Radioactive cesium found in sewage sludge in Japan

Results of an inspection conducted April 30 by the prefectural government showed 26,400 becquerels and 334,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium (the latter of which is about 1,400 times the level before the Great East Japan Earthquake) were found in sewage sludge and molten slag, respectively, at wastewater treatment facilities in the Hiwada area of Koriyama.

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.

Source: asahi.com

The Nuclear Accident in Japan: Impacts on Fish

Source: Food & Water Watch / Article

Radioactivity Found in Fish - Japan

Eating radioactive fish every day for a year doesn't even expose you as much radiation as you would get from the U.S Capitol.

Risk Low

The risk to people from the deliberate discharge at the Fukushima plant is low, according to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency.

The potential additional radiation dose to a person eating seaweed or seafood caught near the Fukushima plant every day for a year would be 0.6 millisievert, the agency said in a statement. That compares to 0.85 millisievert from a year of exposure to granite that comprises the U.S. Capitol, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

With a radioactive half-life of 30 years, cesium can build up in the meat of marine predators as they eat smaller animals, said Karen Gaines, chairwoman of the biology department at the University of Eastern Illinois in Charleston.

“If they’re going to restart fisheries and make people feel comfortable, they’ll need real-time monitoring of the catch,” said Gaines, who studies radioactive cesium in animals at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, which made plutonium for U.S. nuclear weapons.


Source: BusinessWeek

Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion

KORIYAMA, Japan — Japanese officials warned of a possible second explosion at a nuclear plant crippled by an earthquake and tsunami as they raced to stave off multiple reactor meltdowns, but they provided few details about whether they were making progress. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation.


Four nuclear plants in northeastern Japan have reported damage, but the danger appeared to be greatest at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, where one explosion occurred Saturday and a second was feared. 


Source: MSNBC

TSA Refuses To Provide Body Scanner Info In Lawsuit - Claiming Copyright Prevents Handing Over The Info

Last year, we mentioned that privacy advocates EPIC were suing over the TSA's decision to use the naked scanners at airports. Reader jilocasin alerts us to a bizarre update in that lawsuit. Apparently the TSA is refusing to provide specific evidence to the court first claiming that it was "sensitive security information," but also saying that it won't hand over the info because it'scopyrighted material.




Source Link: Techdirt