OT: Gold on the Move, Again (Thanks Ben, and Gold Is Money)

(These days, OT - other topic - means anything other than Fukushima... But this blog WAS once a financial blog..)

Gold jumped to a record high near $1,590 as the Federal Reserve chairman Ben "Black Hawk Helicopter" Bernanke indicated a further stimulus (digital printing of the Federal Reserve notes, fiat money) to create more inflation. (Remember, to him and the like-minded Fed economists who despise anyone without a PhD in (Keynesian) economics, inflation is growth, and a rising stock market is the economy.)

From Reuters (7/13/2011):

(Reuters) - Gold surged to a record near $1,590 an ounce on Wednesday as the possibility of more Federal Reserve stimulus coupled with Europe's deepening debt crisis fueled bullion's longest winning streak in five years.

Bullion's gains accelerated after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed is ready to ease monetary policy further if economic growth and inflation slow much more. Silver rallied nearly 6 percent, moving in tandem with commodities, U.S. stock markets and risk assets.

....Gold option volatility rose sharply on Wednesday, as bullion investors bet that underlying future contract prices could extend a record rally on signs of more Federal Reserve stimulus coupled with Europe's worsening debt crisis.

COMEX gold options floor trader Jonathan Jossen said one investor sold a huge position in $1,600 December call options and then bought twice as much in $1,750 December calls. Heavy call purchases suggest buyers expect underlying gold futures to rise further.

That option strategy is called "call backspread". Someone's expecting a very big and volatile move and wants to profit very handsomely.

In the meantime, the Fed chairman was put in a very uncomfortable position trying to deny gold is money but say totally fiat Treasury bills are financial assets.

From Forbes blog (Agustino Fontevecchia, 7/13/2011):

Chairman Ben Bernanke faced-off with Fed-hating Representative Ron Paul during his monetary policy report to Congress on Wednesday. The head of the Fed was forced to respond to accusations of enriching already rich corporations while failing to help Main Street, while he was pushed on his views on gold. When asked whether gold is money, Bernanke flatly responded “No.”

...As Bernanke began to sermon Rep. Paul on the history of the Fed (“we are here to provide liquidity [in abnormal situations],” the Chairman said), he was interrupted.

“When you wake up in the morning, do you think about the price of gold,” Rep. Paul asked. After pausing for a second, Bernanke responded, clearly uncomfortable. that he paid much attention to the price of gold, only to be interrupted once again.

“Gold’s at about $1,580 [an ounce] this morning, what do you think of the price of gold?” asked Rep. Paul. A stern-faced Bernanke responded people bought it for protection and was once again cut-off, with Ron Paul once again on the offensive.

“Is gold money?” he asked. Clearly bothered, Bernanke told the representative, “No. It’s a precious metal.”

After Paul interrupted him to note the long history of gold being used as money, Bernanke continued,”It’s an asset. Would you say Treasury bills are money? I don’t think they’re money either but they’re a financial asset.”

...The interesting exchange served as one of the few times Bernanke has been publicly pushed off his comfort zone by an elected official. Rep. Ron Paul brought up the issues that he’s famous for, namely, a sort of allegiance between the Fed and the nation’s most powerful institutions, the illusion of fiat money, and the gold standard. Bernanke, angered and bothered, had no option but to respond.

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#Radiation in Japan: Fukushima Prefecture Stops Subsidizing Residents for Taking Summer Vacations Outside Fukushima

From a blog by a father in Fukushima who wanted to send his children and his wife for the summer to Shizuoka Prefecture:

Apparently Fukushima had a program that helped the Fukushima residents to escape Fukushima during the school summer vacation (July, August) by subsidizing the cost of the hotels and bed and breakfast places (called "pension" in Japan, just like in continental Europe) in participating prefectures.

This father had booked a pension in Shizuoka Prefecture, and was looking forward to sending his kids to a lower radiation location (well, relatively speaking, at this point). Then, he suddenly got a call from the pension, on July 12, and was told they had to cancel his reservation because they received a notice from Fukushima Prefecture not to accept temporary summer evacuees from Fukushima.

WTF? (He said in a more polite Japanese, but that's the idea.)

Why on earth Fukushima would want to do this? To irradiate children more? he wonders, and remembers Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, who was on the radio all the time in Fukushima preaching safety ever since the nuke accident started on March 11 which totally brainwashed the residents in Fukushima.

So he tried a hotel in another part of Shizuoka to see if he could make a reservation. The answer was no. But he found out from the hotel people that the pension that had canceled his reservation and others like that in that particular city had been booking the temporary evacuees from Fukushima without approval from the local government.

[WTF? Why do these private businesses need the government approval to receive customers?]

So he decided to find out what was going on. And he's found out:

The temporary summer evacuation will have to be approved, from now on, by both Fukushima Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, and it will be approved only for people who are considering permanent evacuation due to high radiation levels.

Fukushima Prefecture is not banning the evacuation that the residents do on their own (i.e. without any government subsidy), but it wouldn't recommend such a move.

Fukushima Prefecture has stopped the subsidy program for the temporary summer evacuation. The hotels and pensions that had been accepting the temporary summer evacuees from Fukushima will not receive subsidy any more that allowed for a lower room rate for the Fukushima evacuees, therefore they are canceling the reservations made under the program.

In addition, Fukushima Prefecture has asked other prefectures to shut down the evacuation shelters for Fukushima residents by the end of this month, citing the reason as "temporary housing within Fukushima Prefecture available".

He's still looking for a place to send his kids and his wife for the lower-radiation summer somewhere. But since the subsidy has been cut off, not many places are willing to take reservations.

Is there anyone in Japan, or anywhere in the world for that matter, willing to take his family for the summer? And many others like them?

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#Radiation in Japan: As It Is Being Spread Almost Willfully, The Country Is Getting Unhinged

I have a distinct feeling that Japan is getting totally unhinged.

Consider these news summaries. Consider them together. Do they make sense to you? Yes they do, don't they? The combined message is this: Let's all rejoice in the radiation, it's good for you and your children. If we all have it everywhere, millions of becquerels of it, that's only fair and equitable.

• 4,320 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium found from the beef from Minami Soma City, Fukushima: the cattle farm that shipped cows found with radioactive cesium far exceeding the already loose provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kg is located in the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" - not even "the planned evacuation zone" or plain "evacuation zone", both of which do exist in Minami Soma City. (Various posts at this blog)
  

• The PM assistant and the current Minister in charge of the nuclear accident at Fukushima I Nuke Plant Goshi Hosono is going to announce the abolition of the "emergency evacuation-ready zone", because "the 1st step in TEPCO's "roadmap" has been mostly successfully implemented".

