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Interactive Map of Cesium in Japan by citizen’s monitoring project.

As you may see the contamination is well spread all along the eastern coast of Japan, the highest contamination found of course in the Fukushima prefecture.

But also numerous hot spots are found in the two prefectures above Fukushima prefecture, the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures,  and also near Tokyo in the Ibaraki, Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures.

The contamination is concentrated in the two eastern regions of Japan: the Tohoku region in  the north-east, and the Kanto region in the east. It is less pronounced once you leave the eastern part of Japan going towards the central regions of nearby Chubu and distant Kansai.

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http://www.minnanods.net/soil/pref17_colored/map17.html

July 18, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment

Assessment of residual doses to population after decontamination in Fukushima Prefecture

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“….Fukushima Prefecture. Our probabilistic model considers the variabilities in behavioral patterns and Cs-137 surface-activity levels.

Five years after the initial contamination, the 95th percentiles of indoor workers and pensioners in 53 of the 59 municipalities were found to receive annual effective doses of below 1 mSv/y (0.026–0.73 mSv/y).

However, for outdoor workers in 25 municipalities, the annual doses were over 1 mSv/y (1.0–35 mSv/y).

Therefore, the guidance value is effective for indoor workers and pensioners; to determine whether additional countermeasures for outdoor workers should be implemented, a detailed assessment that uses more realistic assumptions is required……”

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X16302247

July 18, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , | Leave a comment

5.0-magnitude quake hits eastern Japan; Tokyo checks nuclear power station

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An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 struck eastern Japan on Sunday(Jul 17)

TOKYO: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 struck eastern Japan on Sunday(Jul 17), Japan’s Meteorological Agency and the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, rattling buildings in Tokyo.

The USGS put the epicentre of the quake 44km northwest of Tokyo at a depth of about 44km. There were no were immediate reports of damage.

Broadcaster NHK reported that the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power station, which has been shut since 2011, was checked for damage after the quake but none was found.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/tokyo-halts-nuclear-power/2963558.html

 

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Japan | , | Leave a comment

Some restricted zones to be lifted near Fukushima nuclear plant

Soft propaganda from the Asahi Shimbun, supporting the Government lifting of the evacuation order in some of the restricted zones, encouraging people to return into the evacuated zones.

Saying “In some of the areas, however, radioactive contaminants have been washed away by rain or blown away by wind. Radiation from those substances has also dissipated naturally.”

Conveniently omitting to mention, that  in many decontaminated places, radiation soon returns to pre-decontamination level, thanks to the accumulated radionuclides of the mountain forests (80% of Fukushima prefecture) always ruisseling down with the rain or carried everywhere by the wind, not mentioning also that something in Fukushima Daiichi still fissioning, releasing radionuclides loaded gassings into the environment.

 

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A gate is set up on a national road in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, restricting entrance to “difficult-to-return zones.” Permits from the central government are required to enter the areas.

For the first time since the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, the government will lift the designation of some “difficult-to-return zones” around the crippled nuclear plant.

The rescinding is expected to be done gradually from around 2021. By that time, the government plans to undertake intensive decontamination work in central districts of municipalities, where residents will likely return, and districts along main roads.

The “difficult-to-return zones,” which cover a total of 337 square kilometers, are areas where the radiation level exceeded 50 millisieverts per year after the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Those areas are off-limits, in principle.

In some of the areas, however, radioactive contaminants have been washed away by rain or blown away by wind. Radiation from those substances has also dissipated naturally.

In front of the Environmental Radioactivity Monitoring Center of Fukushima in the central district of Okuma town, the radiation level is now about 9 millisieverts per year, about one-fifth the level of five years ago.

According to the policies of the government and the ruling parties, if radiation levels are reduced to 20 millisieverts or lower in some areas due to decontamination work, people are allowed to live there.

Of the areas, those where residents or workers for decommissioning of crippled nuclear reactors are expected to live will be subject to intensive decontamination work along with areas on both sides of main roads.

The government and the ruling parties will discuss the lifting of “difficult-to-return zones” with seven municipalities, including Okuma, and will make the official decision in August.

However, even if the designation is lifted, it is uncertain if residents will return to their homes.

According to the annual survey conducted by the Reconstruction Agency on evacuees, only about 10 percent of households evacuating from four municipalities around the nuclear plant are hoping to return home.

Before the nuclear crisis occurred, about 24,000 people of 9,000 households were living in areas that are currently designated as “difficult-to-return zones.”

