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Fukushima’s 50 heroes fear discrimination and bullying

The Economist: “Something strange was afoot” during Prime Minister’s visit to plant — Fukushima 50 muzzled   http://enenews.com/economist-strange-afoot-during-prime-ministers-visit-plant-fukushima-50-muzzled   Title: Japan’s nuclear disaster: Meet the Fukushima 50? No, you can’t
Source: The Economist Author: Banyan Date: Oct 8, 2012
It has taken the Japanese government more than 18 months to pay tribute to a group of brave men, once known as the “Fukushima 50”, who risked their lives to prevent meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant from spiralling out of control.

But when the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, belatedly offered official thanks to them on October 7th something strange was afoot: six of the eight men he addressed had their backs to the television cameras, refused to be photographed and did not introduce themselves by name, not even to Mr Noda
The reason: officials from the government and from Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) quietly admitted that the men wanted to keep their identities secret because they were scared of stigmatisation for being involved in the disaster, such as might lead to the bullying of their children and grandchildren. But Tepco is also muzzling them, presumably for fear that what they say will further discredit the now nationalised company. When I asked if I could at least hand my business card to them to see if they wanted to tell their side of the story, an irate Tepco spokesman answered bluntly: “Impossible.”

…Yet even after Mr Noda’s visit, the men do not get the recognition they deserve. Kyodo, a news agency, relegates any mention of them to the bottom of a boring story about decontamination.

October 10, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Japan, psychology - mental health, social effects | 2 Comments

Fukushima nurses leaving, to protect their own children from radiation

Nurses evacuate Fukushima to save their children from the potential risk of radiation http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/10/nurses-evacuate-fukushima-to-save-their-children-from-the-potential-risk-of-radiation/ by Mochizuki   October 6th, 2012 Fukushima prefecture is facing a serious shortage of nurses and health workers.

The biggest reason is nurses have evacuated to save their children from the potential radiation risk because of Fukushima accident. On the other hand, the number of patients are increasing as evacuation period is prolonged.

According to Fukushima prefectural government, 14,556 nurses and other workers were at hospitals in the prefecture on 3/1/2011, shortly before 311, but it dropped to 14,089 on 3/1/2012.

Fukushima nursing association comments in 2/2011, there were 216 applications for 366 jobs, the job opening-to-application ratio was 1.69. However, at the end of this August, there were 174 applications for 768 jobs. The job-opening-to-application ratio was 4.41, which made a huge increase since before 311.

The number of young people receiving checkups is expected to increase in line with the Oct. 1 launch of a system providing free medical care to people aged 18 or under, and the association remains concerned about the situation, which could hinder health checks, saying a shortage of people in the medical profession could impede local restoration efforts.

In other disaster areas, Iwate and Miyagi are also having shortages of medical workers, but the situation has been particularly serious in Fukushima Prefecture due to the nuclear disaster, and it is expected to continue for a long time.

Midori Suzuki, a senior director of the Fukushima Nursing Association comments, “The shortage of regular nurses and health nurses was an issue even before the disaster, but since the nuclear disaster, the situation has gotten unusually serious, I want the government to widen its awareness of what is hindering restoration.”

October 8, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Japan’s Science Ministry may have “doctored” Fukushima radiation readings

Group: Ministry may have manipulated Fukushima radiation readings October 06, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Citizens and scientists have raised concerns that the science ministry manipulated its measurement of radiation levels in Fukushima Prefecture to show figures lower than they really were.

The Association for Citizens and Scientists Concerned About Internal Radiation Exposures said on Oct. 5 that its survey this year of airborne dose levels found an average 10-30 percent higher than the ministry’s numbers, and in certain areas, the discrepancy was even
greater….. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201210060041

October 8, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Fukushima residents treated with discrimination, like the hibakusha

 the same sort of discrimination is happening to people who were exposed to radiation in Fukushima.

Voices of the “Explosion Covered People”    http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/09/25/161755636/voices-of-the-explosion-covered-people  More than 65 years after atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are still thousands of people suffering. In addition to experiencing lingering effects from the radiation, many are also considered social outcasts.

