Japan's homeless 'recruited' for cleaning up Fukushima nuclear plant. Published time: December 30, 2013 11:22 Edited time: January 01, 2014 12:10 Two homeless men eating a meal outside shuttered shops at night in the western Japanese metropolis of Osaka. (AFP Photo / Richard A. Brooks) Homeless men are being recruited for one of the most unwanted jobs in the industrialized world - clearing of radioactive fallout at the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl - the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, a special report has claimed. One of the recruiters, Seiji Sasa, told Reuters how and where he is looking for potential laborers in the northern Japanese city of Sendai. "This is how labor recruiters like me come in every day," Sasa explained, walking past the destitute sleeping on cardboard in the winter cold, on the lookout for those who have nothing left to lose.
According to the Fukushima plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), dismantling the Fukushima Daiichi plant will require at least 12,000 workers just through 2015. The Fight against Radioactive Cesium in the Soil Kosuke Noborio (The World After 3.11) - Meiji University. There were still more unanticipated issues. It was reported that after removing fallen leaves from the mountains, radiation levels in that area fell immediately. This meant that cesium in the atmosphere had fallen on the leaves that covered the surface of the mountains. Therefore, raking the fallen leaves would have a temporary effect on lowering radiation levels. However, cesium does not bond to fallen leaves. In other words, the cesium was merely on the leaves in a water soluble form. This meant that while we could collect the cesium that just happened to be on the fallen leaves we raked, the cesium on the leaves still left on the mountains would dissolve into water when it rained, sinking into the surface and flowing underground.
Of course, there was no way to rake up all the leaves in the mountains—and if we could, there would still be the following problem. Fire Situation in Japan. Forest Fire Situation in Japan (IFFN No. 26 - January 2002, p. 54-60) Introduction Forests are deeply embedded in Japanese culture. This is not only represented by abundant traditional wooden buildings. Many tree reserves around temples and shrines indicate the high value of trees and forests.
With 25 million ha of forests, corresponding to a forest cover rate of 67 percent, Japan is one of the most densely forested countries in the world (Japan FAO Association 1997). The forest fire situation in Japan Influenced by its climatic and topographic conditions, it is a widely accepted perception that natural disasters such as floods and landslides are common in Japan (Forestry Agency Japan 1994). Table 1. Source: Forestry Agency Japan (2000). Table 2. 1 Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 3. Explanation: “Setting a brush fire” (Japanese: hiire) may include setting a prescribed fire (NTT 1999). Fire control organization Table 3. Source: White Book on Fire Service in Japan (1998). Figure 4. Table 4. Contaminated forests: Management after Chernobyl and Fukushima. Deep in the forested mountains of Fukushima Prefecture, in the town of Kawauchi, a woman in an apron and skirt stands in front of her house, solemnly scrutinizing her property.
A group of workmen, crouched nearby drinking their afternoon tea, have cleared the property of all underbrush and grass. Beyond them a dry brown expanse slopes 20 meters up the hillside, its trees now branchless trunks poking upward between fresh-cut stumps. The woman is one of thousands of residents and temporary workers who are using chainsaws, bamboo rakes, and their own hands to remove leaf litter, undergrowth, and trees from the periphery of houses and other buildings throughout the eastern part of the prefecture. Their target is anything that might harbor contamination from the March 2011 meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.
Japanese officials believe that scouring the land will rid it of radionuclides so that evacuees can safely move back home. High radiation levels found at possible Olympic sites; Tokyo dismisses data. A citizens group said it measured high radiation levels at candidate venues for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the metropolitan government disputes the data and the International Olympic Committee has shown little interest. The group said some of the potential venues for the Summer Games had radiation levels exceeding the Tokyo metropolitan government’s standards for decontamination: 0.23 microsievert per hour 1 meter above ground or a hot spot that measures at least 1 microsievert per hour higher than the surrounding areas.
The site with the highest airborne radiation level was Yumenoshima Stadium in Tokyo’s Koto Ward. Located within Yumenoshima Park, the site has a nearby canal where yachts are anchored. For the 2020 Games, the stadium and the 12 adjacent baseball fields will be plowed over. Facilities are planned there for equestrian events, such as dressage and jumping. Soil from the site had 3,040 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram. Fukushima : Tepco a-t-il menti sur la gestion des eaux contaminées ? Fukushima, réaction en chaîne à ciel ouvert ? Alors que la situation s’envenime à Fukushima, le taux de radioactivité ne cessant de grimper, on pourrait à venir à s’interroger : sommes-nous en train d’assister à une réaction en chaîne à ciel ouvert ? En effet, depuis maintenant 30 longs mois, Tepco, évoquant à la fin 2011, un « arrêt à froid » ne maitrise pourtant pas grand-chose.
