Fukushima

[blackchisel97]

3 Fukushima mayors boycott meeting with gov't ministers

“Momentous Decision”: 3 Mayors in Fukushima refuse to meet with Japan officials — “I strongly mistrust the government” -Kyodo

Title: 3 Fukushima mayors boycott meeting with gov't ministers
Source: Kyodo
Date: February 27, 2012

A meeting between the government and municipalities located near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was cancelled Sunday after three mayors boycotted it protesting that the government had informed the media of the specifics of the meeting's agenda prior to informing them.

Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa, who absented himself, told a press conference, "I strongly mistrust the government...So I have made a momentous decision not to attend the meeting" with Environment Minister Goshi Hosono and Tatsuo Hirano [...]

The mayors of the towns of Hirono and Namie followed Idogawa. [...]

[They] were expected to discuss how to eliminate radioactive materials leaked by the plant and explore ways to construct temporary storage facilities for contaminated soil. [...]

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[blackchisel97]

Weekends off at Fukushima: Not one plant worker could be seen says Asahi — Operational equipment lay idle — A cold eerie quietness

A cold eerie quietness envelops the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. There is no activity among the snow-dusted buildings, and reminders of the devastation caused by last year's Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami are everywhere.

That was the scene that greeted an Asahi Shimbun team that flew to the site on a company helicopter on Feb. 25 [...]

Because it was the weekend, there was no activity. Not one plant worker could be seen and operational equipment lay idle. [...]

It was an eerie sight, made bleaker by the undisturbed thin carpet of snow covering the ground.

NYT: Top Japan official warned of “demonic chain reaction” after Daiichi meltdowns — “We would lose Fukushima Daini, then we would lose Tokai” — “We would also lose Tokyo itself”

Title: Nuclear Crisis Set Off Fears Over Tokyo, Report Says
Source: New York Times
Author: Martin Fackler
Date: Feb. 27, 2012

an independent investigation into the accident [...] by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, a newly created private policy organization, offered one of the most vivid accounts yet of how Japan teetered on the edge of an even larger nuclear crisis than the one that actually engulfed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. A team of 30 university professors, lawyers and journalists spent more than six months on an inquiry into Japan’s response to the triple meltdown at the plan [...]

[...] as a series of hydrogen explosions rocked the plant on March 14 and 15 [...] Mr. Kan and other officials began discussing a worst-case scenario of an evacuation of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. This would allow the plant to spiral out of control, releasing even larger amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere that would in turn force the evacuation of other nearby nuclear plants, causing further meltdowns.

The report quoted one top official, then Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, as having warned that this “demonic chain reaction” of plant meltdowns could have resulted in the evacuation of Tokyo, 150 miles to the south.

“We would lose Fukushima Daini, then we would lose Tokai,” Mr. Edano was quoted as saying, naming two other nuclear plants. “If that happened, it was only logical to conclude that we would also lose Tokyo itself.” [...]

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[blackchisel97]

Gov't "collapsed" during Japan nuke crisis

CBS News: Japan gov’t “collapsed” during nuke crisis -Report — Details just beginning to emerge — Officials overwhelmed, terrified

Title: Report: Gov't "collapsed" during Japan nuke crisis
Source: CBS News
Author: Lucy Craft
Date: February 27, 2012 7:09 PM

[...] details about the nuclear meltdown that happened that tragic day are just beginning to emerge.

[...] Today, a report revealed the chaos between Japan's leaders during the crisis.

Tetsuro Fukuyama, prime minister's adviser

"The normal lines of authority completely collapsed"
"As we listened to our top nuclear experts, we politicians had no idea what they were talking about. Was anyone going to suffer radiation contamination? Would this be another Chernobyl or Three Mile Island? No one could give us a straight answer"
Fukuyama said that the government thought that a nuclear meltdown was impending, and feared that a massive cloud of radiation would force the evacuation of 30 million people in the Tokyo region.
"Terrified doesn't begin to describe how we felt"
"When we learned the reactors had in fact melted down, I was overwhelmed, by our inability"

And as the result of such trauma they did and continue to lie to their people....


