7/27/2011 Emergency alert issued at Kentucky Uranium enrichment facility

Date: 7/27/2011

A failed gasket caused a toxic gas leak at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant near Paducah, Kentucky. The non-radiological chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) gas was released on Wednesday 7/27/2011 04:15 AM CDT when an "Alert" level (second lowest severity on a four tier scale) emergency event was issued by USEC (United States Enrichment Corporation) who runs the Uranium enrichment plant near Paducah, Kentucky.[1] The emergency status lasted several hours before being terminated by the USEC. For the full text of the NRC event notification report read here.


View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

Sources:
[1] Industrial gas leak prompts onsite alert at PGDP
[2] NRC Event notification Report #47099, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

7/30/2011 Flood damage in North Korea

Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 09:00 +0900 (JST)

North Korea's state-run media have reported that heavy rain which brought serious damage to South Korea also caused flooding in the North.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday that in Hwanghae Pukdo in the southern part of the country, more than 650 hectares of farmland was inundated, and roads and public facilities were destroyed.

Korean Central Television aired video of flood damage, which is said to have been shot between Tuesday and Friday.

In the video, which is believed to have been taken in the city of Kaesong, close to the border with South Korea, people were walking with umbrellas in water up to their knees and moving cars were splashing water.

Other video footage, said to have been taken in Hwanghae Pukdo, showed farmland covered with mud, a destroyed bridge, and a tilted and stalled bus on the road side.

North Korea reportedly suffered from a serious shortage of food last summer due to flooding in a wide area. This summer's flooding may cause a further shortage of food.

7/30/2011 Xinhua: Operating software has serious flaw

Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:19 +0900 (JST)


An official of China's Railways Ministry says faulty software at a rail network operation center led to the fatal high-speed train crash in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on July 23rd.

The state-run Xinhua news agency aired an interview with the anonymous ministry official on Saturday.

The official said a signaling system near Wenzhou South Station broke down due to a lightning strike, forcing a train to stop. The official said the train was rear-ended by another after starting to move slowly.

The official said a serious flaw in the design of software used to collect data at a railway operation center caused a signaling system to display green, instead of red.

This caused an automatic train control system not to work, allowing the second train to continue running and ram into the first one.

The official also confirmed that the second train should have run ahead of the first, but disruptions in train services changed the order. The official said rail workers failed to deal with the situation properly.

At least 40 people died in the crash. Local residents visited the accident site on Saturday, laying flowers and praying for the souls of the dead.

The Chinese government has nearly doubled the amount of compensation to families of the victims from the sum it initially proposed. It is asking the families to give an answer on whether to accept the compensation by Sunday.

However, the government's apparent efforts to bring an early resolution to the accident are stirring public anger.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that on Friday night, the governing Communist Party re-issued a ban on independent reporting on the accident by domestic media. This apparently shows that the government is desperate to stem discontent among the bereaved families and calm public criticism.

7/30/2011 Tepco test-runs No.4 reactor cooling device

Source: NHK world
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 12:51 +0900 (JST)


The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun a test-run of a device to cool a spent fuel storage pool where water temperature remains high.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company began test-running the cooling device at the No.4 reactor spent fuel pool on Sunday morning. The water temperature remained high there at 86 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning.

The pool holds 1,535 fuel rods, the most for any of the plant's reactors.

The wall supporting the pool was damaged in a blast on March 15th. TEPCO has reinforced the wall with steel pillars and concrete.

Workers then installed a cooling device with a heat exchanger to establish a circulatory cooling system that cools the water from the pool and returns it there.

TEPCO says it will gradually increase the volume of water flowing into the device. If no problems are found, the company plans to lower the water temperature to around 55 degrees within a month.

TEPCO is already cooling the water at the spent fuel pools at the No. 2 and 3 reactors. The utility is planning to do the same for the No. 1 reactor soon.

7/30/2011 Torrential rain hits Niigata, Fukushima

Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 01:07 +0900 (JST)

Torrential rain has caused rivers to overflow in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan.

About 207,000 people in 15 municipalities of the 2 prefectures are taking shelter, as of 8 PM on Saturday, following authorities' evacuation orders or advisories.

At least 3,000 houses have been flooded in the prefectures.

In Niigata's Sanjo City, more than 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate after a dike collapsed.

2 men in Niigata Prefecture was found dead. 4 people are missing in the region.

NHK's aerial footage shows a destroyed bridge of East Japan Railway's Tadami Line, which connects Fukushima and Niigata prefectures. Only the bridge's columns can be seen in the overflowing river.

680 millimeters of rain has been recorded in Fukushima's Tadami Town in the 72 hours since Wednesday, while more than 620 millimeters fell on Kamo City, Niigata. Sanjo City in Niigata has gotten more than 1,000 millimeters.

These points have recorded more than double the amount of rain it gets in an average July in just 3 days.

The rain has been gradually easing, but some parts of northern Japan are still seeing showers.

The Meteorological Agency says the amount of rainfall in the 2 prefectures has exceeded a downpour 7 years ago that killed 16 people there.

7/30/2011 Strong earthquake hits Fukushima

Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 05:30 +0900 (JST)



An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.5 jolted Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Sunday morning.

The Meteorological Agency says the quake occurred at around 3:53 AM.

The quake's focus is off Fukushima Prefecture and is 57 kilometers deep.

Tremors with an intensity of 5 plus on the Japanese scale of zero to 7 hit Naraha Town and Kawauchi Village in Fukushima.

There is no chance of a tsunami.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says there have been no reports of abnormalities at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants.

Editor's Note: USGS Report

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

Also 7 injured as M6.4 quake shakes Fukushima

7/30/2011 Japan To Use 1,500 Tons Of Sewage Sludge Too Radioactive To Bury As Soil For Gardening

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: July 30, 2011 at 12:11 pm

After discovering over 1,500 tons of radioactive sludge with levels of radiation above temporary burial limits Japan is now considering using the radioactive sewage as soil for gardening.
...
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7/28/2011 UK nuclear test veterans win leave to appeal

Source: Reuters
Date: Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:46pm EDT

(Reuters) - Ex-servicemen who say they were made ill as a result of being exposed to radiation during British nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s won the latest stage of their battle for compensation on Thursday.

The Supreme Court gave the 1,011 veterans permission to further argue their right to seek damages, the Press Association reported.

Veterans blame ill health -- including cancer, skin defects and fertility problems -- on their involvement in British nuclear tests in Australia, on Christmas Island and in the Pacific Ocean between 1952 and 1958.

The Ministry of Defense acknowledges a "debt of gratitude" but denies negligence.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the veterans the go-ahead to appeal against a lower court ruling that the cases were brought too long after the events to be heard.

Their solicitor Neil Sampson told reporters after the hearing: "This is a significant step forward but it is by no means the end of the road."

He said an average of 3-1/2 of the veterans were dying each month as the case drags on.

