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Citizens’ group in Fukushima puts out radiation map in English

nov 3 2019.jpgThe cover of “Citizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan” (Provided by Minna-No Data Site)

November 3, 2019

FUKUSHIMA—A citizens’ group here has released an English radiation-level map for eastern Japan created with input from 4,000 volunteers in response to requests from abroad ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

“We want people outside Japan to understand the reality of radioactive contamination following the nuclear accident,” said Nahoko Nakamura, a representative of Minna-No Data Site (Everyone’s Data Site), which published the map.

The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant experienced a triple meltdown in March 2011 after a tsunami knocked out its cooling systems during the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Titled “Citizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan,” the 16-page booklet summarizes the content of the original Japanese map, released in November last year. It also shows projected declines in radiation levels by 2041.

The Japanese version was based on results of land contamination surveys conducted over three years at the request of Everyone’s Data Site.

About 4,000 volunteers took soil samples at 3,400 locations in 17 prefectures in eastern Japan, including Fukushima and Tokyo, and measured radiation levels. The map was compiled with advice from experts.

The group raised 6.23 million yen ($57,500) from 1,288 individuals through a crowdfunding campaign. So far, 15,000 copies have been sold.

Nakamura said the group decided to produce an English version after it received inquiries about the Japanese map from researchers and others overseas in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics.

Everyone’s Data Site spent about four months creating the English map, working through e-mail and online chats with five volunteer translators overseas, including an American and a Canadian.

The English edition sells for 500 yen, excluding tax. For more information, contact Everyone’s Data Site at (minnanods@gmail.com).

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201911030001.html

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November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Only’ 91 bags of radioactive waste swept into rivers

To try making us believe that only 91 bags were swept into rivers during the typhoon Hagibis floodings, out of  Fukushima prefecture’s 17 million tons,  is just ludicrous, totally unbelievable.
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Nov. 2, 2019
Japan’s Environment Ministry says dozens of bags containing radioactive soil were swept into rivers following a powerful typhoon last month. The dangerous waste was produced as a result of the 2011 nuclear disaster.
The waste has been stockpiled at temporary storage sites in Fukushima and neighboring prefectures.
Officials say they have confirmed that 90 bags in Fukushima and one in Tochigi Prefecture were swept away by Typhoon Hagibis after inspecting all the storage sites.
They say at least 25 of the bags were found empty, meaning that the tainted soil was carried away in floodwaters.
But the officials add that radiation levels around the sites remain unchanged.
They plan to install barriers around the storage sites to prevent further such incidents in addition to looking into what caused the problem.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191103_02/?fbclid=IwAR3Jpl8L_0r4JyAbqj0wNf76wI9f2qkfbaluQX7K_dWU6najIxdVqxdOFxs

