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nine-tenths of the country which suffered no damage at all, that strength appears to have gone missing. Japan as a whole is suffering a kind of nervous breakdown. In towns nowhere near the tsunami zone, normal life has effectively stopped, with offices and shops closed, pavements empty and factory production lines silent. The only cars on the streets are queuing for petrol.

Even before the disaster, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan was dogged by cabinet resignations, leadership plots and a 20 per cent approval rating. His government still appears paralysed.And there is, of course, another problem large enough to poleaxe a better man than Mr Kan. Some 150 miles north of Tokyo, the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is leaking radiation in quantities which the government admits could have an impact on human health.

The morale meltdown is, in fact, another symptom of government failure: an immediate failure to be clear and upfront about the risks, and a longer-term failure to behave trustworthily over nuclear power.

TOKYO — Nuclear workers at the crippled Fukushima power plant raced to inject boric acid into the plant’s No. 2 reactor early Wednesday after telltale radioactive elements were detected there, and the plant’s owner admitted for the first time that fuel deep inside three stricken plants was probably continuing to experience bursts of fission.

The unexpected bursts — something akin to flare-ups after a major fire — are extremely unlikely to presage a large-scale nuclear reaction with the resulting large-scale production of heat and radiation. But they threaten to increase the amount of dangerous radioactive elements leaking from the complex and complicate cleanup efforts, raising startling questions about how much remains uncertain at the plant, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. The Japanese government has said that it aims to bring the reactors to a stable state known as a “cold shutdown” by the end of the year.

On Wednesday, the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, said that measurements of gas from inside Reactor No. 2 indicated the presence of radioactive xenon and other substances that could be the byproduct of nuclear fission. The presence of xenon 135 in particular, which has a half-life of just nine hours, seemed to indicate that fission took place very recently.

Officials at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have detected a radioactive gas associated with fission that could indicate a problem at one of its reactors. They are injecting boric acid as a precautionary measure. Gas from inside the reactor indicated the presence of radioactive Xenon, which could be the byproduct of unexpected nuclear fission. The boric acid -- used to control nuclear reactions -- was being injected Tuesday through a cooling pipe as a countermeasure, although it was not clear if fission had occurred. The Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, said there was no rise in the reactor's temperature, pressure or radiation levels. Hiroyuki Imari, a spokesman with the Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency, said the detection of the gas was not believed to indicate a major problem.

Nuclear accidents could threaten not only the livelihoods and health of people living nearby but also relations between food producers and consumers. Victims of the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis are not only residents near the crippled nuclear plant who have been forced to evacuate from their affected neighborhoods. My news coverage of the contamination of foods with radioactive substances leaking from the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has uncovered that the crisis has fundamentally damaged mutual trust between local food producers including farmers and consumers. It came to light on July 8 that some beef was contaminated with radioactive cesium. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government examined beef from cows shipped from Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, and detected cesium in excess of the permissible level.

The number of beef cows confirmed to have been tainted with the radioactive material sharply increased. Furthermore, it was learned that some meat from these cows had already been shipped to various areas across the country and even consumed. The source of the cesium has turned out to be rice straw that had been given to the animals as feed. A notice that the national government had sent to livestock farmers following the nuclear accident made no mention to the possibility that rice straw could be contaminated with radioactive materials from the plant. In late September, I visited a farmer that had shipped the rice straw, only to be turned back just as I expected. A neighbor said the farmer used an in-house power generator to maintain his barn and constantly look after the cattle, while most local residents had fled the neighborhood and the delivery of daily necessities and supplies necessary for farming had been suspended. Nonetheless, he was criticized by some news organizations for being primarily responsible for the contamination of beef.

While banners and stickers saying, "Hang in there, Fukushima!" are spotted across the country, numerous harmful rumors on Fukushima products can be found online. There are many rumors that are discriminatory to Fukushima and other messages slandering Fukushima people on the Internet. However, Minamisoma farmers should definitely not be blamed for the contamination. Rather, they are victims of the nuclear crisis, just like consumers who are sensitive about invisible radiation. I have still been unable to find the right answer on what and how I should report to help restore the mutual trust between producers and consumers. (By Eisuke Inoue, Tokyo City News Department)

The nuclear energy industry will continue to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as it considers forthcoming recommendations of an agency task force on new procedures and regulations in light of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi.  We have undertaken significant work in the past 90 days to examine our facilities and take the steps necessary to enhance safety.  We will continue to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to understand any potential gaps in safety and fill those gaps. Prompted by the Fukushima accident, the NRC staff has been developing recommendations to enhance safety at America’s reactors. The task force is expected to release its report to the NRC commissioners within the next week. In their interim reports, NRC officials have emphasized that issues identified during the recent inspections will not impede the facilities’ ability to maintain safety even in the face of extreme events.

These NRC’s inspections complement industry efforts begun within days of the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Each of the nation’s 104 nuclear energy facilities has been subjected to a comprehensive verification of preparedness to maintain safety during a severe event, regardless of the cause. As a result of these self-inspections, facility operators have made immediate enhancements or developed plans to enhance safety. The vast majority of the items identified by the industry are enhancements to safety measures already in place.

The NRC has also made clear that issues identified during its post-Fukushima inspections at each plant do not undermine any facility’s ability to respond to extreme events. This conclusion is based upon exemplary levels of safe operation and the multiple layers of protection that exist at each nuclear energy facility in the country.   Moreover, in its annual reports to Congress, the NRC has listed only one “abnormal occurrence” over the past decade—an incident nine years ago that did not result in the release of radiation. Over the last 10 years, the NRC has not identified any negative trends in safety at America’s nuclear facilities. In the wake of the tragedy in Japan, Americans are concerned about whether U.S. reactors face the same risks.  The fact is, American nuclear facilities are subject to more regulatory scrutiny and requirements than in any other country.  American nuclear energy facilities are equipped and employees are trained to manage severe events. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the industry has made significant improvements in physical structures and emergency response capabilities.