7/27/2011 Whistleblowers Say Nuclear Regulatory Commission Watchdog Is Losing Its Bite

Source: Scientific American
Date: July 27, 2011
by: John Sullivan, Cameron Hickey and ProPublica

Byron Nuclear Power Plant Image: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Three former members of the NRC's Office of the Inspector General charge that the independent watchdog no longer challenges the industry
When he retired after 26 years as an investigator with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of the Inspector General, George Mulley thought his final report was one of his best.
...
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7/27/2011 Voices From Fukushima

Source: Safecast.org
Date: Wednesday July 27th, 2011
by: Ed M Koziarski


This video was presented at the Institute for Strategic Leadership‘s “Carry On Fukushima” program in Tokyo on 7/21/11. It includes voices from food producers in the area around the still-leaking Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant:

• Ohashi may need to look outside Fukushima now for organic suppliers for his bread. He says we need to learn to coexist with radiation.
• Suzuki and Fukumoto are leaving the idyllic farming community of Kaidomari to live in balance with nature elsewhere.
• Hongo won’t sell his potentially contaminated rice this year, but he’s eating it himself.
• Yoshizawa wants to save his 300 irradiated dairy cows from a death sentence.
• Yamamoto was a farming intern when the disaster struck. She decided to stay and volunteer at an evacuation center.
• Yoshida is committed to stay and continue farming on the land his family has cultivated for 200 years.

Uncanny Terrain is a documentary about organic farmers facing Japan's nuclear crisis, and an online community fostering dialogue on food safety, sustainable agriculture, alternative energy and disaster response. Please keep the conversation going by donating at http://tiny.cc/uncannydonate

ISL（institute for strategic leadership)の主催で開かれた「頑張っぺ福島」フォーラムで上映した映像。これまでアップしてきた映像をまとめ、銀嶺食品の大橋雄二さんの話を加えました。この­映像はこれまで撮影してきたものほんの１０％です。今後も編集、撮影を継続し、福島の声を残します。

7/26/2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 Reactor Building 26

Source: Cryptome1 YouTube channel
Date: 7/26/2011 Upload date


Video by Quince Robot within Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 3 reactor building (video dated July 26, 2011). Released by Tokyo Electric Power Company on 28 July 2011.

7/28/2011 12 prefectures step up voluntary checks on beef

Source: NHK World
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011 19:38 +0900 (JST)



Twelve prefectures in Japan have voluntarily stepped up radiation checks on beef before shipment in a bid to alleviate consumer concerns over meat safety.

About 3,000 beef cattle are suspected of having been shipped out after being fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

In Yamagata Prefecture, northwest of the plant, testing equipment is being used to measure radiation levels of meat from slaughtered cattle.

The beef is shipped only when its radiation levels are confirmed to be lower than the government safety limit.

In Shizuoka Prefecture, 350 kilometers southwest of the plant, local agricultural cooperatives are asking private laboratories to check all beef shipped from meat-processing plants run by the cooperatives.

Despite difficulties in tightening voluntary checks due to lack of testing equipment and financial burdens, more prefectures are expected to follow suit.

7/28/2011 Water treatment system running below capacity

Source: NHK World
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011 11:48 +0900 (JST)



A water decontamination system at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been operating below its target capacity, resulting in delays to the firm's timetable of about 2 months.

Tokyo Electric Power Company started running the decontamination system in late June to remove radioactive substances from water pooled in reactor buildings' basements. Treated water is sent back into the reactors as coolant.

TEPCO says the system operated at 63 percent capacity from June 17th until Tuesday, though it aimed to run it at 70 percent capacity.

The company was planning to decrease the amount of contaminated water to a safe level by early August. But, it now says the timetable is likely to be pushed back until late September.

The failure to reach the target is mainly attributed to the fact the system's working capacity is at about 30 percent below designed levels. The system has also stopped repeatedly due to various operational problems.

TEPCO says problems seen in the early stages of the operation have been solved, and that it will try to increase the system's treatment rate from now.

7/27/2011 TEPCO seeks new ways to reduce contaminated water

Source: NHK World
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 08:27 +0900 (JST)




Read text transcript here

7/26/2011 Families want answers after 45 people die following evacuation from Fukushima hospital

Source: The Mainichi Daily News
Date: April 26, 2011

Kazuhiko Sato, left, carrying a portrait of his deceased father Kyugo, is pictured with his family members at a Tokyo home where they are taking shelter. (Mainichi)

OKUMA, Fukushima -- Nearly 45 people out of some 440 patients and workers at a hospital here are estimated to have died while or after being evacuated following the accident at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
...
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7/27/2011 Dramatic video of heavy floods, deadly landslides in South Korea

Source: RT News
Date: 7/27/2011



A blast of heavy rain sent landslides barrelling through South Korea's capital and a northern town on Wednesday, killing at least 32 people, including 10 college students doing volunteer work. The heavy rain also left about 620 people homeless and flooded 720 houses and about 100 vehicles throughout South Korea, the National Emergency Management Agency said in a statement.
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7/27/2011 1,600 workers projected over radiation limit

Source: The Japan Times
Date: 7/28/2011 JST

Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. estimated in spring that about 1,600 workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant would be exposed to radiation exceeding 50 millisieverts during the course of the crisis, an industrial accident prevention body revealed.
...
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7/26/2011 SPECIAL REPORT-Fukushima long ranked Japan's most hazardous nuclear plant

Source: Reuters
Date: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:28pm EDT
Japan Nuclear Radiation

7/25/2011 Japanese Nuclear Emergency Director: You Have No Right to a Radiation-Free Life

Source: Gizmodo
Date:  7/25/2011
by: Sam Biddle


This footage, from a recent meeting of indignant Japanese citizens and feckless Japanese government types should be a little shocking. Sadly, it's just more of the same—ineptitude and inaction. Buy denying the right to avoiding radiation? OK, shocking.

The Tokyo meeting was meant to broach the push to expand the evacuation zone around Fukushima—a zone that's proven inadequately and dangerously narrow. One Fukushima resident asks, "As other people do, people in Fukushima have the right to avoid the radiation exposure and live a healthy life, too. Don't you think so?"

A Nuclear Safety Commission Of Japan rep, when pushed to go beyond his canned non-answer, deadpans "I don't know if they have that right." The crowd reacts as you would expect when told they nuclear-threatened welfare isn't a concern. After being jeered at by the understandably outraged audience, and ignoring requests to test the radioactive content of young residents' urine, the government panel packed up and left.
If you could compress the past four months' anxiety, tension, crisis, inaction, confusion, and stifled anger into one meeting room, you'd produce the above, this smoldering radioactive diamond of national failure. [via Boing Boing]

Editor's Note: Here is a plea from parents in Fukushima City for an official evacuation order from the Japanese government. A must read if you have not already.

7/17/2011 Residents of Fukushima trapped in dangerous radiation contaminated areas due to lack of government evacuation order/aid

7/26/2011 Radiation turns up in all kinds of food products in Japan

Source: RT News
Date: 7/26/2011

After visiting the Fukushima nuclear plant and meeting with Japan's prime minister, the head of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, has promised to provide all necessary expertise to complete the second phase of containing the crisis by early next year. For more on what's happening in Japan RT's joined live from Hiroshima by nuclear energy expert Doctor Robert Jacobs.