Tokyo; Is It Safe From Fukushima Radiation? | Care2 Share

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[blackchisel97]

Okinawa will accept radioactive debris...

Japanese prime minister Noda visited Okinawa on 2/26/2012, then Nakaima Hirokazu, the Okinawa mayor decided they will accept radioactive debris if Japanese government asked them.
Having this decision, Naha shi and Haebaru shi have decided to be forward to accepting the radioactive debris.
Onaga Naha city mayor stated, “As Japanese citizen, we shall help disaster area by accepting the radioactive debris.”
As Okinawa prefecture requires, Naha city is start preparing for radioactive debris.

Is this planned extermination of Japan or total madness Why would anyone spread this all over the country? Unbelievable! Didn't they learn from burning debris in Tokyo incinerators already. I'm lacking words...

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[mbrownn]

IMHO Both, there can be no other explanation.

[mire]

Thanks for keeping us posted

There should have been urgency for all governments of the world to have helped them when it was needed last year.. The japanese refused help and told Green peace to get lost.

Now that we near the 03-11-2011 anniversary there is even greater concern.
If a 3rd great quake was to happen between march 23 and april 10 2012 and it did find japan once again, i would think the people of that country would want answers. I hope they would ask why.

My research as to the cause of the great quake is not important, but if it was a annual occurrence then all the governments have lied to all the people of the world..

That is Crazy.

Baja California, northern Cali, japan, chili, and Siberia. any one of these can have the next great quake IMO.

I hope this is not the case, but the evidence tells me there is at least an 80 % chance of another great quake close to 12 days after march 11.

1 Feb 27 2010 2 March 11 2011 3? March 23 2012?

[blackchisel97]

220 mSv/h in reactor2. Human can't work

Tepco announced they investigated the inside of reactor2 by using a remote controlling robot called Quince 2 on 2/27/2012.
It measured 127~220 mSv/h near the container vessel in the operation room of the fifth floor.
Tepco states it’s impossible to work in this level of radiation.
It found pool on the floor, Tepco says that is because they can’t change air, steam makes pool. The steam is assumed to be from container vessel, very radioactive.
Tepco explains it was 11~30 mSv in the stairways from the first floor to forth floor.

Fukushima gov will use contaminated wood for building materials

Fukushima prefecture is going to financially support local governments for tree thinning as forest decontamination as of April of 2012. They are going to pressure Japanese government to include thinning as forest decontamination into the decontamination guideline.
They are planning to use the logged trees for building materials of reconstruction and woody biomass fuel.
71% area is forest in Fukushima.

Following up of the earlier post

..City councilor to measure radiation in Mizumoto park the first was found dead

Prof. Ogawa (68) from Risk management department of Chiba institute of science was found dead on the street. A passerby found him and reported.
It was in Chuoku Kobe, 2:55 AM 2/25/2012.

Only administrative autopsy was operated for some reason. As the result, it was death of disease.
He attended at a meeting of National research institute for earth science and disaster prevention.
He specialized in earthquake engineering, belonged to atomic energy society of Japan.

Originally posted on Fukushima Diary by Mochizuki on 2/28/2012.

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[blackchisel97]

Higher magnitude quakes near the cost of Japan (Honshu). Also, there was a thick plume of smoke between reactors seen on one stream but not visible on Tepco webcam. I hope to be wrong...

[blackchisel97]

Fukushima Worker: We are treated like animals ...

Title: Fears for safety at Fukushima one year on
Source: AFP
Date: March 1, 2012

[...] "I can clearly say it's not safe at all," said one worker in his 50s, a subcontractor who has been working on the plant's cooling system since September. [...]"There are many spots where radiation levels are extremely high," he said.

The man said subcontractors like him were treated like animals. [...]

There have been deaths on site [...] although TEPCO says none related to radiation exposure. [...]

