20110406 japan earthquake tsunami update-110406

8/7/2019 20110406 Japan Earthquake Tsunami update-110406

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Wednesday 06 April 2011

REPORT # SOR-023-11

JAPAN EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI UPDATE

Significant attention on the work progress concerning the radiation leakage continues todominate the Japanese media. Most media sources highlighted concerns on seafood

after the spread of radiation in the Pacific Ocean. Although Japan has apologized for

releasing contaminated water, it also defended its action. Regional media responses on

the perceived effects of radioactive water in their countries were minimal.


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Japan

Nuclear Reactor and Radiation Concerns

7.5 mil times legal limit of iodine in sea ............................................................................. 4Radioactive water leak at Fukushima plant stops ............................................................... 4Nitrogen gas injection planned for No.1 reactor ................................................................. 5Plant radiation monitor says levels immeasurable .............................................................. 6Japan hastily sets seafood radioactivity limit amid overseas concern ................................ 6Japan apologizes to S. Korea for water release .................................................................. 7Japan defends radioactive water disposal, vows to fully inform world .............................. 8Experts support TEPCO decision to discharge radioactive water into sea ......................... 9Radiation-shielding sheets to be installed around nuclear plant in Sept at earliest .......... 10

Operation Tomodachi

Sendai Airport a symbol of U.S. forces' cooperation in disaster recovery ....................... 11U.S. aircraft carrier completes mission under Operation Tomodachi .............................. 12

Rolling Blackouts

Gov't aims to stop rolling blackouts in TEPCO-serviced areas this month ...................... 12

Regional Reactions


ChinaRadioactive water to pose little danger to China .............................................................. 13

Taiwan

Taiwan, China to strengthen cooperation in nuclear safety .............................................. 15Navy training trip altered due to radiation, oil price concerns: MND .............................. 16Japan's radiation fallout not expected to approach Taiwan: energy council ..................... 17

South KoreaWhy Didn't Japan Tell Korea of Nuclear Waste Plans? ................................................... 17Gov't meets over Japan's release of radioactive water ...................................................... 18Radioactive water dumped from Japan to pose little problems for S. Korea ................... 19 Yomiuri: Radioactive Substances to Affect Korean Peninsula's Southern Part ............... 20


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North KoreaN. Korea reports detection of radioactive materials ......................................................... 20

Russia

Russia to keep building nuclear plants despite Fukushima .............................................. 21

Humanitarian Relief and Government Assistance

RussiaMasks, radiation meters and the "Landysh" ..................................................................... 21

Malaysia

Doughnut brand join hands with Mercy Malaysia to aid Japan ....................................... 22


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Japan


7.5 mil times legal limit of iodine in sea

NHK (4/5/2011)The operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says 7.5 million times thelegal limit of radioactive iodine 131 has been detected from samples of seawater near the plant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, found on Saturday that contaminated water wasleaking from a cracked concrete pit near the No. 2 reactor.

Experts say this makes it clear that highly radioactive substances from the reactor are flowinginto the sea, and that the leak must be stopped as soon as possible.

The utility firm said samples of water taken near

the water intake of the No. 2 reactor at 11:50AM Saturday contained 300,000 becquerels ofiodine 131 per cubic centimeter, or 7.5 milliontimes the legal limit.

TEPCO said the figure had dropped to 200,000becquerels per cubic centimeter, or 5 milliontimes the legal limit, in samples taken at 9:00 AM Monday.

Monday's sample also contained 1.1 million times the legal limit of cesium 137, which has a halflife of 30 years.

On March 27th, 13-million becquerels of iodine 131 per cubic centimeter of water were detectedin the turbine building of the No. 2 reactor. On Wednesday, water was found accumulated in atunnel near the turbine building and the radiation level on the surface was measured at more than1,000 millisieverts per hour.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says it believes the radioactive substances are fromnuclear fuel which leaked from the reactor into the water and flowed out.Back to Top

Radioactive water leak at Fukushima plant stopsNHK (4/6/2011)

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radioactive water stoppedleaking into the sea from a concrete pit on Wednesday morning.

Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to check if there are any new leaks.

TEPCO says it confirmed that the water flow stopped at 5:38 AM.
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On Tuesday, workers drilled a hole to reach the gravel below the pit and poured 1,500 liters of ahardening agent called liquid glass. TEPCO says this has stopped the flow. The companyreleased a photo which shows that water is no longer flowing into the ocean.

On Saturday, the company spotted water

contaminated with high-level radioactivesubstances leaking from a crack in the pit ofthe Number 2 reactor. TEPCO said thecontaminated water was flowing from adamaged pipe onto the gravel, then into thepit and finally out to sea.

The company had tried a variety of measuresto stop the water flow.

The latest move comes as the company continues to release low-level radioactive water from the

plant into the sea. The discharge started on Monday to free storage space for higher-levelradioactive water. As of 11 PM on Tuesday, 5,600 tons had been expelled into the ocean.

TEPCO has been trying to contain radioactive dust by spraying synthetic resin around thereactors. The company says it will continue this successful operation.Back to Top

Nitrogen gas injection planned for No.1 reactorNHK (4/6/2011)

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it will inject nitrogengas into the containment vessel of one of its reactors as early as Wednesday evening, to prevent apossible hydrogen explosion.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Wednesday that hydrogen gas appears to beaccumulating inside the containment vessel of the Number one reactor.

