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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Plutonium-241 from Fukushima nearly 70,000 times more than atomic bomb fallout in Japan.

exclamation-Fukushima: Uranium and Plutonium Contamination of Large Areas of Oceans, Ground-water, Soils.By Edmondo Burr Global Research, March 29, 2015 Your News Wire   Scientists have raised concern over the rate of radioactive contamination of the Pacific, due to the Fukushima nuclear accident.

  • Expert : Plutonium-241 from Fukushima nearly 70,000 times more than atomic bomb fallout in Japan.
  • Officials : Molten fuel now ‘particle-like’, contains ‘special’ nuclear materials.
  • Gov’t Labs : Large areas of oceans contaminated by plutonium from events such as Fukushima; Build-up in biosphere expected; Considerable hazard to humans.

Energy News statement :

Detection of long-lived plutonium isotopes in environmental samples by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) — Plutonium isotopes 239Pu, 240Pu and 242Pu are anthropogenic radionuclides emitted into the environment by nuclear activities. Pu is accumulated in the human body and hence, poses a considerable hazard to human health. Due to the long half-lives, these isotopes are present in the biosphere on large time scales and a build-up can be expected. Therefore it is important to study the contamination pathway of Pu into the drinking water… a method to detect long-lived Pu isotopes by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) is being developed. AMS requires only few milligrams of sample material… Consequently, more samples from different locations can be taken which is essential when searching for locally increased Pu concentrations as in the Pacific Ocean after the Fukushima accident… Samples from different locations in the Pacific Ocean and from the snow-hydrosphere are planned…

Statement by: Taeko Shinonaga, head of Radioanalytical Laboratory at Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen (research institution founded jointly by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education & Research and Bavaria’s Finance Ministry), scientists from Technische Universitat Munchen (Germany), Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft 2013 meeting (emphasis added)

Presentation by: Taeko Shinonaga, head of Helmholtz radioanalytical lab (pdf), Nov 2014: Comparison of activity between [nuclear bomb testing] fallout Pu particle and Fukushima origin Pu particle:…..http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-uranium-and-plutonium-contamination-of-large-areas-of-oceans-ground-water-soils/5439271

March 30, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015, oceans | Leave a comment

How Japan’s government financially props up TEPCO nuclear company

New! Worker has minor injury at Fukushima Nuclear site due to snow build up - Tepco reportAfter Fukushima: Japan’s ‘nuclear village’ is back in charge, Ecologist Jim Green28th March 2015 “…….Many have called for TEPCO to be nationalised, or broken up into separate companies, but the LDP government has protected and supported the company. The government has also greatly increased financial support for TEPCO.

For example in January 2014 the government approved an increase in the ceiling for interest-free loans the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund is allowed to give TEPCO, from 5 trillion yen to 9 trillion yen (€39.0-70.2 billion)

The government will also cover some of the costs for dealing with the Fukushima accident which TEPCO was previously required to pay, such as an estimated 1.1 trillion yen (€8.6 billion) for interim storage facilities for waste from clean-up activities outside the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The government has also amended the Electricity Business Act to extend the period for collecting decommissioning funds from electricity rates by up to 10 years after nuclear plants are shut down. The amendments also allow TEPCO to include in electricity rates depreciation costs for additional equipment purchased for the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant………http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2810545/after_fukushima_japans_nuclear_village_is_back_in_charge.html

March 30, 2015 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

35-ton piece of machinery debris impedes gate at Fukushima No 1 nuclear reactor

Setback at Fukushima No. 1 plant threatens reactor 3 rod removal Tokyo Electric Power Co. has disclosed that a 35-ton piece of machinery debris might be resting on the inner gate of the spent fuel pool for reactor 3 of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and that the gate is slightly out of position.