Cesium spikes to highest level in 7 months north of Tokyo — 10 times recent averages (CTBTO)

Alarms at Japanese nuclear power plant and processing facility after magnitude 5 earthquake

At 7:30 am local time March 1st, a magnitude 5 earthquake hit 68 miles from TOKYO, Japan. After the earthquake, alarms sounded from the nuclear fuel processing plants and Tokai 2 nuclear power plant in Tokai-mura, Ibaraki Prefecture. Tsunami alert in Ibaraki coastal area.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety announced that so far, the damage has not been confirmed in any of the facilities. The alarm in the reprocessing facility was located within the building housing nuclear waste.

The alarms at the plant were reported to have stemmed from sensors in the reactor pool that measure the movement of water from earthquakes.

Some 14 locations near nuclear facilities in Japan have been found to have the possibility of turning into active faults in the future, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has announced.

NISA said on Aug. 30 that it has confirmed a total of 14 faults and other locations whose possibility of turning into active faults in the future cannot be ruled out near the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants and Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 Power Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.

NISA had instructed plant operators to re-evaluate those locations after aftershocks following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered the Yunotake fault in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, to slip even though it had been believed to be inactive.

As a result of the re-evaluation, it emerged that five locations near the Fukushima nuclear plant, including the Yunotake fault, have a possibility of moving in the future due to crustal twists and increased seismic activity in the wake of the March 11 quake. A total of nine locations near the Tokai No. 2 Power Station and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency‘s Tokai nuclear fuel reprocessing plant were also revaluated.

Even if any of these faults and other locations ever slipped, the intensity of tremors would be within the scope of the assumption, and the existing plants have no problem in terms of their quake resistance, according to NISA.

NISA will put together the re-evaluation results shortly and submit them to the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan.
Source: mdn.mainichi.jp, via @jonkawamoto

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[blackchisel97]

Radiation and evolution: Surviving fallout

The disaster last year at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, caused by an earthquake and tsunami, scored seven on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). No worse rating exists. Radiation is harmful to living things, yet the long-term effects of persistently high levels of background radiation on ecosystems are poorly understood. With this in mind, a team led by Timothy Mousseau of the University of South Carolina and Anders Moller of the University of Paris-Sud set out to compare bird species dwelling near the Fukushima plant with those living at the site of another nuclear incident that scored a seven on the INES: the Ukrainian town of Chernobyl [...]

[...] when researchers looked at the 14 bird species that lived in both regions, they found that the same level of radiation was associated with twice as large a drop in bird numbers in Fukushima as in Chernobyl.

The reasons for this are not clear. It is possible that the composition of the radionuclides are proving more dangerous to the Fukushima birds than they are to the birds near Chernobyl. But Dr Mousseau suggests a more likely explanation is that evolution has already been at work near Chernobyl, killing off individual birds that cannot cope with the background radiation and allowing the genes of those that have some tolerance to be passed on. The birds at Fukushima are only beginning to face the evolutionary challenge of living in a radioactive world.

Even though the article says the reasons are not clear, it claims "Remarkably, they found that some species seem to develop a tolerance for radioactivity over time." Yet it clearly says the tolerance explanation is only the 'more likely' reason compared to the other explanation -- that Fukushima's radionuclide composition is more dangerous.

Unfortunately, it has never been documented that humans can develop such but opportunity for long term study is developing .

High levels of cesium from Fukushima found near elementary school in Yokohama Japan by Lucas W Hixson on March 1, 2012

High levels of radioactive cesium were found in an area near an elementary school in Yokohama and official levels have been registered over 6.85 uSv/hr. After investigation officials believe that the radiation accumulated in areas where air conditioning filters were washed from industrial complexes.

It is believed that the filters were washed with water and the radioactive materials were transferred to the ground around the area where the cleaning work was carried out. Decontamination work will be required, and officials will monitor levels of radiation in the soil around the affected areas. The city government sees the high radiation levels to be likely caused by the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and plans to decontaminate the area, the officials said.