The utility says damaged fuel rods and water broken down by radiation inside the reactor'scontainment vessel may be leading to the release of hydrogen gas.

TEPCO added that it is also considering the injection of nitrogen into the Number 2 and 3reactors.

Nuclear power plants are equipped with a device to inject nitrogen gas into containment vessels,but TEPCO said it plans to use an alternative device this time.

A blast ripped off the roof and walls of the Number One reactor building on March 12th, one dayafter the massive quake and tsunami hit the plant.

Experts believe that accumulated hydrogen gas was behind the blast.Back to Top
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Plant radiation monitor says levels immeasurableNHK (4/5/2011)

A radiation monitor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says workers there

are exposed to immeasurable levels of radiation.

The monitor told NHK that no one can enter the plant's No. 1 through 3 reactor buildingsbecause radiation levels are so high that monitoring devices have been rendered useless. He saideven levels outside the buildings exceed 100 millisieverts in some places.

Pools and streams of water contaminated by high-level radiation are being found throughout thefacility.

The monitor said he takes measurements as soon as he finds water, because he can't determinewhether it's contaminated just by looking at it. He said he's very worried about the safety of

workers there.

Contaminated water and efforts to remove it have been hampering much-needed work to cool thereactors.

The monitor expressed frustration, likening the situation to looking up a mountain that one has toclimb, without having taken a step up.Back to Top

Japan hastily sets seafood radioactivity limit amid overseas concernMainichi Daily (4/6/2011)

Japan hastily set a legal limit Tuesday for the permitted level of radioactive iodine in seafood assafety concerns spread overseas in the wake of continuing leaks contaminated water into thePacific Ocean from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The limit of 2,000 bequerels per kilogram set by theMinistry of Health, Labor and Welfare for radioactiveiodine in marine products such as fish and shellfish isthe same as that already adopted for vegetables, ChiefCabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference.

Concern is growing about seawater contamination andthe safety of seafood as Tokyo Electric Power Co., theoperator of the Fukushima power plant, has begundumping water containing a relatively low level of

radioactive materials into the sea as it struggles to contain highly contaminated water at thecomplex.

Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said Japan has been making utmost efforts to minimizecontamination in line with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, pledging to fully inform
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the international community of Tokyo's steps to tackle the ongoing nuclear crisis amid concernamong neighboring countries about the spread of radiation.

In Seoul, a spokesman for the South Korean foreign and trade ministry said the country isconcerned about the contamination of seawater and Japan should have notified it about the

release of radioactive water in advance.

The imposition of the limit followed the detection by Japanese authorities 4,080 bequerels perkilogram of radioactive iodine in young sand lance caught Friday off Kitaibaraki in IbarakiPrefecture, which prompted the health ministry to consider setting a limit for fish and clams.

Different young sand lance, also caught near Kitaibaraki, were found to be contaminated with526 bequerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium, exceeding the legal limit of 500 bequerelsalready set by Japan.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano dismissed the need for an immediate ban on shipments of

marine products from the affected areas, but he pledged to toughen inspections to ensure thatcontaminated products do not reach markets.

The government will make further efforts to provide sufficient information to other countriesthrough diplomatic channels regarding its efforts to contain the leak of radioactive substancesfrom the plant, the top government spokesman added.

Given that radioactive substances exceeding safety limits have only been found in a smallnumber of samples so far, Edano said, "We want to proceed by monitoring (contamination)closely and grasping the broader situation rather than immediately regulating" shipments.Back to Top

Japan apologizes to S. Korea for water releaseNHK (4/5/2011)

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has apologized to neighboring countries forcausing concern over the release of contaminated water into the sea from the crippled FukushimaDaiichi nuclear power plant.

A senior official of the agency, Hidehiko Nishiyama, told a news conference on Tuesday thatJapan failed to contact South Korea before taking the measure.

South Korea's foreign ministry expressed concern on Monday that Japan hadn't notified thecountry of the release in advance.

Nishiyama said he is sorry for raising concern in the country, although the release was anemergency measure.

He added that the government will fully explain the decision to related countries and reply toquestions about the situation at the troubled plant.Back to Top
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Japan defends radioactive water disposal, vows to fully inform worldKyodo News (4/5/2011)

Japan defended Tuesday its dumping of a massive amount of low-level radioactive water fromthe crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, saying the action does not violate international laws, and

pledged to fully inform the international community of Tokyo's steps to tackle the ongoingemergency.

Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said at a press conference that Tokyo had briefeddiplomatic corps in Japan on the start of radioactive water disposal hours before the plantoperator Tokyo Electric Power Co. began releasing the liquid into the Pacific Ocean on Mondayevening.

South Korea has aired concern over the radioactive water release as a neighboring country andsaid Tuesday that Seoul will ask Tokyo to allow it to conduct on-the-spot radiation tests forseawater contamination if necessary.

