The Yomiuri Shimbun
The tsunami that devastated the Sanriku coast after last week's massive earthquake reached heights of more than 15 meters, according to investigations by the Port and Airport Research Institute.
After reaching land, the tsunami collided with coastal mountains, and the water was pushed up to heights of more than 20 meters, the institute said. Experts believe it was one of the largest tsunami to ever hit Japan.
The institute began examining the ports in the tsunami zone Wednesday. At Onagawa Port, investigators discovered wreckage atop a three-story building near the ocean. Windows had been broken all the way up the side facing the sea, leading investigators to estimate the height of the tsunami at over 15 meters high.
Sanriku, which extends from Aomori Prefecture to Miyagi Prefecture, is a ria coast--a jagged coastline--a factor that increased the height of the tsunami.
Shizuoka University Prof. Motoyuki Ushiyama, a specialist in disaster information, concluded the tsunami reached 20 meters along the mountains after analyzing aerial photographs of the damage to Rikuzen-Takata, Iwate Prefecture.
The largest recorded tsunami to hit the area was a 38.2-meter wave that struck Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, following the 1896 Meiji Sanriku Earthquake and Tsunami.
(Mar. 19, 2011)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
19/03 N-mishap team ready to depart from U.S.
Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to dispatch an expert team trained to operate in areas contaminated with radiation, should the situation deteriorate at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, it was learned Thursday.
Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, told a press conference that 450 members of the team were "making preparations" for a dispatch order to Japan.
Willard also said another team comprising nine nuclear experts left for Japan on Thursday as an advance group. This group is trained to deal with terrorist activities involving nuclear arms and related problems on the U.S. mainland, he said.
According to the Pentagon Web site, the advance group is called the damage evaluation and management squad and is meant to be mobilized first after attacks or accidents involving chemical or biological agents, or radioactive or other nuclear substances.
He said the advance squad is capable of managing radiation and will be ready to provide a range of assistance if requested. It will assess what U.S. military forces would be necessary if the dangerous situation at the nuclear plant does not improve or if there is a massive accident that disperses high-level radiation.
The squad also can assist with search and rescue operations, and support decontamination, medical services, aviation, telecommunication and logistic activities, the Web site says.
However, it has no expert knowledge about the functioning of nuclear reactors.
The team also will advise Japan's Self-Defense Forces at the locations of radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power facility, Willard said.
Willard said he will visit Japan from Saturday to consult with SDF officers about steps to prevent the crisis from deteriorating further.
(Mar. 19, 2011)
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Defense Department is preparing to dispatch an expert team trained to operate in areas contaminated with radiation, should the situation deteriorate at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, it was learned Thursday.
Adm. Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, told a press conference that 450 members of the team were "making preparations" for a dispatch order to Japan.
Willard also said another team comprising nine nuclear experts left for Japan on Thursday as an advance group. This group is trained to deal with terrorist activities involving nuclear arms and related problems on the U.S. mainland, he said.
According to the Pentagon Web site, the advance group is called the damage evaluation and management squad and is meant to be mobilized first after attacks or accidents involving chemical or biological agents, or radioactive or other nuclear substances.
He said the advance squad is capable of managing radiation and will be ready to provide a range of assistance if requested. It will assess what U.S. military forces would be necessary if the dangerous situation at the nuclear plant does not improve or if there is a massive accident that disperses high-level radiation.
The squad also can assist with search and rescue operations, and support decontamination, medical services, aviation, telecommunication and logistic activities, the Web site says.
However, it has no expert knowledge about the functioning of nuclear reactors.
The team also will advise Japan's Self-Defense Forces at the locations of radiation leaks at the Fukushima nuclear power facility, Willard said.
Willard said he will visit Japan from Saturday to consult with SDF officers about steps to prevent the crisis from deteriorating further.
(Mar. 19, 2011)
19/03 Volunteer operations start in hard-hit areas
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Volunteers distribute rice balls and crackers to evacuees at a middle school in Sendai on Thursday.Volunteers from across the nation this week have started relief activities in the areas struck hardest by last week's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Nongovernmental organizations established after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake embarked on providing support to disaster victims at evacuation centers and other places. In Sendai, the municipal government established a volunteer registration center.
Some areas suffered such serious damage in the disaster that their local governments have been unable to set up their own volunteer registration systems.
Ahead of the three-day holiday starting Saturday, the influx of volunteers to disaster-stricken areas has been continuing at a swift pace. It is expected citizen volunteers will be able to engage in voluntary work throughout the three-day weekend, including Monday's vernal equinox.
"As damage was inflicted over a wide area, it's difficult to set up an operation base," said Masamichi Yoshitsubaki, 43, a volunteer at the Collaboration Center for Hanshin Quake Rehabilitation, a Kobe-based NGO providing volunteer relief operations. The organization was formed after the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture in 1995.
Yoshitsubaki is an experienced volunteer who worked to support victims after the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake devastated the central region of the prefecture in 2004, and a powerful earthquake occurred in China's Sichuan Province in 2008.
After the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake occurred March 11, the organization's three staff members left Kobe in a rented car.
Last Saturday night, they arrived in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, where they helped to distribute food to disaster victims at a primary school in the city.
On Monday, they traveled to Minami-Sanrikucho in the prefecture, 75 kilometers from Natori. After assessing the local conditions, they set up an operation base at a municipal gymnasium in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, where residents living near Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant had taken shelter.
"They're short of food. The prospects for restoring the electricity and water supply are still far from clear. We're trying hard to think about what we can do to help on a long-term basis," he said.
Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster, an NPO based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, has received daily offers from people willing to work as volunteers or donate relief supplies.
The organization plans to go to Niigata Prefecture, where a huge number of people have taken shelter, to establish a base of operations and visit shelters in Ojiya and Kariwamura in the prefecture.
It plans to distribute food and other supplies, and provide information about vacant rooms being made available to evacuees by local governments and private residents.
However, the difficulty of procuring fuel during the ongoing gasoline shortage is hampering the organization's activities. "There's no time to spare. We're getting impatient," managing director Hironobu Teramoto said.
On Tuesday, the Sendai municipal government and Sendai City Council for Social Welfare established a volunteer center at Miyagino gymnasium in the city, and began registering volunteers. About 70,000 people are taking shelter in Sendai.
The center on that day registered about 80 volunteers, who were dispatched to several shelters in the city.
"There are many elderly evacuees, and they've almost reached the limit of their physical strength," said Hideo Watanabe, an official of ADRA Japan, a Tokyo-based NPO that distributed miso soup to evacuees at Takasago Middle School in Sendai.
Local governments busy with the removal of rubble in the hard-hit areas of Onagawacho, Minami-Sanrikucho and Ishinomaki have been unable to set up volunteer registration centers or to provide care for evacuees, sources said.
(Mar. 19, 2011)
Volunteers distribute rice balls and crackers to evacuees at a middle school in Sendai on Thursday.Volunteers from across the nation this week have started relief activities in the areas struck hardest by last week's massive earthquake and tsunami.
Nongovernmental organizations established after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake embarked on providing support to disaster victims at evacuation centers and other places. In Sendai, the municipal government established a volunteer registration center.
Some areas suffered such serious damage in the disaster that their local governments have been unable to set up their own volunteer registration systems.
Ahead of the three-day holiday starting Saturday, the influx of volunteers to disaster-stricken areas has been continuing at a swift pace. It is expected citizen volunteers will be able to engage in voluntary work throughout the three-day weekend, including Monday's vernal equinox.
"As damage was inflicted over a wide area, it's difficult to set up an operation base," said Masamichi Yoshitsubaki, 43, a volunteer at the Collaboration Center for Hanshin Quake Rehabilitation, a Kobe-based NGO providing volunteer relief operations. The organization was formed after the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture in 1995.
Yoshitsubaki is an experienced volunteer who worked to support victims after the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Earthquake devastated the central region of the prefecture in 2004, and a powerful earthquake occurred in China's Sichuan Province in 2008.
After the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake occurred March 11, the organization's three staff members left Kobe in a rented car.
Last Saturday night, they arrived in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, where they helped to distribute food to disaster victims at a primary school in the city.
On Monday, they traveled to Minami-Sanrikucho in the prefecture, 75 kilometers from Natori. After assessing the local conditions, they set up an operation base at a municipal gymnasium in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, where residents living near Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant had taken shelter.
"They're short of food. The prospects for restoring the electricity and water supply are still far from clear. We're trying hard to think about what we can do to help on a long-term basis," he said.
Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster, an NPO based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, has received daily offers from people willing to work as volunteers or donate relief supplies.
The organization plans to go to Niigata Prefecture, where a huge number of people have taken shelter, to establish a base of operations and visit shelters in Ojiya and Kariwamura in the prefecture.
It plans to distribute food and other supplies, and provide information about vacant rooms being made available to evacuees by local governments and private residents.
However, the difficulty of procuring fuel during the ongoing gasoline shortage is hampering the organization's activities. "There's no time to spare. We're getting impatient," managing director Hironobu Teramoto said.
On Tuesday, the Sendai municipal government and Sendai City Council for Social Welfare established a volunteer center at Miyagino gymnasium in the city, and began registering volunteers. About 70,000 people are taking shelter in Sendai.
The center on that day registered about 80 volunteers, who were dispatched to several shelters in the city.
"There are many elderly evacuees, and they've almost reached the limit of their physical strength," said Hideo Watanabe, an official of ADRA Japan, a Tokyo-based NPO that distributed miso soup to evacuees at Takasago Middle School in Sendai.
Local governments busy with the removal of rubble in the hard-hit areas of Onagawacho, Minami-Sanrikucho and Ishinomaki have been unable to set up volunteer registration centers or to provide care for evacuees, sources said.
(Mar. 19, 2011)
18/03 Experts: Be wary of wild reports, rumors by Yomiuri
The Yomiuri Shimbun
False reports and e-mails have run rampant since last week's deadly earthquake, stoking fear and panicked buying of food and medicine.
Related organizations are calling on the public to act calmly and not be misled by inaccurate information and rumors.
At an evacuation center set up at Kawamata High School in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture--about 50 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant--a rumor circulated among town officials before dawn on Tuesday that the disaster response headquarters had issued an order for people to move or stay indoors. The center was established for people evacuated from towns within 20 kilometers of the plant.
Officials of the Namiemachi and Futabamachi municipal governments ran outside without confirming the information and woke up evacuees sleeping in cars outside and urged them to rush into the school's gymnasium. After sunrise that day, however, the evacuation order was proved to be false. The origin of the rumor was not known.
"A radio is the only source of information available [at the school's gym]," a Namiemachi municipal official complained. "We have no TV, and telephone and Internet services are limited. We can't get detailed information about the nuclear power plant, so correct information isn't reaching the evacuees."
A woman from Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, received an e-mail Monday from a friend telling her that future rainfall in the area would contain dangerous levels of radiation, so she should be sure to wear a raincoat.
The woman rushed to a number of shops only to find all raincoats sold out.
An official of the Nuclear Safety Technology Center called on the public to keep calm, saying: "Not having direct contact with rain is an effective way [to avoid radiation exposure], but the levels of radiation currently detected in the air do not indicate the possibility that radiation-laced rain will fall."
Also rampant were e-mails recommending the use of gargles that contain iodine, drinking iodine solutions and eating wakame seaweed and kelp shavings as substitutes for stable iodine preparation, an oral medicine that helps prevent physical damage from radioactive iodine.