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , , | Leave a comment

TEPCO needs to make its case for bailing out aging nuclear plant

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Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture
October 31, 2019
Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) decided on Oct. 28 to provide financial support to Japan Atomic Power Co., the operator of the aging Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant.
TEPCO will provide support to help Japan Atomic Power finance the work to implement legally required safety measures at the plant in the form of advance payments for the electricity it plans to buy from the company in the future.
Japan Atomic Power is seeking to restart the currently offline plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.
TEPCO says it made the decision because the plant is expected to serve again as “a source of power that helps provide inexpensive and stable electricity that emits less carbon dioxide to customers.”
At a news conference to announce the decision, however, the utility did not disclose the amount it will provide, although it is estimated to exceed 220 billion yen ($2.02 billion).
The company also refused to reveal the price at which it will buy electricity generated at the plant, failing to back up its claim that the power will be “inexpensive.”
TEPCO even kept mum about an outline of its planned financial aid that can be easily guessed by other electric utilities or experts, saying providing such information would “put us at a disadvantage in competition with other companies.”
TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, has been put under effective state control so that it can pay huge amounts in compensation to victims of the 2011 nuclear disaster and also finance the colossal cost of decommissioning the reactors destroyed by the core meltdowns.
TEPCO is coming to the rescue of another financially struggling company while being kept alive with taxpayer money. But it does not offer detailed information about its rescue plan or convincing reasons for the action.
How can the utility expect to win public support for the plan?
TEPCO says the money it will provide to Japan Atomic Power will not be “support” but a form of “cooperation” and create a “win-win” situation for both sides.
But strong opposition to a restart of the Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant, which began operations in 1978, will make it a tough challenge, to say the least, to win the support of the local communities.
TEPCO’s decision is based on highly uncertain assumptions.
The plan to rebuild TEPCO, developed jointly with the central government, calls on the utility to fulfill its responsibility as the operator of the disaster-stricken nuclear plant by making a profit from nuclear power generation.
But there seems to be no prospect of an early resumption of the operation of its own Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture. The gloomy outlook of its nuclear power operations has probably prompted TEPCO to make the seemingly premature decision, which raises serious doubt.
If the reactor at the Tokai No. 2 plant cannot be restarted, TEPCO will only suffer massive additional losses instead of earning profits.
Japan Atomic Power’s two reactors–the other in Fukui Prefecture–have remained offline since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Even so, major electric utilities under contracts to buy electricity from Japan Atomic Power have paid some 1 trillion yen in total as basic fees for the contracts. It has been also revealed that these utilities all plan to provide financial support to help Japan Atomic Power restart the Tokai No. 2 plant.
Since these utilities also have stakes in Japan Atomic Power, the firm’s failure would cause hefty losses to them.
They seem determined to keep supporting the embattled nuclear power supplier to avoid such losses. But there are clearly limits to what such stopgap measures can do.
Commenting on TEPCO’s decision to provide financial support to Japan Atomic Power, Hiroshi Kajiyama, the industry minister, who is in charge of the power industry, said such “specific management decisions should be made at the discretion of the management team” unless they could disrupt efforts to pay compensation to victims of the nuclear disaster, decommission disabled reactors or ensure a stable power supply.
Kajiyama’s comment signals a noncommittal stance toward TEPCO’s decision although his ministry can effectively control the company’s management.
The government, which has been promoting nuclear power generation as a national policy, has a duty to tackle basic questions related to the matter, such as what to do with reactors that are difficult to resume operations and Japan Atomic Power, which only operates nuclear plants and is therefore facing bleak future prospects.
The government should play an active role in dealing with these and other questions instead of leaving the industry to do so and fulfill its responsibility to explain its related policies and agendas.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201910310032.html

November 4, 2019 Posted by | Japan | , | Leave a comment

Regulators to review Fukushima Daiichi plant work

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Octobre 30, 2019
Japan’s nuclear regulators plan to look into work management at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which is being decommissioned following the 2011 accident.
The move follows a series of mistakes and violations. In June this year, smoke came out when workers misconnected power lines at the No.5 and No.6 reactors.
It has also come to light that water servers were placed for the past four years in restricted areas where radioactive materials are stored.
The commissioners at the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday certified both incidents as safety violations.
In addition, work to remove nuclear fuel from the No.3 reactor’s storage pool has been delayed due to repeated mechanical problems.
The commissioners also decided to request a report from their inspectors stationed in Fukushima Prefecture on whether the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, is conducting its work properly. The regulators also plan to directly question TEPCO officials.
Authority chairman Toyoshi Fuketa told reporters that simple procedural errors raise concern as to whether TEPCO has enough electricians and quality managers at the site.
He said the regulating body will make sure that small mistakes don’t lead to big ones.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191030_40/

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , | Leave a comment

Fukushima is not safe for 2020 Olympics, nuclear scientists warn

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October 30, 2019

Would Russia hold the 1994 Olympics at Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 meltdown? Only 8-years later, do we really think it’s safe to hold the Olympics on Fukushima soil? What would common sense tell us?

But these are very dark times.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Japanese government, and most news media have ignored the risks one of the worst nuclear disasters in world history: the 2011 Fukushima power plant meltdown.

For years afterward, the Japanese government struggled what to do with millions of gallons of contaminated water and tens of thousands of Japanese refugees. Instead of safer measures, they chose the cheapest solution, spinning the truth in favor of profit and national image over human life.

Scientists warned that almost everything on land is contaminated, and this may include Tokyo which sits 100 kilometers from Fukushima.

Radiation levels may beyond what is safe for humans

According to 60 Minutes Australia, many experts are asking for the Fukushima Olympics to be canceled due to radioactive contamination. Yet, when The Washington Post ran an article on the struggles Fukushima and the residents are facing, there is no mention of what dangers Olympians and spectators may face in an area that has radiation levels way beyond what is safe for humans. Such high levels are likely to continue for decades to come.

In fact, in that same article, Simon Denyer wrote that when it rains, the water itself is radioactive. Residents feel forced by the Japanese government to return, as the government cuts pensions if residents refuse, essentially forcing them and their children for increased risk of cancer and other health problems. Childhood cancer is increasing in the affected zones, Denyer reports.

Why the silence? Where is the IOC? Is it okay for athletes and spectators to spend two weeks in a radioactive zone so that the Japanese government can make everyone forget that radiation exposure is no big deal? Such wouldn’t have to do with money over human life would it? Where is the U.S. news media that often looks for just a big story like this to crack? Why the silence?

