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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) worried about Japan’s radioactive cleanup problems

the report noted that a lack of available disposal sites for radioactive waste will “unduly limit and hamper successful remediation activities, thus potentially jeopardizing public health and safety.”

Nuclear Agency Urges Japan to Fix Cleanup Plan, WSJ , 15 Oct 11, By MITSURU OBE,  TOKYO—The International Atomic Energy Agency, in a report released Friday, urged Japan to take a more focused and realistic approach to dealing with radioactive contamination in areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan, amid signs the Japanese government is becoming overwhelmed by public demands for decontamination. Continue reading →

October 15, 2011 Posted by | Japan, wastes | Leave a comment

Mayor of Japanese town calls for closure of nuclear reactor

Japan Mayor Wants Reactor Near Tokyo Decommissioned, Planet Ark,  13-Oct-11 Risa Maeda A Japanese mayor has called on the government to decommission the nuclear reactor in his village, 110 km northeast of Tokyo, the first local leader to urge scrapping a reactor as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda tries to rehabilitate the tarnished nuclear sector to help meet the nation’s power needs. Continue reading →

October 14, 2011 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Japan facing a massive radiation decontamination task, as radiation “hot spots” fopund

Strontium 90 detected in region around Tokyo, Washington Post, By , October 13 SEOUL — Tokyo residents carrying radiation-detection equipment have found small hot spots in several areas of the city, prompting Japanese officials to promise more detailed government monitoring of radiation levels in the country’s most populous region.

Tokyo is more than 125 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility that was heavily damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, but residents reported Thursday that they had found two small areas with radiation levels higher than some within the 12-mile evacuation zone……..

Separately, a soil sample in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo, was found this week to contain strontium-90, an isotope that can accumulate in bones and cause cancer. It was the first time that strontium, with a half-life of 29 years, was detected more than 60 miles from the plant. The strontium was found atop an apartment building in a measurement made by a private agency at a resident’s request……

Apart from the latest radiation detections, Japan faces a massive decontamination job that will require years of work and billions of dollars. Officials say an area of 925 square miles must be decontaminated by a combination of scrubbing and topsoil removal.

The towns closest to the plant, located along the coast in Fukushima prefecture, will not be habitable for decades. Last week, health-care workers began conducting checkups on more than 300,000 children in Fukushima…..  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/mini-hotspots-strontium-90-detected-in-region-around-tokyo/2011/10/13/gIQA6XqHhL_story.html

October 14, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

155 miles from Fukushima – radioactive sediment found

With internal exposure at high concentrations, strontium-90 can accumulate in the bones and is “one of the more hazardous constituents of nuclear wastes,” according to the EPA.

The findings come after a travel alert issued by the U.S. government last week,

Radioactive sediment found miles from Japan nuclear crisis zone, CNN Oct 12 Officials in Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city, are investigating soil samples after a radioactive substance was found in sediment atop an apartment building about 155 miles (250 kilometers)  from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, according to news reports. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan: the psychological impact of Fukushima nuclear catastrophe

For Japanese, Fukushima spells fear, MARK MACKINNON,TOKYO—Globe and Mail, Oct. 12, 2011 The Fukushima fallout has now spread well beyond what can be measured with a Geiger counter. In the minds of many consumers, Fukushima prefecture – which, at almost 14,000 square kilometres is bigger than Lebanon or Jamaica – and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are one and the same. Though the Japanese government has evacuated only a 20-kilometre radius around the plant, many inside and outside Japan treat the entire region as though it’s contaminated, unsure of what to make of shifting official assessments of the situation. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Japan’s plan for 20 year study of 360,000 children’s radiation effects

In Japan, a Long-Term Study On Radiation Leaks’ Effects, NYT, By HIROKO TABUCHI,  October 10, 2011 TOKYO — In an effort to track the long-term health effects of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan has begun a survey of local children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with exposure to radiation.

The study comes in response to concerns over the health consequencesof the serious radiation leaks caused by multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March. Japanese officials hope to study about 360,000 children who were under 18 at the time of the accident and track their health through their lifetimes, according to Fukushima Prefecture officials.

Children and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to radioactive iodine, which can harm the thyroid, studies after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 have shown. According to research presented at a 2006 global conference, at least 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer among children have been linked to Chernobyl’s fallout.

