Science Council of Japan: 250 Millisievert External Radiation Exposure in 30 Years Possible in #Fukushima Without Continued Decontamination

That seem like a lot, but come to think about it, 250 divided by 30 equals 8.33. At this point, average 8.33 millisieverts per year exposure in parts of Fukushima, particularly near Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, seems almost reasonable.

Anyway, here's Yomiuri reporting on one of several report issued on April 9, 2012 by the Science Council of Japan:

帰還後も除染続けないと、がん死亡リスク増加

Risk of dying from cancer will increase unless decontamination continues after residents return

高濃度の放射性物質で汚染された東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の周辺地域では、住民の帰還後も除染を一定期間続けないと、３０年間の累積被曝(ひばく)線量が１００ミリ・シーベルトを超える恐れのあることが９日、日本学術会議の試算で明らかになった。累積で１００ミリ・シーベルトになると、がんの死亡リスクが０・５％高まる。

The Science Council of Japan's estimate shows that unless decontamination is carried out for a certain period of time after the residents return to the areas surrounding Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, the cumulative radiation exposure in 30 years may exceed 100 millisieverts. The estimate was published on April 9. The area surrounding the plant is highly contaminated with radioactive materials. When the cumulative radiation exposure reaches 100 millisieverts, the risk of dying from cancer goes up by 0.5%.

　同会議では、避難前の被曝線量や帰還時の年間被曝線量、帰還後の除染の有無で、３０年間の被曝線量がどう変わるかを試算した。

The Council calculated different scenarios for cumulative radiation exposure levels for 30 years, taking into account the amount of radiation exposure before the evacuation, annual radiation exposure levels on return, and decontamination after the return of the residents.

　その結果、仮に年間２０ミリ・シーベルトに下がった段階で帰還し、その後に除染しないと、放射能の減衰を考慮しても、３０年間で２５０ミリ・シーベルト近く被曝する可能性があるという。

The result shows that if the residents return when the annual radiation exposure levels drop to 20 millisieverts and if no decontamination is done afterwards, the residents may be exposed to nearly 250 millisieverts in 30 years, even with the attenuation of radioactivity.

Oops. The Japanese national government's guideline to return the residents to the areas inside the no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone is that the annual radiation exposure levels drop down to 20 millisieverts. Judging from the decontamination work that has been done inside the zones and outside, it doesn't look like there will be on-going decontamination.

The original 53-page report by the Science Council of Japan is titled (my translation) "To take a first new step toward dealing with radioactivity - take action based on the scientific probe of facts". The radiation exposure for the residents who return to their homes in the evacuation zones is discussed from page 15 to page 20 in the report.

The average background (natural) external radiation exposure in Japan before the Fukushima nuclear accident was about 0.6 millisievert per year. In 30 years, the cumulative external radiation would have been 18 millisieverts.

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Former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland: "Fate of Japan and the whole world depends on NO.4 reactor"

I don't know what to think of this but it may be one of the reasons why the meme of "Fukushima Reactor 4 is leaning (or listing, or collapsing, or falling apart)" and "Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool is in danger" has started to circulate widely again since March this year.

Mr. Mitsuhei Murata is a former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland and Senegal and the current Executive Director of the Japan Society for Global System and Ethics (according to his website) who seems to have been very active in anti-nuclear movements. There are tweets and blogs citing his website as the source of his comments which appeared on the English site by a Japanese diplomat (I think) Akio Matsumura.

Assuming that it is indeed Mr. Murata's website, here's the letter that Mr. Murata sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on March 25, 2012, as it appears on his site:

The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary–General of the United Nations Organization
New York City, NY.
___________________________________________
Tokyo, March 25, 2012


Dear Secretary-General,
Honorable Ban Ki-moon,

I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for your considerate letter dated 2 March, 2012. Your moral support for a United Nations Ethics Summit will remain a constant source of encouragement for my activities.

Please allow me to pay a tribute to your great contribution to strengthen nuclear safety and security. The current Nuclear Summit in Seoul is no doubt greatly benefiting from the high-level meeting you convened last September.

I was asked to make a statement at the public hearing of the Budgetary Committee of the House of Councilors on March 23. I raised the crucial problem. of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima containing1535 fuel rods. It could be fatally damaged by continuing aftershocks. Moreover, 50 meters away from it exists a common cooling pool for 6 reactors containing 6375 fuel rods !
It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of Japan and the whole world depends on NO.4 reactor. This is confirmed by most reliable experts like Dr.Arnie Gundersen or Dr.Fumiaki Koide.

Please allow me to inform you of an initiative being taken by a former UN official who is endeavoring to have the Nuclear Security Summit take up the crucial problem. of N0.4 reactor of Fukushima. He is pursuing the establishment of”an independent
assessment team. I think his efforts are very significant ,because it is indispensable to draw the attention of world leaders to this vital issue.
I am cooperating with him, writing to some of my Korean acquaintances that this issue deserves the personal attention of President Lee Myung-bak. I have written today to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. I asked him to consider taking the initiative of mobilizing human wisdom on the widest scope to cope with the Fukushima reactor No.4 problem, fully taking into account the above-mentioned “independent assessment team".

The world has been made so fragile and vulnerable. The role of the United Nations is increasingly vital.

I wish you the best of luck in your noble mission.

Please accept, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the assurances of my highest consideration.


Mitsuhei Murata
Former Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland and Senegal
Executive Director, the Japan Society for Global System
and Ethics

I don't recall any prominent nuclear researcher named "Fumiaki Koide". I googled the name just in case but I think Mr. Murata is talking about Hiroaki Koide of Kyoto University.

I'm interested in knowing what prompted Mr. Murata to get very concerned about Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool. It is possible he has been concerned about it all along.

As far as I know, the situation of the Reactor 4 Spent Fuel Pool is not much different from what it was last summer after the wall underneath it was reinforced with metal support beams and concrete. Since my understanding is based on what TEPCO has been willing to disclose, it is quite possible that I've been missing something big.

There are a few Japanese experts, including Mr. Matsumura, who seem to have been advising many US nuclear experts on the situations in Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant since the March 11, 2011 accident. They all communicate in English only, and their information is usually not shared or known in Japan.

If you understand Japanese, here's the video of Mr. Murata testifying in the Upper House Budget Committee (foreign affairs and national security issues) in the Diet on March 22, 2012 (0:30:30, 2:13:54, 2:16:07, 2:53:00), warning about Fukushima Reactor 4.

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In Cities in Fukushima, Abnormal Has Become Normal One Year After the Nuclear Accident

It is well-captured in a Mainichi Shinbun article and an Asahi Shinbun article that I found yesterday.

It may be puzzling to read about these, looking in. But for the residents inside Fukushima, this may be fast becoming the accepted way of life.

First, from the Mainichi article (4/7/2012, local Fukushima version; part) talking about school lunches in Fukushima City and school playground rules in Koriyama City and Minami Soma City:　

福島市は９日から、全７３市立小中学校の給食に含まれる放射性セシウムを毎日調べる「学校給食まるごと検査事業」を始める。検査機器が増設され、１１年度の週１回〜月２回のサンプル調査より検査態勢を強化した。

Fukushima City will test school lunches for the city's 73 public elementary schools and junior high schools for radioactive cesium every day, starting April 9. The city has installed more testing equipments, and is now able to test more frequently than in the fiscal 2011 when the test was done once a week or once in two weeks.

