Fokušima i bezbednost nuklearnih elektrana

Isplata odštete žrtvama Fukušime

Petak, 15 April 2011 Vesti Glasa Amerike



Predsednik TEPCO-a Masataka Šimicu (centar) rekao da duboko žali zbog nesreće koja je pogodila građane greškom njegove kompanije, 15. april 2011.

Japanska vlada danas je naredila tokijskoj kompaniji za elektrodistribuciju, TEPCO, da počne sa isplatom odštete za gotovo 50 hiljada porodica koje su živele u radijusu od 30 kilometara oko oštećene nuklearne elektrane Fukušima.

Predsednik TEPCO-a Masataka Šimicu rekao je da će porodice primiti odštetu od 12 hiljada dolara, a da će jednočlana domaćinstva dobiti 75 odsto tog iznosa.

“Želeo bih da uputim moje najdublje izvinjenje ljudima Fukušime, pogotovo onima koji su živeli u okolini nuklearne elektrane, zbog toga što smo bili uzrok njihovom ogromnom psihičkom i fizičkom bolu”, rekao je Šimicu.

Japanski ministar industrije je izjavio da bi voleo da kompanija za električnu energiju što pre podeli novčana sredstva oštećenim porodicama, jer bi to omogućilo kratkoročnu pomoć za život svima onima koji su bili primorani da se evakuišu u kratkom vremenskom roku i da sa sobom ponesu samo elementarne potrepštine.

Japanska policija je saopštila da je prema poslednjim podacima u zemljotresu koji je zatim izazvao cunami poginulo 13 i po hiljada ljudi, a da se 14.700 i dalje vodi kao nestalo.

Oko 140 hiljada ljudi koji su evakuisani iz zone povišene radijacije, još uvek se nalaze u privremenim skloništima.

The U.S.-built robot probes measured radiation doses as high as 57 millisieverts inside the housing for reactor No. 3 and up to 49 millisieverts inside the No. 1 reactor building, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported. Levels found between the double doors of the airlocks of the reactor buildings were much higher -- 270 millisieverts in the case of reactor No. 1 and 170 millsieverts in No. 3, the agency said.

Japanese scientist creates radiation-absorbing powder

Published: 19 April, 2011, 18:16

A Japanese university professor claims he has invented a radiation-absorbing powder which he believes will be useful at the disaster-hit Fukushima power plant.

Tomihisa Ohta’s anti-radiation powder consists of a mixture of minerals including zeolite, which is said to capture radiation in water and absorb the isotopes of cesium, iodine and strontium.

The scientist said that experiments he has held with colleagues from Kumaken Kougyou Co, a chemistry company, showed that 1.5 grams dissolved in ten milligrams of water almost fully absorbs particles of caesium. The concentrate can also reportedly isolate radioactive particles of iodine and strontium from the water. Professor Ota believes that the discovery may be required at Fukushima-1 "to clear 67,000 tons of highly radioactive water accumulated in the station’s bottom rooms and tunnels.”

In 2007, Russian scientists discovered a unique mineral which was able to absorb radioactive particles from liquid waste. At that time it did not have a name and was known only as a number, 27-4.

Natural zeolite minerals have a unique ability to absorb radiation and harmful substances from the environment. They are used even in food supplements for people employed in industries where there is a risk of exposure.

Bags with zeolites, in particular, are expected to be thrown down into the sea near the intakes of reactors 2 and 3 at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power station. According to the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operation is planned for the nearest future. On the advice of specialists, the power company will process an ocean area with zeolites, similar to those used after the Chernobyl accident.

The devastating earthquake which hit Japan on March 11 damaged the cooling system at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It later caused serious explosions at some reactors and led to the emission of radioactive particles, which then were found in the atmosphere, sea and drinking water.

Russian scientists discover radiation- absorbing mineral

Published: 30 August, 2007

Russian scientists in the Khibinsky Mountains in the Arctic Circle have made an important scientific discovery. They've found a new mineral which absorbs radiation.

It does not yet have an official name and is known only as number 27-4. It can absorb radioactivity from liquid nuclear waste.

“It can extract radioactive substances from any water-based solution and so has a very important practical significance,” said Yakov Pakhomovsky, the head of the Kolsky Research Institute.


After coming into contact with the mineral, radioactive water becomes completely safe. Had this mineral been available to physicists after the Chernobyl or Three Mile Island disasters, the consequences might have been very different, as both accidents resulted in contamination from radioactive water.

However, it is not as simple as it sounds. Scientists say they need tonnes of it and so far they have only discovered a few grammes. But they are confident that they can chemically reproduce it on a much larger scale.

“We need to learn its properties and so that chemists can reproduce it on an unlimited scale,” said Grigory Ivanyuk, from the Kolsky Research Institute.

Every year ten new minerals are discovered in the Arctic Circle, and one third of all worldwide mineral discoveries are on the Kolsky Peninsula.

The latest find may prove to be extremely significant for the nuclear industry.

Zeolite

Nuclear industry

Zeolites have uses in advanced reprocessing methods, where their micro-porous ability to capture some ions while allowing others to pass freely allow many fission products to be efficiently removed from nuclear waste and permanently trapped. Equally important are the mineral properties of zeolites. Their alumino-silicate construction is extremely durable and resistant to radiation even in porous form. Additionally, once they are loaded with trapped fission products, the zeolite-waste combination can be hot pressed into an extremely durable ceramic form, closing the pores and trapping the waste in a solid stone block. This is a waste form factor that greatly reduces its hazard compared to conventional reprocessing systems.[6] An example of use is that sandbags of zeolite were dropped into the seawater near the Fukushima nuclear plant to adsorb radioactive cesium that was present there in high levels.