Japan Earthquake | Page 2746
TOLEDO, Ohio — A nuclear plant where cracks were found in protective concrete is being allowed to reopen despite unanswered questions about what happened, a congressman said Monday.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and operators of the Davis-Besse plant near Toledo don’t know what caused the cracks or whether it’s a bigger problem, said U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat who has been a longtime critic of the plant and its owner.
www.washingtonpost.comby M.I.A. 12/6/2011 12:00:25 AM
@M.I.A. Davis Besse is the one that had the pineapple sized hole in the reactor capby lillymunster 12/6/2011 12:13:01 AM- fukunukeblog.blogspot.com this is my file on fukushima conspiracy theories/theorists like jim stone.by artnuke 12/6/2011 12:26:33 AM
Cabinet approves dispatch of GSDF for decontamination in Fukushima
TOKYO, Dec. 6, Kyodo
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the dispatch of about 900 Ground Self-Defense Force troops to clean up local government buildings in the vicinity of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The troops will conduct a decontamination operation at municipal office buildings in the towns of Naraha, Tomioka and Namie in Fukushima Prefecture for two weeks from Wednesday.
Decontaminated buildings will serve as bases for a full-fledged cleanup operation led by the environment ministry in the prefecture starting in January.
==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jpby Edano 12/6/2011 12:34:29 AM- UPDATE1: S&P puts 15 eurozone nations on watch for negative implications
NEW YORK, Dec. 5, Kyodo
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said Monday it has placed its long-term sovereign ratings of 15 eurozone members on ''CreditWatch with negative implications,'' indicating the possibility that the six nations with triple A status including Germany could be downgraded.
Among the six countries with the top rating, Austria, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands could see their ratings lowered by one notch, while France could be downgraded by up to two notches, the U.S. rating agency said.
S&P said it expects to conclude its review of eurozone sovereign ratings ''as soon as possible following the EU summit'' scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
It said the move is ''prompted by our belief that systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen in recent weeks to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the eurozone as a whole.''
These systemic stresses stem partly from tightening credit conditions across the region, markedly higher risk premiums on a growing number of eurozone sovereigns and continuing disagreements among European policymakers on how to tackle the debt crisis, S&P said.
It also cited the rising risk of economic recession in the eurozone as a whole in 2012.
The move appears to reflect deepening economic and political turmoil stemming from the widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe. It could deal a blow to ongoing efforts to overcome the crisis as the eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, is underpinned by guarantees from the six nations' credit strength.
Besides the six top-notch countries, the ratings could be cut by one notch from AA for Belgium, and by up to two notches for the other eight nations including Italy (from A) and Spain (from AA-minus), S&P said.
For the remaining two of the eurozone's 17 members, S&P maintained the CreditWatch negative status of its long-term rating on Cyprus, while the ratings on Greece have not been placed on CreditWatch, it added.
==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jpby Edano 12/6/2011 12:38:37 AM - this is ridiculous. at the same time they postpone a new US rating until after 2013 (2012?) election. they clearly follow a political agenda.by Edano 12/6/2011 12:40:01 AM
- @Edano S&P takes money for their ratiings IIRC. It is all totally biased. They are not an unbiased rating agency in any way.by lillymunster 12/6/2011 12:40:43 AM
- @lillymunster yes, that lovely hole in the cap. iirc, a plant in ohio was discovered to have the same problemby M.I.A. 12/6/2011 12:58:48 AM
www3.nhk.or.jp
Coast Guard officers to join research whaling
Japan's Coast Guard says its officers will join the country's scientific whaling in the Antarctic Ocean this season.
The move follows anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's repeated acts of sabotage against Japan's whaling fleet.
Whaling was suspended for the first time in February due to the group's obstructive activities.
The year before, Japan's Coast Guard arrested a Sea Shepherd skipper for throwing bottles at Japanese whalers and trespassing on the ship in the Antarctic Ocean. A Japanese court gave him a suspended prison term.
The Coast Guard announced on Monday that its officers will be on board the whaling fleet and on a Fisheries Agency patrol ship.
The officers have the legal authority to arrest anyone who trespasses on a Japanese ship. But they do not have the power to board an anti-whaling boat to stop obstructive acts or arrest its crew members.
The Coast Guard has decided not to deploy a patrol boat to guard the whaling fleet as it has limited authority over foreign vessels on the high seas.
It had placed officers on board the whaling fleet twice before, but this is the first time it has announced the decision in advance.