As for Japan, what choice does it have but to move forward and accept that almost its entire population is inevitably exposed to radiation.

This is not something they can fix, so the government must reinvent Fukushima as a safe and wonderful place, a place where one can eat the vegetables and fruits from Fukushima, and they can live there healthy and happy. What better way than to repackage horrible facts with a new Fukushima, a safer, healthier one? However, they will have to force their residents to come back in order to seal such a wonderful myth.

Smelling a Nuclear Rat?

Dahr Jamail interviewed Arnie Gunderson that oversaw dozens of nuclear power plant projects in the United States. He faults the Japanese government and the nuclear power plant industry in pushing residents to go back to Fukushima before the 2020 Games. Even more surprising is that the IOC is also, according to Jamail, making very light over the known toxicity of Fukushima where the softball and baseball events will be played. Denyer, however, verified that six total events will take place in Fukushima. Gunderson, with 45 years’ experience with nuclear energy companies says that the goal is profit and that public health is not being considered.

Thyroid cancer, Jamail writes, already is increasing within the 310-mile radius of the disaster, and instances of cancer among children is increasing as well.  In fact, the radiation is not decreasing but increasing at the power plants. Dr. Tadahiro Katsuta of Meiji University in Japan makes the Japanese motive clear: the Japanese government is putting its public image and money over the lives of its citizens. The Japanese government is also putting international athletes and citizens at risk with little regard for their health and safety.

Reporters Dave Zirin and Jules Boykoff went through Fukushima with a radioactive tester. They noted that a reading over 0.23 is seen as unsafe for humans. As they neared the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor, the needle read 3.77. The Olympic torch is scheduled to pass near this area.

Who Works in Radioactive Zones without Protection? Athletes and Migrant Workers

They witnessed in Fukushima workers without protective suits putting contaminated soil in black plastic bags and piling them in “pyramids.” While some agencies dispute how dangerous Fukushima is, what is clear is that the Japanese government raised the exposure benchmark for radiation from 1mSV a year to 20 MSV per year, the reporters noted. As an international journalist based in Japan stated, the Japanese government is pushing “propaganda over truth.” The IOC seems happy to play along.

Tens of thousands of Japanese refugees are still displaced and not willing to go back. The question is why wouldn’t people back to their homes, many of which whose families lived there for generations, if it were safe? Why would the IOC be so willing to host the games at a questionable site, even if such posed the slightest risks to athletes?

It does not take a nuclear engineer or scientist to understand that radiation contamination lasts for many years. Why build Olympic venues eight years after that very place had a nuclear disaster? Isn’t such a push egregious, irresponsible, and shameful? Common sense would tell any organizer of any event that such an event should not be placed in areas that could potentially put people at risk.

It’s time to hold the Japanese government and the IOC responsible for their hasty and reckless push to ignore the risks facing displaced citizens, spectators, and athletes and demand that the games be postponed and moved from Fukushima.

These are indeed dark times, where governments and their ties to corporate interests spin truths and make fictions that all of us would like to be real, but sadly money is always at the end of this contaminated rainbow. In the years to come, when the cancer cases mount, these same organizations and governments will pretend they knew nothing. Let’s all remember that.

https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/fukushima-is-not-safe-for-2020-olympics-nuclear-scientists-warn/2019/10/30

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

9 Japan water purification plants flooded by Typhoon Hagibis lacked watertight doors

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A worker at a hotel in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki releases water from a tap on Oct. 24, 2019, after water supplies were resumed on that day following cutoffs caused by Typhoon Hagibis.
 
October 30, 2019
TOKYO — No watertight doors were installed at nine water purification plants for tap water that were submerged by floods triggered by Typhoon Hagibis in mid-October, although they are situated in areas that local governments assumed could be inundated, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.
There are at least 578 water purification plants across the country where no flood countermeasures have been taken even though they are situated in areas prone to immersion when flooding occurs. About two weeks after Typhoon Hagibis, a water purification plant in the Chiba Prefecture city of Kamogawa, eastern Japan, was submerged at the time of torrential rain on Oct. 25. It is therefore an urgent task to take countermeasures.
The typhoon, this year’s 19th, cut off water supplies to 163,243 households in 14 prefectures including Tokyo. Of those, some 40% — 63,698 in six cities and towns in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima and the eastern Japan prefectures of Ibaraki and Tochigi — were left without tap water because a total of 10 local water purification plants were submerged. The 10 facilities include one each in the Fukushima Prefecture cities of Iwaki and Tamura, one in the Ibaraki Prefecture city of Hitachiota, two in the Ibaraki Prefecture town of Daigo, three in the Tochigi Prefecture city of Nasukarasuyama and two in the city of Tochigi.
Nine of the 10 plants, excluding the one in Tamura, are located in areas that prefectural governments have designated as zones that could be inundated under the Flood Control Act, but no watertight doors were installed at any of the facilities.
In Iwaki, where a levee of the Natsui River burst during the typhoon, water supplies were cut off to some 45,000 households at one point. An official of the municipal government’s waterworks bureau admitted that it had not assumed that the city’s water purification plant would be flooded as a result of the river dike bursting.
“We had believed we should prioritize the renovation of our aging water purification equipment and make the facility quake-resistant, and didn’t take any particular measures against typhoons,” said the official. “We thought if muddy water flowed into the facility, we would need to adjust the amount of disinfectant, but never assumed that it would end up under water as a result of the dike bursting.”
When torrential rains hit western Japan in July 2018, some 264,000 households in 80 municipalities in 18 prefectures were left without water because local waterworks facilities including purification plants sustained damage.
This prompted the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to examine 3,521 major water purification plants across the country. The ministry then found that 758 of such facilities, or 22% of the total, are situated in areas designated as zones prone to floods, and that no anti-flooding measures, such as the installation of watertight doors and floodgates, had been taken at 578, or over 70%, of the 758 facilities. The huge cost of installing watertight doors poses a challenge.
In fiscal 2018, the ministry deemed 147 of these facilities, which could trigger particularly large-scale water supply cuts, in need of emergency countermeasures and began to subsidize one-third the cost of anti-flooding measures to waterworks bodies that lack financial resources.
However, the 10 water purification plants that were inundated in mid-October are not covered by the project.
Masakatsu Miyajima, professor of construction engineering at Kanazawa University, says, “Water purification plants are prone to flooding because they are situated near rivers, and need countermeasures. However, as the finances of waterworks operators are worsening due to the aging of society and depopulation, the national government needs to expand budgets for such programs. Residents should also stockpile water and local bodies should make arrangements for cooperation between themselves over water supplies in emergency cases,” he said.
(Japanese original by Haruna Okuyama and Mei Nanmo, City News Department)
Caption:
A worker at a hotel in the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki releases water from a tap on Oct. 24, 2019, after water supplies were resumed on that day following cutoffs caused by Typhoon Hagibis. (Mainichi/Mei Nanmo)
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20191030/p2a/00m/0na/004000c

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , , | Leave a comment

EU to ease Japanese food import restrictions

Tokyo continues its behind the cloak diplomatic negotiations to export its contaminated  food products to unknowing populations…
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October 30, 2019
The European Union says it will partially ease import restrictions from mid-November on some Japanese food products. The EU has been requiring radiation tests for certain goods since the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The European Commission says from November 14, it will remove all restrictions on agricultural and fisheries products from Iwate, Tochigi, and Chiba prefectures.
It will also end testing requirements on some products from several other regions.
But regulations will continue to affect certain items from nine prefectures. They include some marine products and wild plants from Fukushima.
Japanese government officials say they will call on the EU to remove the remaining restrictions.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20191030_37/

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Warning on Fukushima fallout for Tokyo 2020 Olympians

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International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons co-founder Tilman Ruff.
October 29, 2019
The Australian Olympic Committee has been urged to inform its athletes and team members about the ongoing health effects of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear ­reactor disaster for those attending the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Tilman Ruff, a public health expert who co-founded the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Melbourne, said he had written to the AOC to warn that levels of radioactivity in certain areas could be above the recommended maximum permissible exposure level. He said the Japanese Olympic Committee planned to host baseball and softball competitions and part of the torch relay in Fukushima City, 50km away from the ruins of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
In 2011, multiple nuclear meltdowns at the damaged facility caused radioactivity to leak out across Japan and the Pacific.
“It was a catastrophe comparable only to the nuclear meltdown of Chernobyl,” he said. While contamination was not as severe as at Chernobyl, “it was widespread and persists”.
At least 50,000 residents have not yet been able to return to the most affected areas in Fukushima prefecture. “The Japanese government is making a concerted ­effort to present the Fukushima nuclear disaster as over and effectively dealt with in the lead-up to the Olympics. Some of these ­efforts are misleading and should not be accepted at face value,” Dr Ruff said.
He said thyroid cancers had notably increased among young people in Fukushima, with a total of about 200 cases.
He has made several visits to Fukushima since 2011, the latest in May when he provided radiation health advice to the Fukushima prefectural government.
Dr Ruff said he then wrote to the AOC urging it to “properly ­inform and safeguard the best interests of the Australian staff and team, and their accompanying families, especially women who may be pregnant and young children”.
He said short-term visits to areas contaminated by radioactive fallout “now involve low to minimal risk”.
“However, if any (AOC) members or athletes plan to be based in Fukushima or neighbouring contaminated prefectures for weeks or months, they should be informed about the health risks of radiation exposure,” Dr Ruff said.
International physician groups have criticised the Japanese government’s decision shortly after the 2011 disaster to increase the maximum permissible radiation dose for Japanese citizens from one to 20 millisieverts. “Eight years later, it has not reversed that decision,” Dr Ruff said. “No other government in the world has ever accepted such a high level of radiation beyond the immediate emergency phase of a nuclear disaster for its citizens.”
An AOC spokesman said Tokyo 2020 provided regular updates to the IOC regarding the situation. “We have been given assurances that radiation levels in Fukushima City are safe, noting that the IOC Co-ordination Team has made several visits to the region and that ongoing monitoring is conducted independently of the Japanese government,” the spokesman said.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/olympics/warning-on-fukushima-fallout-for-tokyo-2020-olympians/news-story/ed7bf1f0415ca7eb05ce9587b6d1989f

