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Local governments have been instructed to temporarily store their ash and dust at disposal sites until the panel reaches a conclusion. The ministry said it will ask the prefectures to continue monitoring radiation levels in the material. Incinerator ash containing cesium was detected at seven facilities in Fukushima Prefecture, the report said.

The Environment Ministry asked prefectures to monitor cesium levels after dust with 9,740 becquerels per kilogram was found at an incineration plant in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in June. Before that, the only prefectures that had collected and released such data were Gunma and Ibaraki. The other prefectures that took part in the survey were Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Saitama, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka.

The ministry said it will ask the prefectures to continue monitoring radiation levels in the material.

Incinerator ash containing cesium was detected at seven facilities in Fukushima Prefecture, the report said. The Environment Ministry asked prefectures to monitor cesium levels after dust with 9,740 becquerels per kilogram was found at an incineration plant in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward in June. Before that, the only prefectures that had collected and released such data were Gunma and Ibaraki. The other prefectures that took part in the survey were Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Saitama, Kanagawa, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka.

In the disaster-affected areas in Tohoku, the amount of debris from tsunami is simply too huge for the affected municipalities to process by themselves. The national government has requested the prefectures and municipalities not affected by the disaster to take the debris and process. Responding to the request, the Tokyo Metropolitan government has decided to accept the debris from Iwate Prefecture for 2 and a half years till March 2014, and will sign an agreement with the Iwate prefectural government on September 30.

As to the "safe" level of burying the radioactive ashes and debris, that's totally meaningless now that the Ministry of Environment has allowed the burial of just about anything, even the ashes that measures over 100,000 becquerels/kg of cesium, as long as there are measures in place at the processing facilities that will prevent the leakage.

The Tokyo Metropolitan government will conduct public bidding to decide which contractors will get to process (incinerate) the disaster debris before starting to accept debris from Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture starting next month. The debris will arrive in Tokyo in containers by rail. Radioactive materials will be measured when the debris are shipped, and when they are burned. After incineration, the ashes will be buried in the landfill beyond Aomi in Koto-ku.

The landfill beyond Aomi, Koto-ku is the same one in the Tokyo Bay that the Tokyo Metropolitan government has been dumping the radioactive ashes since May. (See my 9/13/2011 post.)

According to the government, the density of radioactive materials measured on the debris and in the ashes from burning the debris in Miyako City was lower than the national standard to allow burying. Outside Tohoku, Tokyo will be the first to accept the disaster debris from Tohoku. The Tokyo government plans to accept the total of about 500,000 tonnes of debris. The Metropolitan bureau of environment says "We want to contribute to the recovery and rebuilding of the disaster-affected areas".

Apparently, when the Tokyo Metropolitan government answered questions from the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on September 28, it was already a done deal. Assemblyman Hirofumi Yanagase, who has been active in alerting the citizens about dangerous radiation levels at sludge plants and waste incinerators in his district in Tokyo, fumes (link is in Japanese):"The government said during the question and answer session in the Assembly on September 28 that the details were still being worked out. But then less than half a day later they announced a concrete plan of accepting 1,000 tonnes of debris from Iwate Prefecture by the middle of November."

NHK also reports that the Tokyo will launch the campaign to invite the 2020 Summer Olympics to Tokyo but with the reduced budget, after the lavish and unsuccessful campaign by Governor Ishihara the last time (for 2016) was heavily criticized. Now Isihara says he will only use 7 billion yen (US$91.5 million) of taxpayers' money instead of 14 billion yen he spent the last time.

Oh and the national government now wants Tokyo and 7 other Prefectures in Kanto and Tohoku (Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba) to build intermediate storage facilities of highly contaminated soil in their own prefectures, according to Yomiuri Shinbun (9/28/2011). Half of Tohoku and most of Kanto are to have a nuclear waste dump, and Tokyo wants to invite Olympics

the sheer amount of radioactive rubble is proving difficult to process. The municipal government of Kashiwa, in Chiba Prefecture to the west and south of Tokyo, recently shut down one of its main incinerators, because it can’t store any more than the 200 metric tons of radioactive ash it already has that is too contaminated to bury in a landfill.

