#Radioactive Disaster Debris from Miyagi to Kitakyushu City, 2 Billion Yen Just To Transport

(UPDATE) Kitakyushu City is burning it now, on Monday September 17, which is a holiday in Japan (Respect the Elderly Day, no joke). Looking at TV Tokyo News, it certainly does not look anything like "wood chips".

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Does that make sense? Yes it does. Kajima, one of the largest general contractors in Japan, got the job of transporting the debris by sea for a handsome 2 billion yen (US$25.5 million), and the mayor of Kitakyushu City can tell the residents that the cash-strapped city of his will get 620 million yen from Miyagi Prefecture (who will bill the national government, who will bill the Japanese citizens/residents), according to Mr. Yushi Yokota, Communist Party assemblyman in the Miyagi prefectural assembly.

After all, Kitakyushu City has been prepping the city's children, telling them how wonderfully safe and clean it is to burn the debris. This kind of effort should not be wasted.

Here's Asahi Shinbun's video footage. The container ship that carried 800 tonnes of disaster debris from Miyagi arrived at the port in Kitakyushu City in the morning of September 13, 2012:

The containers carried flammable debris, mostly wood chips carefully sorted and washed, from Ishinomaki City in Miyagi, or that's how it was sold to the Kitakyushu City residents.

Well, not quite. A blog called "Kyushu Sunflower Project" by people against accepting and burning debris in kitakyushu City has this photo in one of their posts. When one of the containers was opened, this is what they found. Does it look like "wood chips" to you? Does it look like they were carefully sorted and washed to you?

The blogpost adds one more piece of information that should alarm the residents of Kitakyushu. Debris from Onagawa-cho, Miyagi was mixed in with that of Ishinomaki. Onagawa's debris is much more contaminated than that of Ishinomaki. (For the degree of contamination of disaster debris in Miyagi and Iwate, see my post from March 24, 2012.)

There is also an allegation of "double-counting" of disaster debris from Ishinomaki. As it turns out that there is far less debris than originally estimated, there is not enough to go around. So what does the enterprising governor of Miyagi do? Double-count. Kajima's joint venture had won the contract to process all the disaster debris in Ishinomaki last year. That should have been the end of it. No debris to give to anyone else. But miraculously, for Kitakyushu City, the debris somehow materialized, and Goshi Hosono's Ministry of the Environment will make sure it will get burned and money be paid to Kajima and Kitakyushu City.

The blog "Kyushu Sunflower Project" has a cartoon titled "There was no debris left", explaining this double-counting. The cartoon also has an incredible piece of information - the temporary housing for people in the city who lost their homes in the tsunami of March 11, 2011 was built right next to the debris piles. What's more, Ishinomaki City does have a landfill in the mountain on the east side of the city, and it is empty.

What were they thinking? (Maybe they WERE thinking well, to use this as a tool to pressure the municipalities outside Miyagi to accept contaminated debris for the sake of these poor residents...)

(Cartoon continues at the link.)

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#Radiation Exposure of Children to Be Measured in Miyagi to See if Decontamination Work Is Effective

Researchers from Tohoku University are going to monitor the radiation exposure of children in a town in southern Miyagi Prefecture bordering Fukushima Prefecture. It's not that they are particularly worried about the potential negative effect on radiation on the children's health. They want to evaluate how effective the decontamination will be, and they want to use children as indicators (if I may be so cynical).

From NHK News (6/1/2012):

放射性物質の除染が行われる宮城県丸森町で、東北大学大学院の研究グループが、除染が確実に効果を上げているか確かめるため、４年間かけて子どもの被ばく線量を測定することになりました。

A group of researchers in the graduate school of Tohoku University will measure the levels of radiation exposure of children for four years to see if the decontamination work is effective in Marumori-cho in Miyagi Prefecture where the decontamination work is set to start.

福島県との県境にある宮城県丸森町は宮城県内でも比較的放射線量が高く、国が費用を負担して土壌の放射性物質を取り除く除染を行う地域に指定されています。

Marumori-cho in Miyagi Prefecture is situated near the border to Fukushima Prefecture, and has relatively high levels of radiation. It is designated as the area where the national government will pay for the decontamination of soil.

除染の作業はこの夏から３年半かけて行われる予定ですが、丸森町で被ばくの調査を行っている東北大学大学院の吉田浩子講師の研究グループは、除染が確実に効果を上げているか確かめるため、４年間かけて子どもの被ばく線量を測定することになりました。

The decontamination will start this summer and take about 3 and a half years. A research group led by Hiroko Yoshida, lecturer at the Graduate School of Tohoku University, has been conducting the survey of radiation exposure in Marumori-cho. Her group is going to measure the radiation exposure of children for the next 4 years to see if the decontamination work is effective.

対象になるのは、丸森町に住む中学生以下の子どもおよそ１３００人とその保護者で、研究グループは、近く地元向けの説明会を開いて希望者を募ることにしています。
そのうえで、子どもに線量計を渡し、今月下旬から４年間にわたって測定を行いたいとしています。

The subjects will be about 1,300 children up to junior high school ages and their parents who live in Marumori-cho. The group will soon have the meeting for the local residents and ask for volunteers.

吉田講師は「除染は学校など公共の施設を優先して進められるが、子どもは自宅にいる時間が長い。除染によって子どもへの影響をどれだけ抑えられるのかを検証していきたい」と話しています。

Lecturer Yoshida says, "The decontamination work will start with the public buildings like schools, but children tend to be at their homes longer. We would like to study how the decontamination can reduce the effect of radiation on children."

On a separate news, Koriyama City will start lending out personal survey meters to pregnant women so that they can see their cumulative radiation exposure during their pregnancies.

But as the Rinzai monk/author in Miharu-machi in Fukushima says, children are stronger in resisting radiation. Then the unborn children inside the mothers' wombs must be even stronger (if I may be more cynical).

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Northern Mariana Islands Offer to Accept Disaster Debris and Store it on One of the Islands

Jiji Tsushin reports that Froilan Tenorio, former governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and a current Representative of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), offered to lease one of the islands to the Japanese government to store the disaster debris from Tohoku.