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Area of Fukushima Nuclear Power Station Disaster Badly Impacted By Flooding, High Waves, Landslides

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The area of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is being impacted by high waves, flooding and landslides. Who knows how many more bags of nuclear waste, and more tons of radioactive water will now be at sea, i.e. in the Pacific Ocean.
“Death toll climbs to 10 as heavy rains hit typhoon-ravaged eastern Japan Posted:Sat, 26 Oct 2019 00:34:31 -0400 The death toll from torrential rains that caused flooding and mudslides in eastern Japan reached 10 on Saturday, with three others missing, public broadcaster NHK reported, just two weeks after the region was hit hard by a powerful typhoon“. http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/worldNews/~3/l8pJnvWptAc/death-toll-climbs-to-10-as-heavy-rains-hit-typhoon-ravaged-eastern-japan-idUSKBN1X5017
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November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Heavy rains leave at least 10 dead in Chiba and Fukushima prefectures as rescue efforts continue

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Oct 26, 2019
Search and rescue operations continued in eastern Japan on Saturday after torrential rains spurred landslides and flooding in areas still reeling from damage caused by typhoons, authorities said.
At least 10 people were confirmed dead and several others were missing in Chiba and Fukushima prefectures, police and other sources said.
In the city of Chiba, mudslides crushed three houses, killing three people who were buried underneath them. Another mudslide hit a house in the nearby city of Ichihara, killing a woman. Some other bodies were found in submerged cars.
In Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, the body of a woman was found near a beach.
Rescue workers using helicopters continued to search for survivors and winched people to safety after rivers overflowed and submerged vast swaths of land, including roads and railway tracks.
Ichihara saw more than 280 millimeters of rain over a 12-hour period Friday — more than the average monthly total for October — according to the Meteorological Agency.
While rains passed and floodwater subsided, parts of Chiba were still inundated. About 4,700 homes were out of running water and some train services were delayed or suspended. Power was restored Saturday at most of the 6,000 Chiba households that had lost electricity.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held an emergency task force meeting Saturday morning and called for “the utmost effort in rescue and relief operations.” He also urged quick repairs of electricity, water and other essential services to help restore the lives of the disaster-hit residents.
Some flights to Narita Airport were canceled Friday due to the rain, affecting travelers using one of the country’s largest international airports. Around 3,000 people spent the night at the airport as the downpours also disrupted train and bus connections to nearby cities.
A total of 15 rivers have flooded in Chiba Prefecture due to the rains, forcing more than 1,800 people to evacuate, the prefectural government said.
About 1,200 children were stranded at schools and other facilities and stayed overnight there. No children were injured or fell ill, and parents were able to pick them up Saturday, the prefecture said.
The downpour came as a result of a low-pressure system above the main island of Honshu that moved northward later Friday.
Two weeks ago, Typhoon Hagibis caused widespread flooding and left more than 80 people dead across Japan.
Yoshiki Takeuchi, an office worker who lives in a riverside house in the city of Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, said he had just finished temporary repairs to his roof after tiles were blown off by Typhoon Faxai in September when Friday’s rain hit.
“I wasn’t ready for another disaster like this. I’ve had enough of this, and I need a break,” he said.

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear Hotseat Podcast: Citizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan Exposes Scientific Truth about Fukushima Contamination + Hurricane Hagibis Radiation Update: Mari Inoue

A most essential interview of Mari Inoue by Libbe Halevy,

Screen-Shot-2019-10-22-at-11.43.10-AM-702x336.jpgCitizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan – created by moms, parents, grandparents to supply the information that the Japanese government would not. See what radiation levels have been and will be for the next 100 years.

