Huge Fallout to Hit West Coast U.S May 3rd

Department of Atmospheric and Climate Research, The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU)

Reactor Flooding Effort Proceeds at Japan Reactor
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The operator of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was set on Wednesday to more than double insertion of water into the facility's No. 1 reactor as a step toward determining whether to fully flood the ailing system, the Mainichi Daily News reported (see GSN, April 26; Mainichi Daily News I, April 26).

Tokyo Electric Power has already started pumping additional water into the reactor's outer containment vessel, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The company was expected on Monday to investigate whether water was escaping through a suspected rupture in the containment vessel, according to an earlier report.

By Ryan Nakashima, The Associated Press
Apr 9, 2011


In an unusual — and controversial — plan, engineers decided earlier this month to deliberately pump less contaminated water into the ocean from a storage facility they thought might make a good receptacle for the more highly radioactive water.

That dump is expected to finish Sunday, and technicians already are beginning to ensure that the building is watertight, according to nuclear safety agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama.


Source: http://transport.nilu.no/

Japan nuclear crisis: South Korea schools closed over Fukushima radiation fears

Scores of schools in South Korea were closed today as teachers and parents panicked over fears that falling rain could be carrying radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear plant.As rain swept across the Korean capital, Seoul, and the surrounding Gyeonggi province, classes were cancelled or cut back and children were hurried to their homes.

Seoul is around 750 miles from the damaged nuclear plant at Fukushima and since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami radiation has been leaking into the atmosphere and the sea, contaminating vegetables, meat and fish nearby.

Concerns grew when the capital's weather agency said that radioactive material from the Fukushima plant might be carried to South Korea by south-easterly winds.
When the rain began to fall, the provincial education office in Gyeonggi province ordered the closure of schools as part of 'pre-emptive measures for the safety of students'.


At first, education officials refused to take any action, but as reports continued to flow about the leakage of radiation into the sea at Fukushima the pressure on the authorities mounted.


Finally authorities gave in, ordering scores of schools to be closed and telling others to postpone baseball, outdoor basketball, football and other sports.


Government officials have tried to calm the population by insisting that the amount of radioactive material in rainfall is too small to pose any health threat.

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Radioactivity from Japanese nuclear plant leak found across Scotland

Experts are continuing to monitor radioactivity in Scotland from the badly damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) revealed that traces of iodine-131 have been found across the country.

Almost all air samples taken from its sites in Scotland have shown “very low levels” of iodine-131, which comes from the plant that experienced explosions after an earthquake and tsunami devastated north-east Japan last month.

Grass samples taken from around Scotland have also shown traces of radioactivity, as has a freshwater sample in Caithness and a rainwater sample.

Sepa claim that the levels found did not pose any risk to the public.

A spokeswoman said: “The concentration of iodine-131 in these samples is of no concern to human health and all of the concentrations reported to date are below the levels where regulatory control is necessary.

“Sepa will continue to monitor the environment, including sampling air, water, food, milk and grass, and will provide the information to the public and, where appropriate the Food Standards Agency, Scottish Water and the Drinking Water Quality Inspectorate.”

Iodine-131 was also found by the agency in sewage sludge in Glasgow.

The source of it is believed to be a combination of the isotope in rainfall, together with authorised releases from hospitals in the city.

Soil, other freshwater samples, cow and goats milk have all been analysed by Sepa, but to date, they have not shown the presence of detectable levels of iodine-131 from Fukushima.

Source: STV.TV/Scotland