Japanese Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, says people living in the nuclear disaster zones are in “…dire condition…”, and a Disaster Management Special Task Force is being created, for evacuations, and decontamination.
The task force will prepare to begin accepting evacuees, and establish decontamination sites.
Also, temporary housing will be established for the thousands of people that will be affected.
A U.S. nuclear expert, in Japan, stated that no one should get to worried about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, until cesium starts showing up.
Cesium (aka Caesium) is the main reason people can not live near Chernobyl, even 25 years after that disaster. The expert said cesium was spread all over, and in huge amounts, by the Chernobyl reactor melt down. Cesium-137 has a half life of 30 years.
Cesium-137, and many other cesium isotopes, are used in nuclear power plants (as well as other applications, like dirty bombs).
Has cesium been detected following the Fukushima Daichi disaster? Yes. The University of Nevada has detected cesium-137 between 17-21 March. The levels were small, but they represent the early days of the nuclear disaster in Japan, things have gotten worse since. On 29 March, South Korea reported that they have detected cesium-134 & 137.
Cesium builds up in soil and plants. Cesium ingested by people can kill. Tests were done on dogs, and it killed them within three weeks.
Besides Chernobyl, there was another nuclear disaster involving cesium. It did not involve a nuclear power plant. It was outdated radioactive medical cesium chloride, in Brazil in 1987. Four people were killed, 245 were contaminated, by a thimble sized amount.
Cabinet Secretary Edano Yukio said they are putting together a task force, to focus on the LONG TERM care of workers fighting the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.
They will also provide rest shelters, basically mobile homes, so the workers will have a place to live.
Edano also said they will have to begin replacing the workers currently struggling to contain the nuclear disaster.
Despite nuclear experts downplaying the detection of plutonium around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japanese Cabinet Secretary, Edano Yukio, says the situation is extremely serious.
Edano said that two of the samples showed a type of plutonium that could have only come from nuclear fuel rods. The Japanese government believes this is more proof that fuel rods are, or have, partially melted.
She survived fire bombings by the United States during World War 2, she survived three smaller tsunamis, and she survived the March 11 tsunami.
“But this tsunami was the worst of all.”-84-year-old, TSUYAKO Ito
The recent tsunami destroyed most of her belongings.
“I found a car and a dead body in my house.”
Ito says her first memory, from when she was a child, is of her mother carrying her, and running from a tsunami. She became a Geisha at the age of 12, after her father became to sick to work. Ito lives in the steel town of Kamaishi. She says she is the last Geisha in Kamaishi.
Even at 84 she still has, or had, clients: “The hardest thing was that a lot of my fans passed away.” (due to the tsunami)
Ito wants to work until she is 88: “…I still have my performing skills and spirit. This is my pride. Even a tsunami cannot take them from me.”
International help is pouring into Japan, but, according to officials, distribution is slow because some of the help is not adequate for the needs, or, relief personnel are not prepared to accept the help.
The Foreign Ministry has accepted contributions of personnel, including rescue teams, from at least 21 nations, territories and international organizations. Also, it has accepted aid supplies from 26 countries.
You can’t blame the Japanese for the slow distribution of aid, some countries are slow on getting the help to Japan. For example: Singapore took eight days, after their announcement of support, to actually send aid. And that’s not to bad, getting huge amounts of aid out can be a logistical nightmare.
Add to that, the recipient country has to have personnel in place, ready to accept the aid. Many countries, and aid organizations, that want to send help say they have to wait until the get the go ahead from the Japanese government.
So, next time you hear how much aid your country is sending to a disaster area, realize that it’ll likely take weeks before it actually gets there.
On 21 March, a ship of the Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, arrived in Xiamen, China. After inspection by port officials it was discovered that the ship had “abnormal” levels of radiation on the deck, and surface containers.
The ship, the MOL Presence, had passed within 67 nautical miles (124 km) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, on its way to China.
The ship is on its way back to Kobe, Japan.
The economy of agriculture, in the areas affected directly by the radioactive food ban (Fukushima & Ibaraki Prefectures), is being hit hard.
One dairy farmer has dumped at least 3.5 tons of milk.
Spinach and Parsley farmers, who’ve spent 25 years or more growing their crops, have to let this year’s crops die, and maybe bury them. No one has told them what to do with the contaminated crops, and, no one told them if they will be financially compensated for their loss. One farmers says 30,000 of his Spinach plants will be lost because of the nuclear disaster.
‘‘Since the state has been promoting nuclear energy as its policy, it is necessary for the state to ultimately take responsibility.’’-Gemba Koichiro, Minister of National Policy
There is speculation in the Japanese media that the government should take over the corporate run nuclear power plants. This is due to the fact that the Prime Minister has indicated that TEPCo was not honest about the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, and, that it looks like TEPCo will not be able to pay for damages associated with the nuclear disaster, which means the government will have to pick up the tab anyway.
Cabinet Secretary, Edano Yukio, down played such talk of nationalizing nuclear power plants; ”not at the moment considering nationalization,” but added that the priority now is to deal with the nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.
Before anymore work can be done on the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the highly radioactive water that is leaking into turbine rooms must be removed.
Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission said the deadly water must not get into ground water, and it is a threat to the workers. It has become priority over all other work at the plant.