Fishing ban reinstated off #Fukushima coast

via International Business Times / Aug. 23, 2013 / A ban on fishing along the coast of Fukushima prefecture was greeted with frustration and anger by locals on Friday (August 22), in the aftermath of the latest contaminated water leak from the crippled nuclear reactor. In the port of Onahama, just 61 kilometers (37 miles) south of Fukushima Daiichi, fishermen who were forced to stop fishing were furious at the … Continue reading

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TEPCO: Deteriorated seams, contortion cause tank leak

via CNTV.cn / Aug. 25, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant has attributed this week’s massive leak of contaminated water to deteriorated seams and a possible contortion of a storage tank. Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco rushed to reassemble the tanks after the triple meltdown in March 2011. The quick fix was designed to last till 2016 until it worked out a more permanent solution, but has … Continue reading

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#TEPCO pleads for international help as crisis deepens

via Russia Today / Aug. 22, 2013 / TEPCO, operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, admits it needs overseas help to contain the radioactive fallout, after 18 months of trying to control it internally. It comes after the latest leak at the facility was deemed a “serious incident.” “Many other countries outside of Japan have experienced decommissioning reactors, so we hope we can consult them more and utilize their … Continue reading

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West Coast of North America to Be Hit Hard by #Fukushima Radiation

via  Washington’s blog / Aug. 20, 2013 / Radiation levels will concentrate in pockets in Baja California and other West Coast locations. While many people assume that the ocean will dilute the Fukushima radiation, a previously-secret 1955 U.S. government report concluded that the ocean may not adequately dilute radiation from nuclear accidents, and there could be “pockets” and “streams” of highly-concentrated radiation. The University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center … Continue reading

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18 Fukushima children diagnosed with thyroid cancer / 44 malignant cases reported

via Fukushima-Diary.com / Aug. 20, 2013 / On 8/20/2013, the investigative committee of Fukushima prefecture announced 18 Fukushima children were diagnosed with thyroid cancer (papillary cancer) by 7/31/2013. It was 12 on 5/27/2013. 6 more children were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2 months. They all had surgery already. Also, 26 children are diagnosed with potential malignant thyroid problems. It was 16 on 5/27/2013. 10 more children were diagnosed with … Continue reading

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‘Serious radiation incident’: Japan to radically raise the severity level of Fukushima leak

via RT.com / Aug. 21, 2013 / Japan will drastically raise the gravity of the latest Fukushima leak to Level Three, which is considered a “serious radiation incident” on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) for radiological releases. “Judging from the amount and the density of the radiation in the contaminated water that leaked…a Level Three assessment is appropriate,” read the document used during Wednesday’s weekly meeting of Nuclear Regulation … Continue reading

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Tritium levels in #Fukushima bay highest since measurements began – reports

via RT.com / Aug. 19, 2013 / Readings of tritium in seawater taken from the bay near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has shown 4700 becquerels per liter, a TEPCO report stated, according to Nikkei newspaper. It marks the highest tritium level in the measurement history. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has detected the highest radiation level in seawater collected in the harbor of the crippled nuclear plant in the … Continue reading

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Fukushima residents to sue state for lack of aid

via NHK World / Aug. 20, 2013 / Residents of Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled nuclear power plant, will sue the central government for negligence in providing assistance one year after the enactment of a relevant law. The law enacted in June last year mandates medical, housing and other support to current and former residents of areas where radioactive levels are higher than usual but were not designated as … Continue reading

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Japan looks to Nagasaki atom bomb maker for lessons on #Fukushima cleanup

via RT.com / Aug. 17, 2013 / TEPCO has sought the expertise of the same US company that produced plutonium for the atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki in World War II. Hanford Engineer Works produced the 20 pounds of plutonium used for the atomic bomb “Fat Man” which was unleashed on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The company has had decades of experience treating millions of … Continue reading

