Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to announce a drive towards renewable energy, including slashing the cost of solar power, when he meets fellow leaders of the G8 rich nations group later this week, media reports say.
One target will be to increase the use of solar power 15-fold by 2030, according to the Asahi newspaper, while the Nikkei business daily said every new building, including residential houses, will be required to have solar panels by then.
The shift reflects efforts to ensure energy security and safety as regions hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which knocked out several power stations, face possible blackouts during the peak summer demand period, possibly even beyond this year.
Japan was the world's third-biggest user of nuclear power before the quake. But enthusiasm for nuclear energy has waned since the tsunami triggered a crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant, where engineers are still struggling to control reactors that had fuel meltdowns and stop radiation leaks that have caused thousands of residents to be evacuated.
Softbank Corp , Japan's third-largest mobile phone operator, said on Wednesday it plans to invest several percent of its more than 3 trillion yen ($36.6 billion) of sales revenues in solar power.
Continued...
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Release of radioactive water made at request of U.S.: Cabinet adviser
SEOUL — Japanese playwright Oriza Hirata, who serves as a special adviser to the Cabinet, claimed in a recent lecture given in Seoul that the dumping of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean followed a "strong request" from the United States, a person who attended the lecture said Wednesday.
The release of the water from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant last month generated anxiety about the possible spread of radioactive contamination from the seaside power station.
The Japanese government had apparently given its permission for the release of the water after receiving a report from plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Hirata's remarks, made Tuesday, that the release was not carried out based on Tokyo's independent judgment but rather on a request from Washington is likely to ignite a debate.
South Korea and other neighboring countries have protested the lack of prior notification of the discharge.
Hirata's lecture in Seoul was titled "Earthquakes and the Revitalization of Japan." In response to a question at the venue, he called Japan's failure to give advance notification a communication error.
While acknowledging that the release of the water caused concern in South Korea, he said the thousands of tons of water were not highly radioactive.
Source: japantimes.co.jp
Fukushima No. 4 Reactor Now Boiling
Tuesday, the water meant to cool spent fuel rods in the No. 4 reactor was boiling. If the water evaporates and the rods run dry, they could overheat and catch fire, potentially spreading radioactive materials in dangerous clouds.
Temperatures appeared to be rising in the spent fuel pools at two other reactors at the plant, No. 5 and No. 6, said Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary. Meanwhile, workers continued to pump seawater into the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors, where cooling systems remained unusable.
If any of the spent fuel rods in the pools do indeed catch fire, nuclear experts say, the high heat would loft the radiation in clouds that would spread the radioactivity.
A spokesman for the Japanese company that runs the stricken reactors said in an interview on Monday that the spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini plants had been left uncooled since shortly after the quake.
The company, Tokyo Electric, has not been able to cool the spent fuel pools because power has been knocked out, said Johei Shiomi, the spokesman. “There may be some heating up,” he said.
Depending on the freshness of the spent fuel, Mr. Lochbaum said, the water in an uncooled pool would start to boil in anywhere from days to a week. The water would boil off to a dangerous level in another week or two.
Source:
Vivian Norris: Deadly Silence on Fukushima
TEPCO, a giant media sponsor, has an annual 20 billion yen advertising budget.
Macrobiotic Diet Prevents Radiation Sickness Among A-Bomb Survivors in Japan - In August, 1945, at the time of the atomic bombing of Japan, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D., was director of the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Francis's Hospital in Nagasaki. Most patients in the hospital, located one mile from the center of the blast, survived the initial effects of the bomb, but soon after came down with symptoms of radiation sickness from the fallout that had been released. Dr. Akizuki fed his staff and patients a strict macrobiotic diet of brown rice, miso soup, wakame and other sea vegetables, Hokkaido pumpkin, and sea salt and prohibited the consumption of sugar and sweets. As a result, he saved everyone in his hospital, while many other survivors in the city perished from radiation sickness.
I gave the cooks and staff strict orders that they should make unpolished whole-grain rice balls, adding some salt to them, prepare strong miso soup for each meal, and never use sugar. When they didn't follow my orders, I scolded them without mercy, 'Never take sugar. Sugar will destroy your blood!'...
This dietary method made it possible for me to remain alive and go on working vigorously as a doctor. The radioactivity may not have been a fatal dose, but thanks to this method, Brother Iwanaga, Reverend Noguchi, Chief Nurse Miss Murai, other staff members and in-patients, as well as myself, all kept on living on the lethal ashes of the bombed ruins. It was thanks to this food that all of us could work for people day after day, overcoming fatigue or symptoms of atomic disease and survive the disaster" free from severe symptoms of radioactivity.
