Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Radioactive beef already sold, eaten
Fukushima meat sent to nine prefectures
Kyodo
The meat of six cows shipped from a Fukushima Prefecture farm at the heart of growing concerns over radioactive beef has been distributed to at least nine prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, and some was believed consumed, local government officials said Tuesday.
The cows ate the same straw at a farm in Minamisoma near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant as another 11 cows that were shipped to a Tokyo meat-packing plant and whose meat was found to contain excessive levels of the isotope.
Cows at the farm are believed to have been exposed to radiation internally because they were fed straw that contained radioactive cesium at levels far above the allowable limit, probably because it had been kept outdoors.
The farm shipped the six cows between May and June, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Their beef was distributed to Tokyo and Shizuoka, Osaka, Kanagawa and Ehime prefectures. It was also distributed to dealers in Hokkaido, Aichi, Tokushima and Kochi…
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110712x1.htmlSituation clearer, but problems remain after 4 months of nuclear crisis
2011/07/12
The situation seems to have stabilized somewhat at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after four months of fears and uncertainties--and an early spewing of radioactive materials that spread to 12 prefectures.
But Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, and government officials still face a host of problems. Early damage to the plant continues to present a risk of further radioactive leaks. And questions remain over the actual extent of damage to human health and the environment from the estimated 770,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials released into the air so far from the damaged reactors.
The amount from the Fukushima plant is more than 10 percent of the 5.2 million terabecquerels discharged during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
Officials said radioactive materials escaped into the atmosphere when TEPCO workers vented reactor containers to reduce the pressure inside…
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107110131.htmlTuesday, July 12, 2011
Fukushima plant site originally was a hill safe from tsunami
By REIJI YOSHIDA and TAKAHIRO FUKADA
Staff writers
The March 11 monster tsunami that hit the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant destroyed the critical backup power system and triggered the meltdown of hundreds of fuel rods in reactors 1, 2 and 3.
Video of the appalling damage and reactor building explosions led many people, from the lay to nuclear and quake experts, to ask: Why wasn't the coastal nuclear plant built in a location safe from all tsunami threats?
Katsumi Naganuma, 70, a former worker at Tokyo Electric Power Co., feels particular guilt because he knows that a 35-meter-high, tsunami-safe, bluff overlooking the sea was shaved down to build the Fukushima plant closer to sea level more than 40 years ago…
…"We decided to build the plant at ground level after comparing the ground construction costs and operating costs of the circulation water pumps," wrote Hiroshi Kaburaki, then deputy head of the Tepco's construction office at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, in the January 1969 edition of Hatsuden Suiryoku, a technical magazine on power plants…
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110712x2.htmlNuclear crisis minister wants underground barrier built quickly
Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the ongoing nuclear crisis, suggested July 11 that the government should push ahead with the construction of an underground barrier to block the flow of highly contaminated water from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant as soon as possible.
Construction of such a barrier will cost more than 100 billion yen, according to some estimates. Hosono suggested that the government should help the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), with the project.
"Can a private company such as TEPCO handle this itself? I think the government should move into action, even if that means going a step ahead," Hosono said.
Contaminated water has leaked from reactor and turbine buildings at the crippled nuclear plant. To stop this water from spreading through underground water and flowing into the sea, TEPCO plans to construct underground walls extending to a depth of 30 meters.
Under its roadmap for bringing the nuclear crisis under control, which was revised in June, consideration of the best way to block the flow of contaminated water, as well as selection of a solution and construction, had been deemed "mid-term issues" after Step 2 of the roadmap that began in July and continues for three to six months...
(Mainichi Japan) July 12, 2011
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110712p2a00m0na005000c.htmlREALITY CHECK: It's 1 step forward, 2 steps back at Fukushima plant
BY NAOYA KON STAFF WRITER
2011/07/12
Four months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Tokyo Electric Power Co. still has a long and winding road to go before bringing the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control.
The company has been unable to inject nitrogen into the containment vessel of the No. 3 reactor to prevent another hydrogen explosion.
High levels of radiation have barred workers from entering the reactor building, which was badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion on March 14.
In early July, TEPCO tried to remove radioactive materials from the floor with a robot cleaner, but radiation levels did not fall as expected…
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107110130.htmlMoms set up network to protect kids from radiation
Japanese mothers have set up a nationwide network to protect their children from food contaminated with radioactive substances.
About 450 mothers and others from across the country gathered to kick off the organization in Tokyo, on Tuesday.
A mother from Fukushima said that the national and local governments simply repeat that food on the market is safe, but she cannot trust their words. She said the group should urge prefectural governments to take sufficient measures to ensure children can eat safe food.
Participants were then divided into groups based on the areas they are from, and discussed their worries...
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 20:37 +0900 (JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_35.htmlTuesday, July 12, 2011
Radiation, debris vex Tohoku's fishermen
By JUN HONGO
Staff writer
Four months after the quake and tsunami hit communities along the Tohoku coastline, fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas still find themselves in uncharted waters as contamination of the sea remains a major obstacle to their business.
Toshihiro Omori, who is in charge of policy planning at Japan Fisheries Cooperatives, said fishermen in Fukushima have not been able to restart their business since the March 11 disaster triggered the nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
"I can say that without the nuclear power plant under control, those in the area won't be able to do anything about catching fish," Omori said during a lecture in Tokyo last month...
…Tests have so far revealed that other than sand lance, flounders, crabs, seaweed and hen clams were also found to be contaminated beyond government-set levels…
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110712f1.html
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