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Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues Tokyo Electric Power Co. has set guidelines to pay travel, lodging and other expenses for people displaced after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. The company is offering reimbursement for medical fees for injuries and illnesses caused by the government-ordered evacuation...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has chosen Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda to be its new party leader. The election paves the way for Noda to replace Naoto Kan as the country’s sixth prime minister in five years. The BBC reports that Noda wants Japan’s nuclear...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, amid growing complaints about his performance. He came to office in June 2010. During his term, he had made unpopular moves, including an early pledge for a tax increase...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues The Japan Nuclear Safety Commission has cut its estimate of radioactive substances released by Fukushima Daiichi between March 12 and April 5 by 10 percent. The new estimate is based on recently released data on radiation levels at monitoring posts and the amount...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues Some areas within the 12.5-mile exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility are to remain off-limits to evacuated residents for “a long time,” Japan’s government said. Officials had planned to allow residents eventually to return to their homes...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues The five-member U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a memorandum directing the agency staff to engage with staff experts and external stakeholders to provide the commission with options for agency actions based on the NRC’s near-term task force report on...

Plant Status Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to begin desalinating water in the used fuel storage pools at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility by the end of this week. TEPCO said it will start with the pool at the fourth unit because it contains the most used fuel. The new desalination equipment...

Plant Status Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility achieved a major milestone this week as recirculating cooling was restored to the used fuel storage pools at the last of the four damaged reactors. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) activated the cooling system at the reactor 1 pool...

Plant Status Tokyo Electric Power Co. has begun erecting the steel support for an airtight cover for reactor building 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility. The 17-story polyester fiber fabric cover is designed to shield the environment from the release of radioactive particles. TEPCO is...

Plant Status Tokyo Electric Power Co. reports that the water decontamination system recycling accumulated water to cool the Fukushima Daiichi reactors stopped working Sunday after several pumps failed. TEPCO is working to reduce the volume of contaminated water in the basements of the reactor and turbine...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues Licensing for new U.S. reactors is proceeding according to schedule, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in letters to electric utilities in Georgia and South Carolina. The agency expects to issue a final safety report this month on Georgia Power’s two advanced...

Plant Status Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it has detected radiation levels of at least 1,000 rem per hour at the base of an exhaust pipe between reactor buildings 1 and 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear energy facility. It is the highest radiation level detected at the site. The pipe was used to vent...

Plant Status Cooling water temperature in the Fukushima Daiichi reactor 4 used fuel storage pool is returning to normal after Tokyo Electric Power Co. began operating a new recirculating cooling water system.  The new system is expected to bring the temperature of the pool down to about 104 degrees Fahrenheit...