From Jiji Tsushin (5/11/2012):

東日本大震災で発生したがれき処理をめぐり、サイパン島で知られる米・北マリアナ諸島連邦の下院議員が１１日、宮城県庁で記者会見し、がれきを管理下の無人島で受け入れたいとの意向を表明した。ただ、環境省によると、廃棄物の輸出が認められるのは、国内で処理できないことなどが条件となるため、実現は困難という。

A Representative of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, which is known for the island of Saipan, held a press conference at the Miyagi prefectural government on May 11 and offered to accept the disaster debris from the March 11, 2011 disaster on an uninhabited island under [the Commonwealth's] control. However, according to the Ministry of the Environment, it will be quite unlikely as one of the conditions of exporting the waste is that the waste cannot be disposed domestically.

　同連邦政府の知事も務めたフロイラン・テノリオ議員は「日本国内の受け入れ先は数カ所しか決まっていないと聞いた」と述べ、１９８１年に火山が噴火し、居住が禁じられているパガン島を廃棄物受け入れ用にリースすると発表した。

Representative Froilan Tenorio, who was the governor of the Commonwealth, said, "I hear that there are only few places in Japan that will accept the debris", and announced that he would lease the island of Pagan to store the debris. A volcanic eruption in 1981 forced the residents to evacuate the island.

　しかし、日本の廃棄物処理法は、国内で処理ができないケースのほか、相手国で廃棄物が再生利用される場合に限って輸出を認めるとしており、県の担当者は「気持ちはうれしいが、海外でということはあり得ない」と複雑な表情で話した。

However, the Japanese law on the waste disposal allows export of the waste only when it is not possible to dispose it in Japan and when the waste is recycled in the recipient country. The official in charge of the debris in the Miyagi prefectural government said, with mixed feeling, "We appreciate the offer, but it's impossible [to ship the debris] overseas."

A quick check on Google found a Youtube video of Mr. Tenorio speaking about the failure of his most recent effort to build a casino on the island of Saipan.

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Harley-Davidson With Miyagi License Plate Washed Up in British Columbia, Canada

From CBC (4/29/2012):

A beachcomber on British Columbia's Haida Gwaii islands has discovered what may be the first piece of debris from the Japanese tsunami to arrive in Canada.

Peter Mark was riding his ATV, exploring an isolated beach on Graham Island on April 18, when he made a spectacular find.

"You just never know what you're going to stumble upon when you go for a drive, and lo and behold you just come across something that's out of this world," he said.

Mark found a large white cube, like the back part of a moving truck, just below the high tide mark.

"The door was ripped off it and I could see a motorcycle tire sticking out," he said. "So I went closer and looked inside and saw a Harley-Davidson motorcycle."

The bike was rusty, particularly on the wheels and handlebars, but the logo on the fuel tank was unmistakable.

...The motorcycle's licence plate shows it was registered in Miyagi Prefecture, and writing on the container matches photos of a commonly used Japanese moving van.

Mark also found a few golf clubs, tools and camping equipment in the container.

(Full article at the link)

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(UPDATED) Herbal Tea from Miyagi Had 20,290 Bq/Kg of Radioactive Cesium

(UPDATE 4/15/2012)

Additional information from Asahi Shinbun (4/12/2012):

• The company planted the herb outdoors in MAY (not March) last year.

• The president of the company said he tested the tea because TEPCO had told him he wouldn't get compensated unless he produced the result of the radiation test.

• There is another company in southern Miyagi (bordering Fukushima) who makes and sells the similar product.

Browsing the popular online mall in Japan, I see the same powdered tea being sold, and one of the brands says it is made in Ibaraki Prefecture. I think they'd better test that one, too, in case.

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Jiji Tsushin (4/14/2012):

ヤーコン茶は２万ベクレル＝宮城県

Miyagi Prefecture: 20,000 Bq/kg from the herbal tea

　宮城県蔵王町の業者が製造したヤーコン茶から高濃度の放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、県は１４日、セシウム濃度は国の基準値（１キロ当たり１００ベクレル）の２００倍超の２万２９０ベクレルだったと発表した。

Miyagi Prefecture announced on April 14 that 20,290 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the herbal tea produced by a manufacturer in Zao-machi in Miyagi Prefecture, more than 200 times the national safety limit (100 becquerels/kg).

　業者の自主検査では１万７２００ベクレルだった。県によると、出荷済みの１１００セットのうち、同日までに約４０セットが回収された。

It was 17,200 becquerels/kg according to the manufacturer's own testing. By April 14, about 40 sets of 1,100 sets of the tea already shipped had been recalled.

The herbal tea is in the powder form. About 1.5 grams of the tea powder is used to make one cup of tea, making each drink with 30 becquerels of radioactive cesium. Nothing to worry about, the prefectural government says, as if all the radioactive cesium people ingest is from this tea alone.

I suppose the prefectural government doesn't test unless they are told by the national government to test, and the national government probably didn't know about this tea. Just like they (claim they) didn't know about rice hay fed to the cows. Or leaf compost. Or shiitake cultivation substrate. Or crushed stones. Or firewood to smoke bonito. Or ....

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Former Career Bureaucrats-Turned Politicians in Kawasaki, Kanagawa and Oita Eager to Ignore the Residents' Opposition, Want to Burn Disaster Debris

They are both graduates from Tokyo University Law School. After their career in the national government bureaucracy, they "descended from heaven" and landed on political careers.

Mayor Takao Abe of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture was actually the first to declare war against citizens who do not want to have disaster debris that has been contaminated with the fallout from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant to be burned in their midst (literally) and buried. On April 6, 2011 he declared his city would accept disaster debris from FUKUSHIMA (not Miyagi or Iwate) and burn it in the city's incineration plant.

Mayor Abe says he will simply ignore the opposition when it comes to disaster debris processing in his city, and he will be willing to go it alone without the prefecture-wide consensus in Kanagawa (because there won't be any).

From Sponichi Annex (2/20/2012):

川崎市の阿部孝夫市長は２０日の定例記者会見で、東日本大震災で発生したがれきを受け入れると表明した神奈川県に反対意見が相次いでいることについて「（川崎市は）筋の通らない反対意見は無視する」と述べ、市単独でも受け入れる考えを示した。

During the regular press conference on February 20, Mayor of Kawasaki City Takao Abe indicated that his city would consider accepting the disaster debris over the opposition [from the residents] against the Kanagawa prefectural government that declared it would accept the disaster debris. He said, "(Kawasaki City) will ignore any opposition that is unreasonable."

