Japan earthquake - contamination & consequences outside Fukushima NPP

zapperzero

http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research...splay/?id=7895

this thing could solve a lot of problems...

Yamanote

Nice stuff.

tsutsuji

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...124/index.html As a countermeasure decided after finding that contaminated stones were delivered from a contaminated stone pit in Namie, the government is goint to check construction materials from the restricted zone. The namie stones were used in the concrete which was used to build a new appartment building in Nihonmatsu and high radiation levels were measured inside the appartments. A report will be issued within this month. Concerning the preparation of national safety level for construction materials, the nuclear disaster response headquarters said "it will take time to study it".

http://mainichi.jp/select/jiken/news...40045000c.html A decontamination roadmap was released on 26 January. According to the mayor of Namie, almost nothing is scheduled for the above 50 mSv zone.

http://josen.env.go.jp/index.html new decontamination website

http://www.env.go.jp/press/press.php?serial=14747 decontamination roadmap

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...128/index.html helicopter surveys are starting in Nagasaki, Saga, and Fukuoka prefectures on 30 January. Hokkaido's helicopter survey will start after snow melts.

http://radioactivity.mext.go.jp/ja/1...910_012714.pdf Helicopter survey schedule for Western Japan and Hokkaido

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...0_gyokyou.html experimental fishing in close waters off Fukushima prefecture was planned in February, but it is being postponed because some of the fish tested are higher than the provisional safety level.

tsutsuji

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r98520000021b3t.html (27 January 2012) Opinion request about the revision of food screening methods to be applied from 1 April. Opinions must be written in Japanese and received by 13 February.

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r9...0000021aru.pdf (27 January press release) Drinking water results in a number of Tohoku and Kanto cities. All the data are "ND" (not detected")

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/2r9...0000021ctw.pdf (radioactive substances in food, report No. 306 of 27 January 2012, Rice farming department, press release of 24 January 2012) : two farms in Date city, former Oguni village, Fukushima prefecture were found above level. Farm A : 700 Bq/kg, and farm B : 1,110 Bq/kg.

Yamanote

The second part of this animation shows, what would have happened in case of an accident on the other side of Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEFt9p7-Dxo

zapperzero

A bit disingenuous... are there such tsunamis on the other coast? I thought not.
But then, it's not the only possible accident cause.

Jim Lagerfeld

The 1983 Sea of Japan tsunami swept along a wide part of the Sea of Japan coast, from the Noto peninusla north, reached ten metres in height and and killed about one hundred people including some on the Korean peninsula. Kashiwazaki has tsunami protection for a reason!

The animation shows a plant in Fukui spewing radiation on Nagoya; if you shift the scenario north Noto peninusla to Kashiwazaki then the same plume would be right over Tokyo. It is a pretty crudely drawn scenario, but the risk is there.

Cheers,
James

clancy688

Another example: The 1993 Hokkaido earthquake.

Location of Okushiri: Northern part of the Sea of Japan.



Furthermore, the height of Tsunamis is not only determinated by the force of the earthquake, but also by the shape of the coast. It's possible that Kashiwazaki-Kariwa stands at a location which is insensitive to Tsunamis.

Example Kamaishi:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...-Scrutiny.html

There are two bays, directly besides each other. But the Tsunami height flcutuates between 30 and 100 feet.
Notice the difference between the points "E" and "F".

tsutsuji

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news...2390005-n1.htm 39 bags (57.5 kg) of rice from the 1100 Bq/kg farm have been sold. The prefecture ordered the recall of the bags. This is the second occurrence of contaminated rice being sold. Until now 38 rice farms in 3 cities and one town have been found above safety level.

http://www.sankeibiz.jp/compliance/n...1430014-n1.htm In 2012, rice planting in the areas that harvested rice contaminated between 100 and 500 Bq/kg in 2011 will be subject to conditions such as low risk (when the number of samples found above 100 Bq/kg was small) and decontamination measures, the Fukushima Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives announced. Concerning the areas where rice was not grown in 2011, the conditions will be set after the full test results of the 2011 harvests are known. The Fukushima Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives also said that in 2012, 100% of the bags will be tested, and whenever a radiation, even a small one, is detected, they will not be shipped. The ministry of agriculture indicated at the end of last year its intention to restrict rice planting in the areas where crops higher than 500 Bq/kg were harvested. Concerning the areas where crops were found between 100 and 500 Bq/kg, the policy will be decided after consulting with the prefecture and growers.