The term hibakusha  in Japanese means “explosion-covered people” and applies to anyone who came within 2 kilometers (approximately 1.25 miles) of the hypocenter  of the bomb — within two weeks of the explosion. Thought to be diseased and contagious, many people hid their experience from friends, family and society at large to avoid being shunned. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Japan, social effects | Leave a comment

State of the Fukushima Reactors

Fukushima  Nuclear Crisis Update for October 2nd to October 4th, 2012 Greenpeace International,  by Christine McCann – October 5, 2012 “…State of the Fukushima Reactors TEPCO has finally installed a new thermometer in the crippled #2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The reactor experienced a meltdown in the days following the Fukushima nuclear disaster; since then, five out of six thermometers in the reactor have broken. If the final thermometer broke, the utility would have no way of knowing if the reactor was overheating and in danger of further meltdown. Although they cannot see inside the reactors, workers believe that the new thermometer is near the bottom of the pressure vessel.

The NRA will declare the Fukushima Daiichi plant a “special nuclear facility” in order to oversee stabilization of the plant, as well as its decommissioning. Currently, the agency has no authority over TEPCO’s plans there. NRA Chair Shunichi Tanaka said this week that the Fukushima plant is still unstable, contradicting earlier government reports that operations there had been stabilized.

This week, TEPCO began removing 764 spent fuel rods from reactor #4 at its Fukushima Daini power plant. The Daini plant is located approximately 11 km from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, where a triple meltdown occurred after power was lost there after last year’s massive earthquake and tsunami. Although a nuclear emergency was also declared at the Daini plant, workers were able to recover cooling systems and avoid meltdowns at the reactors. The utility is moving the rods to a storage pool on upper floors of the building, and eventually plans to follow suit with reactors #1, #2, and #3, a process that will continue through the end of 2014. (Source: NHK) http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/fukushima-nuclear-crisis-update-for-october-2/blog/42456/

 

October 5, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Human Rights request to Fukushima Prefecture

Human Rights Now (3 September 2012)【Statement】Request for the Radical Reform of the Health Check System including Thyroid Examination for the Affected People by the Nuclear Power Plant Accident  “…..HRN requests to Fukushima prefecture to:

 1. Conduct the thyroid examination for children at least once a year for the “early identification” and “early treatment.” Especially when the thyroid nodules or cysts are recognized, establish and implement the system quickly;

 2. Expand the thyroid examination to adults, and also conduct the blood and urine examinations;

 3. Provide information of the thyroid examination and others (such as blood examination and thyroid sonogram) conducted by the prefecture to first-person or their parents, and provide explanation if requested;

 4. Store the result of the thyroid examination over a long period of time for the future follow-up and comparison, and disclose the information of the examination result when requested by the examinees or their parents, without asking the information disclose procedure. Also, take necessary measures so that other municipalities and medical institutes that will provide the health examinations can share the data.

 HRN requests to the state to:

1. From the position of protecting the residents’ rights to health around the nuclear power plant accident, as a responsibility of the state, construct the guidelines regarding health checks, examination, and medical treatment promptly. In the course of that, take into account the international perception and the good practice of medical policies, taken by the related countries of the Chernobyl accident;

 2. Publish guidelines about the information disclosure of the result of health examinations including the thyroid examination, and instruct the prefecture;

 3. As a state, commit to the health checks of the prefecture, and request the drastic reform and improvement of the examination system, based on the above mentioned recommendations towards Fukushima prefecture;

 4. Provide a financial support to the municipalities in Fukushima prefecture to enable them to establish the examination systems including the thyroid examination and the internal exposure examination; secure the base hospitals of the health examinations including the thyroid examination in all areas in Japan, and provide a financial support so that the affected people are able to take necessary examinations, such as thyroid and internal exposure examinations, for free at least once a year, regardless of their living place.