　給食を１食分余分に作り、学校給食センターと支所・学習センターの計２１カ所で検査する。１検体を１１〜３０分測り、検出限界値は１キロ当たり２０ベクレル。「食品の新基準値（同１００ベクレル）以下でも安心が得られない」（市教委）として、１食分で２０ベクレル以上を検出した場合は廃棄し、個別に検査した米などの主食と牛乳だけを提供する。１１年度のサンプル調査では、２０ベクレル以上の検体は無かった。

The school lunch centers will make one extra lunch each day and the lunch will be tested at 21 locations. Testing time will be between 11 to 30 minutes, and the detection limit is 20 becquerels/kg. The city's Board of Education says, "We cannot feel safe even it tests below the new safety limit for food (100 becquerels/kg or less)." If more than 20 becquerels/kg of cesium is detected, the lunch will be discarded, and the students will be served with rice and milk separately tested for safety. In the fiscal 2011, no lunch that was sample tested was found with 20 becquerels/kg of cesium.

　また、郡山市の市立小中学校は６日、昨年５月から続けてきた屋外活動を制限する３時間ルールを解除した。南相馬市も解除した。

Koriyama City lifted the 3-hour restriction for outdoor activities at the city's public elementary schools and junior high schools on April 6. The limit had been in place since May last year. Minami Soma City also lifted its restriction.

　体育などの屋外活動を１日１時間以内、部活動を２時間以内に制限する郡山市の独自基準で、市内の小学校５８校、中学校２８校で実施。市教委は、表土除去などの除染活動が進み、各校の校庭の空間放射線量が児童、生徒の安全を確保できるレベルまで低減したと判断し、解除を決めた。

Koriyama City's own restriction limited the outdoor activities at public schools (58 elementary schools and 28 junior high schools) to 1 hour per day for PE classes and 2-hour per day for extracurricular activities. The city's Board of Education has decided that the decontamination including removing the top soil has effectively lowered the air radiation levels on the school grounds to the levels where the safety of the pupils and students can be secured.

　中学生の子どもを持つ４０代の母親は「昨年度までと同じグラウンドなので、これからは大丈夫と言われても……。子どもには、部活中もマスクを外さないと約束させている」と戸惑い気味に話した。

A mother in her 40s with a child attending a junior high school in the city was puzzled. She said, "It is the same school ground as in the last fiscal year, but now they tell us it will be OK from now on. I've made my child promise to wear the mask during the extracurricular activities."

As of April 1, 2012, food is now "safe" as long as cesium is below 100 Bq/kg, instead of 500 Bq/kg only one day prior. As the new school semesters start, the school grounds are suddenly "safe" and no need to worry about radiation. ("Black dust" in Minami Soma? What black dust?) What a difference a day makes, indeed.

By the way, the detection limit of 20 Bq/kg is high compared to other cities in other prefectures that have been testing the school lunches. In Kamakura City in Kanagawa Prefecture, for example, the detection limit is 3 Bq/kg, and it is set to get lower with the introduction of the germanium semiconductor detector starting April 9.

The Asahi article was written by Shunsuke Kimura, an Asahi Shinbun reporter in Fukushima. On April 7, he participated as "decontamination" volunteer in a volunteer project to "decontaminate" one of the high-radiation hot spots in Watari District in Fukushima City. He says 387 "volunteers" including 82 from all over Japan participated.

Why do I put volunteers in the parenthesis? Well, reading the article I got the feeling that it may not have been so "voluntary" for some participants.

From Asahi Shinbun local Fukushima version (4/8/2012; part):

除染、除染というけれど、除染っていったい何をするの？７日、福島市渡利地区の弁天山（標高１４３メートル）での作業にボランティアとして参加してみました。

Everyone talks about decontamination. But what do we do in "decontamination"? So I participated in the decontamination work as a volunteer to decontaminate Benten-Yama (altitude 143 meters) in Watari District of Fukushima City on April 7 to find out. [The photo shows the reporter stuffing the bag with dead leaves.]

　●落ち葉集め袋詰め　３時間で最大３割減

Stuffing dead leaves in bags, 3 hours, max 30% reduction [of radiation]

　雨がっぱの上下に帽子、マスク、軍手に長靴姿。２０～３０人の班で、区分けされた斜面を担当した。熊手で落ち葉をかき集め、土ごとポリ袋に詰める。記者もポリ袋を手に斜面に入った。

Rain jacket and rain pants, hat, mask, cotton work gloves and rain boots. People were divided into groups of 20 to 30 people, and the groups were assigned segments of the mountain slope. They raked in the dead leaves, and stuffed them, with the dirt, into plastic bags. I went up the slope with a bag in hand.

　普段、運動をしていないせいか、すぐに息が荒くなる。マスクから漏れる息で眼鏡が曇る。視界の悪い中、ひたすら目の前の落ち葉を袋に詰めた。１０分ほどで腰が痛くなってきた。

Soon, I was breathing hard. Lack of regular exercise. My eyeglasses got foggy from the breath escaping from my mask. I kept stuffing the bag with dead leaves in front of me. My back started to hurt after 10 minutes.

　集めても集めても落ち葉はなくならない。休憩に入ると、雪がちらついてきた。汗が冷えて寒い。

No matter how much I collected, there were more dead leaves. During the break, it started to snow. My sweats turned cold.

　毎時１マイクロシーベルト超のため現場での食事はできなかった。近くの県社会福祉協議会にバスで移動して昼食。地元の方が温かいみそ汁を用意してくれていた。

Because the radiation level here exceeded 1 microsievert/hour, we couldn't eat lunch where we worked. We were transported on the bus to a nearby location to have lunch. Local residents greeted us with warm miso-soup that they had prepared.

　近くに座っていた男性と話をした。群馬県の自宅を午前５時に出てきたという下瀬川正幸さん（４６）。「県外の人が多いなぁ。遠くから来ている人はやっぱり福島の子供のためにと思っているはず」と話す。

I talked with a man sitting nearby. Masayuki Shimosegawa (age 46) left his home in Gunma Prefecture at 5 in the morning. He said, "So many people from outside Fukushima. I think people who have come from far-away places are here for the children of Fukushima."

　またバスで戻り、作業再開。だんだんこなれてきたのか、袋詰めが速くなってきた気がする。

Back to the bus to the work. I thought I was able to pack the bag much faster now.

　午後３時ごろに終了。市が予定した１．３ヘクタールを除染しきれなかったが、落ち葉を詰めたポリ袋は約３５００袋に。３１５立方メートル分という。記者の班は高さ１センチの表面線量が毎時１．９５マイクロシーベルトから同１．５２５と２割減。除染効果が最大の班でも３割減だった。

The work was done around 3PM. We couldn't decontaminate the entire 1.3 hectares that the city had planned, but there were 3,500 bags of dead leaves. 315 cubic meters. The area that I worked on had the radiation level at 1 centimeter off the ground dropped from 1.95 microsievert/hour to 1.525 microsievert/hour, 20% reduction. The maximum reduction was at most 30%.

　ボランティアには秋田県から熊本県まで８２人が県外から参加。県内からの参加者や地元住民、県職員、福島市職員を合わせた計３８７人が作業に当たった。

82 people from Akita Prefecture to Kumamoto Prefecture [Kyushu] joined as volunteers. There were also participants from inside Fukushima Prefecture, the local residents, workers from the Fukushima prefectural government and Fukushima City government. In total, 387 people did the decontamination.

