Fukushima’s financial fallout

via Al Jazeera / Sep 8, 2013 / In March 2011, a tsunami hit Japan, killing almost 19,000 people and crippling the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The shutting down of the plant removed thousands of megawatts from the country’s power grid – but that was just the beginning of the problems caused by Fukushima’s meltdown. Continuing fears about food safety are destroying the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen who have … Continue reading

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Fukushima: From Bad to Worse

by James Corbett / theinternationalforecaster.com / September 4, 2013 Bad news emerged from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan’s northeast this week as TEPCO—-the Tokyo Electric Power Company that owns and operates the plant—-admitted discovering four areas of high radiation near the storage tanks where radioactive water is being held. Although two of the hotspots had already been known, the latest results found that the radiation readings … Continue reading

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#Fukushima leak rate hits record high

via Press TV / Sep 4, 2013 / Recent radiation readings at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant depict that the level of radioactive water leak from the site has reached its highest level ever, officials say. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) announced the radiation level of the water leak at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) was as high as 2,200 millisieverts (mSv) (20 percent) on Wednesday, while it was … Continue reading

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J-gov to spend $473 million to contain Fukushima leaks

via RT.com / September 3, 2013 Japan is to spend $473 million to contain leaks of radioactive water from the disaster-struck Fukushima nuclear plant, as the government struggles to tackle the nuclear crisis. The government is to spend “tens of billions” of yen to deal with the water crisis after the beleaguered operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), stated it discovered another radiation center, Trade and Economy … Continue reading

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Fukushima water release unavoidable: Japan nuke watchdog

via Press TV / Sep 2, 2013 / Japan’s nuclear watchdog says contaminated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant will have to be released into the ocean eventually. Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Chairman Shunichi Tanaka made the statement during a governmental session held in response to growing concerns about the plant operator’s ability to deal with a worsening water crisis. He also said the water would be discharged once … Continue reading

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The Consequences of Inaction at #Fukushima Daiichi

via JapanFocus.org /  Sep 1, 2013 / by Andrew DeWit and Christopher Hobson / Japan’s searing summer of 2013 saw the lid slide further off Fukushima Daiichi and its Pandora’s box of radioactive and political crises. The company in charge, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), already Japan’s most distrusted firm,2 was irredeemably exposed as dangerously incompetent. A slew of reports concerning leaks of high-level radiation led to increasingly concerned appeals, … Continue reading

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New radioactive hotspots suggest more leaks at #Fukushima

via RT.com / Sep. 1, 2013 / Several new hotspots reading potentially lethal doses of radiation have been detected near the tanks storing the radioactive water, forcing the operator to admit there might be even more leaks at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. The high radiation readings were detected during the daily inspection on Saturday near three water tanks and one pipe stretched between the tanks and the plant, … Continue reading

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Japan Regulator urges monitoring of crippled #Fukushima plant

via Press TV / Aug 29, 2013 / Japan’s nuclear regulator says the impact of the radiation-contaminated water leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is not known and it needs to be monitored more closely. The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said on Thursday that Fukushima plant leaks cannot be stopped instantly, warning that the level of monitoring is not enough. “We cannot fully stop contaminated water leaks … Continue reading

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TEPCO sidelined by Japanese government as #Fukushima leaks continue

via SMH.com.au / Aug 27, 2013 / The Japanese government has lost patience with the efforts of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to get the crippled reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant under control. Toshimitsu Motegi, the minister of trade and industry, visited the plant on Monday to determine progress on decommissioning three reactors damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011. Tepco admitted last week that hundreds … Continue reading

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Fishing ban reinstated off #Fukushima coast

via International Business Times / Aug. 23, 2013 / A ban on fishing along the coast of Fukushima prefecture was greeted with frustration and anger by locals on Friday (August 22), in the aftermath of the latest contaminated water leak from the crippled nuclear reactor. In the port of Onahama, just 61 kilometers (37 miles) south of Fukushima Daiichi, fishermen who were forced to stop fishing were furious at the … Continue reading

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TEPCO: Deteriorated seams, contortion cause tank leak

via CNTV.cn / Aug. 25, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant has attributed this week’s massive leak of contaminated water to deteriorated seams and a possible contortion of a storage tank. Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco rushed to reassemble the tanks after the triple meltdown in March 2011. The quick fix was designed to last till 2016 until it worked out a more permanent solution, but has … Continue reading

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#TEPCO pleads for international help as crisis deepens

via Russia Today / Aug. 22, 2013 / TEPCO, operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, admits it needs overseas help to contain the radioactive fallout, after 18 months of trying to control it internally. It comes after the latest leak at the facility was deemed a “serious incident.” “Many other countries outside of Japan have experienced decommissioning reactors, so we hope we can consult them more and utilize their … Continue reading

