LDP Politician Demands Government "Action" Against Mayor of Sapporo, Hokkaido Who Is Against Accepting Disaster Debris into His City

In case you wonder why the opposition LDP is not much popular than the despised DPJ, this is one reason why. They are no different.

An LDP politician elected from Hokkaido demands the national government to do something against the mayor of Sapporo City who has declared he doesn't want disaster debris from Miyagi and Iwate in his city, and the Minister of the Environment promises some type of "action" so that the mayor starts to think like everyone else in the Diet (i.e. not think).

Yomiuri Shinbun (4/3/2012):

がれき拒否の札幌市長に「アクションを」参院委

Upper House Committee: Take "action" against Sapporo Mayor who refuses disaster debris

東日本大震災で発生した震災がれきの処理を巡り、受け入れ拒否の意向を表明している札幌市の上田文雄市長の発言が、２日の参院予算委員会集中審議で取り上げられた。

Remarks of the mayor of Sapporo City, Fumio Ueda, were a topic of discussion during the intensive deliberation in the Upper House (House of Councilors) Budget Committee on April 2. Mayor Ueda has said he will refuse to accept disaster debris from the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami.

　細野環境相は「しっかり説明し、理解をいただきたい」と述べ、札幌市に改めて受け入れを要請する考えを示した。

Minister of the Environment Hosono said, "We will explain to him again, so that he understands", and he would request again that Sapporo City accept the debris.

　道選挙区選出の長谷川岳参院議員（自民党）の質問に答えた。岩手、宮城県のがれきでも放射性物質の汚染を疑っている上田市長の発言について、長谷川議員は「非常に残念」と批判。細野環境相に対し「政令市の市長がどういう発言をしているのか、もっと敏感に考えて、札幌市長に何らかのアクションを起こすべきだ」と迫った。

Hosono's remark was in response to the question by Member of the Counsilors Gaku Hasegawa (LDP, from Hokkaido). Hasegawa said it was "highly regrettable" that the mayor of Sapporo had expressed suspicion that the disaster debris even in Iwate and Miyagi Prefecture was contaminated with radioactive materials. He pressed Minister Hosono, "You have to be more sensitive to what a mayor of an ordinance-designated city is saying, and take some action against the mayor of Sapporo City."

　政府は既に、被災３県などを除く３５道府県と札幌市を含む１０政令市に文書で受け入れを要請し、今月６日までの回答を求めている。細野環境相は「札幌市長がどういう発言をしたのか確認する」とした上で「私どもの考えと違うようであれば、しっかり説明し、理解をいただきたいと思う」と応じた。

The national government has already formally requested the 35 Prefectures and 10 ordinance-designated cities including Sapporo City to accept the debris. The prefectures and cities will have to submit their answers by April 6. Minister Hosono said, "I will confirm what the mayor of Sapporo City has said. If what he says is different from what we think, I will explain to him thoroughly so he understands [literal translation; what Hosono means is "so he agrees with us and accepts the debris"]."

Debris from Iwate and Miyagi IS radioactive, by the way (see my March 24 post). And radioactivity in the debris will get concentrated as the debris gets incinerated

There are 13 ordinance-designated cities in Japan (Sapporo, Sendai, Chiba, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Kumamoto). If a city becomes an ordinance-designated city, it will take on the functions normally performed by a prefectural government such as public education, social welfare, sanitation, business licensing and urban planning, and it will be allowed to designate part of the city into "special wards" governed by mayors of the wards. The population level to become an ordinance-designated city is usually 1 million.

Mayor Tanabe, in his regular press conference in late March, said:　

がれき処理は時間が解決するかもしれませんけれども、放射能は時間では解決できない問題だと考えております

Disaster debris disposal may be resolved with time, but I don't think radioactivity can be resolved with time.

That's heresy by the Japanese government. Let's see, what kind of stick and the carrot will Hosono show to the mayor of Sapporo?

One notable independent journalist covering the disaster debris has had to close his twitter account after receiving a ton of tweets slandering and threatening him for his stance of opposing the wide-area disposal of disaster debris (in particular of debris from Onagawa in Miyagi).

There are other "rumors" that I've heard of harassment of citizen activists against the wide-area disposal. If you look at a guy at the Kyoto PR event by the Ministry of the Environment, it's not very difficult to see that the rumors may be true.

To support Mayor of Sapporo Fumio Tanabe, you can write him an email through this page.

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(Updated) Japan Meteorological Agency's Highly Unusual Storm Warning on TV: "Don't Go Outside"

The warning comes from the government agency that prohibited its own researchers from disclosing any information regarding the dispersion of radioactive materials right after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. Many on Twitter are saying, "Why didn't they say the same thing on March 15 and 21 last year and warn us about radioactive plumes from Fukushima?"

Well, the answer is easy. Because issuing warnings about radioactive material dispersions was not in their job description. It still isn't.

Anyway, a highly unusual low is about to sweep through entire Japan from the Japan Sea side, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) decided to hold a press conference which was broadcasted on TV to warn people in the evening of April 4.

From NHK News (4/2/2012):

今回の低気圧について、２日夕方、気象庁は臨時の記者会見を開き、関東などでは暴風が吹いて交通への影響も予想されることから、風が強まる時間帯には外出を控えるなど、警戒するよう呼びかけました。

About the low pressure system, the Japan Meteorological Agency held an emergency press conference in the evening of April 2, and warned that a storm wind may blow in Kanto and other areas affecting the transportation, and that people should refrain from going outside during the period of strong wind.

会見で、気象庁予報課の内田裕之主任予報官は「低気圧はあす急速に発達しながら日本海を北東へ進み、北日本を通過する予想となっているが、日本海でこれだけ発達する低気圧は過去にあまり例がない」と説明しました。

Hiroyuki Uchida, chief forecaster at the Agency explained, "The low-pressure system will rapidly grow tomorrow as it moves in the northeastern direction over the Japan Sea. It is expected to pass through the northern Japan. It is very rare for a low-pressure system to grow this big over the Japan Sea."

風がピークになる時間帯は、近畿や東海・北陸では３日午後から夕方にかけて、関東甲信などでは３日午後から夜にかけて、東北では３日午後から４日にかけてと予想され、北海道も３日夜にかけて風が強まる見込みです。

The period of the strongest storm wind is expected to be from the afternoon till the evening on April 3 in Kinki, Tokai, and Hokuriku regions, and from the afternoon till night on April 3 in Kanto and Koshinetsu regions. It will be from the afternoon of April 3 till April 4 in Tohoku. Hokkaido mayl experience stronger wind toward the night on April 3.

内田主任予報官は「関東などでは風の強さが風速２５メートルと台風並みで、先週末より風が強くなると予想している。特に午後６時ごろから９時ごろにかけては、歩いている人が転倒したり、車が運転できなくなったりして、交通への影響も出る可能性がある。あすはなるべく早めに帰宅するか、無理な外出を控えて風に警戒してほしい」と話しています。

Mr. Uchida said, "The wind speed in Kanto is expected to be 25 meters per second, which is almost like a typhoon wind. We expect the wind to be stronger than in the last weekend. In particular, from 6PM to 9PM, it is possible that the wind will be so strong that people may get knocked down by the wind. Transportation may be affected as it may be dangerous to drive a car. So tomorrow, take ample precaution by going home earlier than usual, or by not going out unless it is necessary to do so."

