10-Day "Genki" (Cheer and Vitality) Festival in One of the Most Contaminated Districts in Fukushima City

It's in the realm of the surreal.

Hot-blooded men! Come to Fukushima!

From December 1st to 10th, in Onami District in Fukushima City! Real deal!

What's the "Festival" for? Decontaminating one of the most contaminated districts in Fukushima City with the district residents for 10 days, according to the organizer's website for the "Festival".

Where is Onami District? It is where the rice containing 1,270 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was found last year. It's the same district that well-meaning volunteers from all over Japan descended in October last year to "decontaminate". Unlike districts in the neighboring Date City, none of the districts in Fukushima

Here's part of the organizer's message about radiation and radiation exposure from the decontamination in Oonami District:

(emphasis is mine)

防護服は全員分手配しています。防護服の着用は個人の自由ですが、防護服を着用して作業を行うということは、住民に不安や威圧感を与えてしまうということを十分に理解した上、判断して下さい。大波地区の住民は作業場所内にも防護服なしで住んでいるということを忘れないで下さい。

We will arrange for the protective clothing for all participants. You are free to wear it, but use your own judgment if you wear it, and understand fully that by wearing the protective clothing and doing the decontamination you may cause fear and intimidation among the local residents. Please don't forget the residents of Onami District live there, in the areas designated for decontamination, without any protective clothing.

...尚、繰り返しになりますが、怪我や事故・活動終了後に起こった病気等、放射線障害等・その他のトラブル等はすべて自己責任となりますので、ご理解の上、お申し込みください。

...Also, just to remind you, injuries and accidents, sicknesses after the work, radiation damages, and other problems are all your responsibility. Please apply, with full understanding of this fact.

Bad-ass looking, long-haired, broad-shouldered real "men" like the manga illustration above will not need any protection, will they? (Oh he has dirty-blond hair, on top of that.)

The caution about protective clothing causing fear among the locals is what the current chairman of Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Commission Shunichi Tanaka told the decon volunteers last year in Date City, Fukushima, where he was one of the radiation experts advising the city.

The organizer, On the Road Fukushima, wants 1,000 volunteers for 10 days (100 volunteers per day), at their own risk, to go to Onami District and impart cheer and vitality to the suffering residents.

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Radioactive Rice: 1270 Bq/kg of Cesium from Rice in Onami District, Fukushima City

630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium discovered in the same district on November 16 was treated as "exception", with researchers from an august university (Tokyo University) weighing in with their theory on how "exceptional" the topography of that rice paddy was.

So much for that.

Now the maximum radioactive cesium from the rice in the district is 1270 becquerels/kg. From a different rice paddy.

Yomiuri Shinbun (11/26/2011) reports that radioactive cesium exceeding the national provisional limit was found in rice grown and harvested at 5 more farms in Onami District, Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture. But rest assured, as we are supposed to believe they haven't been sold in the market.

福島市大波地区で収穫された玄米から国の暫定規制値（１キロ・グラムあたり５００ベクレル）を超える放射性セシウムが検出された問題で、福島県は２５日、同地区の他の５農家の水田でとれた玄米からも規制値を超える玄米が見つかり、最大で１キロ・グラムあたり１２７０ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたと発表した。

As radioactive cesium exceeding the national provisional safety limit (500 becquerels/kg) had been detected in the rice harvested in Onami District in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture announced on November 25 that the rice harvested in 5 additional farms in the same district was found with radioactive cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit. The maximum was 1270 becquerels/kg.

いずれの玄米もＪＡや自宅の倉庫に保管されているか、親戚に配られたりしており、市場には流通していないという。

The rice is either stored in the warehouses at JA or at the farms, or has been given to the farmers' relatives. It is not being sold in the marketplace, according to the prefectural government.

　県は同地区の稲作農家全１５４戸（４７５２袋）の分析を進めており、これまで３４戸分（８６４袋）を終了。うち、最初に見つかった農家を除く５戸（１０３袋）の玄米が新たに規制値を超えた。１２７０ベクレルが検出された農家は、２４袋全てで規制値を超え、最小でも９７０ベクレルと高かった。別の農家の玄米も５４０～１１１０ベクレルだった。

The Fukushima prefectural government has been testing the rice (4752 bags) from all 154 rice farms in the district. So far, 864 bags from 34 farms have been tested. Of those, 103 bags from 5 farms exceeded the provisional safety limit. At the farm that had the rice with 1270 becquerels/kg cesium, all 24 bags were found with cesium exceeding the provisional safety limit, and the minimum was also high at 970 becquerels/kg. At another farm, the rice tested between 540 to 1110 becquerels/kg.

