FUKUSHIMA UPDATE OCTOBER 2011

FUCKERS...TEPCO....BURN IN HELL!!!

Blood and urine tests have revealed thyroid problems in 10 of 130 children from Fukushima Prefecture. The children ranged from infant to 16 years of age. Children are highly susceptible to radiation causing cancers, including thyroid cancer.

High levels of radioactive cesium have been discovered in Fukushima City, 60 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Cesium levels in soil measured as high as 370,000 Bq/kg, three times the legal limit, and similar to levels that triggered mandatory evacuation at Chernobyl. Residents are asking the government to designate the area as a hot spot. That move would allow those who voluntarily evacuate to receive government funding and compensation. Although some areas of the city have already been decontaminated, those efforts have not been effective.

Starting this month, radiation will be measured at 500 elementary schools. Data will be updated every 10 minutes and posted on the internet, in an effort to allay parents’ concerns about radiation danger. Eventually, kindergartens and high schools will also be included in the program.

Japan will monitor radiation levels in five towns where evacuation advisories were recently lifted. Radiation will be measured on roads and hills, as well as rivers, springs, and wells, and data will be made public.

Officials in Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture will soon reopen five schools, now that an evacuation advisory has been lifted. Students will be allowed to play outdoors for a maximum of two hours a day, but must wear masks as well as long sleeves and pants to reduce exposure to ongoing radiation. Children are particularly susceptible to the cancer-inducing effects of radiation.

Miyagi Prefecture will begin monitoring radiation at 44 locations in the prefecture by March 2012. Data will be released to the public.

Decontamination and Waste Disposal

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries will measure radiation levels at 400 locations in forests in Fukushima. Forests comprise 70% of the prefecture. Experts will map radiation levels one meter above the ground and measure soil contamination levels 5 cm below the surface. The map will be released in February. The ministry plans to decontaminate forests 20 meters from populated areas by removing radioactive soil and leaves. However, other forested land will remain contaminated, in part because removing soil from all areas would produce too much nuclear waste.

Experts say that Japan’s decision to extend decontamination efforts to all areas measuring more than 1 millisievert of radiation will raise the overall cost of decontamination by an indeterminate amount. The total area requiring decontamination is still unknown. The cost of the original plan, which would have limited decontamination to areas measuring 5 millisieverts, was estimated at JY1.4 trillion.

Incineration at a waste disposal facility in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, was halted this week after cesium levels in ash were measured at 70,800 Bq/kg. The legal limit for ash that can be buried is 8,000 Bq/kg. The city has not said when or if the facility will be re-opened.

Fukushima Prefecture has begun decontamination training sessions for engineers, painters, and volunteers. The sessions focus on decontamination methods, worker safety, and use of dosimeters.

Power Company Scandals

The Ministry of Economy, Technology, and Industry (METI) will punish six officials accused of manipulating the outcome of town hall meetings designed to determine public opinion nuclear power.