Boris Preobrazhensky of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a researcher based in Vladivostok,also criticized the dumping of radioactive water, saying it could adversely affect migratory fishin the western Pacific as well as the Russian fishery industry.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, expressedregret over triggering concerns among neighboring countries.

''We feel very sorry for causing anxiety among our neighbors. We could not help but resort to themeasure, but we will provide full explanations from now on,'' he said at a news conference.

The foreign minister stressed that the discharge poses ''no significant health threats'' to humanbodies, but said Tokyo will explain to other countries about the background of measures taken atthe Fukushima plant, where the nation's worst nuclear crisis is unfolding following the March 11massive earthquake and tsunami.

He also said the dumping does not violate the 1986 Convention on Early Notification of aNuclear Accident, which obligates nations to provide data such as the accident's time, locationand radiation releases to affected states when harmful trans-boundary radiation release is feared.

The treaty also encourages voluntary reporting of accidents that do not meet the criteria formandatory notification. Matsumoto said Tokyo has notified the International Atomic EnergyAgency of the radiation leak in accordance with the pact.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano separately said Japan contacted the IAEA rather thanindividual neighbors because the water has been released from the plant on the Pacific coast. Thetop government spokesman also said the discharge would ''not cause immediate radioactivecontamination in neighboring countries.''
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Matsumoto also said Japan has been making its best efforts to minimize the sea contamination inline with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.Back to Top

Experts support TEPCO decision to discharge radioactive water into sea

Mainichi Daily (4/5/2011)Many experts have expressed support for a decision made recently by Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) to discharge 11,500 metric tons of radioactive water from its crippled nuclear powerplant in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea.

They say there is no other choice even though they acknowledge that the practice is far fromdesirable.

Experts predict that radioactive water discharged from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plantinto the eastern Pacific Ocean will drift east, and that the amount of radiation in the water will bereduced to a level difficult to detect a year later.

A research team headed by Masanao Nakano of the semi-governmental Japan Atomic EnergyAgency (JAEA) estimated in 2001 that if 6 trillion becquarels of cesium-137 were released intothe Pacific Ocean off Ibaraki Prefecture, it would be reduced to one-ten-thousandth of abecquerel per liter of seawater on the surface of the northern Pacific Ocean a year later.

Since the seawater usually contains one-thousandth of a becquerel of cesium-137 per liter due topast nuclear tests, the estimation suggests the cesium deliberately released into the sea could notbe detected a year later. The so-called Long-Term Assessment Model of Radionuclides in theOceans (LAMER) developed by the JAEA was used to make the estimation.

TEPCO says the contaminated water it plans to discharge into the sea contains about 170 billionbecquerels of radiation in total. Based on the 2001 estimation, the amount would likely bereduced to one-millionth of a becquerel per liter of water.

However, noting that the contaminated water contains not only cesium-137 but also iodine-131with a half life of only eight days, Nakano predicts that the actual levels of radiation in theseawater will be far less.

Kenya Mizuguchi, professor emeritus at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology,expressed his understanding of TEPCO's plan to discharge radioactive water into the sea.

"I don't want contaminated water to be released into the sea but priority should now be placed oncooling down the reactors and ensuring their safety as soon as possible," he said. "Unless thereactors are cooled down, it could endanger the lives of workers there and allow radiation leaksto continue."

Jun Misonoo, a senior researcher with the Marine Ecology Research Institute, downplays thepossible effects of radiation on marine products.
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"It'll have little effect on people's health via marine products, but I still hope the radiation levelswill go down as soon as possible," he said.Back to Top

Radiation-shielding sheets to be installed around nuclear plant in Sept at earliest

Japan Today (4/6/2011)A plan to cover damaged reactor buildings at the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant with specialsheets to halt radiation leakage cannot offer a quick remedy, as the sheeting will be installed inSeptember at the earliest due to high-level radioactivity hampering work at the site, governmentsources said Tuesday.

The government had asked Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi powerstation crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami, to study the installment of radiation-shielding sheets, and a major construction firm commissioned to examine the idea said theconstruction will not start until June, the sources told Kyodo News.

They said workers need to wait until radiation levels drop at the site, where hydrogen explosionshave blown away the roofs and upper walls of three reactor buildings.

Some nuclear experts have been skeptical about the feasibility of the plan as they believe the stepwould have only limited effects in blocking the release of radioactive substances into theenvironment.

In a meeting Tuesday of a team tasked with halting the leakage of radioactive substances fromthe plant under a task force set up by the government and the operator known as TEPCO, theconstruction firm gave prospects for the work schedule, the sources said.

At the gathering, a specialist from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the structure ofthe special sheets should guarantee that spent nuclear fuel pools in the reactor buildings will notbe damaged even if the sheeting is toppled by quakes or typhoons, according to the sources.

Specialists in the government are planning to stem possible surges in radiation levels or furtherexplosions in the reactor buildings to be wrapped by the sheets, by attaching materials thatabsorb radioactive materials to the inner side of the sheeting and installing air vents with filtersto let out hydrogen, they said.

At the plant, TEPCO has been spraying water-soluble resin that has a coating effect to preventradioactive particles from being dispersed by wind and rain. But the resin does not have effectsto shield radiation.