Tepco said Thursday that a fuel-handling machine dislodged during the March 2011 quake, tsunami and meltdown-triggered hydrogen explosions is touching one of two gates that stand between the pool and the reactor containment vessel……http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/27/national/debris-poses-risk-spent-fuel-pool-gate-fukushima-1s-reactor-3-tepco/#.VRiPYPyUcnk

 

March 30, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

It didn’t work: Toshiba’s state of the art technology to find Fukushima nuclear cores

Cutting-edge tech to scan Fukushima for nuclear fuel flops in front of reporters, Rt.com March 27, 2015 A presentation of state-of-the-art technology aimed to show the location of nuclear fuel molten debris at the crippled Fukushima plant in Japan ended in a flop, raising concerns about the $5 million project.

Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) tasked Japanese tech giant Toshiba to come up with a solution after the nuclear plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

After four years of research, Toshiba has developed a technology, which relies on muons in finding the nuclear fuel’s location.

Those tiny cosmic-ray subatomic particles are capable of going through almost anything except for the heavy elements like uranium and plutonium used for nuclear fuel.

The company plans to erect two tall walls right next to each reactor to shoot out muons through them to create an image of what’s inside – similar to medical X-rays.

Previously, the muons have been successfully used to scan volcanoes, ship’s cargoes and even the Egyptian pyramids.

But the technology’s presentation Friday turned into an epic fail as a programming glitch, which wasn’t fixed in time, prevented it from displaying any images of muons at all…….http://rt.com/news/244717-fukushima-muons-scan-toshiba/

March 30, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Free Press Corporation in Japan, and pressure from the nuclear lobby

Oshidori, MakoMako Oshidori in Düsseldorf “The Hidden Truth about Fukushima”, Fukushima Voice version 2E 28 May 2014  On March 8th, 2014, comedienne/journalist Mako Oshidori gave a lecture, “The Hidden Truth About Fukushima” in Düsseldorf, Germany, organized by a citizen’s group, SAYONARA Genpatsu Düsseldorf. Translation of Mako Oshidori’s March 6th, 2014 press conference at the German IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) Symposium in Frankfurt can be found here.The lecture, given in Japanese with German interpretation, was transcribed and translated into English……Transcription by Takashi Mizuno Translation by @YuriHiranuma

Mako: I am the director of  Free Press Corporation in Japan. 

This organization was originally created after the earthquake. The media is controlled as I just mentioned. This alliance was created for the purpose of conveying accurate, fresh information without media control.

Mako: Actually, it was created shortly before the earthquake. It was sort of coincidental…..

 I was invited to talk to you, but I am actually not active in the anti-nuclear power plant movement. What I do is conduct investigations. There are numerous issues in Japan that I investigate, from the nuclear accident to other medical issues such as Minamata disease and Asbestosis.

However, doctors and scientists attending the IPPNW conference, which ended yesterday, shared how they end up being labeled as anti-nuclear activists even though they don’t consider themselves to be as such, when they research and publicize facts inconvenient for promotion of nuclear power. There is a tremendous amount of pressure exerted when researching and writing up facts the nuclear lobby doesn’t like. Continue reading →

March 28, 2015 Posted by | civil liberties, Japan | Leave a comment

Cry for help from an official in Fukushima

Official in Fukushima: “Please Please HELP US!” — Hot particles of melted fuel are inhaled by children everyday — We are forced to have it in our bodies — “Please let all people in the world know the life we are living”http://linkis.com/2dWaC

Excerpts from Oyama Koichi of the Minamisoma City Council, May 13, 2014 — Translation byDissensus Japan, May 25, 2014:

