I will be dead long before they even start removing the melted fuel from the reactors. It's a multi-billion dollar project that will come due after my demise. I guess it's not really my problem, LOL. suckers!
In 10 years the molten fuel won't be anywhere inside the buildings, it may not be right now. They admitted meltdown, they admitted pressure vessels leaking, they are now confirming containment vessel damage, so that leaves the basement to keep the ground water safe. If everyone recalls they couldn't get near the basement because of the high level of radiation. Wonder why that is.
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07:31 PM
carnut122 Member
Posts: 9122 From: Waleska, GA, USA Registered: Jan 2004
If you watch the video you will her the woman say that water is SURROUNDING the plant. She also said specifically "They (the waters) have not flooded the plant". That means it is NOT under water.
This is the text of the written story
If the pumps are handing the leak, then the building is NOT under water.
I had a childhood where I actually learned the meaning of English words. I also learned not to lie even if it is try to convince people of my wacko fear mongering.
NOT UNDER WATER.
I enjoy your sense of humor.
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10:03 PM
Jul 10th, 2011
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
Elderly Fukushima woman kills self 'to evacuate to grave' This is one of four suicide notes that the 93-year-old woman left behind in her house in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. (Mainichi) This is one of four suicide notes that the 93-year-old woman left behind in her house in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. (Mainichi)
MINAMISOMA, Fukushima -- A 93-year-old woman, dejected over the ongoing nuclear crisis, was found hanged at her home in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, in late June, leaving behind suicide notes that said in part, "I will evacuate to the grave. I am sorry."
After hydrogen explosions at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant in March, the woman was forced to evacuate to the house of her second daughter in Soma and was later hospitalized for two weeks before returning May 3 to her house in Minamisoma, subject to a possible emergency evacuation order due to the nuclear disaster.
"If we have to evacuate again, elderly people (like me) will become a drag," her suicide note said.
The elderly woman, whose identity was kept confidential to protect her privacy, lived with her 72-year-old son and his 71-year-old wife and two grandchildren in a quiet rice paddy district. Her son said she kept herself busy with daily chores despite her weak feet and also kept diaries.
After the hydrogen explosions at the nuclear power plant, about 22 kilometers from her house, she and her family left Minamisoma on March 17. She took refuge at her daughter's house in Soma while her son and his family moved into a guest house in Katashina, Gunma Prefecture, on March 18.
She was hospitalized in late April. After two weeks of treatment, she returned to her house on May 3 and frequently telephoned her son and his family in Gunma Prefecture, asking them to come back.
Her son and his family finally returned home on the night of June 6, and she happily greeted them. But the son told his mother that they may have to evacuate again if the nuclear accident gets worse.
About two weeks after the five-member household resumed living together, the 93-year-old woman was found hanged in the garden on June 22.
Her four suicide notes addressed to her family, ancestors and a close neighborhood friend were later found in the house. "My heart is in my mouth everyday due to news of the nuclear power plant," she wrote to her family.
"Doing things like this (killing myself), I am disgracing my children and grandchildren and relatives, but it cannot be helped in this day and age," said her note to her parents.
After her death, neighbors frequently come to her house to pray. Her neighborhood friend, to whom one of her suicide notes was addressed, choking up with tears, asked, "Why did this have to happen to her?"
A 74-year-old former priest of Ganoku Temple in Minamisoma who recited a sutra at her funeral, said, "There are some evacuees who feel depressed after waking up and noticing different ceilings (from their own house). It's really hard for elderly people to evacuate."
Radioactive cesium far exceeding the legal limit has been detected in hay that was fed to cattle at a farm in Fukushima Prefecture. The prefecture has been investigating why the cattle were contaminated with the radioactive substance.
On Sunday, officials took samples of feed and well water at the farm located in Minamisoma City within the planned evacuation zone.
[They say 75,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium has been detected in the feed. This far exceeds the government's safety limit of 300 becquerels per kilogram.
The farmer says the cattle had been kept inside but were fed with hay left outdoors after the March nuclear accident.
Eleven cattle from the farm were sent to Tokyo to be slaughtered. The beef from the animals contained levels of cesium that were more than triple the legal limit. The prefecture has asked farmers in the city to suspend beef cattle shipments.
Fukushima Prefecture will continue to investigate the feed and water and check if there were any problems with the way the cattle were raised.
Wonder what TEPCO is going to do with all that cattle and feed they just bought? At least, I hope they're buying it right now, this very minute, as I can't see any reason why the farmers and ranchers should have to suffer from TEPCO's screwups.
Maybe TEPCO can have a BBQ and hayride for their employees and investors? That would be so right on so many levels...