It has not, however, disclosed the number of officers or when the fleet will leave Japan for security reasons.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011 08:54 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jpby Edano via Www3.nhk.or.jp 12/6/2011 1:02:07 AM- Fukushima: Inside the Exclusion Zone. Dec 05.2011. www.theatlantic.comby MaryW 12/6/2011 1:24:37 AM
- More details on the animal rescues www.japantoday.comby lillymunster 12/6/2011 1:42:07 AM
- 90 year old a-bomb photographer makes Fukushima accident his final work ajw.asahi.comby lillymunster 12/6/2011 1:43:08 AM
- ICBM in North Dakota damaged, partial evacuation. The jokesters up there are always screwing something up. A few years ago they dropped a missile in a ditch. Article mentions when they accidentally armed a bomber before its flight www.washingtonpost.comby lillymunster 12/6/2011 1:49:44 AM
- Rice paddy decontamination experiment using zeolite and potassium
The paddy farmland Date promoted to spray decontamination zeolite
Date City city = 梁川 local farmers to decontaminate the fruit in high-pressure washer
Date City small country village of old, and old rice harvested in the town月舘and oysters, the raw materialぽpersimmon jam, national provisional standard values from the main agricultural products (500 becquerel per kilogram), leaving the radioactive cesium in excess of In response to farmers of the North County and local municipalities, JA Date Mirai will work together to promote the planting and decontamination measures. He said next year for the planting of rice fields, embark on measures to curb the absorption of radioactive cesium in rice.
Zeolite and potassium fertilizer spraying about 1279 hectares of paddy fields throughout the city. Cesium in zeolite fixed, rice tends to absorb potassium in potassium and cesium if there is, a sufficient amount of potassium fertilizers seeded rice fields, reduce the absorption of cesium.
In the method to be effective in experiments with counties and agencies, the work entrusted to scatter Date Mirai JA, after spraying is like to get into each farmer. Congress has been recorded on December budget, after approval, will be completed in about two months to spray. JA said, Date,桑折, in cooperation with the respective municipalities and organizations Kunimi production, and promoting decontamination acre orchard tract 2200, five days in the city梁川東大枝town, before a full-scale decontamination, Local farmers set a team actually worked on decontamination experiments.
(Friends News, December 06, 2011 in Fukushima people)
www.minyu-net.comby lillymunster 12/6/2011 2:02:52 AM - Hi all! Just wanted to tell you I found the "Tepco Meltdown Analysis" article on the Simplyinfo site to be quite good.by Lurking 12/6/2011 2:25:53 AM
- @Lurking thanks. If you or anyone thinks of things we should revisit or do more in depth on let everyone know. For now info seems to be coming out slower or in spurts.by lillymunster 12/6/2011 2:38:17 AM
- @Lily, slow is a good word for it. I still believe much more is actually known than they make public.by Lurking 12/6/2011 2:42:47 AM
- Government of Japan--Road to Recovery--Comprehensive Information Materials. (Oct 25.2011) www.kantei.go.jpby MaryW 12/6/2011 2:50:12 AM
- Fukushima And Health: What To Expect. Proceeding of the 3rd International Conference of the European Committee on Radiation Risk. www.archive.orgby MaryW 12/6/2011 3:07:23 AM
- If any of the more computer techy types stop by, looking for anyone who has played with creating your own web bots or knows of a good existing one to use?by lillymunster 12/6/2011 3:11:47 AM
- TEPCO receives 2nd round of compensation claims mdn.mainichi.jp
Wholesaler handling Fukushima rice goes bankrupt mdn.mainichi.jp
Fukushima food makers incur extra costs to prove food safe ajw.asahi.com
Japan hungry for Aussie rice www.theaustralian.com.auby lillymunster 12/6/2011 4:16:59 AM - 900 GSDF troops to go to Fukushima to decontaminate english.kyodonews.jp
TEPCO denies they wanted to end Rokkosho www.tepco.co.jp.japansupport.netby lillymunster 12/6/2011 4:21:30 AM - Panel skeptical at TEPCO claim that tsunami caused accident ajw.asahi.comby lillymunster 12/6/2011 4:24:16 AM
- METI new infographics site www.tsutagra.go.jpby lillymunster 12/6/2011 4:29:06 AM
- Deadly Radiation Dusts All of Japan. (reports the Japan daily, Asahi Shimbun) Dec 05.2011. www.beyondnuclear.orgby MaryW 12/6/2011 4:35:16 AM
- OMG, Nancy, that Asahi article could have been written by you six months ago!by M.I.A. 12/6/2011 4:46:57 AM
- Cesium From Fukushima plant fell all over Japan. Nov 26.2011. ajw.asahi.com.articleby MaryW 12/6/2011 4:49:30 AM
- I have no idea why the aja.asahi.com link is not working. Any clues?by MaryW 12/6/2011 4:51:51 AM
- Is there a 'block' to linking that article?by MaryW 12/6/2011 4:55:07 AM
- @MaryW Not sure, but one of the scribblers old me to put some spaces between text and link and hit the return key instead of comment button. It worked like a charm! :-)by M.I.A. 12/6/2011 4:55:10 AM
- All try again, may be that was it. @MIA thanks ajw.asahi.comby MaryW 12/6/2011 4:58:15 AM
- huh odd. the link should have worked?by lillymunster 12/6/2011 5:03:57 AM
- Oh my I had to read that twice! 0-10k bq all over Japan.by lillymunster 12/6/2011 5:04:50 AM
- @MaryW Worked this time!by M.I.A. 12/6/2011 5:05:04 AM
- Strange nite, I had to try several times to get the 'make a comment' work, so I could sign in.by MaryW 12/6/2011 5:06:41 AM
- At least the emergency responders (fire departments) will be getting ongoing care and monitoring
Investigate the damage caused by radiation leukemia and cataracts warning of emergency aid
During the first nuclear accident by the earthquake East Fukushima, Tokyo Fire Department and Yokohama, Kawasaki, fire emergency assistance is dispatched personnel from the Fire Department as the cities of Osaka, about 260 people were on campus, such as drainage work, Fire and Disaster Management Agency is 6 summarizes the detailed plan for health research. Be wary of leukemia and cataracts, and blood testing and immediate internal exposures by March next year, review the results. Checkups and continued beyond 2012, a follow-up after retirement with the consent of the person. Through workshops and individual interviews of doctors, "Critical Incident Stress" in mental care such damage also.
