Fukushima: Residents in radiation hotspots anxious about evacuating as deadline for decision looms

[robdogbucky]

Residents in radiation hotspots anxious about evacuating as deadline for decision looms

FUKUSHIMA -- Residents in areas where radiation hotspots have been detected are voicing worries that their communities will be split up, as the deadline for residents to decide whether or not to evacuate approaches.

Over one week has passed since 113 households in four areas of the Fukushima Prefecture city of Date have been placed under special evacuation recommendations. Residents in these hotspots must decide for themselves whether or not to evacuate by July 8, but the level of support they will receive if they leave remains unclear.

Among the households to receive evacuation recommendations are 32 in the Kamioguni area of Date's Ryozenmachi district, and 54 in the Shimooguni area. Oguni Elementary School, which students in these two areas attend, has a total roll of just 57 children, of which 20 are in households subject to evacuation recommendations.

At a local information session on the recommendation designation, residents voiced concerns about the remaining students.
"Will the children who are left behind have to go to school along routes where there are high amounts of radiation?" one resident asked...

(Mainichi Japan) July 8, 2011

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110708p2a00m0na005000c.html



Tepco Says 3 More Workers Exposed to Radiation Exceeding Limit

By Tsuyoshi Inajima and Shunichi Ozasa –
Jul 7, 2011 2:30 AM PTThu Jul 07 09:30:45 GMT 2011

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said three more workers at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant were exposed to radiation exceeding the government’s annual limit.

The male workers, in their 20s, were exposed to levels beyond the limit of 250 millisieverts, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility known as Tepco, told reporters in Tokyo today. Medical examinations showed the exposure had no immediate impact on their health, he said.

Under Tepco rules, a worker exposed to more than 170 millisieverts will be deployed to the plant’s radiation- and quake-proof operation center, Hajime Motojuku, a spokesman for the utility, said by phone. A worker exposed to more than 200 millisieverts will be sent to other Tepco plants or offices, according to Motojuku.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo at [e-mail]; Shunichi Ozasa in Tokyo at [e-mail]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-07/tepco-says-3-more-workers-exposed-to-radiation-exceeding-limit.html



Four cities request bigger nuclear safety zone

Four municipalities around a nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture have asked the central government to expand the plant's official emergency zone, so their communities can be included in the event of a nuclear accident.

Mayors and representatives from the cities of Fujieda, Yaizu, Fukuroi and Iwata handed a petition requesting the change to nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono on Friday.

The mayors asked that the emergency planning zone around the Hamaoka nuclear power station be expanded from the current 10-kilometer radius to 30 kilometers...

…Hosono agreed the Fukushima accident revealed the inadequacy of a 10-kilometer radius, and said the government must promptly review the matter.

Friday, July 08, 2011 20:59 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_35.html




Reactor restart at Ikata nuclear plant postponed

The operator of the Ikata nuclear power plant in western Japan says it will postpone restarting one of the plant's reactors because of opposition from local residents.

Shikoku Electric Power Company said on Friday that it decided not to resume operations at the No.3 reactor on Sunday as originally scheduled. The utility halted operations at the reactor for regular inspection on April 29th, but reloaded it with fuel rods in late June to prepare for the restart.

The company said it did all it could to ease the concerns of local residents in light of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, including conducting detailed safety inspections of the reactor.

But it was still unable to gain the necessary support…

Friday, July 08, 2011 14:05 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_20.html



TEPCO to inject nitrogen into No. 3 reactor

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is preparing to connect pipes to the plant's No. 3 reactor to inject nitrogen to prevent a hydrogen explosion.

Tokyo Electric Power Company workers spent 10 minutes in the reactor building on Friday to determine whether pipes can be connected to the reactor's containment vessel.

The utility says the workers confirmed that the reactor's connections are intact, and that work to lay the pipes can start on Saturday.

The firm had sent a robot equipped with a camera into the building to check the situation, but the device was blocked and could not finish the work.

Friday, July 08, 2011 19:48 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_32.html



Radioactive cesium detected from Tochigi tea

Radioactive cesium exceeding the government limit was detected in processed tea made in Tochigi City, about 160 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The Tochigi Prefectural Government says 1,810 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected in tea processed from leaves harvested in the city in early July.

The level is more than 3 times the provisional government limit…

…After the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, tea leaves and processed teas contaminated by radioactive substances have been found over wide areas near Tokyo. These include the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and the country's largest tea production center, Shizuoka.

Friday, July 08, 2011 08:43 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_06.html




Systematic involvement suspected in Genkai scandal

Kyushu Electric Power Company says its nuclear energy division may have been involved in a systematic effort to manipulate public opinion to support the restarting of its Genkai nuclear power plant.

Last month, the government held a meeting to explain safety measures to local residents before restarting the No.2 and 3 reactors at the plant in Saga Prefecture.

The meeting was broadcast live on TV and the internet, and viewers were invited to submit their opinions by e-mail or fax.

It was learned on Friday that the 2 of the utility's executives, including a vice president in charge of the nuclear energy division, instructed their subordinates to help with the effort, referring to the meeting…

Friday, July 08, 2011 14:48 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_21.html





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