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06:55 PM
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
Wonder what TEPCO is going to do with all that cattle and feed they just bought? At least, I hope they're buying it right now, this very minute, as I can't see any reason why the farmers and ranchers should have to suffer from TEPCO's screwups.
Maybe TEPCO can have a BBQ and hayride for their employees and investors? That would be so right on so many levels...
So if your mother's 401K mutual fund has investments in TEPCO, you would wish her ill will? What about liberals make them think businesses and the people who run them, and/or own them are somehow evil?
So if your mother's 401K mutual fund has investments in TEPCO, you would wish her ill will? What about liberals make them think businesses and the people who run them, and/or own them are somehow evil?
I seriously don't get it.
My mother's dead.
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07:19 PM
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
TOKYO — Japanese waste incineration plants near Tokyo have found high levels of radiation in ash, and officials said Tuesday it may be from garden waste contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The radioactive caesium was detected in plants in Kashiwa city in Chiba prefecture, northeast of Tokyo and about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the plant that has leaked radiation since the March 11 quake and tsunami.
Officials stressed that the radioactive ash collected in late June and early July, at concentrations of up to 70,800 becquerels per kilogramme, was safely contained within the plant and posed no health risk to the community.
The level is far higher than the government's 8,000-becquerel per kilogramme limit, above which waste dumps must keep such ash in storage, and it presents authorities with the question of what to do with it.
Authorities suspect the caesium may be from garden waste, such as tree branches and grass cuttings, that has been burnt in the facility.
Kashiwa city official Kiyoshi Nakamura told AFP: "Some people are believed to have cut plants and mown their lawns because of fear of radioactive contamination, and that waste was apparently brought to the plant."
"The radioactive ash is stored inside the plant, so the radiation has not been leaked into the environment," he said.
However, another city official, Masaki Orihara, warned that "we may run out of space to store the ash in about 55 days. There may be no other way but to end up suspending incinerators in the worst case."
Tokyo (CNN) -- A Japanese health official downplayed the dangers Tuesday after cesium contaminated meat from six Fukushima cows was delivered to Japanese markets and probably ingested.
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of consumer affairs and food-safety, said he hoped to head off any overreactions.
"If we were to eat the meat everyday, then it would probably be dangerous," Hosono said at a news conference Tuesday. "But if it is consumed only in small portions, I don't think it would have any long-lasting effects on the human body."
The meat, delivered late last month, has made its way to consumers and most likely has been ingested, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday evening. This was preceded by another recent discovery of radiation in the meat of 11 cows delivered to Tokyo from the same farm. Powerful earthquake strikes off Japan Nuclear coverup in Japan? RELATED TOPICS
* Fukushima * Food Safety * Japan * Nuclear Accidents and Disasters
The discovery was made when Tokyo's office of health and welfare investigated six deliveries made at the end of June from a Fukushima farm. So far, radiation has been confirmed from three out of the six cows. In one case, radiation reached 3400 Becquerels, which is about seven times the limit set by the government.
When the Fukushima Prefectural Government, on Monday, investigated the farm from which the meat was delivered, cesium was found in cattle feed such as hay, with radiation levels as much as 57 times higher than the ceiling set by the Japanese government.
Up until now, cattle in Fukushima were only subject to a screening test, to inspect for radioactive particles adhering to the skin, and farmers were ordered to self-report how it the cattle feed was being stocked.
Yutaka Kashimura, Fukushima Prefecture's officer in charge of the livestock division, told CNN that the farmer may have given the cows hay that had been exposed to soil containing high levels of radiation. The farm is situated at about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
The Fukushima Prefectural government announced that it will check on all the farms in the prefecture to determine if the stored cattle feed is being protected from radiation. More than 500 farms will be inspected before the end of the week and nearly 2,800 by the end of the month.
On Saturday, the health and welfare office at Tokyo Metropolitan government found that meat from 11 cows from a Fukushima farm, which was about to be delivered, contained high levels of radiation. As a precaution, the office was ordered to trace meat from six cows from the same farm and realized that the meat is now circulating not only in Tokyo, but all over Japan.
Radioactive cesium far exceeding the legal limit has been detected in hay that was fed to cattle at a farm in Fukushima Prefecture. The prefecture has been investigating why the cattle were contaminated with the radioactive substance.
On Sunday, officials took samples of feed and well water at the farm located in Minamisoma City within the planned evacuation zone.
[They say 75,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium has been detected in the feed. This far exceeds the government's safety limit of 300 becquerels per kilogram.
The farmer says the cattle had been kept inside but were fed with hay left outdoors after the March nuclear accident.
Eleven cattle from the farm were sent to Tokyo to be slaughtered. The beef from the animals contained levels of cesium that were more than triple the legal limit. The prefecture has asked farmers in the city to suspend beef cattle shipments.