Why is this not on the front page of every single newspaper in the world? Why are official agencies not measuring from many places around the world and reporting on what is going on in terms of contamination every single day since this disaster happened? Radioactivity has been being released now for almost two full months! Even small amounts when released continuously, and in fact especially continuous exposure to small amounts of radioactivity, can cause all kinds of increases in cancers.
Uesugi stated that since March 11th, the government has excluded all internet media and all foreign media from official press conferences on the "Emergency Situation." While foreign media have scrambled to gather information about the Fukushima Reactor, they have been denied access to the direct information provided by the government and one consequence of this is that "rumor-rife news has been broadcast overseas."
Job seeker says ending up at nuclear plant not mentioned in ad
An Osaka man was made to work at the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture for about two weeks, when he had been expecting to work in neighboring Miyagi Prefecture, said a job placement center in Osaka on Monday.
The worker in his 60s received daily wages of about 24,000 yen, double the sum he was initially promised, but complained that the pay undervalued the work he did at the Fukushima plant, the Nishinari labor welfare center said after interviewing the man and the company that hired him.
‘‘I was finally issued with a radiation dosimeter on my fourth day of work there,’’ he was quoted as saying.
On March 17, the man accepted the offer of a job—details of which had been posted at the agency—in the Miyagi Prefecture town of Onagawa. Instead, he was immediately sent to the Fukushima Daiichi plant to work for six hours a day clad in protective gear, handling water to cool the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors there, the center said.
The president of the subcontractor firm in Gifu Prefecture, which hired the man, told Kyodo News that its client, a construction company, requested workers who can drive 10-ton water trucks in Onagawa and the Gifu company recruited workers in Osaka. The Gifu company told the man to go directly to the firm for the work, it added.
The job center is located in Osaka’s Airin district, which is known as Japan’s largest gathering place for day laborers.
Earlier, a support group for the man spoke out against his treatment by the employer, saying, ‘‘It’s an unpardonable act to send a day laborer in a socially weak position to a dangerous place.’‘
The labor ministry’s Osaka district bureau has also started investigating the case, according to the center.
Unlike the badly damaged Nos. 1 through 4 reactors at the Fukushima plant, Nos. 5 and 6 reactors, which were undergoing regular checkups at the time of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are in a stable condition called ‘‘cold shutdown.’’
Source:
Death's door
Before jumping into today's essay here is the latest news: Radioactive levels at Fukushima were about250 times higher than a month before. TEPCO said the levels ofcaesium-134 and -137 increased about 250-foldand iodine-131 increased about 12 times compared with one month ago, after the accident had already happened.
The water level in the No. 4 reactor's turbine building rose by 20 centimeters in 10 days. TEPCO hasdetected 8,100 becquerels of caesium-137and 7,800 becquerels of caesium-134 per cubic centimeter in thewaterin the turbine building's basement. The utility company said on Tuesday the 26th of April that the water level in the tunnel of the No. 3 reactor rose by 10 centimeters over three days.
Beyond that door isdeath. It's death's door and it has brought us a new hell onearth. What's behind this door and several others like it is so hot, in terms of death, that its effects can be seen 10,000 miles away. Though thanks to the media we almost forgot about this and other similar doors and the nuclear meltdowns that are occurring right here right now on planet earth.
Today you have to be a hound dog to sniff up any credible news about what is actually going on at that destroyed nuclear plant. It's very scary how the media has clamped down on most of the news so it seems like multiple nuclear meltdowns are not a big deal.
On April 21 radiation levels stood atup to 110 microsieverts per hourin the air in the town of Okuma inTokyo, some 3 kilometers southwest of that door you see above.
If a person is exposed to this quantity of radiation for about nine hours, the cumulative dose is estimated to reach one millisieverts, the annual safety limit set by thegovernment. Do the math. In just30 daysa person living there would have a lethal dose!
On Sunday, April 24,2011Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) disclosed a map of radiation levels at the damagedFukushimaDaiichi nuclear plant. Radiation levels around the No. 3 reactor building, which was damaged by a powerful hydrogenexplosion, are higher than in other locations, and 300 millisieverts per hour of radiation was detected in debris on a nearby mountainside. Stand near that and30 hourslater kisslifegoodbye.
Work started on April 6th to remove contaminated rubble that had been obstructing the restoration process. TEPCO says much of the debris around the former office building has been removed, and it has started clearing the rubble around the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors. Enough debris has been removed to fill 50 containers, and it is being kept in a field on the mountainside.
