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VIENNA / NUCLEAR BRIEFING UPDATE
STORY: VIENNA / NUCLEAR BRIEFING UPDATE
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: IAEA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 18 MARCH 2011, VIENNA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA/ FILE
FILE – RECENT, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
1. Wide shot, IAEA Headquarters
18 MARCH 2011, VIENNA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA
2. Med shot, journalists
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs:
“The situation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants remains very serious, but there’s been no significant worsening since our last briefing.”
4. Med shot, journalists
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs:
“An important safety concern remains the spent fuel pools at units 3 and 4. Reliable validated information is still lacking on water levels and temperatures at the spent fuel ponds. Efforts are being made to restore electrical power to the whole site. Another positive development is that diesel generators are providing power for cooling for both units 5 and 6.”
6. Med shot, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Scientific and Technical
Affairs:
“The Japanese authorities today issued new rating for the incidents on the IAEA International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, otherwise known as INES. They asses core damage at the Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2 and 3 reactors caused by the loss of all cooling function as 5 on the INES scale.”
8. Med shot, delegates
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Scientific and Technical
Affairs:
“Regular dose information is now being received from 47 Japanese cities. Those rates in Tokyo in other cities remain far from levels which would require action. In other words they are not dangerous to human health. First measurements in Tokyo by the agencies newly arrived radiation monitoring team today, showed no indication of iodine-131 or cesium-137.”
10. Med shot, delegates
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Graham Andrew, Special Adviser to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs:
“The Director General stressed the importance of providing faster and more detailed information about the situation at the nuclear power plants, including to the international community. He also emphasised the importance of Japan working closely with the international community to resolve the crisis. There was agreement between the Agency and our Japanese counterparts that the Agency’s mission would focus on radiation measurements and the identification of Japanese needs for a future environmental monitoring programme.”
12. Med shot, delegates
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today (18 March) provided a new update on the situation in Japan, following the 11 March earthquake and Tsunami and the subsequent nuclear crisis.
Graham Andrew, who is the Special Adviser to the IAEA’s Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs, told journalists that the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant “remains very serious.” but that there has not been a significant worsening since yesterday’s briefing.
Andrew said that the condition of the spent fuel pools at units 3 and 4 remains “an important safety concern” and that “reliable validated information is still lacking on water levels and temperatures at the spent fuel ponds.”
He noted that efforts are being made to restore electrical power to plant, with diesel generators already providing power for cooling for units 5 and 6.
Japanese authorities have informed the IAEA that, prior to the earthquake of 12 March, the entire fuel core of reactor Unit 4 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant had been unloaded from the reactor and placed in the spent fuel pond located in the reactor's building.
They also informed that new International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) ratings have been issued for some of the events relating to the nuclear emergency at the plants.
The IAEA official said that “core damage at the Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2 and 3 reactors caused by the loss of all cooling function” rates as 5 on the INES scale.
This is an upgrade from a previous rating of 12 March as 4 on the INES scale, which was based on an abnormal rise of radioactive dose rate at the site boundary.
Andrew said that information is now being received from 47 Japanese cities, and noted that dose radiation rates in Tokyo in other cities “remain far from levels which would require action” and “are not dangerous to human health”, showing no indication of iodine-131 or cesium-137.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano arrived in Japan on Thursday and met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan in Osaka today.
Andrew said that Amano had stressed to Japanese officials “the importance of providing faster and more detailed information about the situation at the nuclear power plants” as well as “working closely with the international community to resolve the crisis.”
He also said that there had been agreement between the IAEA and Japanese officials that the Agency’s mission “would focus on radiation measurements and the identification of Japanese needs for a future environmental monitoring programme.”
On 15 March, Japan requested the IAEA for assistance in the areas of environmental monitoring and the effects of radiation on human health, asking for IAEA teams of experts to be sent to Japan to assist local experts.
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