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West Coast of North America to Be Hit Hard by #Fukushima Radiation

via  Washington’s blog / Aug. 20, 2013 / Radiation levels will concentrate in pockets in Baja California and other West Coast locations. While many people assume that the ocean will dilute the Fukushima radiation, a previously-secret 1955 U.S. government report concluded that the ocean may not adequately dilute radiation from nuclear accidents, and there could be “pockets” and “streams” of highly-concentrated radiation. The University of Hawaii’s International Pacific Research Center … Continue reading

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18 Fukushima children diagnosed with thyroid cancer / 44 malignant cases reported

via Fukushima-Diary.com / Aug. 20, 2013 / On 8/20/2013, the investigative committee of Fukushima prefecture announced 18 Fukushima children were diagnosed with thyroid cancer (papillary cancer) by 7/31/2013. It was 12 on 5/27/2013. 6 more children were diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2 months. They all had surgery already. Also, 26 children are diagnosed with potential malignant thyroid problems. It was 16 on 5/27/2013. 10 more children were diagnosed with … Continue reading

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‘Serious radiation incident’: Japan to radically raise the severity level of Fukushima leak

via RT.com / Aug. 21, 2013 / Japan will drastically raise the gravity of the latest Fukushima leak to Level Three, which is considered a “serious radiation incident” on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) for radiological releases. “Judging from the amount and the density of the radiation in the contaminated water that leaked…a Level Three assessment is appropriate,” read the document used during Wednesday’s weekly meeting of Nuclear Regulation … Continue reading

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Tritium levels in #Fukushima bay highest since measurements began – reports

via RT.com / Aug. 19, 2013 / Readings of tritium in seawater taken from the bay near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has shown 4700 becquerels per liter, a TEPCO report stated, according to Nikkei newspaper. It marks the highest tritium level in the measurement history. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has detected the highest radiation level in seawater collected in the harbor of the crippled nuclear plant in the … Continue reading

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Fukushima residents to sue state for lack of aid

via NHK World / Aug. 20, 2013 / Residents of Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled nuclear power plant, will sue the central government for negligence in providing assistance one year after the enactment of a relevant law. The law enacted in June last year mandates medical, housing and other support to current and former residents of areas where radioactive levels are higher than usual but were not designated as … Continue reading

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Japan looks to Nagasaki atom bomb maker for lessons on #Fukushima cleanup

via RT.com / Aug. 17, 2013 / TEPCO has sought the expertise of the same US company that produced plutonium for the atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki in World War II. Hanford Engineer Works produced the 20 pounds of plutonium used for the atomic bomb “Fat Man” which was unleashed on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The company has had decades of experience treating millions of … Continue reading

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Toxic puddles found near water tanks at #Fukushima

via Japan Times / Aug. 20, 2013 / Puddles of water with extremely high radiation levels have been found near water storage tanks on the premises of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, nuclear regulators and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday. The radiation level, measured around 50 cm above the toxic water, stood at about 100 millisieverts per hour, Tepco said, while acknowledging that the … Continue reading

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Can an Ice Wall Stop Radioactive Water Leaks from #Fukushima?

via National Geographic / Aug. 19, 2013 / As contaminated groundwater continues to flow from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant into the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese government has come up with a last-ditch solution that sounds like something out of the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones: An underground wall of ice that would stop the radioactive leakage. Multiple efforts by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company to halt the … Continue reading

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TEPCO reveals new radioactive water leaks

via NHK World / Aug. 19, 2013 / Officials with Tokyo Electric Power Company say they will study storage tanks to find out why radioactive water is leaking at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The officials said on Monday about 120 liters of highly-radioactive water had leaked from a tank near the number 4 reactor. They detected 100 millisieverts per hour of radiation on the surface of puddles … Continue reading

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Water, Water Everywhere: Incentives and Options at #Fukushima Daiichi and Beyond

by Andrew DeWit / JapanFocus.org / August 16, 2013 / Japan’s ruined and radioactive reactor plant at Fukushima Daiichi has been an abiding source of concern among knowledgeable observers. There are a host of good reasons for this reemergence. As this Mainichi survey observes, it is now clear that several hundred tons of radiation-contaminated water is entering the ocean per day. Over the past week, it suddenly returned as an … Continue reading

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Insight: After disaster, the deadliest part of Japan’s nuclear clean-up

via Reuters.com / August 14, 2013 / The operator of Japan‘s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is preparing to remove 400 tons of highly irradiated spent fuel from a damaged reactor building, a dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale. Containing radiation equivalent to 14,000 times the amount released in the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima 68 years ago, more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies packed … Continue reading

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Workers At #Fukushima ‘Sprayed’ With Radioactive Water

via eurasiareview.com / August 12, 2013 / Ten workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant were exposed to radiation from contaminated mist, TEPCO says. Workers in the building were prohibited from using tap water, which comes from the same tainted source 10 km from the facility. Exposure levels detected by radiation monitors worn by workers were found to be as much as 10 becquerels per square centimeter – 2.5 … Continue reading

