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Tepco building wall between Fukushima nuclear plant and ocean

100 foot deep wall at Fukushima plant still being built, says Tepco — Trying to keep underground contamination from ocean — Years from completion? http://enenews.com/tepco-100-foot-deep-underground-wall-being-built-to-try-and-stop-water-from-seeping-out-of-plant-and-into-ocean-will-take-until-mid-2014 October 25th, 2012

 Title: Fish Off Fukushima, Japan, Show Elevated Levels of Cesium

Source: New York Times

Author:  HIROKO TABUCHI
 October 25, 2012

To stop water from seeping out of the plant, Tokyo Electric is building a 2,400-foot-long wall between the site’s reactors and the ocean. But [Yoshikazu Nagai, a spokesman for Tepco] said the steel-and-concrete wall, which will reach 100 feet underground, will take until mid-2014 to build.

October 27, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Seabed off Fukushima radioactive for decades to come

Radiation settles on seabed off Japan Radio Australia  26 October 2012,  New research suggests radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has settled on the ocean floor off Japan, and could contaminate sea life for decades.

Contamination may be due to low-level leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant. (Credit: AFP) Marine chemist Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reviewed official Japanese data on radiation levels in fish, shellfish and seaweed collected near the crippled nuclear plant. He concluded the lingering contamination may be due to low-level leaks from the facility, or contaminated sediment on the ocean floor.

His research, published on Thursday in the US magazine Science, estimated that about 40 per cent of fish caught near Fukushima are considered unfit for consumption under Japanese
regulations…..http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-10-26/radiation-settles-on-seabed-off-japan/1036750

October 27, 2012 Posted by | Japan, oceans | Leave a comment

Fukushima radioactive water could fill 50 Olympic sized swimming pools

To deal with the excess tainted water, the utility has channeled it to more than 300 huge storage tanks placed around the plant.

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Plant’s Contaminated Water Storage Running Out Of Space HUFFINGTON POST, By MARI YAMAGUCHI 10/25/12  TOKYO — Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant is struggling to find space to store tens of thousands of tons of highly contaminated water used to cool the broken reactors, the manager of the water treatment team said.

About 200,000 tons of radioactive water – enough to fill more than 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools – are being stored in hundreds of gigantic tanks built around the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. has already chopped down trees to make room for more tanks and predicts the volume of water will more than triple within three years. Continue reading →

October 26, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Japan, water | Leave a comment

Nuclear power obstacle in Japan: new evacuation plans

under the new radiation forecast, many more local governments will have to compile disaster management plans for areas that could require evacuation.

Radiation forecast creates hurdle in resuming nuclear plant operations UPDATE: Forecast predicts wider evacuations needed if nuclear disaster repeated October 25, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Municipalities are demanding a greater say in whether utilities can restart their reactors after the new industry watchdog placed more communities in the danger zone of possible nuclear accidents. Continue reading →

October 26, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Japan, politics, safety | Leave a comment

Inedible for years to come – fish near Fukushima coast

Fukushima fish ‘may be inedible for a decade’ Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent guardian.co.uk 25 October 2012 Marine scientist finds levels of radioactivity in fish near stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are higher than expected

Fish from the waters around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan could be too radioactive to eat for a decade to come, as samples show that radioactivity levels remain elevated and show little sign of coming down, a marine scientist has warned.

According to a paper published in the journal Science on Thursday, large and bottom-dwelling species carry most risk, which means cod, flounder, halibut, pollock, skate and sole from the waters in question could be off limits for years, .

Sample fish caught in waters near the stricken reactors suggest there is still a source of caesium either on the seafloor or still being discharged into the sea, perhaps from what is left of the cooling waters. As the levels of radioactive isotopes in the fish are not declining as fast as they should have, the outlook for fishing in the area is likely to be poor for the next 10 years, the paper’s author told the Guardian.

“These fish could have to be banned for a long time. The most surprising thing for me was that the levels [of radioactivity] in the fish were not going down. There should have been much lower numbers,” said Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US, who wrote the paper titled Fishing For Answers Off Fukushima.
He said his findings – taken in part from Japanese research and sampling of fish in the area – showed how difficult it was to predict the outcome of a nuclear incident such as that at Fukushima. ….. http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/environment/2012/oct/25/fukushima-fish-inedible-decade-radioactivity

October 26, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | 5 Comments

Fish caught off Japan’s coast becoming MORE radioactive

 the most contaminated fish found yet off Fukushima were caught in August, some 17 months after the disaster. The two greenlings, which are bottom-feeders, had cesium levels of more than 25,000 becquerels per kilogram, 250 times the level the government considers safe. 