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201607170022.html

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment

Japan Reverts to Fascism

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Tsunami in Japanese politics.
This week, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partners won a two-thirds majority in the legislature’s upper house, to go along with their two-thirds majority in the lower house. A two-thirds majority is required in each house to begin the process of amending Japan’s constitution. And amending the constitution is one of the central planks in the LDP’s platform.
The constitution was imposed on Japan by the United States after the Second World War; it has never been amended. Why should it be amended now? As Bloomberg reports, the LDP has pointed out that “several of the current constitutional provisions are based on the Western European theory of natural human rights; such provisions therefore [need] to be changed.”
What has the LDP got against the “Western European theory of natural human rights”? you might ask. Well, dozens of LDP legislators and ministers — including Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe — are members of a radical nationalist organization called Nippon Kaigi, which believes (according to one of its members, Hakubun Shimomura, who until recently was Japan’s education minister) that Japan should abandon a “masochistic view of history” wherein it accepts that it committed crimes during the Second World War.
In fact, in Nippon Kaigi’s view, Japan was the wronged party in the war.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Nippon Kaigi believes that “Japan should be applauded for liberating much of East Asia” during WW2, that the “Tokyo War Crimes tribunals were illegitimate,” and that the rape of Nanking was either “exaggerated or fabricated.” It denies the forced prostitution of Chinese and Korean “comfort women” by the Imperial Japanese Army, believes Japan should have an army again — something outlawed by Japan’s current constitution — and believes that it should return to worshipping the emperor.
When, in the wake of Nazi-level war crimes, the U.S. forced Japan to become a liberal democracy, it also forced Japan’s emperor to issue the following statement denying his divinity: “The ties between us and our people have always stood upon mutual trust and affection. They do not depend upon legend and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine, and that the Japanese people are superior to other races and fated to rule the world.”
And members of Nippon Kaigi are still mad.
In 2013, at a Nippon Kaigi party celebrating Shinzo Abe’s new appointments to his cabinet — 15 of whose 18 members were Nippon Kaigi-niks — the old imperial “Rising Sun” flag was flown, pledges to “break away from the postwar regime” were made, and the (very short and controversial) imperial national anthem was sung. The lyrics are addressed to the emperor:
“May your reign Continue for a thousand, eight thousand generations, Until the pebbles grow into boulders Lush with moss.”
The LDP’s draft for an amended constitution would eliminate the prohibition on imbuing religious organizations with “political authority,” clearing the way for the return of state Shintoism and emperor worship.
The draft would also repeal the provision that the “Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes,” along with the provision that “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained.” (Not that Japan has, hitherto, been too strict about this particular rule: According to the Credit Suisse Military Strength Index, Japan currently has the fourth-strongest military in the world, behind only the U.S., Russia, and China.)
The new constitution also repeals the right to free speech, adding a clause stating that the government can restrict speech and expression that it sees as “interfering [with] public interest and public order.”
(In fact, Japan’s current government has been working on the free-speech problem for a few years now: According to the Japan Times, in 2014, the internal affairs and communications minister warned that broadcasters could be shut down if they aired programming that the government deemed was “politically biased.” The director of Japan’s public broadcasting corporation — a friend of Prime Minister Abe — has said publicly that it was his policy that the NHK (Japan’s BBC) “should not deviate from the government’s position in its reporting.”
In just the last five years, Japan’s press freedom — as ranked by Reporters without Borders — has fallen from 11th globally to 72nd.
The new draft constitution adds a warning that “the people must be conscious of the fact that there are responsibilities and obligations in compensation for freedom and rights.” These “obligations” include the mandate to “uphold the [new] constitution” and “respect the national anthem” quoted above. Also that “the people must comply with the public interest and public order,” and “the people must obey commands from the state” in times of “emergency.”
But not everyone is bound by these obligations: The Emperor is exempt from the requirement to uphold the constitution. Likewise, the Emperor is required, under the new constitution, to seek “advice” from the cabinet — but not, as he is currently required, to seek “advice and approval.”
If the new constitution is approved by two-thirds of each house of the Japanese legislature, its adoption will be voted on in a national referendum requiring a simple majority. Who can say if 51 percent of Japanese voters would vote against their own civil rights? On the one hand, it seems absurd; on the other, they did give the LDP’s coalition a two-thirds majority in both legislative chambers.
Five years ago, President Obama called for a foreign-policy “pivot to Asia.” With China seizing and militarizing the South China Sea, and North Korea testing delivery systems for its new nuclear weapons, it would probably be a good idea — “pivot to Asia”–wise — not to stand idly by while our most important Asian ally, and the second-richest democracy in the world, reverts to fascism.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/437950/japans-new-fascism

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Japan | , , , , | 1 Comment

State minister rules out sarcophagus option

 

 

Japan’s state minister for industry has ruled out the option of sealing off disabled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant with a Chernobyl-style sarcophagus.

