Formaldehyde Update (3): DOWA Hightech Didn't Disclose the Existence of Hexamethylenetetramine in Waste Liquid to the Contractor

Contrary to what it just said yesterday to Tokyo Shinbun, DOWA Hightech apparently admitted to NHK that there was no mention of xxx in the information it had given to the industrial waste processing company that stands accused of dumping the substance in the Tone River tributary, contaminating the drinking water in wide areas along the river system in Kanto.

From NHK Tokyo Metropolitan News's tweet (5/25/2012):

業者に処理を委託した埼玉県本庄市の化学メーカー「ＤＯＷＡハイテック」はＮＨＫの取材に対し、廃棄物処理業者に渡した廃液の成分表にヘキサメチレンテトラミンを記載していなかった事実を認めた上で、「その後、口頭で伝えたかどうか社内調査を進めている」としています。

Speaking to NHK, DOWA Hightech, the chemical company based in Honjo City in Saitama that contracted the company [to process waste liquid that contained hexamethylenetetramine], admitted that the composition table of the waste liquid given to the industrial waste processing company did not include hexamethylenetetramine. DOWA Hightech further said, "The internal investigation is on-going to find out if the information was verbally given to the contractor."

If that is true, DOWA Hightech is in violation of the law that regulates waste management. According to NHK, the police will start investigation of the company.

When radioactive materials are not involved, the Japanese police does move very quickly. The police was there one day after the huge fire at the Mitsui Chemicals petrochemical complex in Yamaguchi Prefecture in April.

More than 14 months since the start of the nuclear accident, there is no police investigation of TEPCO, the plant operator of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. Instead, the police has been busy guarding the huge residence of Chairman Katsumata in the central Tokyo, and most recently protecting the huge trucks carrying disaster debris in Kitakyushu City against the residents.

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Formaldehyde Update: It Was Hexamethylenetetramine in the River Water

so the government ministries (Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of the Environment) say.

Somewhere along the Tone River in Saitama Prefecture or Gunma Prefecture, 0.6 to 4 tonnes of hexamethylenetetramine had been dumped, and it reacted with the chlorine used for the sampling tests at the water purification plants, resulting in formaldehyde.

The popular speculation on the net was that some substance was being irradiated by radioactive materials in the water (plutonium, cesium, strontium were the popular candidates) and turning into formaldehyde. (For more, see my previous post.) I think it is still popular among many people, because "the government lies" as far as they are concerned.

From NHK News (5/24/2012):

利根川水系の水道水から、国の基準を超える化学物質のホルムアルデヒドが検出された問題で、原因となった主な物質は、川に排出された「ヘキサメチレンテトラミン」という化学物質だったことが分かりました。

Concerning the detection of formaldehyde in drinking water from the Tone River and its tributaries exceeding the national safety limit, it has been determined that a chemical substance called "hexamethylenetetramine" that was discharged into the river caused the problem.

この物質を扱っている事業所は埼玉県と群馬県に５か所あり、厚生労働省と環境省はそれぞれの県に対し、２５日にも立ち入り調査するよう求めました。

There are 5 factories that use this substance in Saitama and Gunma Prefectures. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of the Environment have requested the prefectural governments to conduct on-site investigation as early as May 25.

この問題は、利根川水系の千葉、埼玉、東京、群馬の各自治体が管理する浄水場の水道水から、国の基準を超えるホルムアルデヒドが検出され、一時、断水などの影響が広がったものです。

Formaldehyde exceeding the national safety standard was found from the drinking water at the water purification plants in Chiba, Saitama, Tokyo, and Gunma along the Tone River system. The water supply was temporarily cut off, affecting many residents in municipalities that receive water from these plants.

ホルムアルデヒドは河川の原水からは検出されていないことから、厚生労働省は、原因となる別の化学物質が浄水場で塩素と反応して発生したとみて、原因物質の特定を進めていました。

Formaldehyde was not detected from the river water itself. The Ministry of Health concluded that some substance in the water reacted with chlorine at the purification plants, generating formaldehyde, and proceeded to identify the substance.

その結果、流域の浄水場で採取された水から、「ヘキサメチレンテトラミン」と呼ばれる化学物質が検出され、この水に塩素を加えるとホルムアルデヒドが生成されたということです。

The chemical substance called "hexamethylenetetramine" was detected from the water samples taken at the water purification plants along the river system, and when chlorine was added to the water samples formaldehyde was formed.

このため、厚生労働省は原因となった主な物質はヘキサメチレンテトラミンとみています。

The Ministry of Health concluded that hexamethylenetetramine was the cause.

また、これまでに検出された濃度から、利根川水域に流出したヘキサメチレンテトラミンの量は全体で０．６トンから４トン程度と推定されるということです。

Also, judging from the concentration, the total amount of hexamethylenetetramine discharged into the Tone River system is estimated to be between 0.6 to 4 tonnes.