 HRN requests to Mr. Shunichi Yamashita (the head of the Exploratory Committee on the “Fukushima Health Management Survey,” the vice-president of the Fukushima Medical University, and the president of theRadiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima health management survey) to:

 1. Officially withdraw the announcement (dated 16 January 2012) sent to the members of the Japan Thyroid Association.

 These recommendations are all important to protect the right to people’s health (Article 25 of the Constitution, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights), therefore, prompt improvement and implementation are required. http://hrn.or.jp/eng/activity/area/japan/statementrequest-for-the-radical-reform-of-the-health-check-system-including-thyroid-examination-for/

October 5, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Reference | Leave a comment

Evacuation and Repopulation – Fukushima

Fukushima  Nuclear Crisis Update for October 2nd to October 4th, 2012 Greenpeace International,  by Christine McCann – October 5, 2012 “…Evacuation and Repopulation In spite of efforts by the central government to lift evacuation orders and begin repopulating some areas of Fukushima Prefecture located between 20 and 30 km from the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a new survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun shows that only 11% of those who evacuated the prefecture have returned.  Approximately 58,000 people lived there before the crisis erupted, and 48% evacuated in the months following the nuclear meltdowns. The area includes Minami-Soma, Tamura, Kawauchi, Nahara, and Hirono… http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/fukushima-nuclear-crisis-update-for-october-2/blog/42456/

October 5, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Fukushima compensation payments 1.24 trillion yen, and rising

TEPCO must compensate nuclear accident victims quickly The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2 Oct 12
The government should further enhance its system to resolve disputes over compensation for damage caused by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant so people suffering from the nuclear accident can be helped appropriately and quickly.

By late September, 940,000 compensation claims had been made against Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, for damage caused by the crisis. The claimants and TEPCO have reached agreements in 860,000 cases. The total compensation has already reached 1.24 trillion yen and will increase further. This shows the seriousness of the accident, which has forced 160,000 local residents to evacuate.

Under a compensation scheme for the damage caused by the crisis, the government first pays evacuees the money and later requires TEPCO to repay it. Compensation is calculated based on criteria set by the government’s Committee for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Damages from the Nuclear Power Plant Incident.

The criteria require TEPCO to pay compensation for such expenses as evacuation transportation fees and damage to farmers and other people who lost their businesses due to the crisis.

The agreement ratio has been high in initial compensation negotiations, but many crisis victims are still dissatisfied with the amount of reparations…… http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/editorial/T121001002720.htm

October 3, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Fukushima 2012, Japan | Leave a comment

The truly fearful state of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors

http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=6282    Arnold Gundersen with the latest on Fukushima, including the perilous worldwide consequences if reactor no. 4 collapses

Doomed Planet For A Failed Species? Fukushima’s Tragic Nuclear Consequences Richard Wilcox Activist Post  29 Sept 12“……….Gundersen was also recently interviewed by the intrepid Helen Caldicott, medical doctor and long time anti-nuclear campaigner (12). The entire interview is highly recommended listening, not only for its incredible technical information, but also to enjoy the brilliance and humor of two of our most venerable activists.

Where are the leagues of other nuclear engineers speaking out with such expertise? There are not many. Gundersen has intimate knowledge of what is happening at the FNPS and one wonders how he gets his information. Other than that in the public domain are there at least some concerned officials feeding him data? Gundersen tends to speak conservatively and there is certainly room for other interpretations of the situation. He may be sugar-coating the truth at times, but I think he rarely or never exaggerates the dangers.

These are main points summarized from Gundersen and Caldicott’s conversation:

