*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

Protest at Finnish nuclear power plant

Helsinki - About 50 people were detained Saturday during a protest at a nuclear plant in western Finland, police said.

The protest was staged at the Olkiluoto plant where two of the country's four reactors are located. A fifth reactor is being built at the site, but has suffered delays.

[link to www.monstersandcritics.com]

Estimated yearly radiation dosage hits 508 mSv in town near nuke plant

High radiation levels of up to 508.1 millisieverts per year are estimated for areas within a 20-kilometer radius of the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power plant in figures released by the government on Aug. 19.

The figures, released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, are the first publicly released estimate of the yearly accumulated radiation dosage in 50 locations across eight municipalities in the 20-kilometer radius zone.

The highest figure was for the Koirino district of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, where the estimated yearly dosage was 508.1 millisieverts -- over 500 times the acceptable yearly level of 1 millisievert per year for artificial radiation dosage. The district is three kilometers west-southwest of the plant.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

A government-affiliated research institute began experiments Saturday to decontaminate soil in rice fields in the village of Iitate, Fukushima Prefecture, where radiation levels are high due to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis.

Iitate is among the areas designated for evacuation and planting rice has been banned.

The experiment by the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, is focusing on making cesium rise to the surface so it can be removed.

[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

Inspectors check West Coast fish for radiation from Japanese nuclear meltdown

[link to www.vancouverobserver.com]

Fukushima: Radiation reports overshadow progress at plant

45 percent of children living up to 30 miles from the Fukushima plant tested positive for radiation exposure.


[link to www.globalpost.com]

fútbol
Soccer game halted by Fukushima chants

[link to latino.foxnews.com]

Radiation Discovered In Rice Near Tokyo


Japanese inspectors found the first case of radioactive contamination in rice, the national grain, on Friday, adding it to the list of foods harmed by the accident at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Read more: [link to www.post-gazette.com]

ARMY NORTH PREPARES TO RESPOND TO POSSIBLE CATASTROPHIC EVENT

The following information was released by the U.S. Army:

Vibrant Response, an annual training exercise that brings together the military and civilian authorities in preparation for responding to a catastrophic incident, takes place Aug. 16-28 in Indiana.

[link to www.fireengineering.com]

Radioactive rice was discovered yesterday in a crop 90 miles south of the tsunami and earthquake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.



Read more: [link to www.mirror.co.uk]

Military installs two high-powered radiation detectors in Japan

The new lab not only symbolizes the military’s watchful eye in tracking nuclear fallout in Japan, Brumage said, but also signals a new era in the military’s radiological response efforts.

“Up until now much of the military’s policies have focused on nuclear warfare and radiological risks associated with the battlefield versus low-level releases from a civilian nuclear power plant,” he said. “So we’re doing something new here.”

[link to www.stripes.com]

Radiation fears hit Fukushima on multiple fronts

This summer, some parks in this prefecture are devoid of children, parents having sent them on programs far away so they can play outside without worrying about radiation from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

On Aug. 8, a group of 14 elementary and junior-high students were boarding a bus in the city of Date, one city where areas with high levels of radiation have been measured. The students had been invited by a prefectural support group to a two-week program in Aichi Prefecture in the southwest, where they would enjoy swimming and other sporting events. Many other support groups have organized similar programs.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono said Saturday that the government will set up a task force to promote radioactive decontamination in areas surrounding the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant probably next week.

The central government will also establish a decontamination promotion unit in Fukushima Prefecture to initially commence the process in the city of Date, Hosono said during a meeting with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato at the prefectural government office.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

EXCLUSIVE: Pulling back from the nuclear abyss
Kazakhstan Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev talks of his hopes for global nuclear disarmament.



Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Pulling back from the nuclear abyss - New Europe [link to www.neurope.eu]

Loose Nukes: Are They a Real Threat?

The illicit market of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials puts the world’s population at risk of an attack that could decimate cities and kill millions of people. A lone wolf might get a hold of fissile material, the technical knowledge to build an atomic weapon, or a nuclear weapon itself. Or a whole host of criminal agents—rogue scientists, opportunist civilians, thieves, terrorists, or even government officials—could obtain radioactive materials (or bombs themselves) through informal means.