Yosuke Takagi met Fukushima Governor Masao Uchibori in Tokyo on Friday.

Uchibori said he was shocked to hear the word “sarcophagus” and called the option unacceptable.

Two days earlier, a government body charged with decommissioning the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company mentioned the sarcophagus method for the first time.

The body said it remained committed to removing fuel debris from the reactors that suffered meltdowns in the March 2011 accident. But it presented a technical report that left room for entombing the reactors in a massive metal and concrete structure.

Responding to Uchibori, Takagi said the government has no intention of using such an option, and that completing the decommissioning process is the top priority.

Takagi said the government’s policy is to stand by the people of Fukushima, and that his ministry has told the decommissioning body to rewrite its technical report.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160715_27/

 

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactive Forest

July 9, 2016

The Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 turned the surrounding towns into a desolate land, making the area into a “radioactive forest”. Without human presence, the land is roamed by wildlife like civets, macaques and wild boars. A project is underway to study the deserted areas by attaching a camera to wild boars to record the conditions of the former farmlands. 5 years after the disaster, we take a close look at how radiation has affected the wildlife, and what it entails for us humans.

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment

Preventing Recriticality in Fuel Debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

 

This video released on July 16, 2016 by Tepco intends to explain the conditions of the fuel retained in the reactors of Units 1-3 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and TEPCO’s measures to prevent recriticality- return to a point at which a nuclear reaction becomes self-sustaining- in the fuel debris there.

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , , | Leave a comment

Kagoshima’s new governor vows to halt Sendai nuclear plant for safety checks

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KAGOSHIMA – Incoming Kagoshima Gov. Satoshi Mitazono says he plans to ask Kyushu Electric Power Co. to suspend operation of the Sendai nuclear power plant for safety checks.

In an interview on Wednesday, Mitazono said he will make the request to the utility at a yet to be decided date to examine the effects of powerful earthquakes that hit nearby Kumamoto and Oita prefectures in April.

The former TV commentator was elected Sunday as governor of the only prefecture in Japan with an operating nuclear power plant.

During campaigning, Mitazono pledged to halt its operation.

“I will require Kyushu Electric to temporarily suspend the operation” for a survey of nearby faults and a review of evacuation plans to ensure safety, he said.

“There are many citizens in this prefecture concerned about the nuclear power plant operating after the quakes in Kumamoto,” he said.

Prefectural governors are not authorized to stop the operation of a nuclear reactor, but utilities require local consent to restart them.

Backed by an anti-nuclear camp, Mitazono defeated incumbent Yuichiro Ito, who allowed two reactors at the Sendai complex to be reactivated last year.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/14/national/kagoshimas-new-governor-wants-sendai-nuke-plant-halted-faults-evacuation-routes-checked/#.V4he2LgrLIU

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Japan | , , | Leave a comment

Iodine jelly to be handed out to infants living within 30 km of nuclear plants

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As a reminder:

A fallout, is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear reaction conducted in an unshielded facility, so called because it “falls out” of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust which can also originate from a damaged nuclear plant. Fallout may take the form of black rain (rain darkened by particulates).

This radioactive dust, consisting of material either directly vaporized by a nuclear blast or charged by exposure, is a highly dangerous kind of radioactive contamination.

Some radiation taints large amounts of land and drinking water causing formal mutations throughout animal and human life.

Iodine tablets only protect the thyroid gland from the Iodine 131, it does not protect anyone from the other occuring fallout radionuclides: 91Sr, 92Sr, 95Zr, 99Mo, 106Ru, 131Sb, 32Te, 134Te, 137Cs, 140Ba, 141La, 144C etc. Iodine 131 has also a very short half-life, 8 days, meaning a full life of 80 to 140 days, whereas most of the other fallout radionuclides have a much longer life span. By example  Cesium 134 has a half life of 2 years, a full life of 20 to 30 years, Strontium 90 a half life of 28,8 years, a full life of 288 to 432 years, Cesium 137 a half life of 30 years, a full life of 300 to 450 years.