Fukushima Prefecture will continue to investigate the feed and water and check if there were any problems with the way the cattle were raised.
"lets use big numbers to scare everyone! HOLY CRAP!
I am pretty sure I didn't write the article, and maybe you should do a little research into the half life of Cesium and then the difference between internal and external radiation.
Becquerel (Bq) - 1Bq = 1 count per second = 1 event per second. The Becquerel is a unit used to measure a radioactivity. One Becquerel is that quantity of a radioactive material that will have 1 transformations in one second. Often radioactivity is expressed in larger units like: thousands (kBq), one millions (MBq) or even billions (GBq) of a becquerels. As a result of having one Becquerel being equal to one transformation per second, there are 3.7 x 1010 Bq in one curie. http://pediaview.com/openpedia/Bequerel
So do you understand what a Becquerel is? CPM is CPS X 60, so thats 75,000 CPS x 60. Get your number and compare it to my radiation sickness chart and lets see if we have a small number. I am not fear mongering you are down playing.
So roughly every pound emits 2.25 million CPM.
[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 07-12-2011).]
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05:54 PM
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
Just wondering if anyone else thinks that 4.5 million cpm on a geiger counter is a small number? 1bq = 1 cps = 60 cpm, 75,000bq = 75,000 cps = 4.5 million cpm. Approx 100 CPM is the upper limit for normal background radiation.
For future reference the following article is fear mongering 81cpm is not going to hurt you... In Los Angeles, on Friday, July 8th, 2011, two peaches found at a local Santa Monica market were confirmed to have sustained radiation levels of 81 CPMs, or greater. The market's background radiation was said to be about 39 CPMs. The two peaches, thus, had significantly high radiation contamination equaling over two times site background levels. http://www.enviroreporter.c...ation-station-stats/
[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 07-12-2011).]
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07:05 PM
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
Decays per second or minute and the counts on a Geiger counter are not the same.
So your saying 1bq does not = 1cps or that the 1cps it equals is different that a 1cps on a geiger counter? Or are you trying to derail this on how a geiger counter works?
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08:40 PM
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
As you move a Geiger counter closer or farther from a radioactive sample, it's reading will increase or decrease.
The decays per unit time of the sample doesn't change but the Geiger counter reading changes.
Ergo they can not be the same.
So you admit you are derailing the statement based on the operation of geiger counter. Of course a geiger counter picks up less decays per second at 3 feet from source vs 3 inches, thats the same as a microphone measuring less decibels at 3 feet that it would have at 3 inches, that does not mean the units are not the same.
SI unit: 1 becquerel = 1 disintegration per second The counts per minute is an aggregate measurement that detects all decay events at a particular point. This could be alpha particles, beta particles or mixed gamma/beta, gamma/alpha, alpha/beta actual decays. This can be used with a conversion factor, knowing the type and composition of materials to convert to Roentgen or Coulomb per kilogram. Counts per minute can be useful when detector efficiency is in question. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...zing_radiation_units
That`s a geiger counter. It monitors the decay of radioactive material, with a read-out of counts per second (cps). It`s monitoring the decay of the material in the small bottle at the right-hand side of the geiger counter. http://homegeigercounter.com/
"In this activity you will collect data as part of a demonstration of a Geiger counter. Geiger counters are designed to measure the number of nuclear decays per minute of radioactive substances" http://kaffee.50webs.com/Sc...-Geiger.Counter.html
How do you think they got the 75,000 Bq measurement anyhow? With a geiger counter that either converted the CPM to Bq or by using the equation, because 75,000 Bq looks a lot better than 4.5 million CPM. Funny I was accused of using the big numbers. Its ludicrous you try to say a geiger counters CPM which is a measurement of decays per minute is some how different than CPM which means decays per minute.
Logic test of your statement
As you move a decibel meter closer or farther from a sound source, it's reading will increase or decrease.
The decibels of the source doesn't change but the decibel meter reading changes.
Ergo they can not be the same. FAIL
[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 07-12-2011).]
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08:59 PM
Jul 13th, 2011
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
How do you think they got the 75,000 Bq measurement anyhow? With a geiger counter that either converted the CPM to Bq or by using the equation, because 75,000 Bq looks a lot better than 4.5 million CPM. Funny I was accused of using the big numbers. Its ludicrous you try to say a geiger counters CPM which is a measurement of decays per minute is some how different than CPM which means decays per minute.
You have no clue what you are talking about.
Stick to being alarmist. You do much better when you don't have to deal with scientific facts.
[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 07-13-2011).]
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01:28 AM
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dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
Stick to being alarmist. You do much better when you don't have to deal with scientific facts.