The radiation levels one meter away are 1 to 2 millisieverts per hour. Gee, that would be a walk in the park, meaning we could hang around endlessly until 20 days go by and then we too areradioactivetoast.
Okay so let's translate that into a bit of practical reality for people 10,000 miles away on the east coast of the United States. We're getting pretty far away from that damn door and yet its nuclear wretchedness is reaching around the world just like Chernobyl did.
Radiation a Personal Account
"I am a retired biologist who used to work in radiation biology. Just wanted to share with you what we've been doing lately. We live in the mid-Atlantic area of the U.S. We have a Geiger counter and have been testing daily for radiation (am and pm) since the Fukushima incident. Since March 11, our numbers normally are 25-30 cpm inside and 31-35 cpm outside (Geiger counter sits at an open window). This is within background radiation numbers. When it rains, the numbers rise to about 35 cpm for inside and 40 cpm for outside. Our grass reads around 50 cpm. I noticed today after I did some weeding (sunny day) and washing my hands that they read around 50 cpm. I had to wash them 3-4 times before the reading went down.
"Also noticed a couple of dandelions looking abnormal (their stems were twice as thick as others and heads were joined). Never saw that before.
"We had orderedkelpgranules from the company Maine Coast three weeks ago. We typically use kelp in our foods, and this was a bigger order than usual because of the nuclear incident. Just got the shipment today! We tested the bags of kelp for radiation and they tested 182 cpm! We called the company but they had their answering machine on, stating that they won't be open until April 25th because they're doing inventory. We plan to return the kelp! Noticed the expiration date is April 16, 2013, which makes us wonder if they filled the order after the Fukushima incident (maybe April 16, 2011?).
Patty"
Video with Radiation test in Waterville.
Life with Geiger counters will become much more common in our futures as well as nuclear weather reports. They might as well have ripped a hole into another universe with so much hell to be released each month for as long as we can see into thefuture. Best-case scenario at this point would be several years of relentless radiation buildup around the world but most particularly in the northern hemisphere where it will be increasingly difficult to get uncontaminatedfood. Let's not even think of worst-case scenarios for not many of us will be around for long if such were to occur.
Authorities will keep everything under their hat for as long as humanly possible to avoid panic and migrations. Withfinancialcollapse on the horizon, private citizens will not be able to afford any movement anyway and will have to dig in and weather the radiation. With the help of the media, the entire populations of the north are caught like deer in the headlights and are totally unaware of and unprepared for this increasing nuclear radiation. In case no one has informed you, radioactivity makes it harder for our bodies to live.
Today's Nuclear News
The Number 4 spent fuel pool stores1,535 fuel rods, the most at the nuclear complex. TEPCO says it will inject 210 tons of water into the pool on Monday, after finding on Sunday evening that the temperature in the pool had risen to 81 degrees Celsius. The utility firm had earlier limited the amount of water being injected into the pool to 70 tons a day, saying the weight of the water could weaken the reactor building, which was already damaged in last month'shydrogenexplosion.
On Friday, TEPCO found that the pool's temperature had reached 91 degrees, so it began injecting 2 to 3 times the amount of water. TEPCO says the pool's water temperature dropped to 66 degrees on Saturday after water was injected, but started to rise again, to 81 degrees. The operator says the water level in the pool was 2.5 meters lower than normal after 165 tons of water was injected on Sunday.
Conclusion
But there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Doctors are not worried thatiodinedeficiency will make you much more vulnerable to death rays in the form of radioactive iodine, which your thyroid will mop up like a sponge. But what dodoctorsor our friendly governments care?
"I have been trying to get a prescription for iodine from a medicaldoctor, but I can't find one that will do it. They tell me BS like you don't need it; it's dangerous to take supplemental iodine without a battery of thyroid tests, and a bunch of other BS ad nauseum. I used to be able to get it over the counter at a drugstore, but no longer. I need to find an MD with common sense that will actually help me. David Ostrander"
Photograph: Robert Brook/Alamy/Alamy
Radiation Hell at the disused plutonium reactors at
Sellafield, England are a"slow motion Chernobyl"according
to Greenpeace campaigners against nuclear energy.
The BBCsays, "There are about 440 operational reactors in 32 countries, generating 16 percent of the world's electricity. Only 27 new reactors are under construction, mainly in EasternEuropeand Asia. Not one of the remaining 22 countries withnuclear poweris currently building any new reactors, including the USA, Canada and all of Western Europe. The western world has put its nuclearpowerprogram on hold. This is arguably due at least in part to the Chernobyl accident and the ensuing perception that no matter how small the risk, it is just not worth it."