This Week’s Featured Interview:
 
Citizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan by the Minna-no Data Site reveals the deadly impact of the radioactivity released by the Fukushima Daiichi triple nuclear meltdown of March, 2011. 4,000 citizens took soil samples to capther the data that created the full 200-page book, written in Japanese, which won a major mainstream journalism award and is a “hot” seller in Japan.
Now the English-language digest has been published, and non-Japanese speakers can see for ourselves the radiation contamination that resulted from that disaster.
Mari Inoue of the Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World is part of the team who worked on the English translation. Here, she explains how the data was collected, what it shows, and provides instruction for any community to duplicate this process to compile accurate radiation data in communities where contamination is suspected.
More information about Minna-no Data Site (Everyone’s Data Site) and the English digest booklet of “Citizens’ Radiation Data Map of Japan Digest Edition – Grassroots Movement Reveals Soil Contamination in Eastern Japan in the Wake of Fukushima” is available here: https://en.minnanods.net/
If you have any questions about the English booklet, or interested in obtaining a copy of the English booklet, please contact: mdsbookorder@mp-nuclear-free.com.
Website of Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World is: https://mp-nuclear-free.com/
Source: http://nuclearhotseat.com/2019/10/23/citizens-radiation-data-map-of-japan-exposes-scientific-truth-about-fukushima-contamination/?fbclid=IwAR3ETNLnV1AZClCwI2-AhBzfXapjzYMRC76Vp3H84qfBmNre8LLu7KtZMkM

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Dissolution of radioactive, cesium-rich microparticles released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in simulated lung fluid, pure-water, and seawater

We report chemical durability of Cs-rich microparticle from Fukushima Daiichi.
The dissolution rate was estimated for various solution composition.
Cs-rich microparticles can remain in lung and environments for several decades.

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October, 2019

Abstract

To understand the chemical durability of highly radioactive cesium-rich microparticles (CsMPs) released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, we have, for the first time, performed systematic dissolution experiments with CsMPs isolated from Fukushima soils (one sample with 108 Bq and one sample with 57.8 Bq of 137Cs) using three types of solutions: simulated lung fluid, ultrapure water, and artificial sea water, at 25 and 37 °C for 1–63 days.

The 137Cs was released rapidly within three days and then steady-state dissolution was achieved for each solution type. The steady-state 137Cs release rate at 25 °C was determined to be 4.7 × 103, 1.3 × 103, and 1. 3 × 103 Bq·m−2 s−1 for simulated lung fluid, ultrapure water, and artificial sea water, respectively.

This indicates that the simulated lung fluid promotes the dissolution of CsMPs. The dissolution of CsMPs is similar to that of Si-based glass and is affected by the surface moisture conditions.

In addition, the Cs release from the CsMPs is constrained by the rate-limiting dissolution of silicate matrix.

Based on our results, CsMPs with ∼2 Bq, which can be potentially inhaled and deposited in the alveolar region, are completely dissolved after >35 years. Further, CsMPs could remain in the environment for several decades; as such, CsMPs are important factors contributing to the long-term impacts of radioactive Cs in the environment.

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653519311701?via%3Dihub&sfns=mo&fbclid=IwAR0tbULuzIFwPg-RLoasHtJGKV10yokXY4Nt0YPhuff6PE3lD-_XCCqgRn0

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy proposes long-term storage for treated water from damaged Fukushima Daichi plant

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5th October 2019

On October 3, the Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy, whose members include academics, technical experts, and NGOs, made a new proposal to deal with contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant after the water has been treated. The proposal, submitted to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), and the Nuclear Regulation Authority, is to convert the treated water to solid form by mixing with mortar, and storing it on land. Citizens’Comittee on Nuclear Energy (CCNE)

01Figure 1 (Prepared by Yasuro Kawai, Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy, for October 3, 2019 press conference)

 

However, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) rejected the concept of large-tank storage, claiming that it takes three years to install each tank, that the efficiency of site utilization is not significantly different from that of tanks currently being used, that a floating roof design may result in rainwater mixing with the contents, and that there would be major volume of leakage in the event of damage to the tanks.

Those claims were rebuffed in a presentation by Yasuro Kawai of the Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy (regulations subcommittee) at a press conference on October 3. He said that the installation of large tanks takes 1.5 to 2 years, that they actually improve the efficiency of site utilization, that a dome-shaped design could be used to prevent mixing with rainwater, that large tanks are robust and have a proven track record in oil storage, and that perimeter walls would be needed as a measure to prevent leakage.

