Fukushima: Groundwater Contamination
Channel: onthewaytoextinction
Date: 2013-04-26

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsline/201304262000.html

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

CHERNOBYL MARKS 27 YEARS SINCE NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

 A memorial ceremony has been held in Ukraine to mark the 27th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear plant accident at Chernobyl.

On April 26th, 1986, an explosion occurred at the plant's No.4 reactor under experimental operation. Ukraine was part of the now-defunct Soviet Union at the time.

The accident released a massive amount of radioactive materials. About 30 plant workers and firefighters died after suffering acute radiation exposure.

The United Nations estimates that about 6,000 children near the plant have developed thyroid cancer.

In the town of Slavutich, people mourned the victims by leaving candles and flowers at a monument on Friday morning. Slavutich is 50 kilometers from the Chernobyl plant and many of the maintenance workers live in the town.

They prayed that the accident will never be repeated.

The damaged reactor was covered with a protective structure made of concrete and metal right after the disaster.

But the so-called stone coffin has deteriorated. The Ukrainian government is building a new shelter with a budget of more than one billion dollars that includes financial support from Japan, the United States and Europe.

Apr. 26, 2013 - Updated 04:54 UTC

JAPAN TO STRIKE NUCLEAR DEALS WITH TURKEY, UAE

Japan is set to conclude agreements with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to transfer its nuclear power technology.

Japan is set to sign nuclear cooperation pacts with the 2 Middle East countries during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the region between late April and early May.

The nuclear cooperation deals will be the first to be concluded since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March, 2011.

A consortium of Japanese and French firms are expected to jointly receive an order to construct a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

Japan and the United Arab Emirates also reached a deal after coordinating terms on technological cooperation.

Nuclear cooperation talks were suspended in the wake of the Fukushima accident, but former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government decided to resume the discussions.

On Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan's nuclear technology is at the world's highest levels of safety and that it needs to be shared with other countries, while taking into account their unique situations and needs.

But there have been cautious views in Japan on exporting nuclear technology after the Fukushima accident.

Apr. 25, 2013 - Updated 04:04 UTC

JAPAN TO REVIEW NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL POLICY

 Japanese government officials say they will fundamentally review the country's nuclear waste disposal policy amid stalled efforts to find a site for high-level radioactive waste.

An expert panel of the industry ministry will start discussions next month to seek concrete measures to break the impasse.

The government decided in 2000 to bury highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants underground, where it would remain for tens of thousands of years. The government then began selecting disposal sites but have yet to decide on a single one.

The Science Council of Japan recommended last year that the government should overhaul its current policy. It suggested that highly radioactive waste should be stored aboveground or underground temporarily for a shorter period, ranging from decades to hundreds of years.

The industry ministry says the panel will review final disposal methods.

The ministry wants the panel to discuss increasing the involvement of the central government, as well as the procedure for selecting disposal sites.

Apr. 24, 2013 - Updated 02:58 UTC


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