nuclear-news

Ban plans to visit Haragama beach at Soma, 25 miles (40 km) north of the Fukushima Daiichi plant that continues to gush radiation. A 20-kilometre exclusion zone around the battered facility prevents going much nearer.

His visit has made Japanese officials nervous.

Lethal hotspots were detected inside the crippled nuclear plant last week with radiation so high that it would kill a person within weeks if they were exposed to it for even one hour.

Five months on from the disaster, the Japanese government and operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) are struggling to stabilise three reactors that have melted down.

Takashi Sawada, vice-chairman of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, said the Fukushima plant still poses risks despite some progress reported by the government.

“We still need to watch out for strong aftershocks and tsunamis, which could throw back the effort to control the accident,” Sawada said. “Workers will need to continue decontaminating radioactive water to prevent it from overflowing.”
“Recently found hotspots also risk hindering workers from making progress.”
Radioactive substances spewed from the plant continue to contaminate the food chain, with bans on produce widening from some green vegetables to milk and dairy products, some river fish, mushrooms and green tea. ….