Japan Sizes Up Task of Fukushima Waste Disposal

Published on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 by Reuters

by Yoko Kubota

TOKYO - Japan faces the prospect of removing and disposing 29 million cubic metres of soil contaminated by the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years from an area nearly the size of Tokyo, the environment ministry said in the first official estimate of the scope and size of the cleanup.

Protesters hold placards during the anti-nuclear march in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. Six months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered reactor meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japan's northeast coast, the size of the task of cleaning up is only now becoming clear. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)Six months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered reactor meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japan's northeast coast, the size of the task of cleaning up is only now becoming clear.

Contaminated zones where radiation levels need to be brought down could top 2,400 square km (930 square miles), sprawling over Fukushima and four nearby prefectures, the ministry said in a report released on Tuesday.

Tokyo Metropolitan prefecture has a total area of 2,170 square kilometers (840 square miles).

The environment ministry has requested an additional 450 billion yen in a third extra budget for the year to next March that the government aims to submit to parliament in October, Kyodo news agency reported.

The government has so far raised 220 billion yen ($2.9 billion) to be used for decontamination work, but some experts say the cleanup bill cost reach trillions of yen .

If a 5 cm (2-inch) layer of surface soil, likely to contain cesium, is scraped off affected areas, grass and fallen leaves are removed from forests, and dirt and leaves are removed from gutters, it would amount to nearly 29 million cubic metres of radioactive waste, the document showed.

This would be is enough to fill 23 baseball stadiums with a capacity of 55,000 spectators, and the government must decide where to temporarily store such waste and how to dispose of it permanently.

Japan has banned people from entering within a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the plant, located about 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo and owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co . Some 80,000 people were forced to evacuate.

The government aims to halve radiation over two years in places contaminated by the crisis, relying on both the natural drop in radiation as time passes and by human efforts.

The ministry's estimate assumes that cleanup efforts should be mainly in areas where people could be exposed to radiation of 5 millisieverts (mSv) or more annually, excluding exposure from natural sources.

The unit sievert quantifies the amount of radiation absorbed by human tissues and a mSv is one-thousandth of a sievert. Radiation exposure from natural sources in a year is about 2.4 mSv on average, the U.N. atomic watchdog said. ($1 = 76.655 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Ed Lane)

WANTED: U.S. workers for crippled Japan nuke plant

By Scott DiSavino and David Sheppard

NEW YORK | Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:55pm EDT

Reuters - As foreign assignments go this must be just about the most dangerous going.

A U.S. recruiter is hiring nuclear power workers in the United States to help Japan gain control of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has been spewing radiation.

The qualifications: Skills gained in the nuclear industry, a passport, a family willing to let you go, willingness to work in a radioactive zone.

The rewards: Higher than normal pay and the challenge of solving a major crisis.

"About two weeks ago we told our managers to put together a wish list of anyone interested in going to Japan," said Joe Melanson, a recruiter at specialist nuclear industry staffing firm Bartlett Nuclear in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

So far, the firm has already signed up some workers who will be flying to Japan on Sunday.

Melanson said there will be less than 10 workers in the initial group. Others are expected to follow later, he added.

Plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has appealed to the nuclear industry outside of Japan for assistance as the crisis has spiraled beyond their control.

On Thursday, the company said radiation levels in water found in tunnels under the plant was 10,000 times the normal level and radioactive iodine 131 was found in ground water near No.1 reactor of the complex.

Melanson said Bartlett Nuclear had been approached by sub-contractors linked to the General Electric-Hitachi nuclear joint venture. GE designed the Fukushima reactors.

"At first, we had no details about the duration of the job or the positions needed. The only requirement was that you have a valid passport," Melanson said.

But as the job details came in, Bartlett managers scoured the list of volunteers and selected several engineers and technicians "we knew would perform well for us over there."

So just what type of person would go into a damaged nuclear plant that is throwing out dangerous levels of radiation?

NOT ROUGHNECKS

Melanson said these are not roughnecks prepared to risk their health for a quick paycheck but senior technicians and engineers who have come up through the ranks.

PNC :: Lawmakers Hear From Fisherman's and Farmers Co-op's Concerns with Military Buildup

PNC :: Lawmakers Hear From Fisherman's and Farmers Co-op's Concerns with Military Buildup

Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Guam - The commitee on natural resources and federal affairs held a briefing on the buildup this morning.

They spoke to the Fisherman's Co-op the Farmers Co-op the Guam Organization of Saltwater Anglers and the Department of Agriculture. The focus of the meeting was to gather input from these organizations on their thoughts about the draft environmental impact statement. Fisherman Co-op general manager Manny Duenas says the Co-op is concerned about the proposed dredging of Apra harbor and the impacts it will have on the ecosystem as 25 acres of coral and marine life will be dredged. Duenas says they are concerned about the the dredge material that will be dumped off the coast of Guam without being tested for nuclear wasted and other contaminants.

Duenas says the Fishermans Co-op is also concerned about impacts to the Pagat and Sasayan valley area if it is used as a firing range. If this happens he says the area will be off-limits to fishermen and the firing range will litter the surrounding waters with ammunition.

Written by : Clynt Ridgell

Emotions Run High During Military Buildup Public Hearing

Emotions Run High During Military Buildup Public Hearing



Guam - Residents filled the Southern High School gymnasium Thursday night to testify during the Joint Guam Program Office's public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement.

Speaker after speaker raised concerns about the buildup ranging from the dredging of the Apra harbor, to land acquisition. Taotaomona Native Rights Magahaga Trini Torres called Guam a US colony and called on fellow Chamorros to stand up to the federal government saying "...it's not a done deal" in reference to the military buildup.

Senator BJ Cruz spoke about the need to test soil dredged from the harbor for nuclear contaminants. According to the senator although extensive tests were done for the presence of metals none has been conducted for the presence of nuclear waste. According to Cruz the Prodius spilled nuclear material into the harbor back in 1975 and since then there have been rumors of other spills. In fact the navy confirmed a leak in one of it's nuclear subs just a couple years ago.

Others like Chamorro Tribe Chairman Frank Schacher spoke about his prior service with the US military and how he now feels betrayed by the very country he once helped defend. Schacher spoke about the changes to the island and the negative impacts an influx of non-native people would have on the Chamorro language, culture and customs. Schacher said "we're very disappointed in this DEIS..." He also said he wished he could've had more than the three minutes that were allotted to each speaker as he has "...spent the last two months reading the 11 thousand plus pages."

Other concerns brought up by various speakers included concerns about the limited water resources, contamination of the island and it's aquifer, salinization of the aquifer, the acquisition of land, the access to hiking trails and traditional fishing and hunting grounds, and the overall environmental impacts to the island. Not all spoke against the military buildup. Some like Chamber of Commerce President Dave Leddy spoke in favor of it. Leddy touted among other things the economic impacts and the improvements to Guam's infrastructure. In fact the Chamber of Commerce has submitted fourteen points in support of the military buildup.

JGPO D.C. Chief of Staff Colonel Paul Pohn assured the audience that no final decisions will be made until the record of decision is signed in July. He encouraged Guamanians to show up and provide public comments as they will all be included in the DEIS and factored into the Department of Defenses final decision.

Island residents did indeed show up to comment filling the southern high's gymnasium. Most of the comments given were either against the buildup as a whole or against specific sections of the DEIS.

Written by :
Clynt Ridgell