　作業は午前と午後で計約３時間。福島市から貸与された線量計では４マイクロシーベルト。会社に戻ると、体が重く感じることに気づいた。日頃の運動不足が身に染みた。

I worked for 3 hours total, in the morning and in the afternoon. The dosimeter that Fukushima City let us use showed 4 microsieverts. I went back to my office. I noticed that my body felt heavy. I really should have done more regular exercise.

4 microsieverts external radiation exposure from 3-hour work. Just smile, radiation is good for you, say many nuclear experts all around the world.

Benten-Yama Park is a known hot spot in the (already high-radiation) Watari District in Fukushima City. The Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) has the website for real-time measurement of radiation levels in Fukushima, the MEXT page for Benten-Yama Park shows 1.362 microsievert/hour radiation at 50 centimeters off the ground, at 6:50AM on April 9, 2012.

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Radiation in Namie-machi, Fukushima Almost Exceeded OSHA 90-Day Limit for Radiation Worker in 14 Days Last Year

The cumulative radiation dose at MP (monitoring post) 32 in Fukushima Prefecture from March 23 to April 4, 2011 was 11,630 microsieverts (or 11.63 millisieverts), almost exceeding the OSHA 90-day limit for radiation worker of 12,500 microsieverts in 14 days.

My guess is if the radiation had been measured from March 11, 2011, it would have surpassed that limit long before March 23, 2011.

From Enformable's digging of the NRC FOIA documents, 3-page email dated April 9, 2011 says on page 3:

MP32

The U.S. 50-mile radius adequately protects public health, but the Japanese 20-kilometer (12 mile) radius may not protect the health of the general public, pregnant female radiation workers, or radiation workers who remain longer than 2 weeks near MP32.

MP32 remained MP32 in the Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) monitoring data, until April 11, 2011 when the location was finally named. It was Akougi District of Namie-machi in Fukushima. Why was the location finally named that day? Because that was the day the government announced the planned evacuation zone that included Akougi and most of Namie-machi that was not already inside the 20-kilometer no-entry zone.

Akougi is located at 31 kilometers northwest of Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, outside the no-entry zone. The district was finally declared planned evacuation zone on April 11, 2011, because the annual cumulative radiation dose was expected to exceed 20 millisieverts.

There was a evacuation shelter in Akougi, with people living there until March 30, 2011.

According to the MEXT data, as of March 26, 2012, the cumulative dose at MP32 since March 24, 2011 is 125,760 microsieverts, or 125.76 millisieverts.

Chuck Casto E-Mail - Pages From C141933-02BX-24

Here's the same information released by the Ministry of Education on April 6, 2011.

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#Radioactive Japan: Commercial-Use Skim Milk Powder Found with 23 Bq/kg of Radioactive Cesium

The data, photos and the graph are from Security Tokyo, with express permission to reprint.

Item: skim milk power in 1kg bag, commercial use
Manufacturer: Zenrakuren (all-Japan federation of dairy industry)
Manufactured in: Kita Fukuoka Factory in Iwate Prefecture

Iodine-131: ND
Cesium-134: 10 Bq/kg
Cesium-137: 13 Bq/kg
Total cesium: 23 Bq/kg
17,500 seconds　precise measurement
Measurement error ±0.3Bq/kg (Cs-137)
Measurement using germanium semiconductor detector with proper calibration

Radioactive cesium has been constantly detected since the nuclear accident last year, albeit in small amounts (usually less than 20 becquerels/kg), from milk and milk products produced in Tohoku and northern Kanto. The cause may be the feed that milk cows eat. Until April 1, 2012, the safety limit for animal feed was 400 becquerels/kg (lower than for humans, which was 500 becquerels/kg). With the new safety limit of 100 becquerels/kg of cesium for humans, the safety limit for animal feed has also been revised down to 100 becquerels/kg.

Skim milk powder is used commercially for baked goods (bread, cookies, etc). It is also used for health supplements.

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Japanese Government to Start Clearing Disaster Debris Inside 20-Km No-Entry Zone in Fukushima, Burn Debris If Cesium Is Less Than 100,000 Bq/kg

Kahoku Shinpo, a local paper in Fukushima, reports that the national government will build the first debris storage areas in Naraha-machi, which lies inside the 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone around Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, to store the disaster debris to be collected from inside the no-entry zone as the zone gets reorganized into three new zones.

All of Naraha-machi's no-entry zone will be newly designated as "zone preparing for the lifting of the evacuation order (避難指示解除準備区域)" which allows the residents to come back freely.

The government will (or hopes to, I should say) build an incinerator to burn the burnable debris in a nearby town of Hirono-machi, as long as the density of radioactive cesium on/in the debris is 100,000 becquerels/kg or less.

100,000 Bq/kg of cesium on the debris will be concentrated in the ashes, up to 33 times according to the Ministry of the Environment. I wonder if the Ministry has a plan for the disposal of bag filters, decommissioning the incinerator, and safety of the workers. (Just saying.)

Well we know the game. All that's needed is to dilute the highly contaminated debris by mixing with less contaminated debris or garbage from elsewhere. Or, since Naraha-machi is less contaminated inside the no-entry zone than some of the other municipalities, it will be ideal place to bring in the debris from other municipalities inside the no-entry zone and mix and match with that in Naraha-machi. And burn.

Goshi Hosono, Minister of the Environment, was seen speaking with the representatives of Naraha-machi yesterday. Naraha-machi is holding an election right now. Hosono is seen having done a hit job on Naraha-machi while the town's leadership is in transition. Same old, same old.

Consider this news as part of the Ministry's plan to let private businesses do the debris disposal inside the no-entry zone unless the debris is from the urgent infra-building projects, as this debris storage project will probably be up for bidding. Most likely, the big general construction companies already doing the government decontamination projects will win, who will then parcel out projects to subcontractors. Accountability will be clear as mud.

From Kahoku Shinpo (4/8/2012):

国、楢葉にがれき集積場　来月にも着工　警戒区域で初

National government to build debris storage areas in Naraha-machi, the first inside the no-entry zone; construction to begin next month

　東京電力福島第１原発事故で大部分が警戒区域となっている福島県楢葉町の沿岸部２カ所で、国が５月にも東日本大震災で発生したがれきを保管する集積場の整備を始めることが７日、分かった。震災から１年以上たっても警戒区域内の震災がれきはほとんど手付かずの状態で、同区域内で大規模ながれきの保管場所の整備は初めて。

It was revealed on April 7 that the national government will start building storage areas for the debris from March 11, 2011 disaster in May in two coastal locations in Naraha-machi, Fukushima Prefecture. Most of Naraha-machi is inside the no-entry zone. More than one year after the disaster, the disaster debris inside the no-entry zone hasn't been dealt with. It will be the first construction of large-scale debris storage areas inside the no-entry zone.

　環境省や楢葉町によると、すでに町内２カ所に計約２．５ヘクタールの用地を選定、土地所有者らと契約に向けた最終調整を進めている。来月にも着工し、夏以降、町内のがれき約２万５千トンを順次搬入する。今後、警戒区域の再編に伴い、本格化する町の復興に向けた作業の後押しになると期待される。

According to the Ministry of the Environment and Naraha-machi, total 2.5-hectare land has already been selected at 2 locations. Final negotiations are under way to sign the contracts with the land owners. The construction will start next month, and about 25,000 tonnes of debris in Naraha-machi will be brought to the storage areas starting summer. As the no-entry zone gets reorganized, the debris storage areas are expected to help expedite the projects for the recovery and rebuilding of the town.