The costs of building framed structures around the Nos. 1-4 reactor buildings and wrapping themwith the special sheets are estimated to reach 80 billion yen.Back to Top

Operation Tomodachi
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Sendai Airport a symbol of U.S. forces' cooperation in disaster recoveryMainichi Daily (4/5/2011)

Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture, which was devastated by tsunami triggered by the March11 Great East Japan Earthquake, has emerged as a symbol of U.S. forces' cooperation in disasterrecovery efforts.

About 250 U.S. forces personnel are working torestore the airport, which serves as a hub for thetransportation of relief supplies to the disaster zones,and personnel have dubbed the airport "Camp Sendai."

The U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Air Force and Navyhave set up numerous tents on the premises of theairport for their restoration work.

Col. Dwayne Lott, leader of a special unit at the U.S. Air Force's Kadena base, says the mission

is one of the best examples of cooperation he has seen in his 22-year career. His unit flew to theAir Self-Defense Force Matsushima base in Miyagi Prefecture on a transportation plane fromYokota Air Base in Tokyo on March 16 -- only five days after the quake and tsunami ravagednortheastern Japan. Thirteen members later traveled to the airport in two multi-purpose vehicles.

When crewmembers of a reconnaissance plane observed Sendai Airport two days after thedisaster, its runway and surrounding areas were filled with rubble, mud and hundreds of vehicles.Lott knew it would be a tough mission.

On March 16, his unit confirmed that a 1,500-meter section of the 3,000-meter runway wasusable. Later in the day, an A130 transportation plane carrying various supplies and equipmentlanded at the airport.

About 150 members of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed inShizuoka and Okinawa prefectures arrived at Sendai Airport onMarch 18.

Capt. John Simpson, 39, estimated it would take three weeks toreopen the runway because it was covered with rubble, hundredsof vehicles, and mud as thick as 60 centimeters.

However, the restoration work sped up shortly afterwards. U.S. forces prioritized work to cleanup the runway and it was fully reopened by March 28, allowing large C17 transport planes toland there. After completing a temporary air traffic control tower, U.S. forces handed over airtraffic controlling work to Japanese authorities on March 31.

"It was a miracle," says Ground Self-Defense Force Col. Makoto Kasamatsu, 46. "The roles weredivided between us, with Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops being dispatched to areas whereevacuees were taking shelter. We worked in close cooperation with each other. It was an idealoperation under the Japan-U.S. security arrangement."
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Maj. Neal Fisher, 39, underscored the significance of U.S. forces stationed in Japan. He said theforces were prepared to quickly respond to the disaster, while it took four days before U.S. forceswas dispatched to Haiti after it was hit by a major quake in 2010.

The focus of the "Camp Sendai" servicemen's activity has now shifted from restoration of theairport to removing rubble from quake- and tsunami-hit areas.

While removing rubble from an elementary school in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, 2nd Lt.Breanne Hapken said he firmly believes Japanese people will overcome the disaster.Back to Top

U.S. aircraft carrier completes mission under Operation TomodachiKyodo News (4/5/2011)

The U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan has completed its relief mission under OperationTomodachi (friends) that the U.S. military began after the March 11 quake in northeastern Japan,

a U.S. Navy 7th Fleet official said Tuesday.

The U.S. military will maintain its assistance operations using the amphibious assault vesselEssex and other craft, and continue delivering relief supplies to affected people in the aftermathof the quake, the official said.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, alongside with its two escort ships, departed from watersoff the northeastern coastline of the Japanese archipelago after Defense Minister ToshimiKitazawa visited it Monday to express his gratitude to U.S. servicemen.

The U.S. military is expected to start placing greater emphasis in stages on helping Japan toaddress the aftermath of a series of explosions and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Daiichinuclear power plant, while scaling down relief operations.

As of Tuesday night, the aircraft carrier was sailing in waters near Japan to return to a missionthat the U.S. military had planned prior to the quake, the official said.Back to Top

Rolling Blackouts

Gov't aims to stop rolling blackouts in TEPCO-serviced areas this monthKyodo News (4/6/2011)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry intends to end within this month rolling blackoutsnow conducted by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to conserve electricity, sources familiar with thematter said Wednesday.

Instead, the ministry plans to urge large-lot corporate users to limit their use of electricity insummer, when air conditioning and other demand typically peaks, the sources said, adding it willaim to slash demand by 25 percent from last summer.
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''We will seek to obviate the need for rolling blackouts,'' said METI minister Banri Kaieda at theday's House of Representatives committee on economy and industry.

After the March 11 earthquake and tsunamis knocked TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclearpower plant out of operation and a severe power shortage ensued, subsequent energy

conservation by power users and ongoing efforts to reopen thermal power plants are expected tomake it possible to end the staggered power-saving program within this month.

In the following months, the government wants to ride out the power shortage by reducingelectricity use and aiming to implement rolling blackouts only in times of emergency.

Meanwhile, TEPCO said it will dispense with rolling blackouts Thursday for 10 days runningdue to warmer weather and also because it is beefing up its power supply capacity.

The government believes that rolling blackouts would exact too severe a toll on people who needair conditioning to ward off the intense summer heat, while power-rationing measures would also

hurt economic activity.