7/26/2011 Suicide Plague: Japan swept by Fukushima depression

Source: RT News
Date: 7/26/2011


The head of the International Atomic Watchdog is visiting Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant for the first time since March's devastating earthquake and tsunami. Yukiya Amano has promised to help with the recovery effort and discussed what aid is needed at a meeting with the country's Prime Minister. As well as killing thousands, the natural disasters caused the plant's reactor cores to melt and leak dangerous amounts of radiation into the environment. But the IAEA chief says the workers at the plant ARE capable of bringing the leak under control by early next year as planned. Residents evacuated from a town close to the area held a belated memorial for the dead and missing on the irradiated no-man's land. But even many of those who survived are struggling with their own nuclear nightmare. RT's Sean Thomas explains.

7/26/2011 Govt to buy back cesium-contaminated beef

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:48 +0900 (JST)



The Japanese government says it will buy back beef containing unsafe levels of radioactive cesium that has already reached the distribution chain.

Agriculture minister Michihiko Kano announced the step on Tuesday, adding that the contaminated beef will be purchased through a private-sector body.

Kano said the measure is designed to allay consumer concerns over the feeding of cattle with rice straw containing cesium in excess of the government-set limit.

NHK has learned that nearly 2,900 head of cattle allegedly given such feed have been shipped to 46 of Japan's 47 prefectures, excluding Okinawa.

Excessive levels of cesium have been detected in beef in 6 of the prefectures, including Fukushima, where work continues to contain a nuclear plant accident.

Beef with radioactive cesium at levels within the safety limit will not be bought back. But, the government will subsidize the cost of storing it for the time being.

Agriculture minister Kano assured consumers that these measures will ensure that only safe beef reaches market.

The costs of purchasing and storing the beef will be eventually passed on to Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the disabled nuclear plant.

The government will also help livestock farmers affected by restrictions and price declines by offering them 50,000 yen, or about 640 dollars, for each head of cattle that was supposed to be shipped.

7/26/2011 New decontamination unit to arrive at Fukushima

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 07:16 +0900 (JST)



A new system to decontaminate radioactive water will arrive at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Tuesday. The current system, the key to cooling the reactors, has been plagued with problems.

The new equipment, SARRY, consists of 14 cylindrical tanks containing minerals. It is designed to reduce radioactive substances in water, such as cesium, to less than one millionth.

The first shipment of tanks and parts left a port in Iwaki, Fukushima on Monday.

The existing device at the plant was hit with problems from Sunday to Monday. Its operating rate has been reduced to 53 percent, far below the goal of 90 percent.

The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to use the new system, along with the existing one.

The utility will bring the remaining components to the Fukushima plant in 2 more shipments. It then aims to begin operating the new system around early August.

7/26/2011 IAEA Chief Sees Fukushima Daiichi for Himself

Source: Wall Street Journal: Japan Realtime (blog)
Date: July 26, 2011, 3:14 PM JST
by: Yoree Koh

International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Yukiya Amano got an eyeful Monday. Wearing the now familiar protective white suit, with his name scrawled on the back in black marker, the IAEA chief for the first time saw for himself the devastation wrought at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the March 11 disaster and tsunami.
...
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7/26/2011 Japanese Scientists Push for More Radiation Tests to Assess Seafood Risks

Source: Bloomberg
Date: Jul 26, 2011 12:31 AM CT
Photo: Sea Radiation Tests May Miss Seafood Threat

Photographer: Toshiyuki Aizawa/Bloomberg

Women look at fresh fish in a supermarket in Tokyo. Japan’s government has to release more data from ocean radiation tests to accurately assess the contamination threat to seafood, according to a statement by the Oceanographic Society of Japan.

Japan’s government has to release more data from ocean radiation tests to accurately assess the contamination threat to seafood, according to a statement by the Oceanographic Society of Japan.
...
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7/25/2011 Fukushima to provide life-time cancer checks

Source: Asahi.com
Date: 7/25/2011

Fukushima Prefecture on July 24 finalized the nation's largest life-time health study to check for thyroid-gland cancer among 360,000 young people living near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
...
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7/25/2011 TEPCO tackles trouble with decontamination units

Source: NHK World
Date:





The Tokyo Electric Power Company is trying to figure out why a system to decontaminate radioactive water at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant remains unstable.

The system funnels in radioactive water accumulated in the underground facility and reuses it as a reactor coolant after decontaminating radioactive substances.

TEPCO started the operation late last month.

The system sends 3.8 cubic meters of water per hour to each of the No.1 and No.2 reactors.

However, the operation has been unstable for the last 3 days. On Friday, the amount of water injected suddenly decreased to 3.4 cubic meters per hour at No.2 reactor, and then fell to 3.2 cubic meters on Saturday.

At No.1 reactor, water levels decreased to 3.3 cubic meters on Sunday morning.

The utility is examining the pumps each time the amount of water goes down in order to return the system to its previous volume.

On Sunday, the system was halted for 7 hours due to trouble with a device to remove salt from radioactive water. TEPCO restored operation with a back-up mechanism.

The utility says it will closely watch each system and try to track down the causes of the instability.

Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)

7/25/2011 Contaminated water on increase at Fukushima plant

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 14:12 +0900 (JST)


Tokyo Electric Power Company is injecting fresh water from a nearby dam to make up for the shortage of water in its system for cooling the reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The system decontaminates radioactive water that has accumulated in the plant and circulates it.

TEPCO halted the process of removing salt from contaminated water after an alarm went off around noon on Sunday due to a problem with the installation of the desalination equipment. It resumed the operation in the evening after installing another device.

The new device is only able to treat half the amount of water. The amount of contaminated water has been increasing since the problem occurred.

TEPCO began using the new circulatory water injection system late last month. Last week, the government and the utility announced the completion of the first stage of the plan to stabilize the cooling of the reactors.

NHK's reporter points out that as a result of Sunday's trouble, the amount of contaminated water is increasing. He adds that the recycling of cooling water, a key element of bringing the accident under control, cannot be maintained.

TEPCO is investigating the cause of the problem. The utility says the decontamination system as a whole is not operating stably and it needs to improve its reliability.

7/25/2011 Radiation tester in hot demand via beef scare

Source: The Japan Times
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Kyodo

Retailers and consumers are inundating a private institute testing various items for radioactive materials to confirm the safety of beef products amid reports that cattle exposed to cesium were shipped nationwide, institute officials said.

Isotope Research Institute Inc., which is based in Yokohama, said it has received more than 150 inquiries including by phone and dozens of beef samples from all over the country since high levels of radioactive cesium were detected July 11 in straw fed to cattle at a farm in Fukushima Prefecture.
...
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7/25/2011 Fukushima mobilizes 3,900 to help decontaminate 'hot spots'

Source: Kyodo News via Japan Today
Date: Jul. 25, 2011 - 04:46PM JST

FUKUSHIMA — Decontamination efforts began at several “hot spots” – areas where especially high radiation levels were detected - in and around Fukushima City on Sunday and continued Monday. Some 400 experts and 3,500 residents are participating in the effort. Residents worked to haul mud and debris from gutters and deweed the area.

