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Radioactive cesium-137 was found in Tokyo ’s tap water for the first time since April as Japan grapples with the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. The level was below the safety limit set by the government. Cesium-137 registered at 0.14 becquerel per kilogram in Shinjuku ward on July 2 and none was discovered yesterday, compared with 0.21 becquerel on April 22, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health . No cesium-134 or iodine-131 was detected, the agency said on its website. Enlarge image
Radioactive Cesium Is Found in Tokyo Tap Water for First Time Since April - Bloomberg
At first sight, there seems little out of the ordinary on this wet afternoon for the pupils of Oyama primary school. They wave from classroom windows as they rush to finish the day's cleaning chores. Outside, the wind and rain sends the school's pet rabbits into a retreat deep inside their hutches. But buried beneath the surface of the school playing field is evidence that life in this village, about 40 miles from the Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant, is far from normal: a large quantity of radioactive soil, wrapped in tarpaulin. Health concerns for the school's 225 pupils, aged six to 12, centre on the radioactive isotopes released by the plant, whose operator has been criticised for failing to prepare for the 11 March tsunami. In a preliminary report released on Wednesday, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) had underestimated the risk of the tsunami, although they praised the plant workers' post-disaster response.
Fukushima effect: Japan schools take health precautions in radiation zone | World news | The Guardian
Fukushima plant owners criticised by nuclear inspectors | World news | guardian.co.uk
International nuclear inspectors have criticised the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for failing to prepare for a tsunami of the size that slammed into the facility on 11 March, sparking the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. In a preliminary report issued on Wednesday, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) had underestimated the risk of a giant tsunami. The IAEA urged authorities to closely
The problems with the Fukushima nuclear plant have raised questions over Tepco's future Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is not fully prepared for heavy rain and winds of a typhoon heading towards the country, officials admit. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), which runs the plant, said some reactor buildings were uncovered, prompting fears the storm may carry radioactive material into the air and sea. Typhoon Songda - with winds up to 216km/h (134mph) - was moving north-east and could hit Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
BBC News - Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan 'unready for typhoon'
Japan may have lost race to save nuclear reactor | World news | The Guardian
Highly radioactive water is now being detected outside the containment area at Fukushima, experts have warned. Photograph: Tepco/AFP/Getty Images The radioactive core in a reactor at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant appears to have melted through the bottom of its containment vessel and on to a concrete floor, experts say, raising fears of a major release of radiation at the site. The warning follows an analysis by a leading US expert of radiation levels at the plant. Readings from reactor two at the site have been made public by the Japanese authorities and Tepco, the utility that operates it. Richard Lahey, who was head of safety research for boiling-water reactors at General Electric when the company installed the units at Fukushima, told the Guardian workers at the site appeared to have "lost the race" to save the reactor, but said there was no danger of a Chernobyl-style catastrophe.
BBC News - Japan nuclear: PM Naoto Kan signals 'maximum alert'
The government "will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert", he said, adding that he was seeking advice on whether to extend the evacuation zone around the plant. Meanwhile National Strategy Minister Koichiro Gemba said the government could consider temporarily nationalising Tepco, the company running the plant. Reactor 1: Damage to the core from cooling problems. Building holed by gas explosion. Highly radioactive water detected in reactor
The operators of a stricken Japanese nuclear plant have apologised for a "mistake" in reporting a radiation spike 10 million times above normal. Tokyo Electric Power Company, which has previously been criticised by officials for its handling of the crisis at the plant, said it got the readings wrong. The apology by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) related to water readings at reactor 2 at the plant, 240km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. It had said radiation levels reached 10 million times higher than normal in the cooling system but because the level was so high the worker taking the reading had to evacuate before confirming it with a second reading.
BBC News - Japan nuclear crisis: Radiation spike report 'mistaken'
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan appeared resigned on Monday to a long fight to contain the world's most dangerous atomic crisis in 25 years after high radiation levels complicated work at its crippled nuclear plant. Engineers have been battling to control the six-reactor Fukushima complex since it was damaged by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that also left more than 27,000 people dead or missing across Japan's devastated northeast. A magnitude 6.5 earthquake rocked the region on Monday, the latest in a series of aftershocks, and officials warned it would trigger a 50-cm (two feet) tsunami wave. Radiation at the nuclear plant has soared in recent days. Latest readings on Sunday showed contamination 100,000 times normal in water at reactor No. 2 and 1,850 times normal in the nearby sea.
Soaring radioactivity deals blow to Japan's plant | Reuters
Japan nuclear crisis: Fukushima Fifty pictures from inside nuclear power plant | Mail Online
These first images of inside the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant reveal the terrifying conditions under which the brave men work to save their nation from full nuclear meltdown. The Fukushima Fifty - an anonymous band of lower and mid-level managers - have battled around the clock to cool overheating reactors and spent fuel rods since the disaster on March 11. Conundrum: Two of the Fukushima Fifty pour over plans as they try to work out how to fix the stricken plant Efforts to control the leakage of radiation from the crippled nuclear plant in Japan received a setback early today when steam began pouring from four reactor buildings.
The dangers facing workers battling to avert disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were underlined on Thursday when three men were exposed to high levels of radiation after stepping in contaminated water. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), admitted that the workers had not measured radioactivity levels before beginning work, and that two, who are being treated for radiation burns, were not wearing protective boots. The two more seriously injured men were diagnosed with possible beta ray burns and were due to be taken to a special unit at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan 's nuclear safety agency said. The injuries are similar to regular burns, but can lead to serious complications over a period of several weeks.
Japan nuclear plant workers in hospital after radiation exposure | World news | guardian.co.uk