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[blackchisel97]

Just Published: Worst radiation plume from Fukushima was blown over Tokyo on March 14-15 — “This was the main deposition event over Japan for the entire disaster” — Large fractions of cesium deposited on land

Follow-up to: Wind blew from Fukushima to Tokyo on day Reactor No. 3 exploded -- Radiation cloud reached south of Shizuoka on March 14

Title: Xenon-133 and caesium-137 releases into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: determination of the source term, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition
Source: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics; Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 2313–2343, 2012 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/2313/2012/ doi:10.5194/acp-12-2313-2012
Authors: A. Stohl1, P. Seibert2, G. Wotawa3, D. Arnold2,4, J. F. Burkhart1, S. Eckhardt1, C. Tapia5, A. Vargas4, and T. J. Yasunari6
1 NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway
2 Institute of Meteorology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
3 Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria
4 Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
5 Department of Physics and Nucelar Engineering (FEN),Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
6 Universities Space Research Association, Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology and Research, Columbia, MD 21044, USA
Date: Received: 8 October 2011 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 20 October 2011
Revised: 1 February 2012 – Accepted: 23 February 2012 – Published: 1 March 2012
Emphasis Added

[...] We explore the main dispersion and deposition patterns of the radioactive cloud, both regionally for Japan as well as for the entire Northern Hemisphere. While at first sight it seemed fortunate that westerly winds prevailed most of the time during the accident, a different picture emerges from our detailed analysis. Exactly during and following the period of the strongest 137Cs emissions on 14 and 15 March as well as after another period with strong emissions on 19 March, the radioactive plume was advected over Eastern Honshu Island, where precipitation deposited a large fraction of 137Cs [...]

14 March 2011.

On 14 March, a cyclone developed over southern Japan, which was linked to a larger cyclone northeast of Hokkaido. [...]

The smaller cyclone over Honshu developed rapidly on 15 March, and the FD-NPP plume got caught in its circulation system. It was transported to the south at 18:00 UTC on 14 March, to the southwest six hours later, and back to the north and finally east from about 06:00 UTC on 15 March. The plume covered large parts of centraleastern Honshu and crossed over Tokyo and other major population centers before it left Japan towards the northeast around 18:00UTC on 15 March. Figure 15 (top panel) shows the 137Cs surface concentrations at 06:00UTC on 15 March when precipitation had just started, and Fig. 15 (bottom panel) shows the total 137Cs deposition and precipitation amount on 15 March. The cyclone produced a few millimeters of rain in areas on Honshu Island engulfed by the FD-NPP plume, which led to 137Cs washout. Precipitation was strongest (6 mm) near FD-NPP, leading to high simulated deposition amounts of up to nearly 1000 kBqm−2 in the vicinity of FD-NPP. Tokyo is located just outside of the area with large deposition. Radar data suggests that the precipitation from the GFS model was spatially too smooth and widespread compared to real precipitation patterns. For instance, there was no rain in Tokyo directly, but it did snow in the mountainous areas surrounding the Kanto plain. Thus, our 137Cs deposition may be spatially too extensive and, on the other hand, cannot capture local maxima. This is to be expected, given the global meteorological input data to our simulations. Our simulation suggests that this was the main deposition event over Japan for the entire duration of the disaster. It was due to an unfortunate combination of three factors: (1) the highest emissions of the entire duration of the accident occurred during 14–15 March, (2) the winds transported these emissions over Japan, and (3) precipitation occurred over eastern Japan. Luckily, it did not rain when – according to our simulation – the highest concentrations were advected over Tokyo and other major Japanese cities, saving these places from much higher 137Cs deposition. The actual severity of this episode is still uncertain, as the sensitivity tests in Sect. 4.2.3 have shown that the emissions on 14–15 March are sensitive to the choice of input data for the inversion. [...]

