- Two popular Fukushima beaches south of F. Daiichi show no detectible seawater contamination. Yotsukura beach is 35 miles away, and Nakoso beach is 40 miles. Both are inside the city limits of Iwaki. The beaches were closed following the March 2011 nuke accident. Nakoso was reopened in July of 2012, and Yatsukura on July, 2013. Tepco has been sampling the seawater monthly since both reopened, but did not regularly posting the analytical results until after the rainwater run-off issue surfaced earlier this year. Since then, there has been no detectible Cesium, gross Beta, or Tritium activity. The most recent data posting is here… http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/2015/images/seaiwaki_150629-e.pdf
- Host municipalities for nukes could lose revenue due to decommissioning. In many cases, host towns are small and deeply dependent on taxes paid by the utilities that own the units. Decommissioning would eventually end the tax income from nukes and pose a serious threat to the community’s financial viability. To mitigate the situation, the All Japan Council of Local Governments with Atomic Power Stations is trying to obtain commitments from the national government to create supportive measures, including a new system of grants/subsidies. One example of the possible impact of lost tax revenue is Genkai Town, Saga Prefecture. One of the five units at Genkai station is going to be decommissioned, effecting a loss of nearly $3.5 million. The Town wants to impose a spent (used) nuclear fuel tax on the utility to compensate for the lost income. However, Tokyo might balk at the idea. Some nuke utilities have already been hit with post-Fukushima taxes from host towns. Traditionally, taxes are paid when units are operating, but the nation-wide moratorium on nukes has changed the revenue structure in some cases. Towns have shifted their tax assessments to make the utilities pay, even when the units are not operating. But, even that approach will end when plants are decommissioned. In anticipation, Genkai Town has come up with the idea of the spent fuel tax. http://www.jaif.or.jp/en/npp-hosting-municipalities-fear-revenue-shortfall-in-the-age-of-decommissioning/
- 86% of Fukushima High School seniors want to find jobs within the prefecture. This is the highest rate since 1989. The rate dropped to 77% in 2012 and 77.6% in 2013. The sharp decrease was largely due to fear that the Fukushima accident would dry up the prefecture’s job market. However, this has not happened, so the percentage has climbed markedly over the past 2 years. It is assumed that this positive trend is due to HS students wanting to do whatever is needed to recover from the 2011 quake and tsunami that devastated the coastline. The most popular job category for male students was manufacturing at 37%, followed by technicians or professional engineers at 16%, and construction/mining at 9%. For female students, the most popular was the service industry at 27%, followed by clerical work at 20%, and sales/marketing at 18%. http://www.fukushimaminponews.com/news.html?id=525
- Some low level radioactive waste (LLW) containers were found with broken lid bolts. On Saturday, the Nuclear Fuel Transport Company reported that five bolts on the lid of metal transport containers were damaged. It is the only company in Japan that transports LLW by sea. The Land, Transport, and Tourism Ministry ordered a halt to all transportation operations until safety can be confirmed. The firm reported that a broken bolt was discovered on an empty container at the Rokkasho storage facility, Aomori Prefecture, in February. It was not reported because it was judged a “peculiar case”. Another faulty bolt was found last Thursday, and further investigation uncovered the rest of the broken lid fasteners. None of the bolts were damaged due to the transportation of LLW. There has been no environmental impact. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150628p2g00m0dm006000c.html — http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2015/06/360603.html
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