nuclear-news

Washington Post: It’s an environmental disaster, radioactivity levels in ocean hundreds of times above normal — NHK: Countries around Pacific worried about ongoing Fukushima leaks, gov’t wants testing up to 3,000 km offshore (VIDEO)http://enenews.com/washington-post-its-an-environmental-disaster-radioactivity-levels-hundreds-of-times-above-normal-in-pacific-nhk-countries-worried-about-fukushima-leaks-govt-wants-testing-up-to-3000-km-of

NHK WORLD, Oct. 22, 2013: […] Japan’s effort to clean up what remains of the complex is turning into another kind of disaster. […] 400 tons of toxic groundwater is flowing daily into the Pacific Ocean […] the flow of radioactive water amounts to a slow-burning environmental disaster with implications for Japan’s wildlife and its food chain. […] The coastal Fukushima plant is on an old riverbed […] rainfall from across the region would funnel toward the plant […] Both the government and Tepco say the ocean contamination is confined mostly to a man-made harbor around the plant. But some scientists say that assurance plays down significant long-term concerns about marine life and the food chain. Cesium levels are still hundreds of times the pre-accident norm in areas beyond the harbor, said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has monitored waters around the nuclear plant, most recently last month. […] “It’s a serious concern for internal doses. (Radionuclides) are now on the seafloor and could stay in the food chain for years, if not decades.” […]

NHK WORLD, Oct. 21, 2013: [Tepco] has announced plans to monitor offshore radiation around the clock […] many experts have been calling for 24-hour monitoring to allow faster responses to unexpected leaks and provide a clearer idea of how much water has escaped. […] The nuclear regulators have proposed expanding the offshore monitoring from the current 300 kilometers to between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers. […] the agency will ask the operators of oceangoing vessels to collect data for northern Pacific Rim countries that are worried about radioactive leaks.

NHK Newsline,, Oct. 21, 2013: “Nuclear regulators proposed increasing the distance they’re monitoring from 300 kilometers to up to 3,000 kilometers”

See also: Official Gov’t Documents: Fukushima to endanger NorthPacific marine ecosystem and health of human beings? “Very important to monitor radiation exposure level and assess effects of radioactive substances”