  • I want to shout for all the people in this world: “Please Please HELP US!”
  • The cause substance have been found. This is an aggregate of radionuclides which starts with Uranium [in] a nuclear reactor at more than 5000°C.
  • This mixed metal contains four different substances, α・β・γ and also have the possibility to radiate neutron ray.
  • No creature on earth never knew this substance.
  • We are forced to have those strong substances inside our body without knowing where it exactly stays.
  • To say that “Cesium has got the same system as potassium and it will be discharged from the body” is just a lie! […]
  • We are all manipulated by the words “radiation” and “radiation doze” without knowing the real identity of radiation source. We are not told the real facts of being irradiated […]
  • They only compare radiation doze and natural potassium contained in bananas and manipulated people as if it was a scientific study. I really want the scholars patronized by the government to be punished by the rancorous of all children on this earth. […]
  • The informations say that hot particles were diffused and flied in all directions in Japan. The particles from hell is flying in the air and people don’t protect themselves anymore three years after the nuclear accident and children are aspirating those horrible particles everyday!!!
  • PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP US!  Please let all people in the world to know the life we are living since the accident, everyday and today.

March 28, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Mako Oshidori on the status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

Oshidori, MakoMako Oshidori in Düsseldorf “The Hidden Truth about Fukushima”, Fukushima Voice version 2E 28 May 2014 “……….I would like to talk about the current status of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This is a chimney called a “stack” behind Units 1 and 2. There are various issues all over Fukushima Daiichi NPP, but this is one of the places that I consider the most dangerous. It is 120 m tall.
Chimney-stack-behind-Fukush
In December 2013, it was discovered the highest radiation level, 25 Sv/h, at the bottom of the stack. It’s not micro- or milli-sievert, but it’s 25 Sievert. and humans cannot go near it. The problem gets worse. TEPCO discovered deformities on 4 sides at 60 of the 120 meter height. That is shown in this photo.
Chimnay-stack-damage-15
chimney-stack-damage1Ordinarily, this should be immediately repaired, but the bottom of the stack is 25 Sv/h, and there is one spot that is 15 Sv/h. So, they can’t do anything about it. What TEPCO is doing about this is they have appointed workers to constantly watch it. This is very close to Units 1 and 2. We still get occasional earthquakes in Fukushima and eastern Japan. Workers on site are very worried about whether it would fall onto the reactor buildings. If it ever fell on Unit 1 or 2, all the workers would have to evacuate. There is no guarantee they would have enough time to evacuate, and it could lead to a severe accident necessitating evacuation of nearby residents once again.

One of the things not well known is the fact that in reality radioactive materials continue to be released into air and groundwater from the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Currently, it is thought that fuel rods have melted, falling to and accumulating in the bottom of the pressure vessel. It is being cooled with water, but then a lot of hydrogen gas is being produced as part of the reaction between water and radioactive material.
This means there is a danger of another hydrogen explosion, so they inject nitrogen gas there, remove as much radioactive material as possible, and release the gas into outside air. Now we get to the real issue here: this is for Unit 1, but they inject 10 ton of nitrogen gas at 35 m3/h and release 21 m3/h after putting it through a filter. This means there is a leak continuing somewhere at 14 m3/h. The situation is the same for Units 1, 2 and 3, and a large amount of radioactive material continues to be released into the air. The total supposedly approaches 10,000,000 Bq/h.
Now we get to the real issue here: this is for Unit 1, but they inject 10 ton of nitrogen gas at 35 m3/h and release 21 m3/h after putting it through a filter. This means there is a leak continuing somewhere at 14 m3/h.
The situation is the same for Units 1, 2 and 3, and a large amount of radioactive material continues to be released into the air. The total supposedly approaches 10,000,000 Bq/h.

Groundwater is of course contaminated. This [diagram] is the area where PM Abe declared the contaminated water being completely blocked when trying to bring the Olympics to Tokyo.

Continue reading →

March 28, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Coal plants funded by Japan’s money designated for fighting climate change

hypocrisy-scaleflag-japanJapan Uses Climate Cash for Coal Plants, Chem Info  Karl Ritter & Aijaz Rahi, Associated Press (AP) 27 Mar 15 — Despite mounting protests Japan continues to finance the building of coal-fired power plants with money earmarked for fighting climate change, with two new projects underway in India and Bangladesh, The AP reported in December that Japan had counted $1 billion in loans for coal plants in Indonesia as climate finance, angering critics who say such financing should be going to clean energy like solar and wind power.