Lol, thats the best you could come up with? You were proven incorrect, and you go for a personal attack again. I guess you couldn't find any facts to disprove me, it sure took you a while for that pathetic excuse of a come back.
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02:53 AM
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
One Becquerel is that quantity of a radioactive material that will have 1 transformations in one second.
If a Geiger counter's reading changes as you move it away from a sample, there is NO way just using a Geiger counter can give you a meaningful read out of how many transformations are occurring in your sample. Is somehow your sample more radioactive because your Geiger counter is closer to it?
If a Geiger counter's reading changes as you move it away from a sample, there is NO way just using a Geiger counter can give you a meaningful read out of how many transformations are occurring in your sample. Is somehow your sample more radioactive because your Geiger counter is closer to it?
(Hmm kinda sounds like quantum physics)
Then, what use are geiger counters? Why use them if the don't give you a meaningful read out of radiation?
I counter with this:
If a geiger counter you're holding in your hand is indicating harmful levels of radiation, there's a better than even chance that you too are being exposed to harmful radiation. Now of course, you can drop the geiger counter and run away to someplace safe, then your personal exposure and the geiger counter's exposure levels will be different.
In the above scenario, be aware that no matter what, the radiation is still there. Sticking one's head in the sands of ignorance so as to not see the threat in the hopes the threat doesn't see you hasn't proven to be a very successful survival strategy in the past.
[This message has been edited by JazzMan (edited 07-13-2011).]
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01:29 PM
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
If a Geiger counter's reading changes as you move it away from a sample, there is NO way just using a Geiger counter can give you a meaningful read out of how many transformations are occurring in your sample. Is somehow your sample more radioactive because your Geiger counter is closer to it?
(Hmm kinda sounds like quantum physics)
Ok your right and college course in nuclear science and the rest of the net is wrong. I have already showed where your logic failed, and provided sources stating geiger counters did measure decays per second. Now you show me a source that states CPM and a geiger counters CPM are different units. The problem is you can't, because they are the same.
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04:24 PM
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
The Fukushima municipal government likely will decontaminate the city's entire area in response to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to city government sources.
Fukushima is the second municipality in Fukushima Prefecture that plans to decontaminate the entire area under its jurisdiction. The first is Date.
Fear of radioactive contamination is widespread among the city's residents as radiation levels in some areas of the city have been confirmed as higher than those within the 20-kilometer-radius no-entry zone surrounding the nuclear power plant.
Fukushima is about 50 kilometers from the Fukushima plant.
The Fukushima municipal government plans to develop a "hometown decontamination plan" for the current fiscal year by early August.
Ahead of developing the comprehensive plan, the government intends to start decontamination operations in the Watari and Onami districts, where high radiation levels have been detected.
The municipal government's measures include using high-pressure water to wash buildings and removing surface soil from the ground.
The city government expects it will take at least several years--and possibly close to 20--to decontaminate the whole city.
According to the government, the main targets of decontamination are public facilities, farmland, rivers and mountains.
The order of decontamination operations will be decided in accordance with the amount of radiation and the level at which residents use the areas or facilities.
The government anticipates decontamination of private homes will be carried out by citizens themselves based on manuals it will distribute. (Jul. 14, 2011) http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy...al/T110713004736.htm
Just wondering is this more fear mongering?
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04:48 PM
phonedawgz Member
Posts: 17091 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Dec 2009
I don't see it as fear mongering. We talked about decontamination before. We knew it was coming. Survey the area to find any 'hot' spots. Decontamination is to basically to remove or wash off any radioactive particles. The removed/washed off radioactive 'dirt' needs to be properly collected and disposed of. While quite a bit different, it is a bit like thinking of cleaning up a mold that was spread among the environment. First you have to find it. Then you have to separate it from the environment. Finally you have to properly dispose of it.
Doing so will give the people of the area the knowledge that they are living in an area that is within acceptable levels of radiation.
[This message has been edited by phonedawgz (edited 07-13-2011).]
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06:06 PM
Jul 14th, 2011
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
Typhoon Ma-On Targeting Japan By Jim Andrews, Senior Meteorologist Jul 14, 2011; 11:20 AM ET Share | Typhoon Ma-on near Northern Mariana Islands, taken July 14, 2011 (Navy Research Lab Monterey/NRLMRY)
A powerful typhoon is on track to strike mainland Japan early next week.
Widespread adverse impacts from rain, wind and heavy seas would result from a direct hit on the southern mainland. Heavy rain, high winds and rough seas could also impact the site of the tsunami and nuclear disaster north of Tokyo.
Ma-on, which gained typhoon status east of the Northern Mariana Islands Wednesday, will continue to intensify into Saturday as it spins westward over the northern Philippine Sea. This dramatic strengthening of Ma-on could culminate in super typhoon status for a time over open water.
