The 10 year anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident occurs in March. Work just published in the Journal ‘Science of the Total Environment’ documents new, large (> 300 micrometers), highly radioactive particles that were released from one of the damaged Fukushima reactors. Particles containing radioactive cesium (134+137Cs) were released from the damaged reactors at the Fukushima […]
Greenpeace Says Japan’s Plan to Contaminate Pacific Ocean With Fukushima Water Would Violate International Law
In a decision that sparked condemnation from environmental advocates, fisherfolk, and neighboring countries, Japan announced Tuesday a plan to dump over 1.2 million tons of stored contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The decision made by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Cabinet gives Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) the green light […]
Fukushima radioactive particle release was significant, says new research
Scientists say there was a significant release of radioactive particles during the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear accident. The researchers identified the contamination using a new method and say if the particles are inhaled they could pose long-term health risks to humans. The new method allows scientists to quickly count the number of caesium-rich micro-particles in Fukushima soils […]
Hot particles in Japan: what does this mean for the Olympics and beyond?
Hundreds of thousands of people – athletes and spectators – will flood into Japan for the 2020 Olympics. But exposure dangers from the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe have not ended since the meltdowns and explosions spread radioactive contamination over large areas reaching down to Tokyo and beyond. Soon after the start of the meltdowns, experts began […]
Expert says 2020 Tokyo Olympics unsafe due to Fukushima
The Japanese government announced in 2015 that it would communicate to the whole world at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 that Japan has recovered from the 2011 disaster by regarding the event as a symbol of Japan’s recovery. Plans for lifting evacuation orders and decommissioning activities are scheduled around the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games […]
TEPCO Plans To Release Radioactive Fukushima Wastewater Into Pacific Ocean
The far-reaching dangers of nuclear power were on full display Tuesday as Japan’s environmental minister recommended releasing more than one million tons of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the Pacific Ocean nearly a decade after a tsunami caused a meltdown at the coastal facility. “There are no other options” other than dumping […]
Fukushima Disaster Puts Japan in ‘Nuclear Limbo’ Ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics
On 10 September, Japanese authorities announced that Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant which in 2011 experienced the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, currently has no technology to clear its wastewater from radioactive waste, and is instead discharging it into the sea. More than a million tonnes of wastewater […]
Radioactive contamination in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the early stage of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident and its fluctuation over five years
Radioactive contamination in the Tokyo metropolitan area in the immediate aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident was analyzed via surface soil sampled during a two-month period after the accident. 131I, 134Cs, and 137Cs were detected in these soil samples. The activity and inventory of radioactive material in the eastern part of […]
Newborn heart problems surged after Fukushima nuke disaster
There was a significant increase in the number of infants in Japan who had surgery for complex congenital heart disease after the nuclear accident in Fukushima, a new study finds. The disaster happened in March 2011 after a tsunami and earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, causing a meltdown and release […]
Japanese persimmons exported to the United States for the first time
After lifting the ban on the export of persimmons from Japan to the United States from October of last year, Fukuoka prefecture is now working on the production of persimmons for the US. The exportation of the Fukuoka-produced Taishu variety of persimmons to the US began in October. People were able to taste the sweet, […]