8/1/2011 Highest radioactivity level detected at nuke plant

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 06:33 +0900 (JST)

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has detected 10,000 millisieverts of radioactivity per hour at the plant. The level is the highest detected there since the nuclear accident in March.

Workers of Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Monday measured the extremely high level of radioactivity near pipes at the bottom of a duct between the No.1 and neighboring No.2 reactor buildings.

According to the science ministry's brochure, if a human received 10,000 millisieverts, they would likely die within a week or two.

TEPCO has restricted access to the site and the surrounding area.

The utility says the workers taking measurements on Monday were exposed to up to 4 millisieverts.

The utility says the high level of radioactivity was detected because the pipes were used to vent air containing radioactive substances from the crippled No.1 reactor on March 12th.

The utility had detected a maximum of 1,000 millisieverts per hour outdoors in debris, and also found a maximum of 4,000 millisieverts per hour indoors in one of the reactor buildings.

Editor's Note: Another article from Bloomberg here.

8/1/2011 Blue Ribbon Commission drafts waste recommendations

Source: World Nuclear News
Date: 8/1/2011

The so-called Blue Ribbon Commission set up to develop a new strategy for the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle in the USA has released its draft report outlining seven key elements to make an integrated approach to nuclear waste management.
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Read full article here

7/23/2011 Nuclear Power 101: Fairewinds examines the fundamental advantages and disadvantages of splitting atoms to boil water.

Source: Fairewinds Associates
Date: 7/23/2011 University of Vermont, 7/31/2011 upload date


 Included in this presentation and PowerPoint is a discussion of how nuclear power plants work, how to cool a reactor during an accident, the effect of hot particles when inhaled, and concerns involving the long-term storage of nuclear waste. This presentation took place at the Nuclear Power Conference held at the University of Vermont July 23, 2011.

7/31/2011 Kan criticizes nuke watchdog for manipulation

Source: NHK World
Date: Sunday, July 31, 2011 22:41 +0900 (JST)


Prime Minister Naoto Kan has criticized Japan's nuclear regulator for trying to manipulate public opinion on nuclear power.

Kan attended an energy policy forum on Sunday in Chino, north of Tokyo. He referred to the alleged manipulation of opinion on nuclear energy by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

The agency allegedly told Chubu Electric Power Company to ensure that some participants at a symposium asked prearranged questions in favor of nuclear power. The event was held 4 years ago in Shizuoka Prefecture, which hosts a nuclear plant.

Kan said if the allegation is true, it means that the agency sided with the utility to promote nuclear power, although the agency should ensure the safety of nuclear plants for the public.

Kan likened the agency's allegation to the scandal of tainted blood products, which he tackled when he was health minister in the mid-1990s.

In the 1980s, many people, mostly patients with hemophilia, contracted HIV through tainted products because the health ministry allowed drugmakers to sell them even after safer products were developed.

Kan said the current nuclear administration and system totally lack the ability of responding to nuclear accidents. He put the blame on the realignment of government offices about a decade ago under Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto that created various committees in the Cabinet Office.
Kan expressed his resolve to address the fundamental reorganization of institutions related to energy policy, and not just the separation of the agency from the economy ministry. He said he will pursue a fundamental reconstruction of the nuclear and energy administration from a position free from any vested interests.

8/1/2011 Govt to check rice for radiation

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, August 01, 2011 19:15 +0900 (JST)




Japan's government is to ask rice-producing regions to check their crops for radiation before and after harvest.

The government plans to provide local authorities with details of the tests this week. The tests are designed to ensure that rice on the market will be free of radioactive cesium believed to come from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The government says it will suspend rice shipments if levels of cesium exceeding the safety limit are detected.

All 6 prefectures in the Tohoku region, northern Japan, have decided to test their rice for radiation.

Tokyo and 12 other prefectures also say they will carry out or consider radiation checks.

Radioactive cesium has been detected in rice straw, vegetables and compost in wide areas following the accident at the Fukushima plant.

Farmers have voiced concern that their rice may be contaminated, because it was planted after the accident.

Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo will start tests soon, as the region's harvest begins in early August.

8/1/2011 Govt bans beef cattle shipments from Iwate

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, August 01, 2011 18:45 +0900 (JST)



Japan's government has ordered Iwate Prefecture to suspend shipments of all beef cattle, after radiation levels above government standards were detected in some beef from the region.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Monday that the ban was issued to the governor of Iwate after levels of radioactive cesium above the standard were found in beef from 2 municipalities.

Edano said the government will ensure that cattle farmers receive appropriate compensation, adding it will swiftly lift the ban for beef whose safety is confirmed.

Iwate is the third prefecture to face a beef shipment ban after Fukushima and Miyagi. Some cattle in Iwate were fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium.

Authorities have confirmed that beef from 6 such cattle was contaminated with high levels of cesium.

The government will require the inspection of all beef from farmers who shipped meat contaminated with high levels of cesium or used tainted rice straw. Other farmers are asked to check their first beef to be shipped to market. The government says it will allow beef shipments when radiation levels are confirmed to be below the standard.

Iwate ships about 36,000 beef cattle a year. The prefecture says it will check all cattle for radiation exposure before shipment.

The government will also ask the prefecture to temporarily reduce the number of shipments to match its inspection capability.

8/1/2011 Strong quake jolts central Japan, no tsunami alert

Source: Reuters
Date: Mon Aug 1, 2011 11:42am EDT
by: Yoko Kubota 
Editing by: Mark Heinrich


(Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted central and eastern Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but it did not issue a tsunami alert.

The quake, which occurred at 11:58 p.m. (10:58 a.m. EDT), was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km west of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

All reactors at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka are shut after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for its closure, citing research showing that the area is at particularly high risk for a major earthquake within the next few decades.

No abnormalities have been reported from the Hamaoka plant, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Editor's Note: USGS Report


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