SimplyInfo » Entries tagged with "contamination"
Miyagi Residents File Claim Radiation Exposure, The Data Behind The Issue
[Translate] Radiation doesn’t respect borders. People living in parts of Miyagi along the plume path from Fukushima Daiichi experienced worse conditions than many in Fukushima did but have been denied any assistance. Marumori Town and the Hippo district were among the areas where contamination was high. A group of people from the area have now filed a claim against TEPCO for compensation. The area in Miyagi received a significant plume on March 20th as we previously reported. There are also some known discrepancies with the monitoring stations in the area where many were placed too high up to be accurate representations of living conditions. A multitude of food products and soil have been showing as considerably contaminated in the area. Rice in the area was found to be double the government radiation … Read entire article »
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65 Microsievert Hot Spot At Fukushima City Train Station
[Translate] ZDF Asia Bureau Chief Johannes Hano discovered this hot spot at the Fukushima City train station. They initially told local authorities about the hot spot three months ago when they first discovered it. The local government did nothing. Hano said via twitter that they confronted the local authorities again urging them to do something about the hot spot. This time officials said they would “act immediately”. It remains to be seen if the local government will do anything. Hano also said the hot spot is near an area that many people including children walk past while using the train station. While the government is declaring everything back to normal, people are finding things that show otherwise. Fukushima City is about 50 miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Johannes Hano’s twitter page: https://twitter.com/JohannesHano This article … Read entire article »
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Radball To Be Used To Map Hot Spots In Fukushima Reactors
[Translate] A strange looking device will be used to map the radiation in the Fukushima reactors. The device can detect radiation levels and feed them to a computer that can make a detailed radiation level map. This could help pin point hot spots in the building to better understand the failure of each unit. It will also help identify dangerous spots that workers should avoid or require shielding to be put in place. The device was invented at the UK’s National Nuclear Lab. Lancashire Evening Press (photo credit: same) This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome … Read entire article »
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TEPCO Begins Dumping Contaminated Water Into The Sea
[Translate] TEPCO has begun dumping groundwater pumped out of a set of wells inland from the reactors into the Pacific. TEPCO dumped 200 tons of groundwater yesterday as a test. They claim it has the same radiation level as nearby rivers but did not say what that level was or the actual substances in the water. Previous tests of the well water detected tritium and cesium but at low levels. TEPCO still needs to gain the approval of the government and local fishing groups before continued groundwater dumping can begin. TEPCO also admitted that the radiation levels at the edge of the plant grounds could go up. They cited the transfer of highly radioactive water in one of the leaking ponds as the source. The water is being moved to above ground metal tanks … Read entire article »
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Widespread Cesium Contamination Of Freshwater Fish In Eastern Japan
[Translate] A new study looked at the cesium contamination of freshwater fish in Fukushima and eastern Japan. The map to the left shows the average contamination levels of a non carnivorous fish called the ayu. The fish was found to be contaminated across a large section of the main island of Honshu. Freshwater fish across many prefectures and down past Tokyo were over the government intervention limit for food with most of the fish in Fukushima over 200 bq/kg. They also raised concerns about cesium concentration in certain river systems and cited irrigation canals and urban water systems as being particularly vulnerable. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original … Read entire article »
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New Discoveries In The Fukushima “Black Stuff” Mystery
[Translate] Marco Kaltofan announced last week some new understanding of the strange radioactive black sand being found in Japan. The substance has been found in parking lots and street gutters in some far flung areas including Minamisoma, Fukushima City, Tokyo and various locations in and around the evacuation zone. The substance has an intense radiation reading in all instances if its discovery but details of exactly what it is has been more elusive. Marco was able to obtain a small sample from just outside the evacuation zone in Namie. The black sand like substance was tested using NaI-well gamma spectrometry. It was found to not contain any plant matter and was made up of mineral substances. Additional testing was done using “scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis.”. The substance measured 1.5 MBq per … Read entire article »
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Current Challenges & Progress At Fukushima Daiichi
[Translate] TEPCO’s testing of the ALPS system intended to remove all contamination except tritium continues but now it is not expected to be out of the testing phase until fall 2013 at the earliest. TEPCO also admitted that the system is not completely removing contaminants as expected and the radiation levels around the equipment was rising. Right now neither issue was halting work but could become a problem over time if not resolved. This throws a huge problem into the contaminated water problems. TEPCO currently has no plan do deal with this issue. They have begun building more tanks on site and still hope to use the groundwater bypass system but that has not been approved or fully implemented. The radiation increases around ALPS could cause a bigger problem down the road if the … Read entire article »