JMA satellite image, water vapor:

Storm warning has been issued to Hamadori (coastal 1/3) of Fukushima Prefecture, where Fukushima I Nuke Plant is located.

Warnings issued for Futaba-machi and Okuma-machi say (from the JMA site, in Japanese):

Storm warnings: wind up to 28 meters per second on the ocean
Wind direction: from southhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Peak hours: evening of April 3
High waves advisories: 8 meters

The wind visualization by a Swiss company shows the strong storm wind from south for the coastal areas of Fukushima. Click on the image to view the video at http://www.kachelmannwetter.de:

(h/t anon reader)

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NHK on Japan's New Safety Limits for Cesium: "Much Lower Than EU's 1,250 Bq/Kg!"

This is a screen capture from NHK's 7PM News on April 2, 2012 (h/t hanayuu). The new safety limits for radioactive cesium, 100 becquerels/kg for food and 50 becquerels/kg for drinks (water, milk), have become effective as of April 1 except for a few items that continue to use the old provisional standards (rice is one of them, until the fall of 2012).

According to people in Japan who watched the news, the gist of the report was:

• The safety limits for radioactive cesium in food and drinks are much higher in the EU (1,250 Bq/kg for food, 1,000 Bq/kg for drinks) and the US (1,200 Bq/kg);

• So the new and improved safety limits in Japan are very, very conservative, even better than those in Belarus;

• So don't worry, people, you're in good hands.

Look at the presenter. Does he look uncomfortable or does he uncomfortable?

What NHK didn't say is that:

• The EU and the US safety limits are based on part of the Codex Alimentarius about "imported" food from the contaminated areas in a nuclear emergency, and not their normal safety limits for radionuclides;

• In Japan's case, the new safety limits are post-Fukushima "normal" limits, not for the nuclear emergency from the Fukushima accident.

There are many who argue that Japan's food self-sufficiency rate is low anyway, so all they need to do is to increase imported food a little bit to avoid contaminated food.

What NHK or the Japanese government won't tell you (they don't even tell the citizens in Japan clearly either) is that Japan's food self-sufficiency rate of 39% is based on calories. (Japan is probably the only country in the world to calculate the food self-sufficiency this way. Just like snow in Japan is special, so is the calculation of food self-sufficiency in Japan.) Based on calories, Japan imports almost all of edible oils from abroad (97%). So if the food self-sufficiency is calculated on calories, it significantly lowers the rate as oils are high-calorie items.

Other high-calorie items are wheat (92% import) and sugar (74% import).

If the food self-sufficiency rate is calculated based on the amounts produced and consumed, as is the case in almost all countries in the world, the overall self-sufficiency rate is 69%. For individual items, rice is 97%, vegetables 81%, fish 60%, meat 56%, eggs 96%, milk 67%, fruits 71%. One big reason for lower numbers for meat, eggs and milk is because Japan imports 75% of feeds. (See the information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, here. Sorry it's in Japanese.)

When you consider these rates, Japan's new safety limits indicate that Japan will be in a state of a nuclear emergency for years and years, not just for a brief period.

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New Zealand Herald: "Only Way Is Full Steam Ahead" With Nuke Plants Including Thorium Reactors

So says Brian Leyland, consultant to the New Zealand electric power companies, in his February 27, 2012 article in the largest paper in New Zealand.

He says:

"For electricity, nuclear power and, in particular, reactors burning thorium, promise us a virtually unlimited supply of electricity at a reasonable price"

and:

"exposure to low levels of radiation is not harmful and may even give some immunity to cancer"

Why is he saying these? Probably because:

"It would reduce the cost of nuclear power and change the public perception of the danger of nuclear power",

which is likely to be benefiting the electric power companies who employ him.

It doesn't seem to have entered his mind that the cost of nuclear power generation may not be "reasonable" if you factor in the cost of:

• a potential accident like Fukushima which is bankrupting one of the largest companies in Japan (TEPCO);

• decommissioning the reactors (so much so that the US power companies are going to do nothing for 60 years)

I guess April Fool's Day came early in New Zealand. It somewhat reads like George Monbiot (albeit far less in-your-face than Monbiot), who famously said he became pro-nuke because of the Fukushima accident.

Unlike Monbiot who wrote right after the accident started, Leyland has zero reference to the nuclear accident in Japan, writing nearly one year after the accident started. And he talks about the cost of nuclear power generation. Amazing.

From New Zealand Herald (2/27/2012; emphasis is mine):

Brian Leyland: The only way is full steam ahead

Like many people living comfortably in developed economies John Peet is opposed to continued economic growth. Unlike John, I have worked extensively in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands so I have seen the misery and environmental damage resulting from poverty-stricken people doing their best to scratch a living.

The steam engine freed us from manual labour and expensive and polluting horsepower, and drove the transformation that we have seen in the past 200 years.

As a result of the prosperity it has brought, people in developed countries live longer and are healthier than they have ever been in the past. Access to low-cost energy, engineering and technology have driven this transformation. We have progressed from eking out a living from subsistence agriculture to having plenty of time for recreation and relaxation and living better than a king of 300 years ago.

Sixty years ago, I have clear memories of Auckland being covered in a pall of smoke from chimney pots, railway engines, ferries and the coal-fired power station on Kings Wharf and of raw sewage spewing into the harbour. Since then technology has advanced and we are prosperous enough to afford to look after the environment. Economic growth has benefited us and the environment.

In our prosperous little world, it is all too easy to forget the billions of people who are still scratching a living from subsistence agriculture, suffering chronic illnesses and dying young from entirely preventable diseases. In these countries populations are growing rapidly. History shows us that as a population becomes more prosperous, the reproduction rate declines dramatically because people realise that they no longer need to have lots of children to ensure that a few will survive to support them in their old age.

A primary driver of the economic growth they need is access to affordable energy, electricity and communications. Energy frees people from the burden of manual labour and electricity frees them from the need to cut down forests for firewood. It also provides them with television and cellphones which are a major factor in lifting the economies of many developing countries.

Even in New Zealand, any attempt to stop the economy growing would have a disproportionate effect on the poor and those who have retired.

What we need is economic growth using the best available technology to ensure that goods are supplied at the lowest cost and that energy is used efficiently and wisely. This is what engineers do.

The best definition of an engineer is "someone who can do for 20 cents what any fool can do for a dollar". Another is "the art of directing the great forces of power in nature for the use and convenience of man".

It is widely believed that the world is running out of resources. In fact, we now have more resources available to us than ever before.

When the steam engine was first invented, people were worried that, quite soon, the world would run out of coal.

Now the world is known to have more coal than it is ever likely to use. Two or three years ago, the United States and the United Kingdom were expecting to import more and more gas. The shale gas revolution has turned this around. For the past 100 years, the reserves of oil have steadily increased. For the same 100 years people have been predicting the imminent arrival of "peak oil". They have been wrong every time. Even if oil did start to run out, the immense gas reserves in offshore "methane ice" could easily be turned into liquid fuels.