For all the references, sources and more articles onradiationandchemical toxicityplease visitDr. Mark Sircus blog.
Sourece: NaturalNews.com
The water level in the No. 4 reactor's turbine building rose by 20 centimeters in 10 days. TEPCO hasdetected 8,100 becquerels of caesium-137and 7,800 becquerels of caesium-134 per cubic centimeter in thewaterin the turbine building's basement. The utility company said on Tuesday the 26th of April that the water level in the tunnel of the No. 3 reactor rose by 10 centimeters over three days.
Beyond that door isdeath. It's death's door and it has brought us a new hell onearth. What's behind this door and several others like it is so hot, in terms of death, that its effects can be seen 10,000 miles away. Though thanks to the media we almost forgot about this and other similar doors and the nuclear meltdowns that are occurring right here right now on planet earth.
Today you have to be a hound dog to sniff up any credible news about what is actually going on at that destroyed nuclear plant. It's very scary how the media has clamped down on most of the news so it seems like multiple nuclear meltdowns are not a big deal.
On April 21 radiation levels stood atup to 110 microsieverts per hourin the air in the town of Okuma inTokyo, some 3 kilometers southwest of that door you see above.
If a person is exposed to this quantity of radiation for about nine hours, the cumulative dose is estimated to reach one millisieverts, the annual safety limit set by thegovernment. Do the math. In just30 daysa person living there would have a lethal dose!
On Sunday, April 24,2011Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) disclosed a map of radiation levels at the damagedFukushimaDaiichi nuclear plant. Radiation levels around the No. 3 reactor building, which was damaged by a powerful hydrogenexplosion, are higher than in other locations, and 300 millisieverts per hour of radiation was detected in debris on a nearby mountainside. Stand near that and30 hourslater kisslifegoodbye.
Work started on April 6th to remove contaminated rubble that had been obstructing the restoration process. TEPCO says much of the debris around the former office building has been removed, and it has started clearing the rubble around the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors. Enough debris has been removed to fill 50 containers, and it is being kept in a field on the mountainside.
The radiation levels one meter away are 1 to 2 millisieverts per hour. Gee, that would be a walk in the park, meaning we could hang around endlessly until 20 days go by and then we too areradioactivetoast.
Okay so let's translate that into a bit of practical reality for people 10,000 miles away on the east coast of the United States. We're getting pretty far away from that damn door and yet its nuclear wretchedness is reaching around the world just like Chernobyl did.
Radiation a Personal Account
"I am a retired biologist who used to work in radiation biology. Just wanted to share with you what we've been doing lately. We live in the mid-Atlantic area of the U.S. We have a Geiger counter and have been testing daily for radiation (am and pm) since the Fukushima incident. Since March 11, our numbers normally are 25-30 cpm inside and 31-35 cpm outside (Geiger counter sits at an open window). This is within background radiation numbers. When it rains, the numbers rise to about 35 cpm for inside and 40 cpm for outside. Our grass reads around 50 cpm. I noticed today after I did some weeding (sunny day) and washing my hands that they read around 50 cpm. I had to wash them 3-4 times before the reading went down.
"Also noticed a couple of dandelions looking abnormal (their stems were twice as thick as others and heads were joined). Never saw that before.
"We had orderedkelpgranules from the company Maine Coast three weeks ago. We typically use kelp in our foods, and this was a bigger order than usual because of the nuclear incident. Just got the shipment today! We tested the bags of kelp for radiation and they tested 182 cpm! We called the company but they had their answering machine on, stating that they won't be open until April 25th because they're doing inventory. We plan to return the kelp! Noticed the expiration date is April 16, 2013, which makes us wonder if they filled the order after the Fukushima incident (maybe April 16, 2011?).
Patty"
Video with Radiation test in Waterville.
Life with Geiger counters will become much more common in our futures as well as nuclear weather reports. They might as well have ripped a hole into another universe with so much hell to be released each month for as long as we can see into thefuture. Best-case scenario at this point would be several years of relentless radiation buildup around the world but most particularly in the northern hemisphere where it will be increasingly difficult to get uncontaminatedfood. Let's not even think of worst-case scenarios for not many of us will be around for long if such were to occur.