Additionally, a specialized cleaning vehicle decontaminated certain roads, especially those used by children to commute to school. After the initial cleanup, residents reported Monday morning that the radiation level had dropped by about half, from 10 to around 5 microsieverts an hour.

The cleanup area is about 90 kilometers away from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, outside of the mandatory evacuation zone. But concerns began to rise when a high reading of 3.83 microsieverts/hr was measured in June. The cleanup was initiated in the hopes of avoiding the need for an evacuation of the area, local officials said.

Fukushima Update, July 25 2011

Source: The Paltry Sapien
Date: 7/25/2011
by: Matthew Payne

US NRC Reports and the Nation’s Leaders Yawn

So, the New York Times has a retrospective on the political fallout from Fukushima.  In it, it repeats a clearly mistaken evaluation of causality:

The odds are remote that this country will confront a similarly powerful earthquake followed by an even more destructive tsunami — the twin blows that disabled Fukushima.

...
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7/24/2011 Japan Passes The Computer Network Monitoring Law To Cleanse The Internet Of “Bad” Fukushima News

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: July 24, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Japan has passed a law that will enable the police and contractors to monitor internet activity without restriction to “cleanse” the Internet of any “bad” Fukushima radiation news.
...
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7/25/2011 Gov. releases radiation forecast system data

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)




Japan's nuclear watchdog has released results of their analysis on how radioactive substances spread after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency released data analyzed by a computer forecasting system designed to track the movement of radioactive substances based on wind and weather.

The System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, or SPEEDI, calculated 6 days' worth of data, from March 12th through 17th.

The results show the amount of radioactive substances in the atmosphere, external exposures and accumulation on the ground.

A map from March 12th, a day after the disaster, shows radioactive substances first flowed towards the southeast and then gradually moved north.

The Agency says it calculated the data based on updated figures obtained from the nuclear reactors through June.

The 600 pages of information are available on the internet.

The Agency will provide all the data to Fukushima Prefecture. It wants to use the information when conducting health research for its residents to estimate their amount of radiation exposure.

7/25/2011 Workers at Fukushima plant report harsh conditions

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 09:51 +0900 (JST)




Workers involved in the restoration of the areas hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say their working conditions have been harsh.

About 1,500 temporary workers of subcontractors hired by leading construction companies gathered in Tokyo on Sunday to discuss the situation.

A man who took part in the construction of emergency housing in Iwate Prefecture said he had been promised 20,000 yen, or 250 dollars, per day, but received only about one-third of the amount.

He said there were inadequate meals and workers had to sleep together 40 per room.

There were also reports about the conditions for those engaged in treatment of radioactive water and piping construction at the Fukushima plant.

The workers were forced to work without any explanation about the risk of radiation or any measures against heat strokes.

Another worker said he has received only half of the wages he had been promised for building temporary housing in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. He said he wants the government to do something about the unfair working conditions.

The organizers say these issues have not surfaced before because many workers find it inappropriate to complain when they think about the hardships of people in the disaster-hit areas.

7/23/2011 - 7/24/2011 Chinese Bullet Train Derails (Videos)

NHK World: China's high-speed train derails

Sunday, July 24, 2011 01:52 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: China decides to dismiss senior railway officials

Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: China rushed to build high-speed train network

Sunday, July 24, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)

NHK World: Chinese Internet users criticize train accident

Sunday, July 24, 2011 23:31 +0900 (JST)

RT News: Video of crashed China bullet trains after collision kills 35

7/24/2011 Upload date

7/24/2011 M.6.2 Quake hits Miyagi and Fukushima

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, July 25, 2011 06:32 +0900 (JST)


An aftershock from the March 11th earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.2 hit Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures in northeastern Japan at 3:51 AM local time on Monday.

The depth of focus of the earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, was 40 kilometers.

The Meteorological Agency says there is no danger of a tsunami.

In Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Soma City and Nara Town, both in Fukushima Prefecture, an intensity of 5 minus was registered on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7.

Shocks registering lower intensities were recorded throughout wide areas of Japan from Hokkaido to the Tokai region.

Editor's Notes: USGS Report

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/22/2011 Inside the Innards of a Nuclear Reactor: Tiny Robots May Monitor Underground Pipes for Radioactive Leaks

Source: Science Daily
Date: 7/22/2011

A spherical robot equipped with a camera may navigate underground pipes of a nuclear reactor by propelling itself with an internal network of valves and pumps. (Credit: Harry Asada/d'Arbeloff Laboratory)

ScienceDaily (July 22, 2011) — As workers continue to grapple with the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear powerplant in Japan, the crisis has shone a spotlight on nuclear reactors around the world. In June, The Associated Press released results from a yearlong investigation, revealing evidence of "unrelenting wear" in many of the oldest-running facilities in the United States.

That study found that three-quarters of the country's nuclear reactor sites have leaked radioactive tritium from buried piping that transports water to cool reactor vessels, often contaminating groundwater. According to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the industry has limited methods to monitor underground pipes for leaks.

"We have 104 reactors in this country," says Harry Asada, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of MIT's d'Arbeloff Laboratory for Information Systems and Technology. "Fifty-two of them are 30 years or older, and we need immediate solutions to assure the safe operations of these reactors."

Asada says one of the major challenges for safety inspectors is identifying corrosion in a reactor's underground pipes. Currently, plant inspectors use indirect methods to monitor buried piping: generating a voltage gradient to identify areas where pipe coatings may have corroded, and using ultrasonic waves to screen lengths of pipe for cracks. The only direct monitoring requires digging out the pipes and visually inspecting them -- a costly and time-intensive operation.

Now Asada and his colleagues at the d'Arbeloff Laboratory are working on a direct monitoring alternative: small, egg-sized robots designed to dive into nuclear reactors and swim through underground pipes, checking for signs of corrosion. The underwater patrollers, equipped with cameras, are able to withstand a reactor's extreme, radioactive environment, transmitting images in real-time from within.

The group presented details of its latest prototype at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
...
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7/21/2011 A pro diver who survived tsunami passes on his lessons

Source: Asahi Shimbun
Date: 7/21/2011
by: By YUMI NAKAYAMA

Jun Abe, a professional diver who survived the March 11 tsunami, discusses his experiences with sketches he drew in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Hanging in the background is a diving suit he donned when he was drifting in the tsunami. (Kenta Sujino)

A professional diver who survived the horrendous tsunami after drifting for 7 kilometers on top of a floorboard from his office along with his wife shared his sketches and his experiences with college students in Tokyo, in what he hopes could save their lives someday.
...
Read full story here

A sketch by Jun Abe shows how he tried to drag himself on to the floorboard after being thrown into the water in the March 11 quake and tsunami. Only a floorboard of his office in Higashi-Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture remained when the drifting structure smashed into a bridge, shearing off the building's roof and walls. His wife, Shimako, was also aboard the board, boosting his spirits. (Sketch provided by Jun Abe)

Jun Abe tries to grab the hand of his wife, Shimako, who was in their house about 30 meters from his office when it, swept by the tsunami, came alongside his office building. (Sketch provided by Jun Abe)

7/23/2011 Contrary to power company figures, cost of nuclear power generation highest: research

Source: The Mainichi Daily News
Date: 7/23/2011

Utility companies across the country continue to tout the low cost of nuclear energy on their websites.

