Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Result of "Decontamination" at a Kindergarten in Minami Soma City - Not Much of a Result

Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture is one of the cities whose designation as "evacuation-ready zone" have been lifted and where the residents are supposed to return. The city had been urging the residents to return well before the designation was lifted, and as part of the efforts to encourage the residents to return and live in the city as before, the city has been busy "decontaminating" kindergartens and schools and other public places with advice from Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama of Tokyo University Radioisotope Center.

However, if you look at one and only result that the city has published, the decontamination didn't quite decontaminate, i.e. remove the contamination. If the city has better results elsewhere, it is not showing.

That one result is that of Ishigami Daini Kindergarten decontamination, done on July 30 as the kickoff event for Minami Soma's "decontamination month" (which was the month of August).

According to the "Decontamination Work Evaluation Sheet", the city found:

  • Drainage on the rooftop measured 33 microsieverts/hour (already decontaminated at the time of July 30 work);

  • As for indoor radiation level, the radiation 2 meters off the floor was higher than the radiation 1 centimeter off the floor;

  • Locations whose radiation levels got lower after the work: drainage on the rooftop, under the slide in the playground;

  • Washing the building didn't result in lower radiation;

  • Washing the asphalt [parking lot] with high-power washer didn't result in lower radiation;

  • Nearby residents complained of water from the decontamination work splashing on their properties; not enough notification prior to the work [it looks like the city didn't notify the residents at all].

Here's their before and after map of the radiation levels in various locations in the kindergarten:
  • Noticeable difference observed in before and after radiation levels: under the rain gutters, drainage, under the slide

  • Location where the radiation levels went up after the decontamination: center of the kindergarten playground, parking lot

  • Locations where the difference was not noticeably big: playground locations, indoors

The survey meter that they used was "POLIMASTER PM1703M" personal survey meter which measures gamma ray with the accuracy of 30%.

But not to worry. The IAEA Decontamination Mission is coming to Japan. They must surely know what they are doing and advise the Japanese government accordingly.

Does anyone care at this point if the "decontamination" actually decontaminate? It sure seems to be making people feel better that they did the work, and it brings money and job to the area's yard cleaning contractors and heavy equipment operators who will do the soil scraping.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Make work" projects only will be utilized up to a certain point. Once the volunteers realize--its not working.they will quit. Now for the companys being paid, someone needs to put "results" into the outcome, not just volume of dirt moved. If the activity does not decontaminate successfully, then no funds should be paid. Results focused work efforts! Not "make work". Children will be the bill and health payees for all of this.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Ah. The Japanese are very good at "make work", endlessly. If it doesn't work the first time, they do it the second time. If the second time doesn't work, they do the third, to nth time. Soon the government will get (buy) endorsement from IAEA for their decon work, which will be used to persuade people. "See, this is what IAEA says will work."

William said...

I've lived in Japan for 4 years and after what I've observed, I'm not surprised at all by these failed decontaminations. It's a bit lengthy, but please let me explain ...

In Japan the idea of community and group harmony takes priority over all. At schools (under normal conditions) for instance, every day there is a cleaning time. It is usually about 15-20 minutes in the afternoon where all of the students and teachers stop what they are doing and go to assigned areas to "clean." There will be armies of students in the hallway with brooms, students outside pulling weeds from their assigned areas, students moving all of the desks in their classrooms, and students on their hands and knees with filthy washrags and buckets of water (no detergent, just water) wiping the floor in the teacher's room. The result ... nothing noticable, there are still tons of dust-bunnies under each desk, filthy corners, and weed free spots of dirt and gravel in the parking lot. The effect of 800 students cleaning a school for 20 minutes almost can't even be noticed since the actions taken are so superficial. It seems much more about the idea of group harmony and community formed through everyone contributing.

Apartment buildings as well have a monthly cleaning day where residents are often obligated to get up early Sat. morning and spend an hour cleaning the walkways, parking lots, common areas, etc. Japanese people move, move, move, and work so hard but afterwords little real change can be seen. I've been observing this for 4 years.

The Japanese really seem to believe in working harder, not smarter. For instance, students, in their uniforms (including girls in skirts), get on their hands and knees and wipe the floor of the teacher's room with only water and little dirty rags to no real effect. If cleaning was the point, proper mops could cover more floor space, with greater pressure and cleaning efficiency and fewer students in less time. Plus a little detergent wouldn't hurt either!