[link to www.theepochtimes.com]

Another Teton Dam Disaster More Plausible Than You Think


For a decade, environmental activists David McCoy and Chuck Broscious have told anyone who will listen that 93-year Mackay Dam on the Big Lost River in eastern Idaho is a disaster waiting to happen.


The earth- and rock-filled structure leaks like a sieve, they say — 1 cubic foot per second, or enough to fill a backyard swimming pool in 30 minutes. It’s also located close to the fault line that caused the destructive 1983 Borah Peak Earthquake.

Downstream is the town of Mackay, and beyond that Idaho National Laboratory — and more than a dozen 300,000-gallon underground storage tanks filled with high-level nuclear waste. Theoretically, a big enough flood could release radiation.


McCoy wants a dam-failure warning system installed and 24-hour monitoring begun at Mackay Dam — but it’s unclear who would pay for it.

What is clear is that a state agency with a single inspector and a dam-safety budget of less than $300,000 can’t adequately protect Idahoans.



Read more: [link to magicvalley.com]

US seeks to implement lessons learned from Fukushima quickly

[link to www.earthtimes.org]

After Fukushima: the rise of nuclear radiation denialists

After the Fukushima disaster, the nuclear industry has urgently redoubled its efforts to convince the world that nuclear radiation is safe. Now it seems they are trying to say that radiation is actually good for us.

[link to www.independentaustralia.net]

Fukushima reactors status 21 Aug

[link to www.houseofjapan.com]

Dude--

You. Are. ROCKIN!!!

Thank you!

Karma and lots of love!

TY. Keeping it real, Monkey. Karma back at you.

Fukushima Risks Chernobyl ‘Dead Zone' as Radiation Soars

When asked to comment on the report today, Tokyo Electric spokesman Tetsuya Terasawa said the radiation levels are in line with those found after a nuclear bomb test, which disperses plutonium. He declined to comment further.

Japan's government introduced a mandatory exclusion zone 20 kilometers around the plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out power leading to three reactor meltdowns. Kawata's study didn't include samples from inside the exclusion zone, where only government and Tokyo Electric staff may enter.

The government in April ordered the evacuation of towns including Iitate, Katsurao and Namie that are outside the 20- kilometer zone after finding high levels of radiation.

(Updates with government comment in ninth paragraph.)

[link to news.businessweek.com]

Magnitude 6.8 quake jolts Japan off Fukushima, no damage

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 jolted northeastern Japan off Fukushima prefecture today, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, although no damage was reported and a tsunami advisory for the area was lifted after no waves were sighted.

[link to www.buenosairesherald.com]

TEPCO Releases Rare Video From Inside Fukushima Daiichi

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has been notoriously close-mouthed about the details of operations at the crippled Fukushima Dai-1 nuclear power plant. Last week, however, the company broke the trend and released a video report from within the grounds of the ruined power station. The video includes an apology from the plant's general manager, Masao Yoshida, who formally bows to the camera.

[link to spectrum.ieee.org]

Nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono said Saturday that the government will probably set up a task force to facilitate decontamination in areas around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant this week.


[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

Fukushima: CBS-TV Australia exposes what Canada's media denies
[link to www.agoracosmopolitan.com]

After the nuclear meltdown: inside post-Fukushima Daiichi Japan

The radiation in the water and food is still a huge problem," Nahoko Yamada, a resident of Yokohama, Japan, said. "Sure, there are activists who urge people to support the quake-hit regions by buying food from that area. But if I had a choice between vegetables from around Fukushima or from down south in Kyushu, I'd honestly buy from Kyushu. I'm worried about food safety. Also, my relatives have small kids, so they've been cooking everything with bottled mineral water, not tap water."

"I don't get much news about radiation levels here, or even about the reconstruction. The media here is completely absorbed with guessing when Prime Minister Naoto Kan is going to quit -- that's their main focus now."

"I doubt anyone is really satisfied with our government, or TEPCO (the company in charge of the Fukushima nuclear power plant). They're always making new statements about the radiation that contradict their previous ones."

"But then again can anyone else do better? No one knows what to believe or who to trust anymore."

[link to www.vancouverobserver.com]