Tohoku Electric Power Co. boasts nuclear power's economic efficiency, while Hokkaido Electric Power Co (HEPCO) the stability of its cost. Each site comes with bar graphs indicating the cost of generating power through various power sources, and the figures are exactly the same regardless of the utility. For every kilowatt-hour of power generated, hydroelectricity is listed as costing 11. 9 yen, petroleum 10.7 yen, liquefied natural gas 6.2 yen, coal 5.7 yen, and nuclear 5.3 yen.

In a section of its website responding to questions sent in by elementary school children, Chubu Electric Power Co. informs us that nuclear power "is the cheapest." The media, including the Mainichi, have often cited the information provided to us by power companies.

However, Kenichi Oshima, a professor of environmental economics and policy at Ritsumeikan University, has done some calculations and has reached a completely difference conclusion. Oshima says that the cost for a kilowatt-hour of electrical power between fiscal 1970 and fiscal 2007 was 10.68 yen for nuclear, 3.98 yen for hydroelectric, and 9.9 yen for thermal generation, with nuclear-generated power coming out as the most expensive. These calculations were even presented at a meeting of the government's Atomic Energy Commission last September. So how does one explain these two different conclusions?
...
Read full article here

7/22/2011 Japan nuclear scare triggers run for radiation checks

Source: Reuters
Date: Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:30am EDT
by: Kiyoshi Takenaka

(Reuters) - Japanese private research labs with radiation testing gear have been flooded with orders for checks on food and soil samples after shipments of contaminated beef deepened public anxiety over radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
...
Read full article here

7/22/2011 Japan Utilities Push to Extend Life of Nuclear Plants

Source: Reuters via Scientific American
Date: 7/22/2011
by: Kaori Kaneko and Osamu Tsukimori

Two Japanese utilities moved on Friday to extend the life of reactors at a pair of central coastal nuclear plants, fuelling already fierce debate over energy policy in the wake of the Fukushima radiation crisis.
...
Read full article here

7/23/2011 Strong earthquake hits Iwate

Source: NHK World
Date: July 23, 2011 13:52 +0900 (JST)


A strong earthquake hit Iwate Prefecture on Saturday afternoon.

The quake had a magnitude of 6.5, with the focus estimated to be in waters off Miyagi Prefecture.

It registered an intensity of 5-plus on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7.

There is no fear of tsunami.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the quake had no effect on operations of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Editor's Note: USGS report

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/20/2011 Fukushima city sows sunflower seeds to decontaminate 'hot spot'

Source: Kyodo News via Japan Today
Date: Jul. 21, 2011 - 05:05AM JST


FUKUSHIMA — Fukushima city officials sowed sunflower seeds Wednesday at a plaza in the city as part of efforts to remove radioactive materials from the soil.

Sunflowers are said to absorb radioactive substances, and the 6,000-square-meter plaza, located on a hillside about 1 kilometer away from the prefectural government offices, is one of the so-called “hot spots” where radiation levels are sporadically higher than other areas.

7/21/2011 Chinese fast reactor starts supplying electricity

Source: World Nuclear News
Date: 7/21/2011

Exactly one year after achieving first criticality, China's experimental fast neutron reactor has been connected to the electricity grid.

At 10.00am today, the head of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), Sun Qin, declared to workers and officials gathered in the Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor's (CEFR's) control room that the unit had successfully achieved grid connection.

Inside the control room of the CEFR (Image: CNNC)

The sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor has been constructed with some Russian assistance at the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIEA), near Beijing, which undertakes fundamental research on nuclear science and technology. The reactor has a thermal capacity of 65 MW and can produce 20 MW in electrical power. The CEFR was built by Russia's OKBM Afrikantov in collaboration with OKB Gidropress, NIKIET and Kurchatov Institute.
...
Read full article here

7/21/2011 Sick Children And Dying Pets Accompany New Iodine Radiation In Tokyo

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: July 21, 2011 at 3:34 am

The Latest Reports From Tokyo Include Detection Of Radioactive Iodine Along With Nosebleeds, Hair loss, Diarrhea, Sickness, and Death Of Pets, And Unexplained Illnesses in Children.

New official government lab results show new radioactive Iodine and Cesium in the Tokyo sewer systems.
...
Read full article here

7/20/2011 Whistleblowers "terrified" at TVA nuke plants?

Source: CBS "The Early Show"
Date: July 20, 2011 7:52 AM


(CBS News) In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has released a task force report on the safety of America's 104 nuclear reactors.

And on "The Early Show" Wednesday, CBS News Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian offered Part Two of his investigation into one troubled nuclear power plant, in Spring City, Tenn.
...
Read full article here

For part 1 and a map of Watts Bar click here.

7/19/2011 Ex Japanese Nuclear Regulator Blames Radioactive Animal Feed on "Black Rain"

Source: Fairewinds Associates
Date: 7/19/2011
by: Arnie Gundersen


While many radioactive cattle have been discovered large distances from Fukushima, what is more important is where their feed is coming from. "It's not only about the radioactive cattle in Fukushima Prefecture; its also about the radioactive straw the cattle eat that was grown elsewhere". Straw found 45 miles from Fukushima is highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, which is an indication that radiation has contaminated large portions of Northern Japan. More than half a million disintegrations per second in a kilogram of straw are comparable to Chernobyl levels. This proves that the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission was correct when it told Americans to evacuate beyond 50 miles and that the Japanese should have done the same. An Ex-Secretariat of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission blames this contamination on "Black Rain". Rather than minimize the information the Japanese people receive, Gundersen suggests minimizing their radiation exposure."

7/19/2011 Shocking: Nuclear Industry Whistle-Blower Grandma Says Life Threatened for Speaking out Against Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station

Date: 7/19/2011

CBS "The Early Show": Fukushima-type disaster inevitable in U.S.?


Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station, which is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), has been plagued with past safety concerns and whistle-blower lawsuits. Nuclear engineer and consultant Arnie Gundersen called the May 13, 2011 post-Fukushima NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) report for Watts Bar "appalling" giving it a grade of D-.  Another nuclear engineer David Lochbaum sited 40 "disturbing findings" with the report. [Video, 1:50]

Ann Harris, the 71 year old great grandmother who has won 6 whistle-blower lawsuits against the TVA, says executives at TVA threatened to end her career back when she was a nuclear instrumentation engineering clerk because she would not sign off on a multimillion-dollar construction contract full of errors.  According to Harris, "the books are being cooked. People are saying things, they swear under oath it’s been done, and it hadn’t been done." [1]  For 28 years hence, Ms. Harris has been fighting the TVA and NRC with the goal of ensuring accountability and preventing a nuclear accident:

...
Harris said, "You can see a Fukushima happening here in the U.S."

So it's not a matter of 'if,' it's a matter of -

"When," Harris finished the sentence.[1]
...

