Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2013

DOE and TEPCO agree to strengthen collaboration

TOKYO Nov. 1, 2013. United States Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz visited Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), announced today.  It was his first visit to the site since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the facility.

TEPCO has been discussing with the national laboratories under the DOE (Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. (PNNL)) on technical supports SRNL and PNNL could offer TEPCO regarding the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. They are currently reviewing on the details on five fields listed below.

1. Prevention of groundwater contamination,
2. Water sealing for the interior of reactor buildings
3. Waste treatment and disposal for the decommissioning site
4. Fuel debris removal, storage and disposal
5. Contaminated water treatment

During his visit, Secretary Moniz inspected the progress that has been made toward decommissioning the facility, was briefed on the various tasks that lie ahead, and met a number of workers, whom he encouraged and praised for their dedication. Among the areas of the facility he visited were the Unit 4 spent fuel pool, where TEPCO will soon begin moving fuel into permanent storage, and the seaside areas where various measures are being undertaken to prevent contaminated water from reaching the sea.

Commenting on his visit, Secretary Moniz said that the decommissioning works were "steadily progressing".

TEPCO President Naomi Hirose, who accompanied Secretary Moniz to Fukushima, said: We greatly appreciate Secretary Moniz's visit and his personal expression of encouragement, as well as the important technical assistance that the U.S. Department of Energy is providing. This assistance is based on leading-edge knowledge of best decommissioning practices, and it will be highly valuable as we move forward.

President Hirose also expressed the hope that further collaboration with DOE would not only assist with Fukushima Daiichi but would contribute to decommissioning capabilities and to the nuclear power industry throughout the world.

To download the photos and the overview of Secretary Moniz's visit to Fukushima Daiichi NPS, as well as comments by Secretary Moniz and President Hirose, please go to:

<Photos>
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2013/201311-e/131101-01e.html

<Technical Support from the United States Department of Energy/ Overview of the United States Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz's visit to Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station>
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_131101_03-e.pdf

<Comments by DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz>
*To be released later

<Comments by TEPCO President Naomi Hirose>
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2013/1231870_5130.html

TEPCO, Inc. is a provider of electricity to the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo and Yokohama. The company is headquartered in Tokyo. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was struck by a tsunami after an earthquake that occurred in March 2011. For more information, please go to http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html