Authorities will keep everything under their hat for as long as humanly possible to avoid panic and migrations. Withfinancialcollapse on the horizon, private citizens will not be able to afford any movement anyway and will have to dig in and weather the radiation. With the help of the media, the entire populations of the north are caught like deer in the headlights and are totally unaware of and unprepared for this increasing nuclear radiation. In case no one has informed you, radioactivity makes it harder for our bodies to live.
Today's Nuclear News
The Number 4 spent fuel pool stores1,535 fuel rods, the most at the nuclear complex. TEPCO says it will inject 210 tons of water into the pool on Monday, after finding on Sunday evening that the temperature in the pool had risen to 81 degrees Celsius. The utility firm had earlier limited the amount of water being injected into the pool to 70 tons a day, saying the weight of the water could weaken the reactor building, which was already damaged in last month'shydrogenexplosion.
On Friday, TEPCO found that the pool's temperature had reached 91 degrees, so it began injecting 2 to 3 times the amount of water. TEPCO says the pool's water temperature dropped to 66 degrees on Saturday after water was injected, but started to rise again, to 81 degrees. The operator says the water level in the pool was 2.5 meters lower than normal after 165 tons of water was injected on Sunday.
Conclusion
But there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Doctors are not worried thatiodinedeficiency will make you much more vulnerable to death rays in the form of radioactive iodine, which your thyroid will mop up like a sponge. But what dodoctorsor our friendly governments care?
"I have been trying to get a prescription for iodine from a medicaldoctor, but I can't find one that will do it. They tell me BS like you don't need it; it's dangerous to take supplemental iodine without a battery of thyroid tests, and a bunch of other BS ad nauseum. I used to be able to get it over the counter at a drugstore, but no longer. I need to find an MD with common sense that will actually help me. David Ostrander"
Photograph: Robert Brook/Alamy/Alamy
Radiation Hell at the disused plutonium reactors at
Sellafield, England are a"slow motion Chernobyl"according
to Greenpeace campaigners against nuclear energy.
The BBCsays, "There are about 440 operational reactors in 32 countries, generating 16 percent of the world's electricity. Only 27 new reactors are under construction, mainly in EasternEuropeand Asia. Not one of the remaining 22 countries withnuclear poweris currently building any new reactors, including the USA, Canada and all of Western Europe. The western world has put its nuclearpowerprogram on hold. This is arguably due at least in part to the Chernobyl accident and the ensuing perception that no matter how small the risk, it is just not worth it."
For all the references, sources and more articles onradiationandchemical toxicityplease visitDr. Mark Sircus blog.
Sourece: NaturalNews.com
TEPCO discovery of Fukushima sediment contamination in areas identified by Greenpeace
TEPCO, the owners of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, just announced that they found contamination levels 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal in sediment from the Fukushima coast.
TEPCO did the sediment testing late last week—in areas Greenpeace identified for testing in our research plan—after we were denied permission to research inside Japan's 12 mile territorial waters.
The buzz around Japanese Twitter has been saying that Greenpeace is the reason why the authorities have actually done this research.
Following this announcement, Greenpeace Japan Executive Director Junichi Sato said:
"Our flag ship the Rainbow Warrior is already doing what it can to monitor marine contamination based on the very limited permission granted by the Government for areas outside the 12 mile territorial limit. We had previously identified the newly declared contaminated areas as areas at risk, and stand ready to assist within the 12 mile limit to provide independent monitoring and advice to the Japanese public."
"It has been noted by many that the authorities only surveyed the area as a result of our request and the pressure that accompanied it. This is no way to go about protecting public health. The prime ministers office should now immediately grant the Rainbow Warrior access to Japan's territorial waters to conduct its proposed radiation survey. It has nothing to lose and everything to gain from independent assessment and public information."
Here in the United States, even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission agrees that the public deserves to receive more information to keep them safe.
In testimony on Capitol Hill and other public statements, chairman of the regulatory commission, Mr. Jaczko has avoided criticizing his Japanese counterparts. But on Monday he said that “if we had a similar type of event in the U.S., we certainly would like to be providing a lot more information to the public.’’
It’s important that the Japanese government reverses its decision to block our research and allow us to provide clear, independent information to the people for whom help is needed.
Source: greenpeace.org
Source: greenpeace.org
Radioactive cesium found in sewage sludge in Japan
Since there are no guidelines established by the central government for disposing of highly radioactive sewage sludge, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was scheduled May 2 to discuss with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency how to handle the radioactive sludge.
