Sunday, June 17, 2012

(Now They Tell Us) Minister of Reconstruction Tells #Fukushima Town Mayor, "Decontamination Has Its Limits"


From Asahi Shinbun (6/17/2012):

東京電力福島第一原発事故に伴う除染について、平野達男復興相は17日、福島県浪江町の馬場有町長と同県二本松市で会談し、「除染技術の限界も明らかになった」とするモデル事業結果を伝えた。

Minister of Reconstruction Tatsuo Hirano met with Mayor of Namie-machi Tamotsu Baba on June 17 in Nihonmatsu City in Fukushima Prefecture and discussed the decontamination effort. Minister Hirano reported to Mayor Baba the result of the model decontamination that showed what decontamination could do and could not do.

それによると、2分半の道路の除染で空間放射線量が約3分の2まで下がるものの、以降はほとんど除染効果がなかった。住宅でも、屋根や壁の拭き取りなどで下がった割合は19~66%とばらつきがあることなどから「同じ除染を繰り返しても効果はそれほど期待できない」とした。平野氏は面会後、記者団に「除染ですぐにでも(年間放射線量が)1ミリシーベルトまで下がるという誤解を政府が与えていたかもしれない」と限界を認めた。

According to the result, by decontaminating a road [surface] for 2 and a half minutes the air radiation level would go down by one-third, but beyond that there was hardly any effect of decontamination. The reduction of radiation by wiping off the roofs and walls of a residence varied significantly, between 19 and 66 percent, and the conclusion was that "not much effect in reducing the radiation can be expected by repeating the same decontamination". After meeting with the Namie-machi Mayor, Mr. Hirano spoke with the press. He said, "Maybe the national government has given a wrong understanding [impression] that decontamination will instantly reduce (the annual cumulative radiation exposure) to less than 1 millisievert", admitting to the limit to what decontamination could do.

一方で、国が除染基本方針で掲げている「1ミリシーベルト以下を目指す」との長期目標は維持する方針だ。ただ、その工程については「新技術の研究をする」(平野氏)として具体的道筋は示さなかった。

On the other hand, the long-term goal of decontamination policy of the national government "to aim for 1 millisievert [per year] and below" [of radiation exposure of the general public] would be maintained, Hirano said. As to how to achieve the goal, however, he didn't specify other than to say "We will develop new technologies."


What decontamination by the national government has achieved, other than giving a lot of contracts and money to the large national general construction companies? Not much, a government minister has finally admitted.

So far, the high-tech Japan's tools for decontamination have been:

  • high-pressure washer
  • screw driver
  • shovel
  • broom and dustpan
  • paper towel
  • backhoe
  • plastic bags
  • blue tarp
  • volunteers

New decon technologies? I think the most effective of all is "time".

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, nuclear power is cheap if you don't compensate people for their losses when it all goes wrong.

Make them pay. Or at least make it clear to the public that they refuse to pay. File lawsuits. Even if you don't win, it is a powerful public statement that exposes some of the costs of nuclear power.

Anonymous said...

whats a bloom?

Anonymous said...

hmm, I like when I see people putting numbers on things that maddeningly hold no correlation,
ie, japan is worth, well,,, what would it cost to build another japan, preferably close or next to the old one, gd luck with that, and have fun decontaminating, oh and fixing the genetics of all your biological organisms including yourselves, the heinousness will soon become quite apparent, tick tock, shouldn't have been so diminuative, cocky and lying.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

broom. LOL

Anonymous said...

Just dump lead paint of everything, it will block the radiation.
Like that song about the spider ate the fly and the ... ate the spider and so on

Anonymous said...

The broom comes in handy for sweeping it all under the carpet...

Anonymous said...

You forgot to add "Japanese children" and "American high-school kids" to the list.

Anonymous said...

Jail them! Or sent them to re-education camps:

http://rt.com/programs/keiser-report/episode-302-max-keiser/

Anonymous said...

No wonder the Soviet Union did not manage to decontaminate their territory after Chernobyl. They simply did not have these advanced decontamination methods available.....

Anonymous said...

Japan is using the most advanced technique of collectively inhaling the radiation. This kami-waza will come to be known as "Kizuna"...

Janick in Japan said...

Don't forget VINEGAR and SODIUM BICARBONATE!

Anonymous said...

OT
Please, what is Hosono telling us now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ7vMpUYvfU&feature=player_embedded#!

Anonymous said...

Does eating radioactive food count as part of the clean up? If so then I guess everybody is pitching in.

arevamirpal::laprimavera said...

Anon at 11:10AM, see the new post. http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2012/06/goshi-hosono-on-nhk-trying-to-spin.html

As you know well by now, if his mouth is moving, he's lying.

JAnonymous said...

People have to stop believing in science : miracles is a matter of religion, not science.

Science tells us that the half-life of U-236 is 23 millions of years, and that we just have to wait.

In the past, tptb in the US were really convinced that we would invent a new technology to get rid of CO, CO2, and friends... the only thing that came out was 'CO2 trapping'. Funny how the answer is always the same : store or wait, there's nothing we can actually do except closing our eyes...

...and pray. What a sad thought for an atheist !

Anonymous said...

It shouldn't be called decontamination then. De-... to me means completely eradicate. It's like doing disinfection and over half of germs are still left behind. Call it best-effort cleaning or whatever. Just using the term is already manipulating the public.

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