Entre les fuites à répétitions, volontaires ou accidentelles, polluant la nappe phréatique située sous la centrale, ainsi que l’Océan, stockant dans des containers parfois fragiles, des milliers de litres d’eau fortement radioactive, l’exploitant nucléaire ne semble pas en capacité de résoudre quoi que ce soit, même s’il affirme aujourd’hui avoir remis en état de marche une unité de dépollution partielle de l’eau et assurant qu’à la mi novembre, il va s’employer à vider la piscine si préoccupante du réacteur n°4. On sait que ce qui se trouve dans cette piscine représente 85 fois la quantité de Césium 137 libéré lors de la catastrophe de Tchernobyl. lien. Cette nuit en Asie : révélations sur l’incroyable mensonge de Tepco à Fukushima.
Ex-US Regulator: Fukushima Cleanup Complicated. Fukushima: The long road home after 2011 disaster. Operation to clean up irradiated areas around Fukushima nuclear plant continuesOriginal 20-kilometer (12-mile) exclusion zone around crippled facility remainsResidents only allowed access to outer parts of this area for limited periodsNew radioactive leaks at plant continue to cause concern two and a half years on Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (CNN) -- "You're listening to Fukushima FM.
" The cheery jingle on the radio reminds you of a different time in this part of eastern Japan, a different world that existed before March 11, 2011. Driving past houses that residents can no longer call home, you can still see sandbags holding down tarpaulins on damaged roofs. They're the result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami more than two years ago, and repairs the owners have not yet been able to carry out.
Read: Fukushima radiation levels spike Residents can now return to certain parts of the outer exclusion zone but only during the day. Expert: Fukushima freeze plan not ideal. Radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to be dumped into Pacific. Updated Mon 2 Sep 2013, 7:13pm AEST The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog has flagged dumping radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific, but says the level of contamination in the water would be well within legal limits. Speaking to foreign reporters in Tokyo, the head of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Shinichi Tanaka, said there may be no choice but to pump radioactive water from Fukushima into the sea. "I'm afraid that it is unavoidable to dump or release the water into the sea," he said.
But Mr Tanaka says most of the contamination would be removed first, meaning the radiation level in the water would be well below the legal limit. There is more than 300,000 tonnes of contaminated water being stored at the Fukushima plant, with hundreds of tonnes being added to that every day. Key points: Neighbouring countries and local fishermen have expressed concern at the mooted release from the plant, where contaminated water was already believed to have escaped into sea. Fukushima keeps on leaking, Japan keeps on issuing confusing explanations. So its been Fukushima crisis minimisation, now its CRISIS, so….Rokkasho to the rescue?? Fukushima : l'Autorité de régulation du secteur nucléaire se rend sur le site. Mission Impossible? Fukushima scientists brace for riskiest nuclear fuel clean-up yet.
Japanese government to take over Fukushima nuclear reactor. Tepco sidelined by Japanese government as Fukushima reactors leak radioactive water. Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (centre), wearing a protective suit and a mask, inspects at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photo: Reuters TOKYO: The Japanese government has lost patience with the efforts of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to get the crippled reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant under control. Toshimitsu Motegi, the minister of trade and industry, visited the plant on Monday to determine progress on decommissioning three reactors damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011. Tepco admitted last week that hundreds of tons of highly radioactive water had leaked from a steel tank at the plant and that as much as 300 tons of contaminated water has been escaping into the sea every day since the earthquake.
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi (left), wearing a protective suit and a mask, inspects contaminated water tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. VIDEO: Losing Hope in Fukushima. Mission Impossible. What Future Fukushima? ミッション・インポッシブル 福島に未来は. The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 39, No. 1. September 30, 2013. Mission Impossible. What Future Fukushima? ミッション・インポッシブル 福島に未来は Japanese translation is available Critics say Japan’s government is engaged in a vast, duplicitous and fruitless campaign to decontaminate Fukushima Prefecture. David McNeill and Miguel Quintana in Fukushima, Japan Send to Kindle Across much of Fukushima’s rolling green countryside they descend on homes like antibodies around a virus, men wielding low-tech tools against a very modern enemy: radiation.