The Fukushima prefectural government believes that rainfall caused radioactive substances on the ground to flow into sewage systems, leading to a high concentration of radiation at the sewage treatment plant. Eighty tons of sewage sludge are generated per day at the facilities, while 2 tons of molten slag is created by firing 70 tons of the sewage sludge in a furnace at the plant, the prefectural government said. The remaining 10 tons are shipped to cement companies for use as materials.
Since the onset of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident on March 11, about 500 tons of sewage sludge have been shipped to cement companies. The prefectural government is currently tracking the shipment routes to find out where the sewage sludge is now. All the molten slag, however, has been safely stored at the facilities with plastic-sheet covering.
The prefectural government has decided to suspend shipments to cement companies while instructing staff at the sewage treatment facilities to carry radiation dosimeters at all times. It also plans to implement the same inspections at 22 other sewage treatment facilities in the prefecture.
Clearing the Air at Fukushima
Installing an air purifier is not a big deal, unless the location is inside a building that houses a reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant in Japan. Inside Unit 1, radiation levels are still through the roof.
A representative with the Tokyo Electric Power Company says the purifier will eliminate 95 percent of the radioactivity; allowing crews to enter the building and begin work on restoring the cooling systems, which was heavily damaged during the March earthquake and tsunami.
The company said it had begun constructing special tents at the entrance toturbine buildings so workers can move in and out. It is also installing fans with filters at the No.1 reactor to reduce radiation inside to one-twentieth of current levels within days.
"We want to suck out the air in the building and use the filter to remove radiation from the dust," TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has said it may take the rest of the year to bring the nuclear plant back under control.
Source: scientificamerican.com
A representative with the Tokyo Electric Power Company says the purifier will eliminate 95 percent of the radioactivity; allowing crews to enter the building and begin work on restoring the cooling systems, which was heavily damaged during the March earthquake and tsunami.
Source: rockthecapital.com
The company said it had begun constructing special tents at the entrance toturbine buildings so workers can move in and out. It is also installing fans with filters at the No.1 reactor to reduce radiation inside to one-twentieth of current levels within days.
"We want to suck out the air in the building and use the filter to remove radiation from the dust," TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has said it may take the rest of the year to bring the nuclear plant back under control.
Source: scientificamerican.com
Fukushima Fallout Update
Latest addition to the series of continuing updates of the Fukushima disaster graciously provided by Arnie & Maggie Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates. Maggie has a guest, Marco Kaltofen, expert in radiation chemistry & monitoring. He is a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as an environmental scientist & professional engineer.
They discuss the spreading nuclear fallout. This closer look examines the effects & hazards of the nano-scale particles of fallout when tracking at greater distances, as opposed to the methodology of using a Geiger counter to measure the more localized background levels.
They discuss the spreading nuclear fallout. This closer look examines the effects & hazards of the nano-scale particles of fallout when tracking at greater distances, as opposed to the methodology of using a Geiger counter to measure the more localized background levels.
Japan Kept Secret on Fukushima Radiation Measurements
64 This photograph released 30 April 2011 shows Katsuaki Kozuka showing a radiation measuring instrument in Kawauchimura located in the radius of 20-30 km from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on 28 April 2011.
The Japanese government admitted it kept in secret at least 5000 radiation radiation measurements and assessments after the nuclear event which struck the Fukushima Daiichi NPP in March.
This was done in order not to induce panic in the population, a representative of the staff dealing with the nuclear emergency told ITAR-TASS.
"It was a wrong decision," he admitted, pointing out that all upcoming information abouth Fukushima Daiichi will be spread immediately.
The system which collects data about radiation leaks from the Japanese nuclear power plants does not work effectively, Japanese media have reported, according to the Russian agency.
Source: novinite.com
Source: novinite.com
Radiation Specialist Quits Job Protesting Inexcusable Radiation Limits for Schools
TOKYO—A prominent Japanese radiation safety specialist has resigned his governmental advisory post in protest over what he calls "inexcusable" standards for school children in Fukushima Prefecture. The Yomiuri Online news web site reported in Japanese this evening that Toshiso Kosako, a radiation safety expert at the University of Tokyo, feels the standards are too lenient and that his advice has been ignored.