　阿部市長は昨年４月、岩手、宮城、福島各県に災害廃棄物の受け入れ支援を申し出たが、量が多いため国が主導するよう求めたまま計画は進んでいない。がれき受け入れの具体的な計画を問われると「まだめどは立っていない」と述べ、明言を避けた。

Mayor Abe had offered to accept the disaster debris from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima last April. However, since the amount of the debris is too large, the plan to process the debris have stalled due to the lack of leadership from the national government. When asked if there's a concrete schedule for accepting the debris, Mayor Abe avoided being specific by just saying "It is not established yet."

　反対意見については「（安全だと）客観的なデータを示してもただ反対したい人はいる」と批判し「誰かが最終判断して責任を持って実行しないといけない」と述べた。

He criticized the opposition by saying, "There are people who oppose no matter what, even with the objective data that vouches safety. In the end, someone has to make the final decision and carry it out in a responsible manner."

　神奈川県は川崎市などでがれきを焼却し、同県横須賀市の県最終処分場に埋め立てる計画を示したが、住民の反対を受けて調整は難航している。

The Kanagawa prefectural government has come up the plan to burn the debris in Kawasaki City and other locations and bury it [the ashes, non-flammable debris] in the final disposal site in Yokosuka City. But the plan has stalled at the opposition from the residents.

Kanagawa Governor and former TV personality Kuroiwa cried on camera the other day to appeal to the Kanagawa residents. He wants Kawasaki, Yokohama, and Sagamihara to burn the debris and dump it in the final disposal site in Yokosuka, where the local residents have suffered enough from the poor management of the site.

I would love to hear how Mayor Abe is going to take responsibility if a negative consequence from the debris burning ever occurs.

The mayor's declaration last April (April 6, 2011 to be exact) that he was going to bring Fukushima debris to Kawasaki and burn it alarmed the residents so much that they immediately organized themselves into opposing the mayor's unilateral move.

Mayor Abe was born in today's Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture, is a graduate of the prestegious Tokyo University Law School and a former career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Home Affairs (which was re-integrated into the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2001) with a stint in the Environment Agency (which has become the Ministry of the Environment) before he successfully ran for mayorship in Kawasaki City in 2001.

Now, on to Oita Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, which has been largely spared from the contamination from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Governor Hirose, a former super-elite bureaucrat, wants to help out Tohoku so much that he's willing to subject the prefecture to potential contamination from radioactive materials that deposited on the disaster debris, not to mention arsenic and the host of other toxic substances.

From Oita Godo Shinbun (2/20/2012):

大分県の広瀬勝貞知事は２０日の定例記者会見で、東日本大震災で発生したがれきの受け入れについて「（福島第１原発から離れている）放射性物質の心配のないところについては、全国的な視点で考えてみる必要がある」と述べ、前向きな姿勢を示した。

Governor of Oita Prefecture Katsusada Hirose held a regular press conference on February 20 and said he wanted to move forward on accepting the disaster debris. "We need to consider from a nation-wide perspective [when it comes to disaster debris] from locations that are far away from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant and there's no need to worry about radioactive materials", he said.

　広瀬知事は、がれき受け入れをめぐり市町村と協議を始めていることを明らかにした上で「時間をかけて住民の皆さんにご理解をいただきたい」と訴えた。

Governor Hirose disclosed that he had been in negotiation with the municipalities over the disaster debris, and appealed to the residents by saying "Over time, I would like the residents to understand."

　受け入れの際の放射性物質の検査は「出口で確認する、入ってくるときに確認するなどの態勢を十分にとることが前提になる」と強調した。

As to the inspection of radioactive materials on accepting the debris, he said emphatically, "It is a matter of course that we will thoroughly check at the exit [after the debris is burned], and check at the entrance [before the debris is burned]."

The elite governor and former top bureaucrat at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry thinks the radiation contamination lessens by the distance. I guess he believes in contamination in concentric circles just like the Kan administration officials. I guess he's never seen the radiation contour map by Professor Hayakawa. Or even the map by the Ministry of Education.

Mayor Abe pales in comparison with Governor Hirose in terms of achievement as a career bureaucrat. Mr. Hirose was the highest-ranking bureaucrat as the Administrative Vice Minister at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the most powerful ministry of the Japanese government. The position is as the highest as a career bureaucrat can rise to, in the Japanese government system. Then he descended from heaven to succeed the governorship from his predescessor who had become the governor after successful career at the Ministry.

If Governor Hirose gets his way, there goes the very thriving business by the farmers in Oita who have had brisk sales of their radiation-free produce to the consumers in eastern Japan. Oita is famous for shiitake mushrooms. Bye bye to them also. Call it "baseless rumors", but it is a defense mechanism left for consumers as the governments at all levels side with the producers of Tohoku (and to a lesser degree, of northern Kanto).

Governor of Tokyo Ishihara told the Tokyo residents to "shut up", and will burn the radioactive debris from Miyagi Prefecture in the incineration plants in the populous 23 Special Wards. Mayor of Shimada City Sakurai proudly declared he is subjecting the residents of Shimada to an "experiment".

It continues to be a rude shock to many in Japan that their elected officials do not listen to them, as they are supposed to. People still think the public officials should put the welfare of the residents first and foremost, as they are supposed to.

It is hard for them to accept that these elected officials and unelected bureaucrats behave the way they've behaved since March 11, 2011.

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#Radioactive Firewood, This Time from Miyagi Prefecture: 730 Bq/kg Cesium in Wood Would Become 130K Bq/kg in Ashes

Miyagi Prefecture, whose governor has simultaneously insisted that there was no radiation contamination in his prefecture and that his prefecture needs support (aka money) from the national government to deal with radiation contamination, has been found with firewood very much contaminated with radioactive cesium, the only radionuclide that the government cares to measure.

The Ministry of the Environment survey found the firewood from southern Miyagi tested high in radioactive cesium, with the maximum of 730 becquerels/kg in one town. If you burn this wood, the resulting ashes would contain 132,860 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (2/10/2012):

宮城県南部で薪(まき)とその焼却灰に含まれる放射性物質を調査していた環境省は１０日、薪から最大で国の指標値の１８倍にあたる放射性セシウムを検出したと発表した。

The Ministry of the Environment announced on February 10 that radioactive cesium 18 times the national safety limit [40 becquerels/kg] was detected in the firewood from southern Miyagi. The ministry had been conducting the test of firewood and the ashes from burning the firewood in southern Miyagi for radioactive materials.

