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Fukushima Prefecture Health Capacity Zone

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This working group is focused on building a resilient and sustainable Fukushima Prefecture.

 

The Fukushima Prefecture Health Capacity Zone was hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami.  Although the nuclear power plant in Fukushima was designed to withstand an 8.2 earthquake, the combination of the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima have led to significant damage to the power plants ability to cool its fuel rods.  Explosions have occurred in three reactors and radiation has been emitted from the plant's containment systems, potentially exposing the local ecosystems and populations to radiation.  

Radiation has also been emitted into the atmosphere.  Radiation has been detected 100 miles away and more from the Fukushima plant by the U.S. Navy, causing them to move the Aircraft Carrier Ronald Reagan back beyond 100 miles and inhibiting its mission in the Fukushima area.  

Please post information regarding the mission critical functions associated  with the Fukushima Prefecture Health Capacity Zone in this area.

Working Group email address:  ***@***.***

Members

AlMac99 Amanda Cole James Miller Kathy Gilbeaux mdmcdonald

Email address for group

fukushima-prefecture-health-capacity-zone@m.resiliencesystem.org

MAFF Permits Rice Planting in Evacuation Zone/Fukushima City Rice Started Being Served for School Lunch

Fukushima Diary Posted by Mochizuki on January 21st, 2013 · 1 Comment Share on twitterShare on linkedinShare on facebookShare on emailMore Sharing Services Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries permitted rice planting in 96 households (73 ha) of evacuation zone in Tamura city Fukushima, where the annual dose is under 20mSv/y. They also permitted 1200 households to produce rice in Fukushima, Soma, Nihonmatsu and Da-te city, where is 380 ha in total. In 2012, rice planting was not permitted in these areas. In order to preserve rice field and the motivation of farmers, MAFF is going to permit rice planting in other evacuation zones (under 20mSv/y) on the requests residents too. http://blog.goo.ne.jp/okawaraarishige/e/d9ec2e8fd74f89f867a012005e7b2f81

Mutant Butterflies Found After Fukushima Nuclear Disaster In Japan

huffingtonpost.com - August 16, 2012

Researchers in Japan say they have found evidence that radiation from the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident has caused the mutation of dozens of butterflies.

Though this news is perhaps disturbing enough, what researchers say is even more alarming is that these mutations are spreading rapidly through subsequent generations.

Moreover, six months after the first collection, researchers found that butterflies from the Fukushima area showed a mutation rate "more than double" that of those found two months after the accident.

Health Uncertainties Torment Japanese in Nuke Zone

submitted by Samuel Bendett

      

The Economist: human costs of Japan's nuclear disaster

Radiation in Japan

 "Recently the government said it needed to clear about 2,419 square kilometres of contaminated soil—an area larger than greater Tokyo—that received an annual radiation dose of at least five millisieverts, or over 0.5 microsieverts an hour. That covered an area far beyond the official 30km restriction zone."

Hot spots and blind spots: The mounting human costs of Japan’s nuclear disaster

CREST the hill into the village of Iitate, and the reading on a radiation dosimeter surges eightfold—even with the car windows shut. “Don’t worry, I’ve been coming here for months and I’m still alive,” chuckles Chohei Sato, chief of the village council, as he rolls down the window and inhales cheerfully. He pulls off the road, gets out of the car and buries the dosimeter in the grass. The reading doubles again.

Residents Near Fukushima Mountains Face Nuclear Recontamination Every Rainfall

The Mainichi Daily News - October 12, 2011        

      

Workers decontaminate radiation from the roof of Yasawa Kindergarten in Minami-Soma, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away from the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility, in Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011.  Photo - Associated Press (AP)

As the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Plant drags on, worries are growing particularly among Fukushima Prefecture residents over drawn-out and in some cases apparently futile nuclear decontamination operations.

The unease is especially strong in areas in and around mountains that must be repeatedly decontaminated, as every rainfall brings a new batch of radioactive substance-contaminated leaves and soil washing down from the hills. Since some 70 percent of Fukushima Prefecture is mountainous, such instances of regular recontamination could occur over a broad area, while the same effect has also been observed in some undeveloped areas of cities.

IAEA Team in Japan; Fukushima Starts Thyroid Tests

by Eric Talmadge - Associated Press - boston.com - October 9, 2011

A boy is taken by his mother to Fukushima Medical University Hospital for a thyroid test in Fukushima, northern Japan, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011. Local doctors began a long-term survey of children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with radiation exposure. Officials hope to test some 360,000 people who were under the age of 18 when the nuclear crisis began in March, and then provide follow-ups throughout their lifetimes. Japanese on the board reads: a thyroid test entrance. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

TOKYO—Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in the Japanese city of Fukushima on Sunday to observe the massive decontamination effort following the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Local doctors also began a long-term survey of children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with radiation exposure. Officials hope to test some 360,000 people who were under the age of 18 when the nuclear crisis began in March, and then provide follow-ups throughout their lifetimes.

Fukushima Residents Dump Radiated Soil

cnbc.com - July 6, 2011

They scoop up soil from their gardens and dump it in holes dug out in parks and nearby forests, scrub their roofs with soap and refuse to let their children play outside.

More than three months after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown at a nearby power plant, Fukushima residents are scrambling to cope with contamination on their own in the absence of a long-term plan from the government.

"Everything and everyone here is paralyzed and we feel left on our own, unsure whether it's actually safe for us to stay in the city," said Akiko Itoh, 42, with her four-year old son in her lap.

Even though this city of 300,000 lies outside of the 30-km (20 mile) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, a recent survey showed radiation levels in several spots exceed 13 millisieverts per year, more than six times natural levels.

Fukushima Children to Receive Radiation Meters

cnbc.com - June 28, 2011

TOKYO - Radiation meters will be distributed to about 34,000 children living in the largest city near the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant to monitor their exposure levels, a city official said Tuesday.

The decision to hand out the meters comes amid growing concern over the safety of children as the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant drags on, posing potential long-term health risks.

The devices, called dosimeters, will be distributed in September to children between the ages of four and 15 living in Fukushima city, which has recorded relatively high radiation levels since a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the nuclear plant.

Dosimeters have already been supplied to area schools but not to each student, according to city official Koichi Kato. Other towns in the area have begun similar measures, but Fukushima's plan is the largest to date.

"We intend to continue the program for about three months," Kato said. "We are still considering whether to expand it further to include other residents."

Disasters - 45 Percent of Children in Fukushima Exposed to Thyroid Radiation

submitted by Luis Kun

A survey revealed that 45 percent of children living near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been exposed to thyroid radiation; following the nuclear disaster and the revelation that radiation was leaking from reactor no. 1, researchers tested more than 1,000 children from newborns to age fifteen in the Fukushima Prefecture; children were found to have been exposed to 0.04 microsievert per hour or less in most cases.

The fingerprint of thyroid radiation exposure // Source: cancertreatment365.com

A survey revealed that 45 percent of children living near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been   exposed to thyroid radiation.

Video - Inside Fukushima Daiichi

The IAEA's Fact-Finding Mission in Japan visited the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on 27 May 2011, the final site visit of the team's programme to identify lessons from the Japanese nuclear accident that could help improve global nuclear safety. The team's international experts from 12 nations held discussions with top plant operating officials and toured the six-reactor facility.

http://www.iaea.org/

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