10/4/2012 Top Nuclear Experts: Technology Doesn’t Yet Exist to Clean Up Fukushima

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 10/4/2012

Containing Fukushima Is Beyond Current Technology

World-renowned physicist Michio Kaku said recently:

It will take years to invent a new generation of robots able to withstand the radiation.

(The radiation inside the reactors is too hot even for robots.)
AP reports:

Hiroshi Tasaka, a nuclear engineer and professor at Tama University who advised the prime minister after the disaster …  said the government target of removing all the rods by the end of next year may prove too optimistic because of many unknowns, the need to develop new technology and the risk of aftershocks.

The world leader in decommissioning nuclear reactors, and one of the main contractors hired to clean up Fukushima – EnergySolutions – made a similar point in May:

Concerning the extraction of fuel debris [at Fukushima], which is considered the most challenging process, “There is no technology which may be directly applied,” said [top EnergySolutions executive] Morant.

1/24/2012 New Material to Remove Radioactive Gas from Spent Nuclear Fuel

Source: Science Daily
Date: 1/24/2012

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2012) — Research by a team of Sandia chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste.
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10/27/2011 Japanese government still refusing to evacuate Fukushima children.

Source: dahawaiiguy808 YouTube channel
Date: 10/30/2011 upload date of 10/27/2011 meeting

10/6/2011 IAEA sends decontamination experts to Japan

Source: NHK World 
Date: Friday, October 07, 2011 11:22 +0900 (JST)

The International Atomic Energy Agency has sent a team of experts to Japan to give advice on cleaning up the radioactive contamination from the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

On Thursday, the 12-member IAEA team left Vienna, where the head office of the world's nuclear watchdog is based.

The IAEA sent the mission at the request of Japan's nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono, who attended the IAEA general conference in Vienna in September.

The radiation experts have experience in remediating areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986.

The team's leader, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said before their departure that they would like to help Japan find the best way to decontaminate the affected areas.

Lentijo, the head of radiation protection at Spain's nuclear regulatory authority, said the team's important mission is to come up with proposals to share with Japan.

The members will discuss decontamination steps with Japanese officials and advise Fukushima residents.
They will leave Japan on October 15th.

10/1/2011 Decontamination efforts accelerate in Fukushima

Source: NHK World
Date: Saturday, October 01, 2011 22:32 +0900 (JST)
by: Kanako Sachno


Municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture affected by the nuclear accident in March are stepping up efforts to decontaminate public buildings and restore key infrastructures.

The move comes after the Japanese government lifted an evacuation advisory on Friday for 5 municipalities located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

After the March 11th disaster, residents in these municipalities were advised to prepare to evacuate in case of an emergency at the nuclear plant.

The city of Minamisoma has placed priority on removing radioactive substances from public facilities such as parks, schools and roads.

Contractors are replacing surface soil with uncontaminated soil. But they say it's becoming difficult to procure the necessary amount of soil due to increasing demand.

In Kawauchi Village, residents have begun to patrol the community against burglaries. It is feared that the cancellation of the government advisory could make it easier for burglars to prey on the community.

The central government has yet to come up with concrete measures, including financial assistance, to support the municipalities' restoration efforts.

9/6/2011 Microbes Generate Electricity While Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste

Source: Science Daily
Date: 9/6/2011

ScienceDaily (Sep. 6, 2011) — Researchers at Michigan State University have unraveled the mystery of how microbes generate electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste and other toxic metals.
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7/10/2011 Fukushima Finally Labeled As “New Chernobyl” — Japan Admits Cleanup Will Take Decades

Source: Alexander Higgins Blog
Date: July 10, 2011 at 11:02 am

Japan’s prime minister has finally admitted the to the reality of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, labeling the nuclear meltdowns as the new Chernobyl and admitting it will take decades before the nuclear disaster is cleaned up.

As previously reported, Japan’s new timeline for cleaning up the nuclear meltdown is at least 10 years from now and that is contingent on technology being developed within that time to allow workers to cleanup the molten fuel at the nuclear reactor.
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7/9/2011 Japan says Fukushima clean-up to take 20 years

Source: RT News
Date: 7/9/2011


Japan's Prime Minister has announced that it will take up to 20 years to clean up after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. It's the first time the government has attempted to indicate how long the operation may take. Emergency measures are already underway to shut down the reactors to prevent further radiation leaks. The Fukushima plant was ruined when it was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in March. Thousands of people have left the area around the facility over safety fears.

6/3/2011 JST | School radiation cleanup slammed

Source: The Japan Times
Date: Friday, June 3, 2011 JST

Parents flunk ministry over soil-removal policy shift

Kyodo

Despite the education ministry's recent move to set a new nonbinding target to reduce the radiation children in Fukushima Prefecture are exposed to at schools, experts, local educators and parents don't feel reassured.

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