焼却灰からも、最大で国の基準値の７倍に上るセシウムが検出された。

Radioactive cesium 7 times the national safety limit [8000 becquerels/kg] was detected from the ashes.

　同省によると、１月２６、２７日に県南９市町で実施。薪は６市町で指標値（１キロ・グラムあたり４０ベクレル）を超え、村田町７３０ベクレル、白石市６７０ベクレル、丸森町４６０ベクレルなどを検出。焼却灰も４市町で一般廃棄物として処分できる国の基準値（同８０００ベクレル）を上回り、丸森町で５万９０００ベクレル、白石市２万８０００ベクレルなどを検出した。

According to the ministry, the test was conducted in 9 municipalities in southern Miyagi on January 26 and 27. In 6 municipalities, the densities of radioactive cesium exceeded the national safety limit (40 becquerels/kg): 730 Bq/kg in Murata-machi, 670 Bq/kg in Shiraishi City, 460 Bq/kg in Marumori-machi. In 4 municipalities, the ashes exceeded the national safety limit (8000 Bq/kg) for safe disposal as regular waste: 59,000 Bq/kg in Marumori-machi, 28,000 Bq/kg in Shiraishi City.

　結果を受けて宮城県は、薪を風呂やストーブに使用せず、灰は袋などに入れて保管するよう呼びかけている。

On receiving the results, the Miyagi prefectural government is calling the residents not to use firewood for baths and stoves, and to keep the ashes in bags and store them.

The news probably came too late for many people in Miyagi. But after 11 months, isn't it time people started to think for themselves? Or am I asking too much?

The Ministry of the Environment has a press release of the result, here.

And contrary to popular belief in Japan, a researcher at Tokyo University of Agriculture says that radioactive cesium has penetrated deep inside the wood. So, even if the bark is stripped off the firewood, radioactive cesium is still there in the wood.

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Bumper Crop of Big Oysters in Miyagi Prefecture, Oysters Grew Extremely Fast

From Asahi Shinbun Miyagi local version (1/20/2012):

気仙沼市唐桑町東舞根で１９日、震災後の昨年６月に仕込んだ養殖カキ１６０キロが出荷された。今秋に出荷予定だったが生育が早く、前倒しした。出荷は今月いっぱい続くという。

On January 19, 160 kilograms of cultured oysters were shipped, as the first batch, from Higashi Mone District of Karakuwa-cho in Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture. The oysters had been seeded in June last year. The shipment was scheduled for this fall, but the oysters grew so rapidly that fishermen decided to harvest and ship right away. The shipment will continue throughout the month.

　畠山哲さん（４０）ら４人が共同で出荷した。海中に垂らしたロープについたカキを引き揚げ、付着物を落としたカキをかごに移し、ロープを再度海中に垂らす作業をした。かごが震災で不足しているため、一部のカキをむいて出荷した。

4 fishermen including Tetsu Hatayama (age 40) harvested and shipped the oysters. They pulled the ropes that were in the ocean to take the oysters attached to the ropes, cleaned the oysters and put them in the baskets, and put the ropes back in the ocean. Since they are missing the baskets because of the earthquake/tsunami, they removed some oysters from the shells to ship.

　畠山さんによると「津波の後はカキの生育が早い」との言い伝えがある。養殖イカダが震災で減り、密植が解消されたことなどが要因と見られている。畠山さんは「放っておくとイカダが沈むので、作業を前倒しした。出荷も震災による特殊事情です」と話した。

According to Hatayama, there's an old saying that oysters grow fast after a tsunami. They may have grown rapidly since a number of rafts used for oyster culture [ropes are dangled from the rafters] were lost in the earthquake/tsunami and the dense planting was alleviated [as the tsunami wiped out the rafts]. Hatayama says, "We decided to harvest sooner, otherwise the rafts would have sunk from the weight of the oysters. This is a special case, shipping this early, thanks to the earthquake/tsunami."

Oysters eat phytoplankton in the ocean.

NHK did the documentary in November last year investigating the marine contamination from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, and found high levels of bioconcentration in abalones of both radioactive cesium and radioactive silver (Ag-110m), the latter particularly in the liver. Oysters are almost all internal organs as they don't need and use muscles once they attach themselves to rocks or ropes.

There is absolutely no concern for radiation in the Asahi article.

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Cesium Level in Raw Milk in Southern Miyagi Is Rising

From Miyagi Prefecture's website, the result of measurement of radioactive cesium in raw milk collected at "Sennan Cooler Station" in Shiroishi City in southern Miyagi from March 25 till December 20, 2011:


November 22, 2011: 2 becquerels/kg
November 29, 2011: 4 becquerels/kg
December 6, 2011: 21 becquerels/kg
December 13, 2011: 14 becquerels/kg
December 20, 2011: 22 becquerels/kg

The raw milk from the area is mixed with other raw milk from other areas and regions and sold.

Why is it going up now? No idea. The safety standard for cattle feed is 300 becquerels/kg.

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#Radiation in Japan: Southern Miyagi's Disaster Debris May Be Too Radioactive

After the Tokyo Metropolitan government merrily signed the agreement with Miyagi Prefecture to accept radioactive disaster debris and burn it in regular incinerators operated by municipal governments all over Tokyo (see my post yesterday), Miyagi Prefecture announces that some of the Miyagi disaster debris may be too radioactive when burned.

So? Mix and burn. Or just send it to Governor Ishihara. He won't care, even if the residents may. He will be happy to receive the highly radioactive ashes from Miyagi and bury them anyway in Tokyo Bay. Mix and bury.

From Jiji Tsushin (11/25/2011; the link won't last):

東日本大震災によるがれきの一部県外処理を目指す宮城県は２５日、沿岸部の１１市町で放射性セシウムの抽出調査を行ったところ、南部の亘理、山元両町の可燃性のがれきが、注意を要する濃度に達していると発表した。ただ、仮置き場での洗浄などの手を尽くし、安全性を確保して引き続き県外での埋め立てを目指すとしている。

Miyagi Prefecture wants to have the disaster debris from the March 11 earthquake/tsunami processed outside the prefecture, but on November 25 the prefectural government announced that the flammable debris in two towns in the southern part of Miyagi, Watari-cho and Yamamoto-cho, has reached the concentration of radioactive cesium that may warrant caution. The prefecture conducted the survey of radioactive cesium in the debris in 11 municipalities along the coast. Still, the Miyagi government says the debris will be thoroughly cleansed in the temporary storage areas to make sure it is safe, and then shipped outside the prefecture to be buried.

