News About Japan

Tsunami that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake left millions tons of debris and rubble scattered across three prefectures of North Japan. Restoration can’t be taken until it is removed. Disaster-effected municipalities are responsible for disposing of debris, but they are also overwhelmed with other restoration and reconstruction tasks. Recently they are starting to get [...]

Japanese government decided to restructure its nuclear-related organizations. The government wants to clarify roles and responsibilities of every organization in case of a nuclear crisis. Also, it plans to submit  the IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety  this month. NHK report says that  Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will be independent from the Ministry of [...]

Small amounts of plutonium have been found in soil outside the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant. Mr. Kimura of Hokkaido University took samples from area 1.7 kilometers west from the power station, on April 21st,  before the area became an exclusion zone. Kanazawa University laboratory analyzed the samples and found minute amounts of  plutonium-239 and 240- [...]

Two workers of  Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant have been exposed to very high radiation. This is the first such case in which radiation levels in human bodies have exceeded the limit since the accident at Fukushima. Test shows that internal radiation absorbed by two men is between 200 and 580 millisieverts. The results indicate [...]

It is always the same story- TEPCO plans to plug all potential leaks of highly radioactive water from the Fukushima  nuclear power plant. And TEPCO wants to make this miracle in June! But despite all previous efforts, radioactive water keep leaking… TEPCO made a plan and submited it to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. [...]

French independent researchers found high radiation in Fukushima Prefecture. They measured radiation level 60 times higher than the annual reference level for human being according to international standarts. French research institute CRIIRAD’s representative said today to Japanese reposters in Tokyo about the results of its survey in Fukushima Prefecture. French researchers were checking amount of [...]

Extraordinarily high levels of radioactive cesium were found in seafloor samples from Miyagi and Ibaraki Prefectures. Samples collected from twelve places along Fukushima prefecture’s Pacific coast between May 9th and 14th contained radioactive cesium 137, about 100 times the normal level. Specialists from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology said that plankton most probably [...]

TEPCO informed that workers in Fukushima nuclear plant  have successfully restored cooling systems of all four  reactors. TEPCO workers are also working to install new water-circulating systems to  cool all the fuel pools more efficiently. This new system should start to work from July. Finally some good news.

TEPCO informed that  decontamination of highly radioactive water which leaked from reactors will cost at least 650 million dollars. According to TEPCO, about 84,700 tons of cooling water have leaked into basements and other areas of the 4 reactor buildings. This contaminated water makes work in reactors’ buildings very difficult if not impossible. TEPCO uses  [...]

Just as I expected yesterday, there is another leak of radioactive water in Fukushima nuclear plant. TEPCO says that radioactive water continues to leak from a waste disposal facility and water level had dropped by around 3 centimeters comparing with yesterday’s. TEPCO says it is possible that the water level in the facility will stop [...]