ScribbleLive

Just got back. @Elaine - I have not seen any TEPCO news today.
@Andrea C - Hi!

At 2:06 pm on October 7, we started to spray purified accumulated water
brought from Unit 5 and 6 continually in order to prevent dust scattering
and potential fire outbreaks from the cut down trees.
www.tepco.co.jp
they still have this on their status reports do you think they will continue till they have got rid of all the stored water?

@elainekirk @elainekirk Don't know about now. Prior to Fuku the IAEA tried to give the Japanese nuclear industry some advice and the representative they spoke to refused the help as it would give the illusion they were not perfect or ahead of everyone else. He was more worried about the illusion than actually being there.

@Edano why does that make me worried? Hope we can find the full article with details. Are they making sure mental health services are available or compelling people to go under a mental evaluation?

Fukushima nuclear evacuees to undergo mental health checks

FUKUSHIMA, Japan, Oct. 17 -- (Kyodo) _ The Fukushima prefectural government will conduct mental health checks from next month on about 200,000 residents who had to evacuate in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, its health committee said Monday.

It will also start conducting checkups on about 20,000 pregnant women within this year, the panel of experts said.

After the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, the number of people suffering from mental illness is believed to have increased due to radiation fears and changes in their living circumstances.

Residents subject to Fukushima's survey will be divided into four groups -- children up to age 6, elementary school students, junior high school students, and senior high school age and older people.

As for children up to junior high school age, their parents will be required to check whether any changes in their children's behavior have been observed, such as whether they tend to be scared or get angry suddenly.

Older people will be required to answer questions regarding stress and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as whether they have experienced any changes in their lifestyles including sleep and diet after the nuclear disaster.

The prefectural government will offer telephone consultations or introduce medical institutions to those who may need treatment, the committee said.

All pregnant women who have been given maternity health record books in the prefecture from August 2010 to July 2011, including those who have evacuated outside Fukushima after the accident, are subject to the checkups, it said.

(c) 2011 Kyodo News International, Inc. dialog.newsedge.com[topic%3Deduap]&searchID=730071&datetime=[t-minus%3D7]&hdlaction=story&storyid=[storyid=Jg9emaOBKEOxnLu5dGFPV2xGcVHbyEnWlMqHekqBFmgDullX9i8mLVv8ROHq-Ia3UC-7MaTZWB0hX5B4H5nKJQ**]&rtcrdata=on&epname=USDOLLAR&

@Andrea C. keep going. :-)

@Andrea C. true words.

@Andrea C. DoE has had ppl on the ground for months.

@Edano all women who have given birth since last year is bad it means if they went to try and get their children tested for radiation harm whatever the findings of the questionable tests could be used to label them and discredit their concerns

US Beef Restrictions Might be Eased

Restrictions on the import of US beef to Japan might be eased.

Currently only cows which are 20 months or younger can be imported to Japan, but this may be raised to 30 months or younger.

The restrictions on beef have been in place to prevent meat infected with mad cow disease, or BSE - bovine spongiform encephalopathy - from reaching Japanese markets.

In 2003 tainted beef was discovered during inspections and US beef was completely banned.

Two years later, the ban was partially lifted. Beef from cows which were 20 months or younger, with brains and spinal cords removed, were allowed back in.

The government says the restriction should be further eased, noting the 20 month or younger stipulation is much stricter than in other countries.

No cow in the United States has tested positive for mad cow disease for four years, and the number of BSE cases worldwide has also plunged.

The tentative new policy would be in line with the standard adopted by numerous other countries.

The government is also considering easing beef imports from Canada, which is currently bound by the same restrictions as the United States, as well as resuming imports from France and the Netherlands.
No BSE has been detected in Japan since February 2009 and the health ministry is considering revising the assistance they provide local governments to check for BSE in every single cow that goes on the market.

The ministry is planning to consult the Food Safety Commission the by the end of the year on revising its food policy.

A member of the Commission, Professor Takashi Onodera of the University of Tokyo, says no cow which is 30 months or younger has tested positive for BSE over about the past 10 years. Thus, safety would not be compromised if Japan eases its restrictions, in light of the world standard.

But Onodera says consumers are highly conscious of beef safety after the nuclear power plant accident. He adds the government needs to make an effort to explain the BSE situation abroad to consumers.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 01:14 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp

@edano I am going to start charging you for the screen wipes !

@elainekirk haha - yeah, very clever ! :)

@Andrea C. sounds like east german nukes.

@bo Hi!

@bo whats your take on the mental health checks?

@bo my post 50 min ago "Fukushima nuclear evacuees to undergo mental health checks"

The link doesn't go through for me.

@bo @elainekirk *http://dialog.newsedge.com/portal.asp?site=2007100814443105593225&searchfolderid=pg2007100814522209759333&block=default&portlet=ep&nzesm=on&syntax=advanced&display=Asia+Pacific+Education&action=sitetopics&mode=realtime&nzenb=left&criteria=[topic%3Deduap]&searchID=730071&datetime=[t-minus%3D7]&hdlaction=story&storyid=[storyid=Jg9emaOBKEOxnLu5dGFPV2xGcVHbyEnWlMqHekqBFmgDullX9i8mLVv8ROHq-Ia3UC-7MaTZWB0hX5B4H5nKJQ**]&rtcrdata=on&epname=USDOLLAR& without the star