For electricity, nuclear power and, in particular, reactors burning thorium, promise us a virtually unlimited supply of electricity at a reasonable price.

And for those who believe it is too dangerous to contemplate, recent research into radiation exposure shows, quite clearly, that exposure to low levels of radiation is not harmful and may even give some immunity to cancer. The radiation limits for nuclear power stations could be raised by a factor of 200 without the slightest risk. It would reduce the cost of nuclear power and change the public perception of the danger of nuclear power.

In spite of all the predictions, the world is not running out of food. With the efficient use of irrigation, improved plants and reduction in the enormous wastage that occurs in developing countries, the world could easily feed a much larger population.

I believe that one of the biggest dangers facing the world is well-meaning people who believe that the world is running out of resources, that technology will no longer continue to make our lives better and better and that economic growth is incompatible with the environment. If these people carry the day, our grandchildren will suffer.

The best way of future proofing this country, and the world, is rational and efficient development of our resources to support the economic growth we need so we can continue to do our best for people and the environment. It will also advance the date when the world population stops growing.

New Zealand is located in the "Ring of Fire" zone around the Pacific Ocean. Mr. Leyland doesn't even mention how earthquake prone his country is, and he says "full steam ahead" with nuclear power.

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Radioactive Fallout in Futaba-machi, Fukushima Rose in February 2012

At 6PM on Friday March 30, 2012, the Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) released the measurement of radioactive fallout in prefectures in Japan for the month of February 2012 (here's the link).

The fallout measured in Futaba-machi, Fukushima has increased by more than 70% over the January figure to 33,300 megabecquerels/square kilometer (or 33,300 becquerels/square meter):

MEXT is in the process of reorganizing their website, changing the links to the past data. It has screws up my bookmarks.

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UK's The Observer: "And the nuclear power station at Fukushima very nearly suffered a meltdown"

In the article that was published on March 31, 2012 not April 1 on The Guardian/The Observer, Will Hutton of Oxford University says:

It is the question – not only in Japan but, I would argue, in Britain. In Japan the devastating earthquake in Tohoku 12 months ago has made it even more acute. Three hundred and forty thousand people are still without homes. At least 19,000 died. And the nuclear power station at Fukushima very nearly suffered a meltdown

So there was no meltdown after all at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant? It came close but didn't happen?

I always thought there were three meltdowns, and three "melt-throughs" as the corium in Reactor 1, Reactor 2, and Reactor 3 are most likely to have melted through the Reactor Pressure Vessels onto the concrete floor of the Containment Vessels, and at least partially eaten into the concrete. I thought both TEPCO and the Japanese government admitted it.

We have worried for nothing for over 1 year!

Other than that, Mr. Hutton's article reads like it is from the Prime Minister's Office of Japan.

From The Guardian (3/31/2012; emphasis is mine):

What's the story of the next decade? The rebirth of Japan

The country's urge to reset its business culture is a lesson to Britain in finding the way back to prosperity

Will Hutton
The Observer, Saturday 31 March 2012

It is a small thing, but it says a lot about the country. At Tokyo's Narita airport, when you take off your shoes at the security screening check, the guard hands you a pair of leather slippers. The message is obvious: this airport cares for your wellbeing and recognises your need.

In Japan, taxi doors swing open automatically; toilet seats are electronically warmed and cleaned; and the extraordinary variety of food is presented exquisitely. There is a passion for satiating every imaginable human want and a joy in embracing the science, technology and innovation that might help deliver just that.

For 40 years, between 1950 and 1990, this passion was a key ingredient driving one of the most remarkable periods of growth in economic history. But for the past 20 years, Japan has been stricken by stagnation. In the late 1980s-90s, it suffered a financial crisis nearly as severe as our own. The economic model – the Ministry of International Trade and Industry guiding Japanese companies; the keiretsu networks of loosely conglomerated firms and associated banks; the great global brands – suffered an implosion.

Yet this remains a $5trn economy, the third largest on the planet. The Japanese themselves are desperate to recover the elixir of growth, and understand that economic conservatism – in Japan just as in Britain – leads to disappointment and heartbreak.

In 2009, the Democratic party of Japan was elected by a landslide, pledging a root and branch reform of every bureaucratic, corporatist and anti-democratic element in Japan's broken system. It also pledged to recast economic policy to serve the people. Despite some epic mistakes, notably its handling of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it still holds an opinion poll lead over its rival, the Liberal Democratic party (LDP).

However, forces within the government are very much open to pondering where it should go next. Ten days ago, I was invited by the DPJ government to go to Tokyo to contribute to this ongoing conversation.

Cabinet members wanted to discuss what a 21st-century social contract might look like, respecting both necessary labour market flexibility and security. They wanted to understand the contribution that open innovation ecosystems and an entrepreneurial state can play in driving forward innovation and investment. Above all, they asked: how could Japan reinvent its stakeholder capitalism of the second half of the 20th century so that it was more democratic? And they thought there might be something in my ideas rehearsed in the books The State We're In and Them and Us. In short, how could Japan do good capitalism?

It is the question – not only in Japan but, I would argue, in Britain. In Japan the devastating earthquake in Tohoku 12 months ago has made it even more acute. Three hundred and forty thousand people are still without homes. At least 19,000 died. And the nuclear power station at Fukushima very nearly suffered a meltdown.

At the time of the crisis, Japan hoped that, with the DPJ in power, there would be a decisive change from the way such matters had been handled in the past – obfuscation, delay, inactivity and anxiety to protect corporate interests. Yet the new government bounced off the secrecy of Tokyo Electric Power Company, the bureaucratic ministries, a muzzled media and the enveloping tentacles of the employers' organisation, the Keidanren, as if nothing had changed. Prime Minster Kan became party to delivering inadequate and late information via the impenetrable state and corporate networks; many Japanese became devotees of BBC World News as the only purveyor of truth. Kan was forced to resign last summer.

But the Japanese electorate is not ready to return to the status quo. They know they need nuclear power which just 12 months ago provided more than a third of their electricity needs; but as power stations are being closed down for safety inspections local communities are vetoing their reopening. In May, the last nuclear power station operating will also be mothballed.

The terms for their restarting are tough. Local communities, fired up by a new citizen activism, want effective oversight, transparency of information and commitments to meet international safety standards. It is Japanese good capitalism, driven by citizen demands from below.

Faced with this new phenomenon, the LDP is at a loss, while the DPJ itself seems to be re-gathering its conviction that its reform agenda is the only way forward. At an open meeting in the Japanese parliament, I was struck by the interest DPJ MPs showed in discussing innovative ways of kickstarting credit flows – as anathema to the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance as they are to the Bank of England and Treasury.

The Bank of Japan has just expanded a version of the Bank of England's quantitative easing programme; but abstains from the activism it used to show in the great days of Japan's growth. The conclusions are obvious. Japan's financial system is broken; an activist state has to restart bank lending by assuming some of the risk – just as it must in Britain.