　集積場に運び込まれたがれきは可燃物と不燃物に分別する。放射性セシウム濃度が１キログラム当たり１０万ベクレルを超えたがれきは、除染ごみを保管するため国が整備予定の中間貯蔵施設に持ち込む。

The debris collected at the storage areas will be separated into flammable and non-flammable debris. If the density of radioactive cesium on the debris exceeds 100,000 becquerels/kg, the debris will be transported to the intermediate storage facility that the national government plans to build [somewhere] to store the waste from decontamination.

　１０万ベクレル以下の場合、可燃物は国が広野町などに設置を目指している仮設焼却場での処理を検討。不燃物は管理型処分場での埋め立てなどを考えている。

If the density of radioactive cesium is 100,000 becquerels/kg or less and the debris is flammable, it will be burned at the temporary incineration plant that the government hopes to build in Hirono-machi and other locations. The non-flammable debris will be buried in the controlled landfill site.

　集積場は粉じんの飛散防止のための囲いを設置するほか、がれきの周りに土のうを積んで空間放射線量を低減させることも検討している。

The debris storage areas will be installed with fences to prevent the spread of dust. The government is also considering putting the sandbags around the debris to lower the air radiation levels.

　楢葉町の警戒区域は、全域が住民の立ち入りが自由となる「避難指示解除準備区域」に近く再編される見通し。住民帰還に向けてインフラ整備や家屋の解体作業が本格化する。町の担当者は「震災がれきの撤去が進めば農地の復旧も可能になる」と期待を寄せる。

All of the no-entry zone inside Naraha-machi will be reorganized into "zone preparing for the lifting of the evacuation order", which allows free access to the area by the residents. Work such as rebuilding the infrastructure and demolition of houses will start in full swing. The town officials are looking forward to the debris storage area. If the disaster debris gets cleared away, restoration of the farmland will be possible, they say.

　楢葉町を含む福島県沿岸部６市町の警戒区域内で、地震や津波による震災がれきは、推定で約４７万４千トンに上り、ほとんどが放置されたままになっている。

In the no-entry zone that covers 6 municipalities along the coast in Fukushima, including Naraha-machi, there are about 474,000 tonnes of debris from the earthquake and tsunami. Most of the debris are left untouched.

　環境省は楢葉町以外でも、警戒区域を抱える沿岸部の自治体で震災がれきの集積場の用地選定を急いでいる。

The Ministry of the Environment is selecting the locations in other municipalities along the coast with the no-entry zones for disaster debris storage.

I wonder who those landowners are.

Hirono-machi, where the national government wants to build an incinerator plant, is located south of Naraha-machi.

I find it amusing that the level of sophistication of the Ministry of the Environment is about the same as that of TEPCO at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant: fences and sandbags as safeguard.

Naraha-machi wants to boot out Fuku-I workers from J-Village which serves as the staging area for the work in Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant so that J-Village is restored as the training facility for soccer teams. Naraha-machi Mayor wants Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant to restart, so that his town could help the recovery of other municipalities in the no-entry zone. Mayor Kusano also wanted to build the final disposal site for highly radioactive waste from the nuclear fuel reprocessing in Rokkasho.

Municipalities that has the no-entry zone inside their cities and towns are: Minami Soma City, Namie-machi, Okuma-machi, Futaba-machi, Tomioka-machi, Naraha-machi, Kawauchi-mura, Hirono-machi, Katsuragi-mura, Tamura City.

While the concentric circles on which the Kan administration based their evacuation decision didn't make sense, it is also true that the most severe contamination fell on the area inside the 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone in Iitate-mura and Namie-machi. Naraha-machi fared better than most, if the MEXT map is to be believed.

From the Ministry of Education and Science (MEXT) map on May 6, 2011, cesium deposition (in Bq/square meters):

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Japan's Prime Minister's Office Website - How Can This Cost 120 Million Yen (US$1.5 Million)?

The "Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet" website did the site renovation and added some new features to its English and Chinese sites to appeal Japan's recovery and a special site just for kids, for 120 million yen (US$1.5 million). That's without the maintenance fee.

Who got to do this project? A company called Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), 30% owned by the telecom giant NTT. It got the contract without bidding because "there was no viable competitor".

(For more, see here and here. Sorry they are both in Japanese.)

Front page, now with extremely small fonts:

"Kantei" (PM's Office) for Kids, where kids get to play games to learn all about the administration does:

"Let's study social science", "Get to know more about Prime Minister", "Virtual Prime Minister's Official Residence!", "Get to know more about what the administration is doing!"

If you go to "Kantei for Kids" site by the way, you will notice there is no link back to the original (adult-version) "Kantei".

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What Is the Radiation Safety Limit for Regular Garbage Disposal in the US and in Europe?

Readers in the US and Europe, do you know whether your country has a safety limit for radioactive cesium in regular garbage disposal for burning, burying, or recycling? Does your country allow the mixing of regular garbage with materials contaminated with radioactive cesium? If so, what amount of radioactive cesium is allowed?

Japan's Chunichi Shinbun (based in Aichi Prefecture where the governor wants to accept and burn 1 million tonnes of disaster debris) has been quite supportive of wide-area disposal of disaster debris even as they admit they are contaminated with radioactive materials. But they say in their article on April 7, 2012:

"Why don't we just accept the debris to help people in the disaster area? As long as the radiation level of the debris is low, such as 100 becquerels/kg or less (which is half of what the Ministry of the Environment has set as standard), and there is no effect on health at that level, it's the right thing to do."

As if cesium density remains 100 becquerels/kg after incineration. They continue,

"That standard (100 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium) is much stricter than the standards in the US and Europe."

Please comment if you know there's a standard for radioactive cesium in the regular garbage disposal in your country.

Trashing people who oppose the wide-area disposal of disaster debris is getting more shrill and illogical (to the people who oppose) by the day. Right on cue, Governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara says "Those people opposing the debris, even when the national government says there is no radioactive material on it, are not Japanese."

Professor Hayakawa continues trashing anyone who oppose the wide-area debris disposal on Twitter, calling them "racists". Here we go. Professor Hayakawa immensely dislikes people who oppose the wide-area debris disposal, because in his mind these same people never speak up against contaminated food coming out of Fukushima because they want to be nice to the farmers. But they oppose disaster debris because it is easier to do so, as no human beings like farmers are involved. It never enters his mind, it seems, that there are people against both contaminated food and contaminated debris. When someone points that out to him, he says the number is so small that he's not aware of them at all.

At least someone threw a packet of tissue paper at Goshi Hosono at the PR campaign at the JR Kyoto station the other day.

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3D Animation Explaining Japan's New Food Safety Standards for Radioactive Materials

(From Toby Daw)

The video is making fun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs program to invite foreign social media writers to Japan as it explains the new safety standards for food and drinks in Japan.

FYI, Japan's new food safety standards:

• 10 becquerels/kg for drinking water, not 100.