The proposed government plan would require mainly large-lot industrial power users to saveelectricity, but power will run short unless ordinary citizens also try harder to use less electricity.It is not clear, however, how effective a government appeal for energy-saving will be inencouraging people to conserve power when it is not enforceable by law.

The government estimates that there will be a maximum power shortage of 15 million kilowattsin areas serviced by TEPCO if this summer turns out to be as hot as last year's record heat wave.Back to Top

Regional Reactions


China

Radioactive water to pose little danger to ChinaPeoples Daily, China (4/6/2011)

Chinese authorities said on Tuesday that the country is under no immediate threat from theradioactive pollution that will result from Japan's plan to release 11,500 tons of radioactive waterinto the sea.

On Monday, Tokyo Electric Power announced a plan to pour radioactive water from theFukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant - which has been leaking radiation since being inundatedby a tsunami last month - into the Pacific Ocean. The step is being taken to ensure the storagespace at the plant can be used to contain more contaminated water.

Yu Fujiang, deputy director of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center of the
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State Oceanic Administration, said radioactive materials have so far come to China only throughthe air currents, not by sea.

Yu said Japan's discharge of radioactive water will not directly affect Chinese waters in theimmediate future but that the long-term consequences of the decision are unknowable now.

He said China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee has remained vigilant ofJapan's nuclear emergency, carefully monitored radiation levels throughout China and providedthe public with timely information about its findings.

Zhu Hanmin, a researcher on radiation protection and nuclear safety at the Chinese Center forDisease Control and Prevention, also said Japan's decision to release the radioactive water willnot immediately affect Chinese waters.

He explained that the radiation level of the discharged water is low and that ocean currents willtake the water eastward, away from China.

By the time the radiation reaches China, it will be diluted. Zhu said he expects little danger tocome from iodine-131 - which has a radioactive half-life of about eight days - and similarelements that will be present in small amounts.

Yet, Yoichi Enokida, a professor of materials science at Nagoya University's graduate school ofengineering, was quoted by the Associated Press as noting that the released water doesn't containiodine alone. It also contains cesium-137, which has a much longer half-life.

Both substances can build up in the flesh of fish, although iodine's short half-life means it won'tstay there very long. As for cesium, its likely long-term effects cannot be known without moreresearch.

"It is extremely important to adopt a plan to reduce the outflow of contaminated water as soon aspossible," he said.

The nuclear emergency led the Japanese government on Tuesday to create an acceptableradiation standard for fish for the first time, according to the Associated Press report.

Some fish caught on Friday off Japan's coastal waters would have exceeded the new provisionallimit had the limit been in place then.

Qiu Yongsong, a researcher at the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, said radiationtesting should be conducted more strictly on the next fish harvest from Japan's Hokkaido fishingareas in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

Seafood products, she explained, may pose more of a danger as radioactive substances becomemore and more concentrated in marine animals, the Beijing-based Mirror newspaper reported onMonday.


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Japanese seafood importers, meanwhile, are likely to suffer some of the worst hardshipsstemming from the emergency, insiders said.

Yu Jun, manager of a Shanghai company that supplies Japanese food ingredients, said businesshad already taken a dive following the earthquake that struck Japan last month. And he expects

that more customers will be scared away by the country's decision to dump contaminated waterinto the ocean.

Since April 2, after reports had appeared saying contaminated water was leaking from theJapanese nuclear plant; many micro-bloggers on sina.com.cn have posted entries warning ofdangers posed by seafood products.

Earlier reports said many supermarkets and restaurants in China had decided to avoid usingJapanese food products in response to customers' concerns about radiation.Back to Top

Taiwan

Taiwan, China to strengthen cooperation in nuclear safetyChina Post, Taiwan (4/6/2011)

Spurred by Japan's nuclear crisis, Taiwan and China have reached a consensus to strengthencooperation in nuclear safety supervision and protection, officials from the Atomic EnergyCouncil (AEC) said yesterday.

Authorities from the two sides have preliminarily agreed to forge a nuclear safety agreement atthe next round of high-level cross-Taiwan Strait talks likely to take place in the first half of thisyear, the council said.

The agreement would establish an official contact mechanism between the two sides to facilitateinformation exchanges and emergency responses in case of accidents, council officials said.

Under the tentative understanding, Taiwan's AEC and China's National Nuclear Safety Bureauwould work together to build a nuclear safety mechanism that would serve as a communicationchannel across the strait. Thirteen of China's nuclear power reactors in operation are located inthe coastal provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, barely 200 kilometers away fromTaiwan.

If accidents were to occur in China's nuclear plants, the damage to Taiwan could be many timesgreater than the threat posed by the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan,which is 2,000 kilometers away, council officials said.

According to the officials, state-run power companies from Taiwan and China have maintainedexchanges since more than a decade ago after companies in the two countries became officialmembers of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), Tokyo Centre.
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Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) and Guangdong Nuclear Power Company (GNPC) haveexchanged nuclear safety inspections every six years in accordance with the WANO regulations,they added.