What is most shocking, however, is that as a result of her activism, Ms. Harris has received threats and her car has even been sabotaged (basically it appears to be attempted murder):

...
There have certainly been attempts at intimidation, recrimination and really, threats on your life?

Harris responded, "Yes. They ran me off the road. They wired my car for firebombing. They dropped the universal joint out of my car." [1]
 ...

Read more from CBS "The Early Show" here

Map showing Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

Sources:
[1] Fukushima-type disaster inevitable in U.S.?, CBS "The Early Show"

7/19/2011 Dangerous Levels Of Radiation Recorded In Canada As Fukushima Radiation Dangers Continue

Source: The Intel Hub
Date: 7/19/2011
by: Alex Thomas

Multiple videos have been released showing high levels of radiation in Canada as the corporate media continues to cover up the real dangers posed by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The tests were taken in multiple places in Canada including Lake Louise BC, Kelowna BC, Red Deer/Edmonton, and Hope BC.

The radiation tests that were taken near Lake Louise BC clearly showed harmful radiation levels up to 1.66 mcSv/hr.

So far Canadian and American authorities have remained silent. We must DEMAND action from local health authorities. If these levels of radiation are being picked up in Canada it seems only a matter of time before they reach the west coast of the United States.

This should be a RED ALERT to all Americans and Canadians!

CRMT- Dangerous Radioactive rain in Lake Louise,BC (1.66 mcSv/hr)


Kelowna BC receives High Fukushima Fallout Radioactive Rain on 07/16/11


CRMT- Hope BC receives High Radioactive Fukushima Fallout Rain on 07/16/11


HIGH Radiations levels found in Rain samples from Red Deer/Edmonton (1.02 mcSv/hr)

7/18/2011 Did you hear about the alert at Illinois' Dresden Nuclear Plant?

Source: examiner.com (Chicago, IL)
Date: 7/18/2011
by: Cynthia Hodges

Dresden Nuclear Plant in Illinois Credits: Google Images

July 18, 2011   On Friday, the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant located 60 miles southwest of Chicago declared an Alert at 10:16 a.m after a chemical leak restricted access to a vital area that houses plant cooling water pumps. The material leaked was sodium hypochlorite, a chemical similar to bleach which is routinely used in plants to treat water.

According to the few mentions of the incident, there was no known impact to the public health and safety and the environment.

Dresden Nuclear Power Plant in Morris, Illinios is owned and operated by Exelon Corp. located in Chicago.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: The emergency was cleared on the same day it was issued. Per the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) event notification report:

...
* * * UPDATE AT 1626 EDT ON 7/15/11 FROM MIROCHNA TO HUFFMAN * * *

"The alert has been terminated on 7/15/11 at 1520 CDT. The conditions which caused the alert no longer exist. A press release was made for the event. Two employees were sent for offsite medical attention as a precautionary measure; neither employee was contaminated."

The licensee stated that the sodium hypochlorite had leaked from a pipe into a sump under the storage trailer near the cribhouse. The sodium hypochlorite that leaked into the sump has been pumped out. Access to the cribhouse has been restored and there are no other access restrictions at the site. Both units continue to operate at full power.
...

Below is a map of Dresden Nuclear Generating Station. Note that not all U.S. nuclear power plants appear on this map, only ones with unusual recent activity or known safety issues (that the editor knows about).

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/16/2011 'Unusual Event' Reported At San Onofre Plant

Source: Associated Press via San Franciso Chronicle
Date: 7/16/2011 16:31 PDT

(07-16) 16:31 PDT SAN ONOFRE, Calif. (AP) --

Utility officials say one of several redundant security systems used to monitor the grounds of Southern California's San Onofre nuclear plant stopped working for 45 minutes, triggering a declaration of the lowest level of emergency.

Gil Alexander, a spokesman for the plant's operator, Southern California Edison, said an "unusual event" was declared at 6:12 a.m.

Although the security system was restored within 45 minutes, the Orange County plant remained on unusual event status until 9:50 a.m.

Alexander said the failure was not related to nuclear operations and no part of the plant's perimeter was left unguarded.

Edison did not release details of the incident or say what kind of equipment was involved.

Officials were still trying to determine the cause of the failure Saturday afternoon.

Alexander said the unusual event declaration required immediate notification of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Editor's Note: The emergency has been cleared and the nuclear power plant is back in a non-emergency condition. Quoting the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) event notification report:

...
* * * UPDATE FROM DANIEL CRUZ TO DONALD NORWOOD AT 1255 EDT ON 7/16/11 * * *

The licensee exited the Unusual Event at 0950 PDT. The plant security safeguards systems have been returned to normal. Contact the Headquarters Operations Officer for details.

The licensee notified State and local authorities and the NRC Resident Inspector.
...

Map of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, not all nuclear power plants in the U.S. are included, only ones with known safety issues or recent unusual activity (that the editor knows about).

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/17/2011 Residents of Fukushima trapped in dangerous radiation contaminated areas due to lack of government evacuation order/aid

Date: 7/17/2011

Last month, the parents of 14 students sued the Koriyama Municipal Government in order to get their schools moved to safe areas. This is the first of its kind lawsuit brought against the Japanese government. Quoting from the article Radiation scare prompts lawsuit to move Fukushima schools from Majorix News:

...
In a suit filed at the Koriyama Branch of the Fukushima District Court, parents of 14 pupils attending either elementary or junior high schools in the city sued the Koriyama government, demanding schools be moved as blocs into safe areas.


“Our aim is to make sure all children in Fukushima Prefecture can take classes in safety,” Kenichi Ido, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said.


Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they had calculated that of the 266 elementary or junior high schools located within cities in Fukushima Prefecture, merely five recorded radiation levels below the safe average annual radiation exposure level of 1 millisievert as outlined by the International Committee on Radiological Protection (ICRP). In nearby Aizu, where radiation exposure is comparatively low, only one school falls below the ICRP guideline.[1]
...

Back in May MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) announced it would increase the safe exposure limit by 20 times from 1 millisievert per year to 20 millisieverts per year but parents pushed back and now MEXT said it would abide by the old safe exposure limit as specified by the ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection).[1] Thanks to whomever signed the petition from Green Action Japan, apparently you did help make a difference!

Putting public pressure on politicians can be effective. Residents in Fukushima City are calling out for the world's assistance in persuading the Japanese government to issue an official evacuation order for them so that they can evacuate themselves and their children from dangerous radiation contaminated areas. Following is a video translated from Japanese to English (and French):


The video was made by representatives of Moms To Save Children from Radiation. You can show your support by sending an e-mail to mscrjp@gmail.com or passing on the video or this article.

A recent saddening development is that the Japanese government is actually thinking about lessening its evacuation zone and sending residents back in to previously evacuated areas. According to yesterday's AFP article Japan PM visits Fukushima amid talk of cut in zone:

...
The government is now looking at resettling people in evacuated areas outside the plant's 20-kilometre (12-mile) no-go zone, although it has declined to give a specific timeframe.

The mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun on Saturday said the situation has improved enough for the government to consider narrowing an emergency evacuation zone, imposed between 20 and 30 kilometres from the plant, in August.[2]

...