If Japan could reset its macroeconomic policy, there is an enormous pool of dynamic hi-tech medium-sized firms that could immediately grow very fast. Consultant Gerhard Fasol argues that in areas like LED lighting or mobile phone payment systems, Japan is 10 years ahead of the rest of the world. The Fujitsus and Toshibas of tomorrow are in the wings. What Japan needs is for the increasingly sclerotic giants to be challenged by these many insurgents, who need new institutions to support their ambitions to go global. A new entrepreneurial, accountable state could drive a second phase of powerful Japanese growth.

These debates are foreign to our primitive business culture, which undervalues service and innovation and scarcely thinks about a more productive capitalism. There is a long list of British companies that have tried to break into Japan's market and failed. Observers say the common theme is wholesale insensitivity to the need for service and innovation, the precondition for any success in Japan.

Britain and Japan are two island economies, both mired in private debt with stricken financial systems. Although Japan has a long way to go, it is becoming obvious, confirmed by last week's British budget, which of the two countries is most likely to create the 21st-century framework for growth and prosperity. The Asian story of the next decade will be Japan's renaissance and China's relapse.

LED lighting and mobile phone payment system under an activist government. That should help end "Lost Decades".

Both the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP; the word "liberal" in the party name is not what you think in the US) have been scraping the bottom when it comes to the poll numbers, though LDP still has an edge over DPJ, contrary to what Mr. Hutton says.

Jiji Tsushin shows the numbers for March 2012 as follows:

DPJ: 9.2% (February 10.1%, January 11.6%)
LDP: 11.7% (February 12.3%, January 13.3%)
Komei Party: 3.9% (February 3.4%, January 3.7%)
Japan Communist Party: 1.3% (February 1.6%, January 0.8%)
Not supporting any: 70% (February 68.2%, January 67%)

I think Mr. Hutton may want to watch the DPJ minister (Goshi Hosono) being shouted down by angry Kyoto residents who used the imperative form of speech to tell him to go back to where he came from (central government at Kasumigaseki, Tokyo). It was not "Please go back" but "Go back!"

(Or was this April 1st special after all? Or was this set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?)

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OT: Google Map Turns into "Dragon Quest" on April 1st

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

I still remember the April Fool's Day joke from Google that Google was starting a new phone service that uses toilet sewer pipes. I thought, "That can't be... but..."

It looks like Professor Hayakawa of Gunma University is taking it seriously now, and wondering how a Nintendo machine can use Google Map.

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"Sakura" in Full Bloom in Kyoto at Disaster Debris Campaign Event Yesterday

"Sakura" in Japanese usually means cherry blossom trees, but these days it increasingly mean "a shill" for the government or for big corporations. Yesterday in Kyoto, it was the latter.

These turned out to be men from Junior Chamber International (JCI). The signs they are holding says "Support, by Wide-Area Disposal" (though you can't see in this particular picture)：

This guy, with short hair, pinstripe suits, a big wrist watch and a "juzu" bracelet sticks out among ordinary Kyoto residents who were there with their families. His signs both say "Wide-area disposal is a big step toward recovery", neatly printed in black and red:

The person who posted the photo says this guy tried to pick a fight with a person who took a picture of him on his smartphone, in a way that a yakuza would do. Therefore, the conclusion was that he was a low-level official at the Ministry of the Environment.

I don't know about that, though it is possible. I thought he was from the waste disposal industry.

Minister Goshi Hosono shamelessly said "Look, we have supporters for the wide-area disposal here today!"

And here are people who tried to stage manage the event only to fail spectacularly, gathering after the minister departed:

For the video of the entire event, go to my previous post.

(Photos from @naasansan)

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Germany's Das Erste: Fukushima Children Having Health Problems

Some strange translations here and there, but I think you get the idea. (I'll wait for the comments from German readers.)

German TVs tend to do the voice-over instead of captions, and the voice-over is too loud for me to hear what exactly the Japanese are saying. Sometimes their voice-over does not match what people are actually saying in Japanese.

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#Fukushima Fruit Growers: To Grow or Not to Grow This Year (With Tree Barks with 40K Bq/Kg of Cesium)

Is it even a question after what happened in last year? Well, clearly it is, for many farmers who grow fruits in Date City in the middle third of Fukushima with elevated radiation levels.

40,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected on the surface of peach trees in the city's orchard in the mountain. One grower is determined to grow this year again, the other has given up.

From Sankei Shinbun (4/1/2012):

「それでも作るしか」「もう無理」…果樹農家悲鳴　死活問題に

"Still no choice but grow", "Can't grow any more..." Matter of life and death for fruit growers

生産者にとって死活問題になりかねない放射性セシウムの基準値超え。特に年１回の収穫に懸け、日々の作業を続ける果樹農家は大きな不安を抱えている。

Radioactive cesium exceeding the safety standard can be a matter of life and death for the producers. Particularly, fruit growers who have only one harvest per year have big worries.

　３月下旬、特定避難勧奨地点が点在する福島県伊達市。山間部の畑に立つカキの木の幹は、真っ白な木肌が目立つ。四方に枝を張るブドウの木も痛々しい赤茶色。いずれも高圧水による除染で樹皮が剥がれた結果という。

Late March in Date City in Fukushima Prefecture, where "specific evacuation recommendation spots" are scattered throughout the city. In an orchard in the mountain, the trunk of a persimmon tree is white. Grapevines are reddish brown. Both are the result of high-pressure washing that blasted off the barks.

　「基準がどうあれ、木がある以上、とにかく作るしかない」。１ヘクタールの畑でブドウ、モモ、カキを育てる男性（５０）はつぶやく。昨季、周辺で収穫されたモモから１キロ当たり８０～９０ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出。同５００ベクレルの暫定基準値は下回るが、同１００ベクレルの新基準値ならギリギリの数値だ。「除染すれば大丈夫なはずだが、ゼロでないと消費者も手にしてくれない」

"No matter what the standard is, as long as there are fruit tries, I have no choice but grow fruits", says a man (age 50) who grows grapes, peaches and persimmons in his 1 hectare orchard. In the last growing season, 80 to 90 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found from peaches harvested nearby. It was below the 500 becquerels/kg provisional safety limit, but with the new 100 becquerels/kg standard, it would be close to the limit. "Once [the trees are] decontaminated, it should be OK. But the consumers won't buy it unless there is zero cesium."

　東電の補償は出たが「補償のためじゃない。おいしかったと言ってもらうため作っている」という。

He was compensated by TEPCO, but he says, "I'm not growing for compensation. I'm growing so that people would say it is tasty."

　あきらめた農家もある。同じ山沿いで長年モモを育ててきた菅野重治さん（６５）は昨年、除染で出る廃棄物の仮置き用スペースを作るため、木の半分を引き抜いた。しかし残り半分の木の表面から１キロ当たり４万ベクレルを検出。「もう無理だ」と観念した。

There are farmers who has given up. Shigeharu Sugano [could be Kanno] (age 65), who has grown peaches for a long time in the same area, pulled out half his trees last year in order to make room for temporary storage for the decontamination wastes. However, from the surface of the rest of his trees, 40,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected. He gave up. "I can't do it any more."