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201201/CN2012012701002644.html The ministry of health announced that the detection threshold for general food testing that is to be applied from 1 April, is set at 25 Bq/kg instead of the present 50 Bq/kg. Public comments on this measure are open till 13 February.

http://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/na...702000125.html Nagano prefecture has started testing each mushroom growing farm. The 600 farms will be tested until March.

http://www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/me...26102721779_ja (Chugoku Shimbun, 26 January morning edition) Professor Toshihiro Takatsuji of Nagasaki university announced at an international symposium at Hiroshima university on 25 January that high radiation levels were found in Nagasaki one month after the accident. The Cs 134 concentration on paper filters was 11,300 Bq/kg during the week from 6 April 2011. Using US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data, he found that on 6 April, the southern half of Japan was blown by winds from Tohoku. He said that even if the atmopheric radiation value is low, it is possible that it increases in locations where radioactive substances accumulate, such as on air conditioner filters.

http://www.minpo.jp/view.php?pageId=...wsMode=article (Fukushima Minpo, 26 January) the Study committee announced the results of the thyroid examination of the children 18 years old or below from Namie, Iitate and Kawamata. Among 3765 people tested, zero were found necessitating immediate second examination, 26 were found necessitating a second examination, and 1117 with stiffnesses of 5 mm or below, which are considered benign. According to the vice-president of Fukushima medical university, there is no malignity variation due to the nuclear accident.

tsutsuji

Fukushima:
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311dis...AJ201201270048 The government's decontamination roadmap is setting up a 1 microsievert/hour goal in schools, and a 10 mSv/year goal elsewhere in the 10-20 mSv/year zone.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/e-japan/fuk...OYT8T00012.htm 140 samples have been above 500 Bq/kg among 2125 Fukushima Prefecture shallow (less than 50 m deep) water sea fish samples tested since April.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/...na008000c.html worms around the plant ingest large quantities of cesium. It is feared that other animals that eat worms might in turn be contaminated.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/genpatsu-...207/index.html Tepco will compensate cars, busses, and trucks broken because they were left without maintenance, or because they were not allowed to leave the restricted area because their radiation doses were too high.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/natio...na013000c.html [temporary] "Radioactive waste disposal site unveiled to reporters" [in Hirono, Fukushima prefecture].

Elsewhere in Japan:
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article/2012-01-31_29251/ 1.12 Bq/kg of cesium was found in eringi mushrooms grown in Nagano and eaten by schoolchildren in a south Okinawa Island school in November.

http://mytown.asahi.com/yamagata/new...00001201310003 Two roadside ditches above 8000 Bq/kg have been found in a survey of 26 locations in 12 cities and towns in Yamagata prefecture. 19400 Bq/kg was found in Tendo, and 17400 Bq/kg in Sagae. The radiation at 1 m above ground was 0.13 microsievert/hour in both cases.

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/gu...102000059.html 473 and 480 Bq/kg in wakasagi fish, and 768 Bq/kg in iwana trouts in Akagi Oonuma lake, Gunma prefecture. Fishing remains restricted.

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news...1550005-n1.htm 2077 Bq/kg dried shiitake mushrooms grown in Shizuoka were found in a shop in Yokohama. 7 bags (of 80 g each) have already been sold.

nikkkom

Is this right? Natural radiation (mostly from K-40) in human body is around 50 Bq/kg. Additional 1.12 Bq/kg in food is practically negligible - especially considering that it's Cs, which does not bioaccumulate in humans.

tsutsuji

It is right, I think. The article says it is 0.46 Bq/kg of Cs-134 and 0.66 Bq/kg of Cs-137. I think that it is a problem that this article (like most articles about food) does not mention the presence of K-40 in bananas or other foods. People reading the article may unnecessarily worry too much.

tsutsuji

Grown mainly in Iwate and packaged in Shizuoka. Sorry.

http://www.nikkei.com/news/category/...AE2E2E2;av=ALL As a follow-up of the discovery in January of 43,780 Bq/kg high radiation ashes in a wood stove in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima prefecture, the ministry of environment checked wood stoves in 9 homes in 9 cities and towns in Southern Ibaraki prefecture . The lowest value was 1180 Bq/kg and the highest one 59,000 Bq/kg (resulting of the burning of 480 Bq/kg wood).

http://mainichi.jp/life/food/news/20...40016000c.html 258 Bq/kg in soba noodles in a restaurant in Okinawa. The noodles were manufactured using water percolating ashes from Fukushima wood. On 10 February, the Forestry Agency issued instructions so that wood from 17 prefectures produced after the 11 March earthquake are not used in food, even if they are below the radiation limits (40 Bq/kg for wood, 280 Bq/kg for charcoal).

http://mainichi.jp/select/weathernew...40046000c.html List of cities and towns in Fukushima prefecture where the 2011 rice harvest was found higher than 100 Bq/kg, with the numbers of such farms (170 farms in Fukushima city, 199 in Date, 111 in Nihonmatsu, 39 in Kunimi, 29 in Koori, 20 in Motomiya, 6 in Kawamata, 2 in Ootama and Soma, 1 in Tamura and Shirakawa) (Higher than 500 Bq/kg: 23 Farms in Fukushima city, 14 in Date, 1 in Nihonmatsu).