A sweating four-man crew wearing surgical masks and boiler suits cleans the home of Saito Hiroshi (71) and his wife Terue (68). For a few days during March 2011, after a string of explosions at the Daiichi nuclear plant roughly 25 kilometers to the south, rain and snow laced with radiation fell across this area, contaminating thousands of acres of rich farming land and forests Over 160,000 people near the plant were ordered to evacuate. Fukushima clean-up may be doomed. Www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/fukushima-clean-up-may-be-doomed-1.1537702 Irish Times David McNeill Tue, Sep 24, 2013, 01:00 Fukushima clean-up may be doomed Critics say Japan’s government is engaged in a vast, duplicitious and fruitless campaign Across much of Fukushima’s rolling green countryside they descend on homes like antibodies around a virus, men wielding low-tech tools against a very modern enemy: radiation. Power hoses, shovels and mechanical diggers are used to scour toxins that rained down from the sky 30 months ago.
The job is exhausting, expensive and, say some, doomed to failure. Today, a sweating four-man crew wearing surgical masks and boiler suits clean the home of Hiroshi Saito (71) and his wife Terue (68). For a few days in March 2011, after explosions at the Daiichi nuclear plant roughly 25km (15.5 miles) to the south, rain and snow laced with radiation fell across this area, contaminating thousands of acres of rich farming land and forests. Like this: Abe admits that Japan needs help with Fukushima » In Other News » Tokyo Weekender.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted Japan could use a hand from the international community in containing the radioactive leaks at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. During an international conference in Kyoto Prefecture, Abe appealed for foreign help to mop up tons of highly-contaminated water spilling from the plant’s damaged reactors. “We are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge from overseas to contain the problem,” Abe said. “My country needs your knowledge and expertise.” The distress call came weeks after Abe reassured the International Olympic Committee that the crisis were “under control.” But almost daily reports of leaks and other mishaps prove the problem at the plant to be worse than expected. Tokyo Electric Power Co has long struggled to curb the seemingly endless flow of tainted ground water escaping from the damaged plant since the meltdowns triggered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
By: Maesie Bertumen. Fukushima radioactive groundwater readings rocket. Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant on June 12, 2013. Toxic radioactive substances in groundwater at the crippled plant have rocketed over the past three days, its operator said, admitting it did not know where the leak was coming from.POOL/AFP/File TOKYO (AFP) – Toxic radioactive substances in groundwater at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have rocketed over the past three days, its operator said, admitting it did not know where the leak was coming from.
Samples taken on Monday showed levels of possibly cancer-causing caesium-134 were more than 90 times higher than they were on Friday, at 9,000 becquerels per litre, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) revealed. Levels of caesium-137 stood at 18,000 becquerels per litre, 86 times higher than at the end of last week, the utility said. "We still don't know why the level of radiation surged, but we are continuing efforts to avert further expansion of contamination," a TEPCO spokesman stated. Source of Contamination at Fukushima Nuclear Plant Unknown. TOKYO — Fresh revelations about radiation contamination from the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant and a government regulator are prompting new concerns in Japan. What is expected to be a decades-long battle to halt radiation leaks and to clean up contaminated soil and water at the Fukushima-1 nuclear plant is back in the public eye following the release of new information this week.
The destroyed facility's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), says there have been significant increases in recent months in levels of radioactive cesium in the groundwater, as well as strontium and tritium offshore. Meanwhile, the head of the recently established Japan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Shunichi Tanaka, acknowledges contaminated water has probably been continually leaking into the Pacific Ocean since the plant was swamped by a tsunami triggered by a magnitude nine earthquake on March 11, 2011. Japan marks second anniversary of Fukushima disaster. Scientists detect highest cesium levels in a year in Fukushima. FUKUSHIMA--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 50 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. “Decontamination works encompassing broad areas are important, but it is also important to find spots where radiation levels are locally high by using simplified measurement tools and to decontaminate the spots,” Enomoto said. “It will help reassure people,” he said. Enomoto measured radioactivity levels there on June 8. The researchers used a simplified gamma camera to detect the radiation. A nonprofit group based in the city confirmed the original results; their tests detected 1.78 million becquerels of cesium. Government secretly backtracks on Fukushima decontamination goal.
Fukushima closes 2 parking lots for emergency decontamination work.
Fuites d'eau contaminée. Japan: Why the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant's Cleanup Is Faltering. Fuel-rod cooling halted by rats at crippled Japan nuclear plant. Rat, snakes, leaks betray just how frail Fukushima No. 1 is - The Japan Times.