この物質を年間１トン以上扱っている事業所は、埼玉県に２か所、群馬県に３か所の合わせて５か所あり、厚生労働省と環境省はそれぞれの県に対し、２５日にも立ち入り調査するよう求めました。

There are factories that use this substance more than 1 tonne per year, with 2 in Saitama and 3 in Gunma. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of the Environment have requested the prefectural governments to conduct on-site investigation as early as May 25.

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#Radiation in Japan: Saitama Forces School Children to Gargle with Sayama Tea to Prevent Flu

The "cold shutdown/accident is over" declaration by PM Noda on December 16 must have been a signal that unleashed the cold shutdown of intelligence in many parts of Japan. Here's one from Saitama Prefecture.

Sayama City, known for its "Sayama-cha" brand green tea, has been suffering as high levels of radioactive cesium continue to be detected from its teas. As if to help the city and dispel "baseless rumors" that are scaring the consumers from buying Sayama tea, Saitama Prefecture has just started forcing school children to gargle with powdered Sayama tea as an effort to instill good behavior in preventing cold and flu.

Problem: radioactive cesium has been detected from green tea grown in Sayama, some exceeding the national provisional limit of 500 becquerels/kg by a wide margin. In fact, it is rare to find Sayama tea without any radioactive cesium.

The latest testing done by Saitama Prefecture shows continued detection of radioactive cesium from almost all teas grown in Sayama.

Nonetheless, parents of the children who goes to school in Saitama received the notice like this:

It says:
=============

Gargling with Sayama-cha

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in the matter of educating our children. It is the time of the year again to do the gargling using Sayama tea to prevent influenza, and the powdered tea has been distributed [to the school]. Catechin, one of the main ingredients in green tea is said to prohibit the influenza virus. Therefore, our school will conduct "Let's gargle with Sayama tea" event as follows. We ask for your understanding and cooperation.

As an aside, the powdered Sayama tea distributed this time has been tested at a testing laboratory and confirmed safe.

1. Purpose of "Let's gargle with Sayama tea"

By doing the gargling using Sayama tea every day, to prevent the influenza infection, to form a desirable health habit, and to have a healthy, cheerful school life.

2. How to "Gargle with Sayama tea"

1) All children must each bring a cup to school to be kept in the classrooms: The cups are to be kept inside bags that children will bring, and children are to take the cups home over the weekend, wash them well, and bring them back to school the following week.

2) Each classroom is to have a supply of powdered Sayama tea: The classroom teachers are responsible for the storage and safe keeping of the tea.

3) All children will continue to gargle with Sayama tea once a day: After the PE classes and playing outside, children are supposed to dissolve powdered Sayama tea with tap water to make the solution, and gargle.

3. Please have ready:

A cup for gargling (cup made of plastics so that it doesn't easily break)
A bag to put the cup in.

"Let's gargle with Sayama tea" will start on Thursday December 15. We apologize for any inconvenience, but please have the cup and the bag ready by then.

===========================

The whole thing reads like an extremely cynical joke.

"To form a healthy habit" with radioactive cesium tea powder?

"Apologize for inconvenience" of being party to subject their children to the known radioactive risk?

And insistence on tap water. Many public schools in Japan only allow tap water for drinking, for educational purposes. It was fine until March 11.

A dumb bomb exploded over Japan, for sure. Or maybe this is one of the effect of radiation exposure. I wonder what the parents did in Saitama Prefecture.

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2nd-Pick "Sayama-cha" Tea in Saitama: 84% Contained Radioactive Cesium, 9% Exceeded Provisional Safety Limit

The Saitama prefectural government decided to test all teas from all tea plantations in the prefecture (it is one of the major tea growing regions in Japan), after the Ministry of Health and Labor did the random testing of Saitama teas that were sold in the market in September and found radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kg.

When the prefectural government tested the tea between May and July, they picked only 38 samples to test, and declared safe after they all tested "below the provisional safety limit".

On October 19, Saitama announced the result of its testing of the 2nd-pick teas (made from tea leaves picked after the new leaves were picked) of the prefecture's 1,081 brands of "Sayama-cha" tea at 216 tea growers and blenders.

Of 1,081 brands,

• 97 (or 9% of total) were found with radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit, as much as 2,063 becquerels/kg;
  
  
• 912 (or 84% of total) were found with radioactive cesium below the provisional safety limit, but as much as 490 becquerels/kg. (I'm counting the number of the brands again to make sure, but I don't think I'm far off.)
  

Again, the provisional safety limit is 500 becquerels/kg. Saitama Prefecture says it will affix the seal of testing on the packages of those teas that tested below the provisional safety limit, including the one with 490 becquerels/kg of cesium, so that the consumers will feel safe. All this label says is that the tea has been tested for radiation. The sunny mark at the top is supposed to indicate everything is OK.

They have already sold most of the teas that exceeded the provisional safety limit for cesium.

Below is the list of teas that exceeded the provisional safety limit, from the Saitama Prefecture website:

For the list of teas that tested below the provisional safety limit but still contained significant amount of radioactive cesium, go to the Saitama website.

