an operational procedure with certain time limit so that ra d-exposure can be minimized, and hopes to carry out the operation before the end of this week. They declines to say how.
 
Radiochemically speaking, retrieving the solution is of crutial significance in understanding the nature and extent of the accident. Qualitative and quan titative analysis of the fission products (such radionuclides as barium, ru thenium, molybdenum, cerium, etc) that are contained in the solution will re nder an exact estimation of the number of nuclear fissions (thus the number of neutrons and energy generated).
 
How many people must be exposed how much to the very dangerous level of radi ation just in order to obtain several decilitters of the solution, which is a sufficient amount for the analysis, is a hard question, both in terms of science and of justice.






SIGHTINGS HOMEPAGE