SimplyInfo » Entries tagged with "evacuees"
Fukushima & Nuclear News Roundup April 24, 2013
[Translate] So far about 3000 people have reached settlements with TEPCO, the news report does not say if any of these are substantial claims where property loss is involved or if those completed were less complicated claims. The Diet is planning to create a law that would give people more time to file claims or an extended ability to file a lawsuit if talks break down. With about 160,000 people displaced by the disaster this number seems extremely low. Mayors in Shizuoka that have been against the Hamaoka nuclear plant have been reelected. The mayors have opposed the operation of the plant thought to be one of the most dangerous in Japan. About 40% of the new radiation monitoring stations in Japan have not been equipped with emergency generators. The stations were designed … Read entire article »
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Dr. Robert Jacobs On Fukushima Situation Today
[Translate] Dr. Robert Jacobs of the Hiroshima Peace Institute (and Simplyinfo.org member) on RT TV discussing the situation in Fukushima two years later. 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 and time that goes into our research and analysis. Referring to something or a quote is great, copying it all or in substantial parts is not so great. If you wish to reproduce any of our content in full or in more than a phrase … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Year 2; Part 3
[Translate] This is part three of our three part series on the second year of the 3-11 disaster. In part three we look at the humanitarian issues, the environmental damage and how people are adapting since the disaster. Human Costs 300,000 remain displaced from their homes. Some from the tsunami damage, others from the nuclear disaster. The original estimate for the nuclear related evacuation was 160,000. Some are in apartments, others in tiny temporary housing units. An unused school in Saitama is still home to a group of senior citizens with nowhere else to go. Those who have taken up residence in the school will never be able to return home. All come from Futaba, very near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Futaba may not be habitable again for a generation at best. (1)(2)(3) The … Read entire article »
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TEPCO Requiring Evacuees To Pay Back Temporary Compensation
[Translate] TEPCO is now requiring evacuees to pay back any temporary compensation payments given to them. If TEPCO makes a final settlement the initial money given to evacuees so they could survive, many with nothing but the clothes on their backs will have to be paid back. Most evacuees lost everything and many still sit nearly 2 years later with no compensation payment or settlement from TEPCO. While most of the world has assumed everything in Fukushima has been resolved, those impacted still fight to get even the basic compensation needed to replace their lost households. 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 … Read entire article »
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Japan Still Pursuing Olympic Bid
[Translate] Japan’s government is continuing to pursue the idea of a bid for the Olympics. Ex-SKF found a couple of Olympic posters that tout some very un-tangible vague reasons to host the Olympics. It does seem odd that a country struggling with a major disaster and the considerable costs that come with would be focusing on holding the Olympics. Considering over 300,000 people are still living in temporary housing and the big decontamination plan has turned out to be a big failure they seem to have more pressing issues to deal with. Holding the Olympics is expensive and has lost money for the host cities. Toronto’s Olympics lost them $1.5 billion dollars. London lost money on their Olympic hosting, it hit businesses particularly hard as locals left down and the tourists that did … 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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300,000 Still In Temporary Housing After 3-11 Disaster
[Translate] NHK reports 300,000 are still in temporary housing after the March 2011 disaster. Japan Today cites a number of 305,000 across 8 prefectures. A lack of available housing in the region and also limited flat land to build housing units were cited as contributing to the problem. 23,000 units are planned but land has been secured for only 1/3 of the units planned and only 40 have been completed. Of those 40 units, 12 are in Fukushima and 28 in Nagano. 7,351 houses have the paperwork started, construction has begun on only 1,673. The temporary housing includes accommodations rented by the government that could be anything from a hotel room to an apartment. About 50,000 temporary housing units were built in the region. These are very small trailer like units that are about 300 square feet … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Residents & Evacuees Draft Human Rights Declaration
[Translate] People impacted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster have drafted a human rights declaration with the help of lawyer Yoshitaro Nomura. Nomura has been assisting those impacted by the disaster in other matters such as negotiations with TEPCO over compensation. The goal of the non binding petition is to gain the attention of the government and have them heed the concerns of those impacted by the disaster. The declaration is currently gathering signatures of support with a goal of 100,000 signatures. The declaration asks for Fukushima to return to how it was before the disaster where people could safely eat food, the right to all information about the disaster and the right to self determination about if one evacuates or not. This article would not be possible without the extensive efforts of the SimplyInfo research … Read entire article »
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UN Special Investigator In Japan Releases Initial Statement On Fukushima Human Rights
[Translate] The UN special investigator Anand Grover has issued some initial comments on his visit to Japan. The statement is more of a preliminary review of his findings, a full report will be issued at a later date. A draft report has been submitted to the Japanese government but is not currently available on the UN Human Rights Council website. The issues and criticisms mentioned in the statement include these: Local residents were not aware of nuclear disaster management plans. He makes this specific mention “local residents of Futaba city in Fukushima were led to believe by the Safety Agreement signed in 1991 that the TEPCO plant was safe and there would be no occasion for a nuclear accident.” The NRA, Japan’s new nuclear regulatory agency should adopt a policy to disclose any … Read entire article »
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Change And Stagnation Over Nuclear Issues In Japan.
[Translate] The new nuclear agency in Japan, the NRA has announced changes to nuclear disaster response. They plan to move emergency response centers to now be 30km from the nuclear plant they oversee. The response center for Fukushima Daiichi was 5km from the plant. This caused problems not just due to the proximity but because power generation systems failed to work causing the building to flood with radiation. The air handling system did not work due to the lack of functional power generators. They also intend to expand evacuation zones around nuclear plants from 10km to 30km. The plan calls for distributing iodine to people within 50km of the nuclear plant. It does not state clearly if the iodine would be given to residents ahead of time or if it would need to … Read entire article »
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The Forgotten
[Translate] A year and a half since the 3-11 disasters many still live in temporary housing without compensation wondering where they will go. Even less known is a group of 200 elderly evacuees still living in a former school. No hot food, no privacy and what services they do have are improvised at the school building. Most sleep with cardboard partitions for privacy or together in old classrooms dorm style. This group of evacuees all from Futaba have been mentioned before. The town has set up an office at the Saitama school as they try to determine what to do about the town so close to the Fukushima Daiichi plant and with considerable doubt anyone can return. Ex-SKF found a group trying to help these people and news that they are still at … Read entire article »
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“The Economy Was Given Priority Over Human Life”, Interview With Maya Koabayashi
[Translate] Maya Koabayashi lived in Fukushima City. After the nuclear disaster in Japan her life changed as did the lives of many people. The information they were getting from the government was largely useless. Determining what was safe to eat or if they should leave the area, they were left to figure it out for themselves. Ms. Kobayashi is only 25, she points out that the nuclear plants in Japan were there before she was born, she had no say in their existence in her life. Most of her family has moved away. She moved to Yamagata and has started a magazine to help inform young people how to be safer in a contaminated land and to educate people more about radiation. She had planned to go to India to share her … Read entire article »
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Dr. Robert Jacobs Explains Social Mobilization In Japan After Fukushima
[Translate] Dr. Robert Jacobs of the Hiroshima Peace Institute (and SimplyInfo member) explains the social impact on the people in Fukushima and how the troubling changes they have experienced are similar to the devastating toll on populations after other nuclear disasters. The damage done by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has far wider implications than just health damage. 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 and time that goes into our research and analysis. Referring … Read entire article »
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Evacuees Still Living In Evacuation Centers, Limbo
[Translate] 300 people are still living in an evacuation center. Most are elderly and from Futaba. A few simply can not find new jobs after being moved from Fukushima to Saitama. People live together in various rooms of a former high school with no idea where they will be going next or when. About 1400 people remain on waiting lists just to obtain a temporary housing unit. Where they are currently was not mentioned. There also seems to be a disconnect between where some temporary housing units are located and where people either want or need to be located for other reasons like job locations. In Iwaki tensions between locals and the evacuees rose and people worried about the impact. Locals voiced concerns that medical care costs would rise as evacuees currently … Read entire article »
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Fukushima Victimization 2.0
[Translate] Dr. Robert Jacobs from the Hiroshima Peace Institute, and SimplyInfo.org member has written a new article over at DiaNuke.org discussing the re-victimization of the evacuees of Fukushima. We have seen efforts by various parties over the last year to blame victims and otherwise malign or misrepresent the true nature of their situation. With the anniversary of the disaster this weekend, certain parties have turned this game of blame the victim into high gear by putting stories in the media again trying to downplay the disaster and make life worse for those impacted by the disaster. This not only does a great disservice to those impacted by the disaster but hurts the public discourse about safety, risk and the disaster itself. Dr. Jacob’s full article can be found here. This article would not be … Read entire article »