Japanese officials now say they are also counting $630 million in loans for coal plants in Kudgi, India, and Matarbari, Bangladesh, as climate finance. The Kudgi project has been marred by violent clashes between police and local farmers who fear the plant will pollute the environment. …….

fossil-fuels-Germany

Environmental activists are demanding that at the very least, climate finance should exclude coal and other fossil fuels that scientists blame for warming the planet. “Japan’s support for new coal-fired power plants not only destroys the climate — it also displaces communities, is likely to cause untold local environmental damage, and primarily benefits Japanese companies instead of recipient countries,” said Brandon Wu of ActionAid. “This is unacceptable on its own, and the fact that it is being done in the name of ‘climate finance’ makes a farce of the entire concept,” he said.

….Climate finance is money promised by rich countries in U.N. climate talks to help poor countries limit their carbon emissions. Japan announced at a U.N. climate conference in Peru in December that it has provided $16 billion in climate finance since 2013. Yet the U.N. has no rules defining climate finance, meaning governments decide for themselves what projects to include in their accounting.Climate activists are now urging the recently created Green Climate Fund, which is supposed to become a key channel of climate finance, to explicitly ban funding for fossil fuel projects. The issue is likely to be discussed at the GCF’s board meeting this week in South Korea. The Matarbari plant is financed with a Japanese development loan agreed with the government of Bangladesh last June……..http://www.chem.info/news/2015/03/japan-uses-climate-cash-coal-plants

March 28, 2015 Posted by | climate change, Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | 1 Comment

Concerns of mothers and children in Fukushima

Oshidori, MakoMako Oshidori in Düsseldorf “The Hidden Truth about Fukushima”, Fukushima Voice version 2E 28 May 2014 “…….. Next, I would like to talk about mothers in Fukushima. These mothers (and fathers) live in Iwaki City, Fukushima. They are active on school lunch issues. Currently, Fukushima produce isn’t selling well due to suspected contamination. So the prefectural policy is to encourage the use of Fukushima produce in school lunches, in an attempt to appeal its safety. As a large municipality, Iwaki City had been purchasing produce from distant prefectures instead of Fukushima produce, but after the accident, the policy changed to use Fukushima produce in school lunches in order to appeal safety of Fukushima produce by showing it’s safe enough to give to children.
They are collecting signatures for a petition to oppose the use of Fukushima produce in school lunches. Some say stricter radiation testing (in food used in school lunches) could help, but the mothers claim that currently in Japan only cesium is measured and they have no idea if there is any strontium. They oppose the use of Fukushima produce in school lunches for fear of finding out, ten-plus years down the road, that there was actually plutonium in the food that children ate.
Their concern is not so much if it’s safe or not, but it should not be a scientific issue but an ethical issue to use children as a way of appealing for safety. However, currently, about 70% of the municipalities within Fukushima Prefecture use Fukushima produce to children in school lunches as a way of appealing for safety. These mothers constitute a minority group, and therefore, they are pressured and harassed. They are told to leave Fukushima if they are worried about the contamination. I investigated details of these harassments, but I have been asked not to write about it and disseminate it. It’s because they are afraid the harassment might worsen once it becomes clear which specific harassments bother them.
This is a photo [in original] from the October 2012 Fukushima visit with Mr. Nesterenko, the director of BELRAD Institute in Belarus. The most surprising moment for him came when he took measurements in this area of Oguni Elementary School.
It says 27.6 μSv/h. He asked me then if all the students had evacuated. I said they were in class as we spoke. He said the radiation level qualified for immediate mandatory evacuation in Belarus. He told me that he thought Japan was a wealthy country but that he was apparently wrong. At the time, some Date City government workers happened to come by, so I told them there was a spot with a very high radiation level. They told me they already knew about it. This spot has really a very high radiation level, but the inside of the elementary school has been decontaminated and deemed safe. However, Mr. Nesterenko kept asking what it was that they meant by saying it was safe inside as there is no air filter for school buildings and air from the high radiation spot still flows inside. I was shown by the mothers the radiation level for the spot was 179 μSv/h in September 2012, which was a month before our visit. The principle of the school sent a letter to families stating everything was okay because the radiation level came down to 3.9 μSv/h after decontamination.
The mother who showed me the letter said she wanted the children evacuated immediately with the radiation level of 179 μSv/h. However, the evacuation never happened and the school remained in normal operation, so her family evacuated voluntarily at their own expense. During my 2012 visit there, out of 200 families at this school, only 2 families were concerned about radiation exposure. Now those 2 families moved away. Even after the move, they are constantly talking about they don’t know if they are just crazy, worried about nothing, or if it’s actually dangerous.
waste-bags-Fukushima