As of Thursday night, local time, the typhoon packed maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, with higher gusts. At the time, the heart of Ma-on's fury was paying a raucous visit to the northernmost Mariana Islands, tiny, uninhabited Farallon de Pajaros, and Maug and Asuncion islands.
Storm movement, toward the west Thursday, is likely to become northwesterly or even northerly by the end of the week.
Given a forecast late-week turn toward the north, the center of Ma-on could be nearing the southwestern shores of Japan early next week, packing potentially destructive winds, flooding rain and dangerous storm tides.
Storms of the kind that Ma-on is likely to become can unload extreme rainfall of 10 to 20 inches, with flooding and mudslides, upon reaching Japan.
Depending upon storm intensity at landfall, winds above hurricane strength could unleash widespread destruction.
Greater Tokyo is unlikely to feel the worst of the storm, no matter its ultimate track. Still, flooding rain and damaging winds could hit at midweek.
Likewise, in northeastern Honshu, at the site of the March tsunami and nuclear disaster, there is potential for heavy rain, high winds and rough seas next week.
By Aya Takada - Jul 14, 2011 4:06 AM CT Beef contaminated by radiation from Fukushima prefecture has been eaten by consumers in Japan, intensifying food-safety concerns and stoking criticism against a government testing program that checks only selected products.
About 437 kilograms (963 pounds) of beef from a farm in Minami-Soma city, 30 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Dai- Ichi nuclear station, was consumed in eight prefectures, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government, which detected the first case of tainted beef from the farm earlier this month.
Four months after a record earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant in Fukushima, site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, local government offices are struggling to check every farm product due to a shortage of testing equipment, staff and budget. Prolonged exposure to radiation in the air, ground and food can cause leukemia and other cancers, according to the London-based World Nuclear Association.
“The government’s mishandling of the issue is deepening food-safety concerns,” Susumu Harada, senior director at the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Tokyo office, said in an interview.
Products including spinach, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tea, milk, plums and fish have been found to be contaminated with cesium and iodine as far as 360 kilometers from Dai-Ichi. Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken station, said June 14 it found cesium in milk tested near another nuclear reactor site about 210 kilometers from the damaged plant. Tainted Straw
The cattle ate tainted straw amid a feed-supply shortage after the March disaster, which damaged feed plants in the nation’s northeast. The local government detected 75,000 becquerels of cesium a kilogram in straw stored in the farmer’s rice field, exceeding the official standard of 300 becquerels.
Beef from the farm contained 2,300 becquerels of cesium a kilogram, according to the July 8 statement from the government office of Tokyo, which operates Japan’s largest meat market. The government set the limit at 500 becquerels of cesium a kilogram.
Fukushima is the 10th biggest cattle-producing region in Japan, representing 2.7 percent of the total. The nation exported 541,045 metric tons of beef worth 3.4 billion yen ($42.8 million) last year, including premium wagyu meat.
Japan imported 204,543 tons of beef in the five months ended May 31, rising 11 percent from the same period last year, according to the agriculture ministry. Checking System
There’s no centralized checking system for radioactive contamination of food as voluntary tests are conducted by prefectural governments in cooperation with local farmers.
A slaughterhouse in Tokyo detected the contamination after it received 11 cattle from the Fukushima farm. It also slaughtered five animals from the farm in May and June, which were already sold to distributors and partially consumed, said Kazuyuki Hashimoto at the food-monitoring division of the Tokyo government office.
About 1.44 tons of beef from the Fukushima farm was sold in 11 prefectures comprising Tokyo, Kanagawa, Aichi, Hokkaido, Tokushima, Kochi, Shizuoka, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Akita. Of the total, 437 kilograms were consumed in the prefectures excluding Chiba, Akita and Hyogo, Hashimoto said.
The Fukushima government office plans to check all cattle farms in the prefecture to find out if any of them gave contaminated material to their animals, Hidenori Ohtani at the livestock division said yesterday by phone.
Agriculture Minister Michihiko Kano told reporters on June 12 that the ministry wants to help Fukushima conduct thorough testing of cattle for radiation.
To contact the reporter on this story: Aya Takada in Tokyo at atakada2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net
Finding that radiation-tainted straw was produced far from nuclear plant causes shock Prefectural officials interview livestock farmers after radioactive cesium was detected in cattle raised in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 10. (Mainichi) Prefectural officials interview livestock farmers after radioactive cesium was detected in cattle raised in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 10. (Mainichi)
Revelations that radiation-contaminated rice straw used as feed for beef cattle was produced far away from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant have sent shockwaves through the livestock farming community in Fukushima Prefecture.