The highest release rates occurred on 14 March, when hydrogen explosions occurred in reactor units 3 and 4 and, presumably, unit 2. We also find unexpectedly high 137Cs emissions from 16–19 March, which suddenly dropped by orders of magnitude when spraying of water on the spent-fuel pool of unit 4 started. Thus, we believe that these high emissions are related to the degraded fuel in the spent-fuel pool of unit 4, and this result would also confirm that the spraying was an effective countermeasure at least in this case. [...]

The winds transported the FD-NPP emissions towards the Pacific Ocean most of the time, while Japan was affected only occasionally. While this seemed like a relatively fortunate situation for Japan during the accident event, a different picture emerges from our detailed analysis. Exactly during and following the period of the highest 137Cs emission rates on 14 and 15 March, the FD-NPP plume was advected towards Japan and affected large areas in the east of Honshu Island. The advection towards Japan was triggered by a developing cyclone, which produced precipitation on 15 March, leading to the deposition of large fractions of the airborne 137Cs over Japanese land.

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[blackchisel97]

Cherenkov Effect???

Glowing blue tap water reported in Minamisoma, just north of meltdowns

核-原子力事故救援NGO HCR [Heart Care Rescue], Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) · Minamisoma-shi, Fukushima, Japan

- [Attention to tap water] "Tap water glows blue. A Minamisoma citizen reported emergency. From hearing about, tap water turn to be blue, looks like it’s glowing at the bottom of bathtub. Citizens got worried, called waterworks department of the city government but they declined checking it".

"In 1860, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff discovered caesium in the mineral water from Dürkheim, Germany. Due to the bright blue lines in its emission spectrum, they chose a name derived from the Latin word caesius, meaning sky-blue." SOURCE - Caesium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scientists "tried to generate elemental caesium by electrolysis of molten caesium chloride, but instead of a metal, they obtained a blue homogenous substance" SOURCE - Caesium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Study: First time in history xenon-133 detected in Southern Hemisphere — Cs-137 also measured — Darwin station, Australia

Title: Xenon-133 and caesium-137 releases into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: determination of the source term, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition
Source: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics; Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 2313–2343, 2012 www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/2313/2012/ doi:10.5194/acp-12-2313-2012
Authors: A. Stohl1, P. Seibert2, G. Wotawa3, D. Arnold2,4, J. F. Burkhart1, S. Eckhardt1, C. Tapia5, A. Vargas4, and T. J. Yasunari6
1 NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, Norway
2 Institute of Meteorology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
3 Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, Vienna, Austria
4 Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
5 Department of Physics and Nucelar Engineering (FEN),Technical University of Catalonia (UPC), Barcelona, Spain
6 Universities Space Research Association, Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology and Research, Columbia, MD 21044, USA
Date: Received: 8 October 2011 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 20 October 2011
Revised: 1 February 2012 – Accepted: 23 February 2012 – Published: 1 March 2012

[...] By middle of April, 133Xe was fairly uniformly distributed in the middle latitudes of the entire Northern Hemisphere and was for the first time also measured in the Southern Hemisphere (Darwin station, Australia). [...]

During the accident events, 133Xe and 137Cs from FD-NPP were dispersed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and eventually also reached the Southern Hemisphere. [...]

In April all measurement stations recorded an enhanced (but due to radioactive decay, decreasing) background of 133Xe caused by the FD-NPP emissions, indicating the transition to complete dispersion in the Northern Hemisphere (see Stohl et al., 2012). Even the Australian station Darwin started recording enhanced 133Xe concentrations in April, indicating penetration of radioactive contamination into the Southern Hemisphere. [...]

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[blackchisel97]

NISA team knew of triple meltdowns...

