nuclear-news

The International Olympic Committee says there are no health worries in Japan despite problems in Fukushima

Berlin (dpa) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday said it has no health-related concerns about Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics, despite the continued critical state of the damaged facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Image source ; http://rt.com/news/fukushima-children-thyroid-cancer-783/

“The IOC received assurances from the highest authority in Japan that the levels in Tokyo and surrounding area are safe, and there is no reason to believe that this will not be the case during the Games,” the IOC told the German press agency dpa, without answering further detailed questions.

However, problems at the plant continue to such an extent that the Japanese government has once again turned abroad for help on the question of the plant, since operator Tepco seems to be overextended.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early October asked for international support during a Kyoto conference of researchers from abroad.

Shortly before the vote on the host of the 2020 Olympics, Abe reassured members of the IOC that life in Tokyo is normal and “everything is under control.” But bad news has not stopped since the earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11, 2011, in Fukushima, 250 kilometres to the north of Tokyo.

Contaminated water has seeped from leaky cooling tanks into the Pacific Ocean. More leaks are feared.

The government is now planning to erect a 1.4 kilometre-long protective wall around the reactors. In addition, pipes with chemical cooling agents will be laid around the buildings that contain reactors 1 to 4.

The IOC awarded the 2020 Olympics to Tokyo last month, over Istanbul and Madrid.

October 16, 2013 - Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized