Sports bodies need to make own assessments of Fukushima: Greenpeace nuclear specialist
South Korea to increase radiation testing of Japanese food
Enough is enough: Japan must not discharge radioactive water
Radiation alert: Japan must not discharge water
By Mitch Shin
August 20, 2019
The relationship between Seoul and Tokyo has deteriorated rapidly since Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced an economic retaliation against South Korea on July 1. Seoul has been responding to the Japanese government’s actions, and the South Korean people have been boycotting Japanese products as a countermeasure in the diplomatic war with Japan. However, there have been media reports recently that could strain the relationship even further. Outlets reported that there was a possibility that the Japanese government could discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
If the Japanese government discharges 1.1 million metric tons of highly toxic radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, it could flow into the East Sea – which the Japanese call the Sea of Japan – within a year. The South Korean government vowed to respond and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said it would ask Japan for information about the status of the polluted water at the Fukushima plant.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a Japanese Embassy official on Monday and asked for a formal response from Tokyo regarding the Fukushima-contaminated water discharge plan. The Korean government should respond with finality to this issue. Just as the government has fundamentally prevented the import of Fukushima seafood by filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization, the government should take a hard line on this issue.
Shaun Burnie, a nuclear specialist at the Greenpeace Germany office who wrote a column in The Economist on the issue, says the Japanese government should put Fukushima’s polluted water in long-term storage. Burnie also emphasized that it should not be discharged into the Pacific Ocean. He highlighted the vulnerability of South Korea if Japan discharges polluted war into the Pacific Ocean. According to the UN Convention on Maritime Law, Seoul has the right to request explanations and information on the potential impact of the Fukushima crisis on its environment. Seoul is expected to demand answers at the Joint Conference of the International Maritime Organization’s London Convention and Protocol next month.
According to Greenpeace and Korean media reports, the Japanese government has stored about 110,000 tons of high-level radioactive contaminated water in storage tanks at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant since 2011. By temporarily storing contaminated water in tanks, the Japanese government is minimizing the possibility of damage caused by Fukushima’s contaminated water. However, groundwater introduced into the three reactors creates 1,497 tons of high-level radioactive contaminated water each week. An even more serious concern is the contaminated water in the reactor, which is 100 million times higher than the contaminated water stored in the tank after treatment. As of July, there are 18,000 tons of radioactive water in the reactor. The Japanese government has set a goal of reducing the polluted water in the reactor to 6,000 tons by 2021, but Burnie said it was a difficult goal to achieve.
Greenpeace researchers also found that the East Sea was contaminated when water containing cesium was discharged into the Pacific Ocean during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. Pollution in the East Sea increased between 2012 and 2016, peaking in 2015. Knowing this, if the Japanese government releases polluted water into the Pacific Ocean ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the Korean government should condemn its actions in every way possible. In addition, the international community should recognize the seriousness of this issue and seek cooperation from countries that may be affected by Fukushima’s contaminated water.
The Japanese government is expected to decide how to best treat Fukushima’s contaminated water, which will likely reach storage limits shortly before the Tokyo Olympics in August 2020. However, it only provides the international community with a fundamental answer to the problem but does not disclose specific solutions. It also announced that it would include ingredients from Fukushima in the Olympic team’s diet during the Tokyo Olympics. However, according to reports by JTBC, a South Korean broadcaster, radiation levels still reach dangerous levels throughout some Fukushima regions.
Recently, right-wing politicians in the Japanese government have made negative remarks about Korea indiscriminately in an effort to fuel the economic war with Japan. In recent months, the biggest issue in South Korea has been the Japanese government’s economic retaliation against trade regulations, not North Korea’s missile launch. And as the press reported that the possibility that the Fukushima contaminated water could cause affect Korea, the Korean people are once again preparing to address the Japanese government’s vicious behavior. It may be common sense to get along with neighboring countries, but one cannot expect the Korean people to be diplomatic under the circumstances. The Japanese government has certainly crossed the line.
Is it common sense that the Tokyo Olympics baseball games should be held at a venue where there is a high risk of exposure to radiation (one of the baseball fields is located near Fukushima)? During the 2011 earthquake in Japan, Korean people raised funds to support reconstruction. Is the Japanese government repaying the goodwill of the Korean people like this? Abe should consider how Germany asked forgiveness from other nations after World War II.
Enough is enough.
Mitch Shin is a student at the University of Utah Asia Campus, major in the Department of Communication. Shin is also a correspondent for The Daily Utah Chronicle, which is an independent student voice of the University of Utah.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/08/opinion/radiation-alert-japan-must-not-discharge-water/
Fukushima Radiation Becomes Latest Japan-South Korea Sore Point
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture.
20 août 2019
Radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is becoming the latest source of tension between Japan and South Korea, potentially undercutting Tokyo’s effort to promote the 2020 Olympics.
In recent days, South Korean officials have summoned a Japanese diplomat to express concern about a planned release of treated radioactive water into the ocean by Tepco, the plant’s owner. They’re also pushing for independent radiation checks at Olympic venues and proposing a separate cafeteria for their athletes, citing concerns about contaminated food.
The radiation dispute is threatening to prolong tensions between the two U.S. allies, who have spent much of the summer trading economic sanctions and diplomatic threats in a tit-for-tat dispute. The feud has exposed lingering mistrust and disagreements over Japan’s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea’s radiation concerns contrast with signs of softening attitudes last week on the anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender. Japan has also taken steps to show that its recent export controls won’t prevent legitimate sales to its neighbor. JSR Corp., one of the materials makers subject to the restrictions, received an export permit this week, according to a person familiar with the matter.
No Backing Down
“It’s gone so far that neither side can back down,” said Hiroyuki Kishi, a former trade official turned professor at Keio University in Yokohama, adding that the dispute would probably continue “or get worse.” “I’m concerned that Japan may respond emotionally, because the Olympics are seen as very important.”
South Korea is also mulling whether to maintain an agreement on sharing military information with Japan, and may announce its decision as soon as Thursday, Yonhap News reported. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told reporters in Beijing following a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha that the pact was important and should be maintained.
‘Under Control’
The issue of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was damaged in the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, has loomed over Tokyo’s Olympic bid from the start. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threw his weight behind the campaign, assuring the International Olympic Committee in a 2013 speech that the plant was “under control” and would have no impact on the capital.
Now, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. is preparing a release from on-site storage tanks, which are expected to fill up by 2022 with water treated to remove most radioactive elements. An adviser for the company has recommended a controlled release into the Western Pacific — a common practice at other reactors around the world — while the environmental group Greenpeace has urged keeping the water in storage.
South Korea summoned a Japanese diplomat on Monday, with the Foreign Ministry urging Tokyo to look into international organizations’ views on the matter and be more transparent about its plans.
Separately, the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee is set to make an official request that international organizations such as Greenpeace monitor radiation at Tokyo Olympic venues, the committee’s press officer, Lee Mi-jin, said. South Korean officials have also drawn up a plan to run a separate cafeteria exclusively for South Korean athletes, to ensure they don’t eat food from Fukushima, Lee said.
The South Korean Food Ministry also announced Wednesday it would step up radiation checks on 17 items imported from Japan, including tea and chocolate.
Produce from Fukushima is screened before shipment and is widely available in Japanese supermarkets. Recent data from volunteer organization Safecast shows that radiation levels in Tokyo are somewhat lower than those in Seoul.
The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee declined to comment on requests from other countries’ organizing committees.
Less bluster, but no compromise seen as South Korean, Japan ministers meet in China
A police officer stands guard near Japan and South Korea national flags at a hotel, where the South Korean embassy in Japan is.
August 20, 2019
SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) – South Korea and Japan have toned down the rhetoric but show little sign of compromise in a bitter political and economic dispute as their foreign ministers prepare to meet in China this week.
Relations between the two U.S. allies are at their worst in years, with a trade row rooted in a decades-old dispute over compensation for Koreans forced to work during Japan’s wartime occupation of South Korea.
Foreign ministers Kang Kyung-wha of South Korea, Taro Kono of Japan and Wang Yi of China will have trilateral meetings in Beijing from Tuesday evening to Thursday.
“We will have to actively express our position, but I am leaving with a heavy heart because the situation is very difficult,” Kang said before departing for China where a one-on-one meeting with Kono is set for Wednesday.
Their August meeting in Bangkok, where cameras captured the unsmiling pair making perfunctory handshakes, achieved little. A day later, Japan cut South Korea from a white list of favored trade partners, drawing retaliatory measures from Seoul.
“We expect to exchange views on various issues between Japan and the ROK, such as the issue of former civilian workers from the Korean Peninsula,” Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, using the initials of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
The Beijing talks would reaffirm Japan’s “close bilateral cooperation” with South Korea, as well as trilateral ties with the United States, the ministry said.
Since the Bangkok meeting, Seoul has urged a “cooling off period” and Japan approved shipments of a high-tech material to South Korea for the second time since imposing export curbs in July.
Nevertheless, the dispute is far from over.
South Korea warned this month it may consider revoking a military intelligence sharing pact with Japan, though an official at the presidential Blue House said on Tuesday no decision had been taken.
Seoul has also raised concerns about Japan’s handling of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, a South Korea official said, though it may not bring it up in Beijing.
South Korea and other countries have restrictions on imports of produce from areas around the Fukushima site where three reactors melted down after an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
NOT SO NICE FACE
While both sides have moderated their public statements, observers do not expect any major breakthroughs this week.
“I don’t think Japan is going to show a nice face to Seoul this time,” said one former Japanese diplomat familiar with the government’s position.
Japan believes South Korea’s economy is hurting more in the trade row, and “doesn’t mind waiting for further concessions from Seoul,” said the ex-diplomat.
Citing national security, Japan in July restricted exports of some key materials used in chips and displays made by South Korea firms, threatening to disrupt the global supply chain.
Later this month a decision to remove South Korea from Japan’s list of trading partners with fast-track access to a number of materials is scheduled to go into effect.
South Korea has responded by removing Japan from its own trade white list, and South Korean consumers are boycotting Japanese products and avoiding travel to Japan.
There also has been no progress in resolving the issue that triggered the latest chill in relations – a series of South Korean court rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Koreans forced to work for Japanese occupiers.
“I don’t think we can expect a big change in the situation as a result of tomorrow’s meeting because the forced labor issue is at the root of the deterioration in ties and there hasn’t been any new development regarding that,” said Kyungjoo Kim, a professor at Tokai University in Tokyo.
South Korea demands answers over Fukushima radioactive water eventual sea dumping
Strawberry shipments start from formerly evacuated Fukushima town
From the Yomiuri Shimbun, a pro-government media… All part of the continous propaganda media campaign by the national and local governments, to incite the people to buy and eat claimed-to-be-safe Fukushima products.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori, right, and others taste freshly picked strawberries in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Monday.
August 20, 2019
IWAKI, Fukushima — Strawberries started being shipped Monday from Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, a town that was given an evacuation order following the nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, although the order was partially lifted this April.
To mark the occasion, authorities and guests were invited to a strawberry tasting event and a tour of a strawberry cultivation facility in the town.
The facility, measuring about 28,800 square meters, was built in the town’s Ogawara district after the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. It is operated by a semipublic company sponsored by the town.
The facility is installed with waist-high planters that allow workers to stand up when working.
The latest computerized equipment to control room temperature, water temperature and water volume makes it possible to grow strawberries throughout the year.
Two machines to assess radioactive material in fruit were also introduced at the facility.
About 10 tons of strawberries are scheduled to be shipped from the facility this fiscal year. The operator intends to increase the annual shipment to 100 tons in the future.
South Korea express concern about food from Fukushima as Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Seminar begins
August 20, 2019
The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee (KSOC) has written to Tokyo 2020 organisers to express concern about food from Fukushima being served at the Games.
Organisers confirmed to Reuters that a letter on the issue had been sent on the opening day of the Tokyo 2020 Chef de Mission Seminar.
Fukushima was struck by one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit Japan in 2011, when a devastating earthquake and tsunami caused an accident at a nuclear power plant.
Around 16,000 people lost their lives in the tragedy.
Both Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have been keen to promote the Games as a tool which could help with the region’s recovery.
Baseball and softball matches will be staged there and Fukushima prefecture will also host the start of the Japanese leg of the Torch Relay.
Produce from Fukushima has been served at official events, including IOC Coordination Commissions, but the KSOC said they are worried about contamination.
Their letter comes at a period of increasing tension between Japan and South Korea.
“Within our planning framework we will respond to them accordingly,” said Toru Kobayash, Tokyo 2020’s director of NOC services, to Reuters.
“We have said that we will respond to them properly.
“We have had no further questions [from South Korea].”
A trade war has developed between the two countries with South Korea also angry about reported Japanese plans to dump “toxic” water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean.
Some voices have even called for a Korean boycott of the Games with the nations further clashing over the appearance of disputed islands on an official Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay map.
The map on the official website includes the Liancourt Rocks, which are governed by South Korea but claimed by Japan.
South Korea calls the islands Dokdo but in Japan they are known as Takeshima, and both countries claim historical ties.
They lie in the Sea of Japan in between the two countries and are valuable due to rich fishing waters and natural gas deposits.
Elsewhere, concerns over sweltering conditions were discussed on day one of the Seminar at the Hotel New Otani.
Rising heat has developed into a major concern before Tokyo 2020 with more than 50 deaths in July as temperatures in Japan approached 40 degrees celsius.
Athletes have also struggled in the weather at the test events, including rowers suffering heatstroke at the World Junior Championships at the Sea Forest Waterway.
The triathlon event was shortened because of the humid conditions while cooling measures were tested at the beach volleyball.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are due to open on July 24 next year.
Among the measures being considered to combat the problem is allowing fans to bring their own bottled water into venues under certain conditions, which had previously been banned at past editions of the Olympic Games due to security and sponsorship reasons.
Misting sprays, air-conditioned tents and special road coatings are other plans put forward by organisers, as well as moving some events to earlier in the day.
Dutch Chef de Mission Pieter van den Hoogenband, who faced the media on behalf of attending National Olympic Committees (NOCs), said he was impressed with how organisers were handling the issue.
“Of course we know there are some heat issues but overall, for all the different teams, these are the circumstances and we have to deal with it,” the triple Olympic champion said to Reuters.
“Top athletes know that they have to perform in any circumstances.
“Because of the test events, we get a lot of information and a lot of data and the way the Organising Committee is taking all that data to make it even more perfect…
“I was impressed with the way they handled things.”
Organisers have also pledged to install triple-layer screens in Tokyo Bay to combat bacteria in the water.
It comes after the discovery of E.coli which forced the cancellation of the swimming leg at the Paratriathlon test event.
The three-day Seminar continues tomorrow with every NOC invited to attend.
Representatives from the IOC and the Association of National Olympic Committees are also present.
A full progress update has been promised as well as a venue tour.
https://www.insidethegames.biz/index.php/articles/1083697/fukushima-food-tokyo-2020
South Korea lawmaker Rep. Kim Kwang-soo calls for import ban on processed foods from Fukushima
South Korea calls in Japanese diplomat amid fears over possible Fukushima plant water discharge into the sea
Tokyo’s Fukushima cesium-enriched microparticle (CsMP) update
Secondary electron images from Utsunomiya et al. 2019, of CsMPs discovered in atmospheric particles trapped on a Tokyo air filter from March 15, 2011, with major constituent elements displayed.
August 17th, 2019
An interesting paper was recently published by a team headed by Dr. Satoshi Utsunomiya of Kyushu University on the subject of Fukushima-derived cesium-enriched microparticles (CsMPs). As many readers will know, several researchers have located and analyzed these microparticles, in which the cesium is often bonded within glass-like silicates and therefore generally significantly less soluble than other Cs chemical species in water, though technically not actually “insoluble.” After an accident like Fukushima, it is much more common to find cesium in water-soluble compounds like cesium hydroxide (CsOH), and predictions about how quickly the cesium will be dispersed through the environment, in soil, in watersheds, taken up by plants and animals, etc, are based primarily on this assumption. The discovery of sparingly-soluble Fukushima-derived cesium microparticles, first documented by Adachi et al in 2013, and since then confirmed by many others, has raised a number of questions. How abundant are they? Does their presence increase health risk to humans? How much do they reveal about the process of the accident itself? From the standpoint of researchers the microparticles are very intriguing.
Utsunomiya et al.’s paper is titled “Caesium fallout in Tokyo on 15th March, 2011 is dominated by highly radioactive, caesium-rich microparticles,” and as noted in a recent Scientific American article, it was originally accepted for publication in 2017 by Scientific Reports journal. Weeks before publication, however, Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Technology Research Institute (TIRI), operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, raised objections with Scientific Reports. However no questions about the quality of the science or the validity of the paper’s findings appear to have been brought forward. This in itself was highly irregular. Two years elapsed without resolution, and in March of this year Scientific Reports took the highly unusual step of withdrawing its offer to publish the paper, despite the lack of confirmed evidence that would warrant it. Utsunomiya and several co-authors decided that the best course of action was to place the study in the public domain by publishing it via arXiv, a highly respected pre-print website. The paper is now open and free to download.
This study makes a valuable contribution to the body of scientific literature regarding the consequences of the Fukushima disaster in general and CsMPs in particular. I think it was a mistake for Scientific Reports not to publish it two years ago, especially considering the rapid pace of research into these particles and the tremendous interest in them. To summarize the findings briefly, the researchers analyzed air filter samples from March 15, 2011, in Setagaya, Tokyo, when the radioactive plume from Fukushima caused a noticeable peak in airborne radioactivity in the city. The researchers used radiographic imaging (placing the filters on a photographic plate) to identify any highly radioactive spots. Using these images as a guide they were able to isolate seven CsMPs, which they subjected to atomic-scale analysis using high-resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) to identify their nano-scale structure and chemical composition. Based on these detailed measurements and quantitative analysis, the researchers concluded that 80-89% of the total cesium fallout in Tokyo that day was in the form of highly radioactive microparticles. The second half of the paper is devoted to estimates of how long such particles might be retained in the human lungs if inhaled, based on previous studies that reported the effects of inhalation of non-radioactive atmospheric particles, and some possible physical consequences. The paper is valuable for the quantitative analysis of the Tokyo particles alone, since it is one of few studies that deal with the issue for Tokyo specifically. Research into possible health consequences of the particles, meanwhile, has gained momentum while the paper remained unpublished, using approaches such as stochastic biokinetics, and DNA damage studies. In a recent paper, Utsunomiya and colleagues produced estimates of the rate of dissolution of the particles inside the human lung, in pure water, and in seawater. A working group at the Japan Health Physics Society has also devoted attention to the issue, noting the need for further study of the risk from intake of these particles, particularly to the lung. Likewise, others have been studying the particles to learn about the accident progression and possible consequences for decommissioning.
Why did Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Technology Research Institute object to the paper’s publication? When we first heard that publication of the paper was being held up by Tokyo Metropolitan Government, we thought politically-motivated suppression was a likely explanation. Since then the public has learned that the actual complaint given to Scientific Reports stems from a chain of custody issue of the original air filter samples. We don’t want to speculate further about Tokyo’s motivation, because we have seen no direct evidence yet of political suppression in this case. But based on past occurrences with other government institutions, we would find it plausible. We will let readers know if TIRI responds to our inquiries.
We spoke with Dr. Utsunomiya and co-author Dr. Rodney Ewing recently. I was aware of their co-authorship of several strong papers on CsMPs, including Utsunomiya’s plenary talk at the Goldschmidt Conference in Yokohama in 2016, which I attended. I asked how this new arXiv paper fits in with their other papers, and where they think this research is heading next:
Satoshi Utsunomiya:
Thank you for asking. The Tokyo paper was actually our first paper regarding CsMPs. As I mentioned, the paper was accepted two years ago. There were no previous papers of ours on CsMPs that time. Currently we are working on several topics on CsMPs. I cannot reveal the content yet, as we are thinking about a press release for the next paper. But I think it is important to continue this kind of research, providing some insights for decommissioning at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Azby Brown:
I didn’t realize that this was your first paper on the subject. How does it relate to the one presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Yokohama in 2016? “Cesium-Rich Micro-Particles Unveil the Explosive Events in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.” Didn’t that paper receive a prize?
SU:
My talk at Goldschmidt briefly covered the story described in the two papers that were accepted for publication at the same time. One was published in Scientific Reports. The other one was not published. There was no prize. It was a plenary talk.
AB:
I see. I recall that it received a lot of attention. Now it makes more sense to me.
Can you tell me a little bit about the specific characteristics and focus of your research, and how it differs from papers like Adachi 2013, Abe 2014, etc? Generally speaking, that is. I’d like to help people understand the different aspects of the field.
SU:
Adachi reported the discovery of CsMPs. Abe demonstrated X-ray absorption analysis on the CsMPs. We focused on the nanotexture inside CsMPs. We are particularly interested in the detailed evidence remaining within the microparticle, which can provide useful information on the development of the chemical reactions during the meltdowns, because it is still difficult to directly analyze the materials inside the reactors. We, for the first time, succeeded in performing isotopic analysis on individual CsMPs. More specifically, the occurrence of uranium can directly tell the story of how the fuel melted. Our research has two directions: one is to understand the environmental impact of CsMPs, and the other is to provide useful information on the debris properties to help decommissioning at FDNPP. We are also interested in the implications for health.
AB:
Can you tell me a little bit about your working relationship? Satoshi went to the US to work in your lab, right Rod? When was that, and what were you working on?
Rod Ewing:
Satoshi and I have known each other since 2000, when he joined my research group as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan. He was a member of the research group until 2007. We collaborated on a wide range of topics that had to do with radioactive materials, such as the transport of plutonium at the Mayak site in Russia to the identification of uranium phases within C60 cages, so called buckyballs, that were formed and released from coal power plants. Once Satoshi returned to Japan to take his position at Kyushu University, we continued to collaborate, particularly on topics related to Fukushima Daiichi.
AB:
How did you both get interested in CsMPs?
RE:
Once discovered, CsMPs were clearly of high interest. They had not been noted in earlier reactor accidents. Satoshi is a master with the transmission electron microscope – exactly the tool/technique needed to study these particles.
AB:
For people who aren’t familiar with what’s involved in a research experiment like yours, can you describe the overall process? What were the technical challenges?
RE:
I would just emphasize that it is very difficult to find and characterize these particles. Considering the full literature and efforts by others as well as our team – the results are impressive. It is rare to have both the TEM characterization and the isotopic data.
SU:
As Rod mentioned, it is difficult to obtain both TEM and isotopic data from a few micron-sized spots. The isolation of CsMPs from soils is a time consuming process. But to date, many scientists have found and isolated CsMPs. The important thing is what information we can obtain from the analysis of CsMPs. We have been taking various approaches to elucidate the properties, environmental impact, and the role in releasing fissile actinides to the environment.
As described above, many papers examining various aspects of Fukushima-derived cesium microparticles have been published since they were first identified in 2013. Even so, important aspects remain only partially documented and understood to date. Below is a partial list of relevant publications.
Papers mentioned in this article:
Caesium fallout in Tokyo on 15th March, 2011 is dominated by highly radioactive, caesium-rich microparticles
Utsunomiya, et al., 2019
https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.00212
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Emission of spherical cesium-bearing particles from an early stage of the Fukushima nuclear accident
Adachi et al., 2013
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep02554
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Detection of Uranium and Chemical State Analysis of Individual Radioactive Microparticles Emitted from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Using Multiple Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Analyses
Abe et al., 2014
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ac501998d
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Dissolution of radioactive, cesium-rich microparticles released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in simulated lung fluid, pure-water, and seawater
Suetake et al., 2019
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.05.248
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Development of a stochastic biokinetic method and its application to internal dose estimation for insoluble cesium-bearing particles
Manabe & Matsumoto, 2019
https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2018.1523756
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DNA damage induction during localized chronic exposure to an insoluble radioactive microparticle
Matsuya et al., 2019
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46874-6
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Provenance of uranium particulate contained within Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 ejecta material
Martin et al., 2019
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10937-z
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Internal doses from radionuclides and their health effects following the Fukushima accident
Ishikawa et al., 2018
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6498/aadb4c
Related papers (by year of publication):
Characteristics Of Spherical Cs-Bearing Particles Collected During The Early Stage Of FDNPP Accident
Igarashi et al., 2014
http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/cn224p/Session3/Igarashi.pdf
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Radioactive Cs in the severely contaminated soils near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
Kaneko et al., 2015
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2015.00037
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First successful isolation of radioactive particles from soil near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Satou et al., 2016
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213305416300340
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Internal structure of cesium-bearing radioactive microparticles released from Fukushima nuclear power plant
Yamaguchi et al., 2016
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep20548
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Three-Year Retention Of Radioactive Caesium In The Body Of Tepco Workers Involved In The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident
Nakano et al., 2016
http://rpd.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/03/14/rpd.ncw036
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Monte Carlo Evaluation of Internal Dose and Distribution Imaging Due to Insoluble Radioactive Cs-Bearing Particles of Water Deposited Inside Lungs via Pulmonary Inhalation Using PHITS Code Combined with Voxel Phantom Data
Sakama, M. et al., 2016
http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?&title=Radiological%20Issues%20for%20Fukushima%E2%80%99s%20Revitalized%20Future&pages=209-220&publication_year=2016&author=Sakama%2CMinoru&author=Takeda%2CShinsaku&author=Matsumoto%2CErika&author=Harukuni%2CTomoki&author=Ikushima%2CHitoshi&author=Satou%2CYukihiko&author=Sueki%2CKeisuke
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Radioactively-hot particles detected in dusts and soils from Northern Japan by combination of gamma spectrometry, autoradiography, and SEM/EDS analysis and implications in radiation risk assessment
Kaltofen & Gundersen, 2017
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717317953?via%3Dihub
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Caesium-rich micro-particles: A window into the meltdown events at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Furuki et al., 2017
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep42731
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Isotopic signature and nano-texture of cesium-rich micro-particles: Release of uranium and fission products from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Imoto et al., 2017
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Uranium dioxides and debris fragments released to the environment with cesium-rich microparticles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Ochiai et al., 2018
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b06309
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Novel method of quantifying radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) in the environment from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
Ikehara et al., 2018
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.7b06693
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Formation of radioactive cesium microparticles originating from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: characteristics and perspectives
Ohnuki, Satou, and Utsunomiya, 2019
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00223131.2019.1595767
https://blog.safecast.org/2019/08/fukushima-cesium-enriched-microparticle-csmp-update/
Displaced Fukushima sake brewery to restart in hometown using only local rice
Citizens Group Leader in Kashiwa Radiation Hotspot Quits
Kashiwa city, in Chiba prefecture is located 31.3 km ( 19.45 miles ) northeast from Tokyo.
August 16, 2019
The leader of a Citizens’ Group to Protect Children from Hotspot Radiation in Kashiwa city, Chiba, decided to suspend its activities.
Mrs. Yuki Ohsaku, representative of the group evacuated recently to Kyushu after her two children started nosebleeding and other core members also are considering moving out of Kashiwa city. 10 members have already relocated.
In May the Kashiwa mayor wrote in his blog that those worried about the effects of radiation have some kind of mental problems. Kashiwa city originally had no plan to conduct any survey after citizens reported high radiation levels. Mrs. Ohsaku’s group collected over 10,000 signatures and submitted the petition to the City Council with 100 members, and this made the Kashiwa city start measuring radiation levels in schools and do decontamination work.
However, the group’s activities and her relocation with two children to Kyushu caused lots of problems within her family. Her in-laws are not happy that she is disobeying the authorities and that her name gets published (since she is the group leader). Now the in-laws are demanding that she divorce her husband. She says that old and middle-aged people in general have absolute confidence in the printed media as their news source, and what’s not reported in the newspapers is not conceived as reality.
The mainstream media (including newspapers) has the least coverage on health effects of radiation and only report the government’s “adjusted” radiation levels. Yomiuri News even wrote in May that the information about hotspots in Chiba are based on false rumours and that they doesn’t exist. (Matsutaro Shoriki, ex-president of Yomiuri was a CIA agent and is called the father of nuclear power in Japan according to Wikipedia.) She says her in-laws believe in the Yomiuri report.
Only those collecting information from internet sources are aware of what is really going on regarding radiation issues in Japan. As a result, there the public have split opinions on this subject.
Mrs. Ohsaku says the conflict of opinions on radiation issues has been harder to deal with than the radiation itself. Many people around her chose not to think about it and neighbors don’t want her to make it a big issue. Some members of her group are tired of being ridiculed as “freaks”. Her group wants decontamination but others in the hotspot thinks it’s waste of money. They say “Let’s not worry about it. Think of people in Fukushima. They live in an even worse environment than us.”
Controversy over radiation and heat surrounding Tokyo Olympics
Anti-nuclear demonstrators concerned about radiation during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hold a press conference to criticize the Abe administration’s effort to push through the Olympics despite safety concerns in front of the former Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Aug. 13.
Aug.14,2019
“Sports are sports. They are separate from politics.”
On Aug. 13, an official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee expressed concern in response to remarks in political circles that hinted at a boycott of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (July 24 – August 9). With participation rights still to be earned in many disciplines and numerous athletes who have eagerly awaited the Olympics for four years, these remarks are looking too far ahead. It has been pointed out that a more strategic approach needs to be adopted in light of the position of North and South Korea, who are considering making a joint bid to host the 2032 Olympics.
Safety from radiation and heat at the Tokyo Olympics
Most of the issues related to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which are now only a year away, boil down to safety concerns over radiation and extreme heat. Some baseball and softball matches are scheduled to be held in a stadium located close to the Fukushima nuclear reactor that took direct damage during the 2011 earthquake. Korean civic groups have also pointed out that the Japanese government has failed to properly control water contaminated by radiation from the reactor. Plans to source some of the rice and ingredients for the Tokyo Olympics Athletes Village from Fukushima are adding to these concerns. Although the level of radiation measured in such rice is within the acceptable standards in Japan, it is believed to exceed Korean standards.
Extreme heat is another potential issue. After an open water test competition in Odaiba Seaside Park, Tokyo, on Aug. 11, Sports Nippon reported, “Many athletes complained about a foul odor and the high water temperature, and one male athlete made the shocking claim that it ‘smelled like a toilet.’” Although the Olympic Committee did not reveal the water temperature on that day, it has been reported that the temperature was 29.9 degrees Celsius at 5am. The International Swimming Federation (FINA) cancels events if the water temperature reaches 31 degrees Celsius. There have also been warnings about road races. On August 8, Yusuke Suzuki, Japan’s star race-walker and world record holder in the men’s 20km, stated, “I tried training on the Tokyo Olympics race-walking course. There was no shade, so it could cause dehydration.”
Tokyo Olympics delegation heads meeting from Aug. 20-22
It appears that the issue of safety from radiation and concerns about food ingredients will be conveyed during the upcoming three-day meeting with the leaders of each country’s delegation in Tokyo on Aug. 20-22, and a request will be made to the Japanese Olympic Committee to change the name of Dokdo used on maps. If the representatives from each country do raise the radiation issue, the IOC will have no choice but to intervene. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee is also considering providing separate Korean food to Korean athletes through specially prepared meals or lunchboxes.
With Korea seeking to hold a joint Olympics in 2032 between the two Koreas, the country has no choice but to underscore the fact that the Olympics are a festival of peace. Korea is also mindful of the fact that it must avoid giving off any impression of trying to use the Olympics for political reasons.
Getting over our obsession with medals
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics come at a time when Korea is attempting to implement reforms through policies in order to shake off the country’s obsession with winning in elite sports. Plans to reform the special benefits afforded to athletes such as pensions and exemption from military service are already under discussion, and it is also true that the morale of elite athletes is different than it has been in the past. It has been pointed out that while achieving victory in competition is great, excessive competition for medals does not align with current trends. Ryu Tae-ho, a professor of physical education at Korea University, stated, “It is natural that athletes will work hard to reach the pinnacle on the international stage, and the Korean public has become more mature to the extent that we can applaud athletes when they do their best as Olympians, even if they fail to win a medal. It is also best to avoid connecting sports with politics.”
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/905758.html
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