Radiation levels in fish off Japan not declining since nuclear disaster Anchorage Daily News,  October 25, 2012  By MALCOLM FOSTER — Associated Press TOKYO — Radioactive cesium levels in most kinds of fish caught off the coast of Fukushima haven’t declined in the year following Japan’s nuclear disaster, a signal that the seafloor or leakage from the damaged reactors must be continuing to contaminate the waters – possibly threatening fisheries for decades, a researcher says. Continue reading →

October 26, 2012 Posted by | Japan, oceans | 1 Comment

Outside Fukushima’s evacuation zone, but kindergarten still not safe

NHK: Kindergarten outside evacuation zone closed because of Fukushima radiation threat — “No one can deny the reality” (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/nhk-fukushima-kindergarten-evacuation-zone-closed-because-radiation-threat-one-deny-reality-contamination-away-video   October 24th, 2012 at 
Watch the NHK report here  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6scs7iE02Vg#t=145s
Source: NHK NewsWatch 9
Published by: Missingsky101
Date Aired: February 2012
Date Published: Oct 23, 2012

[The head of a kindergarten in Minamisoma city, Fukushima Prefecture] decided to close the kindergarten indefinitely […] a history of 60 years […]

[He] says, “No one can deny the reality that the community is exposed to radiation” […]

The director was forthright about lingering concerns of radiation that never went away no matter how hard the school tried to decontaminate the premises […]

October 25, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, Resources -audiovicual, safety | Leave a comment

Wider evacuation area plans needed, says Japan’s nuclear regulator

the wide area of forecasted contamination means local governments will face a greater burden in compiling effective disaster management plans.

 Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, has called such plans a minimum requirement before nuclear plants can be cleared for a restart.
If local governments cannot compile effective disaster management plans, it means the security of local residents is not assured. In such circumstances, not only would it be difficult to resume operations at such plants, but the very existence of those plants could be called into question.

Forecast predicts wider evacuations needed if nuclear disaster repeated Nuclear watchdog may broaden definition of active fault lines October 24, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN A forecast of the radiation released in another nuclear accident shows that at four plants, a 30-kilometer evacuation zone would be insufficient for public safety, and that more distant residents would need to flee their homes too. Continue reading →

October 25, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics, safety | Leave a comment

Amid political and cost uncertainties, Japan to continue building some nuclear reactors

 uncertainties about the future cost of operating nuclear plants in Japan weaken the economic case for more atomic power. “There will be more costs for safety upgrades, and no one knows what kind of insurance system is going to be put in place. These things will make a big difference to generating costs.”….

Japanese plan to complete reactors raises doubts about nuclear phase-out WP, By Jonathan Soble | Financial Times,  October 23 TOKYO — It has been only a month since Japan declared that it would close down its nuclear industry by the end of the 2030s, but already a contentious plan to complete several partially built reactors is sowing doubts about the government’s commitment to the radical policy shift…..
In the weeks since the nuclear phase-out was announced, Yukio Edano, industry minister, has said three approved but unfinished reactors are exempt from a central provision of the phase-out policy, under which no new plants will be built. Continue reading →

October 25, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Japan’s nuclear regulator warns that Fukushima’s situation is still precarious

Fukushima situation stable but still precarious: regulator (Reuters) Fredrik Dahl. 24 Oct,  – The situation at Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has been stabilized but is still precarious, more than a year and a half after disaster struck, a senior Japanese regulatory official said on Wednesday.. Continue reading →

October 25, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

Radiation hotspots in schools, playgrounds near Fukushima

AFP: Some school facilities in Fukushima city exceeding radiation limit by 1,000% — Many hot spots around playground equipment are especially disturbing – http://enenews.com/afp-school-facilities-fukushima-city-exceed-radiation-limit-1000-many-hot-spots-around-playground-equipment-especially-disturbing-greenpeaceGreenpeace 

Title: Japan’s radiation monitoring unreliable: Greenpeace 
Source: AFP
Author: Kyoko Hasegawa
Date: Oct 23, 2012

Government radiation monitoring in areas near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is unreliable,     Greenpeace charged on Tuesday, w, with heavily populated areas exposed to 13 times the legal limit.