  • Unit 4 is being cleaned up so that Tepco can put in place the crane to remove the fuel rods. This work will not be completed before 2015 or 2016. Tepco plans to construct a building on top of what is currently there at Unit 4 in order to put in place a huge crane for removing the rods, which will then be placed in casks on the ground.
  • There are concerns that the fuel rods will be damaged, but ideally they can just pull them out and put them into dry cask storage. There is a chance they will not be removed easily and get “jammed” when they try pull them out. This could take years!
  • It is a very long, involved process. “They are taking way too long.” This process has to be repeated for the other reactor fuel pools as well. In the meantime we have to hope there is not another large earthquake, even though geologists think there is a likely chance of one.
  • The fuel in Units 1, 2, 3 is melted down to the bottom of the reactors or “lying on the concrete” at the foundation of the reactor buildings. It took ten years to remove fuels from a melted reactor at Three Mile Island after its disaster in the US in 1979. TMI was a minor accident compared to Fukushima.
  • The three reactor units at Fukushima are so highly radioactive that a million bq/liter is measured in water in surrounding buildings. That means that in the reactor buildings themselves the radiation would be exponentially higher.
  • Gundersen believes the radiation is so high in the reactor areas that workers cannot do the job. The only “solution” will be to pour concrete on top of the units while “walking away for three hundred years, obviously monitoring it.” This could happen in a few years from now.
  • However, Caldicott points out that the radiation will seep down into the water table for the rest of time. Arnie agrees: there is no good solution. Although “the solution would be to bore holes from underneath, and constantly pull water from out from under the building so it can be treated.” This would have to be done for a couple of hundred years to prevent contamination of the Pacific Ocean.
  • If Japan’s economy shrinks, cracks, contracts and or collapses due to a variety of factors, will they have the knowledge and money to carry on with this project? Gundersen estimates the cost of the Fukushima disaster will be 500 billion dollars. The Japanese taxpayer will pay for it.
  • Weighed against Japan’s rapidly aging and declining population the Japanese will be carrying a huge economic burden. The detrimental health effects from radiation will effect a substantial proportion of Japan’s population into the mists of time but will be covered up and hidden from public view, even as they perish…… http://www.activistpost.com/2012/09/doomed-planet-for-failed-species.html

September 29, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Fukushima rice was sold labelled as from Nagano http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/09/fukushima-rice-was-sold-labelled-as-from-nagano/ by Mochizuki   September 27th, 2012 In this May, a rice wholesaler in Nagano sold 26 tones of rice from Fukushima and Aomori with deceptive label of the origin to be from Nagano prefecture.

Police is suspecting this wholesaler in Nagano prefecture sold about
200 kg of Fukushima rice “Akitakomachi” labelled as the rice from
Nagano, which violates the Unfair Competition Prevention Act and JAS.
Nagano prefecture is about 268 km from Fukushima plant. The rice was
sold to Osaka.

The company is “Hashimoto shoji” in Komagane city, Nagano prefecture.
The president, Hashimoto (57) sold 200kg of Fukushima rice in the
package labelled as “Nagano” for 60,000JPY.
Police has been investigating his office and warehouse since this May.
He states he did not have enough supply of Nagano rice, purchased rice
from Fukushima to sell with deceptive label of the origin.

September 28, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Third steel beam found beside the fuel rack. Tepco “Fuel assemblies may be damaged” Fukushima Diary, by Mochizuki on September 25th, 2012 · 
As to the latest accident in reactor3, Fukushima Diary reported Tepco
found 2 steel beams in SFP3.
(cf. [Reactor3] Underwater video, “Two steel beams were found in the pool”)

After this article, Tepco found another steel beam in the pool, now
they are considering the possibility that the fuel assemblies are
damaged.

So far, Tepco finished investigating the 1/8 of the pool and found 3
steel beams in total. One of the 3 steel beams was found beside a rack
of fuel assemblies.

Tepco still hasn’t verified the dropped steel beam.

They have been stating there is no change in the radiation level in
the pool water and no change of the water level, which suggests the
state of the pool and fuel assemblies were sound, but they are
starting to suggest the possibility that fuel assemblies were
damaged…….. http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/09/third-steel-beam-found-beside-the-fuel-rack-tepco-fuel-assemblies-may-be-damaged/

September 27, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, incidents | Leave a comment

In Tamura, Fukushima, children play in radiation contaminated area

Many children playing sports on field with radiation dose over 5 millisieverts per year (PHOTO) http://enenews.com/photo-many-children-playing-on-field-with-radiation-dose-over-5-millisieverts-per-year
September 23rd, 2012
By ENENews 0.581μSv/h at an athletic field in Tamura, Fukushima, where children run and breathe the contaminated air. twitter.com/GuciYama/statu…

0.581 microsieverts per hour * 24 hours in a day * 365 days in a year = 5089.56 microsieverts per year or 5.09 millisieverts per year. The Japanese government’s radiation dose limit for the public is set at 1 millisievert per year –Yomiuri

See the children paying near the radiation detector here

September 24, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Oops a 25 foot metal beam fell in nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima

Watch: 25-foot-long metal beam drops into Reactor No. 3 pool at Fukushima — Not clear if any fuel rods have broken — Could further complicate removal efforts (VIDEO)  http://enenews.com/25-foot-long-metal-beam-falls-into-no-3-fuel-pool-at-fukushima-no-major-increase-in-radiation-levels-nearby-tepco-says-could-complicate-removal-efforts
September 22nd, 2012
By ENENews

UPDATE: Japan TV: “Grave mistake” that crane knocked beam into No. 3 fuel pool — Checking for fuel damage with camera soon (VIDEO) <<

Title: Day 560 Oops, dropped it  Source: uhohjapan2 Date: Sept. 22, 2012

According to the Yomiuri Newspaper, up at FD1 reactor #3, a steel beam, 470kg (30cmX20cmX7m), fell into the spent fuel pool. […]

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20120922-00000555-yom-soci

Jiji Tsushin report from Sept. 22, 2012 translated by EXSKF:
TEPCO announced on September 22 that a steel frame weighing about 470 kilograms dropped into the Spent Fuel Pool of Reactor 3 during the debris removal operation of the Reactor 3 building […] So far, there is no major increase in radiation levels nearby, TEPCO says.

According to TEPCO, the accident happened at 11:05AM on September 22 when [EXSKF: the crane operator] tried to grab a piece of debris, an H steel lying next to the Spent Fuel Pool on the 5th floor of Reactor 3 building and failed. The H steel slid into the Spent Fuel Pool.

Source: RT News line
Date: Sept 23, 2012

A huge metal beam was dropped into a spent fuel pond at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Workers were trying to extract cement wreckage […] The crane boom accidentally pushed a metal beam into the pool from its casing, reports ITAR-TASS news agency. [Tepco] says the metal construction, 7.3 meters [~25 feet] in length and weighing 470kg, did not cause any breach in the cooling system, but could complicate further retrieve of spent nuclear rods.

Title: Another accident at Fukushima plant
Source: Voice of Russia
Date: Sept 22, 2012

[…]

Reports say it was accidentally dislodged from its place by a crane.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. It is not yet clear whether any of the spent rods has been broken.

Watch video of the crane at 11:05a JST here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4y0D4Wh2OU

September 24, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Cattle with strange skin lesions near Fukushima Diiachi

Skin lesions, LIvestock, a few Kms from Fukushima Diiachi
http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/skin-lesions-livestock-a-few-kms-from-fukushima-diiachi/

http://fukushima-farmsanctuary.blogzine.jp/blog/2012/09/post_1af1.html

Translation of salient text by KM (Japan):

“Spots in the hair of cattle appeared
“I have never seen like this symptoms before” Mr.Yoshizawa said.　10 of
380 cattle in the Ranch have similar to a little less symptoms.
Diagnosis by veterinarians is mycosis with no identification of
bacteria. While a year and half, cattle pasture in Namie have been
grazing and drinking from groundwater

We require strongly detailed examination of this disease.
Our ranch farm is 14km(about 9miles) from Fukushima Daiichi nukes
plants and cesium measured in the air is 3~4mS/h now at here.”
Screen captures from website:……

September 20, 2012 Posted by | environment, Fukushima 2012, Japan | Leave a comment

Youtube video – fake worker documents at Fukushima

Watch: Fukushima worker films at plant — I was asked to fake documents — Underage people employed (VIDEO)http://enenews.com/watch-fukushima-worker-films-plant-asked-fake-documents-underage-workers-employed-video September 14th, 2012 By ENENews Source: 8bitnews Translation: mina564da 
Date Filmed: June 18, 2012(?) Date Published: Sept 11, 2012

I was employed by a subcontractor of Tepco.

I was asked to write a fake CV by the contracting company.

I was told my duty was to be logistical support. But the reality was to work at the highly radioactive area (over 1 milliSv/hr).

Most of the workers come from all over Japan as a day laborer.

Underage workers (18 & 19 years old) are also employed.

These are just ordinary people without good knowledge of radiation. The fake CV establishes them as an experienced worker and they are sent to the Fuksuhima Daiichi NPP.

September 17, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Japan, Resources -audiovicual, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

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