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Sisyphus With A Paper Cup; TEPCO’s Enormous Water Problem
[Translate] The contaminated water problems at Fukushima Daiichi have been plaguing the plant since day one. In recent months the problems have once again shown themselves to be too much for TEPCO to deal with while the plant continues to contaminate the environment. TEPCO stated that they were again, out of space only to find space after it became apparent the government would not allow them to dump contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean. This is something TEPCO has asked to do repeatedly since 2011 when they dumped contaminated water into the Pacific on top of what has been leaking. Contamination and contaminated water from the failed reactors is still making its way out of the plant a number of ways, all with long term major implications for the environment and public … Read entire article »
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Contaminated Rice Piles Up, Veggies From The Evacuation Zone And Over Limit Towns Reopen
[Translate] Officials have lifted the farming ban from Tamura, an area that has been part of the evacuation zone until recently. At least two farmers are planning on planting crops. The radiation levels in Tamura are lower than in Koriyama and Fukushima City but they are still significant. Most of Tamura is over the 1mSv/year threshold for exposure set by ICRP and being used as a benchmark in Japan. Using the range of readings taken today from the monitoring equipment in Tamura we calculated the radiation levels below. The high range and the average radiation ranges put the annual exposure over the ICRP limit. The lowest readings come in just below the ICRP limit. It is also known and admitted by MEXT that the radiation stations read below the actual radiation levels … Read entire article »
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Fukushima School Swimming Pools As High As 100,000 bq/kg
[Translate] School swimming pools in Fukushima have been found to have some with over 100,000 bq/kg, concentrated in mud in the pools. A pool in Fukushima City registered 119,461 bq/kg. from the mud at the bottom of the pool. One in Minamisoma had 8,468 bq/kg. Both pools had not been cleaned out since the March 2011 disaster. Asahi Shimbun mentions some schools cleaned their pools early on but dumped the contaminated water and silt back into the environment. This would contribute to the environmental contamination and can make its way into rivers and streams. The central government is responsible for aiding the clean up due to the high levels but so far have not done anything to clean up the pools. The pools are yet another example of places where radiation can hyper concentrate and … Read entire article »
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Rumor Still Blamed For Fukushima Food Problems
[Translate] “Harmful rumor” is still being blamed for the economic problems among food producers in Fukushima. Prices have not recovered and most grocery stores refuse to stock the products. The government continues to blame rumors but the reality shows it is more an issue of consumer distrust and differing levels of what is acceptable. The government considered 100 bq/kg to be an acceptable level. The public wants no radiation contamination in their food and distrusts the government system as either inaccurate or too high. Even though some foods are testing with no contamination at all in certain parts of Fukushima the public isn’t buying. The root of this may be the distrust built over the last two years through repeated government assurances of safety only to later find out a product was … Read entire article »
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Radiation Contamination In US Food Supply
[Translate] This has been known to those closely following the issue since 2011. It isn’t just about the contamination of domestic foods in the US but the purposely lax US standards that encourage the US food market to be a dumping ground for foods too contaminated to be allowed elsewhere. Cindy Folkers from Beyond Nuclear explains the details of how the US system both ignores and downplays the issue and why everyone in the US should be concerned. Video presentation at the Caldicott Symposium archive. Click on Cindy’s listing in the program to jump to her presentation. A copy of the presentation on Youtube (with some edits by the poster) This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also … Read entire article »
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The History & Failures Of The Leaking Tanks At Hanford
[Translate] Once part of the work to make the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the now leaking tanks have a long failure ridden history. The tanks involved are some of the oldest tanks installed at the site. So far 73 of these old single wall tanks have leaked. The tanks at Hanford contain 53 million gallons of nuclear waste, these are also not the only high level waste at the site. To date, before the new leaks were announced it was estimated that 1 million gallons of nuclear waste had already leaked into the soil. Adding to the concerns, the site sits on the banks of the Colombia river. The ground water and soil at the site is already heavily contaminated and inches toward the Colombia river from the site. Some of … Read entire article »
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Oddities Found Near Unit 5 Fukushima Daiichi