Meanwhile, GNPC and Taipower's Third Nuclear Power Plant both of which have

pressurized water reactors are scheduled to sign a sisterhood agreement in June to further bolsterexchanges and cooperation, according to Taipower. Regarding the cross-strait nuclear safetyagreement in the works, AEC officials said it would not touch on the issue of nuclear wastemanagement, they added.

Back to Top

Navy training trip altered due to radiation, oil price concerns: MNDFocus Taiwan, Taiwan (4/5/2011)

The Navy's fleet of friendship has made some changes to its regular long-distance trainingvoyage due to concerns over rising world oil prices and radioactive fallout from Japan's nuclear

power plant, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Tuesday.

The ministry said the voyage has been altered somewhat becauseit wanted to conserve oil consumption and avoid any radioactivefallout.

However, the quality of the training program has not beencompromised nor has the goal of enhancing relations withTaiwan's diplomatic allies been changed, the MND said.

The ministry was responding to a report in the Liberty Times daily that said the Navy had madechanges to a planned training voyage by the fleet to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the SouthPacific and the Latin America in celebration of the Republic of China's centennial.

Following the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant inFukushima on March 11, the Navy decided to visit only diplomatic allies in the South Pacificdue to radiation concerns, the local paper reported.

The fleet departed Taiwan on March 19 and is expected to return in mid-May, the report said.

On board the three vessels in the fleet are graduating cadets of the ROC Naval Academy and theFu Hsing Kang College of National Defense University.

Cited a ranking military official, the report said a long-distance trip similar to the Navy's globalvoyage in 2005 had been planned but the MND had changed the plan on budget considerationsand concerns over possible Chinese suppression of countries that do not have diplomaticrelations with Taiwan.

However, the MND said in response that there had been no attempts at suppression orintervention by China with regard to the plans for the training voyage.
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The MND said it usually asks the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with Taiwan's diplomaticallies to arrange the voyage.

"The training program will continue -- there has been no such thing as Chinese intervention and

suppression," the ministry said.

The long-distance training voyage has taken Navy cadets to central American countries fourtimes over the past decade, according the MND.Back to Top

Japan's radiation fallout not expected to approach Taiwan: energy councilChina Post, Taiwan (4/6/2011)

The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday the radiation leak from Japan's FukushimaDaiichi nuclear power plant will not reach Taiwan in the coming days, recanting from an earlierreport that said the country would be exposed to radiation on April 6.

Since the Japanese plant damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami did not have aserious radiation leak on April 4, the forecasted path of the radioactive dust will not take place onApril 6 and will not pose any health risks to residents in Taiwan, the AEC said in a statement viae-mail.

Based on the meteorological conditions released at 2 a.m. Tuesday by the Central WeatherBureau, even if there is a new leak of radiation from the plant in the following 36 hours, theforecasted radioactive fallout will still move off towards the eastern sea areas of Japan in the nextfive days and will keep its distance away from Taiwan, the AEC said.

As of 11 a.m., 722 samples of Japanese food imports, including dairy products, alcoholicbeverages, fruit, soft drinks, seafood, curry, Chinese yams, spices, candies, fava beans, noodlesand frozen seafood, had been tested for radiation, said the AEC.

In addition, 89,780 inbound passengers have undergone radiation screening at Taiwan's threemain gateways Taipei International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport and KaohsiungInternational Airport. Only 45 people have been found carrying minuscule levels of radioactivesubstances and all were allowed to go home after receiving treatment to remove the pollutants,the AEC said.Back to Top

South Korea

Why Didn't Japan Tell Korea of Nuclear Waste Plans?Chosun Ilbo, South Korea (4/6/2011)

The Japanese government neither consulted norinformed Korea about a plan to discharge some 10,000tons of contaminated water from the FukushimaDaiichi nuclear power plant into the sea. Yet according
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to Japan's TBS Television on Tuesday, Tokyo discussed the matter with the United States inadvance and they agreed that it is feasible to dump water tainted with low levels of radioactivityinto the sea rather than storing it unless there are other options available.

Tokyo also told the International Atomic Energy Agency of the decision in conformity with the

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution, but it did not tell individual neighboringcountries because the water was discharged on the Pacific side. That at least is the explanationoffered by Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano in a press conference Tuesday afterTokyo's silence raised eyebrows in the region.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto told reporters separately the dumping does notviolate the 1986 Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, which obligatesnations to provide data such as the accident's time, location and radiation releases to affectedstates "when harmful trans-boundary radiation release is feared."

But Korea has already detected small levels of radiation linked to the stricken plant, and even

Japan's own maritime pollution prevention act stipulates that Tokyo should consult withcountries that could be affected when it decides to dump harmful materials into the sea. It iscommon sense for Tokyo to notify Seoul because seawater from the Pacific side is borne bycurrents to the East Sea.

Even in Japan itself some feel they could have been given more information. Japanese Ministerof Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Michihiko Kano said it is "very regrettable that TokyoElectric Power Company has released radioactive water into the sea without telling" the ministry.Fishermen in the nearby areas protested because they are worried about their catch.

"It stands to reason that Korea should be given more accurate information since it importsJapanese agricultural and fisheries products," a diplomatic source in Tokyo said. "It seems Japanis trying to downplay the scale of the disaster by keeping a lid on information."