　値下がりを受け周辺農家が養蚕から果樹に転換したのは半世紀前。「また新しい何かを見つけないと若い人は戻ってこない」と菅野さん。その「何か」は見つかっていない。

It was a half century ago that the local farmers switched from sericulture to fruit growing because of the drop in price in sericulture. "Unless we find something new, younger people won't come back", says Sugano. That "something new" hasn't been found.

With due respect to Mr. Sugano (at least he has given up growing peaches on his highly contaminated orchard), I don't think it's a matter of finding something new to grow.

Last year, Fukushima Prefecture even used school children to push Fukushima peaches, and they were widely sold all over Japan, even to customers who had never seen peaches from Fukushima in their local supermarkets.

Why not do that again this year? It worked last year. Just keep smiling.

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Disaster Debris Wide-Area Disposal PR in Kyoto: Ministry Official Wearily Says "Unprecedented Number of Protesters..."

Yomiuri Shinbun Kansai version did carry the report on the Ministry of the Environment event in the Kyoto Station yesterday.

From Yomiuri Shinbun Kansai version (4/1/2012):

京都へのがれき受け入れ要請に反対派４００人抗議

400 protesters against disaster debris acceptance into Kyoto

環境相がチラシ配布断念

Minister of the Environment canceled the distribution of the fliers

東日本大震災で発生したがれきの広域処理問題で、細野環境相が３１日、ＪＲ京都駅前（京都市）で山田啓二・京都府知事らと受け入れへの理解を訴えた。細野環境相は「自分のことだけでなく、宮城や岩手のことを考えて下さい」と呼び掛けたが、受け入れに反対する市民ら約４００人に取り囲まれ、予定していたチラシ配布を中止した。

On March 31 in front of the Kyoto JR Station (in Kyoto City), Minister of the Environment Hosono appealed for accepting the disaster debris in Kyoto. He was flanked by other officials including Keiji Yamada, governor of Kyoto. The minister called to the crowd, "Please think about Miyagi and Iwate, not just about yourselves." But residents opposing the debris acceptance surrounded him, and he had to cancel the distribution of the [promotional] fliers.

　環境省の「みんなの力でがれき処理プロジェクト」の街頭イベント。３月１１日に東京から始まり、関西では初開催となった京都が５か所目。市民らは「広域処理反対」「ガレキいやどす」などと書いたプラカードを掲げ、「帰れ」「子どもを守れ」などと声を上げた。

It was a street event rolled out by the Ministry of the Environment, "Disaster Debris Disposal Project, by Joining Hands". It started in Tokyo on March 11, and this Kyoto event is the 5th event, and the first in Kansai Region. Citizens held up signs that said "We are against the wide-area disposal" "Debris, No" [in Kyoto dialect], and shouted "Go back" and "Protect children".

　同行していた同省職員が「今までにない反対派の数だった」という騒動になったが、細野環境相は終了後、「諦めることはできないので、できるだけ多くの地域で受け入れていただけるよう（広域処理を）前進させていきたい」とやや疲れた表情で話した。

An official at the Ministry of the Environment who accompanied the Minister admitted, "This was an unprecedented number of protesters." Minister Hosono spoke after the event, looking a bit tired. "I cannot give up. I want to proceed on the wide-area disposal, so I hope to persuade as many locations as possible."

It was not just a number of people against it that was unprecedented; ordinary citizens shouting down the minister of the national government and other politicians was unprecedented.

If I strictly translate what Yomiuri called "反対派", it is "opposing faction", as if this was an organized movement by an established/existing organization. From what I saw, the only "organized" movement was those few men holding up signs that said "Kizuna (ties that bind)", "Let's promote wide-area disposal", with characters neatly printed.

To view the Kyoto residents shouting down the politicians including Hosono, chanting "go back, go back", or "protect children", go to my previous post.

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(UPDATED with Video) Goshi Hosono Is Being Shouted Down by Protesters in Kyoto

Hosono and his officials are right now in Kyoto, trying to persuade Kyoto residents that they have to accept disaster debris, and the protesters want to have none of that. Hosono has to shout to be heard over the ruckus.

He's trying to appeal to the people in Kyoto by showing some craft piece made by a Miyagi elementary school child. "Do you think this is contaminated? Do you?"

Live at Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ UStream: http://t.co/nk7UkkdN

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Update 3/31/2011:

Here's the recorded video of the event.

At about 7 minutes into the video: No.3 guy at Ministry of the Environment (politician) starts to speak, appealing to the small crowd at Kyoto Station how important it is to help out the people in the disaster affected area whose towns are still buried under the mountain of debris. "See this photo?" he says.

Shouting starts about 8 minutes. "We're against it!" (Hantai!)

At 8:55, you see two guys in bright green vests holding up signs that says "Kizuna". How much more blatant can you get, to show you are the Ministry's shills?

At 11:30, Goshi Hosono, Minister of the Environment, takes the stage. He is immediately being shouted down by angry crowd. He has to change the microphone to be heard above the shouting.

At 16:00, Hosono desperately grabs a craft piece made by an elementary school kid in the disaster affected area, and tries to tell the angry audience "Do you think this is contaminated? Do you?" People keep shouting at him, "Kaere, Kaere (Go back, go back)".

At 23:00, Governor of Kyoto takes the stage. People keep shouting him down.

At 27:40, Fukuyama, DPJ politician from Kyoto and advisor to then-Prime Minister Kan when the disaster struck, takes the stage. People keep shouting "Go back, go back". Fukuyama pleads with them that he is from Kyoto, and he comes back here. People keep shouting "Go back, go back".

People are telling him to go back to where he belongs, which is the center of the central government who wants Kyoto to accept and burn debris.

At 32:00 Fukuyama resorts to citing "democracy" as the reason why these protesters should quietly listens to him. People keep shouting "Go back, Go back".

Video streaming by Ustream

That was rich. "Democracy". Was it a democracy to simply decide to spread the disaster debris all over Japan without even asking people?

Good for Kyoto people. I've never seen anything like this where people refuse to quietly listen to a politician, and instead they shout them down.

I am surprised that they didn't call in the police, but as Iwakami's IWJ was there netcasting live, that would have really made the already ugly scene for the Ministry of the Environment even uglier.

There is ZERO coverage of this incident in the national newspapers, not even in their local Kyoto versions. All there are in the local versions of the national papers is how eager and willing and ready Kyoto is to accept and burn the disaster debris.

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Japanese Magazine Says Hitachi May Be Pulling Out of Nuclear Business (or Maybe Not..)

The subscription-only magazine called "FACTA" has the first paragraph of the article available for everyone.

It says:

Hitachi has been enjoying the stellar quarterly results, after getting rid of loss-making HDD manufacturing. The company has completely pulled out of manufacturing TV sets in Japan. The only burden now is the nuclear business. Hitachi has the smallest nuclear business compared to Toshiba and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and we're hearing from Hitachi insiders that the company is "moving out of nuclear". The senior management vehemently denies it as "impossible", but Hitachi today is not what it used to be...