By the way, the current measure to deal with areas contaminated with a high level of radioactive material is to remove the soil, put it in bags, and place them in an empty lot. It’s not just Fukushima Prefecture. Neighboring prefectures in eastern Japan, such as Ibaraki Prefecture, Gunma Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture also have a lot of areas with contamination where people live. They decontaminate, put the soil in bags, and stack them in an empty lot. By the way, these bags look small, but each bag actually weighs 1 ton. It’s rather large. ……

Translation by @YuriHiranuma http://fukushimavoice-eng2.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/mako-oshidori-in-dusseldorf-hidden.html

March 28, 2015 Posted by | children, Japan, social effects, women | 1 Comment

Mako Oshidori on the plight of TEPCO’s nuclear plant workers

Oshidori, MakoMako Oshidori in Düsseldorf “The Hidden Truth about Fukushima”, Fukushima Voice version 2E 28 May 2014  “…..Next, I would like to talk about the nuclear power plant workers. This man [photo in original] used to work for TEPCO as a nurse at a medical clinic inside FDNPP. I interviewed him when he quit his job at TEPCO in 2013. [photo]
When NPP workers die, the only deaths publicly announced by TEPCO are deaths that occurred while at work. For instance, if workers die during a weekend, in sleep, or during time off after 3 months of work, their deaths won’t be announced. Such deaths are reported to someone like him at the medical team at TEPCO, but they are merely attributed to chronic illnesses they must have had. There is no way to tell if the deaths were due to radiation exposure, but he said he was certain the workers were working under extremely severe conditions. I really wanted to write about his interview in various magazines, but unfortunately I can only write about this on the Internet which doesn’t have any sponsors.

There was an NPP worker who died in January 2012. I did a fairly thorough investigation after I was able to obtain police report on him. We got an address for the guarantor for the deceased worker, so we went to that address. There was an apartment building at this address without a unit numbered 204 which was supposed to be where the guarantor lived. In Japan, number four could mean bad luck (Note: In Japanese, number 4 phonetically sounds just likea Japanese word for “death”). After room 203, there was room 205, skipping room 204. I asked the other occupants of the apartment building, but there was no resident there by the name of this guarantor, so it didn’t seem like I wrote down the number wrong. Even though the building could be located on a map, you have to go there to verify the room is actually there. This might have been an guarantor with an imaginary address. This is the dark side of the construction and nuclear industries, not just post-nuclear accident, that those without families, especially elderlies, are given harsh work.

Workers who were exposed to 100 mSv in 2011 are entitled to annual cancer screening and thorough medical care. However, most workers get exposure doses below 100 mSv, such as 90, 95, or 83 mSv, and they don’t qualify for thorough medical care. Workers who had been working at NPP since before the accident know what could happen to them a after reaching a certain exposure dose in one year, or what it means to get exposed to 35 mSv in 2 hours during a particular work. They talk about how they probably won’t live too long. They are determined not to have any children, and they often talk about how uncertain they are about their lives in 5 years.