Consumers have also been filled with a sense of growing distrust in the government over delays in responding to the problem of radiation-tainted beef.
Forty-two beef cows that ate rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium were found to have been shipped from a livestock farm in the Fukushima Prefecture town of Asakawa from April 8. The rice straw had been supplied by a farmer in Shirakawa, about 75 kilometers away from the tsunami-hit nuclear power station.
"It's unbelievable that this (contamination) occurred in an area so far away from the nuclear plant," said a 34-year-old man who has run a livestock farm in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, for nearly 10 years.
On July 8 the government asked livestock farmers in the city to refrain from shipping beef.
"Fukushima-produced beef cows will no longer sell unless we switch to feed produced outside the prefecture and suspend shipments of beef cows until the safety of all feed produced in the prefecture is confirmed," the Minamisoma farmer said.
Officials with the local governments of areas to which the cows had been shipped were busy confirming meat distribution routes until late on July 14.
Top officials of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have consulted with officials in Tokyo's Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health over how to conduct follow-up surveys. Thirteen of the cows had been shipped to Tokyo by June 16.
The metropolitan government had just finished an investigation on July 13 into the distribution routes of six other contaminated beef cows which had been shipped from Minamisoma.
"We have no choice but to diligently track down tainted beef that has been marketed," said a senior official.
Of the 42 cows shipped from Asakawa, 32 have been sent to slaughterhouses in Tokyo, Yokohama and Chiba -- causing unrest among residents of the metropolitan area.
Keiko Endo, a 68-year-old woman who was shopping at a supermarket in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, expressed anger at the government's slow response to the case. "I buy goods at store shelves, believing that they are safe. I wonder why the government failed to check the safety of cows before their meat was shipped," she said.
A 40-year-old housewife who has 12- and 7-year-old children expressed worries about the safety of domestic meat while shopping at a supermarket in Mihama Ward, Chiba. "If something like this repeatedly happens, you become increasingly worried about food safety," she said. "I'll choose Australian meat for the health of my children."
At the same time, some consumers have expressed sympathy with farmers in Fukushima Prefecture who have been affected by the crisis at the crippled nuclear power station.
"I lately choose not to eat beef at barbecue restaurants. But I feel sorry for Fukushima people," said 74-year-old Akiko Suwabe, a housewife living in Tokyo's Nakano Ward.
"I don't think the farmer in question shipped the rice straw as feed while knowing it was contaminated with radiation. Experts say, 'If you eat the beef, it won't pose an immediate threat to your health'," said a 63-year-old woman from Chiba. "Consumers' overreaction will only make farmers suffer."
The livestock farm in Asakawa that shipped the 42 cows expressed an apology for the incident in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun.
"I'm really sorry for this. I've been losing sleep since yesterday. I'm acquainted with the Shirakawa farmer who sold the rice straw to me," he said. "I can't immediately comment on the matter any further because I haven't resolved my feelings." http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnn...2a00m0na002000c.html
Dennis, I wanted to thank you for your unflagging efforts in publicizing the nightmare that Fukushima residents have been going through these last four months. I really appreciate it.
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06:29 PM
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dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
Dennis, I wanted to thank you for your unflagging efforts in publicizing the nightmare that Fukushima residents have been going through these last four months. I really appreciate it.
I appreciate that sir, I really do.
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06:55 PM
Jul 16th, 2011
dennis_6 Member
Posts: 7196 From: between here and there Registered: Aug 2001
The government's nuclear disaster task force said Friday that shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture will be suspended, amid concern that cows from there may be contaminated with radioactive cesium.
The Fukushima Prefectural Government has already begun inspecting all local beef cattle farms and requested they voluntarily refrain from shipping cows until at least next Monday when the inspections are to be concluded.
The central government reached its own decision regarding beef cattle shipments from Fukushima after consulting with prefectural authorities, government sources said.
Concern over tainted meat reaching the market was heightened Friday by a Tokyo Metropolitan Government announcement that it detected radioactive cesium at levels exceeding the safety limit in beef from cattle transported from a farm in Asakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, to a slaughterhouse in Sendai.
Levels of radioactive cesium reached 650 becquerels per kg, exceeding the government-set limit of 500 becquerels per kg.
That beef was withheld by meat processors in Tokyo and did not reach consumers, according to the metropolitan government.
A farm near the town of Asakawa, 70 km from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, shipped 42 cows that may have eaten straw contaminated with radioactive cesium to meat processors in Tokyo, Sendai, Chiba Prefecture and Yokohama.
Local governments in those areas are now investigating where the meat was later shipped, officials said.