Professor Kosako's "chaos in the harvest season" did not come, simply because the Fukushima prefectural government carefully avoided testing the soil or the rice from what they may have known as high contamination areas. (More in the next post.)

Now the harvest season is over, the new crop of rice from Fukushima is being sold and served all over Japan, and PR campaigns by TV celebrities and politicians are being mounted, again equating "good tasting" as "being safe". School children in Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture are being served with the rice harvested in Koriyama City (see my post); part of the city is just as badly contaminated as part of Fukushima City.

Chaos did not come, thanks to the selective measuring; instead, a resignation prevails.

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#Radioactive Rice: 630 Bq/kg Cesium from Rice in Fukushima City

For those of you who wrote to me that Fukushima rice was "safe" because it all "tested" well below the safety limit of 500 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, sorry. NHK has a piece of bad news for you.

630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium has been detected from the rice grown and harvested in Onami District of Fukushima City in Fukushima. It was discovered only because one farmer asked the local JA to test his rice.

The video clip accompanying the NHK News says 630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium from brown rice, and 300 becquerels/kg from white (milled) rice.

The entire Onami District was declared good to ship the rice, after the Fukushima prefectural government tested 2 samples in one location in Onami District.

Onami District of Fukushima City has high radiation contamination, and that's where the volunteers have been sent to "decontaminate", scooping out the sludge in the drain by hand, among other pleasant activities. (If you read Japanese, here's a report by very pro-nuke Nikkei Business on "decontamination" volunteering in Onami: http://t.co/pSgB131c)

NHK News Japanese (11/16/2011):

福島市大波地区の１か所の水田で収穫されたコメから、国の暫定基準値を超える１キログラム当たり６３０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。福島県は、この水田を含む大波地区について、今年度のコメの出荷を見合わせるよう要請しました。

It has been revealed that 630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium, exceeding the national provisional safety limit, was detected from the rice harvested in a location in Onami District of Fukushima City [in Fukushima Prefecture]. Fukushima Prefecture has requested the farmers in Onami District to refrain from shipping this year's crop.

福島県によりますと、福島市大波地区の農家が１か所の水田で収穫したコメについて、今月１４日、農協に放射性物質の検査を依頼したところ、簡易検査で国の暫定基準値の１キログラム当たり５００ベクレルを超える放射性セシウムの値が検出されました。

According to Fukushima Prefecture, a farmer in Onami District of Fukushima City asked the local JA (agricultural co-op) to test his rice harvested in one of his rice paddies for radioactive materials. In a simplified test administered by the JA, radioactive cesium exceeding 500 becquerels/kg was detected which exceeded the national provisional safety limit.

このため福島県が改めて検査したところ、玄米から１キログラム当たり６３０ベクレルの放射性セシウムが検出されたということです。検出された農家が収穫したコメは、今年度およそ８４０キログラムあるということですが、市場には流通していないということです。検査結果を受けて福島県は、この農家の水田を含む福島市大波地区の今年度のコメの出荷を見合わせるよう要請しました。

Fukushima Prefecture then tested again, and 630 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the brown rice. The farmer has about 840 kilograms of rice harvested, but it is not being sold in the market. Upon receiving the test result, the Fukushima prefectural government requested all the rice harvested in Onami District of Fukushima City, including that of this farmer, to be not shipped this year.

福島県が先月行った放射性物質の量を調べる「本検査」では、大波地区にあたる旧小国村は、２か所で検査が行われましたが、放射性セシウムは、国の暫定基準値を大幅に下回る１キログラム当たり３３ベクレルと２８ベクレルしか検出されず、県はこの地区のコメの出荷を認めていました。福島県では、この農家を含めた大波地区の農家１５４戸について、さらに詳しい調査を行うとともに原因を調べることにしています。

In the "main survey" that Fukushima Prefecture conducted last month to measure radioactive materials in rice, two locations in the former Oguni-mura in Onami District were tested. Radioactive cesium detected there were vastly below the national provisional safety limit, at 33 becquerels/kg and 28 becquerels/kg, and the prefectural government allowed the shipment from the entire district. The Fukushima prefectural government plans to conduct a detailed survey of [the rice harvested in] all 154 farms in Onami district, and investigate the cause [of high radioactive cesium content].