• Fukushima Prefecture has announced it will shut down the official shelters within Fukushima, which will force the evacuees to go back to their own homes.

• Minami-Soma City has issued a notice to all 32,000 city residents who have been living in the shelters, temporary housing outside Fukushima Prefecture that they must return to Minami-Soma, high radiation or not. (Mainichi Yamagata version, 7/12/2011)
  

• The national government will spend 100 billion yen (US$1.26 billion) to observe the health of 2 million Fukushima residents for 30 years, instead of evacuating them ASAP. About 1600 yen (US$20) per year per resident. Life is cheap. Since the national government is utterly broke, it will be ultimately paid for by the taxpayers of Japan.
  Remember, Dr. Shunichi Yamashita will be the vice president of the Fukushima Medical University who will do the observation and research.
  

• Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture found 47,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the ashes from the city's garbage incinerator, but the city simply mixed with other ashes with low radiation to bring the final number to 5,660 becquerels/kg. Since the final mixed ashes measured LOWER than the provisional limit for burying the ashes (8,000 becquerels/kg), the city already buried the ashes and will continue to do so. (Mainichi Chiba version, 7/13/2011)
  

• On the other hand, Nagareyama City in Chiba Prefecture simply sent 30 tonnes of its radioactive ashes (27,000 becquerels/kg) from its incinerator by cargo train to Odate City in Akita Prefecture in Tohoku. Nagareyama City has a contract with a private waste disposal company in Odate City in Akita. This waste disposal company is not a nuclear waste disposal company; as far as I could tell from the description of the company, it is just a regular waste disposal company. (Sponichi, 7/12/2011)
  

By the way, Matsudo City in Chiba is simply doing what the Ministry of the Environment has decided - mix and match. If the garbage or debris is likely to exceed the 8,000 becquerels/kg limit, burn with other stuff and lower the number. If it's already in ashes, mix them up with lower radiation ashes. When the Ministry of the Environment decided this policy, the Minister was Ryu Matsumoto, who's now in hospital after resigning from his post as the Minister of Recovery and Reconstruction.

Fast and furious. Shock and awe. I think most people in Japan still cannot fathom how their elected officials and government workers with high education from distinguished schools (Tokyo University, Kyoto University, Oxford University...) could do such things to them. Better wake up really, very quickly.

People say that the Japanese are law-abiding citizens. The Japanese say that to themselves. The truth, as has been slowly revealed over the past 4 months, is that they are followers of the arbitrary and capricious orders, as long as the orders are given to them from the government sources. Never mind if those orders are very much counter to the law itself or the natural law or the common sense.

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#Radioactive Beef from Fukushima: Osaka Finds 4,350 Becquerels/Kg Cesium in Beef from Minami Soma

Putting Yomiuri and Asahi together, this is the latest picture of the radioactive beef from the cattle farm in Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture. Yomiuri doesn't say the exact number for radioactive cesium, and Asahi doesn't say where it was detected. Business as usual at the MSM:

• The beef from the meat cows sold by this particular cattle farm has been sold in at least 12 prefectures, with 428 kilograms (944 pounds) of it consumed at least in 8 prefectures.

• The Osaka prefectural government announced it had found 4,320 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the meat from one of the two cows that was sold by a meat dealer in Osaka. The meat from the other cows also tested 3,710 becquerels/kg.

• None of the municipalities are going to disclose which meat shops or supermarkets or restaurants have sold the meat. "The provisional safety limit assumes the continuous consumption for a year. If you eat it only once, there is no need to worry at all," says the Tokyo Metropolitan government.

Well, if only people knew they ate only once.

So now, nearly 9 times the provisional safety limit, which already assumes 5 millisieverts/year radiation, is considered totally OK by the government officials. They are sanctioning, therefore, 45 millisieverts/year radiation for the Japanese residents and declaring it's no big deal.

Japan has always been fond of calling an event or news or phenomenon as "Ichi-oku" - something. "Ichi-oku" is 100 million in Japanese unit, the number of the total Japanese population. Now they have "Ichi-oku so genpatsu rodosha　一億総原発労働者" - the entire population of Japan becoming nuke plant workers.

If you read Japanese, here's what Mainichi has come up with as to where this beef has gone and how much. Again, no name of the stores or restaurants. I'll look around on Twitter if anyone leaked.

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#Water Treatment System Stopped at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Due to Yet Another Leak at AREVA's System

No, this is a different, brand-new leak that happened on July 13 their time. But the rest of the description of the problem is so identical that I simply did the cut and paste from my previous post and changed the date, as follows (just as TEPCO's handout for the press for July 13 describes the problem; in Japanese only, for now):

Another pipe with similar coupling as the one that leaked on Saturday and Tuesday leaked, causing the contaminated water treatment system to stop.

The leak was found at at 1:34PM JST on July 13 near the coupler that joins the hose that injects chemical to AREVA's coagulation/coprecipitation unit. The cause of the leak is being investigated, and it is not known when the system will be re-started. The cooling of the reactors using the treated water continues regardless.

Since it is so much like the other leaks, no major newspaper carries the news online. Not even NHK. They may all think it's about the place that leaked before.

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Update on #Radioactive Beef in Kanagawa: Beef Sold in June in Fujisawa City Tested 3,240 Becquerels/Kg Cesium

On June 3, a meat shop in Fujisawa City in Kanagawa Prefecture bought 304.5 kilograms of beef from a cow raised in the same cattle farm in Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture whose meat tested 3,200 becquerels/kg cesium on July 9. The meat shop sold some to their retail customers, but most of it was sold to shops in other cities including Kawasaki City and Sagamihara City. The meat also went to Minami-ku in Yokoyama City, and some unnamed locations in Tokyo.

The beef contained 3,240 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium.

So, the entire meat from this one cow, 304.5 kilograms of it, could have contained 986,580 becquerels of radioactive cesium. (I hope the meat shop owner and employees didn't get the secondary radiation from the meat, if that's ever possible. Would anyone care to figure out what kind of surface radiation would this have measured?)

As I reported in the previous post, Yokohama City fed the school children with beef from Fukushima until July 11.

From Asahi Shinbun Kanagawa version (7/13/2011):

藤沢市保健所の調査では、市内の肉店が６月３日、問題の牛肉を１頭分（３０４・５キロ）購入。一部を店頭で小売りし、大半を川崎市や相模原市などの肉店に卸した。残っていた肉から１キロあたり３２４０ベクレル（基準値は５００ベクレル）のセシウムが検出された。

According to the Fujisawa City Health Center, a meat shop in the city bought the beef (304.5 kilograms) from a cow [from the same cattle farm in Minami Sanriku City, Fukushima Prefecture]. Part of it was sold at the shop to the retail customers, and the bulk of it was sold to meat shops in Kawasaki City, Sagamihara City, and other places. From the remaining meat, 3,240 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected. The provisional limit is 500 becquerels/kg.