This is quite bad news, because it means that financial assistance to help people evacuate will be lessened as well.[2]

Presently financial assistance is only available to evacuees who were living within a certain radius (20 km) of the Fukushima I nuclear power plant when the accident occurred. This is already keeping people from leaving contaminated areas who might otherwise be able to evacuate (if given an official order by the Japanese government along with financial assistance), as per the plea from Moms to Save Children from Radiation above.

I thought the following video by political activist and talk show host Alex Jones summarized the plight of those living in radiation contaminated areas quite well.


This is an impromptu video made by Mr. Jones before he went in for an interview with RT News concerning the topic of Bohemian Grove. The Bohemian Club includes several thousand of the Western power elite and they meet once a year in Bohemian Grove to engage in ritual sacrifice (to the ancient Babylonian god Moloch via the Cremation of Care ceremony), cavorting/debauchery and, some would argue, plotting world domination.

Sources:
[1] Radiation scare prompts lawsuit to move Fukushima schools, Majorix News
[2] Japan PM visits Fukushima amid talk of cut in zone, AFP

7/17/2011 Women's World Cup was more than a game for Japan

Source: Los Angeles Times
Date: July 18, 2011
by: Kenji Hall and John M. Glionna

A joyful, nearly disbelieving Tokyo bursts into celebration over the soccer victory, a symbol of hope and resilience for the earthquake-devastated country.

Soccer fans celebrate on the street in Tokyo after Japan's Women's World
Cup victory. (Kim Kyung-hoon / Reuters / July 18, 2011)

Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul—As Japan's Saki Kumagai prepared for her decisive penalty kick in the shootout that ended Sunday's Women's World Cup final, a wounded nation held its breath.

For Japan, this was more than a soccer game. It was an opportunity to prove on a global stage that a country devastated four months ago by a killer earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe still possessed the heart and soul of a fierce competitor.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Video below is from Al Jazeera

Japan become the first Asian nation to win the women's World Cup after a thrilling final against the USA in Frankfurt.

Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer has this report from the German city of Frankfurt.

7/14/2011 Illegal immigrant working inside nuke plant arrested

Source: KVOA.com News 4 Tucson (NBC affiliate)
Date: Jul 14, 2011 3:28 PM

PHOENIX - Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies arrested an illegal immigrant working inside the Palo Verde Nuclear Plant, the nation's largest nuclear plant and one of the most closely monitored in the country.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Map shows only nuclear reactors in the U.S. which have had recent unusual activity or known safety problems (that I know of).

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/15/2011 Sharapova, Wozniacki, Li Na to Help Japanese Disaster Victims

Source: 10sBalls.com
Date: 15th July 2011
by: Erin Frauenhofer



Caroline Wozniacki, Maria ShaCaroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, and Li Na will soon begin working to help tsunami and earthquake victims in Japan. The three tennis talents will participate in charity events before headlining the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September.
...
Read full article here

7/15/2011 Japan Geiger Counter Demand Spurs "Grey Market"

Source: Bloomberg
Date: 7/15/2011


July 15 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Margaret Conley reports on demand for Geiger counters, also known as dosimeters, since the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan in March. Li Jinglei, chairman of Shanghai Ergonomics Detecting Instrument Co., a maker of the devices, said Japanese demand has spurred a grey market of "illegal" products that use faulty parts and shoddy designs or are fake. (Source: Bloomberg)

Editor's Note
The Geiger counter shown in the video is a DP802i. A review of the device can be found at the following website: http://blog.gslab.net/geigercounter-battle/dp802i/.

7/15/2011 New U.S. Regulations Proposed in Response to Fukushima

Source: MIT Technology Review
Date: 7/15/2011
by: Kevin Bullis

A task force calls for safety upgrades, but the nuclear industry worries about their cost.
Shortly after the nuclear disaster at power plants in Fukushima, Japan, the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said that U.S. reactors are safe. Now a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) task force created in response to the disaster is recommending extensive safety upgrades to deal with problems like the ones seen in Japan, although it also said that nuclear plants pose "no imminent risk."

One of the biggest problems at Fukushima was extended loss of power at the plant that shut down cooling systems, requiring plant operators to take extreme measures such as pumping seawater directly into the reactor, which in turn resulted in the release of radioactive seawater into the environment.
...
Read full article here

7/16/2011 Japan Operator Shutting Down Nuclear Reactor After Malfunction

Source: New York Times
Date: 7/16/2011
by: Hiroko Tabuchi

TOKYO — Japan’s second-largest nuclear operator said Saturday that it was manually shutting down a reactor in central Japan after a technical malfunction.

No radiation had leaked from the No. 1 Reactor at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant, on the Japan Sea coast, about 250 miles west of Tokyo, said Yoshihiko Kondo, a spokesman for the plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power.

Mr. Kondo said that a loss of pressure had been detected late Friday in an accumulator tank needed to cool the reactor core in an emergency, forcing the utility to shut down the reactor. Workers will begin the shutdown at 1 p.m. Saturday in Japan, and shutdown will be complete by 9 p.m., he said.

The shutdown at Oi just four months after the devastating accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant comes as a blow to an industry struggling to regain public confidence. It also worsens an electricity shortage that has forced several utilities in Japan to require companies to reduce their use by at least 15 percent.

Only 19 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are operating, because units shut down for regular maintenance have not been given permission by local governments to restart after the disaster at Fukushima, operated by Japan’s largest nuclear operator, Tokyo Electric Power. In the meantime, more reactors have been closing for scheduled maintenance, reducing the number in service across the country.

The 1.17-million-kilowatt Oi No. 1 Reactor, built in 1979, had been in the last stages of a trial run at full output after undergoing scheduled maintenance this year. At Kansai Electric, only four of its 11 reactors are now operating.

Editor's Note: Oi Nuclear Power Plant shown in map below

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

7/12/2011 "During April, The People In Seattle Could Have Just As Easily Been In Tokyo For The Amount Of Hot Particles That Were There"

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 7/12/2011

Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen said recently:

During April, the people in Seattle could have just as easily been in Tokyo for the amount of hot particles that were there.

(For background on "hot particles", see this and this.)

Of course, radiation monitoring in Seattle may be kept secret. As that Washington Department of Health notes:

A helicopter flying over some urban areas of King and Pierce counties will gather radiological readings July 11-28, 2011. [Seattle is in King County.] The U.S. Department of Energy’s Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measurement System will collect baseline levels of radioactive materials.
**
Some of the data may be withheld for national security purposes.

Indeed, the EPA has drastically reduced its radiation reporting to the public (which was never great), and has tried to raise acceptable radiation standards.

But isn't the amount of radiation Seattle residents are being exposed to safe? No, say many top experts. See this, this, this, this, this and this.