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Toxic puddles found near water tanks at #Fukushima

via Japan Times / Aug. 20, 2013 / Puddles of water with extremely high radiation levels have been found near water storage tanks on the premises of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, nuclear regulators and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday. The radiation level, measured around 50 cm above the toxic water, stood at about 100 millisieverts per hour, Tepco said, while acknowledging that the … Continue reading

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Can an Ice Wall Stop Radioactive Water Leaks from #Fukushima?

via National Geographic / Aug. 19, 2013 / As contaminated groundwater continues to flow from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant into the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese government has come up with a last-ditch solution that sounds like something out of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones: An underground wall of ice that would stop the radioactive leakage. Multiple efforts by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company to halt the … Continue reading

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TEPCO reveals new radioactive water leaks

via NHK World / Aug. 19, 2013 / Officials with Tokyo Electric Power Company say they will study storage tanks to find out why radioactive water is leaking at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The officials said on Monday about 120 liters of highly-radioactive water had leaked from a tank near the number 4 reactor. They detected 100 millisieverts per hour of radiation on the surface of puddles … Continue reading

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Water, Water Everywhere: Incentives and Options at #Fukushima Daiichi and Beyond

by Andrew DeWit / JapanFocus.org / August 16, 2013 / Japan’s ruined and radioactive reactor plant at Fukushima Daiichi has been an abiding source of concern among knowledgeable observers. There are a host of good reasons for this reemergence. As this Mainichi survey observes, it is now clear that several hundred tons of radiation-contaminated water is entering the ocean per day. Over the past week, it suddenly returned as an … Continue reading

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Insight: After disaster, the deadliest part of Japan’s nuclear clean-up

via Reuters.com / August 14, 2013 / The operator of Japan‘s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed … Continue reading

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Workers At #Fukushima ‘Sprayed’ With Radioactive Water

via eurasiareview.com / August 12, 2013 / Ten workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant were exposed to radiation from contaminated mist, TEPCO says. Workers in the building were prohibited from using tap water, which comes from the same tainted source 10 km from the facility. Exposure levels detected by radiation monitors worn by workers were found to be as much as 10 becquerels per square centimeter – 2.5 … Continue reading

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#TEPCO’s Fantasy World

via FukuLeaks.org / August 13, 2013 / TEPCO released this unrealistic statement to the press today. The report was for their creditors. In this report TEPCO claims they plan to restart Kashiwazaki Kariwa by January and return to profitability in fiscal 2013. There are just a few things standing in their way. This does not take into account the massive amounts of money that need to be paid to the … Continue reading

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#Fukushima zone fully redesignated

via world-nuclear-news.org / August 8th, 2013 / Preparations can begin for residents to return to the town of Kawamata near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The town was the final evacuated municipality to be redesignated. Separate from the evacuation area defined by a 20 kilometre radius from Fukushima Daiichi, the area near Kawamata was evacuated once it was known that radioactive particles had been carried by the wind … Continue reading

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Unit 2 Pedestal Opening Shows Damage; First Image

via fukuleaks.org / August 12, 2013 / The image above is the first glimpse of the right side of the pedestal opening for the CRD drive. This is a location higher up in the pedestal that the reactor vessel sits on top of. TEPCO has been trying to inspect inside the pedestal to better understand the extent of the meltdown and damage inside the reactor containment. Inspections of the torus … Continue reading

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Pump and pray: #Tepco might have to pour water on #Fukushima wreckage forever

via RT.com  /  by Prof. Christopher Busby / August 9, 2013 / Fukushima is a nightmare disaster area, and no one has the slightest idea what to do. The game is to prevent the crippled nuclear plant from turning into an “open-air super reactor spectacular” which would result in a hazardous, melted catastrophe. On April 25, 2011 – one month after the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the … Continue reading

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#Fukushima leaking radioactive water for ‘2 years’, 300 tons flowing into Pacific daily

via RT.com / August 7, 2013 / Radiation-contaminated water has been pouring into the Pacific Ocean from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the past two years, an industry ministry official told reporters on Wednesday.   A Japanese government official said an estimated 300 tons of contaminated water is leaking into the Pacific Ocean per day from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. Japanese authorities are working in crisis mode, … Continue reading