On 19 April, the ministry of education announced a "provisional idea" for schoolyards contaminated by radiation emanating from the ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The ministry cited a recommendation by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), based in Ottawa, Canada, that sets an acceptable level of between 1 and 20 millisieverts (mSv) per year for individuals. In its Application of the Commission's Recommendations to the Protection of People Living in Long-term Contaminated Areas
Sourece: Sciencemag.org
FDA Acceptable Strontium Levels are 220 Times Greater then EPA's
Radioactive Strontium Found in Hilo, Hawaii Milk
"The FDA’s Derived Intervention Level—the standard observed for food—for a related isotope, Strontium-90, is 4,400 pCi/L. The EPA’s Maximum Contamination Level for Sr-89 in drinking water is 20 pCi/L. (For more on the difference between EPA and FDA standards, as well as more on the health implications of ingesting radionuclides, see “Why Does FDA Tolerate More Radiation Than EPA?“)"
EPA has found no strontium-90 in its testing, according to the statement, and it has found neither of the strontium fission products in drinking water.
The Strontium-89 was found in April 4 Hilo samples previously found to contain cesium-134 and cesium-137, and the test results were released only yesterday because they take longer to analyze, according to EPA’s statement:
EPA has found no strontium-90 in its testing, according to the statement, and it has found neither of the strontium fission products in drinking water.
The Strontium-89 was found in April 4 Hilo samples previously found to contain cesium-134 and cesium-137, and the test results were released only yesterday because they take longer to analyze, according to EPA’s statement:
In response to the Japanese nuclear power plant release, if we identify radioactive cesium… those samples will be analyzed for strontium. Testing for strontium is a complex process that takes time.
More cesium was found in a Hilo milk sample on April 13. All of EPA’s initial milk testing is available here.
Source: forbes
Source: forbes
Fukushima Radiation Blows Past Chernobyl
As the twenty-fifth anniversary of Chernobyl passes, Fukushima looks set to overtake it as the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Two weeks ago Fukushima was raised from a level 5 disaster to a level 7 like Chernobyl. But nearly two months after the crisis began, Fukushima is still emitting radioactivity, while Chernobyl’s emissions had been contained at this stage.
Robots sent into the Number 1 reactor building have recorded the highest reading of radioactivity so far found at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since the emergency began almost two months ago. Two robots found 1,120 millisieverts of radiation an hour was being emitted from the stricken reactor. This level of radiation is more than enough to cause immediate radiation sickness if a human being were exposed to it. The Tokyo Electrical Power Company (Tepco) which runs the Fukushima facility has begun to use robots because it has become impossible to send workers into the plant for long enough to take accurate readings.
Source: WSWS.org
Marine radiation monitoring blocked by Japanese government
Since the start of the Fukushima disaster I have been following the worrying developments from a safe distance in Amsterdam, but suddenly, I am on rocking ship getting closer to the disaster area every day.
I joined the Rainbow Warrior a week ago in Keelung, Taiwan. Normally I work for Greenpeace Netherlands as a nuclear campaigner, but my radiation expertise was needed on board to guarantee the safety of the crew.
Now we are getting closer to Fukushima, the Japanese government has begun obstructing our efforts to do independent research. The sparse data published by the government and TEPCO is not enough to understand the real risks of the continuous leakage of radioactive water in the sea.
The Japanese people are in great need of independent information on the radioactive contamination of their seafood supply. Therefore, we are planning to do research on the radioactive contamination of seaweed, fish and shellfish.
Despite this great need for information, the Japanese government today refused a permit to do research within the territorial waters of Japan. We are allowed to conduct research outside this 12 mile zone, but this is not the area where the Japanese catch their fish and collect their seaweed.
This is a critical situation, so we are not giving up. We will continue heading for Fukushima to begin our research at a distance while we pursue further permission to carry out the sampling within the 12 mile limit.
The Japanese government should welcome such independent monitoring, the fact is they can never have enough information about the extent of the contamination, and the public are entitled to the benefit from the scrutiny and pressure that independent monitoring brings.
Approaching Fukushima is not without risks. The reactors are still not fully under control, and there is a continuous risk of further escalation. Another explosion could happen, releasing huge amounts of radiation, or an aftershock could lead to the collapse of the reactor building.
Therefore we have decided to implement various safety measures on the Warrior. We spent most of last week at sea making her ‘radiation proof’ by installing radiation detection equipment on the bridge, ordering special air filters, and building a designated decontamination area.
We devoted much time to briefing the brave crew. It is important that they have some basic understanding of radiation, and can assess the risks before working in a potentially radioactive contamination environment. We practiced decontamination procedures, and gave instructions on special clothing requirements: white Tyvek suits taped to rubber boots and gloves. I’m personally very happy that the crew puts their trust in me and Jacob, the other radiation safety advisor, to be responsible for their safety.
After the first days of inevitable seasickness, I’m now pretty sea-proof and ready to challenge the radiation risks, and any obstruction of our scientific mission by the Japanese government.
Exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Rainbow Warrior is on her way to another disaster that will keep reminding people of the dangers of nuclear power for at least the next 25 years.
Ike Teuling- Nuclear Campaigner and radiation expert for our field radiation team onboard the Rainbow Warrior.
Source: greenpeace.org
Radiation in Japan's Fish Raise Concerns all Over World
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will require seafood imported from Japan to be checked for radiation before it enters the food supply. But even with the new screenings, no one in the U.S. government is saying "stop eating tuna."
More specifically, an FDA spokesperson told ABC News that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "is screening everything from Japan." However, screening does not entail testing all the seafood. all the testing of the seafood. In fact, the FDA inspects less than 2 percent of seafood, according to Winona Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.
"FDA couldn't possibly with existing staff test all of the food that's being imported," Hauter said. "They inspect less than 2 percent of seafood. Their resources are really stretched."
So far, the FDA said that every piece of seafood that has been imported to the United States is safe.
Offshore from the Fukushima plant, the seawater is now testing at levels off the charts -- 7.5 million times more radioactive than the legal limit.
A fisherman said it was a "bad rumor" that the fish was unsafe to eat.
"The fish are totally fine, I believe," he said.
Even though radiation levels become diluted in large bodies of water, officials tested a sample of sand lance fish, often used for bait, and found that the species contained nearly double the levels of iodine 131 and cesium 137. The new regulation caps fish radiation levels at the same amount as vegetables—up to 2,000 bequerels of iodine 131 per kilogram.
Source: ABCNews
Source: ABCNews
Fukushima Blast Was Nuclear Explosion
British scientist Christopher Busby, a researcher on the negative health effects of ionizing radiation, told Russia Today that one of the explosions at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was a nuclear explosion, not a hydrogen explosion as widely reported in the media.
Busby said the explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 was also a nuclear explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear accident dispersed large quantities of radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere. Busby told RT the crisis at Fukushima is far worse than Chernobyl.
He said the explosion did not originate in the reactor core, but the tanks where spent plutonium MOX fuel rods are stored. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. The explosion vaporized the plutonium rods and ejected a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere.
Takeshi Tokuda, a member of the Lower House of the Japanese Diet, also believes the first explosion at Fukushima was nuclear. Tokuda talked with a doctor Oikawa of the Minami Soma City General Hospital. Oikawa told the government representative that materials ejected from the plant after the explosion registered high radiation levels.
“When the hospital checked the radiation level on the people who escaped from around the nuke plant after the explosion, there were more than 10 people whose radiation level exceeded 100,000 cpm [counts per minute], beyond what could be measured by the geiger counter the hospital had,” Tokuda wrote. “100,000 cpm is the new level that the Japanese government set that requires decontamination. Before the Fukushima accident, the level was 6,000 cpm.”
The EPA has attempted to downplay the fact that plutonium is now bombarding the United States and much of the Northern Hemisphere. According to Lucas Hixton Whitefield, an EPA RADNet report shows increased levels of plutonium in the atmosphere. Whitefield found information on the plutonium in a RADnet dataset.
Busby said the explosion at Chernobyl in 1986 was also a nuclear explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear accident dispersed large quantities of radioactive fuel and core materials into the atmosphere. Busby told RT the crisis at Fukushima is far worse than Chernobyl.
He said the explosion did not originate in the reactor core, but the tanks where spent plutonium MOX fuel rods are stored. MOX fuel contains plutonium blended with natural uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. The explosion vaporized the plutonium rods and ejected a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere.
Takeshi Tokuda, a member of the Lower House of the Japanese Diet, also believes the first explosion at Fukushima was nuclear. Tokuda talked with a doctor Oikawa of the Minami Soma City General Hospital. Oikawa told the government representative that materials ejected from the plant after the explosion registered high radiation levels.
“When the hospital checked the radiation level on the people who escaped from around the nuke plant after the explosion, there were more than 10 people whose radiation level exceeded 100,000 cpm [counts per minute], beyond what could be measured by the geiger counter the hospital had,” Tokuda wrote. “100,000 cpm is the new level that the Japanese government set that requires decontamination. Before the Fukushima accident, the level was 6,000 cpm.”
The EPA has attempted to downplay the fact that plutonium is now bombarding the United States and much of the Northern Hemisphere. According to Lucas Hixton Whitefield, an EPA RADNet report shows increased levels of plutonium in the atmosphere. Whitefield found information on the plutonium in a RADnet dataset.
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