March、 2011、My Opinion of this week
My opinion of this week(713):
Time to work together
When I woke up early this morning, I started reading a number of
articles in Japanese newspaper and foreign ones concerning big earthquake
and tsunami happened late afternoon yesterday at Tohoku district. It was
such a big earthquake and tsunami so that number of dead people would exceed
1000 in total.
I could not even believe such an astonishing scene of tsunami. A number of
houses, cars, small building offices were washed away just like small toy
models. One other big worry is that one of atomic power station in Tohokoku
area was in danger for possible leak of radio activity because they have
some trouble to stop operation by automatic stop system. I felt relieved
when I read the news article that that atomic power station could handle
the trouble by one way or the other to avoid any further disasters.
Just two or three hours of earthquake and tsunami, the news were reported to
allover the word and over 50 countries offered their help to Japan in various
ways. President Obama of US said US would provide all sort of help to Japan for
the recovery from the disaster. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon stressed
that UN would provide anything they can do to help Japan saying Japan has been
such a country that has helped so many other countries when they were in such
disasters in the past.
I was also very moved to read many warm messages in Facebook this morning.
Many people in the world expressed their condolence and regret what happened
in Japan at this time and said their hope that Japan could cope with this
difficult situation. Many of them were concerned with Japan and Japanese
people in some ways during their life time. Those ware really heart warming
messages as a matter of facts.
Two major opposition parties in Japan , LDP( Liberal Democratic Party) and
Komei Party proposed Kan Cabinet to prepare extraordinary budget to help
recovery of the earthquake of Tohoku area and other parts of the country.
They have taken such a very strong opposition against Kan Cabinet concerned
with 2011 national budget. But they have now begun to show more corporative
attitude against Kan Cabinet to help recovery work of the government. So far
they have just demanded to dissolve the diet without any corporative attitude
even to pass national budget of 2011 starting in April.
Kan Cabinet was a kind of lame duck and was in serious situation up until
yesterday. Now they have some new challenging works facing to this disaster
although it was such a most difficult jobs by itself. But they have to
challenge to it to save this country. All other opposition fronts said they
would corporate with it on any of such recovery plans.
Proverb says "Bad luck often brings good luck." Yes, we believe it. It's now
the time to work together in the phase of national politics and international
diplomatic area in all respects.
2011/3/12
Tadashi Hayase
My opinion of this week(714):
Fukushima Nuclear Power Station without electricity, water and risk management
I wrote about the issue of the title in my BLOG of March 23. Since the
accident happened at Fushima No.1 Nuclear Power Station caused by such huge
earthquake andtunami on March 11, Tokyo Electric Power Company have tried to
cool down the core of nuclear reactor by injecting sea water rather than pure
water because they could not get pure water due to blackout of power. The
station succeeded to cool down the whole system by using sea water to some
extent. Some serious trouble may have been avoided by using sea water to
cool down the whole system.
But use of sea water is just an emergent action anyway. It is necessary for
them to resume to use pure water in order to cool down the core of nuclear
reactor. The reactor and other facilities may be damaged seriously by using
sea water which contains a lot of salt. Several experts on nuclear power
station have warned to resume pure water rather than sea water as soon as
possible for further stabilization of whole nuclear power generation system.
Fortunately power supply to all nuclear power units through No.1 to No.4 have
been resumed until May 25. But supply of pure water, another important factor
for stabilization of nuclear reactors has not been secured yet as a matter of
fact. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is considering to get pure water
from other sources such as dams of their water power stations of other
districts. But it takes some more time to do so.
Then, here comes help from US Navy stationed in Japan. They offered TEPCO to
provide pure water to use for cooling down operation at Fukushima. That is
really a wonderful news.
But some big question occurred to me when I read this news article on
asahi.com. Although it is really a big and very important sort of news, not
many other mass media reported the fact. Why is this? What more, it is Toshimi
Kitazawa, Minister of Self Defense Force who announced the fact and mentioned
possibility of executing pure water injection operation into nuclear reactor by
Self Defense Force cooperating with US Navy.
That's fine, indeed. No, question about it. But my basic question is why it
is Minister Toshimi Kitazawa who takes initiative on this issue rather than
general director of the whole operation, that is Prime Minster Naoto Kan. None
of the fact about this pure water injection operation has ever been announced
so far by integrated operation center of nuclear power station accident. Has
this operation been decided and approved to execute by the operation center ?
If so, why is there no formal announcement on the issue by formal director
in charge?
I am sorry to point out that there exist a serious failure and disadvantage on
total management system to encounter serious accidents at Fukushima Nuclear
Power Station as we see it.
When the big earthquake occurred, ECCS, the most important part of the security
system of nuclear reactor surely worked at the first stage. ECCS stopped the
reaction of nuclear power by inserting control bar. But ECCS failed to start
the following work that is to cool down the nuclear fuel bar by injecting pure
water. ECCS system failed to work further because of loss of electricity and
pure water due to earthquake and tsunami.
What a story is this ? Power station regardless it is nuclear or any other
sort lost control for two major source and power that is water and electricity
because of blackout? I cannot believe it. Nobody can. What's more they really
lack total risk management for such serious accidents.
We people of Japan can only pray for the improvement of the whole trouble so
that cooling down operation by pure water will work out fine in next several
days to come.
2011/3/26
Tadashi HAYASE
Home Page