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#TEPCO discloses extent of nuclear plant leak

via ChannelNewsAsia.com / August 5, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has given its first public estimate of the size of the leakage of radioactive tritium into the Pacific Ocean since the disaster. Between 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of the substance is estimated to have leaked into the sea since May 2011, said Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). It was the first such figure … Continue reading

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If Rokkasho Ever Becomes Operational, It Will Release 18,000 Trillion Becquerels of Tritium into the Pacific Each Year

via EX-SKF / August 5, 2013 / While the amount of tritium released from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant since May 2011, 20 to 40 trillion becquerels which TEPCO finally told Nuclear Regulatory Authority on August 2, 2013, could be an order of magnitude lower than the amount if April 2011 were included, it would pale in comparison to what Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (pictured) in Aomori Prefecture would be releasing … Continue reading

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#Fukushima radioactive groundwater rises above barrier level

via RT.com / August 3, 2013 / Radioactive groundwater at the Japanese crippled nuclear plant has risen to levels above a barrier built to try and contain it – with risks of spilling over and reaching the ocean, Japanese media report. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which is responsible for decommissioning the wrecked plant, estimated that contaminated groundwater could reach the surface within three weeks, the Asahi newspaper said. … Continue reading

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#TEPCO logs ¥437.9 billion April-June net profit

via Japan Times / August 1st, 2013 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported Wednesday a group net profit of ¥437.93 billion for the April-June quarter, but fuel costs for thermal power generation to make up for the loss of atomic energy due to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant catastrophe that started in 2011 continued to weigh heavily on the utility. The quarterly net profit compares with a loss of … Continue reading

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#Fukushima radiation levels as high as 2011

via RT.com / July 29, 2013 / Water samples taken at an underground passage below the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contain alarming levels of radiation which are comparable to those taken immediately after the catastrophe. According to a Saturday statement by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the tested water contains 2.35 billion becquerels of cesium per liter, and the radioactive water is now seeping into the sea. The findings … Continue reading

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Estimated #Fukushima decontamination costs blow out to $50b

via NHK World / July 24, 2013 / Experts estimate that cleaning up radioactivity in Fukushima Prefecture would cost 50 billion dollars, more than 4 times the amount that has been earmarked. Experts from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology studied the cost of decontamination for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. They estimate that decontamination in no-entry zones will cost up to 20 billion dollars, and in … Continue reading

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TEPCO finally acknowledges #Fukushima plant leaks

via AlJazeera.com / July 23, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has said contaminated ground water had likely been flowing into the sea, acknowledging such a leakage for the first time. Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, also came under fire on Monday for the revelation that the number of plant workers with thyroid radiation exposure times exceeding the threshold levels for increased cancer risks … Continue reading

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Abenomics Trumps Nuclear Issue in #Fukushima

via Wall Street Journal / July 22, 2013 / Media surveys ahead of Sunday’s upper house election show that Japanese voters are placing the economy above all other issues, including the future of nuclear energy use. That appears to be true even in the prefecture of Fukushima, home to the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was the country’s worst-ever nuclear accident.   The Liberal Democratic Party … Continue reading

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#Fukushima Cancer Risk Surges

via Times Of India / July 22, 2013 / The ongoing saga of Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan that suffered a triple meltdown in March 2011 just got dangerously murkier.  The number of workers who suffered cancer-inducing radiation doses is not 178, but 1,978, Asahi Shimbun reported on Friday. That’s eleven times more than admitted by Tepco, the owner of the plant last December. After much international pressure, Tepco had … Continue reading

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Japan’s Nuclear Options

via ZeroHedge.com / Several companies applied to Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on July 8 for permission to restart a total of 10 nuclear reactors in the country. Despite widespread apprehension in Japan about nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster in 2011 that led to the shutdown of all of the country’s 54 nuclear reactors, the plan to restart the reactors may succeed for a few reasons. The reactors are located … Continue reading

