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"Tokyo Electric Power Co. concealed data showing spikes in radiation levels at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March, one day before a hydrogen explosion injured seven workers. The Asahi Shimbun obtained a 100-page internal TEPCO report containing minute-to-minute data on radiation levels at the plant as well as pressure and water levels inside the No. 3 reactor from March 11 to April 30. "

"A man died on his second day of work at Japan's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Saturday, and the plant operator said harmful levels of radiation were not detected in his body. The contract worker in his 60s was the first person to die at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan since March 11, when an earthquake and tsunami damaged the facility and caused fires, explosions and radiation leaks in the world's second-worst nuclear accident. The worker was carrying equipment when he collapsed and died later in a hospital, said Naoyuki Matsumoto, spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. The company does not know the cause of his death, Matsumoto said. "

"Safety standards for workers at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture have been relaxed without any scrutiny, forcing workers to do their jobs without being completely decontaminated, it has emerged. Workers who are struggling to get the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)-operated Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant under control as well as experts have expressed grave concern about possible health hazards. Radiation levels on the premises of the power station remain high, with part of the ruins of its No. 3 reactor building -- badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion -- emitting 900 millisieverts of radiation per hour."

"epco's litany of deliberate violations of the most elementary safety standards, enabled by the collusion of one government after another, is a graphic demonstration of the intolerable danger posed by the capitalist economic order itself, reports Mike Head. A huge explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan following a major earthquake and tsunami The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) is the conglomerate at the centre of Japan's nuclear radiation emergency at Fukushima. Its operations over the past several decades epitomise the government-backed pursuit of corporate profit, at the direct expense of lives, health and safety. Tepco is the fourth largest power company in the world, and the biggest in Asia, operating 17 nuclear reactors and supplying one-third of Japan's electricity. It has a long, documented history of serious safety breaches, systemic cover-ups of potentially fatal disasters, persecution of whistle-blowers, suppression of popular opposition and use of its economic and advertising clout to silence criticism."

"Polyester tents will be placed over Japan's stricken nuclear reactors in a bid to try and contain the escape of radioactive substances into the atmosphere. Next month Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) will start work on installing the first cover at the No.1 reactor in Fukishima, which has been the focus of recent stabilization efforts. The Japanese government plans to erect a steel framework and place a giant polyester tent-like cover around the reactor building - similar covers will be placed around units 3 and 4. "

" radioactive substance exceeding the state limit has been detected in pasture grass and vegetables in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures, neighboring Fukushima Prefecture. 3,480 becquerels of radioactive cesium were detected in one kilogram of pasture grass collected on May 5th in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. The figure exceeds the state limit of 300 becquerels. Also, at two different locations in Nasushiobara City, 3,600 becquerels and 860 becquerels of radioactive cesium respectively were detected in one kilogram of pasture grass collected on May 3rd. Tochigi Prefecture requested farmers in the area where the radioactive substance was detected not to feed pasture grass to livestock. 1,110 becquerels of radioactive cesium were detected in one kilogram of parsley harvested in Ibaraki Prefecture. The figure is more than double the state limit. The parsley had been shipped to a fresh food market in Niigata Prefecture, west of Fukushima. Niigata prefectural government instructed wholesale distributers to stop selling the parsley. Friday, May 13, 2011 05:21 +0900 (JST)"

"* Govt to put about 5 trln yen ($62 bln) into compensation fund -lawmaker * Shareholders to be protected but dividend payment unlikely for 10 yrs -lawmaker * Tepco to post 1 trln yen annual net loss for year that ended Mar 31 -Nikkei * Tepco booking charges for scrapping reactors, tax asset writeoff -Nikkei (Adds Kyodo report on asset sale, streamlining) By Kiyoshi Takenaka and Taiga Uranaka TOKYO, May 11 (Reuters) - Japan's government is planning to inject about $62 billion into a fund to help Tokyo Electric Power compensate victims of the crisis at its nuclear plant and save Asia's largest utility from financial ruin. The scheme, set to be approved by the cabinet as early as Thursday, is designed to protect bondholders and will keep Tokyo Electric shares listed, although the utility will be forced to forgo dividend payments for several years, ruling party lawmakers briefed on the plan said on Wednesday. The plan is the result of weeks of wrangling among government officials, bankers and Tokyo Electric executives over who should foot the bill for the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and is leaking radiation."

"The levels of radiation accumulated in soil near the crippled nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan far exceeded the level of radiation the then-Soviet Union had used as a criterion for urging people to evacuate at the time of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, threatening to plague local residents for a lengthy period. Using aircraft, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology checked the cesium-137 (half life of about 30 years) and cesium-134 (half life of about two years) accumulated in soil in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy in April. Cesium-137 that has longer effects, ranging from 3 million to 14.7 million becquerels per square meter, was detected in Namie, Futaba, Minamisoma, Iitate and Katsurao, northwest of the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, in Fukushima Prefecture. The levels far exceeded 550,000 bacquerels per square meter, the level the then-Soviet Union had used as a criterion for urging people to evacuate at the time of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Based on recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the Japanese government used 20 millisieverts per year of radiation in the atmosphere as the criterion to designate evacuation areas in the wake of the nuclear accident in Fukushima. Therefore, there are areas that have not been designated as evacuation zones although they have larger amounts of accumulated radiation. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology says, "Radioactive substances in soil do not enter human bodies immediately." On the other hand, when authorities try to decide whether to allow local residents to return to their homes or resume farming, levels of soil contamination could be one of the hot topics of debate."