Fukushima: News From The Meltdowns, Septermber 1-10 2013
Channel: rumorecurioso
Date: 2013-11-12

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/  

LEAKED WATER MAY HAVE REACHED GROUNDWATER

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water that leaked from a storage tank may have reached groundwater.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it detected high levels of radioactive substances in water collected on Wednesday at a monitoring well about 10 meters from the tank.

It says the water contained 650 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, including strontium. The water was taken from about 7 meters deep, where groundwater is flowing.

Last month, TEPCO discovered more than 300 tons of contaminated water had leaked from the tank. Company officials said some of the water may have reached the sea.

Sep. 5, 2013 - Updated 11:23 UTC

ACCUSERS DENOUNCE PROSECUTORS DECISION

 A group of Fukushima residents has denounced the prosecutors' decision to not indict former TEPCO executives for the nuclear crisis.

The group's representative, lawyer Hiroyuki Kawai, told reporters that the prosecutors had failed to respond to the voice of local residents. He said it is a matter of course that they did not indict anyone as the investigation was based on data provided on a voluntary basis and on experts' opinions.

Kawai said he intends to take the issue to an inquest panel and file a criminal complaint with the Fukushima prefectural police.

He said he wants people and police officers in Fukushima who are struggling and are still angry following the nuclear disaster to make their judgment.

Sep. 9, 2013 - Updated 12:44 UTC

TEPCO EXECUTIVES SPARED FROM INDICTMENT

Japanese prosecutors have decided not to indict former TEPCO executives for insufficient precautions against a massive tsunami, and their handling of the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Fukushima residents and others filed criminal complaints against Tokyo Electric Power Company and more than 40 people.

They include former TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and other top management, former Nuclear Safety Commission head Haruki Madarame and former Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

Prosecutors said on Monday that TEPCO, its former executives and others cannot be held criminally responsible.
They say the accused could not predict the real dangers of such a massive earthquake and tsunami.

They say TEPCO's failure to carry out countermeasure construction after it projected in 2008 a scenario of a huge tsunami of more than 15 meters, cannot be considered socially irresponsible behavior.

The plaintiffs say they do not accept the conclusions of the ruling. They plan to take the issue to a prosecution inquest panel made up of randomly selected citizens.

Sep. 9, 2013 - Updated 11:37 UTC

FUKUSHIMA LEAKS CONTAMINATE MORE GROUNDWATER

 The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has recorded a spike in the level of radioactive substances in groundwater in and around the plant compound.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it suspects contaminated water that leaked last month from a storage tank may be spreading.

TEPCO says it detected 3,200 becquerels of strontium and other radioactive substances per liter of water collected on Sunday from a new well. The well is about 20 meters north of the tank that leaked.

The reading was 5 times higher than for a sample taken from another well, to the south of the tank, last Wednesday.

TEPCO officials said they also detected 80,000 becquerels of tritium per liter in a sample collected last Thursday from a well on the coastal side of the No.1 reactor building.

That's higher than a reading taken about a year ago.

TEPCO is planning to dig more wells to try to find out how the underground water is being contaminated.

Sep. 9, 2013 - Updated 18:32 UTC

EX-OFFICIALS, LOCAL CHIEFS REACT TO DECISION

 Fukushima residents and others filed criminal complaints against Tokyo Electric Power Company and more than 40 individuals, including the utility's former executives and government officials.

Former Nuclear Safety Commission chairman Haruki Madarame is one of the accused people. He declined to comment on the prosecutors' decision not to press charges.

Tokyo Electric Power Company apologized for causing much trouble to residents of Fukushima and other people, but declined to comment on the decision.

Toshitsuna Watanabe, the mayor of Okuma Town in Fukushima Prefecture, says he will keep on monitoring developments.

The mayor says he and other town officials believe that delayed responses in the initial phase of the accident caused damage to spread.

Shiro Izawa, the mayor of Futaba Town, which hosts the Fukushima Daiichi plant, also declined to comment.

All residents of Okuma and Futaba have been evacuated due to high radiation levels.

Sep. 9, 2013 - Updated 08:38 UTC