　調査では、県の南部地域の濃度が高く、種類別では、微細なちりを吸着しやすい繊維などが含まれているがれきの濃度が高かった。特に、亘理、山元の可燃物の濃度は１キロ当たりそれぞれ３５０、７６９ベクレルと推計した。

According to the survey, the radiation levels in the debris in the southern part of Miyagi are high. By the types, the debris that contains fabric that is prone to attracting minute dusts has high radiation concentration. The flammable debris in Watari and Yamamoto is estimated to have 350 Bq/kg and 769 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium, respectively.

　可燃物は２次仮置き場に移し焼却するが、宮城など被災県は焼却灰の一部を県外で引き受けるよう要請。国のガイドラインによると、放射性セシウムは、焼却によって最大３３倍に濃縮される。亘理、山元の可燃がれきをそのまま焼却すると、国の目安の８０００ベクレルを超える可能性があり、埋め立てなどができない恐れがある。

The flammable debris will be moved to the secondary temporary storage areas and be burned. However, the prefectures that have been hit by the disaster, including Miyagi, has requested that part of the ashes be transported outside the prefectures and processed [buried, recycled]. According to the national guideline, radioactive cesium would be concentrated up to 33 times after burning the debris. If the flammable debris from Watari and Yamamoto were burned on its own, it might exceed the national guideline of 8000 becquerels/kg [of radioactive cesium] and couldn't be buried.

Why do they pretend as if 8000 becquerels/kg from the debris were a big deal, when the Ministry of the Environment has long issued the guideline saying the radioactive debris/garbage may be mixed with debris/garbage not contaminated with radioactive materials (if any in Tohoku and Kanto) so that the radiation gets lowered in the ashes?

Why does Miyagi insist that part of the debris ashes be buried outside Miyagi, anyway?

Well that aside, applying the multiplier (33),

• Yamamoto-cho's debris: 769 x 33 = 25,377 becquerels/kg

• raWatari-cho's debris: 350 x 33 = 11,500 becquerels/kg

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#Radioactive IODINE from Milk from Miyagi Prefecture

(UPDATE: Now, Niigata Prefecture's site says it is radioactive CESIUM, not iodine.)

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Niigata Prefecture announced the result of the test for radioactive materials in milk and milk products on September 29.

Iodine-131 was detected from the milk from Miyagi Prefecture.

According to the Niigata prefectural government site:

Date tested: September 28
Item: Milk
Place produced: Miyagi Prefecture
Radioactive cesium: ND
Radioactive iodine: 19.1 becquerels/kg

Remember those detections in wide areas of Japan in mid August to early September of iodine-131 in sewer sludge, and mostly dismissed as a patient or two in each city being treated for thyroid-related illnesses?

I wish Niigata Prefecture say where in Miyagi, but these milk cows did eat or drink something that was freshly contaminated with radioactive iodine, and I don't think that something was the radioactive sewer sludge.

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#Radioactive Yogurt in Miyagi Prefecture, 6.5 Bq/kg Radioactive Cesium

This has to be the first time ever that radioactive cesium has been detected from yogurt by the official (government) testing, though I could be wrong.

Savechild.net has the information posted on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website. The ministry has been conducting the sampling tests on food items currently sold in the marketplace, while the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries do the sampling tests on produce before they are sold in the market.

According to the table below from the Ministry of Health, the yogurt was sold in Niigata Prefecture, and tested by the lab in Niigata Prefecture. The yogurt contained 3.4 becquerels/kg of cesium-134, and 3.1 becquerels/kg of cesium-137. It was made in Kami-machi in Miyagi Prefecture, about 135 km from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. But the distance doesn't mean much, as the raw milk used to make yogurt could have come from anywhere and everywhere. (They do mix and match.)

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#Radioactive Rice Hay From Miyagi Went Far and Wide

The government officials are slowly finding out the extent of radiation contamination all over Japan, and here are only two minor examples that I picked up today.

First, from Mainichi Shinbun Hokkaido local version (7/23/2011; sorry old news that I just found), I learned of the potentially radioactive beef from Hokkaido, which has largely escaped the radioactive plume blowing from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. The cows in Hamanaka-cho ate the rice hay from Wakuya-cho in Miyagi Prefecture that was contaminated with 1886 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, the level of which exceeded the national provisional safety limit for cattle feed (400 becquerels/kg). Hamanaka-cho is located on the eastern tip of Hokkaido, facing the Pacific Ocean.

Hokkaido officials are perplexed. "We never thought possible that anyone would buy rice hay from Honshu, because it's too costly." It was beyond their expectation.

The second one is the radioactive manure in Yamagata Prefecture. According to Sankei News (8/25/2011), the Yamagata prefectural government announced on August 25 that the cow manure at 7 cattle farms in the prefecture tested between 500 to 2600 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium. All 7 farms were feeding their meat cows with rice hay from Miyagi Prefecture.

What I don't understand is why these farms even bought rice hay from Miyagi Prefecture, when their own prefectures are big producers of rice and there should be rice hay in abundance.

Well, since the leaf compost made out of radioactive dead leaves in Tochigi Prefecture can be mixed with dead leaves imported from Thailand and Bangladesh and sold all over Japan by one company, anything is possible.

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New Word to Learn for Non-Japanese Speakers: "Dango"

"Dan-goh", with the second syllable pronounced long. If you pronounce it short, it will mean "sweet rice-flour dumplings", which look like these in the photo.

So what is "dango"? It is a long-standing business practice in Japan across many, many industries but particularly heavily used in the construction industry whereby the competitors get together and arrange who will win the bid and at what price. It's a fine example of "give and take", or "I scratch your back and you'll scratch my back later". A contractor who is not to get the job this time is scheduled to get the next one, or a contractor who is to get the job promises to subcontract or form a joint venture with a competitor. No one will underbid. Industrial harmony. The winner is pre-selected, and to make up the appearance (and to make the selection committee look like it is doing the job) the bidders often craft their bids that are intentionally inferior to the bid by the pre-selected winner.

