TEPCO Uses Storm As Pretext To Dump Even More Radioactive Water
Channel: rumorecurioso
Date: 2013-09-19

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

TEPCO: 1,130 TONS OF WATER RELEASED ONTO GROUND

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released more than 1,100 tons of rainwater that had pooled inside barriers around wastewater storage tanks.

Heavy rain lashed the plant on Sunday and Monday due to the effects of a severe tropical storm.

Officials of Tokyo Electric Power Company told reporters on Tuesday that workers discharged 1,130 tons of water from 7 sections onto nearby soil to prevent it from overflowing.

They said the level of radioactive substances in the water was below the government-set standard, SO THEY JUDGED IT TO BE RAINWATER.

The government sets 30 becquerels per liter as the limit for discharging radioactive water into the ocean.

TEPCO officials say workers released the water ONTO THE GROUND and not into drainage ditches that lead to the sea, so they cannot say how much may have leaked into the ocean.

The utility plans to study ways to prevent rainwater from accumulating within the storage tank barriers to prepare for future heavy rains.

Sep. 17, 2013 - Updated 04:12 UTC

JAPANESE FOOD MAKERS PITCH PRODUCTS IN BRAZIL

 Japanese food makers are pitching their products at a food fair in Sao Paulo to try to expand their market in Brazil.

Some 700 firms and 50,000 buyers from across the world are taking part in one of the largest trade fairs in South America.

Eight Japanese food companies and organizations are showcasing fermented soybean paste called "miso," green tea and other products.

Among the exhibitors is a sake brewer from Fukushima Prefecture, devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Yujin Yusa of the brewery says he wants Brazilians to know that sake production has resumed in the disaster-hit areas and to enjoy sake made in Fukushima.

An owner of a Japanese restaurant in Brazil said he'd like to serve various kinds of sake so that more customers can enjoy the Japanese beverage.

Brazil has the world's largest population of people of Japanese descent. More and more Japanese drink makers and restaurants are setting up on its soil.

Sep. 19, 2013 - Updated 02:08 UTC

ANTI-LEAK BILL TO EXCLUDE NUCLEAR PLANTS

 A senior Japanese official says the government will not designate information on the country's nuclear power plants as national secrets that require strict confidentiality.

An advisor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Yosuke Isozaki, appeared on a TV program on Wednesday. He explained a government plan for a legislation to protect classified information.

The bill says information that could gravely compromise national security will be designated as special secrets.
Public officials who leak them will face prison terms of up to 10 years.

The government aims to enact the bill at the extraordinary session of the Diet later this year.

Isozaki pledged that the government will never designate information related to nuclear plants as special secrets, even if there is concern that the information may fall into the hands of terrorists.

Some members of Japan's junior coalition partner, the New Komeito party, are requesting that the bill stipulate the guarantee of the freedom of the press and the people's right to know.

Civic groups are voicing concern that information the government considers inconvenient will not be made public.

Sep. 19, 2013 - Updated 02:08 UTC

RAINWATER RELEASED FROM FUKUSHIMA PLANT INTO SEA

 The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has released into the ocean rainwater that had accumulated at the facility.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say radiation levels in the water were below government-set standards.

Heavy rain brought by tropical storm Man-yi led water levels to rise inside containment barriers that surround storage tanks.

Workers took water samples from the barriers on Monday to measure the amount of beta-ray emitting radioactive particles. The samples yielded between 3 and 24 becquerels per liter.

TEPCO officials concluded that the levels of radioactive strontium in the samples were below the government-set limit of 30 becquerels.

The utility says it started discharging excess water from the barriers into the ocean at around 12:40 PM on Monday.

It maintains that water levels increased just because of the rainfall, and that contaminated water did not leak from the storage tanks.

Workers also took samples inside the containment barrier of a tank that leaked 300 tons of contaminated water last month.

The samples yielded 170,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances. The utility transferred the excess water from that location to another tank.

Workers also moved excess contaminated water to nearby tanks at other 11 locations.

Sep. 16, 2013 - Updated 16:39 UTC