In current Japan, even children are not being protected, but there are some who are determined to protect children’t health. However, there is hardly any group or individuals advocating for protecting the workers in the most dangerous environment at FDNPS. I believe that is our responsibility. My article about the deceased worker from the January 2012 investigation was actually published in a weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun. However, a singer Ayumi Hamazaki suddenly got divorced right then, and I was asked to cut 75% of the article. I think a big reason why information such as this is not publicized is because readers are not craving for such information. We are in essence not fulfilling our duty to be informed……….http://fukushimavoice-eng2.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/mako-oshidori-in-dusseldorf-hidden.html

March 28, 2015 Posted by | employment, Fukushima 2015, Japan | Leave a comment

8 Significant facts about Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station

6. In Japan, the only radiation from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactors that is being measured is the radioactive cesium. However large amounts of strontium 90 and tritium are spreading all over Japan. Strontium and tritium’s radiation consists of beta rays, and are very difficult to measure. However both are extremely dangerous: strontium can cause leukemia, and tritium can cause chromosome disorder.

8. ……Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose said .“It is not under control now.”

Some Facts You Must Know About Fukushima Takashi Hirose | CounterPunch, 26 Mar 15 “………Here are eight things you need to know. Continue reading →

March 27, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | 1 Comment

Fukushima clean-up failures – RADIOACTIVE RAINWATER, BAD IDEAS, TECHNICAL ERRORS etc

Fukushima disaster followed by four-year litany of failures costing hundreds of millions http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/fukushima-disaster-followed-by-four-year-litany-of-failures-costing-hundreds-of-millions/story-fnh81fz8-1227280207492  VERY GOOD PHOTOS  MARCH 26, 2015 THE tragedy of Fukushima is far from over, a whole four years after 18,000 people died when the Daiichi nuclear power plant was destroyed by a tsunami and earthquake.

Japanese government auditors have revealed that more than a third of the $2 billion of taxpayer money dedicated to the clean-up has been wasted.

Tourists are returning to the region as radiation fears fade, and there are plans to host events in the area for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, yet the region is in chaos, seemingly cursed by a litany of failures and screw-ups.

March 27, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Japan Anti-nuclear activists want formal public hearings on risks of restarting reactors in Fukui Prefecture

flag-japanActivists seek public hearings in Shiga on Takahama reactor restarts http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/26/national/activists-seek-public-hearings-in-shiga-on-takahama-reactor-restarts/#.VRS6i_yUcnk BY ERIC JOHNSTON STAFF WRITER MAR 26, 2015

Anti-nuclear activists on Thursday urged the governor of Shiga Prefecture to hold formal public hearings on the potential economic, social and environmental risks from two reactors in neighboring Fukui Prefecture that are moving toward restart.

Representatives of the Citizens’ Commission on Nuclear Energy, a group of scholars, engineers, lawyers, and activists, met with Gov. Taizo Mikazuki, who was elected on an anti-nuclear platform in July 2014, to discuss concerns over the restart of the No. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama plant and what impact a disaster would have on the prefecture.

“It’s important to have a place where Shiga residents can discuss the technical, economic, and social problems related to the restart of the Takahama reactors and a disaster response system in case of an accident,” said Hitoshi Yoshioka, chairman of the citizens’ commission and a professor at Kyushu University.

Parts of the northern Shiga city of Takashima, which has a population of 52,400, lie within 30 km of the Takahama reactors. The prefecture has long been concerned about the central government’s disaster response plans and wants to be consulted by both Kepco and the central government about the restarts.

In addition, the group called on the governor to seek a wide variety of expert advice about the cost of restarts, and to consult economists who are skeptical of claims by the pro-nuclear camp about the economic and financial benefits of restarts.

