Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident in Japan INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 9 (21 March 2011 Update as of 3:00 PM)
Details
The DOST-PNRI continues to closely monitor the situation at the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Unit 1
Some instrumentations have been restored.
Unit 2
Off-site electrical power has been connected to an auxiliary transformer and distribution panels. Work continues toward energizing specific equipment;
White smoke disappeared from Unit 2; and
Workers began pumping seawater into the spent fuel pool.
Unit 3
White smoke emerging from the reactor is less intense; and
Spraying water on spent fuel pool is finished.
Unit 4
Japanese Self Defense Forces began spraying water into the building.
Units 5 and 6
External power restored;
Achieved cold shutdown; and
Spent fuel pool temperatures are now normal.
Overall, the situation at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants is improving. Radiation levels are within the range that allows workers to continue onsite recovery activities.
Dose rates in Tokyo and other areas outside the 30-kilometre zone remain below levels which would require any protective action. The dose rates in major cities are as follows:
Mito, Ibaraki: 161 nanosieverts per hour
Shinjuku, Tokyo: 46 nanosieverts per hour
Ichihara, Chiba: 33 nanosieverts per hour
Saitama, Saitama: 54 nanosieverts per hour
Utsunomiya, Tochigi: 141 nanosieverts per hour
The above values are not significantly different from background.
Although levels of radioactive iodine and cesium have been reported to be above the allowed levels in some food items in areas near Fukushima, these levels were not detected in other areas in Japan.
The Food and Drugs Administration (DOH) in coordination with the DOST-PNRI is already measuring baseline radioactivity levels in food samples imported from Japan.
For the latest information on on-site and off-site radiological situations about the Fukushima accident, please access the following websites:
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website (www.iaea.org); and
Latest DOST-PNRI RADIATION LEVEL CHECK at PNRI grounds as of 3:00 PM, March 20, 2011: 95-119 nSv/hr (nanosieverts per hour); in other areas in Metro Manila as of 18 March 2011: 74-114 nSv/hr
For reporting of nuclear/radiological emergencies, you may contact the Radiological Impact Assessment Section/Nuclear Response Support Center of the PNRI through (632) 929-6011 to 19 local 285 or 311