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The Post-Fukushima Nuclear Industry: A Case Study in Institutional Self-Deception

by Dennis Riches / nf2045.blogspost.com / July 30, 2013 “If I had been downright honest with myself, I would have seen very plainly in my heart that I did but half fancy being committed this way to so long a voyage, without once laying my eyes on the man who was to be the absolute dictator of it, so soon as the ship sailed out upon the open sea. But … Continue reading

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#TEPCO’s Fantasy World

via FukuLeaks.org / August 13, 2013 / TEPCO released this unrealistic statement to the press today. The report was for their creditors. In this report TEPCO claims they plan to restart Kashiwazaki Kariwa by January and return to profitability in fiscal 2013. There are just a few things standing in their way. This does not take into account the massive amounts of money that need to be paid to the … Continue reading

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#Fukushima zone fully redesignated

via world-nuclear-news.org / August 8th, 2013 / Preparations can begin for residents to return to the town of Kawamata near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The town was the final evacuated municipality to be redesignated. Separate from the evacuation area defined by a 20 kilometre radius from Fukushima Daiichi, the area near Kawamata was evacuated once it was known that radioactive particles had been carried by the wind … Continue reading

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Unit 2 Pedestal Opening Shows Damage; First Image

via fukuleaks.org / August 12, 2013 / The image above is the first glimpse of the right side of the pedestal opening for the CRD drive. This is a location higher up in the pedestal that the reactor vessel sits on top of. TEPCO has been trying to inspect inside the pedestal to better understand the extent of the meltdown and damage inside the reactor containment. Inspections of the torus … Continue reading

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Pump and pray: #Tepco might have to pour water on #Fukushima wreckage forever

via RT.com  /  by Prof. Christopher Busby / August 9, 2013 / Fukushima is a nightmare disaster area, and no one has the slightest idea what to do. The game is to prevent the crippled nuclear plant from turning into an “open-air super reactor spectacular” which would result in a hazardous, melted catastrophe. On April 25, 2011 – one month after the explosions at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the … Continue reading

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#Fukushima leaking radioactive water for ‘2 years’, 300 tons flowing into Pacific daily

via RT.com / August 7, 2013 / Radiation-contaminated water has been pouring into the Pacific Ocean from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for the past two years, an industry ministry official told reporters on Wednesday.   A Japanese government official said an estimated 300 tons of contaminated water is leaking into the Pacific Ocean per day from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. Japanese authorities are working in crisis mode, … Continue reading

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#TEPCO discloses extent of nuclear plant leak

via ChannelNewsAsia.com / August 5, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has given its first public estimate of the size of the leakage of radioactive tritium into the Pacific Ocean since the disaster. Between 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of the substance is estimated to have leaked into the sea since May 2011, said Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). It was the first such figure … Continue reading

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If Rokkasho Ever Becomes Operational, It Will Release 18,000 Trillion Becquerels of Tritium into the Pacific Each Year

via EX-SKF / August 5, 2013 / While the amount of tritium released from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant since May 2011, 20 to 40 trillion becquerels which TEPCO finally told Nuclear Regulatory Authority on August 2, 2013, could be an order of magnitude lower than the amount if April 2011 were included, it would pale in comparison to what Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (pictured) in Aomori Prefecture would be releasing … Continue reading

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#Fukushima radioactive groundwater rises above barrier level

via RT.com / August 3, 2013 / Radioactive groundwater at the Japanese crippled nuclear plant has risen to levels above a barrier built to try and contain it – with risks of spilling over and reaching the ocean, Japanese media report. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which is responsible for decommissioning the wrecked plant, estimated that contaminated groundwater could reach the surface within three weeks, the Asahi newspaper said. … Continue reading

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#TEPCO logs ¥437.9 billion April-June net profit

via Japan Times / August 1st, 2013 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. reported Wednesday a group net profit of ¥437.93 billion for the April-June quarter, but fuel costs for thermal power generation to make up for the loss of atomic energy due to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant catastrophe that started in 2011 continued to weigh heavily on the utility. The quarterly net profit compares with a loss of … Continue reading

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#Fukushima radiation levels as high as 2011

via RT.com / July 29, 2013 / Water samples taken at an underground passage below the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant contain alarming levels of radiation which are comparable to those taken immediately after the catastrophe. According to a Saturday statement by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the tested water contains 2.35 billion becquerels of cesium per liter, and the radioactive water is now seeping into the sea. The findings … Continue reading

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Estimated #Fukushima decontamination costs blow out to $50b

via NHK World / July 24, 2013 / Experts estimate that cleaning up radioactivity in Fukushima Prefecture would cost 50 billion dollars, more than 4 times the amount that has been earmarked. Experts from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology studied the cost of decontamination for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. They estimate that decontamination in no-entry zones will cost up to 20 billion dollars, and in … Continue reading

