全国の水道の放射能濃度

Bloomberg - By Jae Hur and Yasumasa Song - August 7, 2011

An official from the Chiba Prefectural Government Offices shows a sack of rice samples bound for radiation tests at a field in Katori City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Rice futures in Tokyo surged on the first day of trading after a seven-decade halt, triggering the bourse to suspend trade, on concern radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant may spread to crops and curb supply.

No deals were concluded on the Tokyo Grain Exchange after prices hit 18,500 yen per 60 kilograms from the opening, compared with the bourse’s reference price of 13,500 yen. The surge triggered trade to be suspended.

The exchange listed rice contracts today for the first time since the start of World War II to boost flagging volumes and profit. The resumption comes as fallout from the Fukushima Dai- Ichi power plant may spread after it was found cattle had been fed cesium-tainted rice straw.

ABC News - japantoday.com - August 6, 2011

Doves fly by the Atomic Bomb Dome, center in background, preserved as a landmark for the tribute to the A-Bomb attack, following a speech delivered by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, marking the 66th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing, at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Saturday.  AP

Japan's prime minister Naoto Kan renewed his pledge to help make Japan nuclear-free as Hiroshima marked the 66th anniversary of the US atomic bombing amid the Fukushima crisis.

After the March 11 quake and tsunami triggered the nuclear accident that left radiation leaking into air, soil and sea, Mr Kan said the country must reduce its reliance on atomic power with the goal of eventually becoming nuclear-free.

"The large-scale, long-running nuclear accident has triggered radiation leakage, causing serious concerns not only in Japan but also in the world," Mr Kan said at a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima's Peace Park.

Report to the IAEA Member States

Tokyo, Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP, Fukushima Dai-ni NPP, and Tokai Dai-ni NPP, Japan

24 May - 2 June 2011

By agreement with the Government of Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency

conducted a preliminary mission to find facts and identify initial lessons to be learned from

the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi and share this information across the world nuclear

community. To this end, a team of experts undertook this Fact Finding Mission from 24 May

to 2 June 2011. The results of the Mission will be reported to the IAEA Ministerial

Conference on Nuclear Safety at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on 20 24 June 2011.

During the IAEA Mission, the team of nuclear experts received excellent cooperation from all

parties, receiving information from many relevant Japanese ministries, nuclear regulators and

operators. The Mission also visited three affected nuclear power plants (NPP) — Tokai Dai-

ni, Fukushima Dai-ni and Dai-ichi — to gain an appreciation of the status of the plants and

the scale of the damage. The facility visits allowed the experts to talk to the operator staff as

submitted by Janine Rees

The Mainichi Daily News - August 5, 2011

Chiyoko Kaizuka, 83-year old farmer, weeds a spinach field Sunday, March 20, 2011 in Moriya, Ibaragi Prefecture, Japan. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

TOKYO (Kyodo)-- The government said Tuesday it plans to draw up a radioactive substance concentration map for farmlands and conduct a study on contaminated debris as part of measures to deal with radioactive material released from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The measures are to be implemented by the end of this year, with government ministries and agencies strengthening cooperation to deal with radiation contamination from the disaster-struck Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

But the government did not show how it will use findings from the study to decontaminate areas near the almost destroyed power plant.

According to measures compiled Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will analyze farm land at about 500 sites mainly in Fukushima Prefecture, where the wrecked nuclear plant is located, and draw up a radioactive material concentration map by the end of this month.

submitted by Janine Rees

The Mainichi Daily News - August 5, 2011

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda speaks during a budget committee meeting at the upper house of the Diet in Tokyo on Thursday, July 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Industry minister Banri Kaieda said Thursday he plans to sack three top officials in charge of nuclear power policy to hold them responsible for the handling of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The three officials are Kazuo Matsunaga, vice minister for economy, trade and industry, Nobuaki Terasaka, head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and Tetsuhiro Hosono, head of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

Kaieda said he will reveal details later. The minister, who has expressed his intent to resign to take responsibility for confusion over the stalled restart of nuclear reactors, did not specify when he will do so and only said, "I will decide on my own."

Kaieda said he wants to "put new life" into the ministry with the reshuffle and that he has conveyed the plan to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

NewScientist.com - August 3, 2011

Sellafield nuclear plant (Pic: Getty)

submitted by Janine Rees

The Mainichi Daily News - August 2, 2011

This photograph shows a worker who measured radiation doses near the surface of an exhaust pipe between the No. 1 and 2 reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on Aug. 1. (Photo courtesy of TEPCO)

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on Aug. 1 that it had detected radiation doses exceeding 10 sieverts per hour, the highest level of radiation measured since the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, outside the buildings for two reactors -- a new discovery that could hamper efforts to bring the troubled reactors under control.

Homeland Security Newswire - July 29, 2011

Keri Ryan, University of Nevada, Reno civil engineering professor and lead researcher for the base isolation tests this summer at the Hyogo Earthquake Engineering Research Center in Miki, Hyogo, Japan, sits at the outdoor portion of the University of Nevada Reno large structures earthquake engineering lab where they conduct world-renowned bridge research. Photo by Mike Wolterbeek, University of Nevada, Reno.

Landmark earthquake engineering tests this summer in Japan could open the door for earthquake-proofing technology applied to hospitals, nuclear power plants, and emergency-response facilities to be more common in the United States, and confirm the capabilities for the technology used in Japan and the rest of the world

Landmark earthquake engineering tests this summer in Japan by the University of Nevada, Reno could open the door for earthquake-proofing technology applied to hospitals, nuclear power plants, and emergency-response facilities to be more common in the United States, and confirm the capabilities for the technology used in Japan and the rest of the world.

japantoday.com - July 24, 2011

IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano

VIENNA —

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.

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."

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security Newswire - July 19, 2011

Researchers from U.S. universities are collaborating to implement a new network of seismic sensors aimed at arming communities with early earthquake detection and warning capabilities; the sensors, no bigger than a Post-it note, are part of a new phase of the Quake-Catcher Network (QCN), a project gathering detailed data to help scientists understand the earthquake process and how to mitigate against its effects.

Six thousand seismic sensors, 200 volunteers, and a University of Delaware researcher all have one thing in common – helping scientists study earthquakes.

Michela Taufer, assistant professor in the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, is collaborating with researchers from Stanford University and the U.S. Geological Survey to implement a new network of seismic sensors aimed at arming communities with early earthquake detection and warning capabilities.