　相模原市保健所は１２日までに、同市南区のスーパーやレストランなど３店への流通を確認。計７７キロ分すべてが販売済みだった。市は今後も確認を続けるが、「健康被害を生じる水準ではない」（生活衛生課）と静観の構えだ。

By July 12, the Sagamihara City Health Center confirmed that the beef had been sold to 3 locations in one of its wards, Minami-ku. They are supermarkets and restaurants. 77 kilograms of beef had already been sold. The city will continue to investigate, but they are not very concerned, as "it is not the level to cause any damage to health".

　横浜市も南区の食肉店への流通を確認。約６４キロのうち約１１キロ分が残っており保存を指示した。

Yokohama City has also confirmed that it was sold to a meat shop in Minami-ku. Of 64 kilograms of the meat that the shop bought, 11 kilograms of the beef still remains at the shop, and the city has instructed the shop to keep the meat.

　川崎市も市内の卸売業者への３８・８キロの搬入を確認した。都内にも販売されており、市は買い取った業者名を都に報告した。

Kawasaki City has confirmed 38.8 kilograms of the meat to a wholesaler in the city. The wholesaler sold the meat to shops in Tokyo, and the city informed the Tokyo Metropolitan government of the name of the wholesaler.

3,240 becquerels/kg cesium won't affect the health, declares the public health officials. I sure hope citizens of Sagamihara City will hold them accountable.

Only Fujisawa City has the press release of the radiation survey of the meat easily accessible from the homepage. The press release does not identify the shop:

• Amount that the meat shop in Fujisawa bought: 304.5 kilograms
• Amount the meat shop sold to retail customers: 73 kilograms
• Amount sold to shops outside the city: 123.9 kilograms (of which, 64.3 kg have been already sold to retail customers)
• Amount remaining at the shop: 107.6 kilograms

Fujisawa City's press release and Asahi Shinbun article give you headache, because the numbers don't match at all. If you believe Fujisawa City, 73 kilograms were sold to customers in Fujisawa, and 64.3 kilograms were sold to customers outside Fujisawa.

If you believe Asahi Shinbun, the meat shop in Minami-ku, Yokohama sold 53 kilograms and 3 outlets in Sagamihara sold 77 kilograms to retail customers in their respective cities.

None of the shops who sold the contaminated beef is named. The reason? Because "Even if you eat this meat, I don't think there is no immediate danger to one's life" (official in Yokohama City, as reported by Tokyo Shinbun), so there's no need to name the shop.

Already, many Japanese have finally stopped believing official words. If they see this kind of absolutely idiotic response, they will either stop buying any domestic beef entirely (or pork or chicken, for that matter, as many have evacuated from Fukushima), or demand that the meat shops, supermarkets that they buy from clearly tell them where the meat came from.

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Beef from Fukushima to Be Tested (Somehow) in Fukushima from Now On, But It's Too Late For School Kids in Yokohama

Children from nursery schools and kindergartens up to junior high schools in Yokohama City had already been fed the beef from Fukushima since late April. Then the news of radioactive beef from Minami-Soma City broke a few days ago.

The news, which had been dismissed by many as "baseless rumor" and some sort of "urban legend" in Yokohama and elsewhere, has finally been reported on Mainichi Shinbun Japanese more or less (less) on July 12.

An anonymous reader of my Japanese blog, who turned out be a councilman (no party affiliation) of the Yokohama City Council, commented on my blog entry on July 9 that discussed the contaminated beef and radiation exposure of children.

[Correction: The anonymous reader was not the councilman himself but a concerned citizen in Yokohama City. 1:29AM 7/13/2011]

He said in the comment:

Regarding your post, I'd like to alert you to the fact that a large quantity of beef from Fukushima Prefecture has been used in school lunches in Yokohama City, without citizens and parents informed. We are living everyday trying to protect our lives, and with bitterness and regret at our powerlessness. Please spread the news.

He sent me the link to the simple message board the councilman, Mr. Masataka Ota, keeps for his constituents. So I went, and the following is my rough summary of posts and happenings since May, as posted by the councilman and concerned residents of Yokohama. It may change the impression you may have about Yokohama City; it has changed mine:

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

In mid May, Yokohama announced it would measure radiation in food items that go to school lunches, but the only food items tested would be those grown in Yokohama [i.e. none or close to none]. For vegetables and meat from Fukushima Prefecture, the city considered "safe" because they were tested in Fukushima Prefecture.

In late May, the councilman and many of the people who commented on the board were afraid that the city was using radioactive food stuff for school lunches. But there were many posts from people who said "Oh come on, it's just a rumor, and without a solid data from the government officials we shouldn't speculate. You're all over-reacting." There was even a post from a teacher (as revealed by the IP address, apparently using a school computer) who trashed people who were worried about the food safety for children, with a vulgar, yakuza-like language.

There were messages from parents who had their children carry their own lunches and water bottles to schools and kindergartens, and the schools denied their children to consume those homemade lunches and water.

The mayor of Yokohama and the Board of Education president answered the councilman in a meeting that they considered the food items used for school lunches "are safe, because they are sold in the market", and that they had instructed the school principals to answer the parents that way when they asked about the safety of school lunches.

Then, in early June, the City of Yokohama relented to mounting complaints from the parents and people like this councilman, announced that it would conduct sample testing of the food items for school lunches. At the same time, though, it announced that it would use food items from the disaster-affected areas (i.e. Fukushima) to show support.

Some parents went to ask their school principals and teachers. "Why aren't you doing something to find out if the food is safe?" Their answer? "Well, everyone's eating it."

In the meantime, schools started to prepare for swimming classes in their swimming pools, and not to waste pool water that had been in the pools, they used it to water the school gardens and yards, to the horror of parents who were called "monster parents" for worrying "too much" about radiation.

Then a bombshell.

On June 5, an insider leak to the coucilman from a concerned food stuff dealer. The dealer provided the unique identification numbers for the cows whose meat was used in Yokohama's school lunches.

They were all from Fukushima.

Why would Yokohama City use Fukushima beef for children? Because it was cheap. Because consumers didn't want to buy Fukushima beef if they see it on the supermarket shelves, the price of Fukushima beef had plummeted by 40 to 50 percent. No one wanted it, price went down, a cost conscious city and schools and kindergartens and nursery schools bought it to feed small children, without telling them or their parents the meat was from Fukushima.