In exchange for the orderly market, it usually ends up costing the taxpayers a bit more and enriching those local government officials with strong ties to these colluding companies.

Now, Miyagi Prefecture, whose governor's idea of "recovery" is to build a memorial museum and memorial park for the March 11 disaster, has started to solicit bidding on the disaster debris cleanup jobs. With huge amount of money to be spent freely (remember, now it's the national government paying for the cleanup) to the tune of 240 billion yen (US$3.13 billion) - the largest project size for Miyagi Prefecture - the nation's construction industry got in shape quickly to do the "dango" to divvy up the money and help clean up the disaster debris, which is likely to be pretty radioactive.

Radiation? What radiation? We have the "dango" to do.

From Asahi Shinbun (5:01AM JST 8/24/2011):

　宮城県は２３日、東日本大震災で発生した石巻地区のがれき処理を大手ゼネコン・鹿島を代表とする計９社の共同企業体（ＪＶ）に委託すると発表した。事業費は同県発注事業で最大規模の約２４００億円。学識者らでつくる審査委員会が、公募に応じた２ＪＶの中から発注先を決めた。

Miyagi Prefecture announced on August 23 that the cleanup of disaster debris in the Ishinomaki district will be awarded to the joint venture of 9 companies headed by Kajima, one of the largest general contractors in Japan. The project cost will be about 240 billion yen [US$3.13 billion], the largest ever for the prefecture. The selection committee made of experts chose between the two joint ventures who submitted the proposals.

　県には、企業体が審査会に選定にあたっての提案をする前に、このＪＶが受注することで調整を済ませているとの談合情報が寄せられていたという。

The prefecture was reportedly informed of a "dango" taking place, where the Kajima JV's winning the contract had been predetermined by the participants even before the proposals were submitted to the selection committee.

　同県内では震災で発生したがれきが約１５００万トンにのぼり、同県の一般ごみ２３年分にあたる膨大な量となっている。

Miyagi Prefecture has 15 million tonnes of disaster debris, which is equal to 23 years worth of regular garbage in the prefecture.

More and much more to come. The debris cleanup, which was going nowhere at all after 5 months since the March 11 triple disaster, will be done very quickly now that the big contractors are assured of the big money. Already, also in Miyagi Prefecture, a big paper company has signed a contract with the prefectural government to burn the disaster debris for the company's thermal power generation to power the company's plant in Ishinomaki City. The excess electricity will sold to Tohoku Electric, according to Kahoku Shinpo (in Japanese; 8/23/2011).

They're going to burn the radioactive debris to generate electricity, and they will get paid for taking the debris as fuel.

And these general contractors in joint ventures will burn, bury, and burn more, with the help of junior JV partners which often include small construction firms owned and operated by the senior officials in the local municipalities, including mayors.

The other JV who supposedly lost out on this bid will surely get their job for the next round of disaster debris cleanup, because that's the whole point of "dango" - secure job for everyone, over time.

Professor Kodama of Tokyo University warned against this very "dango" in his testimony in the Diet. Ah but Japan is finally on the way to recovery. "Dango" collusion is back! Radioactive or not.

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Wild Boar in Miyagi Prefecture Was Found With 2,200 Becquerels/Kg of Radioactive Cesium

It adds to the beef conundrum from yesterday's post that the cow that wasn't fed contaminated rice hay. This wild boar was most likely eating the farm crops, wild plant roots and fruits, and occasional maggots and insects.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (8/19/2011):

宮城県は１９日、県猟友会の会員が捕獲したイノシシの肉から、暫定規制値（１キロ・グラムあたり５００ベクレル）を超す１キロ・グラムあたり２２００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。

Miyagi Prefecture announced on August 19 that 2,200 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found in the meat of a wild boar caught by a member of the hunters' association in the prefecture. The provisional safety limit [for cesium in food] is 500 becquerels/kg.

　イノシシ肉は市場に流通していないが、県は野生動物の食用摂取を控えるように呼びかけている。発表によると、イノシシは７日に同県南部の角田市で捕獲され、同会が１６日に検査機関に検査を依頼した。イノシシは通常、土中の虫や畑の作物を餌にしている。

Wild boar meat is not sold in the market, but the Miyagi prefectural government is asking people to refrain from consuming the game meat. According to the announcement by the prefectural government, the wild boar in question was caught in Kakuda City in southern Miyagi on August 7, and the hunters' association asked a testing laboratory to do the analysis [for radioactive materials] on August 16. Wild boars normally eat worms in the soil and the field crops.

But don't worry about minor details like wild boars being radioactive (never mind that they don't eat rice hay). Miyagi has a big plan for the future, once the governor's "recovery and reconstruction" plan is approved in the prefectural assembly. One of the central ideas of Governor Murai is to build a big museum to commemorate the earthquake/tsunami of March 11, and build a memorial park around the museum. His other ideas include high-rise towers and high-rise residential buildings to separate out the living space and work space (farmers and fishermen would "commute" to their work which would be organized like corporation).

It's a great recovery plan for the area's general contractors who usually have to team up with the national general contractors to share the project. Great for big agribusiness too, if they don't mind radiation in the soil, as this wild boar clearly demonstrates exists in abundance.

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Japanese Government Will Lift Shipping Ban on Cows from Fukushima and Miyagi (Hello #Radioactive Beef Again)

Nothing coming out of Japan makes sense any more, so this news is simply adding to that growing list.

The national government will lift the ban on sales and shipment of meat cows raised in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures because the government is satisfied that the radioactive rice hay is now separated from other feed - either under the tarp or buried - so that it will not be fed to the cows.

If I remember right, the worry was not the rice hay but the meat itself, which tested high in radioactive cesium all over Japan as the cows from these two prefectures (and several more in Tohoku) had been sold far and wide because of the suddenly "affordable" price. They were particularly favored by certain cost-conscious municipalities (most notably Yokohama City) that fed the suspected meat to the kindergarteners and school children in school lunches, ignoring protests from the parents.

Humans eat beef not rice hay, as far as I know. But now the ban will be lifted because of ... rice hay storage procedure?