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Disturbing Photos of #Fukushima Fruit

via IntelliHub.com / Anyone who follows the alternative media knows that the nuclear fallout from Fukushima is far worse than the governments of the world and the mainstream media will admit. A series of different photos have been posted on the web, showing the kind of mutations that the fallout has caused plants in nearby areas.  Recently it was also reported that radioactive water from the site has been leaking … Continue reading

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#TEPCO Hides Unit 3 Data, Who Watches TEPCO?

via SimplyInfo.org / July 17, 2013 / After months of data about water and little else, TEPCO remains mum on unit 3. Considerable progress has been made in removing the debris on the refueling floor. This reveals what could be considerable information and evidence related to the meltdown and massive blast at unit 3. The last report on unit 3 was in late May when they installed a cover over … Continue reading

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Op-Ed: What The #Fukushima 2013?

via OpEdNews.com / June 15, 2013 / Situation Normal, All Fukushima’d Up The first thing to know about the danger from the radioactive mass remaining on site in the three reactors that melted down at Fukushima is that nobody knows how much radioactive material there is, nobody knows how much uranium and plutonium it contains, and nobody knows how to make it safe — so no one knows how great … Continue reading

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Wind Farm takes shape off #Fukushima

via Euronews.com / June 15, 2013 / The first phase is complete of a plan to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm near the Fukushima nuclear plant that was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The first turbine has been delivered to the area and the facility is due to become operational in October. It is part of plans by Fukushima Prefecture to ditch nuclear energy … Continue reading

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#Fukushima is still leaking radiation and Tepco is still clueless

via QZ.com / June 12th, 2013 / Radioactive water has been steadily leaking into the sea around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ever since it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Japan’s nuclear watchdog announced on Wednesday. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, widely reviled for its inept response to the disaster, had long insisted that no leakage was taking place; in recent days … Continue reading

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Former #Fukushima Chief, Masao Yoshida, dies aged 58

via HuffingtonPost.com / July 10th, 2013 / Masao Yoshida, the man who led the life-risking battle at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant when it was spiraling into meltdowns, died Tuesday of cancer of the esophagus. He was 58. Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi said Yoshida died at a Tokyo hospital. TEPCO officials said his illness was not related to radiation exposure. Yoshida led efforts to stabilize the Fukushima … Continue reading

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#Fukushima Radioactive Levels Surge 90-Fold in Three Days

via CommonDreams.org / July 10th, 2013 / Levels of radioactive substances have surged once again in the groundwater surrounding the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday. The rates show that radioactive contamination is quickly spreading in the disaster area despite ongoing efforts to decommission the site, with levels of cesium-134 and cesium-137 as high as 90 times greater than they were just three … Continue reading

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Abe pushes for restart of nuclear reactors

via The Peninsula Online / July 8th, 2013 / Japan moved a step closer to restarting nuclear reactors yesterday as four utility companies applied for safety inspection of 10 idled plants, the clearest sign of a return to atomic energy nearly two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for restarts since taking office in December, freezing the previous government’s nuclear phase-out plan. … Continue reading

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Tritium Levels Soar on Coast at #Fukushima Plant

via Wall Street Journal / July 8, 2013 / More than two years after the devastating accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co is seeing levels soar of a radioactive element called tritium. The problem spot is on the coastal side of the plant’s heavily damaged No. 2 reactor, one of the areas where Tepco regularly monitors groundwater to check for radioactive elements that may … Continue reading

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Scientists detect highest cesium levels in a year in #Fukushima

via The Asahi Shimbum / July 8, 2013 / Radioactive cesium levels found in moss on a rooftop in downtown Fukushima exceeded 1.7 million becquerels, the highest levels detected in a year, researchers said. Ryoji Enomoto, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, who led the team, said radioactive cesium levels were unusually high in the samples collected. The city is located more than … Continue reading