Sales of gargles at a drugstore in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, shot up after a hydrogen explosion occurred at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday. The store sold out by Tuesday evening.
Experts have denounced such information as groundless. A researcher at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences warned that "swallowing a gargle will actually harm your health, and you can't expect desirable effects from eating wakame and things like that."
Likewise, an official of the Nuclear Safety Commission said "eating kelp shavings is not an appropriate way to restrict the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland."
SecureBrain Corp., a Tokyo-based Net security firm, warned against inflammatory mails, saying: "These are typical examples of chain mail, which carry the message 'send this to as many people as possible.' If you believe it and send the information to friends, you'll just fan anxiety."
An official of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry urged the public to "confirm information through reliable sources such as media reports and not be misled by chain mails. If you receive a chain mail, you should delete it promptly."
(Mar. 18, 2011)
False reports and e-mails have run rampant since last week's deadly earthquake, stoking fear and panicked buying of food and medicine.
Related organizations are calling on the public to act calmly and not be misled by inaccurate information and rumors.
At an evacuation center set up at Kawamata High School in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture--about 50 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant--a rumor circulated among town officials before dawn on Tuesday that the disaster response headquarters had issued an order for people to move or stay indoors. The center was established for people evacuated from towns within 20 kilometers of the plant.
Officials of the Namiemachi and Futabamachi municipal governments ran outside without confirming the information and woke up evacuees sleeping in cars outside and urged them to rush into the school's gymnasium. After sunrise that day, however, the evacuation order was proved to be false. The origin of the rumor was not known.
"A radio is the only source of information available [at the school's gym]," a Namiemachi municipal official complained. "We have no TV, and telephone and Internet services are limited. We can't get detailed information about the nuclear power plant, so correct information isn't reaching the evacuees."
A woman from Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, received an e-mail Monday from a friend telling her that future rainfall in the area would contain dangerous levels of radiation, so she should be sure to wear a raincoat.
The woman rushed to a number of shops only to find all raincoats sold out.
An official of the Nuclear Safety Technology Center called on the public to keep calm, saying: "Not having direct contact with rain is an effective way [to avoid radiation exposure], but the levels of radiation currently detected in the air do not indicate the possibility that radiation-laced rain will fall."
Also rampant were e-mails recommending the use of gargles that contain iodine, drinking iodine solutions and eating wakame seaweed and kelp shavings as substitutes for stable iodine preparation, an oral medicine that helps prevent physical damage from radioactive iodine.
Sales of gargles at a drugstore in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, shot up after a hydrogen explosion occurred at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Saturday. The store sold out by Tuesday evening.
Experts have denounced such information as groundless. A researcher at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences warned that "swallowing a gargle will actually harm your health, and you can't expect desirable effects from eating wakame and things like that."
Likewise, an official of the Nuclear Safety Commission said "eating kelp shavings is not an appropriate way to restrict the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid gland."
SecureBrain Corp., a Tokyo-based Net security firm, warned against inflammatory mails, saying: "These are typical examples of chain mail, which carry the message 'send this to as many people as possible.' If you believe it and send the information to friends, you'll just fan anxiety."
An official of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry urged the public to "confirm information through reliable sources such as media reports and not be misled by chain mails. If you receive a chain mail, you should delete it promptly."
(Mar. 18, 2011)
18/03 Blackout survival guide
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Due to the rolling power outages following the large earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku and Kanto regions last Friday, residents in some areas of Kanto will be asked to spend hours without any electricity. There are a variety of household items that do not require electric power and can be used in place of day-to-day appliances. People living in areas not directly affected by the outages can also conserve electricity by using these items.
===
Heat
Although spring is just around the corner, winter weather continues. Without electricity, air conditioners and kerosene heaters are useless. In their place, try using a hot-water bottle. By using a gas cooker to boil water and pouring it into the bottle, you will be able to keep a covered kotatsu or a blanket warm for half a day.
You should also search your house for a stock of disposable heat pads you may have purchased and forgotten about. Are they in your wardrobe or a drawer somewhere? Even if they have already expired, there is a chance they will still give off heat.
===
Cooking
Instead of using an electric rice-cooker, rice can be cooked in an earthen pot or any kind of pot you can find in your kitchen on the stove. Given the option, your best option would be a pressure cooker, which can cook rice in 20 to 30 minutes. It takes less time than using an earthen pot and uses less gas. It can also keep rice warm for a few hours.
If you use a gas burner, make sure to properly air the room, as circulation fans will not be working.
===
Cleaning
There are many items you can use to clean the floor instead of a vacuum cleaner. A dust mop with disposable dry sheets will get the job done, while a dust roller can keep the carpet clean.
Without power, a spray to keep dust from floating about also is a good option. You can vacuum up the dust when the power has returned.
===
Laundry
Although it can be hard work to hand-wash all your clothes, you can just wash less often. By dividing your clothes by level of necessity, you can wash them in bulk to efficiently reduce both the amount of laundry and number of washes.
Drum-type washer-dryers consume a lot of electricity. Use an ironing spray to smooth wrinkles and reduce the time it takes to iron.
===
Lighting and others
A camping lantern can be useful for nighttime power outages. Home centers also sell glow-in-the-dark tape, which creates a faint light after it is left under the sun. Stick bits of the tape on each step of the staircase to avoid tripping in the dark.
If you normally use a hair dryer, you should instead try a superabsorbent towel. Microfiber towels that can absorb water quickly help to conserve electricity, and, besides, they are actually good for your hair.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
Due to the rolling power outages following the large earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku and Kanto regions last Friday, residents in some areas of Kanto will be asked to spend hours without any electricity. There are a variety of household items that do not require electric power and can be used in place of day-to-day appliances. People living in areas not directly affected by the outages can also conserve electricity by using these items.
===
Heat
Although spring is just around the corner, winter weather continues. Without electricity, air conditioners and kerosene heaters are useless. In their place, try using a hot-water bottle. By using a gas cooker to boil water and pouring it into the bottle, you will be able to keep a covered kotatsu or a blanket warm for half a day.
You should also search your house for a stock of disposable heat pads you may have purchased and forgotten about. Are they in your wardrobe or a drawer somewhere? Even if they have already expired, there is a chance they will still give off heat.
===
Cooking
Instead of using an electric rice-cooker, rice can be cooked in an earthen pot or any kind of pot you can find in your kitchen on the stove. Given the option, your best option would be a pressure cooker, which can cook rice in 20 to 30 minutes. It takes less time than using an earthen pot and uses less gas. It can also keep rice warm for a few hours.
If you use a gas burner, make sure to properly air the room, as circulation fans will not be working.
===
Cleaning
There are many items you can use to clean the floor instead of a vacuum cleaner. A dust mop with disposable dry sheets will get the job done, while a dust roller can keep the carpet clean.
Without power, a spray to keep dust from floating about also is a good option. You can vacuum up the dust when the power has returned.
===
Laundry
Although it can be hard work to hand-wash all your clothes, you can just wash less often. By dividing your clothes by level of necessity, you can wash them in bulk to efficiently reduce both the amount of laundry and number of washes.
Drum-type washer-dryers consume a lot of electricity. Use an ironing spray to smooth wrinkles and reduce the time it takes to iron.
===
Lighting and others
A camping lantern can be useful for nighttime power outages. Home centers also sell glow-in-the-dark tape, which creates a faint light after it is left under the sun. Stick bits of the tape on each step of the staircase to avoid tripping in the dark.
If you normally use a hair dryer, you should instead try a superabsorbent towel. Microfiber towels that can absorb water quickly help to conserve electricity, and, besides, they are actually good for your hair.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
18/03 yomiurishimbun - Blackout survival guide
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Due to the rolling power outages following the large earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku and Kanto regions last Friday, residents in some areas of Kanto will be asked to spend hours without any electricity. There are a variety of household items that do not require electric power and can be used in place of day-to-day appliances. People living in areas not directly affected by the outages can also conserve electricity by using these items.
===
Heat
Although spring is just around the corner, winter weather continues. Without electricity, air conditioners and kerosene heaters are useless. In their place, try using a hot-water bottle. By using a gas cooker to boil water and pouring it into the bottle, you will be able to keep a covered kotatsu or a blanket warm for half a day.
You should also search your house for a stock of disposable heat pads you may have purchased and forgotten about. Are they in your wardrobe or a drawer somewhere? Even if they have already expired, there is a chance they will still give off heat.
===
Cooking
Instead of using an electric rice-cooker, rice can be cooked in an earthen pot or any kind of pot you can find in your kitchen on the stove. Given the option, your best option would be a pressure cooker, which can cook rice in 20 to 30 minutes. It takes less time than using an earthen pot and uses less gas. It can also keep rice warm for a few hours.
If you use a gas burner, make sure to properly air the room, as circulation fans will not be working.
===
Cleaning
There are many items you can use to clean the floor instead of a vacuum cleaner. A dust mop with disposable dry sheets will get the job done, while a dust roller can keep the carpet clean.
Without power, a spray to keep dust from floating about also is a good option. You can vacuum up the dust when the power has returned.
===
Laundry
Although it can be hard work to hand-wash all your clothes, you can just wash less often. By dividing your clothes by level of necessity, you can wash them in bulk to efficiently reduce both the amount of laundry and number of washes.
Drum-type washer-dryers consume a lot of electricity. Use an ironing spray to smooth wrinkles and reduce the time it takes to iron.
===
Lighting and others
A camping lantern can be useful for nighttime power outages. Home centers also sell glow-in-the-dark tape, which creates a faint light after it is left under the sun. Stick bits of the tape on each step of the staircase to avoid tripping in the dark.
If you normally use a hair dryer, you should instead try a superabsorbent towel. Microfiber towels that can absorb water quickly help to conserve electricity, and, besides, they are actually good for your hair.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
Due to the rolling power outages following the large earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku and Kanto regions last Friday, residents in some areas of Kanto will be asked to spend hours without any electricity. There are a variety of household items that do not require electric power and can be used in place of day-to-day appliances. People living in areas not directly affected by the outages can also conserve electricity by using these items.
===
Heat
Although spring is just around the corner, winter weather continues. Without electricity, air conditioners and kerosene heaters are useless. In their place, try using a hot-water bottle. By using a gas cooker to boil water and pouring it into the bottle, you will be able to keep a covered kotatsu or a blanket warm for half a day.
You should also search your house for a stock of disposable heat pads you may have purchased and forgotten about. Are they in your wardrobe or a drawer somewhere? Even if they have already expired, there is a chance they will still give off heat.
===
Cooking
Instead of using an electric rice-cooker, rice can be cooked in an earthen pot or any kind of pot you can find in your kitchen on the stove. Given the option, your best option would be a pressure cooker, which can cook rice in 20 to 30 minutes. It takes less time than using an earthen pot and uses less gas. It can also keep rice warm for a few hours.
If you use a gas burner, make sure to properly air the room, as circulation fans will not be working.
===
Cleaning
There are many items you can use to clean the floor instead of a vacuum cleaner. A dust mop with disposable dry sheets will get the job done, while a dust roller can keep the carpet clean.
Without power, a spray to keep dust from floating about also is a good option. You can vacuum up the dust when the power has returned.
===
Laundry
Although it can be hard work to hand-wash all your clothes, you can just wash less often. By dividing your clothes by level of necessity, you can wash them in bulk to efficiently reduce both the amount of laundry and number of washes.