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Ending The Year, Disaster Far From Over For Evacuees
[Translate] If you ask anyone in Japan their thoughts on 2011 they will tell you something akin to it having been a very tough year. The government in Tokyo and TEPCO have declared the disaster over. Western media has been more than happy to repeat this claim with gusto. For those in the Tohoku region of Japan the disaster is far from over. Many still remain in temporary housing. Everyone seems to be in some manner of limbo. Waiting for compensation from TEPCO, waiting to hear if their property will be habitable any time soon or trying to pick up the pieces and move on with life. A wife decided she really needed her husband and a farmer planted seaweed in Iwate not knowing what the next day holds. The government has … Read entire article »
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Criticism Of Fukushima Disaster Response Grows Worldwide
[Translate] Greenpeace expert Ike Teuling did an on the ground investigation at Fukushima City, 60km from the nuclear plant. His investigation found radioactive hot spots up to 100 times the background radiation levels. The area in general is still highly contaminated. Greenpeace has called for the evacuation of all children and pregnant women from Fukushima City, something that should have happened 9 months ago. Soon after the disaster the discussion on our live blog was one of puzzlement why Fukushima City was not being evacuated. Radiation levels there soon after the disaster were concerningly high. The local government response has been far from useful. They told residents to do their own decontamination and to bury radioactive dirt and materials in their yards. Those with the means to do so have already evacuated. … Read entire article »
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Niigata Prefecture Took Lead To Help During The Disaster
[Translate] While the central government was flailing during the first days of the disaster, Niigata prefecture jumped to action. A 10km long traffic jam had clogged the main road west out of Fukushima towards Niigata as residents fled the nuclear disaster. The prefecture government had become aware of the mass exodus the previous afternoon. Their 14 member team began setting up locations where evacuees could rest, consult with officials and be tested for radiation. Within 1 day 10 municipalities and the prefectural government were ready to accept 3000 evacuees. On March 18th 64 evacuation centers were open and accepted 10,574 evacuees. Niigata has had their own disaster experience after dealing with two major quakes. Every municipality can open an evacuation center in two hours. The mayor of Minami-Soma criticized the central government. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Humanitarian, The Latest
Fukushima Residents Still Have To Pay Mortgages And Property Taxes
[Translate] A little talked about issue that is truly compounding the problems of those in Fukushima, their debts are not going away in any manner, even if they can’t go home. Mortgages and property taxes are still expected to be paid. Even if they have had to evacuate and possibly lost their job due to the disasters. No effort has been made to give temporary suspension or forgiveness as people try to determine their long range plans. 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 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Fukushima Area Impact, The Latest
Fewer Think Returning Home Is An Option, Namie Officals Still Dream Of Return
[Translate] A recent NHK survey found an increasing number of evacuees think returning home won’t happen or would be extremely difficult to do. Meanwhile officials for Namie, a town 9km from the plant, take periodic readings in the city. They admit that the extremely high levels and only small declines in radiation would make it difficult for people to return. They still hold out hope the government would provide decontamination for the town. How realistic that hope is remains to be seen. 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 … Read entire article »
Filed under: Japan Exposure, Radiation Exposure, Radiation Readings, The Latest
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