It may just mean the company is getting out of building new reactors. The company is still part of the government's working group to develop new technologies for decommissioning Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. The company could commercialize these technologies to sell to the world, I suppose.

Hitachi is also a big player in incineration plants and equipments, and alternative energy (wind turbines).

The company looks set to profit no matter which direction Japan may take. The same can be said for other two nuclear companies, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They are also big in incineration plants and wind turbines.

(UPDATE)

Hitachi just secured an agreement with the Lithuanian government to build a nuclear plant in Lithuania. (Nuclear business is too good to pass up.)

From Power Engineering Magazine (3/30/2012):

Hitachi Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) said it has agreed to a concession agreement with the Lithuanian Energy Ministry regarding construction of the Visaginas nuclear power plant planned for Lithuania. The concession agreement will be officially concluded after the approval by the Lithuanian parliament which has been in session since March 2012.

Lithuania is planning to construct a new nuclear power plant in Visaginas in the northeastern part of the country, with the aim of having an operational plant in 2021. In 2008, the project company Visagino Atomine Elektrine (VAE) was established to further the development of the project and conduct negotiations relating to investment into the Visaginas Nuclear Power Plant. In 2009, the Lithuanian parliament passed a bill permitting the construction of a nuclear power plant in Visaginas.

Hitachi and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd. proposed to provide an Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) to the Lithuanian government. Hitachi was selected as the strategic investor in July 2011, and in December 2011 initially signed the term sheet for the concession agreement.

Following the approval of this agreement by the Lithuanian parliament, the concession for power plant construction will be granted to a project company to be established by investment from Hitachi, VAE and regional partners. The project company will conduct negotiations regarding engineering, procurement, and construction. The project company will aim to conclude contracts by around summer of 2012.

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TEPCO's Answer to the Leak of Concentrated Water after Reverse Osmosis at #Fukushima I: Sandbags

TEPCO has a countermeasure to the leak of highly concentrated, contaminated water after the reverse osmosis treatment. Sandbags. And some shiny steel "barrages" as TEPCO calls them.

From TEPCO's photos for the press (3/28/2012):

Note a heap of hoses in the 2nd photo, upper right. Also the hoses under the temporary bridge. How about the hose hanging on the side of the drain?

40 more years (or more) until they can even begin the decommission.

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It's Official: Canned Fish from Tohoku Will Go to Developing Countries, With the Help from UN

Another "win" for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who operates the ODA (Official Development Assistance). They have managed to obtain support from the United Nations on this one.

I first wrote about this particular ODA in June last year, with the follow-up post in September when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs formally requested the appropriation for the 3rd supplementary budget.

Now it's official, with the help of the UN. Canned fish from Tohoku will be given to people in developing countries in the world so that the fisheries in the disaster-affected areas can recover and "baseless rumors" disappear.

The fish cans will go to Cambodia and 4 other countries and will be used in school lunches to feed school children.

From Sankei Shinbun (3/30/2012):

食料支援で風評被害解消　被災地の缶詰を途上国に

Food aid to dispel baseless rumors, by sending canned food made in disaster-affected areas to developing countries

　政府は、東日本大震災の被災地で製造された水産加工品を発展途上国の人々に食べてもらうため、国連機関の世界食糧計画（ＷＦＰ）と政府開発援助（ＯＤＡ）に関する書簡を交換した。食料支援を通じ、被災地の水産業振興と風評被害の解消につなげるのが狙いだ。

The Japanese government exchange letters with the UN WFP (World Food Programme) regarding the ODA (Official Development Assistance) so that people in developing countries will be able to eat processed marine products made in the areas affected by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The purpose is to promote [the recovery of] fisheries industry in the disaster-affected areas and to dispel baseless rumors [that food in Japan is contaminated with radioactive materials].

　政府が平成２３年度第３次補正予算に計上した１０億円を元手に、ＷＦＰが青森、岩手、茨城、千葉の４県の水産加工場で製造されたイワシやサバなどの水煮の缶詰を調達。カンボジアなど５カ国で学校給食などに役立ててもらう。加藤敏幸外務政務官は書簡交換の式典で、「甚大な被害を受けた被災地の水産加工企業は、操業の全面再開に向け努力している」と強調した。

The Japanese government allocated 1 billion yen in the fiscal 2011 3rd supplementary budget. Using this money, WFP will purchase cans of boiled sardines and mackerels made in factories in Aomori, Iwate, Ibaraki, and Chiba Prefectures. The cans will be shipped to 5 countries including Cambodia for the use in school lunches. Toshiyuki Kato, parliamentary secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [No.3 politician at the ministry] emphasized in the letter exchanging ceremony, "The marine product processing companies in the disaster-affected areas have sustained grave damage, and they are doing their best to resume full operation."

　このＯＤＡをめぐっては、東京電力福島第１原発事故の影響を懸念する一部の市民団体などが反発。外務省幹部は「放射線量を検査し、安全性に問題がないものを輸出することで、海外に根強い風評被害の打破を図りたい」と説明している。

There are a few citizens' groups who oppose this particular ODA program as they are worried about the effect of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident. The top officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explain that the radiation measurement will be conducted, and only those products without any worry of safety will be exported so that the baseless rumors that still persist overseas are dispelled.

When the Japanese government officials say "without any worry of safety", their safety equals 100 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium starting April 1, 2012.

I couldn't find any press release on this, and no information as to other 4 countries receiving the canned fish from Japan.

Here's from the feedback page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can contact them by mail or by phone, or you can contact the embassies and consulates around the world.

The UN's WFP contact information is here: http://www.wfp.org/contact

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs Has Started Propaganda Campaign to Invite Foreign Social Medial Writers to Japan

(Applicants can download an application in Excel file at the Embassy's site. Go to the end of the post for more.)

Remember that harebrained project that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would do after grabbing some extra money in the supplementary budget last year? Well it has just started.

"An Invitation Program to Japan for SOCIAL MEDIA WRITERS: Hello social media writers!--the Government of Japan invites you to participate in an opportunity to travel to Japan and share your experience through social media."

Here's the screen capture of the Facebook page of the Japanese Embassy in Canada:

The post (23 hours ago) says the following (emphasis is mine):

An Invitation Program to Japan for SOCIAL MEDIA WRITERS: Hello social media writers!--the Government of Japan invites you to participate in an opportunity to travel to Japan and share your experience through social media.

- objective: to share your impressions, positive experiences, and attraction to Japan through social media i.e blogs, Facebook, &Twitter. Witness a vibrant Japan as it recovers from the disasters of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
- visit places that would help you understand Japan's politics, economics, society, and culture + meet with persons in your area of interest
- area of interest: pop culture, fashion, design, science & technology, Japanese food culture, sports, academia, art, etc.
- You should have more than 1000 followers per social media profile. After returning to Canada, participants will be required to write at least three articles about their visit.
- duration: 7 days sometime after April 2012
- expenses covered: accommodation, travel to and from Japan, transportation in Japan, and accident insurance
- deadline: April 4.
Please find the application form & procedure @ http://www.ca.emb-japan.go.jp/canada_e/JapanCanada/2012/social_media_writers_april_2012.html

*Embassy of Japan may request candidates to visit the Embassy for an interview.

Please apply & spread the word!

The anon reader who gave me the link says the Embassy people (or whoever is managing their Facebook page) keep deleting the negative comments.

The Japanese people I know are all disgusted with the government scheme and they are extremely ashamed. And angry that their tax money is being used like this by their government.

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

This is hilarious. I clicked on the link in the Embassy's Facebook post to take a look at the application form. IT'S AN EXCEL FILE! Are we still in the late 1980s, when companies that were very much behind the curve about computers were using Excel spreadsheet as word processor?

So these Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials do not even know how to create a simple form either in editable PDF format or web format, and they want to invite social media writers.

It was probably created by a local secretary who doesn't know anything about social media...

(What an atrocious color scheme... What has happened to the fine sense of design and color that the Japanese want to think they possess?)

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18 Bq/kg of Radioactive Cesium from Canned Salmon

(Update: Checked the corporate site of Maruha Nichiro. It is "pink salmon" or "humpback salmon", in northern Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Japan Sea, Iwate Prefecture, and Hokkaido.)

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Seikatsu Club is a co-op that has been publishing the results of its own analysis of food items it sells.

In the latest results on March 30, 2012, there are several items with radioactive cesium including a can of salmon from a major seafood company (Maruha Nichiro):

30 Bq/kg from lemon
32 Bq/kg from Kiyomi tangor (hybrid of satsuma mandarin orange and regular orange)
18 Bq/kg from a can of boiled salmon

For people trying to eliminate as much radioactive cesium as possible from the food they eat everyday, it's not getting any easier after one year.

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Woods Hole Scientist's Latest View on Ocean Contamination from Fukushima Accident: "We Haven't Gone Very Far" in Assessing the Extent, Damage

Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute researcher Ken Buesseler wrote a special article for CNN on March 11, 2012 about the effect that radioactive materials released from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant have had on the ocean and marine life. He led a team of international researchers last June to survey the ocean where the contaminated water was dumped by TEPCO.

He seems more concerned now than when the initial report of the June survey was released (see my previous post).

From CNN (3/11/2012):

What Fukushima accident did to the ocean
By Ken Buesseler, Special to CNN

(CNN) -- One year ago, a series of events began with an earthquake off the cost of Japan that culminated in the largest accidental release of radioactivity into the ocean in history.

We have to be careful and say "accidental" because in the late 1950s and early 1960s, 50 to 100 times more radioactivity was released worldwide as fallout from the intentional testing of nuclear weapons. The word "ocean" is also important, since Chernobyl in 1986 was hundreds of miles inland, so it had a smaller impact on the concentrations of radionuclides in the sea than was measured directly off Japan in 2011.

One year later, we have to ask, what do we know about Fukushima's impact on the ocean and levels of radioactive contaminants in water and fish?

In many ways we were fortunate that impacts were largely confined to the ocean. Certainly, the Japanese people continue to feel devastating effects of so large a release within their country, and many people may never be able to return to their homes. But in general the winds during the height of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were blowing offshore. As a result, more than three-quarters of the radioactivity fell on the ocean. This is important, as any that lands on soil remains in place, resulting in the potential for greater human exposure and increased chances of contamination to food supplies and property.

In the Pacific, however, the strong Kuroshio Current (similar to the Atlantic Gulf Stream) helped move any contamination quickly away from shore and diluted it by mixing it into deeper water.

This allowed us to report that by June 2011, even when we sampled within sight of the nuclear power plants, levels of cesium-137 and cesium-134 in the ocean, two primary products of nuclear fission, were elevated, but still below those considered of concern for exposure to humans. They were also well below biological thresholds of concern to the small fish and plankton we sampled, even if these were consumed by humans.

Several other groups have now confirmed our findings about levels of radioactivity up to 400 miles offshore.

Other measurements show trends that are more worrisome. Levels of radioactivity found in fish are not decreasing and there appear to be hot spots on the seafloor that are not well mapped. There is also little agreement on exactly how much radioactivity was released or even whether the fires and explosions at the power plant resulted in more radioactive fallout to the ocean than did direct releases of radioactivity caused by dumping water on the reactors to keep them cool.

Japan is taking what some think of as a precautionary measure by lowering the limits of radioactive contaminants in drinking water and food supplies, including seafood, on April 1.The new level for fish will be one-tenth of the acceptable level in the United States. Will Japan's new limits build consumer confidence or raise fears and questions about why more fish are considered unsafe for consumption? And why were fish caught last year considered safe, but now are not?

Despite the announcement in December that operators of the power plant had achieved cold shut down, we know they are still using tons of water to cool the reactors and that not all the water has been collected or treated. As a result, the ground around the site is like a dirty sponge, saturated with contaminated water that is leaking into the ocean.

Marine sediments are also collecting radioactive contaminants, exposing bottom-dwelling fish, shellfish and other organisms on the sea floor to higher levels of contaminants than those in the waters above. Little is known, however, about the level of contamination in the groundwater and on the seafloor and whether these will be a source of contaminants long after levels in the ocean have become diluted to the point that only the most sensitive instruments can detect them.

We do know that we can detect cesium at very dilute levels, well below those considered harmful. Using these sensitive techniques we can track the Fukushima contaminants as ocean currents carry the peak releases across the Pacific where they are expected to reach the U.S. West Coast in 2013-2014 at levels that are much lower than we measured off Japan in 2011 and thus not of concern to human health.

Two weeks ago, we held the largest international gathering of marine scientists studying radioactive substances in the ocean originating from Fukushima. Although we shared freely what each of us has learned in the last year, what we need today is also what we needed on March 11, 2011 — greater international coordination of long-term studies of the fate and consequences of the radiation. We've done the initial assessments. Now we need to begin answering the tougher questions, building public confidence in scientific studies by having multiple, independent groups at work, and ensuring we have the resources to build comprehensive, long-term studies.

As a scientist and a marine radiochemist, I am trained to provide answers about radioactivity in the ocean—how much is out there, where it is, and what its fate is likely to be in the future. Today, we haven't gone very far beyond the first question, which was key on March 11, 2011, but hardly seems sufficient one year later.

We're no wiser one year after the accident, whether it is about:

• the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident itself;
• how much radioactive materials have been released so far;
  
• degree of contamination on land or in the ocean;
  
• effect of radiation on heath of humans (the national government is not taking health statistics in Fukushima Prefecture), animals, and plants
  

The Japanese government and government researchers cannot deal with any of these effectively. The Kan administration turned down the offer for help from the US and other nations for the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident, citing some "national security" concerns. Mr. Edano, current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and then-Chief Cabinet Secretary under PM Kan, still says he, as Chief Cabinet Secretary, did not turn down the offer but told the US and others "We will consider your offer". That is, as fans of Sir Humphrey Appleby know, a bureaucrat/politician speech for "get lost". Will this change? Not very likely.

As Mr. Buesseler would know, there are different movements of seawater depending on the depth and proximity to the coast in addition to a major move by a major current like "Kuroshio". Significant amount of radioactive materials moved south along the coast, creating ever-shifting hot spots along the way, contrary to what the government researchers had assured the public (that they would be carried away by Kuroshio and disperse rapidly and evenly in the Pacific Ocean).