Drum-type washer-dryers consume a lot of electricity. Use an ironing spray to smooth wrinkles and reduce the time it takes to iron.
===
Lighting and others
A camping lantern can be useful for nighttime power outages. Home centers also sell glow-in-the-dark tape, which creates a faint light after it is left under the sun. Stick bits of the tape on each step of the staircase to avoid tripping in the dark.
If you normally use a hair dryer, you should instead try a superabsorbent towel. Microfiber towels that can absorb water quickly help to conserve electricity, and, besides, they are actually good for your hair.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
16/03 Radiation hazard detected / Massive leak feared after fire at spent nuclear fuel pool
The Yomiuri Shimbun
High levels of radiation were detected at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Tuesday morning after a fire broke out near a pool in the No. 4 reactor where spent nuclear fuel is temporarily kept, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
"There is no doubt [these radiation levels] may pose health risks to humans," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference.
Earlier in the day, an explosion occurred at the No. 2 reactor at 6:14 a.m., leading to lower pressure in the suppression pool in the lower part of the reactor containment vessel.
TEPCO said radiation measuring 400 millisieverts (400,000 microsieverts) per hour was detected at 10:22 a.m. following the fire, which broke out at 9:38 a.m.
Experts fear that a massive amount of radioactive material has leaked from the reactors after the series of accidents that may have damaged nuclear fuel rods.
A minute amount of radioactive material has been detected in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures and Tokyo on Tuesday, local governments said.
At a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged the roughly 136,000 residents within a 20- to 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima power plant to stay indoors.
According to TEPCO and other sources, high levels of radiation were detected at multiple locations near the plant--30 millisieverts (30,000 microsieverts) per hour between the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, 400 millisieverts (400,000 microsieverts) around the No. 3 reactor, and 100 millisieverts (100,000 microsieverts) near the No. 4 reactor.
"The levels are completely different from the microsievert figures we had announced previously," Edano said. "These figures may cause health damage."
Four-hundred millisieverts per hour can increase incidence of cancer among those exposed. The figure also is 400 times legal radiation limits citizens are normally allowed to be exposed to, except for medical purposes.
In the wake of the fire at the No. 4 reactor, TEPCO informed the central and the Fukushima prefectural governments about the incident. It also sought cooperation from the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces to extinguish the fire. However, it was confirmed about 11 a.m. that the fire went out by itself.
TEPCO said the No. 4 reactor was out of operation for regular checks when the magnitude-9 earthquake hit the Tohoku region Friday.
However, the earthquake knocked out electricity to the reactor needed to circulate cooling water in the pool that temporarily stores spent nuclear fuel. As a result, residual heat from nuclear fuel rods raised the water temperature in the pool from the ordinary level of about 40 C to 85 C, TEPCO said.
"Lower water level in the pool exposed tubes [encasing the fuel rods], which reacted with steam, likely generating hydrogen and causing an explosion," said Tetsuji Imanaka, assistant professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute.
A total of 783 spent nuclear fuel rods were stored in the pool. At the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, three reactors--Nos. 4, 5 and 6--were out of service for regular inspections. About 300 to 500 spent nuclear fuel rods are also kept at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.
The explosion at the No. 2 reactor is believed to have damaged the suppression pool. The blast was heard at 6:14 a.m. at the No. 2 reactor, whose cooling functions had already been deteriorating. Pressure inside its suppression pool dropped from the normal level of three atmospheres to one atmosphere, according to TEPCO.
TEPCO said there is a possibility the suppression pool may have been partially damaged and radioactive material may have leaked outside.
At 7:50 a.m., 1-1/2 hours after the explosion, radiation of 1,941 microsieverts per hour was observed at the main gate of the No. 1 plant. Forty minutes later, the level shot up to 8,217 microsieverts per hour, which is more than eight times the exposure limit considered to be healthy for one year.
On Tuesday morning, wind at 1.5 meters per second was blowing from the northeast near the nuclear power plant. The main gate is on the northeast side of the No. 2 reactor, TEPCO said.
The University of Tokyo's research institute in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, located about 100 kilometers south of the power plant, detected radiation of more than 5 microsieverts per hour, the legal limit set under the Law on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness.
According to TEPCO, the pressure suppression pool is designed to release and lower steam pressure if it rises in the reactor containment vessel.
The pressure inside the containment vessel remained unchanged at 7.3 atmospheres, according to TEPCO. According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the suppression pool contains steam and water with radioactive material.
(Mar. 16, 2011)
High levels of radiation were detected at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Tuesday morning after a fire broke out near a pool in the No. 4 reactor where spent nuclear fuel is temporarily kept, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
"There is no doubt [these radiation levels] may pose health risks to humans," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference.
Earlier in the day, an explosion occurred at the No. 2 reactor at 6:14 a.m., leading to lower pressure in the suppression pool in the lower part of the reactor containment vessel.
TEPCO said radiation measuring 400 millisieverts (400,000 microsieverts) per hour was detected at 10:22 a.m. following the fire, which broke out at 9:38 a.m.
Experts fear that a massive amount of radioactive material has leaked from the reactors after the series of accidents that may have damaged nuclear fuel rods.
A minute amount of radioactive material has been detected in Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures and Tokyo on Tuesday, local governments said.
At a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged the roughly 136,000 residents within a 20- to 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima power plant to stay indoors.
According to TEPCO and other sources, high levels of radiation were detected at multiple locations near the plant--30 millisieverts (30,000 microsieverts) per hour between the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, 400 millisieverts (400,000 microsieverts) around the No. 3 reactor, and 100 millisieverts (100,000 microsieverts) near the No. 4 reactor.
"The levels are completely different from the microsievert figures we had announced previously," Edano said. "These figures may cause health damage."
Four-hundred millisieverts per hour can increase incidence of cancer among those exposed. The figure also is 400 times legal radiation limits citizens are normally allowed to be exposed to, except for medical purposes.
In the wake of the fire at the No. 4 reactor, TEPCO informed the central and the Fukushima prefectural governments about the incident. It also sought cooperation from the Self-Defense Forces and U.S. forces to extinguish the fire. However, it was confirmed about 11 a.m. that the fire went out by itself.
TEPCO said the No. 4 reactor was out of operation for regular checks when the magnitude-9 earthquake hit the Tohoku region Friday.
However, the earthquake knocked out electricity to the reactor needed to circulate cooling water in the pool that temporarily stores spent nuclear fuel. As a result, residual heat from nuclear fuel rods raised the water temperature in the pool from the ordinary level of about 40 C to 85 C, TEPCO said.
"Lower water level in the pool exposed tubes [encasing the fuel rods], which reacted with steam, likely generating hydrogen and causing an explosion," said Tetsuji Imanaka, assistant professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute.
A total of 783 spent nuclear fuel rods were stored in the pool. At the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, three reactors--Nos. 4, 5 and 6--were out of service for regular inspections. About 300 to 500 spent nuclear fuel rods are also kept at the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.
The explosion at the No. 2 reactor is believed to have damaged the suppression pool. The blast was heard at 6:14 a.m. at the No. 2 reactor, whose cooling functions had already been deteriorating. Pressure inside its suppression pool dropped from the normal level of three atmospheres to one atmosphere, according to TEPCO.
TEPCO said there is a possibility the suppression pool may have been partially damaged and radioactive material may have leaked outside.
At 7:50 a.m., 1-1/2 hours after the explosion, radiation of 1,941 microsieverts per hour was observed at the main gate of the No. 1 plant. Forty minutes later, the level shot up to 8,217 microsieverts per hour, which is more than eight times the exposure limit considered to be healthy for one year.
On Tuesday morning, wind at 1.5 meters per second was blowing from the northeast near the nuclear power plant. The main gate is on the northeast side of the No. 2 reactor, TEPCO said.
The University of Tokyo's research institute in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, located about 100 kilometers south of the power plant, detected radiation of more than 5 microsieverts per hour, the legal limit set under the Law on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness.
According to TEPCO, the pressure suppression pool is designed to release and lower steam pressure if it rises in the reactor containment vessel.
The pressure inside the containment vessel remained unchanged at 7.3 atmospheres, according to TEPCO. According to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the suppression pool contains steam and water with radioactive material.
(Mar. 16, 2011)
16/03 FAQs on radioactivity exposure, safety
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The following are excerpts from an interview with International University of Health and Welfare Clinic's health care center chief Gen Suzuki about how those people who have been ordered by the government to evacuate can prevent bodily exposure to radioactive material following the hydrogen explosions at the reactors of Tokyo Electronic Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Question: What worries should people have concerning the hydrogen explosion?
Answer: The reactors were placed in reactor containment vessels and these were housed inside buildings. The explosions occurred when a very large amount of hydrogen--created when the reactors were cooled--filled the building. Radioactive substances, such as iodine and cesium, that leaked from the reactors when the explosions occurred dispersed.
Q: Exposure to radiation can occur through contact with radioactive substances?
A: Yes, that's right. If people undergo examinations such as a CT scan, they are exposed to minute amounts of radiation.
Regarding this situation, the substances that emit radiation--not the radiation itself--have dispersed in the surrounding areas. External radiation exposure occurs when particles attach to a person's clothes or skin. Internal radiation exposure occurs after radioactive materials are ingested or absorbed through a wound.
Q: Is it better to stay inside?
A: It depends on how much radioactive materials disperse. But it's better to stay inside to prevent any exposure. If you're asked to stay inside, it is advisable to close all windows and doors, and cut off the external air flow by turning off any ventilators.
Q: What should we do if we have to go outside and evacuate to a shelter?
A: It is advisable to cover up and wear clothes that do not expose the skin as much as possible. Wear a hat and cover your nose and mouth with a wet towel or a mask. When you arrive at your destination, you should first check with authorities if any radioactive materials have adhered to your clothes or skin. If radioactive contamination is confirmed, you must decontaminate yourself.
Q: How do we decontaminate ourselves?
A: Take off your clothes, use wet towels to wipe such substances off yourself or take a shower. Specialists will judge what action should be taken case-by-case based on each shelter's procedures or the level of contamination. The removed clothes should be put in a vinyl bag and tightly secured.
Q: What about being in contact with those who have undergone decontamination procedures?
A: There is no problem because radioactive substances have already been removed. People who have undergone decontamination procedures can resume carrying on as normal.
Q: What about food?
A: Food outside may have been exposed to radioactive substances. You can wash the food but it's better not to eat it at all. Food inside is perfectly okay.
Q: What do you recommend in rainy or snowy weather?
A: It's possible that rain and snow can contain radioactive substances so it is recommended people stay inside. If going outside is unavoidable, follow the same procedures when you are advised to evacuate to a shelter and try to reach your destination as quickly as possible.
Q: How can we determine the level of radiation exposure?
A: Collective measures are used to estimate the exposure levels such as analyzing chromosomes and symptoms, conducting a blood test and using a device to measure internal radiation exposure.
However, there are not many specialists who can perform chromosome analysis and measure internal radiation exposure, so it's not always possible to test individuals at their request. When the nuclear fuel-processing plant accident occurred in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1999, tests were given only to patients who had worked at the site, patients who had displayed serious symptoms and to residents who were highly suspected to be exposed to a certain radiation levels.
Other measures to estimate exposure levels are based on facts such as the distance from a nuclear power plant; where you were (inside or outside a building, and whether the building was built of wood or concrete); and when and where you moved. For safety's sake, it's recommended to record your movements.