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Protests in Japan as nuclear power plant reopens

via Guardian.co.uk / July 2, 2013 / Dozens of protesters shouted and danced at the gate of a nuclear power plant as it restarted on Sunday. It is the first to go back online since Japan shut down all of its reactors for safety checks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Ohi nuclear plant’s reactor No 3 returned to operation despite divided public opinion. Last month, the prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, … Continue reading

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Japanese Govt. gives up on #Fukushima Pref. decontamination efforts

via Nuclear-News.net / June 4th, 2013 / Government officials held a meeting in Tamura-city in Fukushima prefecture to explain to residents that they need to look after themselves from now on. Originally they were aiming to reduce the level of contamination down to 0.23uSv/h (=added ionizing radiation 1mSv/y). However they have now abandoned this aim and are not going to repeat any more decontamination. The officials have suggested to residents … Continue reading

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TEPCO Intends to Restart Reactors Elsewhere

via NY Times / June 3rd, 2013 / The operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Tuesday that it would ask regulators to allow it to restart two reactors at a separate site in eastern Japan, even as problems with the company’s cleanup in Fukushima continue to multiply. The request by the operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, is expected to be among a flurry of such … Continue reading

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#Fukushima waste incinerator takes shape

via World Nuclear News / July 2nd, 2013 / Construction of an incinerator is underway at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to burn the low-level waste (LLW) being generated from the clean-up and decommissioning of the site. The 3170-square-metre facility is expected to begin operating between September 2014 and March 2015. It will be used to reduce the volume of LLW – including such things as clothing, gloves and building materials … Continue reading

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Opinion: We cannot allow return to nuclear power without proper debate

via Asahi Shimbun / July 2nd, 2013 / POINT OF VIEW by Hirohito Ono / The run-up to July’s Upper House election will likely focus on the economy and foreign policy issues, but one topic that must be discussed is the Abe administration’s nuclear energy policy. In its platform for the December Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party said it “would seek the establishment of an economic and social … Continue reading

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Japan made secret promise with U.S. to restart pluthermal nuclear program

via The Mainichi / July 1, 2013 / A Japanese prime ministerial envoy secretly promised to the United States that Japan would resume its controversial “pluthermal” program, using light-water reactors to burn plutonium, according to documents obtained by the Mainichi. The secret promise was made by Hiroshi Ogushi, then parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, to Daniel Poneman, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, during Ogushi’s visit to … Continue reading

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Toxic groundwater found in Fukushima No. 1 well just 6 meters from Pacific

via Japan Times / June 30, 2013 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday it has detected high levels of radioactive substances, including strontium, emitting beta rays in groundwater taken from a well at the port of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Tepco said 3,000 becquerels of radioactive substances per liter were recorded in groundwater from the well, located just 6 meters from the Pacific. That concentration is 100 … Continue reading

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New map of radioactive iodine released from Fukushima Daiichi

via Enformable.com / June 28, 2013 / The American Health Physics Society released a map which shows how far radioactive iodine spread in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  The map was generated by researchers from the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the United States Department of Energy after they analyzed radiation data that had been gathered jointly between April 2nd and 3rd of 2011. The map records … Continue reading

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First MOX shipment since Fukushima disaster arrives in Fukui

via Japan Times / June 27, 2013 / Japan’s first shipment of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide (MOX) fuel since the Fukushima nuclear crisis broke out in March 2011 arrived early Thursday at the Sea of Japan port of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture. But the fuel, which took more than two months to get here from France and is scheduled to be used in reactor 3 of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s power plant … Continue reading

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TEPCO shareholders want out of nuclear power

via NHK World / June 26, 2013 / A group of shareholders at Tokyo Electric Power Company is demanding the utility withdraw from the business of nuclear power generation. TEPCO operates the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Shareholders gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday. It was their first annual meeting since the utility was effectively placed under government control. TEPCO Chairman Kazuhiko Shimokobe apologized to shareholders for continuing to cause … Continue reading

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