Advantages and disadvantages of mortar solidification proposal

The proposal by the Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy is to mix contaminated water with cement and sand to solidify it, then pour the mixture into concrete tanks and store it partially underground. Mr. Kawai described achievements using this approach at the Savannah River nuclear reservation in South Carolina, the United States.

Discussion about land-based storage has finally begun

The Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy has long taken the position that treated water from the so-called Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) should not be released into the ocean. It has been proposing land-based storage using large tanks, an approach that has a proven track record for the storage of oil reserves.

In August 2018, at a hearing held by METI’s ALPS subcommittee, fisheries-related stakeholders and many other participants expressed the view that long-term land-based storage should be used for the treated water. In response, Chairman Kazuyoshi Yamamoto promised to consider the land based storage plan as an option, and the topic finally came up at the 13th sub-committee meeting, held on August 9, 2019.

02Figure 2 (Prepared by Yasuro Kawai, Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy, for October 3, 2019 press conference)

 

The advantages are that no radioactive substances need to be released into the environment, and the approach works with existing technologies. Disadvantages include low volumetric efficiency and evaporation of moisture due to heat generation.

Local community consent would also be required, because the site would become a permanent disposal site.

Is there really a lack of space for onsite storage?
Media have repeatedly reported claims that onsite storage space will run out by the summer of 2022, but is that really true? According to documents from on September 27, TEPCO explained to the ALPS Subcommittee that the site has about 81,000 square meters reserved for temporary storage facilities for spent fuel and fuel debris.

03Figure 3 (Document 3, 14th subcommittee meeting on handling of ALPS treated water)

TEPCO also claims that in the first half of the 2020s, the site is required for facilities for analysis, mock-up facilities for fuel debris retrieval, equipment and material storage, and research facilities, etc.

04Figure 4 (Document 3, 14th subcommittee meeting on handling of ALPS treated water)


But is it realistic and necessary to attempt to remove fuel debris?

The location and condition of the fuel debris is not precisely known due to high radioactivity. An unreasonable effort to remove it will expose workers to a large amount of radioactivity.

The Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy has proposed a “debris non-removal” option of keeping the debris isolated for 100 years, after which it would be dealt with, as one option that should be seriously considered, in order to avoid technical risks, enormous costs, and radiation exposure of workers.

Is it necessary to construct research facilities on the site?

Furthermore, at METI’s ALPS subcommittee, committee members have asked many questions, for example, about giving consideration to using sites where soil is currently being dumped, and expansion of the current site. In all cases, METI responded that such options were “difficult.” However, there was no evidence of any serious consideration having been made of whether or not the ideas raise were really possible.

05

METI should immediately consider the land based storage proposal from the Citizens’ Committee on Nuclear Energy by setting up an ALPS subcommittee or a new committee.

By Kanna Mitsuta

Note: The above proposal was covered by Kyodo News, and Kahoko Shimpo news.
・Kahoko Shimpo: “Experts Propose Mortar Solidification for Treated Water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant” (4-Oct-2019, in Japanese)
・Kyodo News: “Treated water should go into long-term storage and solidification treatment, says citizens’ group opposed to ocean discharge” (3-Oct-2019, in Japanese)

Related posts by FoE Japan (in Japanese unless noted)
・“FoE Japan objects to statement by Japan’s former Environment Minister: He undermined discussions on long-term storage of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant”
Japanese: http://www.foejapan.org/energy/library/190911.html
English: http://www.foejapan.org/en/energy/doc/190911.html

・“Big problems at the public hearing on contaminated water: Many speakers oppose ocean discharge”

・“Traces of nuclides other than tritium found in ALPS treated water: Basic premises of public briefing/hearing are undermined”

http://www.foejapan.org/en/energy/doc/191005.html

 

November 4, 2019 Posted by | fukushima 2019 | , , | Leave a comment

Katharine Hayhoe: the religious duty to act on climate change

I’m a Climate Scientist Who Believes in God. Hear Me Out.

Global warming will strike hardest against the very people we’re told to love: the poor and vulnerable. NYT, 3 Nov 19, By Katharine Hayhoe

Dr. Hayhoe is a professor and co-directs the Climate Center at Texas Tech University. I’m a climate scientist. I’m also an evangelical Christian.

And I’m Canadian, which is why it took me so long to realize the first two things were supposed to be entirely incompatible.

I grew up in a Christian family with a science-teacher dad who taught us that science is the study of God’s creation. If we truly believe that God created this amazing universe, bringing matter and energy to life out of a formless empty void of nothing, then how could studying his creation ever be in conflict with his written word?

I chose what to study precisely because of my faith, because climate change disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable, those already most at risk today. To me, caring about and acting on climate was a way to live out my calling to love others as we’ve been loved ourselves by God.