The city continued to do absolutely nothing. In mid June, the councilman got another piece of information: prior to the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant accident, there was NO USE of Fukushima beef in school lunches in Yokohama. After the accident, the price of Fukushima beef plummetted. Meat dealers got the cheap meat, sold it to the city, pocketed the very fat margin. Schools, both private and public it looks like, fed small children with the potentially contaminated beef, with the tacit approval of the mayor and the Board of Education.

Aside from the radioactive school lunches, the city also planned to send city's children to a summer school in Ibaraki Prefecture, where the air radiation was more than 10 times the "official" Yokohama number (measured on the top of a 5-story building). The personnel at the summer school privately told the councilman, "I wouldn't recommend it..."

The councilman and concerned parents continued to push for radiation survey of food items for school lunches, but the only items tested by the city were those grown anywhere but Fukushima.

Then, in late June, the councilman reported the result of the meeting at the Board of Education. All the beef from Fukushima that went to school lunches in Yokohama from April 23 to June 7 came from the planned evacuation zone in Fukushima. There were 916 cows from the zone. None of them exceeded 5,000 cpm in surface radiation, but none was tested zero. All were contaminated. The information was obtained by tracing the unique identification numbers for the cows.

On July 9 in Japan, the news broke that the meat from a meat cow from Minami Soma City was found with radioactive cesium of 2300 becquerels/kg, almost 5 times the provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kilogram).

The councilman's post on July 9:

All Fukushima-grown beef that was served in school lunches in Yokohama City was contaminated. The contamination that was checked at the time of shipment from Fukushima Prefecture was only the surface radiation of a live cow, and there was no information as to the contamination after the cow was processed into meat. School children have already ingested this meat.

There was a leak from some school nutritionists of this fact. But the city, the city's Board of Education and the school principals "lied" by saying "food items for school lunches are safe, because they are sold in the market." As the result, elementary school children in Yokohama City have been internally irradiated.

Finally on July 11, Yokohama City decided to stop using beef in school lunches.

Caveat? They will stop for the month of July, and they will use pork instead, as if pork is safe. The last lunch will be on July 15, then it's summer break.

The city's Labor Union (which includes city workers who prepare school lunches) has issued a statement protesting ... (don't hold your breath) ... the city's decision to stop using beef, as it "will spread the baseless rumor".

One or two detractors on the councilman's board who have been the apologists for the government seem to have disappeared after the news of 78,000 becquerels/kilogram cesium in the hay fed to the cows.

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

My superficial image of Yokohama as upscale, cosmopolitan city on the Tokyo Bay waterfront was just that: superficial.

The councilman's own website is here (Japanese only).

The Mayor of Yokohama is a 65-year-old woman who was the CEO of Daiei, with many top positions mostly in auto industry before and after, with only her high school diploma. Quite an achievement. Too bad she has been totally tone-deaf on things that doesn't make money, like testing for radiation for the sake of children.

Parents of Yokohama City, please do consider home schooling. Don't even bother sending your children to schools that clearly care more about their bottom lines than children.

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#Contaminated Water System: Leak Was from the Same Joint

It turns out the July 12 leak in AREVA's coagulation/coprecipitation unit was from the same location where the July 10 leak had happened.

If you recall, the July 10 leak was from the cracked PVC coupler that connected the PVC hose and a small metal tube welded to the bigger metal pipe. TEPCO replaced the PVC coupler with a metal coupler.

Well, that metal coupler, made of cast iron, was corroded away by ferric sulfates in the chemical fed through the hose in less than 2 days, and started to leak again. So, the July 12 version of the leak fix was to replace this corroded cast iron coupler with the stainless steel one and hope for the best.

TEPCO's Matsumoto said in the press conference on July 12 that they didn't think the cast iron coupler would corrode because it had metal plating. About 10 liters of the contaminated water and the chemical had leaked before the system was stopped.

Here's before and after photos from TEPCO on July 12:

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#Water Treatment System Stopped at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Due to Another Leak at AREVA's System

It's so deja vu that I didn't even realize the news is for today. Another pipe with similar coupling as the one that leaked on Saturday leaked on Tuesday morning, July 12 in Japan, causing the contaminated water treatment system to stop.

So, when TEPCO did the repair on that joint on Sunday their time, and said there were at least 6 others like that, the company didn't bother to change the other 6 at the same time.

So I guess there may be at least 5 more leaks to go.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (12:17PM 7/12/2011):

東京電力は１２日、福島第一原子力発電所の汚染水処理システムが午前８時５１分に緊急停止したと発表した。

TEPCO announced on July 12 that the contaminated water treatment system stopped at 8:51AM at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

　システムのうち、仏アレバ社の沈殿・除去装置で薬液を注入する配管の接続部付近から水漏れが見つかったためで、原因を調査中。システム再開の見通しは立っていない。原子炉への注水は継続している。

A leak was found near the coupler that joins the hose that injects chemical to AREVA's coagulation/coprecipitation unit. The cause of the leak is being investigated, and it is not known when the system will be re-started. The cooling of the reactors using the treated water continues regardless.

　東電によると、同４０分ごろ、作業員が水漏れに気づき、手動停止した。１０日に薬液混じりの汚染水約５０リットルが漏れ出すトラブルがあった場所の近くで、この時はポリ塩化ビニール製の継ぎ目を金属製のものと交換、１３時間後に復旧させた。今回の水漏れとの関係は不明。

According to TEPCO, a worker noticed the leak at about 8:40AM, and manually stopped the system. The leak was near the spot where 50 liters of contaminated water with chemical had leaked on July 10. The PVC coupler had been replaced with a metal one, and the system was re-started after 13 hours. It is not known if today's leak has anything to do with the previous leak nearby.

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Wife of a Worker Who Died of Heart Attack at Fukushima I Nuke Plant Wants His Death Recognized as Industrial Accident

Remember the worker at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant who collapsed on the second day on the job and died on May 14, without any treatment for nearly 3 hours because 1) there was no doctor at Fukushima I Nuke Plant; 2) no ambulance would come to the plant so TEPCO drove him to J-Village which is 20 kilometers away; 3) there was nothing they could do at J-Village so finally they put him on an ambulance to a hospital in Iwaki City, 48 kilometers from the plant and 28 kilometers from J-Village?

And his death was due to a heart attack, we were later told.

The following is my liberal redaction mixed with my observation of the Mainichi Shinbun Japanese article (7/12/2011). If you read Japanese, go read it. I just cannot do the literal translation, as it is too painful.

Well, the worker was Mr. Nobukatsu Osumi, 60 years old at the time of his death, of Omaezaki City in Shizuoka Prefecture. He had worked in various nuclear power plants as a plumber. He was hired by a subcontractor 4th-degree removed from the original contractor to work at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant as a temporary worker.