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#Radiation Map by Ministry of Education: Chiba and Saitama, and Closing in on Tokyo...

Light-blue areas of elevated air radiation in western part of Saitama Prefecture and western part of Chiba Prefecture look set to come in to Tokyo.

From the Ministry of Education's aerial radiation monitoring (using helicopters) maps released on September 29:

Air radiation (microsievert/hour, 1 meter off the ground):

Cesium-134 and -137 deposition (becquerels/square meter):

And again, for reference, Professor Hayakawa's map (version 4), which by the way does not show much contamination in the western part of Saitama:

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#Radiation in Japan: Another Reason Not to Trust Your Goverment - Inferior Survey Meter

Change the survey machine, then the radiation levels may double, as they did in Misato City in Saitama.

A sort of "Shadenfreude" for citizens and particularly parents whose own radiation measurements were ridiculed and discredited by the authorities as "amateurish", "prone to mistakes", "using cheap and inaccurate Chinese-made survey meters", etc., etc..

Misato City in Saitama Prefecture is in the "corridor" of the radioactive plume that reached from the north and continued on to eastern part of Tokyo and western part of Chiba.

(From the radiation contour map (ver.4) by Professor Yukio Hayakawa of Gunma University; I marked the location of Misato City.)

After concerned parents finally persuaded them to measure the radiation levels in schools within the city, the city government started to measure, using Hitachi Aloka TCS-161 which wasn't working too well. Then the city government upgraded the survey machine to Hitachi Aloka TCS-172B on September 6.

Lo and behold! The radiation levels in school yards jumped; at several schools they more than doubled.

According to Misato City website, here's the survey on August 29 on the left, measuring radiation in the middle of the school yards using the old machine. At these schools, school yards are dirt. The survey on September 12, using the new machine is on the right. The numbers are in microsievert/hour:

The explanation by the city is simply "there is a change in numbers because we upgraded the survey machine."

One interesting thing about the new survey is that the radiation at 50 centimeters off the ground is the same as or higher than 5 centimeters off the ground, across the board, and there is not much drop-off at 1 meter off the ground.

At 0.31 microsievert/hour, if you stand in the middle of the school yard for 24 hours a day for one year, you would get 2.7 millisieverts of external radiation exposure. Of course you don't stand in the middle of the school yard 24/7, but if anything, the middle of a school yard may have lower radiation level than bushes, side drains, roads, and homes.

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#Radioactive Tea For Longevity Celebration

In one of the tragi-comical moments in Japan after the March 11 nuke accident, Tokorozawa City in Saitama Prefecture was just about to send the gifts of hand-picked green tea to the city's elderly residents celebrating 88 years of age (a celebratory number in Japan). The hitch was that it contained almost 3 times as much radioactive cesium as the provisional safety limit.

Oops.

The city wouldn't have known it, and probably would have given the gifts if it were not for the voluntary testing by the tea plantation.

That bureaucrats don't think is an understatement. It is a disease.

From Asahi Shinbun (9/9/2011):

埼玉県所沢市は９日、敬老の日のお祝いとして、市内の８８歳（米寿）の高齢者約８００人に贈る予定だった特産の狭山茶から国の基準（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たとして、贈呈を取りやめると発表した。

Tokorozawa City in Saitama Prefecture announced on September 9 that radioactive cesium exceeding the national provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg) was detected from the "sayama-cha" green tea, a specialty of the region. The tea was to be given as gifts on September 15 ("Respect the Elder Day") to 800 elderly residents who would celebrate their 88th birthdays.

　市によると、この狭山茶は市内の茶業者「増田園」が所沢産の若芽を早摘みした製茶。同園が自主的に民間の検査機関に調査を依頼したところ、１４３６ベクレルが検出されたという。

According to the city, this sayama-cha was picked and processed by "Masuda-en", a tea merchant in the city. The young tea leaves were picked early in the season [meaning it was the premium "first pick"]. Masuda-en had the tea tested by a private testing laboratory, and the tea was found with 1,436 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

　このため増田園は納品を辞退し、取り扱っている製茶の販売を自粛した。市はお祝い品をカツオ節などに差し替えるとともに、増田園の製品について埼玉県に検査を依頼する。

Upon receiving the result, Masuda-en voluntarily declined to sell the tea to the city, and stopped the sale of its blended teas. The city will substitute the gift with other items like dried bonito, and will ask Saitama Prefecture to test the teas by Masuda-en.

I just hope dried bonito was made from shipjacks caught last year or year before (higher quality if dried and aged longer).

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Wild Lily That Has Really Gone Wild in Saitama City

I know there will be many who will tell me they've seen something like this before, or it's just a normal variation, happens all the time, etc.. If you do, please send the pictures of this happening elsewhere.

The picture was taken by a person who lives nearby, and it was on Yomiuri Shinbun Saitama version (9/1/2011). A normal lily is on the right side. The giant lily is about 1 meter tall, according to Yomiuri.

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