June 10 (NHK) – The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says radiation levels in one of the reactor buildings remain too high for workers to do their jobs. Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, sent 9 workers into the No.3 reactor building for about 20 minutes on Thursday, in a bid to […]
By Hidenori Tsuboya and Jin Nishikawa9 June 2011 The Japanese government’s report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant catalogues multiple failures at all levels of Japan’s nuclear industry, bureaucracy and government. The report, submitted June 7, lists 28 challenges thrown up by the […]
By arevamirpal::laprimavera8 June 2011 So the Tokyo Metropolitan government finally admitted to the high air radiation level in “Nanbu Sludge Plant” in Ota-ku in Tokyo, after, it turns out, a Tokyo Metropolitan Assemblyman from Ota-ku went inside the plant and measured the radiation. “Tobu” or Eastern, Sludge Plant in Koto-ku in Tokyo has an even […]
An op-ed by Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org, narrated and illustrated by Stephen Thomson of Plomomedia.com Caution: It is vitally important not to make connections. When you see pictures of rubble like this week’s shots from Joplin, Mo., you should not wonder: Is this somehow related to the tornado outbreak three weeks ago […]
Beijing (AFP) June 7, 2011 – Authorities have closed schools in two towns in China after industrial waste contaminated the water supply for 200,000 residents, officials and state media said Tuesday. Locals in the towns of Pingyao and Liangzhu in the eastern province of Zhejiang have complained their tap water has a strange taste and […]
June 8 (Asahi Shimbun) – Radioactive sewage sludge is quickly filling up treatment facilities in eastern Japan as recycling companies have refused to accept it for safety reasons. The central government, which has only presented guidelines for temporary storage, plans to set standards on final disposal. Radioactive cesium was first detected in sludge at a […]
By Jonathan Watts3 June 2011 The Chinese government issued its annual “State of the Environment” report on Friday. Here are the highlights along with my interpretation and year-end grade for each subject based on the following standard: A – World classB – GoodC – PassableD – Poor but showing signs of improvementE – Poor and […]
TOKYO, June 7 (AP) – Japan will for the first time report to the UN nuclear watchdog that fuel in its crippled Fukushima plant may have melted through the bottoms of three reactor core vessels, a news report said Tuesday. The Yomiuri Shimbun daily report came a day after Japan more than doubled its estimate […]
June 7 (Asahi Shimbun) – Residents outside the planned evacuation zone near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are trying to lead normal lives, but radiation levels exceeding the safety standard are posing an increasing threat. A report released June 3 by the science ministry said annual accumulated radiation levels are estimated at 20.1, […]
By Shunsuke Kimura, Jin Nishikawa, Eisuke Sasaki, and Hidenori Tsuboya7 June 2011 As workers struggle to bring the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under control, signs are increasing that the eventual cleanup of the disaster will take much longer than previously thought. Containers of rubble, unwanted and of unknown levels of contamination, line the […]