As David J. Brenner, a professor of radiation biophysics and the director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University Medical Center, wrote recently in The Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists:

Should this worry us? We know that the extra individual cancer risks from this long-term exposure will be very small indeed. Most of us have about a 40 percent chance of getting cancer at some point in our lives, and the radiation dose from the extra radioactive cesium in the food supply will not significantly increase our individual cancer risks.
But there’s another way we can and should think about the risk: not from the perspective of individuals, but from the perspective of the entire population. A tiny extra risk to a few people is one thing. But here we have a potential tiny extra risk to millions or even billions of people. Think of buying a lottery ticket — just like the millions of other people who buy a ticket, your chances of winning are miniscule. Yet among these millions of lottery players, a few people will certainly win; we just can’t predict who they will be. Likewise, will there be some extra cancers among the very large numbers of people exposed to extremely small radiation risks? It’s likely, but we really don’t know for sure.

Hat tip: ENE News and Forbes' Jeff McMahon, two of the best energy-related news sources on the web.

7/14/2011 Los Alamos National Lab prepares for monsoon flash flooding

Date: 7/14/2011

Los Alamos National Lab, America's premier nuclear weapons research and development facility/factory, seemed to weather the Las Conchas wildfire without a major nuclear incident (e.g. the potential threat of fire releasing dangerous levels of radiation in to the air from various Material Disposal Areas or lab facilities). A new threat exists now, but this time from flash floods potentially washing contaminated soil in to the Rio Grande river, the source of drinking water for many New Mexico communities including the capital Sante Fe. [1] According to a July 11, 2011 article by Reuters:

...
The soil in the canyons above Los Alamos National Laboratory, the linchpin of American's nuclear weapons industry, contains materials with trace amounts of radiation and hazardous chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were dumped there decades ago, said Fred deSousa, spokesman for the lab's environmental control division.

Over the weekend, about 1,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed primarily from two canyons -- Los Alamos and Pajarito -- that run through lab property, deSousa said.

The erosion control effort, which included the installation of 600 feet of water diversion barriers, will continue this week, he said.[1]
...

In a recent PressTV interview (below), Willem Malten of the Los Alamos Study Group states "there is a frantic community effort under way with mainly Native Americans sandbagging their own homelands while the [The Los Alamos National] Laboratory just removed 12,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the canyons."

PressTV: 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants'


Some key points were raised in the interview. Approximately 4 minutes in to the interview Malten states that a year long Associated Press investigation has found that the NRC (Nuclear Regulator Commission) has allowed aging nuclear power plants to run beyond their natural lifespan by relaxing previously set safety standards. Also of note is the segment of the interview starting at 7 minutes 7 seconds. Here Malten says that there has been "too cozy of a relationship between the nuclear industry, regulators and politicians for too long." The Obama administration received $210,000 in campaign contributions from the nuclear industry according to Malten.

Sources:
[1] Contaminated soil a concern at Los Alamos lab, Reuters
[2] 'Monsoon rain could flood Los Alamos with contaminants', PressTV

7/13/2011 Missouri River Flood: Alert Lifted at Cooper Nuclear Power Plant

Source: Gather News (gather.com)
Date: July 13, 2011 07:45 PM EDT
by: Angela Tague

On July 12, the Nebraska Public Power District lifted the "notification of unusual event" put in place at the Cooper Nuclear Station south of Omaha, Nebr. just last month. The Missouri River flood waters are finally starting to recede, causing plant workers to breathe a bit easier this week.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Here is the current action plan at Cooper Nuclear Station.

7/14/2011 Typhoon Ma-On Targeting Japan

Source: AccuWeather.com
Date: Jul 14, 2011; 11:20 AM ET
by: Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist

A powerful typhoon is on track to strike mainland Japan early next week.
...
Read full article here

DHS's First Patent: A Citizen's Dosimeter!

Source: Department of Homeland Security (dhs.gov)
Date: June 27, 2011

It fits in your wallet and can save your life.

Adam Hutter, Director of NUSTL, presents Cecilia Murtagh (center) and Gladys Klemic with plaques commemorating DHS’s first patent. Not pictured: co-investigator Paul Bailey, now at the University of Maryland. (Jenny May)

No matter how many plastic cards currently crowd your wallet, one day you may wish to make room for one more. The Department of Homeland Security(DHS)’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed a miniaturized version of a dosimeter, a portable device used for measuring exposure to ionizing radiation, which can provide life-saving early detection in the unlikely event of a nuclear accident or dirty bomb.
...
Read full article here

7/13/2011 Fukushima workers brave radiation and heat for £80 a day

Source: UK Guardian
Date: Wednesday 13 July 2011 19.20 BST

Fears grow for inexperienced contractors working in Japanese heatwave to bring stricken nuclear reactors under control


Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photograph: Ho/AFP/Getty Images

Hundreds of inexperienced contractors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are working in searing heat and high radiation levels for as little as 10,000 yen (£80) a day.
...
Read full article here

7/13/2011 (Video) High levels of Cesium-134 (23663 Bq/Kg) and Cesium-137 (28884 Bq/Kg) found in Tokyo metro playground

Source: AustralianCannonball YouTube channel
Date: 7/13/2011 upload date

The video below goes over the shocking lab radionuclide test results of soil taken from a Tokyo playground which a private Japanese citizen payed for with their own money:


Results
Iodine-131: < 20 becquerels/kg
Cesium-134: 23663 becquerels/kg
Cesium-137: 28884 becquerels/kg

For reference, the following chart taken from Bloomberg shows safe food and water limits set by the Japanese government:

================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for radioactive Iodine-131:
================================================================
300 Becquerel per kilogram         Drinking water
300 (Bq/kg)                        Milk, dairy products
2,000 (Bq/kg)                      Vegetables*
                                   (*Except root vegetables and
                                   tubers)
================================================================

================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for radioactive cesium:
================================================================
200 Becquerel per kilogram         Drinking water
200 (Bq/kg)                        Milk, dairy products
500 (Bq/kg)                        Vegetables
500 (Bq/kg)                        Grains
500 (Bq/kg)                        Meat, eggs, fish, etc.
================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for uranium:
================================================================
20 Becquerel per kilogram          Infant foods
20 (Bq/kg)                         Drinking water
20 (Bq/kg)                         Milk, dairy products
100 (Bq/kg)                        Vegetables
100 (Bq/kg)                        Grains
100 (Bq/kg)                        Meat, eggs, fish, etc.
================================================================

================================================================
Prescribed safe limits for alpha-emitting nuclides of plutonium
and transuranic elements:
================================================================
1 Becquerel per kilogram           Infant foods
1 (Bq/kg)                          Drinking water
1 (Bq/kg)                          Milk, dairy products
10 (Bq/kg)                         Vegetables
10 (Bq/kg)                         Grains
10 (Bq/kg)                         Meat, eggs, fish etc.
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Further testing will be done on the soil sample at a second lab, for other radionuclides.

Also, the above video illustrates that when placing a personal dosimeter (Geiger counter) right on the ground in Kashiwa, which is 23 km from the center of Tokyo, the measurement is astonishingly high showing a peak of 6.59 μSv/hr (microsieverts/hour). For reference, there is only one personal dosimeter shared on Ustream (that I could find), which consistently shows values in whole numbered μSv/hr. This is the GM-fukushima Geiger counter, which normally displays the outdoors levels of an open air cafe in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture.  This is the closest Geiger counter in the Live Streaming Radiation Meters collection to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.