(Mar. 16, 2011)
The following are excerpts from an interview with International University of Health and Welfare Clinic's health care center chief Gen Suzuki about how those people who have been ordered by the government to evacuate can prevent bodily exposure to radioactive material following the hydrogen explosions at the reactors of Tokyo Electronic Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Question: What worries should people have concerning the hydrogen explosion?
Answer: The reactors were placed in reactor containment vessels and these were housed inside buildings. The explosions occurred when a very large amount of hydrogen--created when the reactors were cooled--filled the building. Radioactive substances, such as iodine and cesium, that leaked from the reactors when the explosions occurred dispersed.
Q: Exposure to radiation can occur through contact with radioactive substances?
A: Yes, that's right. If people undergo examinations such as a CT scan, they are exposed to minute amounts of radiation.
Regarding this situation, the substances that emit radiation--not the radiation itself--have dispersed in the surrounding areas. External radiation exposure occurs when particles attach to a person's clothes or skin. Internal radiation exposure occurs after radioactive materials are ingested or absorbed through a wound.
Q: Is it better to stay inside?
A: It depends on how much radioactive materials disperse. But it's better to stay inside to prevent any exposure. If you're asked to stay inside, it is advisable to close all windows and doors, and cut off the external air flow by turning off any ventilators.
Q: What should we do if we have to go outside and evacuate to a shelter?
A: It is advisable to cover up and wear clothes that do not expose the skin as much as possible. Wear a hat and cover your nose and mouth with a wet towel or a mask. When you arrive at your destination, you should first check with authorities if any radioactive materials have adhered to your clothes or skin. If radioactive contamination is confirmed, you must decontaminate yourself.
Q: How do we decontaminate ourselves?
A: Take off your clothes, use wet towels to wipe such substances off yourself or take a shower. Specialists will judge what action should be taken case-by-case based on each shelter's procedures or the level of contamination. The removed clothes should be put in a vinyl bag and tightly secured.
Q: What about being in contact with those who have undergone decontamination procedures?
A: There is no problem because radioactive substances have already been removed. People who have undergone decontamination procedures can resume carrying on as normal.
Q: What about food?
A: Food outside may have been exposed to radioactive substances. You can wash the food but it's better not to eat it at all. Food inside is perfectly okay.
Q: What do you recommend in rainy or snowy weather?
A: It's possible that rain and snow can contain radioactive substances so it is recommended people stay inside. If going outside is unavoidable, follow the same procedures when you are advised to evacuate to a shelter and try to reach your destination as quickly as possible.
Q: How can we determine the level of radiation exposure?
A: Collective measures are used to estimate the exposure levels such as analyzing chromosomes and symptoms, conducting a blood test and using a device to measure internal radiation exposure.
However, there are not many specialists who can perform chromosome analysis and measure internal radiation exposure, so it's not always possible to test individuals at their request. When the nuclear fuel-processing plant accident occurred in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 1999, tests were given only to patients who had worked at the site, patients who had displayed serious symptoms and to residents who were highly suspected to be exposed to a certain radiation levels.
Other measures to estimate exposure levels are based on facts such as the distance from a nuclear power plant; where you were (inside or outside a building, and whether the building was built of wood or concrete); and when and where you moved. For safety's sake, it's recommended to record your movements.
(Mar. 16, 2011)
18/03 As snow falls, a tearful vigil for wife, mom
Hiroshi Sakamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
ONAGAWACHO, Miyagi--"Mom, Hiroko, you must be freezing. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," said Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Hiratsuka, 66, was staring at the bodies of his mother and wife in the earthquake-ravaged town of Onagawacho on Thursday morning. Snow gently drifted down covering the bodies in a white mantle.
Although seven days have passed since the earthquake and tsunami, the bodies still have not been recovered.
Hiratsuka visits the site every day from his evacuation center to pray for his loved ones. There is nothing else he can do.
When the massive quake hit the town in the afternoon last Friday, Hiratsuka was at the home of a neighborhood acquaintance.
Rushing home, he found his 93-year-old mother, Minori, sitting on a chair on the road in front of their house.
His sister, who lived nearby, had rescued Minori, who had trouble walking, and his wife, Hiroko, 61, was helping out.
But while he was wondering how to evacuate the area, the tsunami hit.
In a moment, Hiratsuka found himself floundering about 10 meters away. Though he had a tight hold on Minori's arm, the two soon found water swirling around their chests and they were trapped in the rubble.
"It hurts, it hurts," Minori groaned, according to Hiratsuka. She died not long afterward.
"Mom, I'm so sorry," Hiratsuka said.
After managing to extricate himself from the rubble, Hiratsuka reluctantly left the site and headed for the municipal hospital. By that time, he had lost sight of his wife.
When he returned the following day, he found Hiroko's body under rubble. He sawed through the wood pinning her down, pulled her out and laid her body on the ground. He then covered her with a blanket.
Though he could see Minori's body under the rubble, he could not pull her out.
When he asked local government officials to recover the bodies, they turned him down, citing a manpower shortage.
Hiratsuka walks 15 minutes every morning from the town's gymnasium, where he is being sheltered, to the site where his loved ones are to offer prayers.
"You must be freezing. I'm so sorry I'm still unable to help you. Today marks the seventh day after your deaths," he said at the site.
He has yet to find his 38-year-old son, Masaru, who lived with them.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
ONAGAWACHO, Miyagi--"Mom, Hiroko, you must be freezing. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," said Yoshikatsu Hiratsuka, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Hiratsuka, 66, was staring at the bodies of his mother and wife in the earthquake-ravaged town of Onagawacho on Thursday morning. Snow gently drifted down covering the bodies in a white mantle.
Although seven days have passed since the earthquake and tsunami, the bodies still have not been recovered.
Hiratsuka visits the site every day from his evacuation center to pray for his loved ones. There is nothing else he can do.
When the massive quake hit the town in the afternoon last Friday, Hiratsuka was at the home of a neighborhood acquaintance.
Rushing home, he found his 93-year-old mother, Minori, sitting on a chair on the road in front of their house.
His sister, who lived nearby, had rescued Minori, who had trouble walking, and his wife, Hiroko, 61, was helping out.
But while he was wondering how to evacuate the area, the tsunami hit.
In a moment, Hiratsuka found himself floundering about 10 meters away. Though he had a tight hold on Minori's arm, the two soon found water swirling around their chests and they were trapped in the rubble.
"It hurts, it hurts," Minori groaned, according to Hiratsuka. She died not long afterward.
"Mom, I'm so sorry," Hiratsuka said.
After managing to extricate himself from the rubble, Hiratsuka reluctantly left the site and headed for the municipal hospital. By that time, he had lost sight of his wife.
When he returned the following day, he found Hiroko's body under rubble. He sawed through the wood pinning her down, pulled her out and laid her body on the ground. He then covered her with a blanket.
Though he could see Minori's body under the rubble, he could not pull her out.
When he asked local government officials to recover the bodies, they turned him down, citing a manpower shortage.
Hiratsuka walks 15 minutes every morning from the town's gymnasium, where he is being sheltered, to the site where his loved ones are to offer prayers.
"You must be freezing. I'm so sorry I'm still unable to help you. Today marks the seventh day after your deaths," he said at the site.
He has yet to find his 38-year-old son, Masaru, who lived with them.
(Mar. 18, 2011)
19/03 EU-Canada giải quyết xung đột về thịt bò hoócmôn
19/03/2011 17:09:00
Từ khóa : Canada, WTO, Hoócmôn, Thịt bò, Nhập khẩu, Lệnh trừng phạt EMAIL
Ảnh chỉ mang tính minh họa. (Nguồn: Internet)
Theo thông báo của Ủy ban châu Âu (EC), ngày 17/3, Liên minh châu Âu (EU) và Canada đã ký một thỏa thuận sơ bộ nhằm giải quyết cuộc xung đột giữa hai bên về việc bán sản phẩm thịt bò của Canada tại thị trường EU và cho phép bán các loại thịt động vật không sử dụng hoócmôn.
Theo thỏa thuận này, phía Canada sẽ bãi bỏ lệnh trừng phạt đối với một số mặt hàng nhập khẩu từ châu Âu vốn sử dụng để trả đũa với việc cấm bán thịt bò sử dụng hoócmôn trên lãnh thổ châu Âu.
Đổi lại việc bãi bỏ lệnh trừng phạt này, Canada sẽ nhận thêm một số hạn ngạch xuất khẩu thịt bò chất lượng sang EU.
Tuy nhiên, sản phẩm thịt bò này không có nguồn gốc sử dụng hoócmôn tăng trưởng. Cuộc xung đột này khởi đầu từ những năm 1980, và đã nhiều lần đưa ra trước Tổ chức Thương mại Thế giới (WTO).
Kể từ năm 1999, Canada áp thêm luật bổ sung vào một số sản phẩm nhập khẩu từ EU./.
Đăng Khoa/Brussels (Vietnam+)
Từ khóa : Canada, WTO, Hoócmôn, Thịt bò, Nhập khẩu, Lệnh trừng phạt EMAIL
Ảnh chỉ mang tính minh họa. (Nguồn: Internet)
Theo thông báo của Ủy ban châu Âu (EC), ngày 17/3, Liên minh châu Âu (EU) và Canada đã ký một thỏa thuận sơ bộ nhằm giải quyết cuộc xung đột giữa hai bên về việc bán sản phẩm thịt bò của Canada tại thị trường EU và cho phép bán các loại thịt động vật không sử dụng hoócmôn.
Theo thỏa thuận này, phía Canada sẽ bãi bỏ lệnh trừng phạt đối với một số mặt hàng nhập khẩu từ châu Âu vốn sử dụng để trả đũa với việc cấm bán thịt bò sử dụng hoócmôn trên lãnh thổ châu Âu.
Đổi lại việc bãi bỏ lệnh trừng phạt này, Canada sẽ nhận thêm một số hạn ngạch xuất khẩu thịt bò chất lượng sang EU.
Tuy nhiên, sản phẩm thịt bò này không có nguồn gốc sử dụng hoócmôn tăng trưởng. Cuộc xung đột này khởi đầu từ những năm 1980, và đã nhiều lần đưa ra trước Tổ chức Thương mại Thế giới (WTO).
Kể từ năm 1999, Canada áp thêm luật bổ sung vào một số sản phẩm nhập khẩu từ EU./.
Đăng Khoa/Brussels (Vietnam+)
22/03 Reactor cooling efforts continue
The Daily Yomiuri
Tokyo Electric Power Co. stepped up efforts Monday to restore electricity at a reactor at a quake-hit nuclear power plant while firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel continued spraying water to cool down two other overheating reactors at the complex.
But in a worrying development, gray smoke was seen rising near the temporary fuel storage pool of the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at about 3:55 p.m. TEPCO immediately suspended all restoration work and ordered its workers to evacuate the site.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said earlier in the afternoon the functions of the No. 2 reactor's central control room air conditioning system and some reactor instruments might be restored within the day.
A TEPCO inspection found that to supply electricity to the No. 2 reactor's central control room, some instruments, such as the backup water system motor and a power-supply unit, needed to be repaired or replaced.
It is expected to take several days to restore the reactor's cooling system, officials said.
The development came a day after TEPCO confirmed electricity had reached the switchboard-cum-transformer at the reactor's turbine building.
TEPCO workers also continued efforts to send electricity from the No. 2 reactor to the No. 1 reactor, and lay cables to the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors. However, work to lay cables to the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors was reportedly running into trouble because of debris from previous explosions and high radiation levels.