Japanese start being indoctrinated into these communal "cleaning times" from elementary school (or sooner if they live in an apartment building which does it.) I'm certain that the mentality and lack of analysis of the cleaning methods and dirt removal from these cleaning times is spilling over into the decontamination. It just becomes a big cleaning time.

It's not difficult to imagine that even if a power washer did dislodge bonded radioactive atoms from a roof or parking lot, they would only be sprayed in the mist a few feet away to redeposit and keep the radiation level of the area the same. I consider trying to wash radiation away a pointless act, much like the students on their hands and knees in the teacher's room just moving the dirt back and forth.

William

Anonymous said...

.

Thinkabout this terribleses Sludge: Why is it 'more' contaminated? There is a reason...

In this kindergarten example - again - it is seen that sludge removal helped the most (it already was most contaminated). So Why Sludge?

People have used this phenomena for decades as their advantage: some sources tell that the intentionally irradiated Americans (Ah, the je$$$.$$ital nuke 'tests') learned to get clean mutton - by letting lambs drink 'sludge' water... This sludge - call it clay or zeolite - is a 'weapon' against radiation: When ingested, it attracts myriad harmful radicals (like radio-active particles) and scientists call its structure as a 'net with huge capacity to catch the nuclei'. When it is inside a gut - animal or human - it works as a 'magnet-carrier' for myriad harmful stuff one wants to get out from the body...

Likewise, it works outside: nuke plant irradiated spruce is known (by a german researcher) to be healthy in dusty (read: clay, sludge...) conditions. You bet this study is nowhere to be found... So why not use clay in the water spray, or cover areas with dust before the decontamination ... then carry the 'sludge' with trucks into Tokyo Bay for the Thriathlon maniacs...

BANNED. Alas, this wont create more revenue ... Less paying 'customers' into Our new Cancer Business Centers - thus all above is just evil hearsay rumors... BANNED.

However, exclusively just for the little people, Some links here - seekword is CLAY ... at this page http://wp.me/pwIAV-19

.

Anonymous said...

↑ English please.

Anonymous said...

cuneiform -tribe attack ?

Anonymous said...

contact!
tin-foil hat brigade, force recon element spotted^

On a more serious note, decon does NOT work unless the contamination is low and recent. Otherwise, nuclear plants would be washing their dirty gear instead of depositing it in salt mines and Pripyat would be a nice, clean, healthy industrial town still.

Anonymous said...

The seriousness cant be underestemated and downplayed, the stakes are risisng every day now.

Read this, and also I hope that some healthpersonel read this, about prognosis after radioactive fallout.
http://www.ratical.org/radiation/inetSeries/NIDcell.html

akaider said...

every time they 'decontaminate' it makes the dust airborne, totally nuts....

Anonymous said...

akaider said... totally nuts....

CNN Ted Turner publicly preaches depopulation: "500 million ppl would be ideal" ... Same tune as the Club of Rome - project currently on track.

Does that fit the group?

Anonymous said...

Thks for the linky.

"At some point or other if we survive, there's going to have to be a massive non-cooperation with our society which is producing death. . . . " —Dr. Rosalie Bertell, Vancouver, 1986 http://www.ratical.org/radiation/inetSeries/NIDcell.html

If this is not fruit of the jesuital depopulation program - then what is?

Anonymous said...

OH shut the fuck up already with your Jesuit shit.

Anonymous said...

Ol' proverb always reveals your ilk: " squelin pooch got the hit "

Anonymous said...

WTF is a "squelin"? Anybody know?

Atomfritz said...

The results of this "decontamination" effort and William's insightful description of the Japanese mentality made me think my whole work day.

And I haven't yet come to anything coming near a conclusion.
There are so many things playing in, the Japanese mentality, its effect on decontamination (what in fact is only a matter of moving the contamination somewhere else, as it cannot be erased like bacterial contamination) etc.

Maybe it's the best thing just to say bluntly and "unharmonically" (=Russian mentality), this approach failed, let's think over and see what could better work than this.

Anyway, this approach that was taken reminds me of Japanese working like ants (I dont't say this in any derogatory intent). In nature this works well, but in uncommon, unusual situations this might fail badly as we are seeing here, as the "rules" are suddenly completely different from anything known before.

However, still thinking a lot about what lesson(s) can/must be learnt of this, I cannot say much atm as my thoughts are still unfinished.

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