On Sunday, the first day of the Fukushima study, more than 100 children were tested. Specific test results will not be made public, according to Fukushima Prefecture. But the children, who will be tested every two years until they turn 20 and every five years after that, will receive further care if doctors discover abnormalities….. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/world/asia/japan-studies-radiation-effects-on-children.html

October 11, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | 1 Comment

Japan’s government’s push to sell nuclear technology overseas

Shunning Nuclear Plants at Home, Japan Pursues Building Them Overseas, NYT, By , October 10, 2011 TOKYO — Even as Japan plans to phase out nuclear power as too risky for domestic use, the government is supporting a new push by Japanese industry to sell nuclear power technology to other countries

Japanese industrial conglomerates, with the cooperation of the government in Tokyo, are renewing their pursuit of multibillion-dollar projects, particularly in smaller energy-hungry countries like Vietnam and Turkey. The effort comes despite criticism within Japan by environment groups and opposition politicians……
Mr. Noda’s government considers foreign reactor projects a way to help stimulate Japan’s export-led economy, which had been struggling even before March’s natural and nuclear disasters. Tokyo’s backing— including financial assistance to the customer countries — has become critical in negotiating deals, especially as global confidence in nuclear safety has faltered in Fukushima’s wake….. Continue reading →

October 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Earthquake, after shocks continue in Fukushima area

Fukushima nuclear plant stable despite new earthquake, :Herald Sun,  October 10, 2011 AN EARTHQUAKE hit Japan’s Fukushima area today, but officials say the region’s crippled nuclear plant remains stable.

The 5.5-magnitude offshore quake struck at 11.45am (1345 AEDT) off Fukushima prefecture in the country’s north, at a depth of 30.2km, the US Geological Survey said…. Hundreds of powerful aftershocks have shaken the region since the March quake. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/fukushima-nuclear-plant-stable-despite-new-earthquake/story-e6frf7lf-1226163131977

October 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

TEPCO now owes $50 billion in Fukushima nuclear compensation

N-disaster price: Tepco to pay $50 bn? Hindustan Times , Aizuwakamatsu, October 10, 2011 “…….Seven months after the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, Tepco, which operated the facility, owes $50 billion in compensation to the tens of thousands who lived close to the plant. The payments could send the company into bankruptcy, a government panel recently said. At minimum, they will handcuff the utility giant for years, forcing it to cut jobs, sell its assets and perhaps raise electricity rates for its 29 million customers….

The prestige of working for Tepco is gone, and so are many of the perks. It once operated resorts and sponsored clubs for employees. But since the disaster, it has booked $23 billion in losses. Economists say the company will either go bankrupt or carry for years the baggage of debts to evacuees and lenders.. http://www.hindustantimes.com/N-disaster-price-Tepco-to-pay-50-bn/Article1-755743.aspx

October 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan | Leave a comment

Real radioactive cleanup from Fukushima area is a long way off

With challenges such as the designation of temporary radioactive waste dumps and interim storage facilities yet unsolved, the road to true decontamination remains a long one.

True radiation decontamination still a long way away, Mainichi Daily News,. Japan October 7, 2011 Though the government last month lifted the “emergency evacuation preparation zone” designation of some areas greatly affected by the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, radiation decontamination efforts are still taking place in areas with high levels of radiation.

The three main decontamination methods that have been highly publicized through media reports are: the stripping away of surface soil from school playgrounds and athletic fields, the removal of mud accumulated in gutters, and the washing of roofs using high-pressure water cleaners. While the first method is considered effective, the remaining two have been found to be effective only to a certain point, and some especially warn against overestimating the effects of high-pressure water cleaners. Continue reading →

October 10, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan, Reference | Leave a comment

TEPCO hides nuclear information from politicians and public

Tepco fights to keep nuclear emergency procedures secret, FT.com By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo, October 4, 2011  Six months after the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station, the Japanese utility that owns the plant is fighting to keep its pre-disaster emergency-response procedures a secret from politicians and the public, arguing they contain valuable trade information. Tokyo Electric Power angered members parliamentary committee last month when it handed over manuals outlining steps that its nuclear plant operators are meant to follow in the case of accidents.

All but a few words of the texts were redacted with black ink.

The storm of controversy that followed – one newspaper columnist compared it to wartime censorship – seems not to have softened the company’s stance. This week it asked Japan’s nuclear safety regulator, which had ordered it to resubmit the manuals without redaction, to allow it to keep much of the material secret. So far only the regulator, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa), has seen the originals, which run to thousands of pages. It has not passed them on to the lawmakers who originally requested them.