I realized, distantly, that there were people on both “sides” who fundamentally believed and were even dedicated to promoting the idea that faith and science were in conflict. But it wasn’t until after I’d moved to the United States for graduate school that it dawned on me, to my disbelief, that divisions within the science-faith arena, originally focused on questions of human origins and the age of the universe, were expanding to include climate change.

Now, this discrepancy is pointed out to me nearly every day: often by people with Bible verses in their social media profiles who accuse me of spreading Satan’s lies, or sometimes by others who share my concerns about climate change but wonder why I bother talking to “those people.” The attacks I receive come via email, Twitter, Facebook comments, phone calls and even handwritten letters.

I track them all, and I’ve noticed two common denominators in how most of the authors choose to identify themselves: first, as political conservatives, no matter what country they’re from; and second, in the United States, as conservative Christians, because the label “evangelical” has itself been co-opted as shorthand for a particular political ideology these days.

But I refuse to give it up, because I am a theological evangelical, one of those who can be simply defined as someone who takes the Bible seriously. This stands in stark contrast to today’s political evangelicals, whose statement of faith is written first by their politics and only a distant second by the Bible and who, if the two conflict, will prioritize their political ideology over theology.

I’m not a glutton for punishment and I don’t thrive on conflict. So why do I keep talking about climate change to people who are disengaged or doubtful? Because I believe that evangelicals who take the Bible seriously already care about climate change (although they might not realize it). Climate change will strike hard against the very people we’re told to care for and love, amplifying hunger and poverty, and increasing risks of resource scarcity that can exacerbate political instability, and even create or worsen refugee crises.

Then there’s pollution, biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation, species extinction: climate change makes all those worse, too. In fact, if we truly believe we’ve been given responsibility for every living thing on this planet (including each other) as it says in Genesis 1, then it isn’t only a matter of caring about climate change: We should be at the front of the line demanding action………

I explained that climate change is not a belief system. We know that the earth’s climate is changing thanks to observations, facts and data about God’s creation that we can see with our eyes and test with the sound minds that God has given us. And still more fundamentally, I went on to explain why it matters: because real people are being affected today; and we believe that God’s love has been poured in our hearts to share with our brothers and sisters here and around the world who are suffering. ……https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/31/opinion/sunday/climate-change-evangelical-christian.html

November 4, 2019 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | Leave a comment

Heat deaths in India will increase greatly, if greenhouse emissions increase

If Emissions Continue, India Could See 1 Million Heat Deaths a Year, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/if-emissions-continue-india-could-see-1-million-heat-deaths-a-year/?utm_medium=social&utm_content=organic&utm_source=twitter  3 Nov 19,

Premature deaths from extreme heat next century could top those from infectious diseases today, A new study predicts there’ll be more than 1 million deaths a year from extreme heat in India by the next century if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current level.Research by the Climate Impact Lab with the University of Chicago’s Tata Centre for Development projects India’s average annual temperature will rise 4 degrees by 2100.

When broken down by location, 16 of India’s 36 states and union territories will become hotter than Punjab, which is currently the hottest state, with an average annual summer temperature around 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

As temperatures rise, the number of extremely hot days is expected to rise, as well.

The state of Odisha will see the highest increase, with an average of 48.05 hot days by 2100 compared with 1.62 in 2010. Delhi is projected to experience 22 times as many days with extreme heat, and Haryana is estimated to see 20 times as many days.

The study estimates the combination of hotter summers and more high-heat days will contribute to more than 1.5 million deaths each year by 2100.

The projected death rate is as high as the current death rate from all infectious diseases in India today. Six states—Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra—are expected to contribute to more than half of the excess death rate from rising temperatures.

“Having already seen 2,500 deaths due to a heat wave in 2015, the future is projected to be even more worrying if India—and the world—does not change course to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change,” said Amir Jina of the Climate Impact Lab.

If the world commits to the Paris Agreement and regularly updates its commitments, the study estimates India’s excess death rate from high heat will drop more than 80%.

The study comes as India’s energy use is expected to more than double by 2040, with fossil fuels serving as the main source.

The country’s 5% increase in coal demand last year contributed to a nearly equal percentage in its carbon emissions. India is currently the world’s third-largest carbon emitter (Climatewire, Aug. 14).

Michael Greenstone, faculty director at the Tata Centre and a co-founder of the Climate Impact Lab, said the continued reliance on fossil fuels will harm India in the years to come.  The need to balance cheap and reliable energy sources while managing climate risks, he said, is “perhaps the defining challenge of our generation.”

November 4, 2019 Posted by | climate change, India | 1 Comment

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