According to the California-based Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network (FFAN), burning Fukushima’s radioactive rubble is the worst possible way to deal with the problem. That’s because incinerating it releases much more radioactivity into the air, not only magnifying the contamination all over Japan but also sending it up into the jet stream. Once in the jet stream, the radioactive particles travel across the Northern Hemisphere, coming back down to earth with rain, snow, or other precipitation.

Radiation used to be a word that evoked serious concern in a lot of people. However, the nuclear industry and its supporters have done a masterful job in allaying public fears about it. They do this in significant part by relying on outdated and highly questionable data collected on Japanese atom bomb survivors, while at the same time ignoring and dismissing inconvenient but much more relevant evidence that shows the actual harmful effects of radiation exposure from nuclear accidents. Author Gayle Greene explains this well in a recent article here. In their attempt to win the public over to their viewpoint, nuclear proponents even trot out the dubious theory of radiation hormesis, which says that low doses of radiation are actually good for you, because they stimulate an immune response. Well, so does something that causes an allergic reaction. But I digress…

radioactive elements, also known as radioisotopes or radionuclides, are unstable atoms. They seek stability by giving off particles and energy—ionizing radiation—until the radioisotope becomes stable. This process occurs within the nucleus of the radioisotope, and the shedding of these particles and energy is commonly referred to as ‘‘nuclear disintegration.’’ Nuclear radiation expert Rosalie Bertell describes the release of energy in each disintegration as ‘‘an explosion on the microscopic level.” This process is known as the “decay chain,” and during their decay, most radioactive elements morph into yet other radioactive elements on their journey to becoming lighter, stable atoms at the end of the chain. Some of the morphed-into elements are much more dangerous than the original radioisotope, and the decay chain can take a very long time. This is the reason that radioactive contamination can last so long

different radioisotopes give off different kinds of radiation—alpha, beta, gamma, X ray, or neutron emissions—all of which behave differently. Alpha emitters, such as plutonium and radon, are intensely ionizing but don’t penetrate very far and generally can’t get through the dead layers of cells covering skin. But when they are inhaled from the air or ingested from radiation-contaminated food or water, they emit high-energy particles that can do serious damage to the cells of sensitive internal soft tissues and organs. The lighter, faster-moving beta particles can penetrate far more deeply than alpha particles, though sheets of metal and heavy clothing can block them. Beta particles are also very dangerous when inhaled or ingested. Strontium-90 and tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, are both beta emitters. Gamma radiation is a form of electromagnetic energy like X rays, and it passes through clothing and skin straight into the body. A one-inch shield of either lead or iron, or eight inches of concrete are needed to stop gamma rays, examples of which include cobalt-60 and cesium-137—one of the radionuclides of most concern in the Fukushima fallout

The behavior of radioisotopes out in the environment also varies depending on what they encounter. They can combine with one another or with stable chemicals to form molecules that may or may not dissolve in water. They can combine with solids, liquids, or gases at ordinary temperature and pressure. They may be able to enter into biochemical reactions, or they may be biologically inert.

In her book No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth, Bertell notes that if they enter the body either through air, food, water, or an open wound, “They may remain near the place of entry into the body or travel in the bloodstream or lymph fluid. They can be incorporated into the tissue or bone. They may remain in the body for minutes or hours or a lifetime.”

“Plutonium is biologically and chemically attracted to bone as is the naturally occurring radioactive chemical radium. However, plutonium clumps on the surface of bone, delivering a concentrated dose of alpha radiation to surrounding cells, whereas radium diffuses homogeneously in bone and thus has a lesser localized cell damage effect. This makes plutonium, because of the concentration, much more biologically toxic than a comparable amount of radium.”

the EPA was so confident that Fukushima fallout would not be a problem for U.S. citizens that it stopped its specific monitoring of fallout from Fukushima less than two months after the meltdowns began. But neglecting to monitor the fallout will not make it go away. In fact, another enormous problem with radioactive contamination is that it bioaccumulates in the environment, which means it concentrates as it moves up the food chain.

As a mater of fact, there is no proper filter in the facility of Tokyo Waterfront Recycle Power. They only have bug filter, which is useless to clean radioactive material. (Source) When the debris arrived at Tokyo, it people were banned to measure radiation around the container. Because of the wind from North, and this smoke from Tokyo Waterfront Recycle Power will contaminate Tokyo again.