He was one of those nameless workers who support the operation of nuclear plants in Japan, moving from plant to plant and doing necessary maintenance and repair work. They used to be called "Genpatsu (nuke plant) Gypsy" in Japan. More recently, they were called "Fukushima 50".

On the first day of his work on May 13, his shift was from 6AM to 9AM. His job was to work on the pipe installation in the Central Waste Processing Facility (where the contaminated water treatment system was being set up). On the second day on May 14, he collapsed as he was carrying a special cutting tool with a colleague, and never regained consciousness.

As I said, there was no doctor on site, and there was no ambulance that would come. The hospitals in the area nearby had been evacuated or abandoned.

Since he died of an illness, not an injury, neither TEPCO nor Toshiba, the original contractor whose 4th-degree subcontractor hired Mr. Osumi, has paid any compensation to his widow, 53-year-old wife from Thailand.

And it is the wife, with the help of an attorney, who has filed for the worker's compensation claiming her husband's death was due to the excessively heavy workload in a very short time period and should be recognized as "industrial accident".

She says her husband did not have any particular health problem. When she saw her husband's body at the morgue at the Fukushima police station, both his ears were in deep purple color, and there were cuts on the face and the chin. But it was determined that the cause of death was illness, and there was no compensation. TEPCO says there's not much connection between the nature of the work and his death. Toshiba says there's not enough information to link the work condition with his death.

TEPCO says his radiation exposure was low, at 0.68 millisievert. 0.68 millisievert in less than 3 days is LOW? Since he had worked at other nuclear power plants over the years, his accumulated radiation exposure may have been significant.

The last conversation they had was on the night Mr. Osumi arrived at Fukushima I Nuke Plant. Mr. Osumi told his wife that he would work for 2 more years, then they would go to Thailand and become farmers, as his wife does not read or write Japanese well.

The wife feels tormented for having sent her husband off to a place she didn't know was dangerous. She still works as a part-time worker at a bento (lunch box) factory from 5AM to 7PM, sometimes to 10PM, and earns 130,000 yen (about US$1,600) per month. She says she doesn't even know how to go to places without her husband. She still lives in an apartment she shared with her husband, but now when she comes home there is no one who would cheerfully greet her.

Not a cent for a lowly worker who worked and died at Fukushima I, but the ex-president of TEPCO can get $6 million upon retirement, or so it is rumored.

Not a very proud moment to be a Japanese.

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TEPCO Has Been Feeding Employees with Fukushima Produce Since March 28

I have a mixed feeling about this. Much as I despise some of the top management at TEPCO, I wouldn't cheer for having the employees eat vegetables grown in Fukushima Prefecture, as part of the company's effort to support the prefecture's producers.

From TEPCO's handout for the press in English on July 11 "Support activities for Fukushima:

We actively purchase farm products from Fukushima Prefecture for our company's cafeterias and dormitories. (Purchased since March 28.)

The company has the dormitories for bachelors.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Robot "Quince" Is Back, Measuring Radiation in Reactor 2 Bldg

The Japanese robot "Quince", who got stuck on the stairs leading to the Reactor 2 basement and had to be rescued by carbon colleagues back in June, completed a successful mission of entering the reactor building in Reactor 2, and this time climbing up the stairs to the 2nd and the 3rd floors, and measuring air radiation. The feat was accomplished on July 8.

TEPCO's handouts for the press on July 11:

Air samples taken on the 2nd and 3rd floor still have slight amount of iodine-131, and a lot of radioactive cesium. The measurement unit is becquerels per cubic centimeter.

TEPCO says the radiation is too high for human workers (up to 50 millisieverts/hour), which is a bit odd considering the company didn't have any problem sending in human workers into Reactor 1 which had the radiation level as high as 1,000 millisieverts/hour (or 1 sievert/hour) on the 2nd floor of the reactor building, and the 1st floor was not much better.

But that was back in the beginning of May. TEPCO's sudden unwillingness to have the workers risk radiation indicates to me that the company may be running thin on skilled workers with low radiation exposure, both at TEPCO and affiliate companies, and wants to conserve on the radiation dose for them. In the press conference on July 10 (morning), I heard them say they are not letting workers continue to work once they exceed 150 millisieverts of cumulative radiation exposure, even if the regulation has been relaxed to 250 millisieverts after the accident.

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#Radioactive Beef from Fukushima Update: Already Been Sold in At Least 9 (not 5) Prefectures

Beef from 6 cows from the same cattle farmer in Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture have already been sold at least in 9 (not 5) prefectures, according to Mainichi Shinbun Japanese latest update (1:28AM, 7/12/2011).

Unlike the 11 cows whose meat all tested cesium exceeding the provisional limit of 500 becquerels/kg, the meat from these 6 cows had never been tested and allowed to circulate in the market.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is in charge of testing live cattle, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is in charge of testing meat. They do not talk with each other.

And as usual, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare assures us that "it won't affect health unless you eat it on a continuous basis." The Ministry conveniently forgets that the radiation is everywhere - air, soil, water, sludge, garbage, tea, vegetables, fish, meat. If people can just eat this contaminated beef and not breathe, not eat and drink anything else, it still may not be "safe".

From Mainichi Shinbun latest update:

• The beef has been confirmed sold in: Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka, Tokushima, Kochi.

• Not confirmed: Ehime

福島県南相馬市の畜産農家が出荷した黒毛和牛１１頭から暫定規制値（１キロ当たり５００ベクレル）を超える放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、同じ 農家が出荷した別の６頭の牛肉が５都府県の食肉販売・卸売業者に販売されていたことが東京都の調査で分かった。さらに少なくとも９都道府県に流通し、 １４８キロ以上が小売店などで売られたが、厚生労働省は「継続的に大量摂取しなければ健康に影響はない」としている。

It was discovered by the Tokyo Metropolitan government that the meat from 6 cows sold by the same cattle farmer earlier had been sold to wholesalers and retailers in 5 prefectures. Further, it had been in the market in additional 4 prefectures (total of 9 prefectures). Over 148 kilograms of meat have been sold. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says, "There is no effect on health unless it is consumed continuously in large quantities."

　静岡市保健所は１１日、市内の業者が２７．８キロの肉を仕入れ、残っていた肉から１キロ当たり１９９８ベクレルの放射性セシウムを検出したと発 表。一部は飲食店などで客に出されたという。東京都によると、都内の卸売業者が保管していた肉から、最大で暫定規制値の６．８倍に当たる３４００ベクレル が検出された。

The Shizuoka City Public Health Center announced on July 11 that 1,998 becquerels/kg cesium was found in the meat purchased by a wholesaler in the city, who purchased 27.8 kilogram of this beef. Part of the meat has already been served to customers in restaurants. The Tokyo Municipal government detected 3,400 becquerels/kg cesium from the meat that a wholesaler in Tokyo had kept. That is 6.8 times the provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kg.

　大阪府も１１日、２頭分の肉が府内を中心に流通していたと発表。うち数キロ分が贈答用として消費された可能性があるという。横浜市では小売店で ５２キロ分が販売された。愛媛県によると、１７．６キロ分が県内の業者を通じて高知、徳島両県のスーパーに送られ、販売されたという。愛媛県内での流通は 確認されていない。

The Osaka government also announced on July 11 that the meat from 2 cows from the cattle farmer had been sold, mostly within Osaka. Several kilograms of the meat had been given as gifts and probably been consumed already. In Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, 52 kilogram of this meat was sold in retail stores. According to the Ehime government, a wholesaler in Ehime sold 17.6 kilograms of the meat to supermarkets in Kochi and Tokushima Prefectures, who then sold the meat to consumers. It is not known whether any has been sold within Ehime Prefecture.

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Update on Fukushima Beef: It Was the Feed That Had 75,000 Becquerels/Kg Cesium

From NHK Japanese (7/11/2011):

福島県南相馬市から出荷された肉牛から国の暫定基準値を超える放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、福島県が飼育農家から採取した餌のわらから、国の目安を 大幅に超える１キログラム当たりおよそ７万５０００ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたことが分かりました。わらは原発事故のあと、屋外にあったものと みられ、県が引き続き調査しています。

Regarding the case of radioactive cesium in excess of the national provisional safety limit in the beef from the meat cow shipped from Minami Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, 75,000 becquerels/kilogram of radioactive cesium has been detected from the hay that the cattle farmer used to feed the cows. The farmer kept the hay outside after the Fukushima I Nuclear Plant accident. Fukushima Prefecture continues to investigate.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: They Will Start Charging Workers for Food at J-Village

(UPDATE: Someone on Twitter says they are going to charge for a shower, too.)

Starting July 13, the workers at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant will have to pay for food at the J-Village, a staging area for the work at the plant.

For the umpteenth time since the triple disasters of earthquake/tsunami/nuke struck, I am rather ashamed and disappointed to be Japanese. The first time was when the Japanese government had TEPCO dump the contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, and the government made a middle manager at TEPCO announce, who was in tears, while PM Kan hid and said nothing.

I was disappointed with the cowardice and pettiness of TPTB in Japan.

And now, more pettiness. I don't know whether it's the sole decision of TEPCO (highly possible, with the chairman still at the helm who is known for his relentless cost-cutting) or with NISA.

The information is from a tweet of a worker at the plant. He could be wrong, and it could be just a "baseless rumor" floating at the plant (I hope so).

But he says:

Looks like we'll have to pay for food at J-Village from July 13. It's been free. I hope water will still be free. My group has been paying for Bento [lunch box] to eat, but there are many workers who get their food for free there.

People reading his tweets are shocked that he's been paying for his own food.

He is worried that some workers may skip breakfast as the result before coming to the plant for the work. He also speculates on the cost aspect, as "manufacturers have been raising unit costs".

With a cost-conscious company like TEPCO, cutting cost by cutting the free food may not be so surprising. What's truly disappointing is the government that continues to look the other way, as if this nuclear disaster is nothing but an extensive repair job on a nuclear power plant owned by TEPCO.

Instead, they are busy concocting the laughable "stress test" for the nuclear plants in Japan so that they can restart the plants ASAP. Just a bunch of petty, coward, myopic people.

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Letters from Kesennuma (Part 3) - Photo Gallery

Photos speak words. These photos were taken by Akira, translation by Hiromi.. For their exchange, read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.

For more, visit the photo gallery at: http://gallery.me.com/hiromioikawa/100474

But as long as there are children like these...

And the hale 99-year-old man who welcomes challenge....

Calamities
Yet pile upon calamities
I welcome them all
Old though I may be
I will fight with all my strength

He's basically saying, "Bring it on!"

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Guest Post: Letters from Kesennuma (Part 2) - Life Has to Go On

[Continued from Part 1. Akira goes back to Kesennuma, and encounters a stereotypical bureaucracy in Japan even in the time of distress and misfortune at a local school, which the readers of this blog may be thoroughly familiar with.

This time, he took his family along, who were all stunned with the devastation that Kesennuma had sustained. One of the most hallowing scenes from the earthquake and tsunami was that of Kesennuma, with the city being engulfed with burning tsunami.]

====================================
Letters from Kesennuma (Part 2)

by "Hiromi"


From Akira to Hiromi, May 5, 2011

Hiromi and John, thanks for your efforts to help those who are in the areas impacted by this disaster.

I just returned from Kesennuma. The town is a long ways away from recovery, but seeing groups of volunteers from around the country who were there cleaning up the debris made me feel that progress was definitely being made. People were much calmer. A few stores with minor damages were opening up for business.

About the funds that you and your friends sent to me... I have disappointing news to tell you.

You probably heard from Kugako that six kids from my old junior high school who were orphaned. We were planning to give the donations to them. We stuffed six envelopes with the money and the print-outs of your letter and everyone else's cards and messages. Then, on the day of our appointment to hand out the funds, we learned that our offer didn't get the approval of the principal. The teacher we were corresponding with and the vice principal welcomed our offer with open arms. But when they took it to the principal, he said the school was obligated to protect the students' privacy and therefore could not reveal the orphans' identities. He requested that we contact the foster families individually and ask them if they needed the money, and deliver it personally.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time to do all that. So, I asked if I could leave the money with the school so that they could give it to the kids. The principal's response was that the only way the school could accept the money was if it was meant to aid the general student population, not just the orphans.

Forgive me, Hiromi, but I was so upset with the principal's rigid attitude. I told him that I was sorry, but that I had just learned about other children affected by the tsunami who might be able to use the money instead. I said we would help their orphans next time. I decided to give the entire amount to my cousin Akane.

I may have told you about Akane. She's a 35-years-old mother. She had her first daughter when she was 18, who is now a high school sophomore. She went through a divorce, then remarried and had two more daughters, thirteen and twelve respectively. Her second husband ran a fishing boat tour and rental operation in Minami Sanriku-machi, a town wiped out by the tsunami. Both their house and the store were completely destroyed, and the whole family now lives with Akane's parents for the moment.

So they have a roof over their head, but her father (my uncle) has become jobless as well, so he can't really support them either. For a while Akane and her family had to visit the ruins of their house to dig up soiled clothes. They would wash them in the river so that they had something to wear. They still go back to see if they can find anything salvageable.

