Gov't revises standard for decontamination work
TOKYO —
The Environment Ministry on Monday revised its standard for ongoing decontamination work in Fukushima Prefecture and neighboring areas.
The policy to date required decontamination to be carried out in areas where the radiation level was 5 milliseiverts or more a year. The ministry said its new policy calls for areas where radiation levels are 1 milliseivert or more per year to be decontaminated, NHK reported.
The ministry said the central government will handle decontamination of areas within the no-go zone around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, while local governments will be responsible for other areas.
Environment Minister Goshi Hosono said funds for decontamination work will be allocated from the third supplementary budget which is expected to be submitted to the Diet by mid-November.
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17 Comments
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1
some14some
upward to downward revision...will it make any difference to peoples health NOW?
1
Utrack
Why not train personnel in the Defense Force in decontamination to assist local governments.
0
JapanGal
Saw this on the news yesterday. Scrub brushes and hoses do not cut it. What a joke to watch that happening.
0
Christina O'Neill
Does anyone actualy know what they are doing?
0
Callme Ish
The average background radiation is 1 to 2.5, so this makes no sense at all. Terrible reportiing too, to not catch this glaring error and clarify it before printing.
2
Utrack
What's being decontaminated is Neutron Radiation and it's so low a reading the geiger counter can't pick it up but together with protons it make up 99% of an atoms composition be it isotopes or gamma radiation etc.
Excerpt: Neutrons and protons coexist in an atom's nucleus in roughly equal numbers. Together, they account for over 99 percent of the atom's mass. Since neutrons are slightly heavier than protons, they have most of an atom's mass.
Neutrons can be ejected from the nucleus for a number of reasons, including radioactive decay, nuclear fusion, or as a by-product of other radiation on light elements such as beryllium. The speed of the ejected neutron can span a wide range, depending on what caused it to leave the nucleus. The faster the neutron, the more energy it delivers when it collides with something.
The effects of neutron radiation on living tissues depends on the neutron's energy. High-energy neutrons kill cells by indirectly ionizing molecules or from gamma rays that can result when a neutron hits a nucleus. A nucleus can capture low-energy neutrons and become radioactive. The most immediate effect of higher-energy neutrons is cell death; having too many damaged molecules will kill it. Though DNA can repair some forms of damage, too much will lead to mutation or cancer.
1
zichi
Decontaminating inside the no-go-zone is a waste of time, at least until the power plant is decommissioned and the majority of the previous residents won't be returning there. Since the lifting of the advisory zone most of the small towns ans villages have seen no return of the residents. The no-go-zone was also damaged by earthquake. The question should be, does anyone want to live there?
There is between 2,000 to 8,000 sq km of contaminated land, much of it is also mountains. Decontaminating that size of land is never going to happen.
Asking local governments to clean up their areas will mean it will be done by residents. I can see a need for the Self Defense Force to help out with this work.
1
Utrack
The decontamination process is going to be really tricky I think. Because the neutron radiation is deep penetrating and in some cases it can reactivate itself.
Excerpt: In health physics neutron radiation is considered a fourth radiation hazard alongside the other types of radiation. Another, sometimes more severe hazard of neutron radiation, is neutron activation, the ability of neutron radiation to induce radioactivity in most substances it encounters, including the body tissues of the workers themselves. This occurs through the capture of neutrons by atomic nuclei, which are transformed to another nuclide, frequently a radionuclide. This process accounts for much of the radioactive material released by the detonation of a nuclear weapon. It is also a problem in nuclear fission and nuclear fusion installations, as it gradually renders the equipment radioactive; eventually the hardware must be replaced and disposed of as low-level radioactive waste.
2
gogogo
Does Japan have any expertise in this? Seems like a whole bunch of people doing stuff for the sake of a show.
1
Darren Brannan
And according to the ex-SKF blog and based on Metropolitan Tokyo's own soil samples, the total cesium contamination in Shinjuku could be as much as 890 Bq/kg or 51350 bq a metre. The aerial radiation stats being touted by the govt. are vastly different from the radiation contamination stats at soil level. http://ex-skf.blogspot.com/2011/10/tokyo-metropolitan-government-measures.html
1
Utrack
To seriously make an attempt to decontaminate radioactive areas especially for the local government they may have to purchase some highly sensitive equipment for identifying this type of radiation and since neutron radiation can penetrate lead and even cement some structures have to be dismantled and stored with the other radioactive substances.
This link is for the Nuclear tourist radiation safety page, the diagram show the FOUR radiation hazards and how far each can penetrate. Alpha, Beta, Gamma and lastly Neutron.
http://www.nucleartourist.com/systems/rad.htm
1
oberst
Is this latest move lowering or upping the bar ? Damn confusing...................
1
Cricky
What a mess, Government seem to have no Idea as to what to do, Hot spots are downplayed and the message is all is well! Things are not so good after all this is the worst N-Disaster in the most crowded country in the OECD. Constant revision of "Standards" do not inspire confidence. An apathetic and compliant population have helped the lack of outcry, and the natural switch off caused buy fear and uselessness. 7 or 8 months and the truth is far from being reviled. This Disaster gets more coverage in off shore media, what can we do? Suck it up and die quietly seems to be the way to go. Decontamination, collect and burn, ie recontaminate new areas with ash and smoke. Pity the children for they will suffer.
0
sourpuss
cricky, maybe you should read/watch more Japanese news than foreign news. the ratio will work itself out fine then.
1
zichi
About 1,000 people in every million will develop some form of radiation cancer. In Fukushima, one of the hardest hit, there will be at least 2,000 cases. Then there are the other places like Gunma. Maybe they'll all get lucky with the scientists discovering a cancer cure.
1
Utrack
About 1,000 people in every million will develop some form of radiation cancer. In Fukushima, one of the hardest hit, there will be at least 2,000 cases.
Zichi, I hope the numbers will be that low. remember this headline:
45% of children tested near Fukushima plant have radioactive elements in thyroid glands: National Aug. 20, 2011
1
JapanGal
Look at the big picture. There is nothing that can be done. Japan is contaminated and we are all breathing in this invisible, silent doom. Good luck.
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