JP Diagnosis: Delirium (Nuclear Update, June 2013)
Channel: onthewaytoextinction
Date: 2013-06-11

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

CHILDREN PLAY BALL GAME IN RICE PADDIES

Children in a city in northeastern Japan on Monday used sports to give a boost to local agriculture. They played a ball game in muddy rice paddies to prepare the fields for rice-planting.

An elementary school in Yokote City brings children to nearby rice paddies every year in late spring for games of dodge ball. Their running feet act like plows, stirring up the mud and getting the paddies ready for planting.

On Monday, about 60 5th graders participated in the event. They donned swim caps and goggles and tried to hit members of opposing teams with the ball. They created a mud-covered spectacle as temperatures rose to more than 30 degrees Celsius.

The children will also help plant the rice later this week.

Jun. 11, 2013 - Updated 01:47 UTC

DECONTAMINATION TRIALS FOR FUKUSHIMA NO-ENTRY ZONE

Officials from Japan's environment ministry say they plan to conduct trial clean-ups in the no-entry zone near the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The government has designated parts of 7 municipalities as areas in which radiation is still too high for residents to return.

Officials have delayed major clean-up operations for fear of exposure to the high radiation.

But environmental officials say they will now ask local governments and landowners to approve decontamination trials in the towns of Namie and Futaba.

They hope to begin working on residential areas, roads and agricultural fields in Namie Town in August. They aim to work on kindergartens and hospitals in Futaba Town from September.

They will examine how the procedures affect radiation levels and publish the results by the end of this year.

Jun. 10, 2013 - Updated 22:57 UTC

NUCLEAR REGULATORS BACK OHI PLANT SAFETY REPORT

Japan's nuclear regulators have said they have mostly approved a new safety assessment from the operator of Ohi, the country's only running nuclear plant.

Nuclear Regulation Authority officials on Monday received the findings from Kansai Electric Power Company.

Kansai Electric engineers analyzed three active faults near the plant's premises in Fukui Prefecture and off the coast in the Sea of Japan.

They were told to examine possible effects of an earthquake if the 3 faults moved simultaneously.

The engineers found in such a case the reactor buildings would shake to an intensity of 760 gals.

Regulators found this figure -- essentially a benchmark of quake resistance -- to be acceptable.

Kansai Electric officials originally refused to consider the possibility of the three faults moving simultaneously. But they agreed to carry out the analysis to prepare for stricter guidelines to be introduced in July.

The regulators also approved most of the utility's tsunami calculations. The engineers calculated a triple-fault quake would cause a tsunami of up to 3.68 meters.

The Ohi plant is 9.7 meters above sea level.

Regulation Authority experts will inspect the plant on Saturday to check how disasters could affect its facilities. They'll also check its precautions for nuclear accidents.

The regulators plan to decide this month whether Kansai Electric may continue to operate the Ohi plant.

Jun. 10, 2013 - Updated 19:27 UTC

DECONTAMINATION AT SCHOOLS ALMOST COMPLETED

A Japanese Environment Ministry survey has revealed that almost all of the designated municipalities in eastern Japan had completed decontamination of schools by the end of March. The decontamination was conducted using government money.

The survey investigated 58 municipalities in eastern Japan. The survey did not include municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture.

The ministry examined the progress of decontamination at educational facilities such as schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools.

Of the 1,587 facilities to be decontaminated, the survey found 98 percent, or 1,555 had been completed.

The environment ministry says local government officials put priority on these facilities out of consideration for the children.

As for the decontamination of housing units, only 25 percent, or 34,551 were completed. The percentage nearly matched the previous survey conducted at the end of last December.

Ministry officials say this doesn't mean there was no progress made in the decontamination of houses. They say it is because more houses were added to the list. The ministry aim to speed up the decontamination operation.

Jun. 9, 2013 - Updated 22:53 UTC

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