Fukushima Update – Day 235

James Corbett

Japan Gov’t on Containing Radiation: “We don’t have experience in this field” / ENEnews.com / October 31, 2011 /

KORIYAMA, Oct. 31 — “Japan still is struggling to figure out how to clean up the mess, exacerbating fears about health risks and fanning mistrust of the government,” reports Yumiko Ono in today’s Wall Street Journal.

In fact, government policies may be increasing the spread of radioactive particles: According to the article, “Some experts say some ad hoc cleanup efforts risk spreading radiation further.”

For example, Ono says schools “are temporarily storing contaminated soil in holes dug within the school compounds and lined with plastic sheets.”

Of this ‘storage’ method, Kimberlee Kearfott, a University of Michigan nuclear-engineering professor who has served on U.S. government panels for nuclear cleanups, says:

Plastic isn’t a long-lasting seal against radioactive substances leaking.
If radioactive materials get into the ground water and are concentrated there that could be worse than soil contamination because it could spread rapidly.
“This type of shallow-pit burial has not been used in the U.S. since the 1960s.”
“This is definitely not a good idea.”
Officials at Japan’s environment ministry “concede the task is daunting,” according to the Journal article.

During an interview, Vice Minister Hideki Minamikawa said:

“We don’t have experience in this field.”
“We’re talking about such a vast area.”
“Currently, there are no clear signs yet on what needs to be done to make decontamination a success.”
Read More: Cleanup of Fukushima Radiation Confounds Japan

Other headlines from ENEnews.com:

Report: Yellow powder recorded during video of Reactor No. 4
Radiation from gamma rays alone at almost 4 µSv/h in front of elementary school in Kashiwa
Recriticality? Iodine-131 detected in rice samples from late October
Lead Radiation Doctor: We were wrong
Japan Gov’t on Containing Radiation: “We don’t have experience in this field”

Headlines from ex-SKF:

OurPlanet TV: What’s Happening to Children Now?
#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Hydrogen Gas Level Increased in Reactor 2
Setagaya, Tokyo’s 170 Microsieverts/Hr Supermarket: Europium-152??
Farmer in Evacuation-Ready Zone in Fukushima Insists He Will Sell His Rice

Headlines from Japanese Media:

No summer ’12 power-saving order, just peak-time rate hike – Japan Times
Fukushima shiitake cesium spikes – Japan Times
Local Fukushima residents seek compensation for decontamination gear, costs – Mainichi Daily
Fukushima officials leave for Chernobyl – NHK
Many people uneasy about soil disposal plan – Daily Yomiuri

Headlines from around the web:

Fukushima nuclear plant could take 30 years to clean up‎ – The Guardian
Japan Closer to Exporting Nuclear Technology to India, Vietnam – WSJ
Japan to store radioactive soil at temporary storage facilities in Fukushima – Tokyo Reporter
Czechs bet on nuclear power for future – Ninemsn

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