Japan earthquake - contamination & consequences outside Fukushima NPP

Azby

I wonder if we're talking about the same geographic locations. Unless my translation is hazy (and they often are) the statement refers to the most highly contaminated areas within the 20km exclusion zone as well as less contaminated ones. Maybe you were thinking it was only the latter? Like the rest if us I'm wondering who was thinking they'd be able to go back and live in an area where the ground contamination is over 3,000,000 Bq/m2, but apparently the gov't has really avoided coming out and saying this until now, and many people were holding out hope.

Caniche

Well they say it springs eternal, but you might ask if 56,000 years is pushing it a bit

tsutsuji

The evacuation-prepared zone will be lifted Friday:
Japan Focus is publishing "Fukushima Children at Risk of Heart Disease" by Chris Busby with an introduction by Mark Selden : http://japanfocus.org/-Mark-Selden/3609 . I tried to find basic knowledge on the "Chernobyl heart" disease, and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Heart . It is mostly an article about a film, but it links to a medical publication : "Radiation induced cardiac valve disease in a man from Chernobyl" : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/en...&term=19647162

Shinjukusam

Just wanted to point out that pretty much anything having to do with Busby should be taken with a pretty large grain of salt

Feel I need to be pointing out the other side of the "it's not science, it's propaganda" discussion.

tsutsuji

I want to correct one of my previous messages as below with the underlined text:

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/d.../5600_0921.pdf　The Iodine map is on page 6 with concentrations as of 14 June. It shows yellow dots in the 20-30 km stay-indoors zone south of the plant (mostly Hirono).

Rice contamination:
Consequences:
Scientific problem:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/2011...937093000.html Personnel in 3 fishing cooperatives in Soma and Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture, are being trained to use 5 new radiation monitoring instruments able to provide data as soon as the fish is landed. Being able to provide data quickly is important as fish is consumed shortly after being caught. The new tools will be used with trial catches in November at the earliest.

http://new-fukushima.jp/result.php?search_area=いわき市 Three fish species were above the limits in Iwaki : fat greenling (930 Bq/kg of Cs 137), commons skete (520 Bq/kg of Cs 137), slime flounder (620 Bq/kg of Cs 137), all three were caught on 26 September. Another common skete sample had only 160 Bq/kg of Cs 137.

http://new-fukushima.jp/result.php?search_area=相馬市 Samples of some of those species caught on the same day in Soma were below the limit (fat greenling: 90Bq/kg, common skete: 40 Bq/kg for one sample and 100 Bq/kg for another)

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/ib...602000060.html The fishing of odontobutis obscura (donko) is allowed again in Ibaraki prefecture from 15 September. It had been found above allowed radiation levels and fishing had been stopped in July and August, but recently taken samples are below the limits. Bottom trawling is still avoided north of Kawajiri (Hitachi city), and this is a huge loss as it is a major shrimp fishing area.

http://new-fukushima.jp/result.php?s...detail=&page=2　Lactarius (hatsutake) mushrooms found with 11,000 Bq/kg on samples taken on 15 September in Minamisoma.

tsutsuji

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...kensyutsu.html Plutonium has been found in Iitate Mura, 45 km away from the plant, with 0.82 Bq/m² of Pu-238. Adding Pu-239 and Pu-240, the total is 2.5 Bq/m². This is one of the results of a survey performed by the ministry of education and science at 100 locations inside the 80 km range in June and July. It is the first time a government survey finds plutonium outside the plant.

http://www.nikkei.com/news/headline/...E3E2E2E2E2E2E2 Plutonium was found at 6 locations. The highest figure is 4 Bq/m² at Namie.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/d.../5600_0930.pdf "Ministry of education and science plutonium and strontium substance analysis results" 30 September 2011

joewein

I wonder what the general background level from Pu from the 1950s/1960s above ground tests is?

From 1955-1966 plutonium deposition (Pu239+Pu240) in Japan from weapon testing by the nuclear powers was above 1 Bq/m2 annually, with a cumulative total of about 40 Bq/m2 during those years alone. Given the long half lives (24110 for Pu239 and 6537 for Pu240), most of that should still be around.

tsutsuji

That problem is adressed at paragraph 4.2 of http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/d.../5600_0930.pdf : the Pu238/(Pu239+Pu240) ratio found in Japan in 1999-2008 is, as shown in Attachment 3 (the last one at the bottom of the pdf) 0.026. The present measurements reveal ratios between 0.33 and 2.2 for five samples. For that reason it is thought that the deposits are new deposits created by the plant. Also in one location only Pu238 is found and Pu239+Pu240 is below detection level. The ratio for that sample, using the detection level for Pu-239-240 (0.5 Bq/m²) is also significantly higher than the 1999-2008 ratio. [I think the shape of the Pu238 map, being similar with the shape of the Cesium map is also significant]

It turns out that when the Nikkei says "6 locations" it means "6 locations with a significantly high Pu238/(Pu239+Pu240) ratio. The map shows a lot of locations with a grey triangle, which means that only Pu239+Pu240 was found while Pu238 was not found.

erratum (adding the underlined text):

M. Bachmeier

Try not to be too hard on a man who has been trying to fight against financial influence corrupting scientific surety. He is notable for many truths and many absences of truth discovered. His failings have likely to do more with his age and fear than an honest account of observation.

tsutsuji

Beef:

Shinjukusam

Fear should not be an excuse, this is a matter of science. I don't care if he's scared of what could happen, I want to know what is happening.