• 50 becquerels/kg for baby food

• 50 becquerels/kg for milk

• 100 becquerels/kg for general food

• assuming 50% of food is contaminated

• numbers are only for radioactive cesium
  

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Disaster Debris INSIDE NO ENTRY ZONE IN FUKUSHMA May Spread Far and Wide

because the Ministry of the Environment cares about free competition.

The Ministry of the Environment put out a notice asking for public comments, for 6 days instead of the normal 30 days, on the proposed revisions of the Special Law to deal with the contamination from radioactive materials.

What are the revisions proposed? The Ministry wants to allow waste disposal companies to dispose debris that is inside the 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone and planned evacuation zone (in Namie-machi, Iitate-mura for example) around Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, instead of the national government doing it.

Their reasoning? Reading the Ministry's press release (translated below), they must be thinking like this:

1. 20-kilometer radius no-entry zone and planned evacuation zone around Fukushima I Nuke Plant are being reorganized.

2. In many areas inside these zones, the government is about to allow people and/or businesses back in. The huge debris cleanup operations need to be done.

3. However, if the government does all these cleanup operations, it's just not fair to the private businesses outside the areas who would otherwise get the business of cleanup.

4. Since the Ministry cares deeply about free competition, it will allow the private waste disposal companies to clean up the debris inside the no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone.

What's the problem here, you ask?

• Industrial waste disposal companies have been regularly sending industrial wastes all over Japan for disposal for years.
  

• Moving the non-industrial waste outside the area where the waste is generated needs a consent from a municipality on the receiving end, but with the Miyagi/Iwate disaster debris wide-area disposal scheme - the disaster debris is treated as "non-industrial waste" - now there are ways for the non-industrial debris inside the zones in Fukushima to reach the municipalities who have agreed to receiving the Miyagi/Iwate debris.
  

From the Ministry of the Environment press release on April 3, 2012 (h/t @tsunamiwaste for finding it):

環境省では、放射性物質汚染対処特措法施行規則改正案について、平成24年４月３日（火）～４月９日(月)までの間、広く国民の皆様の御意見をお聴きするパブリックコメントを実施します。 本件は、行政手続法に基づく手続です。

The Ministry of the Environment is soliciting comments from the Japanese citizens on the revisions of the special law to deal with the contamination from radioactive materials, between Tuesday April 3 to Monday April 9, 2012. This is a procedure based on the Administrative Procedure Act.

１．放射性物質汚染対処特措法施行規則改正案について

1. About the revision of the speical law to deal with the contamination from radioactive materials

　今般、平成23年12月26日の原子力災害対策本部決定に基づき、警戒区域・計画的避難区域（以下「警戒区域等」という。）の避難指示が見直されることから、警戒区域等内の空間線量の低い地域では、警戒区域等の解除前でも事業活動が再開され、相当量の廃棄物が生ずることが想定されます。

Based on the decision by the Nuclear Disaster Response Headquarters on December 26, 2011, the no-entry zone and the planned evacuation zone (hereafter called "no-entry zone etc.") will be re-classified. Business activities are expected to commence in the areas with low air radiation levels inside the no-entry zone etc. even before the lifting of the designations of the no-entry zone etc., and a significant amount of waste may be generated.

　再開された事業活動に伴い生ずる廃棄物を対策地域内廃棄物として国が処理を行った場合、汚染廃棄物対策地域外の事業者との競争上の不公平が生ずることが考えられます。このため、このような不公平が生ずることのないよう対応が必要となっています。

If the national government disposes the waste resulting from the business activities, it may result in competitive disadvantage for the waste disposal businesses outside the area where the government is responsible for disposal of contaminated waste. Therefore, a measure is necessary to avoid such disadvantage.

　具体的な改正内容は、以下のとおりです。

Specific revisions are as follows:

・事業活動に伴い生じた廃棄物については、対策地域内廃棄物から除外し、当該廃棄物を排出した事業者が、事業系一般廃棄物又は産業廃棄物として、自ら処理を行うこととする。

The waste generated by business activities will be excluded from the waste that the government is responsible for disposing; instead, the businesses that generate such waste will dispose as regular [non-industrial] waste or industrial waste.

・ただし、国又は地方公共団体が施行する災害復旧事業（道路復旧事業等）については、特に迅速に進める必要があることから、当該災害復旧事業に伴い生じた廃棄物は、国が対策地域内廃棄物として処理を行う。

However, the disaster recovery projects (such as road repairs) by the national or local governments need to be carried out as quickly as possible. Therefore the waste generated by such disaster recovery projects will be disposed by the national government.

If you have something to say to Hosono and his gang, and if you write Japanese (it has to be in Japanese), here's the email address: houshasen-tokusohou2@env.go.jp

In your email, you need to include the following information:

• Subject: 放射性物質汚染対処特措法施行規則改正案に対する意見

• Your name, address, telephone or email address

• Your opinion, and the basis for your opinion (cite the sources as necessary)

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Mayor of Kyoto's Incomprehensible Remark on His Own City

It's only fair to show that it is not only Goshi Hosono who is utterly clueless on the topic he's talking about (see his remark on radioactivity of the disaster debris in my previous post).

Daisaku Kadokawa, Mayor of Kyoto City who is going to test burn the disaster debris in the incineration plants surrounding the city, has the English message "Welcome to Kyoto" on the Kyoto City English website. The mayor seems scatter-brained about his own city:

Hello. I am Daisaku Kadokawa, the 26th Mayor of Kyoto.

I think Kyoto is a beautiful city which is unique in many ways. Kyoto also exists in harmony with its beautiful natural surroundings. What is more, Kyoto is home to a long tradition of municipal action, as well as creative, advanced ways of thinking. Kyoto is a wonderful city. I love Kyoto.

I am going to make it my priority to create a new Kyoto by bringing together the city's municipal, cultural and creative powers with the hope of creating “Kyoto Power”. The new Kyoto I envision will be an ideal city where children always smile, young people have great dreams for the future, and where old people can live securely and comfortably.

I promise to create a better Kyoto with innovative projects based on the key words: “speed”, “power”, and “heart.” At the same time I will carefully pay attention to what is happening in real, local society. I want to share my deep feelings and hopes with Kyoto citizens so that we can cooperate as much as possible to improve the city in all kinds of ways.

Kyoto is an important city as a model, modern city of citizen autonomy. I would like to make Kyoto as attractive and unique as possible. I hope everyone will cooperate with my vision. Thank you very much.

I'm not sure what he wanted to convey. It's clearly addressed to the Kyoto City residents, but then why is that a "Welcome to Kyoto"? The residents are already in Kyoto. I showed it to people in Japan who understand English, and they all laughed. "Kyoto power" apparently is his favorite phrase that no one knows what it means.

To me, the funniest part is when he talks about "citizen autonomy" in the last paragraph. That's quite a joke, particularly when he simply ignores the citizens' protest against debris burning.

It reads to me like an English composition (actually, nothing but translation) in the middle school. Sure enough, Mr. Kadokawa was the head of the Board of Education in Kyoto City before he became the mayor. No idea who translated the sentences into English though.

Whoever did the translation, he/she at least used the spell checker.

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Ministry of the Environment: "Tsunami Debris May Have Already Reached North America, Back in February..."

Oops. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution just recently released a paper saying the debris may reach North America in 1 to 2 years (see Huffington Post, 4/3/2012).

