Fukushima News 3 25 14   Fishermen OK Groundwater Release; R
Channel: Kathy Reed
Date: 26/03/2014

Fishermen approve groundwater diversion plan
A federation of fishermen in Fukushima prefecture has approved a plan to divert groundwater away from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and into the sea.
The government and the plant's operator --Tokyo Electric Power Company -- developed the scheme as a measure to manage the increasing volume of radioactive water at the plant.
Every day, about 400 tons of groundwater flows into the reactor buildings and becomes contaminated when it mixes with water used to cool the melted nuclear fuel.
Under the plan, groundwater will be brought above ground with pumps and released into the sea, bypassing the reactor buildings.
The government and TEPCO estimated the method would reduce the volume of contaminated water by about 100 tons per day. They asked local fishermen to consider the plan.
The Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations gave its approval and conveyed the decision to the government and TEPCO officials at a meeting in Iwaki city on Tuesday.
Fisheries co-operatives in Iwaki and Soma cities had already approved of the plan.

Abe vows to take lead for better nuclear security
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged to play a key role in promoting nuclear security. He says Japan learned a lot from the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
He made the remarks at a plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Monday. 53 leaders are taking part.
Abe said Japan will continue its efforts domestically and internationally to strengthen measures for nuclear security. He said the country will advance nonproliferation and disarmament worldwide and work towards the abolishment of nuclear weapons.

Reactor maker execs to serve decommissioning body
The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it will appoint senior industry officials to a new division tasked with decommissioning.
Tokyo Electric Power Company will launch the internal division, separate to its power generating business, on April 1st.
The new body will specialize in decommissioning the nuclear plant and dealing with a massive buildup of contaminated water.
TEPCO says senior officials from Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will work as executives to advise the body's top official.
The 3 makers are helping to deal with problems at the troubled plant, such as developing robots to operate in high radioactivity and removing spent nuclear fuel.
TEPCO hopes that by inviting the personnel, the new body can make better use of their expertise.
TEPCO and the Japanese government plan to start removing fuel from the most damaged reactors in 6 years at the earliest.

TEPCO restarts water treatment system
Engineers at Tokyo Electric Power Company have restarted a key water treatment system at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Two of the 3 lines of the Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, were suspended on Monday after workers found water leaking from one of the storage tanks.
The workers changed the packing on a side hatch of the tank. They resumed operation of the 2 lines on Tuesday afternoon after confirming that no water was leaking.

Inside Source: Gov't officials are withholding Fukushima radiation data — Levels much higher than expected — Releasing numbers would "have a huge impact" — Over 2,000 millisieverts per year where residents are being encouraged to return
http://enenews.com/inside-source-govt-officials-are-withholding-fukushima-radiation-data-levels-much-higher-than-expected-releasing-numbers-would-have-a-huge-impact-over-2000-millisieverts-per-year-wher

Radioactive water from Fukushima nears Pacific
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/video/radioactive-water-from-fukushima-nears-pacific/2625394064001

Radiation Alert! Northern Plains Radiation Higher Than Fukushima
http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2014/03/radiation-alert-northern-plains-radiation-higher-than-fukushima-2925210.html

Radiation Expert: 5 types of plutonium were released from WIPP; Officials not informing public — Caldicott: "I predict that facility will never be able to be used again"; Inhaling a millionth of a gram of plutonium will induce lung cancer 
http://enenews.com/radiation-expert-5-types-of-plutonium-were-released-from-wipp-officials-not-informing-public-caldicott-i-predict-that-facility-will-never-be-able-to-be-used-again-inhaling-a-millionth-of-a

Navy to test Treasure Island homes for radiation
http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Navy-to-check-Treasure-Island-for-radioactivity-5345049.php