Lessons from Fukushima – A Hometeam Perspective ABSTRACT: The Great Tohoku Earthquake of 11 March 2011 devastated many communities on the Tohoku Coast of Japan, and caused meltdowns of multiple reactors at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power installation. This presentation provides one perspective of the event and its aftermath from the point of view of a Hometeam Assessment Scientist.
Lessons from Fukushima A Home Team Perspective
LA-UR-12-20872
Japan has recorded more tsunamis that any other country…197 over a period of 1,327 years (or one every 6.7 years). A sampling of historical Tsunami on the Tohoku Coast - each generated by strong earthquakes:
Date Wave Height Notes
869 AD 6 meters Jogan
1611 AD 7 meters
1700 AD 5 meters Originated in Cascadia
1896 AD 38 meters Meiji-Sanriku
1933 AD 4 meters
1952 AD 3 meters Originated near Kamchatka
1960 AD 4 meters Originated in Chile
2011 AD 12 meters Tohoku
T = 35 seconds T = 1:23
T = 3:04 T = 5:28
NEA report, 18 March
C-12 Huron
UH-60 Blackhawk
UH-1 Iroquois
In SITU
Exposure rate measurements
Soil sampling
22
Core Sampling
23
Air sampling
Ground Level Dose Rate (normalized to 29 Apr)
Total Cs Deposition (normalized to 29 Apr)
Aerial Measuring Results Joint US / Japan Survey Data
Aerial Measuring Results Joint US / Japan Survey Data
Aerial Measuring Results Joint US/Japan Survey Data
Aerial Measuring Results Joint US / Japan Survey Data
Aerial Measuring Results Joint US/Japan Survey Data
Chernobyl Cs-137 Deposition
Location Population (thousands) Annual EXTERNAL dose
(mrem/yr)
Ramsar, Iran 2,000 1,750
Kerala and Madras, India 100,000 1,500
Orvieto, Italy 21,000 500
Toscana, Italy 100,000 150
Location Population Annual EXTERNAL dose
(mrem/yr)
Japan 125,000,000 50
Worldwide 7 billion 58 (average)
• Dose from natural background (UNSCEAR 2000) • Average worldwide dose from background radiation, all sources (external and internal), 240 mrem/yr. • Typical range, worldwide, external dose – 50 to 1000 mrem/yr.
High background areas (external radiation only):
Japan currently has 54 large nuclear power plants
52 of these are off-line
The Japanese have a trade deficit
for the 1st time in 31 years, mostly due to coal and LNG purchases to supply power for the off-line nuclear plants.
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