Of the 42 cows shipped, 10 were slaughtered in Sendai, and their meat distributed to wholesalers and agents in the city as well as Iwate and Yamagata prefectures and Tokyo, according to the Sendai Municipal Government.
Five of the cows were transported to Chiba Prefecture, and their meat distributed through a Tokyo facility after processing.
Another 14 cows were shipped to Yokohama and their meat sold to eight agents in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture.
The meat of two of those cows remains, and was found to have radioactive cesium levels below the government-fixed limit, the Yokohama Municipal Government said Friday.
Tainted beef was also shipped to western regions.
The Kagawa Prefectural Government said Friday evening that a 124 kg portion of beef from Asakawa cows was sold at five meet shops in Kagawa and Ehime prefectures.
In a related development, Miyagi Prefecture said Friday it detected radioactive cesium in straw for beef cattle at three farms, at levels up to 2.7 times the state-set safety limit.
Two of the farms had not fed the straw to cows, while the third had — but had not shipped any cows to market, according to the prefectural government.
In Fukushima Prefecture, the straw was found to contain up to 97,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kg.
The farm ministry said it will launch an emergency survey of rice straw covering rice and cattle farms in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Chiba, Gunma and Saitama prefectures. http://search.japantimes.co...in/nn20110716a1.html
[This message has been edited by dennis_6 (edited 07-16-2011).]
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dennis_6 Member
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Because the legal limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram is based on eating a given food every day over a period of two years, experts have said that the meat in question does not pose a health threat to the people who ate it. "The level detected this time exceeds the legal limit, but eating a little bit shouldn't pose danger to human health at all," Ginji Endo, a professor at Osaka City University who studies irradiated food, told the Daily Yomiuri.
--Note the 500 Bq limit is based on two years and not a life time as some suggest.--
The beef, which came from cows raised on a farm in Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture, contained cesium at a level of 3,240 becquerels per kilogram — 6.5 times the legal limit set by the government.
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is checking for gas leaks in the No. 3 reactor, into which nitrogen is being injected to prevent a hydrogen explosion.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has injected more than 200 cubic meters of nitrogen into the reactor's containment vessel since Thursday evening. But it says the interior air pressure has increased very little.
TEPCO says gas may be leaking from a damaged part of the container.
Also on Friday, TEPCO restarted a system for decontaminating highly radioactive water after a 9-hour stoppage to vent air from a pipe that was slowing down operations.
But it says the system's capability is still more than 20 percent lower than the target figure.
Nitrogen injection and the operation of the water decontamination system are essential for TEPCO to complete the first step of its plan to bring the plant under control.
The utility is still suffering 1 problem after another, with just 2 days left before the first target date of July 17th.
Advertise on NYTimes.com Japan Operator Shutting Down Nuclear Reactor After Malfunction By HIROKO TABUCHI Published: July 16, 2011
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TOKYO — Japan’s second-largest nuclear operator said Saturday that it was manually shutting down a reactor in central Japan after a technical malfunction. Related
* Times Topic: Japan — Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis (2011)
No radiation had leaked from the No. 1 Reactor at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant, on the Japan Sea coast, about 250 miles west of Tokyo, said Yoshihiko Kondo, a spokesman for the plant’s operator, Kansai Electric Power.
Mr. Kondo said that a loss of pressure had been detected late Friday in an accumulator tank needed to cool the reactor core in an emergency, forcing the utility to shut down the reactor. Workers will begin the shutdown at 1 p.m. Saturday in Japan, and shutdown will be complete by 9 p.m., he said.
The shutdown at Oi just four months after the devastating accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant comes as a blow to an industry struggling to regain public confidence. It also worsens an electricity shortage that has forced several utilities in Japan to require companies to reduce their use by at least 15 percent.
Only 19 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors are operating, because units shut down for regular maintenance have not been given permission by local governments to restart after the disaster at Fukushima, operated by Japan’s largest nuclear operator, Tokyo Electric Power. In the meantime, more reactors have been closing for scheduled maintenance, reducing the number in service across the country.
The 1.17-million-kilowatt Oi No. 1 Reactor, built in 1979, had been in the last stages of a trial run at full output after undergoing scheduled maintenance this year. At Kansai Electric, only four of its 11 reactors are now operating. http://www.nytimes.com/2011...ia/16japan.html?_r=3
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dennis_6 Member
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Radioactive cesium exceeding the government standard has been detected in shiitake mushrooms grown indoors in 2 cities in Fukushima Prefecture, about 60 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This is the first detection of radioactive cesium exceeding the standard in produce grown in greenhouses in the prefecture since the nuclear accident.
The Fukushima prefectural government says 1,770 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium was detected in mushrooms grown in Date City. The level is more than 3 times the provisional government limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram.