Astronuc

For those interested:

International Symposium on Decontamination:
Towards the Recovery of the Environment

The Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, will hold an International Symposium on Decontamination under the co-sponsorship of the Ministry of the Environment. The objective of the symposium is to share experience and best practices in the remediation of land contaminated with radioactive materials, and to contribute to the planning and effective management of decontamination activities in Japan.

Date: 16 October 2011
Time: 10:00 - 18:30 (registration from 9:00-)
Venue: Convention Hall "Paluse Iizaka"
Iizakamachi, Fukushima-city, Fukushima-prefecture, 960-0201 Japan


http://www.oecd-nea.org/press/2011/NEWS-07.html

The symposium is open for the public, and registration must be made by Oct 7.

tsutsuji

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...30_suiden.html Theories are proposed to explain the 500 Bq/kg rice in Nihonmatsu : the presence of much sand in the soil, which might enhance cesium absorption by the rice, or the presence of 10,000 Bq/kg and higher soil higher in the mountains, with rainwater bringing the radioactive substances down to the rice fields. Further surveys will be performed in the surrounding mountains.

Astronuc

Clean-up in Fukushima
05 October 2011
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS...a_0510111.html

Children who have been exposed will have to be monitored for two or more decades.

Caniche

"representing the people and organisations of the global nuclear profession" I guess that mission statement is at least an honest declaration of bias.

As a point of interest ,does anyone know ,if, and if so ,how ,these 'experts' distinguish between "natural" background radiation and background radiation resulting from previous accidents/incidents and bombs and bomb tests.

You have to applaud the stated ambition of the clean up campaign to reduce the levels of radioactive pollution to "half" the 'natural' background level.

tsutsuji

http://mainichi.jp/select/weathernew...40008000c.html There are limits to how much you can decontaminate with pressure washers. Pr. Yamauchi of Kobe university tells about his findings at a building used for children after-school care in Fukushima city. Inside the building, the floor had 0.33 μSv/h, the beams had 0.52, and just below the roof, it was 0.72 μSv/h, and he understood that the radiation increased with the height. So he checked the roof, outside, and it was 1.79 μSv/h. The roof had been cleaned using a pressure washer, but the radiation could not be reduced more. He is afraid the roof must be changed. He says the goal is to create secure areas where the radiation inside buildings is as low as 0.05 μSv/h as it was before the accident. Pr Kodama of Tokyo university says that in a kindergarten in Minamisoma there were mini hot spots such as the roof (33 μSv/h) and below the toboggan (5~10 μSv/h). After cleaning it once, the roof's radiation was lowered by 50%. It will be difficult to bring it to the 0.5 μSv/h goal, he says. Probably the surface must be removed or the whole roof must be changed. Know-how from house construction companies is needed.

http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushi...11001_02-e.pdf Dealing with higher levels of radiation inside the plant, using dust collectors, Tepco achieves decontamination rates of about 30%, bringing the radiation from 0.48 to 0.33 mSv/h on asphalt.

tsutsuji

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...20_hibaku.html Until now nuclear worker safety regulations were limited to the jobs indoors or inside nuclear plant premises. So the ministry of labour and health has created a new regulation for the workers who perform decontamination tasks outside the plant, requiring to wear masks, to wear radiation measuring instruments, etc. Some citizen groups had complained that some outdoor workers were not sufficiently protected from radiations.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/1...0_092917_1.pdf Saitama and Chiba helicopter survey results

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/1...910_100601.pdf Tokyo and Kanagawa helicopter survey results

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/5...000_100601.pdf Aomori helicopter survey plan

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/5...000_100602.pdf Toyama helicopter survey plan

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-..._hosyasen.html As a result of the Tokyo and Kanagawa helicopter survey, levels higher than 0.2 μSv/h are found in Tokyo in part of the mountainous region of Okutama and at the border with Chiba prefecture in Katsushika ward. For Kanagawa, except some part of the mountainous region, all is below 0.1 μSv/h. According to the ministry of education and science, there are two routes, one in the west and one in the east, and the mountain regions have a higher level than surrounding areas due to the deposits in forests.

Another estimate of the sea release, was presented by a Japan Meteorological Agency team at a meeting of the Geochemical Society of Japan in Sapporo: