AP Exclusive: Fukushima tsunami plan a single page

 


By YURI KAGEYAMA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press 

TOKYO  Japanese nuclear regulators trusted that the reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex were safe from the worst waves an earthquake could muster based on a single-page memo from the plant operator nearly a decade ago. In the Dec. 19, 2001, document  one double-sized page obtained by The Associated Press under Japan's public records law  Tokyo Electric Power Co. rules out the possibility of a tsunami large enough to knock the plant offline and gives scant details to justify this conclusion, which proved to be wildly optimistic.

Bill McGuire: 'A global databank could warn of natural disasters'

If world governments could turn to a central information source on natural disasters, many lives could be saved through better preparedness

 

 

Devastating natural disasters have killed close to a million people and caused billions of pounds of damage in the past few years. Despite its sophisticated technology, humanity remains hugely vulnerable to earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other calamities. The danger is only likely to increase, say geologists and weather experts. Earth's swelling numbers are forcing more and more people to live in geological and meteorological danger zones. As a result, death tolls are destined to rise.

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To Make Logging Legal, Liberia Will Give Every Tree a Barcode

submitted by: Albert Gomez

Good - May 23, 2011

The African country of Liberia is blessed with lush rainforests full of pygmy hippos, Diana monkeys, duikers, and lots of valuable trees. But when Charles Taylor started plundering the forests to fund his forces in the country's civil war, the UN placed sanctions on Liberian timber.

Now President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wants to establish a legitimate timber trade to boost the Liberian economy. To that end, she has signed a deal with the European Union that would require companies bringing Liberian lumber into the EU to have proof that it's legal. To make that possible, every legally harvestable tree and every cut log would have to carry a barcode that makes it traceable. Helveta, a British company that specializes in timber supply chain management, has invented the tracking system.

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The 25th Anniversary of Chornobyl

BP oil spill: Fishermen woes persist, one year on

BBC: Radiation Leak Found Outside of Fukushima Plant

 

Highly radioactive water has been found for the first time outside one of the reactor buildings at Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, officials say.

Japanese Disaster Spawns Nuclear Safety Reviews Worldwide

While many feared radiation from a stricken Japanese nuclear facility would drift across the Pacific and settle on the United States, fallout of a different kind certainly has—deep concern about the safety of nuclear reactors.

The belated brouhaha follows a series of disasters at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which lost power and experienced what’s thought to be a partial meltdown of two reactor cores after the country was struck by a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11.

In the days that followed the catastrophe, conflicting reports about the causes of explosions, the amount of radiation released, and the prospects of ending the threats helped fuel confusion and shine a spotlight on the issue of nuclear safety and preparedness. Americans and others worldwide began asking that age-old question, “Can it happen here?”

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) - Higher Levels of Radioactive Iodine in Seawater Detected - March 26, 2011

UPDATE AS OF 9:30 A.M. EDT, MARCH 26, 2011

Japanese scientists yesterday detected higher levels of radioactive iodine in seawater at water outlets near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

"Iodine 131 was detected at a level 1,250 times the national safety limit," Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said during a news conference. Officials said there is no immediate danger to residents near the plant from these levels.

Samples taken on Friday were significantly higher than those taken on Wednesday, which had 147 times the legal concentration of I-131. Authorities said the concentration of radioactive materials in the water will decrease as the water is diluted by ocean currents. Indeed, a sample taken at 8:50 a.m. on Friday had one-fifth the concentration of I-131 as the earlier measurement. Three subsequent measurements that morning showed fluctuation. All were below the highest level found at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

Secretary Clinton Signs Memorandum of Understanding With the World Bank on World Water Day

 

http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/clinton_mou_world_bank_water_day

 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the World Bank on World Water Day at World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC on Tuesday, March 22. The MOU will strengthen support to developing countries seeking a water secure future. Secretary Clinton and World Bank President Robert Zoellick delivered brief remarks. Secretary Clinton said:

"...The water crisis is a health crisis, it's a farming crisis, it's an economic crisis, it's a climate crisis, and increasingly, it is a political crisis. And therefore, we must have an equally comprehensive response.

Radiation risk is only within the evacuation zones, says WHO, as of March 19

According to The World Health Organization (WHO), as of March 19 info sharing, it seems unlikely that significant amounts of radiation will affect areas outside of Japan. Rumours are circulating about radiation drifting to other countries. Based on available information, this does not appear to be the case. Exposure to radioactive material released from the affected facilities will be largely limited to the evacuation zone within Japan.

There is therefore currently very little risk for Pacific island countries and territories due to the considerable distances involved, even for the Pacific countries and territories nearest to Japan.

 

As such, WHO does not currently recommend any measures for persons outside of Japan (including the Pacific island countries and territories) where residents should continue with their normal activities.

CSM: "Japan says high seawater radiation levels are no cause for alarm"

Japanese authorities began testing for radiation in seawater near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Tuesday, but officials stressed that the elevated levels are no cause for worry

Within this article:

"...Jun Misono of Tokyo’s Marine Ecology Research Institute said that while radioactive iodine breaks down relatively quickly, cesium is more persistent and can accumulate in marine animals, such as fish. “We need to carefully monitor the amount of radiation that continues to be emitted and evaluate the impacts,” he told national broadcaster NHK."

 

For More Information:

LA Times: "Tokyo tap water not safe for infants, officials warn"

Levels of radioactive iodine are found to be about double the safe levels for children under age of 1. Black smoke billows from a reactor at the stricken Japanese nuclear plant.

For More Information:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-japan-tokyo-water-20110324,0,7951826.story

Food contamination fears spread beyond Japan's borders

 

World health officials warn of the dangerous cumulative effects from eating food contaminated by radiation leaking from Japan's crippled nuclear plant. One Japanese restaurant in Taiwan is serving up radiation gauges alongside its meals.

For more information:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-fgw-japan-quake-food-20110322,0,100029.story

AP: Japan tragedy seared into the world's imagination

 

 

TOKYO – There are events in history that sear themselves into the world's collective imagination, and enter the realm where myth meets heartbreaking reality.

Japan's tragedy is one of those events. Already, it seems reasonable to surmise it could prove one of the most significant calamities of our time — one that shapes policies, economies, even philosophies for decades to come in an increasingly interconnected world.

There is the sheer, surreal force of the images emerging from afflicted zones: cars perched on rooftops, ships sitting in rice paddies, helicopters in a David-and-Goliath battle against radiation-spewing nuclear reactors.

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