From Jiji Tsushin (4/6/2012):

既に北米沿岸到達か＝震災漂流物で予測－環境省

Ministry of the Environment's Forecast of disaster debris in the ocean: it may have already reached North America

　環境省は６日、東日本大震災の津波で生じた海洋漂流物の動きに関する予測結果を発表した。それによると、ブイなど海面上に浮かんでいて風の影響を受けやすい漂流物の一部は、太平洋を東へ流れ、今年２月にカナダ西海岸の沿岸に達している可能性があることが分かった。

The Ministry of the Environment announced its forecast of the movement of the disaster debris in the [Pacific] ocean after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. According to the forecast, part of the debris floating on the surface of the ocean that is more easily affected by winds may have traveled across the Pacific Ocean and reached the west coast of Canada in February this year.

　漂流物の大半を占める壊れた家屋などのがれき１３３万トンについて同省が試算したところ、２０１３年２月には、がれきの約３％に当たる約４万１３００トンが北米西海岸の沖合１０キロの範囲に到達する見込み。

The Ministry's forecast of 1.33 million tonnes of debris from houses that got swept away, which consists the majority of the debris, shows about 3% of this type of debris, or about 41,300 tonnes, may reach within 10 kilometers off the west coast of North America by February 2013.

I can't find a press release on the subject at the Ministry's website. If the Ministry is to be believed, the first debris took only 11 months, instead of 1 to 2 years (I remember they were counting on two years).

Even the NOAA seems to have changed the story a little bit, and now says "NOAA researchers are currently relying on computer models to predict the debris items’ path and drift rate, but it's possible that some buoyant materials are reaching U.S. shorelines right now."

By the way, the Huffington Post article is more about the radioactivity of seawater, but here are some clarifications for readers who will go read it and get confused. The writer says:

Even so, Buesseler said, the radioactivity levels are still below what is allowed in food in Japan, which is 500 Bq per kilogram of "wet" weight.

Not any more. As of April 1, 2012, that level is 100 Bq/kg, and it's only for radioactive cesium.

The writer also says:

And while cesium was present in the fish, it doesn't accumulate up the food chain the way polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or mercury do.

That's what Japan's Fisheries Agency claimed last year, right after the accident occurred. It does accumulate up the food chain, particularly when there is a constant supply of radioactive cesium in the environment.

And:

The researchers also found silver-110, but it wasn't clear that was from the Fukushima plant.

Most likely, they detected Ag-110m, which has a half life of 250 days. It would be definitely from the Fukushima plant.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Waste Water Leak: TEPCO Insists It Was Only 150 Milliliters That Leaked into the Ocean

12 tonnes of waste water after the reverse osmosis leaked when the Kanaflex hose decoupled, but TEPCO says hardly any of that water reached the ocean. Rejoice.

150 milliliters is 150 cubic centimeters. One liter is 1,000 milliliters, or 1,000 cubic centimeters. 1 tonne is 1,000 liters.

So, TEPCO is telling us only 0.00125% of the waste water leaked into the ocean. OK, then. Where did the water go?

From Jiji Tsushin (4/6/2012):

海に流出「１５０ミリリットル」＝汚染水１２トン漏れ、東電試算－福島第１

TEPCO calculated the amount of the leak into the ocean as "150 milliliters", out of 12 tonnes of waste water that leaked at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant

　東京電力福島第１原発の汚染水処理システムで５日未明、配管から推定１２トンの水が漏れた問題で、東電は６日、海への流出は１５０ミリリットル程度にとどまるとの試算を発表した。

TEPCO announced on April 6 that only about 150 milliliters of the 12-tonne waste water that leaked from the pipe in early hours on April 5 from the contaminated water treatment system at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant made it to the ocean.

　東電によると、６日午前に１～４号機の南放水口付近の海水を採取し、検査した結果、ベータ線を出す放射性物質の濃度が検出限界値（１ミリリットル当たり０．０１８ベクレル）未満だった。

TEPCO collected samples of seawater at the south water discharge outlet for Reactors 1 through 4 in the morning of April 6 and measured the radioactivity. The result showed the density of beta nuclides was below the detection level (0.018 becquerels/1 milliliter [cubic centimeter]).

　５日午後の検査でも、検出限界値をわずかに上回る０．０２４ベクレルで、松本純一原子力・立地本部長代理は「トン単位で出たら、もっと濃度は高いはず」と主張。汚染水のうち海に流出したのは１５０ミリリットル程度とした。

In the sampling test done in the afternoon of April 5, it was 0.024 becquerels [per 1 millimeter], only slightly above the no-detection level. TEPCO's Matsumoto said the density would be much higher if the leak was in tonnes, and put the amount of the waste water that leaked into the ocean at about 150 milliliters.

Well, considering TEPCO is pouring 23 tonnes of water PER HOUR total into the broken reactors, 12 tonnes may not be much at all, except for concentrated beta nuclides.

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#Radioactive Japan: Kyoto City to Test Burn Disaster Debris Anyway

Despite the angry residents shouting down the national minister and local politicians at the JR Kyoto Station the other day, Mayor of Kyoto City Daisaku Kadokawa has already made up his mind. He has sent his official letter to the Ministry of the Environment, saying the city is ready to accept the disaster debris after conducting the burn tests at the city's 3 incineration plants.

The mayor seems quite willing to throw the 650 billion yen per year tourism industry in Kyoto City down the drain in exchange for a few billion yen subsidy from the national government. I do hear that Kyoto City is in a dire financial condition, despite all the money tourists from all over the world drop in the city.

The governor of Kyoto was quite satisfied with the government answer that the government would compensate Kyoto for damages from "baseless rumors". I guess the mayor is also quite satisfied with the answer.

Fukushima-origin cesium-134 has been detected in the fly ashes of the incineration plants in Kyoto City, and people like Professor Hayakawa of Gunma University (who is all for wide-area disposal and burning of disaster debris) are using the data to tell people who oppose wide-area debris disposal, "See, Kyoto is already contaminated". This is so disingenuous. Yes, cesium-134 is highly likely from Fukushima. But radioactive cesium get concentrated once burned, and the Ministry of the Environment says the concentration is 33 times in fly ashes. So, in the case of Kyoto City, with maximum cesium-134 at 9 becquerels/kg and cesium-137 at 14 becquerels/kg in the fly ashes (total cesium 23 becquerels/kg), the amount of cesium in a kilogram of garbage would be 0.7 becquerel.

Besides, since it is from the garbage, the contamination may be from the contaminated food items from Tohoku and Kanto. In 2010, the level of cesium-137 of the grass land soil in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City was 1.8 becquerel/kg.

And what levels of radioactivity are we talking about on the disaster debris? Depending on the locations, they are anything from ND to over 1000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium according to the Ministry of the Environment, not even considering other nuclides, and that's before burning. The Ministry of the Environment says the max levels of contamination of the debris for wide-area disposal is 480 becquerels/kg before burning. Even if Kyoto City gets 100 becquerels/kg debris, that's more than 100 times the contamination that Kyoto has.

