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Ministry loses radioactive soil sent to Tokyo from Fukushima

Maybe they could help to also lose all those Fukushima radioactive soil bags….
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August 15, 2018

The Environment Ministry said it has mislaid a 10-kilogram sample of radioactive soil and other materials sent to it after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Officials suggested Aug. 14 it might have been mistakenly thrown away due to a lack of communication between ministry officials.
It said the soil does not pose a threat to public health.
Ministry officials said the radioactive soil and other items arrived at the ministry head office in small cardboard boxes in two deliveries from Fukushima city in November 2011.
The radiation level had been recorded at a stable and relatively safe 0.6 microsievert per hour or below, and the soil was preserved in a locked steel case.
The disappearance came to light after the ministry received an inquiry from the media this month asking about the soil.
A subsequent in-house investigation indicated that a ministry employee, unaware of what the case contained, arranged for its disposal in January this year.
Japan is still grappling with the issue of disposal of soil made radioactive by the triple meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant following the earthquake and tsunami disaster.
A law covering decontamination decrees that “radioactive soil should not be disposed of without a good reason.”
“There is no excuse for it,” said an Environment Ministry official, acknowledging the error.
The ministry said that it will consider setting measures for preventing a recurrence and punishments may be meted out to those responsible.
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201808150059.html

August 17, 2018 Posted by | Fukushima 2018 | , , | Leave a comment

Court finds ex-environment ministry official Yuji Suzuki guilty of taking bribes

n-fukbribe-a-20170630-870x580.jpgAn excavator sits among bags of nuclear waste in the town of Tomioka near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in March 2016.

 

FUKUSHIMA – The Fukushima District Court on Thursday sentenced a former Environment Ministry official to one year in prison, suspended for three years, for accepting bribes to help a company win a decontamination project in Fukushima Prefecture.

The court also ordered 57-year-old Yuji Suzuki, who formerly worked at a branch of the ministry’s environment regeneration office in Fukushima, to pay a fine of ¥230,000.

Presiding Judge Shoji Miyata said that with people aiming for a swift recovery from the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, rapid and secure implementation of decontamination work was strongly anticipated in areas tainted by radioactive substances from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Fukushima No. 1 plant.

Miyata criticized Suzuki, saying that the fact that he betrayed those expectations “cannot be overlooked” and that the social impact of his actions was “not insignificant.”

As for the reason for the suspended sentence, Miyata said Suzuki was “showing regret.”

According to the ruling, Suzuki helped a civil engineering and construction company based in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, join a decontamination project in the Fukushima town of Namie as a subcontractor of a consortium.

In return, Suzuki received ¥25,000 in cash and benefits worth ¥206,000 in the form of dining and accommodation between September 2015 and June 2016.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/06/29/national/crime-legal/court-finds-ex-environment-ministry-official-guilty-taking-bribes/

June 30, 2017 Posted by | Fukushima 2017 | , , , | Leave a comment