Meanwhile, contamination was worsening Tuesday in the sea near the Fukushima plant, withiodine-131 detected in coastal waters at 7.5 million times above normal. Contamination fearshave led to a sharp drop in seafood consumption in Japan.Back to Top

Gov't meets over Japan's release of radioactive waterYonhap News Agency, South Korea (4/5/2011)

South Korean government officials from relevant ministries met at the presidential office CheongWa Dae on Wednesday to discuss ways to deal with Japan's recent release of radioactive waterinto the Pacific Ocean.

The government has come under fire for lacking a coordinated response to the release of 11,500tons of radioactive water from the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, onMonday. Fears of radiation contamination have intensified among the South Korean public aftertraces of radioactive material were recently detected across the country.Back to Top
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Radioactive water dumped from Japan to pose little problems for S. Korea Yonhap News Agency, South Korea (4/5/2011)

Radiation-contaminated water released from Japan's quake-damaged nuclear power station isexpected to pose little environmental hazard for South Korea, experts said Tuesday.

Despite growing public concerns, the general flow and speed of currents off Japan's east coastmake it unlikely that contaminated water will reach the Korean Peninsula in the near future, saidresearchers at the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) and the KoreaInstitute of Nuclear Safety (KINS).

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the Fukushima power plant, said it released 11,500tons of water tainted with low-level radiation late Monday to clean up the damage caused bymassive cooling system failures in four reactors on March 12, a day after the devastatingearthquake and tsunami.

The water was shown to contain 6.3 becquerel (Bq) of iodine-131 per cubic centimeter, which is100 times more than the legal limit of 0.04 Bq.

KORDI claimed that there is almost no way for contaminated water from the nuclear powerstation to flow directly to South Korea.

"Simulations have shown that the warm Kuroshio Current from Taiwan and the subarcticOyashio Current from the Arctic Sea meet southeast of the Fukushima plant to form the NorthPacific Current that always flows east away from Northeast Asia," it said.

While this contaminated water will eventually come back in a few years after reaching the westcoast of North America, radioactivity will be greatly depleted and will not be dangerous tohumans or the environment, it said.

"By the time the contaminated water comes back, radioactive materials such as iodine-131, witha half-life of just eight days, should pose no health risks," said Lee Jae-hak, a coastal disasterexpert for the institute.

However, radioactive materials such as cesium-137, with a half-life of 30 years, may still be aproblem, although only small traces will be left in the sea water and should not cause publicconcern, the expert added.

Plutonium, which can release radioactive particles up to 24,000 years after being created, is tooheavy to travel far in water. Plutonium is 20 times heavier than water.

Concerning the movement of tainted marine life, scientists at KINS said that with the exceptionof squid, most fishes found off the northeastern part of Japan do not migrate to waters near theKorean Peninsula.

"Saury, pollack and scabbard fish caught in Japanese water do not mix with fish near South
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Korea," a KINS expert said. "Only squid that lay eggs off the coasts from the crippled powerstation may come into the East Sea by the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido."

Meanwhile, the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute said it has startedchecking for radioactivity in sea water and marine life in 20 offshore locations. Results of the

analysis are due out early next week, it added.Back to Top

Yomiuri: Radioactive Substances to Affect Korean Peninsula's Southern PartKBS, South Korea (4/6/2011)

A leading Japanese daily says radioactive substances from the Fukushima Number One nuclearpower plant are likely to affect the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.

The Yomiuri Shimbun said Wednesday that the recent projection came after the JapanMeteorological Agency unveiled on its Web site a diagram that predicted the expansion ofradioactive substances.

The diagram was drawn up based on the discharged amount of radioactive substances and theamount of such substances in the air. It showed that the southern part of the Korean Peninsula isexpected to see one-1000 trillionth of radioactive substances per square meter, which is similarto levels projected for Osaka. The projection was based on the assumption that one becquerel ofradioactive iodine had leaked out from the Fukushima plant.Back to Top

North Korea

N. Korea reports detection of radioactive materialsYonhap News Agency, South Korea (4/5/2011)

North Korea's official media reported on Tuesday that the country detected traces of radioactivematerials in major cities following Japan's nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquakeand tsunami.

The North said in a report carried by the official Korean Central Broadcasting Station that tracesof radioactive iodine and cesium were found in the cities of Pyongyang, Wonsan and Cheongjin,but the report did not disclose detection levels of such materials.

"Radioactivity monitoring stations in Pyongyang, Wonsan and Cheongjin have detectedradioactive materials like iodine and cesium, which have not been seen in the past," an officialfor North Korea's meteorological research agency said in the TV report.

The traces were so small that they will not affect public health, the official said, adding that"close attention should be paid to monitoring and forecasting of weather changes."

The news came as South Korea also reported air detection of radioactive materials after themassive earthquake and tsunami crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima, sparking concerns ofradioactive leaks.
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Back to Top

Russia

Russia to keep building nuclear plants despite Fukushima

Telegraph, UK (4/5/2011)As the world anxiously watches efforts to contain the threat from Japans Fukushima nuclearpower plant, governments are either hastily re-examining their nuclear programs, or like Russia,saying they will not scale them down.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced into an embarrassing about-face after all six ofFukushimas reactors showed signs of trouble in the days after their supporting infrastructure

was washed away by the tsunami on March 11.