From Mainichi Shinbun (8/18/2011):

政府は１８日、福島県と宮城県で飼育されている肉牛の出荷停止を両県全域で解除する方向で検討に入った。早ければ１９日にも両県知事に解除を指示す る。肉牛から国の暫定規制値（１キロあたり５００ベクレル）を超える放射性セシウムが検出され、政府は７月１９日～８月２日、福島、宮城、岩手、栃木の４ 県に出荷停止を指示したが、解除すれば初めてとなる。

The Japanese government started to prepare for the total lifting of the shipping ban on meat cows raised in Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures on August 18. The government will instruct the governors of the two prefectures as early as August 19. As radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional national safety limit (500 becquerels/kg) was found in the meat, the government banned the shipping of the cows in Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Tochigi Prefectures between July 19 and August 2. Fukushima and Miyagi would be the first to have the ban lifted.

　農林水産省と厚生労働省、福島、宮城両県は、汚染された稲わらの管理や解体後の牛の放射性物質検査の体制などを協議してきた。その結果、汚染稲わ らを他の飼料と明確に区分してシートで覆ったり、地中に埋めて餌として使用できない状態であることが確認され、食肉処理後のセシウム検査で暫定規制値以下 であれば、出荷を認める方向。

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture have been discussing the ways to store the contaminated rice hay and to test radioactive materials after the cows are processed into meat. As the result, [the government is satisfied that] the contaminated rice hay has been confirmed to have been clearly separated from other feed and covered with plastic sheets or to have been buried in the ground so that it cannot be used as feed. As long as the meat tests below the provisional safety limit, the government will allow the shipping.

　政府は岩手、栃木両県についても同様の条件が整い次第、出荷停止を解除する方針。

As soon as the same condition is achieved in Iwate andn Tochigi Prefectures, the government will lift the shipping ban there.

　出荷再開の条件として、厚労省は畜産農家に保管されている汚染稲わらを農家の敷地外に移すよう求めていた。一方、農水省や福島、宮城両県は、保管場所の確保が難しいことを理由に農家の敷地内で牛と隔離した場所に置く方法を主張していた。

The Ministry of Health and Labor wanted the contaminated rice hay out of the cattle farms as a condition to lift the ban. On the other hand, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fukushima/Miyagi Prefectures insisted the rice hay remain within the farms as long as it was separated from the cows, because it would be hard for the farms to secure the storage space outside the farms.

So the Ministry of Health and Labor lost. This is the Ministry that's supposed to protect consumers.

Will they test all the cows? No they won't. Not even in Fukushima. They only test the meat of the cows raised in the planned evacuation zone and evacuation-ready zone right outside the 20 kilometer radius from Fukushima I Nuke Plant. For everywhere else in Fukushima Prefecture, the first cow to be shipped from a cattle farm will be tested. If that passes the test, all cows can be sold.

Even when they do test, they will just do the simple test using "affordable" instruments that cost only a few thousand dollars and take only 15 minutes to test, and as long as the number is below 250 becquerels/kg they won't test further. Only if it goes above 250 becquerels/kg, they will use expensive instruments that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take 1 hour to test.

What about the news at the end of July that radioactive cesium is NOT distributed evenly in the meat, not even within the same part?

Well, that's not in the manual of elite bureaucrats in these two ministries, and Fukushima and Miyagi would be the last ones to alert them.

So here we go again. Radioactive beef will be force-fed through social pressure, now that the government declares safety. No way to test all meat, and even if they do, one piece of meat may test differently from another piece of the same part. And they won't even tell you whether it is 244 becquerels/kg or 2 becquerels/kg, as long as it is below 250 becquerels/kg.

Fukushima Prefecture, probably in anticipation of the lifting of the ban, has launched a new campaign to push Fukushima produce - vegetables, fruits, meat - using celebrities. "Fukushima Shin Hatsubai (new product launch)" is the campaign.

The governors of these two prefectures will no doubt do the ceremony of "declaration of safety" of their own, and eat the beef in front of the press to appeal safety to the nation and the rest of the world. If they are so brave as the governor of Shizuoka, they will go to a gourmet Japanese restaurant in New York and host an event with some celebrities who (used to) love Japanese cuisine and eat the safe beef that tested below the provisional safety limit of Japan.

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Decrease in White Blood Cells, Headache, Nausea in a Hospital in Sendai City, Miyagi

Tweets from a nurse (my very good guess from her tweets) in a large hospital in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture on August 10:

原因不明の白血球低下、頭痛、嘔吐増えてます。既存の診断名つけられて治療しても効果なしのケースうちの病院でもみかけます。もちろん全部放射能の影響というつもりはありませんが、これも事実です。

Increasing number of patients with unexplainable decrease in white blood cells, headache, nausea. They are diagnosed for existing illness and undergo treatment, but they don't respond to the treatment at all. I've seen those cases in my hospital. I'm not saying they are all because of the radiation exposure, but I'm telling you what I'm seeing.

患者さん洗髪すると、髪が束になってごっそり抜けます。それを見るたびほんとに怖いです。「なーんで白血球下がってるんだろうなーーー」なんてのんきにいってる場合ですか先生。治療できない人がこれから増えていきますよ。

When we wash their hair, it comes off in a clump. It is really scary. The doctor says, "I really wonder why the white blood cell count is down..." Doctor, don't be so relaxed about it. There is going to be more and more people who don't respond to treatment.

She suspects internal radiation from hospital meals, which the in-patients have no choice but eat.

The Japanese government can now create another "Special District for Medical Research" in Miyagi Prefecture, in addition to the one in Fukushima.

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Japan's Prefecture Assembly Chairpersons Want Prime Minister Kan to Resign

The National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies held its regular meeting on July 27 and passed the resolution demanding Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign so that the trust in the government is restored.

Uh huh.

From Jiji Tsushin (7/27/2011):

全国都道府県議会議長会（会長・山本教和三重県議会議長）は２７日の定例総会で、東日本大震災で被災した岩手、宮城、福島３県の議長が共同提案した「菅直人首相の退陣を求める緊急決議」を賛成多数で採択した。

The National Association of Chairpersons of Prefectural Assemblies held its regular meeting on July 27 and passed the resolution by majority demanding Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign. The resolution was jointly proposed by the chairpersons of the prefectural assemblies in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima which have been hit hard by the March 11 earthquake/tsunami disaster.