Another thing, even if the population with the Fukushima catastrophe was only evacuated within a 30km radius, the Fukushima March plume has spread heavily within a 90km radius and less heavily up to a 250km radius.

Iodine jelly to be handed out to infants living within 30 km of nuclear plants

The Cabinet Office said it will soon start distributing iodine jelly to infants living within 30 km of nuclear power plants in a bid to protect their thyroids from possible radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear disaster.

According to the office, about 110,000 infants qualify for the iodine jellies.

There are 21 prefectures where the 30-km radius applies. In addition, infants living within three other prefectures — Kanagawa, Osaka and Okayama — which have nuclear fuel processing facilities are also part of the initiative.

Some local governments have been distributing iodine tablets to all residents for over three years, including in a tablet form for infants that would have to be crushed and mixed with syrup in the event of an accident. But to date this had not been in an iodine jelly form.

The local governments will receive about 300,000 packages, starting as early as this fall, which have a shelf life of three years, the Cabinet Office said.

There are two types of iodine jelly: one for babies under 1 month old and another for those over 1 month and up to 3 years.

Taking the jelly or tablets is supposed to stop the thyroid glands from absorbing iodine contained in radiation in the event of a nuclear disaster, as iodine tends to accumulate in the thyroid.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/14/national/iodine-jelly-works-infants-living-within-30-km-japans-nuclear-plants/#.V4g-Ed_TvEJ.facebook

July 17, 2016 Posted by | Japan | , , , | Leave a comment

USA’s THAAD nuclear ‘missile offense’ launchers make South Korea a prime target: protestors revolt

Protest-No!flag-S-KoreaCitizens Revolt in South Korea  http://space4peace.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/citizens-revolt-in-south-korea.html :  15 Jul 16  Yonhap News reports:

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn visited the town of Seongju, which was tapped as the site for the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, on Friday, in the face of strong opposition from the residents who questioned the safety and legitimacy of the government’s decision.

 The trip is seen as a move to alleviate concerns that residents may have about the health issues related to the missile system’s powerful radar and questions raised about the fairness of the government’s decision-making process.

   “I would like to apologize for making the decision without prior notice,” Hwang said during his visit, adding that the government will make efforts to ease residents’ concerns over the safety.

   During his visit, however, protesters threw water bottles and eggs at Hwang, reflecting their anger over the deployment.

   The prime minister was blocked by resentful residents and physically barred from leaving the county for more than six hours.  

There is a real revolt going on in South Korea.  The US is forcing the South Korean government to deploy THAAD ‘missile offense’ launchers and the people know that it makes them a prime target.  Koreans can see the provocative steps the US is taking in the region against China and they know how crazy the leadership in the US actually is.  They’ve been through one war involving the US already and are not interested in another

I’ve long said that the Koreans are the best organizers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.  Right now they have a national campaign underway to resist these THAAD deployments that are aimed at China even though the Pentagon tells everyone they are intended for North Korea.  It’s the same shell game the US does with the missile offense deployments now going into Romania, Poland, and Turkey – all aimed at Russia.  The US says they are aimed at Iran who actually has no nuclear weapons.

The shine has come off the American coin and the world ain’t buy the script anymore.  Sadly there is still half the population in the US that believes the official Washington line (including many ‘liberals’ who support Hillary Clinton).

The world is turning against corporate control of the planet.  We are in for a rough patch ahead.  The story today about a coup d’etat in Turkey indicates the CIA’s operatives in the Turkish military took down President Erdogan because in recent days he apologized to Russia for shooting down their plane and began to alter his war with Syria.  My initial reaction is that US-NATO were not happy with that change of tune and decided to take him out.  More on that one as things develop.

July 16, 2016 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, politics international, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japan’s “ludicrous” policy regarding nuclear safety and earthquakes – former nuclear regulator

nuke-earthquakeflag-japanFormer Japan nuclear regulator lashes out over earthquake standards, Reuters 15 July 16 A former senior official of Japan‘s atomic watchdog has lashed out publicly at the agency’s response to his concerns over the assessment of earthquake risks to nuclear plants, adding to a controversy over safety five years after the Fukushima disaster.