From Kyoto Shinbun (4/5/2012):

京都市、震災がれき 3施設で試験焼却　検証後判断

Kyoto City to test burn the disaster debris at 3 of its incineration facilities, and decide [whether to accept the debris] after the review of the test result

　東日本大震災で発生した岩手、宮城両県のがれき受け入れに向け、京都市は５日、本年度内に閉鎖する伏見区の東部クリーンセンターを除く東北部（左京区静市）、北部（右京区梅ケ畑）、南部（伏見区横大路）の３クリーンセンターで試験焼却の実施を決め、結果を検証した上で受け入れる考えを環境省に文書で回答した。

In order to accept the disaster debris from Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures from the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami, Kyoto City responded to the Ministry of the Environment in writing that it will conduct the test burn of the debris at its incineration facilities (Clean Centers) in the northeast (Shizuichi, Sakyo-ku), north (Umegahata, Ukyo-ku), and south (Yoko Oji, Fushimi-ku), and will accept the debris after reviewing the test result. The East Clean Center in Fushimi-ku will be closed by the end of this fiscal year, and it won't be used for test burn.

　市の方針では放射線医学や放射線安全管理の専門家による委員会を近く発足。関西広域連合が決めた受け入れ基準（放射性セシウム濃度が焼却前で廃棄物１キロ当たり１００ベクレル以下、焼却灰で２千ベクレル以下）の妥当性を判断し、試験焼却に伴う輸送上の防護措置や周辺への影響も検証する。

According to the city's plan, a committee of experts in radiation medicine and radiation safety management will be set up. The committee will examine the appropriateness of the standard set by the Kansai Wide Area Association (made of prefectures in Kansai Area) of 100 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the debris before burning, 2,000 becquerels/kg in the ashes, and study the protective measures during transportation of the debris for the test burning and the effect on the surrounding areas.

　その上で３カ所のクリーンセンターで順次試験焼却し、大気中の放射線濃度などの測定で安全性を確認する。焼却灰は近畿６府県などが共同利用する大阪湾圏域広域処理場（フェニックス）への埋め立てを前提にしており、灰の搬出影響も評価する。

The debris will then be burned at the three Clean Centers, and the air radiation levels will be measured to make sure the levels are safe. The ashes will be buried in the huge landfill on Osaka Bay ("Phoenix"). The city will also evaluate the effect of transporting the ashes.

　市は試験焼却を前にクリーンセンター周辺の住民説明会を開くほか、試験結果も公表する。市担当者は「多くの市民が早期復興を応援している。理解が得られるよう努力する」としている。

The city will conduct meetings for the residents around the Clean Centers, and the test result will be made public. The official in charge in the city says, "Many Kyoto residents support early recovery [of Tohoku]. We will do our best to persuade them."

It sounds all too familiar. Oh yes, the repeat of Shimada City. The city will do whatever it wants, no matter how the residents are against it. Meetings are for the formality, a facade, and the city will simply tell the residents what's already decided, which is to accept the debris and burn in their neighborhoods.

Kyoto City is in the basin, and the incineration plants surrounds the city. Smart move, mayor, for few bucks.

I wonder Mr. Iyer, who wrote for NY Times telling the readers "Now's the season!" to visit Kyoto, knows about this. I guess he does, and he will probably excoriate those foreign tourists who will stay away from Kyoto for such a trivial nuisance like potential radiation contamination.

Many tourist destinations and residential areas are close to these Clean Centers. Kyoto International Convention Center is located 3 km southeast of the North Clean Center. The South Clean Center is located in Fushimi, one of the most famous places for sake brewing in Japan. Brewers are located about 2 kilometers northeast of the South Clean Center. (Information from one of my Japanese readers who is very upset about the whole issue).

Here's the map showing the Clean Centers in Kyoto City. They're going to do the test burn in the Centers in red circles:

What kind of country is this, willing to defile its ancient city steeped in history and culture that dates back more than 1,200 years that even the US decided not to bomb (although it did consider nuking the city...)?

Even if Kyoto City's mayor wants to burn, why would the national government even ask Kyoto City to burn the disaster debris that got contaminated with radioactive materials, arsenic, petrochemicals, and other toxins?

Kyoto is one of my favorite cities. I've visited countless times. This is just mind-boggling.

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#Radioactive Japan: Food Items Exceeding New Safety Limit (100Bq/Kg)

Farmers in contaminated areas in Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, and Chiba continue to farm, and the government is busy setting up one PR campaign after another to appeal safety of things produced in Japan. The media do report, but unless your information comes from the net only, the news gets buried in the cacophony of mind-numbing small news of no significance on TV and print media.

Here's the list of food items that I found which exceeded the new safety limit of 100 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium:

1. Shiitake mushrooms: 350 becquerels/kg from Murata-cho, Miyagi Prefecture

2. Bamboo shoots: 120 becquerels/kg from Kisarazu City, Chiba Prefecture; 110 becquerels/kg from Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture

3. Bamboo shoots: 130 becquerels/kg from Sakae-cho, Chiba Prefecture; 170 becquerels/kg from Abiko City, Chiba Prefecture
   

4. "Komon Kasube" (common skete): 640 becquerels/kg, test fishing off the coast of Iwaki City, Fukushima

5. Beef: 106 becquerels/kg from Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture (the cattle had to eat the feed (rye) with 772 becquerels/kg of cesium...)

6. "Suzuki" (sea bass): 104 becquerels/kg in Sendai Bay, Miyagi Prefecture

7. Shiitake mushrooms: 146 becquerels/kg from Shirosato-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture; 131 becquerels/kg from Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture

8. "Wakasagi" (pond smelt): 426 becquerels/kg from Akagi Onuma in Gunma Prefecture
   

1, 2, 4: Nikkei Shinbun (4/4/2012)
3: Chiba Prefecture press release (4/5/2012)
5: Yomiuri Shinbun (4/5/2012), Gunma Prefecture press release (4/5/2012) for meat, and for feed
6: Miyagi Prefecture press release (4/4/2012)
7: Ibaraki Prefecture press release (4/2/2012)
8: Kyodo News (4/3/2012)

All these food items (except for No. 4) would have been freely sold and bought, as "safe", under the old, provisional safety limit that was in effect up till April 1, 2012. Checking the prefectures' press releases, there are many other whose cesium levels are barely under 100 becquerels/kg.

In case of Gunma Prefecture, they use NaI scintillation survey meter with detection limit of about 30 becquerels/kg. Only when the meat is found with cesium exceeding the rather high detection limit, they use their germanium semiconductor detector.

This happened last month in March, but a kindergarten in Okazaki City in Aichi Prefecture (whose governor is pushing Toyota to become the final disposal site for disaster debris ashes) served lunch to kindergarteners using dried shiitake with 1,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium from Ibaraki Prefecture. 30 kilograms of these shiitake are either in the markets or have already been purchased by customers in Okazaki City. (NHK News, 4/5/2012)

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AFP: Radioactive fluid leaks at French nuclear reactor, INES Level 1 Event

Penly Nuclear Power Plant has two Pressure Water Reactors made by Framatome (today's Areva NP).

From AFP (4/5/2012):

Radioactive cooling fluid leaked at a French nuclear reactor Thursday following two small fires, but the spillage was safely collected in special tanks, officials said.

A reactor at the power plant in Penly on the English Channel near the port of Dieppe shut down automatically after two small fires broke out Thursday, the plant's operator EDF said.

Firefighters easily extinguished the blazes but a cooling pump was damaged, in turn causing a joint to leak radioactive water into collection tanks located inside the reactor building, EDF said.

The reactor continued to be cooled properly and teams were working to lower the water pressure, the company said.