Well, the cause is Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

The governor of Fukushima Prefecture, the "world-famous" Yuhei Sato, had declared Fukushima rice to be "safe" and vowed to mount an aggressive PR campaign to promote the rice harvested in Fukushima throughout Japan. Koriyama City in Fukushima Prefecture, also with high radiation contamination, has started to feed school children with locally grown and harvested rice.

Oops.

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110 Volunteers and Residents to "Decon" High Radiation Area in Fukushima City

Everybody knows the decon doesn't work, everybody rolls with their fingers crossed. Everybody knows the war is over, everybody knows the good guys lost. But so it goes, and everybody knows.

Or not. Maybe not these 110 volunteers from all over the country with good intentions, who chose to go to one of the very high radiation area (Onami District) in Fukushima City in Fukushima Prefecture to do the decontamination work.

Part of Onami District was "decontaminated" back in August as the "model" decontamination by the cleaning contractors hired by the city. In most locations, the radiation was hardly reduced, and in some locations the radiation after the "decontamination" went up. (Take a look at the results of the decon in August in my Japanese blog post.)

As you see in the photo by Yomiuri Shinbun, the district is in the mountains. Radioactive materials will continue to come from the mountains, no matter how (and how many times) they "decon" the roads and houses.

But Japanese media reports the effort by the volunteers and the residents of Onami District of Fukushima City trying to decontaminate, as if it's a good thing. This one from Yomiuri Shinbun (10/29/2011):

東京電力福島第一原発事故による放射能汚染を受け、福島市大波地区で２９日、ボランティアや住民が参加した除染作業が始まった。

On October 29, decontamination work started in Onami District in Fukushima Prefecture with volunteers and the residents participating.

　同市は市内全域約１１万世帯の除染を計画しており、大波地区ではトップを切って今月中旬から委託業者が作業している。しかし、「行政だけで進めるのは難しい」としてボランティアの協力も求めることにした。

The city plans to decontaminate the entire 110,000 households in the city. Onami District is the first to be decontaminated, and the contractors hired by the city have been working since mid October. However, the city felt it was difficult to proceed only with the government effort, and decided to call for volunteers.

　この日は、市などが募集したボランティア約１１０人と地区住民が参加。担当するのは線量が比較的低い場所で、手袋、マスク、線量計などを受け取った後、業者がすでに高圧洗浄機で屋根や壁を洗い流した住宅や集会所などで、落ち葉拾いや草むしりをしたり、表土が取り除かれた敷地に新たな土を入れたりした。

Today, 110 volunteers that applied for the work and the area residents participated. They would do the work in the locations with relatively low radiation. After fitted with gloves, masks and personal survey meters, they went to the private residences or public meeting halls whose roofs and walls had been already washed by the contractors with pressure washers. They collected dead leaves, removed weeds, and put in new soil where the surface of the soil had been removed.

　ボランティアは首都圏や北海道や岐阜県、大阪府など各地から集まっており、会社の同僚と参加した埼玉県川口市、会社員小池理恵さん（３６）は「住民は自分たちのせいではないのにつらい状況にある。少しでも手伝いができればと思って来た」と話していた。

Volunteers came from from all over Japan including the Tokyo Metropolitan area, Hokkaido, Gifu Prefecture, and Osaka. Rie Koike (age 36) came from Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture with her colleagues at work. She said, "The residents are in a different situation not of their making. I wanted to help them in any way I could."

From what I see in the photo, this "decon" looks no different from the one I posted on October 26, calling the house and yard cleaning "decontamination". The difference is that there are radioactive materials in the soil, on the stones, on the house, everywhere, which the flimsy masks and work gloves do not block.

But the volunteers can feel good about themselves for their hard work, the residents can feel as if they've reduced the radiation, and the city and the prefecture and the national government save a good chunk of money. Win-win for everyone.

I personally think it is unconscionable for the city to call for volunteers who are in no way trained in any kind of proper decontamination technique (if there is such a thing, that is). And to have a woman in the child-bearing age , like the one Yomiuri interviewed, do the work like this is totally beyond me.

(On the other hand, if she is 36, she should have known better by now.)

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