The environmental group said authorities were wasting time cleaning up evacuated areas and should prioritise decontamination efforts in places where people live, work and play.

Greenpeace found that in some parks and school facilities in Fukushima city, home to 285,000 people, radiation levels were above three microsieverts per hour. Japan’s recommended radiation limit is 0.23 microsieverts per hour. […]

Rianne Teule, Greenpeace’s radiation expert

“We also found that official monitoring posts placed by the government systematically underestimate the radiation levels”
Some machines are shielded from radiation by surrounding metal and concrete structures
“Official monitoring stations are placed in areas the authorities have decontaminated. However, our monitoring shows that just a few steps away the radiation levels rise significantly”
“Decontamination efforts are seriously delayed and many hot spots that were repeatedly identified by Greenpeace are still there”
“It is especially disturbing to see that there are many hot spots around playground equipment, exposing children who are most vulnerable to radiation risks”

October 25, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012 | Leave a comment

No solution to Fukushima’s melted nuclear fuel

Japan Nuclear Expert: “There is no solution, we will have to give up” at Fukushima plant http://enenews.com/japan-nuclear-expert-there-is-no-solution-we-will-have-to-give-up-at-fukushima-plant-impossible-to-get-melted-fuel  October 22nd, 2012  Interview with Hiroaki Koide
Upload by: 座間宮 ガレイ
Filmed: Oct. 18, 2012
Published: Oct. 21, 2012
Translation: Fukushima Diary

Hiroaki Koide, Kyoto University Reactor Research Institute: There are a lot of problems and Tepco and Japanese government state they are going to pick the melted fuel up someday, somehow. I personally think it’s impossible.

Because there is no solution, we will have to give it up. We will have to build stone coffin like Chernobyl for reactor 1, 2 and 3. However, at least they must remove the fuel assemblies on the bottom of pent fuel pools somehow before building stone coffin.

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

30-km nuke safety zone may not be enough http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121024a3.html Kyodo Radiation doses beyond 30 km from four nuclear plants, including those in Niigata and Fukui prefectures, could reach 100 millisieverts in the first seven days amid a severe meltdown crisis like the one that started in March 2011 at the Fukushima No. 1 complex, according to estimates by the Nuclear Regulation Authority.The NRA is crafting new guidelines on nuclear disaster mitigation measures based on the Fukushima disaster and has proposed a radius of 30 km from a nuclear plant as a rough standard for areas where special preparations against fallout exposure should be made.

The latest simulation results, however, could lead local governments to require preparations in areas beyond the 30-km zone.

The four nuclear power stations are Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima No. 2 plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture, and Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The NRA assumed two scenarios — one in which the amount of radioactive substances released is as high as in the Fukushima disaster and the other in which all reactors at each plant suffer meltdowns — to identify areas in which exposure could reach 100 millisieverts in the first seven days. The simulation did not take into account the geography around the plants.

For Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, areas located within a 40-km radius of the plant would register 100 millisieverts.

October 24, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

High radiation in Fukushima neighbourhoods

Japan Newspaper: Radiation levels rising every month since decontamination in Fukushima district — Gov’t won’t help or even respond — “Are they forcing us to tolerate high radiation?”   http://enenews.com/mainichi-radiation-levels-rising-every-month-since-decontamination-in-fukushima-district-govt-wont-help-or-even-respond-are-they-forcing-us-to-tolerate-high-radiation  Title: One year on, Fukushima still fights uphill battle to decontaminate farming district
Source: Mainichi Japan
Date: Oct. 18, 2012
h/t Fukushima Diary

[…] The residents of the Onami district are frustrated with the government’s inaction, with one of them saying, “Are they forcing us to tolerate high radiation doses?” Continue reading →

October 24, 2012 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan official fudging of radiation readings

False hope: radiation monitoring in the Fukushima area (includes video)  Greenpeace by Greg McNevin – October 23, 2012 Last week, three Greenpeace radiation-monitoring teams took to the streets of Fukushima City and the heavily contaminated region of Iitate to again record and assess contamination threats.

Like many trips before, we noticed decreased expose rates in a few areas, but many hotspots remain throughout heavily populated Fukushima City. What is more concerning, however, is the official government radiation monitoring stations that have appeared throughout the city.

Earlier this month The Association for Citizens and Scientists Concerned About Internal Radiation Exposures raised concerns that the Japanese government was manipulating radiation readings with these official monitoring stations. Continue reading →

October 24, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

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