Mr. Buesseler may also be interested to know that squid, crab, and abalone have been found to highly concentrate radioactive silver from the ocean environment with ND level of radioactive silver (see my post on abalone). The ND levels of radioactive materials can still become harmful, because of bioconcentration.

The Chinese survey ship was finding radioactive strontium in the firefly squid 800 kilometers off the coast of Fukushima, back in August 2011. They also found radioactive silver. (See my post from August 2011.)

(H/T reader JP for CNN article)

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Woods Hole's Study of Radioactivity in Pacific Ocean in June 2011: "Not Likely to Be Direct Threat" to Marine Life

(UPDATE: The researcher seems to have had a change of heart somewhat since December. See my latest post.)

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute did the only marine survey by international researchers approved by the Japanese government in June 2011. The summary of the survey result, I just found out, was posted on their website on December 6, 2011.

Their conclusion:

Their study finds the levels of radioactivity, while quite elevated, are not a direct exposure threat to humans or marine life, but cautions that the impact of accumulated radionuclides in marine sediments is poorly known.

From Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute press release (12/6/2011; emphasis is mine):

Researchers Assess Radioactivity Released to the Ocean from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Facility

With news this week of additional radioactive leaks from Fukushima nuclear power plants, the impact on the ocean of releases of radioactivity from the plants remains unclear. But a new study by U.S. and Japanese researchers analyzes the levels of radioactivity discharged from the facility in the first four months after the accident and draws some basic conclusions about the history of contaminant releases to the ocean.

The study, conducted by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution chemist Ken Buesseler and two Japanese colleagues, Michio Aoyama of the Meteorological Research Institute and Masao Fukasawa of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, reports that discharges from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plants peaked one month after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that precipitated the nuclear accident, and continue through at least July. Their study finds the levels of radioactivity, while quite elevated, are not a direct exposure threat to humans or marine life, but cautions that the impact of accumulated radionuclides in marine sediments is poorly known.

The release of radioactivity from Fukushima—both as atmospheric fallout and direct discharges to the ocean—represent the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history. Concentrations of cesium-137, an isotope with a 30-year half life, at the plants's discharge point to the ocean, peaked at over 50 million times normal/previous levels, and concentrations 18 miles off shore were much higher than those measured in the ocean after the Chernobyl accident 25 years ago. This is largely due to the fact that the Fukushima nuclear power plants are located along the coast, whereas Chernobyl was several hundred miles from the nearest salt water basins, the Baltic and Black Seas. However, due to ocean mixing processes, the levels are rapidly diluted off the Northwest coast of Japan.

The study used publically available data on the concentrations of cesium-137, cesium-134, and iodine-131 as a basis to compare the levels of radionuclides released into the ocean with known levels in the sea surrounding Japan prior to the accident. Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants on Marine Radioactivity is published in the latest issue of Environmental Science & Technology and is available on the journal's website. Buesseler received funding support for this work from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the National Science Foundation’s Chemical Oceanography program.

The investigators compiled and analyzed data on concentrations of cesium and iodine in ocean water near the plants’s discharge point made public by TEPCO, the electric utility that owns the plants, and the Japanese Ministry of Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The team found that releases to the ocean peaked in April, a fact they attribute to “the complicated pattern of discharge of seawater and fresh water used to cool the reactors and spent fuel rods, interactions with groundwater, and intentional and unintentional releases of mixed radioactive material from the reactor facility.” They also found that the releases decreased in May by a factor of 1000, “a consequence of ocean mixing and a primary radionuclide source that has dramatically abated,” they report.

While concentrations of some radionuclides continued to decrease, by July they were still 10,000 times higher than levels measured in 2010 off the coast of Japan. This indicates the plants “remain a significant source of contamination to the coastal waters off Japan,” they report. “There is currently no data that allow us to distinguish between several possible sources of continued releases, but these most likely include some combination of direct releases from the reactors or storage tanks, or indirect releases from groundwater beneath the reactors or coastal sediments, both of which are likely contaminated from the period of maximum releases.”

Buesseler says that at levels indicated by these data the releases are not likely to be a direct threat to humans or marine biota in the surrounding ocean waters, but says there could be concern if the source remains high and radiation accumulates in marine sediments. “We don’t know how this might impact benthic marine life, and with a half-life of 30 years, any cesium-137 accumulating in sediments or groundwater could be a concern for decades to come,” he said.

In June, Buesseler led the first international, multidisciplinary assessment of the levels and dispersion of radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plants—a major research effort also funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. During the research expedition, a group of 17 researchers and technicians spent two weeks aboard the University of Hawaii research vessel R/V Kaimikai-O-Kanaloa examining many of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean that determine the fate of radioactivity in the water and potential impact on marine biota. The results of their initial assessments will be presented in Salt Lake City in February 2012 at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, an international gathering of more than 4,000 researchers sponsored by The Oceanography Society, the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and the American Geophysical Union.

While international collaborations for comprehensive field measurements to determine the full range of isotopes released are underway, it will take some time before results are available to fully evaluate the impacts of this accident on the ocean.

"However, due to ocean mixing processes, the levels are rapidly diluted off the Northwest coast of Japan." - Uh... northwest? Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant is in the northeast part of Japan.

That aside, I am puzzled by their conclusion that the releases of radioactive materials into the seawater, which is on-going, are not likely to be a direct threat to marine life, when fish and abalones from the coastal water of northeast Japan have been found with high concentration of radioactive cesium and radioactive silver. Researchers have found plankton far off the coast of Fukushima with concentrated radioactive cesium.

Is it possible that all the Woods Hole researchers took as samples was ocean water, and not marine life (plankton, seaweeds, fish, shellfish, etc.)?

Or are they saying few hundred becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium won't affect the fish?

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Goshi Hosono Is Now On Twitter

The minister in charge of the Fukushima nuclear accident and the Minister of the Environment Goshi Hosono has just started tweeting.

You can follow him if you want, at @hosonogoshi54.

So far, only two tweets, following no one, and 1,097 people following.

Let him know what you think of his:

• "decontamination" scam that benefit largest construction companies in Japan;

• wide-area disposal of disaster debris that has been contaminated with radioactive materials, toxic chemicals;

• his handling of the Fuku-I accident, etc.

Just be aware that Twitter Japan is run by a person with ties to the Japanese government. (But at this point, who doesn't have ties to the government, among TPTB?)

When the nuclear accident started last March, he was an assistant to then-Prime Minister Kan. He was the one who said "We knew it was a meltdown but just didn't feel like telling anyone", as soon as a few days after March 11, 2011.

Most recently in Kitakyushu City in Kyushu where he descended to drum up support for wide-area disposal of disaster debris, he didn't even know how many tonnes of disaster debris were there in Ishinomaki City, when asked by a reporter. He froze, and then looking for someone who could assist him. Before that, he was apparently making up a story of Kitakyushu City building a temporary incineration plant. The city officials later said, "That's news to us."

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