- Fear of radiation harms Fukushima vegetable market. Fukushima Prefecture has long provided much of Japan’s fresh produce. Historically, 20% of its annual crop is sold in Tokyo. However, fear of radiation has caused Fukushima’s wholesale market sales to drop nearly 19% since 2009. Radiation rumors erupted almost immediately after 3/11/11. The public outcry against Tokyo’s initial 500 Becquerel per kilogram limit was considerable, saying that it was too high and many were afraid of eating fallout. The international standard was/is 1,000 Bq/kg, but that did not dissuade the politically-active antinuclear demographic calling for a lower national standard. The populist regime of Yoshihiko Noda caved to the pressure and lowered the standard to 100 Bq/kg, the most restrictive in the world, in April 2012. Since then, more than 2,000 instances of over-limit Cesium concentrations have been registered – almost double the previous year of the 500 Bq/kg limit. Noda said the new limit should put an end to unfounded radiation rumors. But, it has not. If anything, it has made the situation worse for farmers who try to sell their produce in Tokyo. A vegetable dealer in Tokyo says, “There are no takers [for Fukushima produce] even now. Some supermarkets won’t accept them at all and there are no deals.” He says buyers complain that the government’s limits are arbitrary and no-one really knows the effects of contamination. His buyers have no faith in government regulations. University of Tsukuba Agricultural Professor Kiyokazu Ujiie says the price collapse is also because many consumers believe that radiation is unsafe in any quantity, no matter how small. He suggests the government should fully explain that screenings on a massive scale show nothing detectible with most Fukushima produce. (Mainichi Shimbun)
- The Nuclear Regulatory Authority says their investigation of the Fukushima accident could take decades to complete. They explain that the three hydrogen explosions caused so much damage it will take that long to examine every detail needed to close the open issues. The speculation that the 3/11/11 earthquake was the actual cause of the accident is the main issue to be studied. “Nobody has inspected the site very closely and we still have to sort out a lot of technical questions that remain unresolved,” said Tetsuo Omura, one of the NRA’s investigators. “We have conflicting views, particularly about how the earthquake had impacted key safeguard equipment, a key question that needs to be addressed.” Another important issue concerns how much radioactive material was released. (Japan Today; Japan Daily Press)
- Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) has found a common mollusk has disappeared from the coastline north of F. Daiichi. The aquatic anomaly stretches about 30 kilometers from Futaba Town. NIES says they are drawing no conclusions, as yet, because they have only begun looking at all possible causes. Among the possibilities is the impact of the 3/11/11 tsunami which devastated the near-shore rock and reef habitat and (of course) the aquatic radiological releases from the nuclear accident. NIES researcher Toshihiro Horiguchi said that with the possibilities to be investigated, “It will be necessary to conduct culture experiments to study how radioactive materials affect the habitat of rock shells.” He feels it is unlikely that the tsunami-alone has caused the disappearance. Horiguchi added that eight other sites impacted by the tsunami show the same anomaly, including Minamisoma and Soma. The survey will also include experts from the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. (Asahi Shimbun)
- As expected, Tohoku Electric Co. has officially scrapped plans to build a new nuke station 10km north of Fukushima Daiichi. Tohoku Co. had purchased ocean-front land straddling Minamisoma and Namie, but says it makes no sense to build a new plant located inside the government’s exclusion zone. Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato received Tohoku’s formal announcement on Thursday. Sato said the decision is understandable, given the current situation. The Governor added that Tohoku Electric should make maximum use of the property in the interest of regional recovery. (Kyodo News; NHK World)
- This weekend marked the first anniversary of the weekly antinuclear demonstrations in Tokyo. While protest organizers boast that attendance is on the upswing due to social media use, the numbers actually appear to be dwindling. The latest rally, on Friday, had the usual chants of “Get rid of Nuclear Power Plants” and “Don’t restart them”. It seems the news media has lost most of its interest because only Kyodo News mentioned anything about the 1st anniversary rally.
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