According to documents that The Asahi Shimbun obtained through a freedom-of-information request

Two months before it was made public that fuel melted in three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, a team at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency deduced it
Nothing was done with the sensitive information
The [NISA] team concluded in a report that meltdowns occurred at the No. 1 to 3 reactors as of 2:45 p.m. on March 18
[Tepco] acknowledged a meltdown at the No. 1 reactor on May 15
Those at the No. 2 and 3 reactors [were acknowledged] on May 24
NISA acknowledged the meltdowns only after TEPCO’s announcement
The team’s analysis was not utilized for explanations to the public or other initial responses to the nuclear disaster
On March 15, radiation levels sharply rose at the No. 1 and 2 reactors, suggesting that melted fuel had fallen to the bottom of the containment vessels
Report said stable conditions continued as long as water was pumped in from the outside because melted fuel, accumulated at the bottom, was largely submerged
IN FACT, IT WAS NOT
Fukushima Nuclear Fuel Has CLEARLY melted through - YouTube

They kept denying and hiding the truth, knowing that there is nothing they can do about....

Radioactive cesium causing holes in hearts of children

Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear joins Thom Hartmann. In a little over a week - we'll hit the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis at Fukushima in Japan.

"The children in the Chernobyl region have heart pathologies you'd expect to see in very old people... Foreign teams of doctors go into Belarus like a MASH unit to perform 100s and 100s of heart surgeries on children, to put patches on their hearts because they have holes in their hearts. And its the radioactive cesium".

Fukushima Focus: Heart Muscle & Update 3/1/12 - YouTube

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[blackchisel97]

Lawsuit Filed Against TEPCO

TEPCO shareholders have filed a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court against 27 utility executives. The plaintiffs are jointly seeking a record 5.5 trillion yen (S$85 billion) in compensation, claiming that the accident was caused by their negligence in ignoring safety measures, including building wave barriers, Kyodo said.

A lawyer for the group says Japan’s corporate culture will not change unless individual senior executives are held accountable for problems, and that the shareholders want to correct what they call a system of collective irresponsibility in the nuclear-power industry.

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[blackchisel97]

US evacuation out at least 150-200 miles, past Tokyo? Concerned NRC Staff: “Why are we being so rigid in terms of doing the right thing?” — Radiation exposure “just one of many considerations”

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi ET Audio File
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Wednesday, March 16, 2011


MALE PARTICIPANT: Are we (inaudible) to give recommendations to the Ambassador. Because we got into this at the beginning, like (inaudible) advising the Ambassador.

MIKE CASE: Yes.

MALE PARTICIPANT: So, (inaudible) only go out to 50 miles.

FEMALE PARTICIPANT: But the request we had yesterday at 6:54 a.m., which we're still waiting on, has to go out past Tokyo, go out at least 150-200 miles.

MIKE CASE: Okay.

FEMALE PARTICIPANT: Well, we should be able to get that information --

MALE PARTICIPANT: At least the first estimate. [...]

MALE PARTICIPANT: I have Tom Roberts here with me, and I guess we're hearing that Admiral Donald wanted to talk to the Chairman to get some clarification.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right. And so, are you plugged into that, to advise on whether it makes sense radiologically to --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Yes. No, I think it's more than radiological issues --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Uh-hum.

MALE PARTICIPANT: -- that the Ambassador has under consideration right now. You know, our position is that it is

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right. This is --

MALE PARTICIPANT: (Inaudible) --

MALE PARTICIPANT: This is not some we've calculated or we've recommended. We're responding to the Ambassador's request at this point.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Okay. Let me ask the question, isn't there an ALARA consideration here at some level? We calculate that if, in fact, the asumptions [sic] made relative to your 50-mile PEG calculation come to pass, that you would get like 1 to rem total effective dose equivalent out to 150 to miles. And wouldn't it make sense, if we're talking now voluntary departure, wouldn't it make sense to recommend voluntary departure in the name of avoiding that level of population dose?

MALE PARTICIPANT: Do you want my personal opinion?

MALE PARTICIPANT: Sure.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right.

MALE PARTICIPANT: That's my own personal view. And radiation is just one factor.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right. So, but what we are charged with advising on radiation or you are charged with advising --

MALE PARTICIPANT: And that's in our protective action to up to 50 miles.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right, but why are we being so rigid in terms of doing the right thing? The right thing is an ALARA thing here, in addition to strict interpretation of PEG.