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TEPCO finally acknowledges #Fukushima plant leaks

via AlJazeera.com / July 23, 2013 / The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has said contaminated ground water had likely been flowing into the sea, acknowledging such a leakage for the first time. Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, also came under fire on Monday for the revelation that the number of plant workers with thyroid radiation exposure times exceeding the threshold levels for increased cancer risks … Continue reading

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Abenomics Trumps Nuclear Issue in #Fukushima

via Wall Street Journal / July 22, 2013 / Media surveys ahead of Sunday’s upper house election show that Japanese voters are placing the economy above all other issues, including the future of nuclear energy use. That appears to be true even in the prefecture of Fukushima, home to the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was the country’s worst-ever nuclear accident.   The Liberal Democratic Party … Continue reading

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#Fukushima Cancer Risk Surges

via Times Of India / July 22, 2013 / The ongoing saga of Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan that suffered a triple meltdown in March 2011 just got dangerously murkier.  The number of workers who suffered cancer-inducing radiation doses is not 178, but 1,978, Asahi Shimbun reported on Friday. That’s eleven times more than admitted by Tepco, the owner of the plant last December. After much international pressure, Tepco had … Continue reading

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Japan’s Nuclear Options

via ZeroHedge.com / Several companies applied to Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on July 8 for permission to restart a total of 10 nuclear reactors in the country. Despite widespread apprehension in Japan about nuclear power following the Fukushima disaster in 2011 that led to the shutdown of all of the country’s 54 nuclear reactors, the plan to restart the reactors may succeed for a few reasons. The reactors are located … Continue reading

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Disturbing Photos of #Fukushima Fruit

via IntelliHub.com / Anyone who follows the alternative media knows that the nuclear fallout from Fukushima is far worse than the governments of the world and the mainstream media will admit. A series of different photos have been posted on the web, showing the kind of mutations that the fallout has caused plants in nearby areas.  Recently it was also reported that radioactive water from the site has been leaking … Continue reading

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#TEPCO Hides Unit 3 Data, Who Watches TEPCO?

via SimplyInfo.org / July 17, 2013 / After months of data about water and little else, TEPCO remains mum on unit 3. Considerable progress has been made in removing the debris on the refueling floor. This reveals what could be considerable information and evidence related to the meltdown and massive blast at unit 3. The last report on unit 3 was in late May when they installed a cover over … Continue reading

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Op-Ed: What The #Fukushima 2013?

via OpEdNews.com / June 15, 2013 / Situation Normal, All Fukushima’d Up The first thing to know about the danger from the radioactive mass remaining on site in the three reactors that melted down at Fukushima is that nobody knows how much radioactive material there is, nobody knows how much uranium and plutonium it contains, and nobody knows how to make it safe — so no one knows how great … Continue reading

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Wind Farm takes shape off #Fukushima

via Euronews.com / June 15, 2013 / The first phase is complete of a plan to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm near the Fukushima nuclear plant that was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. The first turbine has been delivered to the area and the facility is due to become operational in October. It is part of plans by Fukushima Prefecture to ditch nuclear energy … Continue reading

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#Fukushima is still leaking radiation and Tepco is still clueless

via QZ.com / June 12th, 2013 / Radioactive water has been steadily leaking into the sea around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ever since it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Japan’s nuclear watchdog announced on Wednesday. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, widely reviled for its inept response to the disaster, had long insisted that no leakage was taking place; in recent days … Continue reading

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Former #Fukushima Chief, Masao Yoshida, dies aged 58

via HuffingtonPost.com / July 10th, 2013 / Masao Yoshida, the man who led the life-risking battle at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant when it was spiraling into meltdowns, died Tuesday of cancer of the esophagus. He was 58. Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi said Yoshida died at a Tokyo hospital. TEPCO officials said his illness was not related to radiation exposure. Yoshida led efforts to stabilize the Fukushima … Continue reading

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#Fukushima Radioactive Levels Surge 90-Fold in Three Days

via CommonDreams.org / July 10th, 2013 / Levels of radioactive substances have surged once again in the groundwater surrounding the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday. The rates show that radioactive contamination is quickly spreading in the disaster area despite ongoing efforts to decommission the site, with levels of cesium-134 and cesium-137 as high as 90 times greater than they were just three … Continue reading

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Abe pushes for restart of nuclear reactors

via The Peninsula Online / July 8th, 2013 / Japan moved a step closer to restarting nuclear reactors yesterday as four utility companies applied for safety inspection of 10 idled plants, the clearest sign of a return to atomic energy nearly two and a half years after the Fukushima disaster. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pushed for restarts since taking office in December, freezing the previous government’s nuclear phase-out plan. … Continue reading

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