Torrential rain hits Niigata & Fukushima [View All]

[robdogbucky]

Torrential rain hits Niigata & Fukushima

Torrential rain in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan has caused rivers to overflow, raising the danger of more landslides.

The Meteorological Agency says a downpour of about 110 millimeters per hour is believed to have fallen in Uonuma City, Niigata, and Tadami Town in neighboring Fukushima on Friday.

In Niigata and Fukushima prefectures, two people are missing. One man in Fukushima was caught in a mudslide as he was building a sandbag barrier in an attempt to hold off the floods.

Rainfall in Tadami has reached a record 400 millimeters over the past 24 hours and 300 millimeters in Kamo City in Niigata.
Sanjo City in Niigata has seen total rain approaching 700 millimeters since Wednesday. Authorities there have issued an evacuation advisory to all households -- a total population of 104,000...

Friday, July 29, 2011 21:14 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/29_34.html



1,500 tons of radioactive sludge cannot be buried

Nearly 50,000 tons of sludge at water treatment facilities has been found to contain radioactive cesium as the result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Over 1,500 tons is so contaminated that it cannot be buried for disposal.

Water treatment facilities in eastern and northeastern Japan have been discovering sludge containing cesium.

The health ministry says there is 49,250 tons of such sludge in 14 prefectures in eastern and northeastern Japan.

A total of 1,557 tons in 5 prefectures, including Fukushima and Miyagi, was found to contain 8,000 or more becquerels per kilogram. This sludge is too radioactive to be buried for disposal...

Friday, July 29, 2011 04:35 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/29_05.html




Wastewater recycling partially halted at Fukushima

A problematic water decontamination system at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has forced its operator to stop pumping out radioactive water pooled in the basements of reactor buildings.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Friday that a waste disposal facility where radioactive water is kept before being decontaminated is almost full because of a delay in the decontamination process.

As a result, TEPCO suspended the transfer of contaminated water to the facility from the plant's No. 2 and 3 reactor buildings.

The utility uses a wastewater system that decontaminates radioactive water and recycles it as coolant for reactors...

Friday, July 29, 2011 16:03 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/29_21.html