Fukushima

Reported before the typhoon - what happened to this waste?

150,000 tons of radioactive pollutants left out in the open

the Japan News,

14 Sepetember, 2013

About 150,000 tons of radioactive waste, including contaminated soil left over from decontamination efforts, have been left out in the open in areas affected by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, The Yomiuri Shimbun has discovered.

This figure accounts for about 30 percent of all radioactive waste from the crisis, and results from delays in the establishment of temporary storage sites.

The Yomiuri’s research discovered that 36 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture are scheduled to set up temporary storage sites in 372 locations, but that so far storage sites had only been set up in 139 locations, or 37 percent. Among the 36 municipalities, 23, or about 60 percent, had not been able to secure land for such sites.

Behind the problem is the central and local governments’ failure to eliminate residents’ fears that radioactive pollutants may be stored at the sites for longer than authorities promise.

Local government officials have said it will be easier to obtain residents’ consent once construction begins on interim storage facilities to store radioactive waste in the medium term, and expressed hope that construction will start quickly. Of the municipalities, nine had secured locations for the temporary storage sites, two had not decided how many sites to build, and two did not reply to the question.

Six municipalities, including Koriyama, had not been able to set up any sites because they could not obtain consent from residents.

So far, decontamination work has produced about 550,000 tons of radioactive waste, including contaminated soil, tree branches and leaves. Of this, about 150,000 tons could not be stored in line with the Environment Ministry’s guidelines for safe storage and was left out in the open.

The municipality with the most radioactive waste stored improperly was Nishigo with 40,000 tons, followed by Motomiya with 39,432 tons and Tamura with 17,800 tons.

Some municipalities have not tallied the weight of the waste. For example, the Iwaki city government replied that it had “29,109 bags.” As a result, the total weight will likely rise further.

None of the radioactive waste in six municipalities, including Motomiya, Tanagura and Nishigo, was stored in safe conditions.

Local governments are struggling to explain the situation to residents. The village government of Nishigo secured land for the purpose by telling residents that the temporary sites would store waste for three years.

An official of the village government said, “If construction of the interim storage facility is delayed, we’ll have to hold explanatory meetings again to seek residents’ understanding about a change in the period of temporary storage.”

Japan Meteorological Research Institute “60,000,000,000 Bq of Cs-137 and Sr-90 is leaking to the open ocean everyday

Fukushima Diary,

19 Sepetember, 2013

In IAEA session from 9/17~9/18/2013, researcher Aoyama from Japan Meteorological Research Institute reported 60,000,000,000 Bq of Cs-137 and Sr-90 is leaking to the open ocean every single day. (30,000,000,000 Bq of Cs-137 and 30,000,000,000 Bq of Sr-90)

The daily discharging rate has almost not been decreased since the beginning of 2012.

Related article..Tepco admitted leaked radiation is diluted outside of Fukushima plant port [URL]

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/PDFplus/2013/cn207/Presentations/1028-Aoyama.pdf

http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/43050/Scientific-Forum-The-Blue-Planet-Nuclear-Applications-for-a-Sustainable-Marine-Environment

Japan Meteorological Research Institute Report: TEPCO paid for creation of a blacklist of actors and musicians who are against nuclear industry

ENENews,

19 Sepetember, 2013

Toxic truth about Japan’s ‘miracle’: Post-tsunami harmony is a myth and the reality is startlingly different, Daily Mail by Richard Jones, June 18, 2011:

According to a well-known Japanese documentary maker, TEPCO paid for the creation of a blacklist of actors and musicians who are against the nuclear industry.

When one actor, Taro Yamamoto, joined an anti-nuclear protest, he lost his part in a popular soap opera. Yamamoto’s ‘crime’ was to say that schoolchildren in Fukushima should not be subjected to the same annual radiation dose (20 microsieverts per year) as nuclear power workers in Europe.