[Translate] TEPCO’s air testing near each reactor unit produced an interesting situation. The readings were taken at the same locations at each reactor yet unit 5′s levels are generally higher or as high as the levels near units 1-4. Considering units 5 and 6 didn’t have meltdowns and sit a considerable distance away from units 1-4 these readings do not make sense. TEPCO provides no explanation. The cesium 134 readings were notably higher than the units that suffered meltdowns. The scaling factor and density limits used are the same for all units. TEPCO’s handout AirSamplingBuildings_130123-e This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here … Read entire article »
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Multiple Highly Radioactive Fish Found At Fukushima Daiichi
[Translate] It wasn’t just Mike the Murasai found to be highly radioactive. Other fish tested by TEPCO from the plant area were found to be very radioactive. Other fish found in the harbor had high contamination: Rockfish 140,000 bq/kg combined cesium. Rockfish 49,000 bq/kg combined cesium. Rockfish 15,500 bq/kg combined cesium. Jacopever 101,000 bq/kg combined cesium. Greenling20.300 bq/kg combined cesium. Greenling 40,000 bq/kg combined cesium. The lowest fish found in the harbor was 770 bq/kg combined cesium. There were also a variety of over limit species found around the region where TEPCO is testing. TEPCO’s report: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2013/images/fish_130118-e.pdf This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome the sharing … Read entire article »
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Issues At Fukushima Daiichi And More Nuclear Changes In Japan
[Translate] Denki Shimbun raises concerns about the delays in the new ALPS water decontamination system to be used at Fukushima Daiichi. The NRA has asked for further safety standards for the system before they give operation approval. This has added to the growing list of delays for the new system. Not mentioned in the Denki Shimbun article is the extensive delay after TEPCO discovered the sludge storage containers would catastrophically fail if dropped. The water problem at Fukushima Daiichi continues to grow. The current delay puts full decontamination of the current water on site at 1.5 years. The additional delays could make it take another 5 years to clean the water on site. Japan’s NRA has put the issue of operating extensions for aging nuclear reactors on hold. The issue of new … Read entire article »
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Cesium Food Roulette
[Translate] TEPCO earlier tried to explain away highly contaminated fish in the region as having escaped from the harbor at the plant. TEPCO recently took measures to make sure fish do no escape from the harbor. A rockfish pulled out of the harbor recently had 254,000 Bq/kg of cesium when tested by TEPCO. Ex-SKF provided a translation of journalist Ryuichi Kino’s reporting of the TEPCO press conference and mentioned this relation to the contaminated fish: “If one eats 200 gram of fish, one gets 0.8 millisievert radiation exposure.” Apple juice pulled from a retail store in Iwate was found to have 4.1 bq/kg of cesium. Another bottle of the same drink was found contaminated also. It isn’t clear how the juice became contaminated. This also isn’t the only instance of random highly contaminated food found … Read entire article »
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Rice In Miyagi Found Double Radiation Limit
[Translate] Rice grown on a farm in Kurihara Miyagi last year was found to contain 240 bq/kg of cesium. The finding caused the government to request all bags of rice from that area be checked rather than spot checks. Beef in Miyagi was recently found to be over the legal limit and a variety of food & environmental readings in 2012 showed the extent of contamination in the prefecture. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research team Join the conversation at chat.simplyinfo.org All content is copyright SimplyInfo.org. Content may also be copyright of other specific original authors or creators and was reproduced here with limited permission. While we welcome the sharing of information or promoting our work, please do so with respect to the large amount of effort … Read entire article »
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Did Cesium In Aomori Mushrooms Come From Chernobyl?
[Translate] A recent Asahi Shimbun article cited professor Yasuyuki Muramatsu where he tried to explain cesium levels found in wild mushrooms from Aoimori to not be caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. “If the Towada “chichitake” mushrooms had been contaminated by the Fukushima accident, then two types of radioactive cesium–cesium-134 and cesium-137–would have been detected in roughly equal amounts, he said.” Mushrooms around Aomori have been found with varied levels of cesium 134 compared with cesium 137. Some were found to only have cesium 137. As far as the cesium levels being from Chernobyl, according to what we were able to find Japan received very low levels of fallout from Chernobyl, far less than Europe did. Mushrooms tested in southern Germany in recent years had between 5 bq/kg of cesium 137 up to over … Read entire article »
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Futaba May Be Uninhabitable For Over 60 Years In Certain Locations
[Translate] The mayor of Futaba has told residents they may need to stay away for “a generation” citing the half life of cesium 137 at 30 years. He also mentioned return would not be possible until levels were at “1 millisievert” possibly referring to the 1mSv/year guidelines of ICRP. Parts of Futaba are at 50mSv/year. If you start with 50 msv/yr you need between 5-6 half lives (32-64) to get down to 1 msv/year. Higher level areas in Futaba could take 64 years or more to become safe if you include the higher readings and hot spots around town. Someone who is 40 years old today would be 70 years old at the earliest return date when rebuilding the town could begin. 30 years would cause extensive collapse to the structures and … Read entire article »
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