Radiation leak at nuke plant reduced

Workers try to stop the spread of radiation at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: The most recent attempt brings a decrease in leaking radioactive waterNEW: More than 5,700 tons of less radioactive water are purposefully released so farRadiation levels drop sharply offshore, but are many times the legal limitWater in a pit that's leaking into the sea had radiation 7.5 million times above the norm Tokyo (CNN) -- An attempt to plug a leak of highly radioactive water from a Japanese nuclear reactor has shown a "significant difference," despite the material not setting as hoped, officials said late Tuesday.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, said the injection of a silica-based polymer dubbed "liquid glass" had reduced the amount of highly radioactive water that was leaking into the ocean.

The utility's assessment comes after the country's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said that the substance had not hardened as expected. The material had been pumped from below into the leaking shaft at the plant's No. 2 reactor.

Though water continued to pour into the ocean, photographs released by TEPCO showed a thinner, less powerful stream. The company says it has no estimate of the rate of the leak, however, so the amount of reduction was unclear.

View the Original article

Read more »

Posted in: plant,radiation,reduced

Some Japanese staying put despite radiation threat

Japanese residents: We're not leavingSTORY HIGHLIGHTSSome Japanese residents in the evacuation zone are refusing to leaveDamage to roads within the 12-mile evacuation area renders transportation difficultOfficials again urge residents near the Fukushima nuclear plant to evacuate (CNN) -- In Futaba, Japan, the threat of death by radiation poisoning is not enough to compel some residents to obey the Japanese government's order to leave their homes.

Futaba is within the 12-mile evacuation zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant where crews are struggling to contain radiation spilling out of the facility -- a disaster created by a March 11 earthquake-triggered tsunami.

The nuclear accident has turned Futaba into a ghost town, almost. Trains no longer run to this northern Japan farming community. The clean-up of the damage wrought by the earthquake has not started and the only people on the streets are members of Japan's self-defense forces, all dressed head to toe in protective clothing.

However, government forces conducting house-by-house searches have found people who refuse to get out of Futaba. Some say they are too sick or old to leave their homes. Others say they stayed behind, or managed to return, to feed their animals.

View the Original article

Read more »

Posted in: despite,Japanese,radiation,staying,threat

Radiation high in seawater near plant

Japan town struggles with leaders goneSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Besides radioactive iodine, high levels of cesium are also detectedA Tokyo Electric official says it's not known what caused the radiation spikeRadiation in seawater near nuclear plant tests 1,250 times above normalRadiations levels in tap water in Ibaraki prefecture now considered safe Tokyo (CNN) -- Levels of radioactive iodine in seawater just offshore of the embattled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant spiked to more than 1,250 times higher than normal, Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency said Saturday. Samples taken Friday morning from a monitoring station 330 meters off the coast were significantly higher than results from the previous morning, when the level was 104 times above normal. The measurements also showed high levels of cesium and were taken outside the discharge canal for the plant's Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 reactors. Readings from a short distance away, outside the Nos. 5 and 6 units' discharge canal, showed lower but still high radioactive iodine levels some 284 times above normal.These high levels suggest there may have been some sort of leakage directly into the ocean -- unlikely to be because of atmosphere emissions or rain alone, said an official with the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the nuclear plant.

View the Original article

Read more »

Posted in: plant,radiation,seawater

After radiation spike, tests show tap water safe for babies in Tokyo

A woman drinks water from a tap in Tokyo on Wednesday, the day authorities said that water in the city was safe for infants. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: 12 types of vegetables tested and have radioactive levels exceeding legal limits NEW: Low radiation levels have also reached as far as Sweden.Japan's top OB/GYN group says pregnant and nursing women can drink waterRussia joins Hong Kong, the United States and others restricting Japanese food imports Tokyo (CNN) -- New tests Thursday showed that radioactive iodine in Tokyo's tap water has dropped to levels considered safe for babies -- just hours after authorities announced plans to distribute bottled water to tens of thousands of parents around the Japanese metropolis.

Tests at the Kanamichi Water Purification Plant, which provides water to 23 wards in Tokyo as well as five other cities, showed 79 becquerels of radioactive iodine per kilogram of water, the city government said in a news release.

A becquerel is a measurement of radioactive intensity by weight.

This is below the 100 becquerel level, the maximum considered safe for infants ages 1 and younger. And it is well below the 210 becquerel reading measured Tuesday night.

View the Original article

Read more »

Posted in: After,babies,radiation,spike,tests,Tokyo,water