MALE PARTICIPANT: If you went to a (inaudible, possible "law") --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Yes.

MALE PARTICIPANT: -- I suppose, I suppose you could get there.

MALE PARTICIPANT: Yes, so the question is, how much should the law play into --

FEMALE PARTICIPANT: Yes.

MALE PARTICIPANT: And the scope of that, as you understood it from him, was --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right. Now, if we were asked to advise strictly on radiological grounds, you would or would not take into consideration ALARA?

MALE PARTICIPANT: Yes, I would, but I keep coming back to I think that, if you're out beyond the 50-mile zone, there are other factors --

MALE PARTICIPANT: That take in --

MALE PARTICIPANT: -- that bear on this decision..

MALE PARTICIPANT: Okay.

VONNA ORDAZ: And other countries have recognized that as well in releases.

MALE PARTICIPANT: In the press releases -- thanks. Vonna Ordaz is here with me, and she is saying in the press releases other countries are acknowledging that the radioactive dose is just one of many considerations.

VONNA ORDAZ: Structural (inaudible) --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right.

VONNA ORDAZ: -- transportation, communications, and other --

MALE PARTICIPANT: Right, yes.

BBC: Clouds of fallout spread many kilometers across heavily populated areas — Cesium levels of rice may rise in future

Title: Discovery, Fukushima nuclear accident
Source: BBC World Service Programmes
Date: March 6, 2012

It's nearly a year (11 March 2011) since Japan was struck by a huge earthquake and Tsunami.

Clouds of radioactive fall out from damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station spread across heavily populated areas - many kilometres from the plant.

The government and power company TEPCO have been heavily criticised for not telling the local population soon enough about what was going on [...] deep mistrust developed towards government or TEPCO pronouncements on the nuclear incident. [...]

Read the report here- BBC - BBC World Service Programmes - Discovery, Fukushima nuclear accident

At 35:45 in

"There's uncertainty, especially over whether cesium levels in rice may increase in the future [...] It's possible this could become more concentrated in rice."

“Are people going to drop dead?” US officials surprised workers still at Fukushima after assessment No. 2 went ex-vessel and 400 milliSv/h dose measured

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi ET Audio File
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
March 15, 2011

DAVID: And the notion that Unit 2 is X vessel is something that is the the assessment of Jim Trapp, who's in the office talking to one NISA engineer, so that, that's their best estimate of what the situation is. But we don't have anything from either Tepco or NISA that, that verifies that information.

BRIAN McDERMOTT [Director of Division of Preparedness and Response]: When they say that the core is X vessel, what kind of rad readings are they getting near the site?

DAVID: I don't have any updates over the last, roughly six or seven hours. But six or seven hours ago, the site boundary in the vicinity of Unit 2 and 3 was 3 to rem per hour, and around Unit 4, was 10 rem per hour.

MALE PARTICIPANT: And at one point, there was a 40 rem.

DAVID: Yeah. There was a media report of a 40-rem dose measured somewhere near the plant.

BRIAN McDERMOTT: Okay. Wow. And they still have people there?

DAN DORMAN: There are 50 people remaining on site. Everybody else has been evacuated. Now I don't know if that 50 includes the 11 that were injured in the Unit 3 explosion or sent after that.

BRIAN McDERMOTT: Right.

DAN DORMAN: One of our, of our lingering questions is, is how many people are there monitoring this and trying to, to cool things, and for how long?

BRIAN McDERMOTT: Right, with those kind of dose rates.

[...]

MALE PARTICIPANT: No. He doesn't have anything else.

MALE PARTICIPANT: No, we're just trying to get a ballpark. Are we talking about, are people going to drop dead? Are they going to -- it's just -- you know, how hot is it? [...]

The paper by a Tokyo University researcher that was finally published [...]

It shows the spacial dose of radiation at the front gate of Fukushima I Nuke Plant and the timeline of events at the plant in March. The largest spike seems to be around or after 12AM on March 15, and the label on the spike says "Dry vent at reactor no.2". [...]

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