They were feeling so uncertain about their future to continue living that way. So they decided to find a community who took in disaster victims and move there temporarily. It looks like they found a place in Hokkaido.

So, I ended up giving the donations to my cousin and her children. Please forgive me for taking things in this direction.

Kugako and I handed the money to Akane and her family along with your letters. We explained to them how people of different nationalities living in NY all chipped in to help. The amount was 100,000 Japanese yen. Because the exchange rate fluctuates, I threw in a little more. I also bought some clothes for the kids. I know I acted without your consent, but that is what became of your donations.

I have a thank you letter from Akane. Would you mind having it translated and relay her message to the kind people? It is originally a two-page handwritten letter.

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

To Those Who Kindly Supported Us:

I am Akane Onuma of Minami Sanriku-machi in Miyagi Prefecture.

I am the recipient of your warm-hearted support. My heart is filled with gratitude that I cannot describe. I am in total awe and admiration of your generosity to offer such a large amount so readily to someone you have not even met. I wonder what I would do if I were in your place. Would I be able to act as you did? I am not convinced that I would be proud of my own answer to this question. As I find myself to be the recipient of such unexpected kindness, however, I am inspired to one day be as big a person as you are. It gives me strength to one day get back on my feet and to be strong and compassionate.

The ocean rolled over the houses, the boats, the rice and vegetable fields, and even the rice crops that were harvested. I reflect upon the way we have only greedily taken from the sea and the mountains, and wonder if it is a punishment. They speculate that it will take five years before the faming fields and the beaches will be restored to what they used to be. Those of us who have made our livings from the sea have discussed taking responsibility to clean up the debris from the houses and boats that we have created. By doing so we hope to go back　toliving with the ocean and the mountains again.

I am planning to use your invaluable donations to purchase boat engines. Our town is left with only four boats. If we can get just one small boat to work, a few people can get on it and start cleaning up the ocean. My uncle-in-law as well as my own uncles who live nearby believe the boats will be a tremendous help. My in-laws whom we shared the house with are living somewhere else right now. I am going to do all I can to somehow get a place where we can all live together again while they are still around. I look forward to working in the mountains and the sea as before.

Money was not the only thing you gave us. You gave us the strength and spirit to keep going. We have made a resolution to pay it back when we have regained our strength by helping others in need.

With Much Gratitude,

On May 1st, 2011

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

I will send you photos I took in Kesennuma and Minami Sanriku-cho.

Akira

[Hiromi forwarded this email to the donators, with her own thank you
message as follows:]

***************************

Dear Friends

Hope all is well with you and your family. And I hope you are enjoying the Spring without allergies! (Oh My! it's horrible!)

From April 28th to May 5th, my dear friends Akira and Kugako and their sons (12 & 18 years old) went back to Akira's hometown, Kesennuma, to visit Akira's family. His uncle was confirmed dead and his funeral was finally scheduled. Once things were settled with Akira's uncle death, Akira felt that he and his family could finally move forward. Food distribution for the town improved a little bit and his family are now able to eat some fruits and instant food. His 99-year-old grandfather started to ride a bicycle again since his motorcycle was taken by his second son.

Kugako said she felt like she saw Hell in Kesennuma.

Thank you so much for your generous donation and the love you sent to Japan. I really appreciate your complete trust in me and Akira & Kugako. I received $1500. I sent $1300 to them, with $200 left to be sent. We found this task was not that easy as we thought it was going to be.

Please find the letters from Akira and his cousin, Akane. Akira has been really upset, but I'm happy to report that your donations went to people who really needed help. If you are not satisfied with the results by any chance, Akira will either refund the money or send equivalent funds to the organization which supports kids. Please let me know.

I don't know what's going to happen to Japan, but I feel I have to keep doing anything I can do to help. Again, thank you so much for your amazing help.

Sending Love from Akira, Kugako and the people who received the donations.

Respectfully, Hiromi

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

[Photos are all taken by Akira. For more photos, please go to: http://gallery.me.com/hiromioikawa/100474]

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Guest Post: Letters from Kesennuma (Part 1) - The Other, Forgotten Disaster

that is the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The US paper Boston Globe had a series of photos in June that were supposed to show how much recovery the earthquake/tsunami affected areas in the Tohoku region of Japan has made in only 3 months.

Looking at those photographs, some Japanese, particularly those who have actually been there as volunteers for cleanup or who have relatives and friends there still trying to figure out what to do and how to do it, felt something didn't feel right. "Recovery? What recovery?"

Recovery alright, as the number of people displaced by the quake/tsunami and living in temporary housing dipped below 100,000 for the first time since March 11, to 99,236 (number from Yomiuri Shinbun, 7/10/2011). This is after 4 months of "recovery".

This blog has had personal accounts and reporting of the aftermath of March 11 earthquake/tsunami in the Tohoku region, and I'm happy to present the account by "Hiromi", whose close friends have been deeply affected by the devastation of their home town, Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture.

===============================
Letters from Kessennuma (Part 1)


My name is Hiromi and I am a Japanese citizen who has resided in New York City since 1993. Since March 11th I have been unable to stop thinking about my homeland. All of my Japanese friends in NY and I have tried our best to raise awareness and money to help Japan.

There were many relief events in New York to aid the Japanese people. As I am a painter, I participated in three events, selling my artwork to support various relief efforts. At one event, through many mass emails, I received art donations from all over the world, Berlin to Jersey City. People just wanted to do something to help. And not knowing what specifically to do, they just gave as they could.

And this brings me to my friend, Akira. Akira is the husband of my friend Kugako, who is one of my "sisters" - my closest and dearest friends from college, and a sister in the truest sense. They live in Tokyo. Akira wrote to me about his hometown, Kesennuma (Miyagi Prefecture), which is one of the hardest-hit areas from the tsunami.

When I read Akira's email, I was speechless. It is a story about the aftermath of the destruction that needs to be told.

To anyone who is interested in a sense of those early days after the disaster, I ask you to read on.

As many of you may know, Japan has left the headlines. I don't know what I should do next. I wish someone would tell me what to do, but, in the end, I feel we have to help each other to move forward as much as we can.

Respectfully, Hiromi

***************************

Email from Akira to Hiromi
April 2, 2011

Hiromi, thanks for your concerns and kind words. I visited Kesennuma last Monday and returned to Tokyo the day before yesterday [Mar 28-31].

The situation in my hometown is very dire. People seemed still on the edge, but they seemed to be in high spirits nonetheless.

My parents are safe. They've always led a simple life and are in good spirits, saying "we are not at all inconvenienced." My uncle, who is the patriarch of my family, is still missing, and the feeling is that the situation with him is utterly hopeless. His iron factory was destroyed by the tsunami, forcing many people out on the street. My cousins also survived but lost their homes. They could only take the clothes on their backs when they sought shelter with their parents. They commute to the refugee center to find clothing for their young daughters. One of them wryly said, "We beg daily to survive now." His words killed me.