The new policy was revealed during the meeting of experts affiliated with the Ministry of the Environment on August 27. So far, the Ministry's policy has been to allow the ashes with 8,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium and below to be buried, but require the ashes that exceed that level to be stored temporarily while the Ministry decides on the disposal method.

Under the new policy, if radioactive cesium in the ashes exceeds 8,000 becquerels/kg but does not exceed 100,000 becquerels/kg, the ashes are allowed to be buried after they are bound with cement or put in a concrete container. If radioactive cesium exceeds 100,000 becquerels, then the ashes should be buried in the disposal facilities with a roof and/or with the concrete shield.

Radioactive cesium exceeding 8,000 becquerels/kg has been detected from the ashes from burning the regular household garbage in Kanto and Tohoku regions. The Ministry of the Environment has decided to apply the same rule as the disaster debris and allow the ashes to be buried. The municipalities will be able to bury the ashes that they have stored temporarily, but it may be difficult to obtain consent from the residents living near the disposal facilities.

The number "100,000 becquerels/kg" is significant in a sense, as the highest level of radioactive cesium found from ashes after burning the household garbage is 95,300 becquerels/kg in Fukushima Prefecture (link in Japanese). The number is high enough to clear the Fukushima garbage ashes, and it is probably high enough to clear garbage ashes from anywhere else.

Besides, as the NHK article states, even if it exceeds 100,000 becquerels/kg, all they need to do is to bury it in a disposal site with a roof or the concrete shield. This new policy is to be applied to ashes from disaster debris and regular garbage that are radioactive. It's not mentioned in the article but the ashes and slag from the radioactive sewage sludge will be likely to be disposed under the same policy - i.e. burn and bury. (And remember the "mix and match" scheme.)

In the meantime, some garbage incinerators and sludge incinerators at waste processing plants and sewage treatment plants in cities in Kanto have become so radioactive that they have to be shut down. (More later.) The entire country is to become the nuclear waste disposal site, because of one wrecked nuclear power plant. Talk about socializing the cost.

The PM assistant and the current Minister in charge of the nuclear accident at Fukushima I Nuke Plant Goshi Hosono is going to announce the abolition of the "emergency evacuation-ready zone", because "the 1st step in TEPCO's "roadmap" has been mostly successfully implemented".

Fukushima Prefecture has announced it will shut down the official shelters within Fukushima, which will force the evacuees to go back to their own homes.

Minami-Soma City has issued a notice to all 32,000 city residents who have been living in the shelters, temporary housing outside Fukushima Prefecture that they must return to Minami-Soma, high radiation or not. (Mainichi Yamagata version, 7/12/2011)

The national government will spend 100 billion yen (US$1.26 billion) to observe the health of 2 million Fukushima residents for 30 years, instead of evacuating them ASAP. About 1600 yen (US$20) per year per resident. Life is cheap. Since the national government is utterly broke, it will be ultimately paid for by the taxpayers of Japan.Remember, Dr. Shunichi Yamashita will be the vice president of the Fukushima Medical University who will do the observation and research.

Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture found 47,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the ashes from the city's garbage incinerator, but the city simply mixed with other ashes with low radiation to bring the final number to 5,660 becquerels/kg. Since the final mixed ashes measured LOWER than the provisional limit for burying the ashes (8,000 becquerels/kg), the city already buried the ashes and will continue to do so. (Mainichi Chiba version, 7/13/2011)

On the other hand, Nagareyama City in Chiba Prefecture simply sent 30 tonnes of its radioactive ashes (27,000 becquerels/kg) from its incinerator by cargo train to Odate City in Akita Prefecture in Tohoku. Nagareyama City has a contract with a private waste disposal company in Odate City in Akita. This waste disposal company is not a nuclear waste disposal company; as far as I could tell from the description of the company, it is just a regular waste disposal company. (Sponichi, 7/12/2011)

By the way, Matsudo City in Chiba is simply doing what the Ministry of the Environment has decided - mix and match. If the garbage or debris is likely to exceed the 8,000 becquerels/kg limit, burn with other stuff and lower the number. If it's already in ashes, mix them up with lower radiation ashes. When the Ministry of the Environment decided this policy, the Minister was Ryu Matsumoto, who's now in hospital after resigning from his post as the Minister of Recovery and Reconstruction.

Miyako is located 260 km north of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, while Tokyo is roughly 220 km southwest of the plant.