560 becquerels of radioactive cesium was detected in mushrooms from Motomiya City.
At least 157 kilograms of shiitake mushrooms from the 2 cities were shipped from early July through Friday to Tokyo, a supermarket in Fukushima City, and a local farmers' market.
Fukushima officials are to ask the farmers to recall their produce and refrain from making new shipments while determining the cause.
"In a new road map for restoring the plant ravaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, the two parties will also specify for the first time that it will take up to three years to handle medium-term issues such as the completion of treating highly radioactive water that has accumulated, the sources said. " http://www.japantoday.com/c...to-be-given-priority
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By Aaron Sheldrick and Kana Nishizawa - Jul 18, 2011 4:12 AM CT
June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Mike Firn reports from Tokyo on Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s shareholders' meeting. Tepco, as the utility is known, faces shareholders for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at its Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, wiping about $36 billion off its market value. Firn speaks to Rishaad Salamat on Bloomberg Television's "On the Move Asia." (Source: Bloomberg) Tepco Works to Cover Fukushima Building as Storm Nears Japan
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is rushing to install a cover over a building at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant to shield it from wind and rain as Typhoon Ma-on approaches Japan’s coast from the south. Work on the cover for the turbine building of the No. 3 reactor started at about 8:30 a.m. today. Photographer: Tokyo Electric Power Co. via Bloomberg
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is rushing to install a cover over a building at its crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant to shield it from wind and rain as Typhoon Ma-on approaches Japan’s coast from the south.
Work on the cover for the turbine building of the No. 3 reactor started at about 8:30 a.m. today, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility known as Tepco, said at briefing in Tokyo. The transfer of tainted water for storage in a barge docked next to the plant was halted, spokesman Satoshi Watanabe said by telephone.
The eye of Ma-on, which is categorized as “extremely strong,” was about 420 kilometers (260 miles) southeast of the city of Kagoshima at 4 p.m. today, or 1,200 kilometers from the Fukushima plant, according to the website of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The storm was moving north at 25 kilometers per hour with winds blowing at 157 kph. Ma-on is forecast to continuing heading north and may cross coast of the southwestern island of Kyushu after 6 a.m. tomorrow. A forecast track from the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center indicates the storm may pass over the Fukushima plant by July 21.
The Japanese weather agency issued warnings for floods and high waves along the southern coast from Okinawa to Tokyo.
Last year, the eyes of two storms passed within 300 kilometers of Tohoku, as the area where the plants are located is known, data from the weather agency show. Milestone Reached
Tepco shares rose 2.6 percent on July 15 and are down 78 percent since the day before the disaster. Japan’s markets are closed today for a national holiday.
The utility is on schedule to contain radioactive emissions from its Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, which suffered three reactor meltdowns after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on July 16 during a visit to the area. Tepco will announce tomorrow that it has completed the first phase of its plan to resolve the crisis, he said.
Tepco has achieved its phase one goal of keeping the reactors cool and reducing the amount of radiation being emitted by mid July, Kan said while visiting a sports center near the Fukushima plant where workers rest.
Much of the work has been focused on decontaminating highly radiated water that flooded basements and trenches around the damaged reactors as Tepco doused the units to keep them cool. Efforts Impeded
Water overflowed from damaged reactors, impeding efforts to bring the situation under control. A decontamination unit started work last month, though its operation has been intermittently halted due to leaks and other malfunctions.
Tepco’s so-called road map for resolving the crisis was released on April 17 and envisages bringing the plant to a safe status within nine months. The second phase involves bringing the reactors to a state known as cold shutdown, where the fuel’s temperature is held below 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit).
Because the fuel assemblies have melted down, Tepco and the government will tomorrow outline new criteria for bringing the reactors into a safe state, Goshi Hosono, Kan’s minister for dealing with the Fukushima crisis, said July 12.
“I received an announcement from Minister Hosono that step one can be achieved pretty much as planned,” Kan said July 16. “I told him that I want to make every effort to achieve step two ahead of schedule.”
At the plant, a worker from a subcontractor was injured today after falling from a pole while working on connecting cables near an entrance gate, Matsumoto said at Tepco’s briefing. The male worker in his 40s is conscious though unable to walk on his own, he said. Power Supply
Japan’s government will meet to discuss power demand and supply as early as tomorrow after Kansai Electric Power Co. shut a reactor at one of its nuclear stations, the Sankei newspaper reported, without citing anyone.
Mandatory power savings have been imposed in some areas of Japan after the earthquake and tsunami knocked out capacity and caused the reactor meltdowns at Fukushima. Other reactors closed down safely after the disaster or have been idled for scheduled maintenance, exacerbating shortages.
To contact the reporters on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net; Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at knishizawa5@bloomberg.net