Electricity also reached the switchboard of the No. 5 reactor at about 11:30 a.m., and switched the reactor power source from an emergency generator to an outside power source about 90 minutes later, making it technically possible to send electricity to the No. 6 reactor, TEPCO officials said.
Electricity at the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors had been supplied by emergency diesel-powered generators.
At the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors, temperatures reportedly have stabilized at 100 C or lower. Water temperatures in the two reactors' nuclear fuel storage pools also declined to normal levels of 39.5 C and 32 C, respectively, as of 5 a.m. Monday, TEPCO said.
Experts warned the rain might temporarily raise radiation levels in the area because radioactive material that had floated in the air might fall to the ground.
3,700 tons of water sprayed
Meanwhile, a special squad of the Tokyo Fire Department and other firefighters blasted about 1,130 tons of water into the No. 3 reactor's nuclear fuel storage pool for about 6-1/2 hours until 4 a.m. Monday. It was the Tokyo firefighters' third spraying operation at the plant.
The combined amount of water blasted on the No. 3 reactor, including that sprayed by the SDF, reached 3,700 tons by Monday morning, officials said.
The SDF sprayed water on the fuel storage pool of the No. 4 reactor for about two hours starting at about 6:40 a.m. Monday.
The water-spraying operations to date likely have raised water levels in the nuclear fuel storage pools and decreased water temperatures, gradually lowering radiation levels from damaged nuclear fuel rods.
If workers are able to maintain the fuel storage pool water levels, the next focus would be to try to restore electricity from outside to the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors, so as to constantly cool the reactors using their own cooling systems.
Currently, workers are injecting pumped seawater into the reactor pressure vessels in each reactor core.
(Mar. 22, 2011)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. stepped up efforts Monday to restore electricity at a reactor at a quake-hit nuclear power plant while firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel continued spraying water to cool down two other overheating reactors at the complex.But in a worrying development, gray smoke was seen rising near the temporary fuel storage pool of the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at about 3:55 p.m. TEPCO immediately suspended all restoration work and ordered its workers to evacuate the site.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said earlier in the afternoon the functions of the No. 2 reactor's central control room air conditioning system and some reactor instruments might be restored within the day.
A TEPCO inspection found that to supply electricity to the No. 2 reactor's central control room, some instruments, such as the backup water system motor and a power-supply unit, needed to be repaired or replaced.
It is expected to take several days to restore the reactor's cooling system, officials said.
The development came a day after TEPCO confirmed electricity had reached the switchboard-cum-transformer at the reactor's turbine building.
TEPCO workers also continued efforts to send electricity from the No. 2 reactor to the No. 1 reactor, and lay cables to the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors. However, work to lay cables to the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors was reportedly running into trouble because of debris from previous explosions and high radiation levels.
Electricity also reached the switchboard of the No. 5 reactor at about 11:30 a.m., and switched the reactor power source from an emergency generator to an outside power source about 90 minutes later, making it technically possible to send electricity to the No. 6 reactor, TEPCO officials said.
Electricity at the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors had been supplied by emergency diesel-powered generators.
At the Nos. 5 and 6 reactors, temperatures reportedly have stabilized at 100 C or lower. Water temperatures in the two reactors' nuclear fuel storage pools also declined to normal levels of 39.5 C and 32 C, respectively, as of 5 a.m. Monday, TEPCO said.
Experts warned the rain might temporarily raise radiation levels in the area because radioactive material that had floated in the air might fall to the ground.
3,700 tons of water sprayed
Meanwhile, a special squad of the Tokyo Fire Department and other firefighters blasted about 1,130 tons of water into the No. 3 reactor's nuclear fuel storage pool for about 6-1/2 hours until 4 a.m. Monday. It was the Tokyo firefighters' third spraying operation at the plant.
The combined amount of water blasted on the No. 3 reactor, including that sprayed by the SDF, reached 3,700 tons by Monday morning, officials said.
The SDF sprayed water on the fuel storage pool of the No. 4 reactor for about two hours starting at about 6:40 a.m. Monday.
The water-spraying operations to date likely have raised water levels in the nuclear fuel storage pools and decreased water temperatures, gradually lowering radiation levels from damaged nuclear fuel rods.
If workers are able to maintain the fuel storage pool water levels, the next focus would be to try to restore electricity from outside to the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors, so as to constantly cool the reactors using their own cooling systems.
Currently, workers are injecting pumped seawater into the reactor pressure vessels in each reactor core.
(Mar. 22, 2011)
23/03 How much radiation is too much radiation?
The Yomiuri Shimbun
There is a lot of erroneous information floating around about radiation contamination, making it important to brush up on the basics so you can know what is really happening.
The government has placed restrictions on some products, including spinach from certain areas, after radioactive isotopes were detected on the produce and in the water supply after a series of accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
It is important to remember that "radiation" refers to a wide variety of radioactive elements.
What effects do these elements have on the human body? How can one prevent exposure and minimize the health risks?
===
It's in the food--can I eat it?
On Monday, government inspectors found levels of radioactive iodine and cesium that exceeded legal limits in spinach, milk and other produce from Tohoku and Kanto.
The radioactive material was leaked from the power plant and scattered by the wind, which carried it to nearby farms, where it adhered to the surface of spinach and pastures where cows were grazing.
Ingesting radioactive isotopes leads to internal exposure to radiation.
The Nuclear Safety Commission has set standards for acceptable levels of radiation in water, milk and produce--excluding root vegetables, such as yams.
The decision to restrict shipments of these items was based on these numerical standards.
For dairy products such as milk, the NSC has determined 300 becquerel of radioactive iodine per kilogram and 200 becquerel of radioactive cesium per kilogram are safe for consumption.
For vegetables, acceptable levels increase to 2,000 becquerel and 500 becquerel, respectively.
Following the detection of high levels of radioactive substances in some agricultural products Monday, the government ordered Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures to halt shipments of spinach and kakina greens. It also ordered Fukushima Prefecture to halt milk shipments for the time being.
"Even if people eat these products, there will be no immediate effect," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "We have imposed the restrictions in case the radiation leak becomes protracted."
Food safety expert Hideaki Karaki, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, said: "As it stands, the radiation levels that have been detected in food present no danger. But in all likelihood, many consumers would refuse to buy the products even if they were shipped, so factoring in distribution costs, this restriction was unavoidable."
"Moving forward, similar incidents and harmful rumors need to be nipped in the bud by disclosing correct information, and farmers need to be properly compensated for their losses," he said.
In Iitatemura, Fukushima Prefecture, radioactive iodine was detected in the water supply at levels three times higher the acceptable limit of 300 becquerel per kilogram. Nuclear experts believe airborne isotopes entered the water supply via the reservoirs and rivers from which the water is pumped.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry instructed the village's residents to refrain from drinking the water, but said they could still use the water for bathing and washing.
The numerical standards for food and water are based on the premise of the radioactive material being ingested for a year.
Based on this, the experts then calculate how much of the radioactive substance would be absorbed into the body by both adults and children, and to what extent their health would be affected. The government's limits are based on the results of these calculations and set at a level that avoids health risks.
At the levels that have been detected so far, people can still safely ingest the food or water until safer alternatives are secured without facing health risks, according to the ministry.
===
Low doses may not cause cancer
Past radiation leaks have shown that people exposed to 3,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour have a nearly 50 percent chance of dying within 60 days if they do not receive medical treatment.
However, the only precise data illustrating the long-term effects of radiation are found in studies of A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It shows that exposure to 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour increases the chances of developing cancer by 150 percent. The lower the exposure, the lower the risk of cancer.
About 28,000 people who were exposed to levels of up to 100 millisieverts were monitored over a 40-year period. About 4,400 of them developed cancer. This figure, however, is less than 2 percent--81 people--higher than the average for people who have not been exposed.
There is almost no difference. Even nuclear experts are divided over the correlation between exposure to less than 100 millisieverts of radiation and higher risks of cancer.
Because of this, the risk line is set at 100 millisieverts.
In day-to-day life, people are exposed to about 2.4 millisieverts of naturally occurring radiation every year.
No upper limits are set on exposure to radiation for medical treatments, such as CT scans, because benefits outweigh the risks.
However, as long as there is uncertainty about the effects, people should avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.
Government regulations require nuclear power plants to be built in a way that limits exposure of local residents to one millisievert per year.
The government is currently monitoring radiation levels across the country. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, the figure was 0.125 microsieverts, a level at which medical experts say there is no immediate effect on human health.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
There is a lot of erroneous information floating around about radiation contamination, making it important to brush up on the basics so you can know what is really happening.The government has placed restrictions on some products, including spinach from certain areas, after radioactive isotopes were detected on the produce and in the water supply after a series of accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
It is important to remember that "radiation" refers to a wide variety of radioactive elements.
What effects do these elements have on the human body? How can one prevent exposure and minimize the health risks?
===
It's in the food--can I eat it?
On Monday, government inspectors found levels of radioactive iodine and cesium that exceeded legal limits in spinach, milk and other produce from Tohoku and Kanto.
The radioactive material was leaked from the power plant and scattered by the wind, which carried it to nearby farms, where it adhered to the surface of spinach and pastures where cows were grazing.
Ingesting radioactive isotopes leads to internal exposure to radiation.
The Nuclear Safety Commission has set standards for acceptable levels of radiation in water, milk and produce--excluding root vegetables, such as yams.
The decision to restrict shipments of these items was based on these numerical standards.
For dairy products such as milk, the NSC has determined 300 becquerel of radioactive iodine per kilogram and 200 becquerel of radioactive cesium per kilogram are safe for consumption.
For vegetables, acceptable levels increase to 2,000 becquerel and 500 becquerel, respectively.
Following the detection of high levels of radioactive substances in some agricultural products Monday, the government ordered Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures to halt shipments of spinach and kakina greens. It also ordered Fukushima Prefecture to halt milk shipments for the time being.
"Even if people eat these products, there will be no immediate effect," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "We have imposed the restrictions in case the radiation leak becomes protracted."
Food safety expert Hideaki Karaki, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, said: "As it stands, the radiation levels that have been detected in food present no danger. But in all likelihood, many consumers would refuse to buy the products even if they were shipped, so factoring in distribution costs, this restriction was unavoidable."
"Moving forward, similar incidents and harmful rumors need to be nipped in the bud by disclosing correct information, and farmers need to be properly compensated for their losses," he said.
In Iitatemura, Fukushima Prefecture, radioactive iodine was detected in the water supply at levels three times higher the acceptable limit of 300 becquerel per kilogram. Nuclear experts believe airborne isotopes entered the water supply via the reservoirs and rivers from which the water is pumped.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry instructed the village's residents to refrain from drinking the water, but said they could still use the water for bathing and washing.
The numerical standards for food and water are based on the premise of the radioactive material being ingested for a year.
Based on this, the experts then calculate how much of the radioactive substance would be absorbed into the body by both adults and children, and to what extent their health would be affected. The government's limits are based on the results of these calculations and set at a level that avoids health risks.
At the levels that have been detected so far, people can still safely ingest the food or water until safer alternatives are secured without facing health risks, according to the ministry.
===
Low doses may not cause cancer
Past radiation leaks have shown that people exposed to 3,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour have a nearly 50 percent chance of dying within 60 days if they do not receive medical treatment.
However, the only precise data illustrating the long-term effects of radiation are found in studies of A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It shows that exposure to 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per hour increases the chances of developing cancer by 150 percent. The lower the exposure, the lower the risk of cancer.
About 28,000 people who were exposed to levels of up to 100 millisieverts were monitored over a 40-year period. About 4,400 of them developed cancer. This figure, however, is less than 2 percent--81 people--higher than the average for people who have not been exposed.
There is almost no difference. Even nuclear experts are divided over the correlation between exposure to less than 100 millisieverts of radiation and higher risks of cancer.
Because of this, the risk line is set at 100 millisieverts.
In day-to-day life, people are exposed to about 2.4 millisieverts of naturally occurring radiation every year.
No upper limits are set on exposure to radiation for medical treatments, such as CT scans, because benefits outweigh the risks.
However, as long as there is uncertainty about the effects, people should avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.
Government regulations require nuclear power plants to be built in a way that limits exposure of local residents to one millisievert per year.
The government is currently monitoring radiation levels across the country. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, the figure was 0.125 microsieverts, a level at which medical experts say there is no immediate effect on human health.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Radioactivity readings can be accessed online
The Daily Yomiuri
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has begun posting readings of environmental radioactivity in all 47 prefectures on its Web site.
The data is available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. In addition, data on daily levels of radioactive iodine-131 and cesium-137 in tap water by prefecture are available in Japanese.
The Web site is at www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/index.htm.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has begun posting readings of environmental radioactivity in all 47 prefectures on its Web site.
The data is available in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. In addition, data on daily levels of radioactive iodine-131 and cesium-137 in tap water by prefecture are available in Japanese.
The Web site is at www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/index.htm.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Swamped bus a tomb for kindergarten children
The Yomiuri Shimbun
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi--Its seats charred and window frames exposed, a twisted metal structure is all that remains of a kindergarten bus destroyed by the catastrophic tsunami that followed the March 11 earthquake.
Its passengers, five children aged 4 to 6 attending Hiyori Kindergarten in Ishinomaki, never made it home.
On that fateful day, the bus was scheduled to leave the kindergarten at 2:51 p.m. The driver, however, waited until the strong jolts subsided. With 12 children on board, the bus left the center and headed for the children's homes located in a residential enclave near Ishinomaki Port, according to the head of the kindergarten.
After dropping off seven children, the driver saw the tsunami approaching. He tried to head back to Hiyori Kindergarten located on higher ground.
But the tsunami quickly swallowed up the bus, which then became engulfed in flames after gasoline leaking from a gas station nearby ignited.
The children's bodies were later recovered either inside or close to the bus once floodwaters had receded.
Amazingly, the driver narrowly escaped death. He lost consciousness during the tsunami, but said when he came to he found himself sprawled on the roof of a building.
Ishinomaki residents have since been paying their respects at the bus site, offering flowers, water, chocolates and other snacks. Kindergarten officials have offered incense every morning.
Sadly, the tragedy was not a one-off incident. Elsewhere in the prefecture, in Yamamotocho, the tsunami engulfed another two kindergarten buses, killing a further seven children.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi--Its seats charred and window frames exposed, a twisted metal structure is all that remains of a kindergarten bus destroyed by the catastrophic tsunami that followed the March 11 earthquake.
Its passengers, five children aged 4 to 6 attending Hiyori Kindergarten in Ishinomaki, never made it home.
On that fateful day, the bus was scheduled to leave the kindergarten at 2:51 p.m. The driver, however, waited until the strong jolts subsided. With 12 children on board, the bus left the center and headed for the children's homes located in a residential enclave near Ishinomaki Port, according to the head of the kindergarten.
After dropping off seven children, the driver saw the tsunami approaching. He tried to head back to Hiyori Kindergarten located on higher ground.
But the tsunami quickly swallowed up the bus, which then became engulfed in flames after gasoline leaking from a gas station nearby ignited.
The children's bodies were later recovered either inside or close to the bus once floodwaters had receded.
Amazingly, the driver narrowly escaped death. He lost consciousness during the tsunami, but said when he came to he found himself sprawled on the roof of a building.
Ishinomaki residents have since been paying their respects at the bus site, offering flowers, water, chocolates and other snacks. Kindergarten officials have offered incense every morning.
Sadly, the tragedy was not a one-off incident. Elsewhere in the prefecture, in Yamamotocho, the tsunami engulfed another two kindergarten buses, killing a further seven children.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Tips on caring for your child
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Parents of infants in the earthquake-ravaged areas of Tohoku and Kanto are faced with caring for their children without such necessities as disposable diapers and powdered milk, both of which are in short supply.
In light of this, a number of family-oriented organizations are offering much-needed advice on how to take care of babies during this stressful time.
Since the March 11 quake, a 34-year-old mother of a 3-month-old baby has spent her nights at an evacuation center near her home in Miyagino Ward, Sendai. Even if she were to try to buy diapers, she would have to wait in a long and winding line at the supermarket.
"I couldn't stand there holding my baby in the freezing cold," she said. She has stopped changing the diapers when the baby urinates.
Shizuoka-based nonprofit organization Dakko to Onbu no Kenkyujo recommends an alternative to the disposable diaper that can easily be made using a plastic shopping bag:
Cut the handles and sides of a bag. Spread it open [see illustration]. Place a cloth, such as a towel, at the center of the open bag. Place your baby on the bag as you would with a diaper and use the handles to tie the front and back together.
Carrying your baby on your back for long periods of time without a carrier can be a serious burden on your arms, legs and lower back. "If your child can hold up its head on its own, you can use a single rope to carry the child on your back," the organization says.
Here is how you do it:
-- Place a towel on the baby's back and pass a four- to five-meter rope around the baby's back and beneath the child's armpits.
-- Hoist the child onto your back.
-- Lean forward with the child on your back, making sure the rope is taut.
-- Bring the rope over your shoulders to the front of your chest and twist the rope ends a few times. Pass one end underneath the child's bottom and the other around the child's lower back, and bring both ends to your front.
-- Tie the two ends tightly at your stomach. Make sure your child is at a height where he or she can see over your shoulder.
This will work even without a bath towel, and also can be used to carry adults.
Tokyo-based Shizen Ikuji Tomo no Kai (Friends of natural child-rearing; http://shizen-ikuji.org) has a number of helpful suggestions. One is for feeding children who are in the midst of being weaned. The organization suggests crushing or dividing the adult food distributed at evacuation centers for use as baby food.
The group has another less-than-orthodox suggestion: "Though you normally shouldn't transfer food mouth to mouth for fear of causing cavities, a mother could soften food by chewing it a bit and then give it to her child," an organization member suggested.
Some people are worried about stress leading to a temporary inability to breast-feed, or a lack of nutrition in the breast milk resulting from an imbalance in the mother's diet. Showa University Hospital pediatrician Katsumi Mizuno offers some hope: "Just look at your baby and continue to breast-feed; you will eventually start lactating again."
As long as your baby seems healthy and continues to urinate and move his or her bowels, your child is getting enough breast milk, he says.
La Leche League Japan, a private organization that promotes breast feeding, offers counseling for breast-feeding mothers who have been affected by the quake at their mobile Web site (www.llljapan.org/i/).
(Mar. 23, 2011)
Parents of infants in the earthquake-ravaged areas of Tohoku and Kanto are faced with caring for their children without such necessities as disposable diapers and powdered milk, both of which are in short supply.
In light of this, a number of family-oriented organizations are offering much-needed advice on how to take care of babies during this stressful time.
Since the March 11 quake, a 34-year-old mother of a 3-month-old baby has spent her nights at an evacuation center near her home in Miyagino Ward, Sendai. Even if she were to try to buy diapers, she would have to wait in a long and winding line at the supermarket.
"I couldn't stand there holding my baby in the freezing cold," she said. She has stopped changing the diapers when the baby urinates.
Shizuoka-based nonprofit organization Dakko to Onbu no Kenkyujo recommends an alternative to the disposable diaper that can easily be made using a plastic shopping bag:
Cut the handles and sides of a bag. Spread it open [see illustration]. Place a cloth, such as a towel, at the center of the open bag. Place your baby on the bag as you would with a diaper and use the handles to tie the front and back together.
Carrying your baby on your back for long periods of time without a carrier can be a serious burden on your arms, legs and lower back. "If your child can hold up its head on its own, you can use a single rope to carry the child on your back," the organization says.
Here is how you do it:
-- Place a towel on the baby's back and pass a four- to five-meter rope around the baby's back and beneath the child's armpits.
-- Hoist the child onto your back.
-- Lean forward with the child on your back, making sure the rope is taut.
-- Bring the rope over your shoulders to the front of your chest and twist the rope ends a few times. Pass one end underneath the child's bottom and the other around the child's lower back, and bring both ends to your front.
-- Tie the two ends tightly at your stomach. Make sure your child is at a height where he or she can see over your shoulder.
This will work even without a bath towel, and also can be used to carry adults.
Tokyo-based Shizen Ikuji Tomo no Kai (Friends of natural child-rearing; http://shizen-ikuji.org) has a number of helpful suggestions. One is for feeding children who are in the midst of being weaned. The organization suggests crushing or dividing the adult food distributed at evacuation centers for use as baby food.
The group has another less-than-orthodox suggestion: "Though you normally shouldn't transfer food mouth to mouth for fear of causing cavities, a mother could soften food by chewing it a bit and then give it to her child," an organization member suggested.
Some people are worried about stress leading to a temporary inability to breast-feed, or a lack of nutrition in the breast milk resulting from an imbalance in the mother's diet. Showa University Hospital pediatrician Katsumi Mizuno offers some hope: "Just look at your baby and continue to breast-feed; you will eventually start lactating again."
As long as your baby seems healthy and continues to urinate and move his or her bowels, your child is getting enough breast milk, he says.
La Leche League Japan, a private organization that promotes breast feeding, offers counseling for breast-feeding mothers who have been affected by the quake at their mobile Web site (www.llljapan.org/i/).
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Work resumes after fire scare
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Work to restore electricity to power cooling systems of the troubled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant resumed Tuesday morning, 16 hours after all workers were evacuated because gray smoke--raising fears of a fire--was seen rising from the No. 3 nuclear reactor.
Though occasional thin white smoke was still observed at the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors in the morning, Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the quake-hit nuclear plant, judged it safe to resume restoration work because it believed the white smoke was not caused by fire and that radiation levels had decreased.
However, since the cause of the smoke was unknown, the situation at the plant remained unpredictable, added the utility.
TEPCO and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said operations to restore power resumed at the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors at about 8 a.m.
At the No. 4 reactor, workers confirmed at 10:35 a.m. that electricity reached the switchboard-cum-transformer at its turbine building.
At the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors, which already had been connected to external power, workers checked instruments and electrical systems in preparation for distributing electricity. They prioritized restoring power to the No. 2 reactor, whose pressure suppression chamber under its containment vessel has apparently been damaged. Lighting and functions of meters and gauges in the reactor's central control room would be restored by the end of Wednesday, TEPCO added.
Workers were expected to restore instrument functions at the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors central control rooms by Thursday.
TEPCO added it would switch the No. 6 reactor power source from an emergency generator to an outside power source Tuesday afternoon.
Work to restore power at those reactors was suspended after gray smoke was observed at the No. 3 reactor at 3:55 p.m. Monday. White smoke also rose from the No. 2 reactor shortly after 6 p.m. that day.
"Smoke at the No. 2 reactor is believed to be steam from sprayed water," Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Tuesday. "However, smoke at the No. 3 reactor is likely due to residual materials such as oil inside [the facility], which burned briefly as temperatures there rose."
Meanwhile, a special squad of the Tokyo Fire Department postponed spraying water into the No. 3 reactor's fuel storage pool from Tuesday morning to the afternoon because smoke was observed there Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon, TEPCO began a water dousing operation at the No. 4 reactor with a German-made squeeze pump that can spray water over a long distance using a 58-meter-long arm. The Self-Defense Forces said they would decide whether to blast the No. 4 reactor with water after studying the progress of TEPCO's restoration work.
Meanwhile, TEPCO said the radiation level at the plant's front gate, which is one kilometer west of the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors, decreased to 257.5 microsieverts per hour at 11 a.m. Tuesday, from 1,932 microsieverts at 6:30 p.m. Monday after the gray smoke was emitted from the No. 3 reactor.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
Work to restore electricity to power cooling systems of the troubled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant resumed Tuesday morning, 16 hours after all workers were evacuated because gray smoke--raising fears of a fire--was seen rising from the No. 3 nuclear reactor.
Though occasional thin white smoke was still observed at the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors in the morning, Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the quake-hit nuclear plant, judged it safe to resume restoration work because it believed the white smoke was not caused by fire and that radiation levels had decreased.
However, since the cause of the smoke was unknown, the situation at the plant remained unpredictable, added the utility.
TEPCO and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said operations to restore power resumed at the Nos. 1 to 4 reactors at about 8 a.m.
At the No. 4 reactor, workers confirmed at 10:35 a.m. that electricity reached the switchboard-cum-transformer at its turbine building.
At the Nos. 1 and 2 reactors, which already had been connected to external power, workers checked instruments and electrical systems in preparation for distributing electricity. They prioritized restoring power to the No. 2 reactor, whose pressure suppression chamber under its containment vessel has apparently been damaged. Lighting and functions of meters and gauges in the reactor's central control room would be restored by the end of Wednesday, TEPCO added.
Workers were expected to restore instrument functions at the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors central control rooms by Thursday.
TEPCO added it would switch the No. 6 reactor power source from an emergency generator to an outside power source Tuesday afternoon.
Work to restore power at those reactors was suspended after gray smoke was observed at the No. 3 reactor at 3:55 p.m. Monday. White smoke also rose from the No. 2 reactor shortly after 6 p.m. that day.
"Smoke at the No. 2 reactor is believed to be steam from sprayed water," Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Tuesday. "However, smoke at the No. 3 reactor is likely due to residual materials such as oil inside [the facility], which burned briefly as temperatures there rose."
Meanwhile, a special squad of the Tokyo Fire Department postponed spraying water into the No. 3 reactor's fuel storage pool from Tuesday morning to the afternoon because smoke was observed there Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon, TEPCO began a water dousing operation at the No. 4 reactor with a German-made squeeze pump that can spray water over a long distance using a 58-meter-long arm. The Self-Defense Forces said they would decide whether to blast the No. 4 reactor with water after studying the progress of TEPCO's restoration work.
Meanwhile, TEPCO said the radiation level at the plant's front gate, which is one kilometer west of the Nos. 2 and 3 reactors, decreased to 257.5 microsieverts per hour at 11 a.m. Tuesday, from 1,932 microsieverts at 6:30 p.m. Monday after the gray smoke was emitted from the No. 3 reactor.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Seawater radioactivity high / Sample shows large iodine concentrations near nuclear plant
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday seawater near an outlet at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant had a concentration of radioactive iodine-131 that was 127 times higher than can be safely ingested by a person continuously for one year, according to government standards.
In a phenomenon called biological concentration, radioactive materials in seawater will become more concentrated in fish and marine plants.
It marked the first time for an analysis of radioactive materials in seawater to be made public since the struggle to contain a meltdown at the nuclear plant began.
As concern mounts over the possible impact on human health and on fishery products if the contamination continues for some time, the government will expand its survey area to get a clearer picture of the radioactive contamination in seawater.
"There should be no impact [on human health] if water of that [level of radioactive contamination] is consumed every day for one year," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Tuesday. "Yet if the situation continues over time, there may be an adverse impact. We decided to increase our efforts in analyzing it."
He said it was too early to evaluate the impact of the contaminated seawater on fishery products. When asked whether restrictions on shipments would be imposed on marine products, like those taken on some farm products, Edano said it was possible, but it is not yet the time to do so.
Meanwhile, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said, "We have to conduct [water quality] analyses in areas 10 kilometers and 20 kilometers [from the plant] soon."
Kaieda, who doubles as an assistant chief for a headquarters dealing with problems at the nuclear power plant, said the headquarters will send a survey vessel to take seawater samples in these areas.
The Hakoho Maru, a research vessel of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, will collect the samples Wednesday, with results of the analysis expected to be announced the following day.
At 2:30 p.m. Monday, TEPCO collected 500 milliliters of seawater at a point 100 meters south of the outlet, from which waste liquid is drained into the sea.
A total of 5.066 becquerel of iodine-131 per milliliter was detected, a level 126.7 times more than the yearly limit a person can safely ingest as set by the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law.
If a person ingested two liters of water at this level of contamination over a three-day period, it would be equivalent to being exposed to an annual dose of radiation according to government-set safety standards, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
The seawater sample also had a level of cesium-134 that was 24.8 times more than the safety limit, while cesium-137 was 16.5 times above the safety limit.
According to TEPCO, there are two possible causes of the seawater contamination.
One is that the radioactive materials, blasted into the air after explosions at buildings housing the plant's Nos. 1 and 3 reactors, spread toward the Pacific and entered the sea when it rained. The other possible cause is that the water sprayed onto the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors washed the radioactive materials into the sea.
"These aren't levels of contamination that pose an immediate impact," said Junko Matsubara, former professor at Yokohama City University. "Should the current level of concentration continue, however, consuming contaminated marine products could have an impact on the health."
(Mar. 23, 2011)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday seawater near an outlet at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant had a concentration of radioactive iodine-131 that was 127 times higher than can be safely ingested by a person continuously for one year, according to government standards.
In a phenomenon called biological concentration, radioactive materials in seawater will become more concentrated in fish and marine plants.
It marked the first time for an analysis of radioactive materials in seawater to be made public since the struggle to contain a meltdown at the nuclear plant began.
As concern mounts over the possible impact on human health and on fishery products if the contamination continues for some time, the government will expand its survey area to get a clearer picture of the radioactive contamination in seawater.
"There should be no impact [on human health] if water of that [level of radioactive contamination] is consumed every day for one year," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Tuesday. "Yet if the situation continues over time, there may be an adverse impact. We decided to increase our efforts in analyzing it."
He said it was too early to evaluate the impact of the contaminated seawater on fishery products. When asked whether restrictions on shipments would be imposed on marine products, like those taken on some farm products, Edano said it was possible, but it is not yet the time to do so.
Meanwhile, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said, "We have to conduct [water quality] analyses in areas 10 kilometers and 20 kilometers [from the plant] soon."
Kaieda, who doubles as an assistant chief for a headquarters dealing with problems at the nuclear power plant, said the headquarters will send a survey vessel to take seawater samples in these areas.
The Hakoho Maru, a research vessel of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, will collect the samples Wednesday, with results of the analysis expected to be announced the following day.
At 2:30 p.m. Monday, TEPCO collected 500 milliliters of seawater at a point 100 meters south of the outlet, from which waste liquid is drained into the sea.
A total of 5.066 becquerel of iodine-131 per milliliter was detected, a level 126.7 times more than the yearly limit a person can safely ingest as set by the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law.
If a person ingested two liters of water at this level of contamination over a three-day period, it would be equivalent to being exposed to an annual dose of radiation according to government-set safety standards, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
The seawater sample also had a level of cesium-134 that was 24.8 times more than the safety limit, while cesium-137 was 16.5 times above the safety limit.
According to TEPCO, there are two possible causes of the seawater contamination.
One is that the radioactive materials, blasted into the air after explosions at buildings housing the plant's Nos. 1 and 3 reactors, spread toward the Pacific and entered the sea when it rained. The other possible cause is that the water sprayed onto the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors washed the radioactive materials into the sea.
"These aren't levels of contamination that pose an immediate impact," said Junko Matsubara, former professor at Yokohama City University. "Should the current level of concentration continue, however, consuming contaminated marine products could have an impact on the health."
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 N-crisis hinders search for parents / 12-year-old Yuki escaped tsunami by running to nearby hill, later reunited with brother
The Yomiuri Shimbun
FUKUSHIMA--The evacuation order around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has held up the search for the parents of two local children, as the troubled power station lies just south of their hometown of Namiemachi, Fukushima Prefecture.
Yuki Nabeshima, 12, and her brother Yusuke, 7, were brought to their paternal grandparents' home outside the prefecture after Namiemachi was destroyed by the tsunami that surged ashore following the March 11 earthquake. More than 10 days after the quake, the siblings still do not know what has become of their parents and maternal grandparents.
As the nuclear crisis surrounding the plant intensified, the government ordered residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the power station to evacuate and those within 20 to 30 kilometers to stay indoors.
The children's home lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone, and with the local police station closed, the search for missing people in the town has been put on hold.
Yuki is a sixth-grader and Yusuke is a first-grader at Ukedo Primary School in Namiemachi.
When the quake struck, Yuki and about 90 second- to sixth-graders who were in class at the time evacuated to a small hill near the school. Yusuke and his first-grade classmates were not at school when the earthquake struck. The entire area surrounding the school was swallowed up by tsunami. The waves washed away most of the buildings, leaving only the school's main building and its gymnasium behind.
From the hill, the students walked several kilometers along a mountain path and were eventually given a ride in a back of a large truck, which took them to a town office that was being used as an evacuation center.
The school's assistant principal, Michihiro Moriyama, 57, rushed to tell the students' parents their children were safe, but was not able to contact Yuki's parents.
Yuki's father, Akinori, 46, works at the ancient Kusano Shrine. It seems that he and his wife, Yayoi, 43, initially escaped by car, but then returned to the shrine to try to rescue Yayoi's parents and were swallowed up by the tsunami.
Moriyama brought Yuki to a shelter to wait for her parents to be located. But after the evacuation order was given, they had to move to several different shelters and acquaintances' homes in the prefecture.
After a short while, they confirmed that Yusuke was safe. He had been at an after-school care center when the earthquake hit. When the siblings were reunited, Moriyama saw Yuki smile for the first time in a long time. "She must have been feeling so helpless," he said.
But he worried about Yuki, who seemed to be putting on a brave face and did not ask about her parents. Moriyama told her: "I heard your mom and dad went to help to your grandpa and grandma. That was really great of them...I'm sure they're somewhere cheering you." Hearing this, Yuki wept for the first time since the quake.
Yuki and Yusuke have still not heard anything about their parents. Later, they were sent to live with their grandparents in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 15.
Yuki's school has decided not to hold a graduation ceremony, but Moriyama promised her that he would send her a diploma. "If there hadn't been any trouble at the nuclear plant, we could've kept searching for their parents," Moriyama said. "There's still hope, but not much. I hope they're alive somewhere."
Yuki and Yusuke's grandfather, Mitsuhisa Mukuno, 72, said the two siblings have been helpful around the house and have not cried.
After hearing about the rescue of two people nine days after the earthquake in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Yuki said: "They're lucky. I hope the same thing happens to us."
Yusuke was worried about his mom. "She was sick and had a fever. I wonder if she's OK."
(Mar. 23, 2011)
FUKUSHIMA--The evacuation order around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has held up the search for the parents of two local children, as the troubled power station lies just south of their hometown of Namiemachi, Fukushima Prefecture.Yuki Nabeshima, 12, and her brother Yusuke, 7, were brought to their paternal grandparents' home outside the prefecture after Namiemachi was destroyed by the tsunami that surged ashore following the March 11 earthquake. More than 10 days after the quake, the siblings still do not know what has become of their parents and maternal grandparents.
As the nuclear crisis surrounding the plant intensified, the government ordered residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the power station to evacuate and those within 20 to 30 kilometers to stay indoors.
The children's home lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone, and with the local police station closed, the search for missing people in the town has been put on hold.
Yuki is a sixth-grader and Yusuke is a first-grader at Ukedo Primary School in Namiemachi.
When the quake struck, Yuki and about 90 second- to sixth-graders who were in class at the time evacuated to a small hill near the school. Yusuke and his first-grade classmates were not at school when the earthquake struck. The entire area surrounding the school was swallowed up by tsunami. The waves washed away most of the buildings, leaving only the school's main building and its gymnasium behind.
From the hill, the students walked several kilometers along a mountain path and were eventually given a ride in a back of a large truck, which took them to a town office that was being used as an evacuation center.
The school's assistant principal, Michihiro Moriyama, 57, rushed to tell the students' parents their children were safe, but was not able to contact Yuki's parents.
Yuki's father, Akinori, 46, works at the ancient Kusano Shrine. It seems that he and his wife, Yayoi, 43, initially escaped by car, but then returned to the shrine to try to rescue Yayoi's parents and were swallowed up by the tsunami.
Moriyama brought Yuki to a shelter to wait for her parents to be located. But after the evacuation order was given, they had to move to several different shelters and acquaintances' homes in the prefecture.
After a short while, they confirmed that Yusuke was safe. He had been at an after-school care center when the earthquake hit. When the siblings were reunited, Moriyama saw Yuki smile for the first time in a long time. "She must have been feeling so helpless," he said.
But he worried about Yuki, who seemed to be putting on a brave face and did not ask about her parents. Moriyama told her: "I heard your mom and dad went to help to your grandpa and grandma. That was really great of them...I'm sure they're somewhere cheering you." Hearing this, Yuki wept for the first time since the quake.
Yuki and Yusuke have still not heard anything about their parents. Later, they were sent to live with their grandparents in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on March 15.
Yuki's school has decided not to hold a graduation ceremony, but Moriyama promised her that he would send her a diploma. "If there hadn't been any trouble at the nuclear plant, we could've kept searching for their parents," Moriyama said. "There's still hope, but not much. I hope they're alive somewhere."
Yuki and Yusuke's grandfather, Mitsuhisa Mukuno, 72, said the two siblings have been helpful around the house and have not cried.
After hearing about the rescue of two people nine days after the earthquake in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Yuki said: "They're lucky. I hope the same thing happens to us."
Yusuke was worried about his mom. "She was sick and had a fever. I wonder if she's OK."
(Mar. 23, 2011)
23/03 Quake wrecks govt's priorities / Social security, tax reform up in the air; TPP prospects 'flattened'
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The gravity and urgency of dealing with the devastation caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has left the government unsure how to approach its prequake priorities--tax and social security reform, and participation in a trans-Pacific free trade pact.
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been left with no choice but to put all discussions on key issues on hold.
A thorough review of both decision-making schedules and plans laid before the forces of nature struck is needed before moving forward, senior government officials have said.
Prior to the disaster, the government since mid-February had been holding almost weekly meetings of a council chaired by Kan to discuss tax and social security reforms. The council listened to the opinions of experts, business and media leaders.
The council was slated to work out reform proposals for the social security system by the end of April, and to put the finishing touches on a reform package to present it to the opposition camp in June.
Kaoru Yosano--the economic and fiscal policy minister at the forefront of the social security and tax reform effort--is apparently still determined to go ahead with integrated reforms as scheduled. His aides have said he would like to resume the council's hearings as early as Saturday.
Officials in the bureaucracy, however, have called the idea "absolutely impossible," adding he has yet to consult the Cabinet Office on the matter.
===
Relief-funding tax hike eyed
Before March 11, the government had its sights set on raising the consumption tax rate as part of the planned reforms to finance its social security plans.
But one executive member of the council said, "Any discussion of a higher consumption tax rate can never take place as long as the hearts and minds of the public are unsettled [over the disaster]."
The handling and rescheduling of policy priorities should be discussed in April at the earliest, he said.
Regarding the consumption tax issue, many in both the ruling and opposition blocs now are eyeing a tax hike to secure revenue not for social security programs, but to help fund the massive reconstruction and relief efforts.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party, was quoted as telling Kan last week he did not think it was possible to fund the huge sums that would be needed for disaster relief only through issuing government bonds. Political observers believe Tanigaki was hinting that a temporary, short-term consumption tax hike should be passed.
LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Ichiro Aizawa has been more direct, and has proposed boosting the consumption tax rate by one percentage point from the current 5 percent exclusively to fund relief programs for earthquake and tsunami victims. A number of business leaders have voiced their support for the proposal.
Some in the government have said the tax rate should be doubled to 10 percent to support disaster relief for a certain period of time, after which all of the revenue from the 10 percent tax would be allocated to funding social security programs.
===
TPP talks 'off the table'
Also prior to the March 11 tragedy, the government had intended to make a final judgment by the end of June about whether it would take part in negotiations on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact.
But with the earthquake, tsunami and ongoing crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, farmers in the Tohoku and northern Kanto regions have been dealt a serious blow. In consideration of the situation, an increasing number in the government have said it is not the right time to discuss the TPP.
Government sources said it is unknown how it will meet its goal of "strengthening the farming sector" before Japan joins the TPP talks.
Since the earthquake and tsunami struck, Koichiro Gemba, state minister in charge of national policy, has stopped traveling the country to hold explanatory sessions about why the government favors joining the TPP.
"The havoc this [disaster] has wreaked on the agriculture sector has flattened the TPP issue," one government source said, expressing no hope that Japan would join the free-trade pact talks in the near future.
Another item on the government's political agenda--civil service system reform--which was to be taken care of in April at the earliest, would be "put on hold indefinitely" unless the prime minister orders things to move forward by the end of the month, the source said.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
The gravity and urgency of dealing with the devastation caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has left the government unsure how to approach its prequake priorities--tax and social security reform, and participation in a trans-Pacific free trade pact.
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been left with no choice but to put all discussions on key issues on hold.
A thorough review of both decision-making schedules and plans laid before the forces of nature struck is needed before moving forward, senior government officials have said.
Prior to the disaster, the government since mid-February had been holding almost weekly meetings of a council chaired by Kan to discuss tax and social security reforms. The council listened to the opinions of experts, business and media leaders.
The council was slated to work out reform proposals for the social security system by the end of April, and to put the finishing touches on a reform package to present it to the opposition camp in June.
Kaoru Yosano--the economic and fiscal policy minister at the forefront of the social security and tax reform effort--is apparently still determined to go ahead with integrated reforms as scheduled. His aides have said he would like to resume the council's hearings as early as Saturday.
Officials in the bureaucracy, however, have called the idea "absolutely impossible," adding he has yet to consult the Cabinet Office on the matter.
===
Relief-funding tax hike eyed
Before March 11, the government had its sights set on raising the consumption tax rate as part of the planned reforms to finance its social security plans.
But one executive member of the council said, "Any discussion of a higher consumption tax rate can never take place as long as the hearts and minds of the public are unsettled [over the disaster]."
The handling and rescheduling of policy priorities should be discussed in April at the earliest, he said.
Regarding the consumption tax issue, many in both the ruling and opposition blocs now are eyeing a tax hike to secure revenue not for social security programs, but to help fund the massive reconstruction and relief efforts.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party, was quoted as telling Kan last week he did not think it was possible to fund the huge sums that would be needed for disaster relief only through issuing government bonds. Political observers believe Tanigaki was hinting that a temporary, short-term consumption tax hike should be passed.
LDP Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Ichiro Aizawa has been more direct, and has proposed boosting the consumption tax rate by one percentage point from the current 5 percent exclusively to fund relief programs for earthquake and tsunami victims. A number of business leaders have voiced their support for the proposal.
Some in the government have said the tax rate should be doubled to 10 percent to support disaster relief for a certain period of time, after which all of the revenue from the 10 percent tax would be allocated to funding social security programs.
===
TPP talks 'off the table'
Also prior to the March 11 tragedy, the government had intended to make a final judgment by the end of June about whether it would take part in negotiations on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact.
But with the earthquake, tsunami and ongoing crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, farmers in the Tohoku and northern Kanto regions have been dealt a serious blow. In consideration of the situation, an increasing number in the government have said it is not the right time to discuss the TPP.
Government sources said it is unknown how it will meet its goal of "strengthening the farming sector" before Japan joins the TPP talks.
Since the earthquake and tsunami struck, Koichiro Gemba, state minister in charge of national policy, has stopped traveling the country to hold explanatory sessions about why the government favors joining the TPP.
"The havoc this [disaster] has wreaked on the agriculture sector has flattened the TPP issue," one government source said, expressing no hope that Japan would join the free-trade pact talks in the near future.
Another item on the government's political agenda--civil service system reform--which was to be taken care of in April at the earliest, would be "put on hold indefinitely" unless the prime minister orders things to move forward by the end of the month, the source said.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
Kaieda sorry for remarks to firefighters
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda apologized Tuesday over reports he "threatened" firefighters working on a water-spraying mission at the quake-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Speaking at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Kaieda said, "If my remarks offended firefighters, I would like to apologize."
"Because the water-spraying operation is under way, I will refrain from describing what happened in detail. But I did not talk directly with firefighting officials on the ground," Kaieda said before adding, "I spoke with a liaison. I've been misinterpreted."
His apology came after Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara lodged a protest with Prime Minister Naoto Kan late Monday, claiming a government official had "forced" Tokyo Fire Department members to conduct a prolonged water-spraying operation at the nuclear power plant and threatening them with penalties if they did not cooperate.
Tokyo metropolitan government sources said Kaieda had made the comments.
"I protested [to Kan] that he should not have let [the official] say such a thing," Ishihara said.
According to Ishihara, Kan apologized over the matter.
Ishihara also said the extended spraying operation has damaged the department's water cannon trucks.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda apologized Tuesday over reports he "threatened" firefighters working on a water-spraying mission at the quake-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Speaking at a press conference after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Kaieda said, "If my remarks offended firefighters, I would like to apologize."
"Because the water-spraying operation is under way, I will refrain from describing what happened in detail. But I did not talk directly with firefighting officials on the ground," Kaieda said before adding, "I spoke with a liaison. I've been misinterpreted."
His apology came after Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara lodged a protest with Prime Minister Naoto Kan late Monday, claiming a government official had "forced" Tokyo Fire Department members to conduct a prolonged water-spraying operation at the nuclear power plant and threatening them with penalties if they did not cooperate.
Tokyo metropolitan government sources said Kaieda had made the comments.
"I protested [to Kan] that he should not have let [the official] say such a thing," Ishihara said.
According to Ishihara, Kan apologized over the matter.
Ishihara also said the extended spraying operation has damaged the department's water cannon trucks.
(Mar. 23, 2011)
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