The chancellor ordered seven of Germanys oldest reactors to be shut down for extensive tests,

even though six months earlier, she forced through a plan to increase the amount of nuclear

power Germany generates. That decision sparked some of Germanys biggest public protests in adecade.

Most of western Europes leaders find themselves in a similar position, but Russian Prime

Minister Vladimir Putin was quick to affirm that his country will continue to build new powerstations. However, following Chancellor Merkels decision, he also ordered a comprehensivesafety review of Russias nuclear assets.

Back to Top

Humanitarian Relief and Government Assistance

Russia

Masks, radiation meters and the "Landysh"Voice of Russia, Russia (4/4/2011)

Russia is increasing assistance to earthquake-hit Japan. Today the Rosatom agency sent a largebatch of facemasks and individual radiation meters to the crippled Fukushima-1 NPP and in thenear future Japan will be provided with a liquid radioactive waste treatment plant to reprocessradioactive water inside the NPP. Part of the polluted water has already been drained into theocean. Authorities keep assuring the public that the water is not dangerous, while its content ofpoisonous substances exceeds the maximum safety limit a hundredfold.

After Russian rescue teams returned from sorting out building rubble and searching for survivors,Russia has sent a cargo shipment for Japanese disaster fighters at the Fukushima-1 NPP. The firstairplane with facemasks and 400 individual radiation meters is already on its way to Japan. Atpresent, talks are under way on sending the Landysh plant, which is meant for treating liquidradioactive waste and until now has been used for the disposal of nuclear submarines at theZvezda factory on the Primorye Territory, Sergey Novikov, an official spokesman for Rosatom,told The Voice of Russia.
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We are in a position to send this plant to Japan now. Our Japanese colleagues asked for theparameters of the plant to understand how effectively they can use it. If our answers satisfy themwe will spare no effort to transfer the floating plant to the area of the Fukushima NPP in theshortest possible time.

The earthquake-stricken Fukushima-1 needs thisplant badly. The tanks of the NPP are filled withradioactive water and no one knows what to dowith it. There is more water inside the damagedcompartments of the NPP. In this situation theauthorities have taken a difficult decision to pour11,500 tons of polluted water from the pools ofthe fifth and sixth reactors into the ocean. Theconcentration of poisonous substances in it,especially iodine, exceeds the maximum safety

level a hundredfold. However, the Japanese government, quoting experts, assures that there is no

danger to human health. Nikolay Kukharkin, a directors adviser from the National ResearchCentre The Kurchatov Institute, also calls to refrain from panic:

Iodine is not that bad. It is only bad at the first moments of discharge from nuclear power plantswhen large quantities of it are emitted. Afterwards iodine disintegrates; its half-life is not verylong, only several hours. It is not dangerous in water. Caesium and plutonium are worse but theirquantity is smaller.

At the moment, Fukushima-1 engineers are hastily looking for the places that radioactive wateris leaking from in the first and second reactors. A special colorfast solution has been sprayed atthe plant to detect the holes. Apart from that, in the next few days experts will start installing

special floating barriers in the bay around the NPP. These underwater barriers are meant toprevent radioactive particles from escaping into the ocean.Back to Top

Malaysia

Doughnut brand join hands with Mercy Malaysia to aid JapanBernama, Malaysia (4/6/2011)

Doughnut lovers out there, here is your chance to indulge and at the same time help victims ofthe recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Popular doughnut chain Krispy Kreme joins hand with MERCY Malaysia to collectcontributions for the Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

Between April 1 and 15 for every purchase of half dozen or a dozen of doughnuts, Krispy Kremewill be allocating RM$2 to the fund.

"This is our first collaboration with Mercy Malaysia and we will be striving hard to gather asmuch funds possible to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami," said the General Manager
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of Berjaya Krispy Kreme, Alex Chong Kok Hwa.

"We hope our fans and fellow Malaysians will come together and support this initiative. Let usall be a part of this journey to help the Japanese people recover from their ordeal," he added.

Meanwhile, Mercy Malaysia's General Manager (Communications and Fund Raising) JuanitaJohari said the organization is fortunate to have big corporations such as Krispy Kreme tosupport its work.

Raising fund after the hype over the calamity has died down and it is not easy but our work isongoing, she said.

Mercy Malaysia is working with the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA), aninternational non-profit organization headquartered in Okayama City, located one hour fromKobe, Japan.

"We worked with AMDA in Acheh before. Our second support team will be coming back fromJapan soon and we will get more updates on the situation," she added.

The charity drive is ongoing at all Krispy Kreme outlets - in Berjaya Times Square, Mid ValleyMegamall, Sunway Pyramid and Plaza Shah Alam.

On March 11, a 8.9 magnitude quake caused massive damage to the northeast region of the mainisland of Honshu and unleashed a seven-meter tsunami. Both events caused massive destructionand killed more than 12,000 people. The quake also damaged the Fukushima nuclear reactorcausing it to overheat and radiation leaks have been detected in the surroundings and the seawater.Back to Top

20110406 japan earthquake tsunami update-110406

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