Mikazuki, they said, expressed a desire to sponsor a public hearing, probably sometime after local elections in April. Both the governor and his predecessor have long worried about the impact of an accident on Lake Biwa, which provides water to about 14 million Kansai residents.

March 27, 2015 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Daunting problem of Fukushima’as continuing flood of radioactive water

Fukushima cleanup: What to do with a torrent of radioactive water Getting a handle on the Fukushima disaster recovery, let alone permanently cleaning up the site, has been extraordinarily difficult. The problem is the daily flood of rainwater that flows downhill towards the sea, rushing into the mangled radioactive site.Christian Science Monitor By Nick Cunningham, OilPrice.com MARCH 24, 2015 More than four years after the catastrophic tsunami that crippled several nuclear reactors in Fukushima, the Japanese utility that owns the site is struggling to deal with a continuous flood of radioactive water….getting a handle on the mess, let alone permanently cleaning up the site, has been extraordinarily difficult. The problem is the daily flood of rainwater that flows downhill towards the sea, rushing into the mangled radioactive site. An estimated 300 tons of water reaches the building each day, and then becomes contaminated. TEPCO, the utility that owns the site, has been furiously building above ground storage tanks for radioactive water. Storing the water prevents it from being discharged into the sea, but this Sisyphean task does nothing to ultimately solve the problem as the torrent of water never ends. TEPCO has already put more than 500,000 tons of radioactive water in storage tanks. (Related: France’s Areva Lost $5.6 Billion In 2014 – Is This The End?)…..

Fukushima-water-tanks-2013

In fact, much of what TEPCO has to do to clean up the disaster area is daunting. TEPCO actually has to dig up radioactive soil and remove it, putting it in an interim storage facility. The idea is to make Fukushima inhabitable again, rather than indefinitely leave it as a radioactive and toxic no-go zone like the immediate surroundings of Chernobyl. When or if that can happen is anybody’s guess. The removal of radioactive soil began recently http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2015/0324/Fukushima-cleanup-What-to-do-with-a-torrent-of-radioactive-water

March 27, 2015 Posted by | Fukushima 2015 | Leave a comment

Fukushima food products mislabeled

plate-radiationTAIWAN: 283 MISLABELED JAPANESE FOOD PRODUCTS ORIGINATED NEAR FUKUSHIMA, Fukushima Update, MARCH 25, 2015 By Stephanie Chao / chinapost.com More than 283 Japanese food products imported from the radiation-stricken areas near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster were found to be relabeled as having come from other areas of Japan and sold to local customers, authorities said yesterday.

Officials from New Taipei City’s Department of Health, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and other law-enforcement authorities, seized the mislabeled products, although a substantial portion had already been sold to consumers.

Authorities inspected warehouses in New Taipei City belonging to food companies such as Sheng Yu (盛裕), Li Tuo (勵拓), Sun Friend (上煬) and Tai Crown (太冠).

Health Department officials said Sheng Yu imported soy sauce labeled “Tokyo-made” last month. In reality, they were manufactured in areas that have import restrictions, such as Chiba (千葉), Gumma (群馬), Fukushima (福島), Ibaraki (茨城) and Tochigi (櫪木) prefectures.

Nineteen products originated from areas exposed to radiation and five other products have expired, the department said.

The department also investigated Li Tuo, Sun Friend and Tai Crown’s warehouses in Taishan, Xinzhuang and Xindian districts. They discovered several products from areas with import restrictions: seven from Li Tuo, 25 from Sun Friend and 19 from Tai Crown.

Further investigation revealed downstream companies that stock the imported products include well-known Japanese department stores, food chains and boutiques, including Wellcome (頂好), JPMed (日藥本舖), Matsusei (松青), Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越), B&Q (特力屋) and HOLA.

Officials have discovered a total of 2,391 kilograms of problematic products and will continue to investigate……..http://fukushimaupdate.com/taiwan-283-mislabeled-japanese-food-products-originated-near-fukushima/

March 27, 2015 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | 1 Comment

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