Fukushima, Japan: News From The Meltdowns
Channel: onthewaytoextinction
Date: 2013-02-28

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

Fukushima town makes evacuee phone book

Namie town in Fukushima Prefecture has made a new phone book to help evacuees stay connected. All of the residents had to evacuate after the nuclear power plant accident in March 2011.

A ceremony to commemorate the new phone directory was held in Nihonmatsu City, where Namie town has set up its office.

The phone book was made with the cooperation of NTT Directory Services and features photos of residents on the cover. Namie had a population of over 21,000, but the residents are now spread around Japan.

The directory lists the addresses and phone numbers of some 4,000 residents who agreed to be included.

It also shows how businesses are recovering, to help cheer up people who have had to stay away from home for a long time.

Town Mayor Tamotsu Baba said the residents have many worries, so he hopes the directory will enable them to discuss problems and carry on with daily life.

10,500 directories will be issued and mailed next month to the evacuated residents of Namie town.

Feb. 26, 2013 - Updated 05:44 UTC (14:44 JST)

Nuclear regulators set new evacuation guidelines

Japan's nuclear regulatory body has set new guidelines for evacuating local residents in case of an accident at a nuclear power plant.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority had been reviewing the disaster preparedness guidelines set in October last year.

It decided to add the guideline that iodine tablets be distributed to households within 5 kilometers of a nuclear plant. Iodine helps prevent the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive substances.

Residents in that zone must evacuate before radioactive substances are released from the plant.

In the 5 to 30-kilometer-zone, residents will be asked to evacuate if radiation levels reach 500 microsieverts per hour.

The authority had received more than 3,000 public opinions about the guideline review.

Some said iodine tablets should be distributed over a wider area, while others called for lowering the radiation level requiring evacuation.

However, the authority did not incorporate these views into the guidelines, saying the new rules have been drawn up properly based on lessons from the March 11th disaster in 2011.

Municipalities within 30 kilometers of a nuclear plant must now review their own disaster preparedness programs by March 18th.

But many have yet to decide on evacuation methods and places to evacuate, because the authority's review process had been delayed by about a month.

Feb. 27, 2013 - Updated 07:50 UTC (16:50 JST)

N.Korea treats nuclear scientists differently

A week-long event to honor the people behind North Korea's 3rd nuclear test has ended but it appears to have been less lavish than the event held after last year's rocket launch.

The scientists and engineers have been feted by the Korean Workers' Party in Pyongyang since last week.

The group left the capital on Wednesday. The country's nuclear test was held in an underground site in the northeast earlier this month.

The state-run media provided daily coverage showing the scientists and engineers being awarded medals and attending celebrations, banquets and concerts with senior party members.

But the group was only entertained for 8 days, compared with the group of scientists involved in last year's rocket launch, who stayed in Pyongyang for 3 weeks.

On that occasion, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended 2 celebrations and spoke to the scientists directly, but this time the state-run media did not report whether he met with them.

It is not known why the North Korean leadership treated the nuclear scientists and engineers differently from the other experts.

Feb. 27, 2013 - Updated 18:21 UTC (03:21 JST)

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