　決議では、震災や福島第１原発事故をめぐる首相の言動を「場当たり的な対応、一連の発言や行動は国民の政治に対する信頼を著しく損ねた」などと批判し、早期退陣を求めている。

The resolution criticizes the prime minister over his remarks on the earthquake/tsunami disaster and the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident for his "haphazard response, series of remarks and actions which have greatly impaired the trust of Japanese people in their government" and calls for his early resignation.

Prime Minister Kan shows no sign of resigning any time soon, once he duped the super-naive ex-prime minister Hatoyama and used him to destroy the momentum for the vote of no confidence (which was really set to pass with bi-partisan support). On the contrary, Mr. Kan says he's been so inspired by the win by the Japanese women's soccer team in the World Cup, and that he learned from the team "never to give up".

What's interesting about this mostly ceremonial resolution is that it was jointly proposed by the three prefectures where the national government's money (i.e. Japanese taxpayers' money) will rain in the government's effort to "recover and reconstruct" after the earthquake/tsunami/nuke accident. Fukushima is to become the radiation research capital of the world. Miyagi and Iwate are to become the "food factory" for the rest of Japan, with farming and fishing organized into some corporate structure, with people living in "ecotowns" created by shaving off the top of the mountains so that they are safe from tsunami. A grand vision, and the governors there, particularly the Miyagi governor, are thinking in the similar vein.

But their assembly chairpersons want PM Kan to go. That does not add up, does it? It looks more like another pressure tactic to get more of what they want, which is more money from the national government and sooner.

And if they really think PM Kan and the national government are alone in causing the trust in the government to erode fast in Japan, I don't know what to say.

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#Radioactive Hay Spreads to Niigata Prefecture

Two cattle farmers in Nagaoka City in Niigata Prefecture bought rice hay for their cows from a seller in Miyagi Prefecture and fed their cows. 24 cows were later sold in Niigata and Tokyo. Now the rice hay has been found to contain 10,500 to 20,600 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

Niigata Prefecture is on the Japan Sea side, and is most noted for its excellent premium rice brand, "Koshihikari".

Many Japanese thought Niigata was relatively safe from radioactive fallout from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Unfortunately there are more than one way to get the fallout, and buying rice hay from Miyagi (not even Fukushima) was one of them.

(Radioactive cesium of Fukushima-origin was indeed detected from the raw milk in Niigata.)

By the way, it turns out that the rice hay that cattle farmers in Tohoku fed their cows with was not due to the shortage or unavailability of other types of feed. Rice hay is an integral part of the cows' diet, as it nicely blend fat with the red meat ("Shimofuri") when ingested. So the cattle farmers feed their meat cows with rice hay before the cows are sent to be processed.

If that's the case, it looks like the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries didn't know how the cattle farming was done, but the farmers must have assumed that these government bureaucrats knew what they were doing and issued orders to the farmers accordingly.

Government regulations crafted by the desk-bound bureaucrats serve to dull the keen sense of the farmers on the fields. For that matter, of anybody. The answer isn't "more regulations" (just look at the current sets of regulations have done so far) but sadly that's what people will be calling for.

From Jiji Tsushin (7/18/2011):

新潟県は18日、同県長岡市の畜産農家2戸が保管していた宮城県産稲わらから、国の暫定規制値（1キロ当たり300ベクレル）を超える1万500～2万 600ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出したと発表した。乾燥する前の水分を含んだ状態に換算すると、規制値の8～15倍に相当する。うち1戸の農家からは 新潟県内と東京都のと畜場に肉牛計24頭が出荷されたことも分かった。これらの農家はいずれも宮城県内の業者から稲わらを購入したという。

Niigata Prefecture announced on July 18 that 10,500 to 20,600 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the rice hay at two cattle farms in Nagaoka City in Niigata. The rice hay was harvested in Miyagi Prefecture. The provisional safety limit for cattle feed is 300 becquerels/kg for cesium. If the rice hay is reconstituted with water, the above numbers are 8 to 15 times the limit of the provisional safety limit. It has been revealed that one of the two farms shipped 24 meat cows in Niigata and Tokyo. Both farms purchased the rice hay from a dealer in Miyagi Prefecture.

　新潟県は2戸に対し、この稲わらを与えた牛の出荷や移動の自粛を要請するとともに、流通状況の調査を開始した。県内で宮城県産の稲わらを使用している他の農家が保管する稲わらを対象に、セシウム検査も実施する。　

Niigata Prefecture has requested the two cattle farms not to ship or move the cows that have been fed with the contaminated rice hay, and started to trace the movement of the cows already shipped. The prefectural government will also test for cesium in the rice hay at other cattle farms in the prefecture who use the rice hay from Miyagi Prefecture.

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#Radioactive Rice Hay Found in Miyagi Prefecture

in three locations in two cities that are150 kilometers north of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

In response to the radioactive rice hay found in Fukushima Prefecture that contained up to 500,000 becquerels/kg of cesium, Miyagi Prefecture did the survey of rice hay in three locations in two cities, Kurihara City and Tome City, north of Sendai City. Maximum 3,600 becquerels/kg of cesium was found in the rice hay, which had been used by the cattle farmers to feed their cows.

Sankei Shinbun (7/15/2011) reported the comment of the cattle farmers:

「大変憤慨している」－。宮城県登米市の肉用牛農家の男性（５８）は声を荒らげた。「稲わらは秋に田んぼから収集したものだけを牛に食べさせているが、経 営への打撃は大きい」と話す。「まさかここまで（放射能が）飛んでくるとは夢にも思わなかった。...」

"I am very upset", says a cattle farmer in Tome City in Miyagi Prefecture. "I've been feeding the cows with the rice hay collected from the rice fields last fall. This is a big blow to my farm. I never imagined that the radioactive materials would fly this far. "

The Miyagi prefectural government's instruction to cattle farmers were: "Do not use the rice hay collected after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident." So, following the instruction, the cattle farmers were feeding their cows with the rice hay collected last fall.

This is the radiation contour map created by Professor Yukio Hayakawa, the volcanologist at Gunma University. Notice the arm that goes north from the Fukushima I Nuke Plant and curl left. Kurihara and Tome are right below the curl. If only someone had shown the map to the cattle farmers there ...

Or if only someone had shown the cattle farmers the radioactive materials dispersion forecast by ZAMG, German Weather Bureau, or Norwegian Weather Bureau early in the accident, they would have seen that Miyagi Prefecture was almost constantly under the radioactive plume from the nuke plant.

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