How did it all come to this?

The town, the ocean and the beaches where I grew up are no longer what they used to be. It is tormenting to feel such a sense of loss. My wife Kugako is worried about the radiation and hasn't been motivated to cook. But those of us in Tokyo have it easier and are in a position to offer help that is needed. I am keeping my head up and pushing on.

I heard you too are helping out by organizing charity events. If people would consider donating to my hometown, I would take the responsibility of bringing those donations back to Kesennuma and distribute them among those who lost their homes as well as to those children who lost their
parents.

I visited some of the refugee centers there and found disturbing disparities. I went around distributing supplies myself and saw some centers had way more supplies than the demand while at others, people waited a whole day just to receive three pieces of hardtack. The distribution needs to be better balanced.

Also, people who lost their homes, as well as the fishermen and farmers who suffered damages, are being considered for government support. But what about those whose homes were okay but who lost their jobs? They aren't receiving supplies and have no promise of income. Hundreds of people like that rush to the job center every day trying to find work.

People are keeping it together for now, but in another month I fear if they might not grow desperate enough to ignore the social order.

I took some pictures of the place. The area where a fire had started was straight out of a picture of Hell. All I could do for much of the time was stand there in prayer.

Akira




[On receiving the email, Hiromi and her boyfriend John started collecting donations
from their friends and acquaintances to help Kesennuma. They had collected $1500 in total by April 28.

In the meantime, Akira had found out that, in the junior high school he had graduated from, six kids had lost their parents through the disaster. He made plans to give the donated money to those six kids and to visit his hometown with his family during the Golden Week (the holiday week in Japan usually from April 29 through May 5).

To be continued in Part 2.]

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#Radiation in Japan: 70,800 Becquerels/kg Cesium from Burning Household Waste at Kashiwa City, Chiba

Only yesterday (July 9), the officials of this city in Chiba, which has had consistently elevated levels of radiation since the Fukushima accident, announced they had detected radioactive cesium in the ashes after burning the household garbage at its waste processing plants. Over 8,000 becquerels/kg (threshold above which they cannot bury the ashes) but only slightly over 10,000 becquerels/kg.

Wrong.

One day later on July 10, the city announced it was 70,800 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium from the ashes.

Oops.

From Mainichi Shinbun (7/10/2011):

千葉県柏市は１０日、市内の清掃工場で発生した焼却灰から、１キログラム当たり７万ベクレルを超える放射性セシウムを検出したことを明らかにした。東京電力福島第１原発事故の影響とみられ、焼却灰の埋め立てを６月末から中止している。現状では、約２カ月で灰の保管スペースがなくなり、一般家庭などからの可燃ごみの受け入れが不可能になると予想される。

Kashiwa City in Chiba Prefecture disclosed on July 10 that the radioactive cesium exceeding 70,000 becquerels/kg has been detected from the burned ashes at the city's waste processing plant. It is considered to be the result of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, and the city has halted burying the ashes since the end of June. At the current rate, the city will run out of space to store the ashes, and it won't be able to accept the household trash.

　国は６月、同８０００ベクレル以上の焼却灰は埋め立てず、一時保管するよう指針を定めたが、一時保管後の処分方法は決めていない。同市は週明けにも国に対し（１）埋め立て可能な最終処分の新基準策定（２）一時保管場所の確保（３）処分費用の全額国庫負担－－を緊急要望する方針という。

The national government set the guideline in June to temporarily store the ashes that tested 8,000 becquerels/kg [of cesium] or more, but there is no guideline as to what to do with the ashes after the temporary storage. The city plans to ask the national government to: 1) come up with a new standard for the final burial; 2) secure the space for temporary storage; 3) fully pay for the disposal cost.

　同市によると、公園や一般家庭の庭などで放射線量を下げる目的で、草刈りや樹木の枝・葉の剪定（せんてい）を実施し、可燃ごみとして清掃工場へ持ち込まれたため、数値が上がった可能性があるという。

According to the city, it is possible that the number was high because the residents cut grasses and clipped leaves and branches in their backyards trying to lower the radiation level and they were sent to the plants as burnable waste.

　２カ所の清掃工場のうち、６月下旬から７月上旬まで３回の検査の最大値は南部クリーンセンターで同７万８００ベクレル、北部クリーンセンターで同９７８０ベクレル。両センターの焼却灰の最終処分場で同４万８９００ベクレルだった。

The city has two waste processing plants. The highest radiation of 70,800 becquerels/kg was measured at the Nanbu (southern) Clean Center in the three tests done since the end of June. At the Hokubu (northern) Clean Center, it was 9,780 becquerels/kg. When the ashes from the two plants were combined at the final disposal facility, it was 48,900 becquerels/kg.

　同市は１日平均２８０トンの可燃ごみを２清掃工場で受け入れ、同２１．３トンの焼却灰を最終処分場に埋め立てている。

The city accepts the average of 280 tonnes per day of burnable waste at its two waste processing plant, and buries the average of 21.3 tonnes of burned ashes at the final disposal facility.

Kashiwa City's website doesn't have any news or data on the radioactive ashes at its waste processing plants, and the last update of the Nanbu Clean Center web page was done on March 29.

If Koto-ku (in Tokyo) 's sludge plant is any example, the radioactive cesium from the burned trash may have been contaminating the downwind areas in Kashiwa City, a secondary contamination.

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UPDATE: Contaminated Water Also Leaked from AREVA's System

Sigh. TEPCO never learns. The first press conference was held yesterday morning (over in Japan); 6 hours had already passed since the accident but they didn't have any information other than the photo. The information had to wait until the evening press conference, more than 12 hours after the accident: that the contaminated water also leaked.

Information from TEPCO's evening press conference on July 10:

• The water treatment system was restarted at 5:40PM, about 12 hours after the leak was found.

• 50 liters of liquid that leaked was both the chemical to be used in the coprecipitation unit AND the contaminated water. It was mostly the contaminated water.
  

• Density of contamination: 5,500 becquerels/cubic centimeter of radioactive cesium.

• The PVC coupler that connected the metal pipe and the hose cracked, causing the leak.

• Connecting a metal pipe with a PVC hose by a PVC coupler was not a normal practice.
  

• The PVC coupler has been replaced with a metal coupler.
  

• It's not known whether TEPCO also replaced the similar connections in AREVA's unit.
  

I'll post when more details become available on TEPCO's site.

The photo is from Asahi Shinbun, the new and improved joint, but still looking awkward:

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