Former deputy chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), Kunihiko Shimazaki, now a professor emeritus of seismology at the University of Tokyo, in June broke his silence after leaving the regulator in 2014 to voice his concerns that earthquake risks are not being sufficiently addressed.

Shimazaki then met with the NRA on June 16 and the regulator said it would make recalculations of its measurements but Shimazaki said the response falls short.

“I cannot be convinced by their conclusions. I think they are ludicrous,” he told reporters on Friday.

Shimazaki’s technical concerns relate to the Ohi nuclear plant operated by Kansai Electric Power, which is being assessed for a restart. But, he told Reuters after the June meeting with the NRA, “a sense of crisis” over safety prompted him to go public and urge more attention to earthquake risk in general……..

Kyushu Electric Power is the only utility that has been cleared to restart two reactors at its Sendai plant, while other utilities have been blocked so far by legal action from nearby residents. One more reactor may restart later this month.

(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-nuclear-regulation-idUKKCN0ZV11C

July 16, 2016 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Floating nuclear reactors for China in South China Sea?

reactors-floatingChina media again touts plans to float nuclear reactors in disputed South China Sea.  Reuters, 15 July 16China aims to launch a series of offshore nuclear power platforms to promote development in the South China Sea, state media said again on Friday, days after an international court ruled Beijing had no historic claims to most of the waters.

Sovereignty over the South China Sea is contested by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, and any move to build nuclear reactors is bound to stoke further tension in the region.

The China Securities Journal said 20 offshore nuclear platforms could eventually be built in the region as the country seeks to “speed up the commercial development” of the South China Sea.

“China’s first floating nuclear reactor will be assembled by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation’s (CSIC) subsidiary, Bohai Heavy Industry, and the company will build 20 such reactors in the future,” the newspaper said.

“The marine nuclear power platform will provide energy and freshwater to the Nansha Islands,” it said, referring to the disputed Spratly Islands.

The newspaper was citing a social media post by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has since been deleted…….

The news is old,” an expert with the China Nuclear Energy Association said. “It is repeated in reaction to the latest South China Sea disputes,” the expert, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

“Little progress has been made on building such a small reactor.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang, asked at a daily news briefing, said he did not know anything about the plans.

Floating reactors were first proposed in the United States in the 1970s but then abandoned. The first demonstration of the technology is due to be launched in Russia next year.

“This will need several years of design and safety analysis before it can go into full construction,” said Li Ning, Dean of the School of Energy Research at Xiamen University…….

A spokesman for CNNC told Reuters the floating reactors plan had been drawn up by its affiliate, the Nuclear Power Institute of China, and a final decision would be made by CSIC. CSIC was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Kathy Chen and David Stanway; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie) http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-ruling-china-nuclear-idUSKCN0ZV0UH

July 16, 2016 Posted by | China, technology | Leave a comment

Russia paying for setting up nuclear power plant in Vietnam

nuclear-marketing-crapWork on Russian-assisted nuclear power plant in Vietnam to begin in 2023 https://rbth.com/news/2016/07/15/work-on-russian-assisted-nuclear-power-plant-in-vietnam-to-begin-in-2023_611821  TASS

The Ninh Thuan 1 plant will attain criticality by 2028. Construction of the first nuclear power plant in Vietnam with Russia’s participation will start on track in 2022-2023, Director General of the Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency Hoang Anh Tuan told Vietnamnet news portal on July 14.

“The schedule is still set for 2028,” Tuan said. Construction will begin in 2022 or 2023, he added.

Such a timeframe is indicated in the revised master plan of Vietnam’s energy sector development, the official said.

Russia’s Rosatom is acting as a partner in the Ninh Thuan 1 nuclear power plant in Vietnam.

July 16, 2016 Posted by | marketing, Russia, Vietnam | Leave a comment

Study shows bulk of fuel still in crippled Fukushima No. 2 reactor

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TOKYO, July 14, Kyodo

A study on the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has found that most of the melted fuel in the No. 2 reactor is still present in the reactor core area, sources close to the matter said recently.

According to the study that used a cosmic ray imaging system, around 200 tons of fuel and other melted substances is estimated to have accumulated at the bottom of the pressure vessel, the first time the current location of the fuel has been specified.

The finding is important for devising ways to remove the so-called fuel debris, the most challenging task in decommissioning the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors that suffered meltdowns in the nuclear crisis that began in March 2011.

https://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2016/07/421290.html

 

July 14, 2016 Posted by | Fukushima 2016 | , , | Leave a comment

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