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Wildlife suffering around Fukushima
Leaked radiation likely to affect marine ecosystems more than terrestrial ones.

Scientists estimate that in the first 30 days after the accident on 11 March, trees, birds and forest-dwelling mammals were exposed to daily doses up to 100 times greater – and fish and marine algae to doses several thousand times greater - than are generally considered safe.

www.nature.com

May 27, 2011 Fukushima Crisis: Gundersen Gives Testimony to NRC ACRS (VIDEO)
FA: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) held a special ACRS meeting Thursday May 26, 2011 on the current status of Fukushima. Arnie Gundersen was invited to speak for 5 minutes concerning the lessons learned from the Fukushima accident as it pertains to the 23 Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactors (BWR's) in the US and containment integrity. Mr. Gundersen was the first engineer to brief the NRC on the implication of Main Steam Isolation Valve (MSIV) Leakage in 1974, and he has been studying containment integrity since 1972. The NRC has constantly maintained in all of its calculations and reviews that there is zero probability of a containment leaking. For more than six years, in testimony and in correspondence with the NRC, Mr. Gundersen has disputed the NRC's stand that containment systems simply do not and cannot leak. The events at Fukushima have proven that Gundersen was correct. The explosions at Fukushima show that Mark 1 containments will lose their integrity and release hugh amounts of radiation, as Mr. Gundersen has been telling the NRC for many years.

exposedpost.blogspot.com

Japan Moves to Ease Parental Fury Over Radiation Limits
www.nytimes.com
"There has been particular anger over new government guidelines that allowed schoolchildren to be exposed to radiation doses that are more than 20 times the previously permissible levels. That dose is equal to the international standard for adult nuclear power plant workers.
The education minister, Yoshiaki Takaki, said Friday that the government would, for the time being, revert to the original limit of 1 millisievert a year. Mr. Takaki said the government would pay for local schools with radiation levels above that limit to remove contaminated topsoil from their grounds.
“We will provide financial support to schools for measures to deal with soil in schoolyards as a way to lower radiation levels for children,” Mr. Takaki said."

@Panserbjorne9 What?!! I wonder how much money he gets from the nuke industry?!

Fukushima nuclear plant's tsunami plan a single page
www.insidebayarea.com
"Japanese nuclear regulators trusted that the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex were safe from the worst waves an earthquake could muster based on a single-page memo from the plant operator nearly a decade ago.
In the Dec. 19, 2001, document -- one double-sized page obtained by The Associated Press under Japan's public records law -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. rules out the possibility of a tsunami large enough to knock the plant offline and gives scant details to justify this conclusion, which proved to be wildly optimistic.
Regulators at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, or NISA, had asked plant operators for assessments of their earthquake and tsunami preparedness. They didn't mind the brevity of TEPCO's response, and apparently made no moves to verify its calculations or ask for supporting documents.
"This is all we saw," said Masaru Kobayashi, who now heads NISA's quake-safety section. "We did not look into the validity of the content."

@Panserbjorne9 I agree, but even most naysayers acknowledge some danger...and they say we're being irresponsible!

@elainekirk thanks seems to be north-south. N 38 48.235 E 141 33.278, most northerly point is just south of Kesennuma. N 36 32.950 E 140 38.730, most southerly point is just south of Hitachi. Straight line (!) distance around 260km. Not that it is straight.

@elainekirk Yes, the effect of just cleaning off some dirt around a playground is just a cosmetic/political bone thrown at a legitimately angry group of parents...sad. I did read the letter, TY, and I hope that it receives the attention that it deserves.

Hay guys, what's with all the protective gear, I thought radiation wasn't all that bad for you!

@Ian LOL

TEPCO may need to plug leak at Fukushima plant

The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant says highly radioactive water continues to leak from a waste disposal facility in the complex.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Friday that the water level had dropped by around 3 centimeters as of 7 AM from the level observed at 5 PM on Thursday. TEPCO had transferred to the facility some of the highly radioactive water flooding the basement of the No.3 reactor's turbine building and nearby tunnel, before it suspended the work earlier this week.
On Thursday, the transferred water was found to be leaking into an underground passage to another building.
The utility firm says it is likely that the water level in the facility will stop falling, but added that it may need to plug the leaks.
The work is expected to be difficult as radiation levels of up to 70 millisieverts per hour have been detected on the water's surface.
TEPCO also faces the urgent task of preventing the contaminated water around the No.3 reactor from spilling into the sea or underground.
Friday, May 27, 2011 12:16 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp

@elainekirk, where does the photo of the IAEA guy at U3 pointing finger come from? I only see the one bobby posted on the Tepco site. I'm hoping they all lined up for a group photo in front of U3... smile everyone! - click -
www.iaea.org the clickable thumbs are here www.iaea.org

Thanks whoever made the answer appear in my comment. :)

TOKYO, May 28 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Radiation levels up to several hundred times normal have been detected on the Pacific seabed in a 300-kilometer-long area off the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the science ministry said Friday.

The ministry said high-level radioactive materials were detected on the seabed in a north-south stretch ranging from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, and warned the contamination could affect the safety of seafood.

The science ministry said it detected iodine and cesium on the seabed at 12 spots 15- to 50-km from the coastline between May 9 and 14. www.breitbart.com

@Reed That Gundersen video speaks volumes about the uphill battle that exists. I'm glad my eyes are now open!

@Olivier No I was plotting the Greenpeace data that @elainekirk gave me the link to. Greenpeace data is from May 3 to May 9. The Kyodo data is May 9 to May 14.

@RBeamer looks like meat coming out of a hand grinder, you might be to young to remember those