With examining the long-term health damage caused by radiation, is aimed to measure the spiritual care of members. www.47news.jpby lillymunster 12/6/2011 5:11:06 AM - I still have to pinch myself to believe how very, very fuku'ed the whole disaster is...poor Japanese :-(by M.I.A. 12/6/2011 5:19:01 AM
- Goodnight, folks, the baby will be up at the crack of doom, so to sleep.by M.I.A. 12/6/2011 5:20:16 AM
Kevin Kamps is one of the better anti-nuke speakers, consistently careful to be accurate in his statements that I've seen.
by Ian 12/6/2011 5:36:09 AM- bumpby M.I.A. 12/6/2011 7:40:43 AM
- Radioactive Cesium in Meiji Milk Spurs Recall
www.bloomberg.comby Asianluker 12/6/2011 8:02:03 AM 
Good evening friends.by bo 12/6/2011 9:54:12 AM- Are you around @elainekirk?by bo 12/6/2011 10:28:52 AM
- Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula
TOKYO, Dec. 6, Kyodo
Radioactive cesium of up to 30.8 becquerels per kilogram has been found in baby formula manufactured and sold by Meiji Co., sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday, citing a sampling by the major food company.
While it is unclear how the isotope got into the powdered milk, retailed as ''Meiji Step,'' the company suspects a link with the radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, they said.
Radioactive cesium has been found in baby formula for the first time since the disaster, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. The level of the isotope contained in the product remains below the government-set allowable limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram.
Meiji nonetheless plans to offer customers free replacements, a move that affects about 400,000 cans of the Meiji Step formula, the sources said.
Amid concern that babies are more susceptible to harmful effects of radioactive materials than adults, the ministry has planned to set a new limit for food products aimed for babies.
The isotope has been found in batches whose recommended consumption deadlines are Oct. 4, 21, 22 and 24 next year, according to the manufacturer. The deadline is printed on the bottom of each can.
Meiji commands a roughly 40 percent share of domestic baby formula sales.
==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jpby Edano 12/6/2011 10:38:36 AM - UPDATE1: Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula
TOKYO, Dec. 6, Kyodo
Radioactive cesium of up to 30.8 becquerels per kilogram has been found in baby formula manufactured and sold by Meiji Co., the major food company said Tuesday, citing an internal inspection.
The company suspects a link with the radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, saying that raw milk for its ''Meiji Step'' powders may have come into contact with airborne radioactive cesium when it was being dried.
Radioactive cesium has been found in baby formula for the first time since the disaster, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, which has begun looking into the matter.
The level of cesium-134 and cesium-137 contained in the product remains below the government-set allowable limit of 200 becquerels per kilogram. Meiji said in a statement that the level ''is said to be one that does not influence health even if (the formula) is drunk every day.''
The company nonetheless plans to offer customers free replacements, a move that affects about 400,000 850-gram cans of the Meiji Step formula, a company official said.
Amid concern that babies are more susceptible to the harmful effects of radioactive materials than adults, the ministry has planned to set a new limit for food products for babies.
Replacements will be offered for batches whose recommended consumption deadlines are Oct. 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 22, 23 and 24 next year, according to the manufacturer. The deadline is printed on the bottom of each can.
The formula in question was manufactured at a company plant in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture. It came from cow milk produced before the March 11 disaster, according to the company.
''Because the cesium gets diluted to 3 to 4 becquerels (per kg) when the powders are put into hot water, we don't think it will have an impact on health. But we still want to address the anxieties of those who bought the product with replacements,'' the official said.
Prior to the latest discovery, the company had said no radioactive cesium was found in its product samples. The cesium found in the latest case was detected in stocks not subject to sampling tests.
Meiji commands roughly a 40 percent share of the domestic baby formula market.
==Kyodo english.kyodonews.jpby Edano 12/6/2011 10:40:00 AM
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