Astronuc

A year [actually 11 months, but it seems it will go on] on, only brief home visits for Japan nuclear evacuees
http://news.yahoo.com/only-brief-hom...081517728.html

tsutsuji

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120210006056.htm (English) Waste site open to journalists in Okuma

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/201...OYT1T00936.htm 58,000 Bq/kg from earth from discarded vinyl greenhouses from Togane, Chiba, being recycled in a plastic factory in Chiba prefecture. The factory has recalled all the earth (140 tons) produced after the nuclear accident.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/201...OYT1T00881.htm A study group of the ministry of education and science held a meeting on 13 February about sea radiation surveys. They decided to launch another survey of river mouths and seas in Tokyo Bay and on the Pacific coast, with Fukushima prefecture as the main focus, starting in April. The frequency of testing in coastal waters and in far waters will be reduced to once every 2 or 3 months instead of once a month.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/201...OYT1T00538.htm 3000 Bq/kg in dried daikon radish grown in Fukushima city. 102 bags (50 g each) have already been sold.

http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/article/2012-02-08_29578/ 468 Bq/kg in Fukushima wood in an Okinawa restaurant. 3 Other restaurants have already used their Fukushima wood so it cannot be tested, but 39,960 Bq/kg was found in ashes. 15.7 tons of Fukushima wood were distributed in Okinawa by a Gifu prefecture based company. 8.4 tons were sold to restaurants, and 7.3 tons are remaining in a container near Naha port.

http://www.chibanippo.co.jp/c/news/national/69198 Chiba prefecture tested 46 locations in a park and found 3 locations above the 1 microsievert/hour standard. The highest is 3.42 microsievert/hour at 50 cm above ground near a parking lot storm-water inlet.

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/na...402000037.html 6.85 microsievert/hour at 1 cm above ground (above the 0.59 microsievert/hour at 1 cm above ground standard) near an unused drainage channel near a school in Yokohama. 62,900 Bq/kg in earth samples taken in a close location.

http://www.minyu-net.com/news/news/0204/news6.html Second announcement of results of the whole body counter examinations of Minamisoma citizens. The first results were announced in October. Among 579 primary and middle school children, 218 were above the detection level for Cs-137 and 361 were below detection level. 4 had 20 Bq/kg or above. The highest one had between 30 and 35 Bq/kg. Among 4745 senior high school students, 1943 were above detection level. Among these, 1774 had 20 Bq/kg or below. 16 had 50 Bq/kg or above. The highest had 110.7 Bq/kg. According to the City, only one person had an accumulated dose higher than 1 milisievert over 50 years, with 1.069 milisievert/50 years.

http://mainichi.jp/select/weathernew...40102000c.html There is a problem with the new food safety levels. There are two sorts of radiation measurement tools. The Germanium semiconductor detector, and the sodium iodide scintillator detector. As a rule, one should have a detection level of about 10% of the safety standard. As the safety standard for general food is brought down to 100 Bq/kg, one should have a detection level of 10 Bq/kg. This is possible with a Germanium (Ge) detector, but sodium iodide (NaI) detectors can't do this. At present the national government and the prefectures own 116 Ge detectors and 227 NaI detectors. The person in charge at Ibaraki prefecture government says "we don't have the budget to buy new detectors. We have to do with the detectors we have". Ibaraki prefecture owns one Ge detector, which performs between 15 and 20 tap water tests per week, and 5 NaI detectors, that perform beef tests on 500 to 600 cows per week. When the 100% beef control was started in August, they had only one Ge detector, and for two months they had to perform tests on a 24 hour/day basis, and the employees could hardly sleep. They are afraid that the same situation is going to occur again as the new safety levels are implemented. The health ministry issued a proposal to set the NaI detector detection level at 25 Bq/kg, but according to the maker, Hitachi Aloka Medical, the test must last for 60 to 70 minutes instead of the present 10 to 15 minutes. To reduce that time, and increase the measurement tool's sensitivity, the sample holding container would need to be improved. Miyagi prefecture has decided to perform such improvements, but it will cost 13 million yens. "Can the national government help with the improvement cost?" the Miyagi prefecture person in charge is asking.

Neredera

This article links a picture that shows a 11.3mSv/h reading.

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/world-e...081517930.html

That has to be a mistake and should be 11.3 uSv/h, or not?

tsutsuji

Yes it should be 11.3 μSv, as you can see on the larger version of the photograph at http://www.novosti.rs/upload/images/...2/13/japan.jpg