Mars 2011: Kärnkraftverket i Fukushima - utbruten och sammanfogad tråd

High radioactivity measured at Tokyo school

A radioactivity level higher than that of areas near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has been detected at a Tokyo elementary school.

A level of 3-point-99 microsieverts per hour was observed 5 centimeters above ground just beneath a rainwater pipe on Monday at the school in Tokyo's Adachi Ward. Radiation levels in Fukushima City about 60 kilometers from the plant were around 1 microsievert per hour on Monday. The ward is about 210 kilometers from the plant.

Ward authorities plan to remove soil and trees from the school area and measure radiation in ditches at about 800 locations including schools, parks and other public facilities.

The school's principal says he was stunned to hear about the radiation and cancelled physical education classes and other activities in the schoolyard for the day.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 17:11 +0900 (JST)

Fukushima assembly OKs reactor decommission

The assembly of Fukushima prefecture has adopted a petition calling for the scrapping of all 10 nuclear reactors in the prefecture. The prefecture hosts two Tokyo Electric Power Company-run nuclear stations, one of them severely damaged by the March disaster.

The petition adopted by a majority vote on Thursday was submitted by a civic group in June, following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The petition urges the decommissioning of all reactors run by Tokyo Electric Power in the prefecture -- six at the Daiichi plant and four at the Daini plant.

This is the first time in Japan that a prefecture hosting nuclear plants has voted to adopt such a petition.

Tokyo Electric has concluded it will decommission four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that suffered severe damage in the March disaster. But the utility has yet to come up with detailed plans for the remaining six reactors.
Thursday, October 20, 2011 19:35 +0900 (JST)

Hotspot hotline

Japan's science ministry has launched a telephone hotline to deal with public concerns about radiation exposure in areas outside Fukushima Prefecture. The prefecture hosts the damaged nuclear complex.

The ministry set up the hotline after radiation monitoring by local governments and citizens' groups found a number of locations within the Tokyo Metropolitan Area with levels exceeding government limits.

The ministry is asking local governments and citizens' groups to tell it if they find sites where the hourly radiation dose at one meter above the ground is more than one microsievert higher than nearby areas.

One microsievert per hour is the government-set limit for determining whether topsoil at school playgrounds should be removed, using state subsidies.
The ministry is also asking the local governments to carry out simple decontamination work, such as clearing mud from ditches if necessary.

The ministry says the central government will support decontamination efforts if radiation levels remain more than one microsievert higher than nearby areas even after the cleaning.

The ministry has posted a guideline on its website on how to properly measure radiation levels, such as the right way to hold the dosimeter and the time needed for a reading.
Monday, October 24, 2011 11:48 +0900 (JST)