Tepco has told Nisa that if the manuals are to be made public, 90 per cent of the content related to “severe accidents” such as that at Fukushima should be kept under black ink. “The manuals contain knowhow that we have built up over a long period of operation,” a company spokesman said on Tuesday…. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2dc211b0-ee78-11e0-a2ed-00144feab49a.html#axzz1a2EVqNGT

October 6, 2011 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

High levels of radiation in soil beyond Fukushima’s exclusion zone

Nuclear contamination found beyond Japan no-go zone, Google News, 6 Oct 11, TOKYO — High levels of radioactive contamination have been found in soil in the capital of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, a study showed Wednesday, prompting calls to make the area a voluntary evacuation zone.

Some 307,000 becquerels of caesium per kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of soil was detected in an independent survey conducted on September 14 by a radiological engineering expert and citizens’ groups……

On Friday the government said it would lift five “evacuation preparation” zones between 20 and 30 kilometres from the plant, where residents were not forced to evacuate but were told to be ready to do so in the event of further setbacks at the crippled plant.

Public confidence in the safety of Japan’s nuclear plants has plummeted in the wake of the disaster, with only 10 of the nation’s 54 reactors currently online….. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gPTzBtCcJ2AYbeWbgXB84JLolAiA?docId=CNG.574799ca7aea7d5e54ed792d7efd7168.541

October 6, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan’s auditors call for cut in nuclear subsidies

Auditors Call for Large Cut in Funds for Nuclear Subsidies, Chem Info TOKYO, Oct. 6 (Kyodo) — Government auditors said Wednesday funds set aside for subsidies to municipalities that would host nuclear reactors can be slashed by about 65.7 billion yen as construction projects of reactors have been stalled. Continue reading →

October 6, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Japan’s media sacrificed journalistic integrity for money from TEPCO

the Japanese media which for years accepted TEPCO’s advertising cash in exchange for compromising their journalistic integrity……TEPCO used hundreds of millions to silence any possible media criticism of the company and nuclear power. 

TEPCO media strategy questioned ABC Radio A.M. Toney Eastley, Mark Willacy reported this story on  October 5, 2011 

TONY EASTLEY: To Japan, and more revelations have emerged about the machinations of TEPCO, the giant company that operates the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
It splashed $350 million a year on advertising and took journalists on junkets just to promote its products.

AM has spoken to Japanese politicians and journalists who describe how TEPCO used its wealth to strangle any opposition to the company. Continue reading →

October 6, 2011 Posted by | Japan, media | Leave a comment

Where to put 23 Tokyo Domes-full of radioactive waste? wonders Japan

Radioactive soil can fill 23 Tokyo Domes, Five prefectures’ nuclear burden a hot potato no one wants to catch, Japan Times By SETSUKO KAMIYA 29 Sept 11 Radioactive soil and vegetation that must be removed in Fukushima and four adjacent prefectures could reach up to 28.79 million cu. meters, equal to filling the Tokyo Dome 23 times, according to a recent Environment Ministry estimate.

But finding a disposal or temporary storage site will be a tall order. The estimate covers soil and dead leaves mainly from areas with radiation levels of more than 5 millisieverts per year in the prefectures of Fukushima, Miyagi, Yamagata, Tochigi and Ibaraki, whose data were used to mete out the rough figures.

In Fukushima, home of the nuclear plant leaking all the radiation, about 17.5 percent of the prefecture is contaminated to that level. The estimate was submitted Tuesday to a 12-member expert panel working out decontamination plans. The panel assumed that 5 cm of topsoil should be removed from contaminated areas, including pinpoint decontamination efforts in certain locations with radiation of 1 to 5 millisieverts per year.

The government is hammering out details on plans to remove and store the soil and leaves. But finding a location to temporarily store such a huge amount of radioactive materials will be an extremely sensitive and politically difficult task for the central government.

Breaking down the total, contaminated soil from residential areas was estimated at 1.02 million cu. meters, farm land at 17.43 million cu. meters and forests at 8.76 million cu. meters, the Environment Ministry said.

A single facility capable of housing the entire 28.79 million cu. meters of soil would have to be 1 sq. km in area and 30 meters deep. But if the central government decides on multiple facilities, negotiations would have to be completed with numerous local governments. The location for a temporary facility is still undecided, but the government is reportedly considering Fukushima Prefecture….. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110929a3.html

October 4, 2011 Posted by | Japan, wastes | Leave a comment

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