Fukushima soil survey finds widespread radioactive cesium exceeding legal limits – Residents dumping irradiated soil in forests and parks
TOKYO, July 5 (Kyodo) – […] A survey of soil at four locations in the city of Fukushima on June 26 found that all samples were contaminated with radioactive cesium, measuring 16,000 to 46,000 becquerels per kilogram and exceeding the legal limit of 10,000 becquerels per kg, citizens groups involved said Tuesday.
The city, about 60 kilometers northwest of the crippled plant, does not fall within the 20-km no-entry zone or nearby evacuation areas. One location registered as much as 931,000 becquerels per square meter, surpassing the 555,000 becquerels per sq meter limit for compulsory resettlement in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. Samples from the other three locations measured between 326,000 and 384,000 becquerels per sq meter.
45% of kids in Fukushima survey had thyroid exposure to radiation
By Antoni Slodkowski, with additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Tomasz Janowski
5 July 2011 FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – They scoop up soil from their gardens and dump it in holes dug out in parks and nearby forests, scrub their roofs with soap and refuse to let their children play outside. More than three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown at a nearby power plant, Fukushima residents are scrambling to cope with contamination on their own in the absence of a long-term plan from the government. “Everything and everyone here is paralysed and we feel left on our own, unsure whether it’s actually safe for us to stay in the city,” said Akiko Itoh, 42, with her four-year old son in her lap. Even though this city of 300,000 lies outside of the 30-km evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, a recent survey showed radiation levels in several spots exceed 13 millisieverts per year, more than six times natural levels. As increasingly panicked residents take matters into their own hands, experts warn that their do-it-yourself efforts to reduce contamination risk making matters worse by allowing radiation to spread without monitoring and by creating hotspots of high radioactivity where soil is piled high. “I scooped up all the radioactive soil and grass from my garden and dumped it in the forest, so no one could find it,” said a mother of a four-year-old child from Fukushima city, who did not want to be identified by name. “When I put my Geiger counter close to that mountain of soil it showed 10 microseverts per hour,” she said. That is more than four times the official annual nuclear exposure limit. Others were spotted dumping their nuclear waste in public parks and by the river, residents said. Experts say the longer it takes Japanese authorities to organise a clean-up the greater the risk of additional, long-lasting damage. “Such clusters of radiation can also leak into the groundwater and pose more health hazards for a sustained period,” said Takumi Gotoh, a Nagoya-based cancer specialist. “That’s why Japan urgently needs a comprehensive, long-term plan to deal with the issue,” Gotoh said. […]
