First there was yesterday's plutonium, now there's today's plutonium

[robdogbucky]

This time found 1.7 km from the site:





Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Plutonium found in soil at Okuma

Kyodo


Plutonium that is believed to have come from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant has been detected in the town of Okuma about 1.7 km away from the plant's front gate, a Kanazawa University researcher said Sunday.

It is the first time plutonium ejected by the stricken facility has been found in soil beyond its premises since the March 11 megaquake and tsunami led to a core meltdown there.

Professor Masayoshi Yamamoto of Kanazawa University said the level of plutonium detected in soil in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, is lower than the average level observed in Japan after nuclear tests were conducted abroad.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has found plutonium in soil on the nuke plant's grounds, but it was believed to have been fallout from bomb tests abroad.

By analyzing the ratio of three types of isotopes in the plutonium, Yamamoto was able to determine that it was emitted by Fukushima No. 1 and not past bomb tests...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110607a4.html





Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Incineration of rubble OK'd amid radiation risk

Kyodo


The Environment Ministry plans to allow rubble from the March 11 disasters in coastal and central parts of Fukushima Prefecture to be incinerated or buried, raising the risk of radioactive contamination, officials said Sunday.

While the ministry already allows 10 municipalities where contamination levels from the prefecture's stricken nuclear plant are low enough to handle debris under normal procedures, it has decided to expand the eased limits to other parts of the prefecture outside the nuclear no-go zone and evacuation areas.

The move is aimed at speeding up rubble removal in Fukushima Prefecture, but authorities are required to handle it with care, including by decontaminating and managing it properly, the officials said.

The ministry plans to formally decide on the matter at a panel meeting June 19 and allow the disposal of rubble kept at makeshift yards possibly in late June. But it will continue to ban transfers of the debris to areas outside Fukushima Prefecture.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110607a6.html



Japan mulls evacuating radiation 'hot spots'

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The government is considering expanding the scope of its evacuation order to include people from certain spots that are emitting high levels of radiation as a result of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in March, government officials said.

The government will be discussing with municipalities these so-called "hot spots"' suffering from radiation exposure that would exceed the yardstick of 20 millisieverts during the course of a year.

A hot spot refers to an area that has a high level of radiation following rain or as a result of landscape or wind conditions that affect the direction in which radioactive materials travel after being released into the air.

Normally, radiation spreads concentrically but under such conditions, radioactive materials spread randomly to various spots...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110607p2g00m0dm013000c.html






Radiation levels likely exceed safety standard outside evacuation zone.

2011/06/07

Residents outside the planned evacuation zone near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are trying to lead normal lives, but radiation levels exceeding the safety standard are posing an increasing threat.

A report released June 3 by the science ministry said annual accumulated radiation levels are estimated at 20.1, 20.8, 23.8 millisieverts in the Ishida and Kamioguni areas of the Ryozen-machi district in Date city, and the Ohara area of the Hara-machi district of Minami-Soma, respectively.

The government's safety standard is 20 millisieverts of annual accumulated radiation.

These areas lie beyond the planned evacuation zone, which is just outside the off-limits area within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant. The ministry's calculation assumes current radiation accumulation rates will remain static over one year...

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106060142.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. And now they admit to three meltdowns

life is peachy really

[SpoonFed]

2. Pu fallout is from Fukushima, definitively.

Yamamoto was able to determine that it was emitted by Fukushima No. 1 and not past bomb tests...

Hmm. I know at least two participants on these forums that need to drop that as a deflection talking point now.