EDF said the installation was secure, no one was injured, and there were "no consequences for the environment".

It was not clear what caused the fires but the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) said firefighters had found small pools of burning oil but quickly extinguished the flames.

"These were pools of a few dozen square centimetres," said agency spokeswoman Evangelia Petit, adding the authority would make an inspection of the site Friday.

The ASN said in a statement that it had provisionally put the event at level 1 on the international INES scale, which classifies nuclear accidents at between 1 ("irregularity") and 7 ("major incident").

The agency said it was lifting the crisis situation that had been put in place on Thursday evening.

France generates 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power and the future of the industry has become an issue in campaigns for the presidential election to be held in April and May.

France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy.

But the country's reliance on nuclear power has been called into question since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, which prompted Germany to announce plans to shut all of its reactors by the end of 2022.

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Japan's Ministry of Economy Subsidizes E-Commerce for Businesses in Disaster Affected Areas

so that the small to medium size companies based in all of Tohoku including Fukushima and northern Kanto Prefectures and Chiba can sell their goods produced in these areas via eBay, J-Shoppers (for Europe, the US), Taobao, Buy-J (China), Yahoo Taiwan, PCHome Store (Taiwan).

Information from the press release from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) (2/29/2012):

Program target:

• Businesses located in the disaster-affected areas;

• Businesses that sell goods made in the disaster-affected areas

Disaster-affected areas defined as:

• Tohoku - Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima

• Kanto - Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Chiba

Types of subsidies:

• 1/2 of E-Commerse setup cost including translation

• 1/2 of monthly running cost (for businesses located in the disaster-affected areas only)

• PR and marketing campaigns by the two companies who have been selected to assist these businesses

Companies selected to assist these businesses [probably the recipients of fat fees from the Ministry]:

• ECAA (E-Commerce Asia Association) to assist in selling to the US, Europe, and China;

• Nippon Express [one of the largest logistics companies in Japan] to assist in selling to Taiwan

Number of businesses to be assisted:

• Businesses targeting the US, Europe: 70

• Businesses targeting China: 70

• Businesses targeting Taiwan: 60

The press release does not say anything about what kind of goods are to be sold.

ECAA seems to have been set up in 2009 by a person named Takashi Okita, president of a credit card transaction processing company called SBI VeriTrans. ECAA is being operated from inside SBI VeriTrans.

SBI VeriTrans has a service to support client companies sell goods by setting up sites in virtual shopping malls for them and managing the operation for them. The webpage does not say how much they charge for the service.

Looking around, I found this site that has the rough cost estimate to set up a website with different features. The simplest would cost 500,000 yen (US$6,000), the most sophisticated 5 million yen (US$60,000), with E-Commerce features 2.5 million yen (US$30,000) (as of 2008). Site management fee is on top of these setup costs.

By helping 140 businesses set up E-Commerce sites and operating the sites for them, it looks like the company behind ECAA is set to make a small fortune, courtesy of the Japanese tax payers.

Regulatory capture is the way to do business in Japan even among the younger generation of businesspeople like Mr. Okita. It has become more so in post-Fukushima Japan, with new NPOs cropping up to capture the government handouts for the supposed "recovery and reconstruction of Tohoku", and somehow they are well-accepted by people because, as a non-profit, "they are not there to make money like for-profit companies".

One such NPO operating out of a business address service company in Shinjuku, Tokyo managed to get the government money to host a marathon road race featuring elementary school children in Minami Soma City the other day, in the same district where the "black dust" containing 3.43 million becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found (Kashima).

(H/T Enformable for METI press release)

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Photos of 4/5/2012 Leak of Waste Water from Reverse Osmosis

Bleak conditions persist more than one year after the start of the nuclear accident. Take a look at the photos released by TEPCO on April 5, 2012 of the latest leak. Kanaflex hoses bundled and wrapped with black insulation material.

I do not know if the insulation material was ripped by the workers to find the leak, or it had been ripped before.

From TEPCO's "Photos for Press" (4/5/2012):

The water was rich in beta nuclides according to TEPCO, who released the data without specifying the locations where they took the samples ("upstream dam No.1, downstream dams No.2 and 3..."). The unit is per cubic centimeter, and no breakdown of which beta nuclides they detected.

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Young Mayor of Chiba City Dismisses Citizen's Concern Over Plutonium on the Disaster Debris

Toshihito Kumagai is a 34-year-old mayor of Chiba City who wants to accept and burn disaster debris from Iwate and Miyagi to "help the recovery" of the disaster-affected region. On his twitter on April 5, he answers a question from a citizen as follows:

千葉市が受け入れるかもしれない瓦礫にはプルトニウムは入っていますか？

(Citizen) Is there plutonium on the debris that Chiba City may accept?

プルトニウム、本当にお好きですね。セシウムを心配するのは程度の差こそあれ理解しますが、岩手宮城でプルトニウムを気にするのは理解できません。

(Mayor Kumagai) I don't understand why you like plutonium so much [or "Oh that plutonium again"]. I can understand the concern over cesium, but I don't understand why anyone worries about plutonium in Iwate and Miyagi.

The national government did the survey last year for plutonium in cities and towns in southern Miyagi. No survey for plutonium has been done in Iwate.

Since it is not the job of the Ministry of Education (who did the survey) to interpret the data, there is no word as to whether the amount detected was considered "background". The interpretation, the Ministry decided early on in the nuclear crisis last year, should be the job of the administration (prime minister).

Mayor Kumagai is a graduate of the NPO private school called "Isshin-juku" set up by Kenichi Ohmae, former senior partner of McKinsey & Co. The school's home page declares:

新しい日本を創造するネクストリーダー養成学校

Prep school to educate the next leaders who will create a new Japan

"Nekusuto lih-dah (next leader)". Only those who understand the Japanized English need to apply.

Future is bright.

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Goshi Hosono's Incomprehensible Remark About Radioactivity of Disaster Debris

This philandering minister is in charge of the Fukushima nuclear accident and in charge of decontamination and disaster debris spreading.

From his April 3 press conference, by the reporter named Suwa and appeared in the blog by Ryusaku Tanaka, independent journalist:

諏訪：セシウム134と137だけの測定で大丈夫と大臣はお考えだそうだが、なぜか？

細野：セシウム134、137で測れるのは、これまでさまざまな測定をしてきたなかで、セシウムで測れば、それ以外の核種は、それよりも非常に、いわゆるその放射性物質においても、ベクレルにおいても、放射能というレベルにおいて懸念はない。

Suwa: You believe measuring cesium-134 and cesium-137 is enough. Why?

Hosono: What can be measured by measuring cesium-134 and cesium-137, of all the measurements we have done so far, if we measure using cesium, then the rest of the nuclides, more than that to a great degree, in so-called radioactive materials, or in becquerels, on the level of radioactivity, there is no concern.

Did you get it?

Hosono did his utmost best by using all the words he had heard, clearly without understanding any of them, since March 11, 2011 - cesium, nuclide, radioactive materials, becquerels, radioactivity. He could have spared the embarrassment by simply saying "I don't know."

He is one of those politicians in their early 40s whom the mass media want to portray as the next prime minister, although he is being eclipsed these days by the mayor of Osaka who behaves like a kindergarten bully in a sand box. A great future either way for Japan and the Japanese.

A fish rots from the head down.

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