The Robinson plant remains offline. The 719-megawatt plant was the first commercial nuclear reactor in the Southeast and has been producing electricity since 1971. The plant shut down early Oct. 8 because of an electrical problem in one of the reactor coolant pump motors. Inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission returned to the plant Oct. 12. NRC spokesman Roger Hannah said in an earlier report that a team of inspectors is examining the operation of the pumps that supply water to the steam generators. Robinson shut down in September after a control problem with one of the plant’s turbines, about three months after the plant re-opened. Two electrical system fires led to a nearly four-month shutdown of the plant, which re-opened in July. Those fires and a reactor shutdown March 28 did not adversely affect public health or safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in June. Conditions did not rise to a level that threatened plant safety during the fires, and no measurable radiation was released from the plant’s reactor.

NRC inspectors did find some shortcomings in equipment, training, operator response and performance and some other areas agency officials said would require additional NRC review. The plant’s reactor remained shut down until the NRC completed most of its additional reviews, officials said. The initial fire resulted from a malfunction in a cable and circuit breaker, NRC’s Region II Branch Chief Robert Haag said. The NRC originally dispatched a three-person special inspection team to the Robinson plant in response to the fires, but further review pointed to the need for additional inspection, the agency said. An Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) is formed by the NRC to review particularly significant events or issues at NRC-licensed facilities, and the Robinson AIT included members of the original inspection team as well as five additional inspectors.

Haag led the Robinson AIT and said the response was adequate and the fire protection system responded as it was designed. Duncan, the plant’s new leader, has been with Progress Energy and predecessor Carolina Power & Light since 1980. He served in positions of increasing responsibility at the company’s Harris (N.C.) and Robinson nuclear plants before assuming his current role at the company’s headquarters in Raleigh in 2008.

(Reuters) - Japanese utilities will largely avoid power shortages this winter despite prolonged reactor shutdowns amid public concerns over nuclear safety, but hurdles remain for next summer, the government said on Tuesday.

It also unveiled ways to bridge the gap next summer, when peak-hour demand is expected to exceed supply by 16,560 megawatts, compared with the biggest gap this winter of 2,530 MW in one area, if no reactors restart by then.

Utilities plan to secure additional fossil-fuel capacity of 4,090 MW by next summer, but other plans depend on how far policy initiatives, such as fiscal spending, can encourage energy conservation and the use of solar and wind power, leaving the risk of rolling blackouts.

Waste water discharged into Tokyo Bay from a cement plant has been found to contain radioactive cesium at much higher levels than the government-set limit for disposal. The plant in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, uses ash from incinerators in the prefecture to produce cement. The Chiba government says the plant operator checked waste water discharged from the plant into Tokyo Bay once in September and once in October. It found radioactive cesium at levels of 1,103 becquerels per kilogram, and 1,054 becquerels per kilogram respectively. The levels are 14 to 15 times higher than the limit set by the country's Nuclear Safety Commission. The water had been used to clean filters which remove toxic materials from ashes. The operator stopped discharging the waste water on Wednesday. The prefectural government has launched a survey of the seawater of Tokyo Bay

China is facing increasing safety risks from its nuclear power plants as existing facilities age and a large number of new reactors go into operation, the country's environmental minister said in comments published on Wednesday. "The safety standards of China's early-phase nuclear facilities are relatively low, operation times are long, some facilities are obsolete and the safety risks are increasing," said Zhou Shengxian in a speech published on the website of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (www.npc.gov.cn).Zhou told legislators that the scale and pace of nuclear construction had accelerated, a larger range of technologies had been introduced, and potential sources of radiation had become more widespread, making it harder to monitor safety.China has 13 nuclear reactors in operation and another 28 under construction, but it has suspended all new project approvals in the wake of the tsunami in northeast Japan, which left the Fukushima Daiichi reactor on the brink of meltdown.

After the suspension, Beijing launched a nationwide inspection of all nuclear sites, including reactors already operating and those under construction, and is drawing up comprehensive new industry guidelines.The government originally planned to increase capacity to more than 80 gigawatts by 2020, up from 10.9 gigawatts at the end of last year, but disquiet about safety in the wake of Fukushima disaster has forced it to revise its plans.Experts have expressed concern about the use of old second-generation reactor designs, a lack of qualified safety and operational staff, and construction of nuclear plants in earthquake and flood-prone regions in the country's interior.Zhou said the country was steadily improving its nuclear safety monitoring system and its ability to decommission and control pollution at aging nuclear facilities.

The government had already built 31 sites for radioactive waste storage and had gradually brought "high-risk" radioactive sources under control, but large amounts of material were still in urgent need of treatment and disposal, he said.

THE nuclear company Sellafield Ltd was today fined £75,000 after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety law after two contractors inhaled radioactive contamination.

Sellafield could become a deadly weapon, capable of contaminating Irish people with cancer, warns Aine O'ConnorIN THE Eighties the world worried about the possibility of nuclear war. The deployment of nuclear weapons was at its height, relations between the superpowers at their worst. All things nuclear posed a threat and as a by-product, Sellafield became a household name.

We learned that the Irish Sea was the most radioactive in the world, that mutated fish had been found in it, that there were serious health concerns in Co Louth and that an accident at Sellafield would have serious repercussions for our health.

The Norwegian Government is also considering legal action since radioactive pollution from the plant has been found along the Norwegian coastline as far north as the Arctic.

Radioactive waste from Sellafield has been found in Scottish farmed salmon sold in major British supermarkets. Tests commissioned by Greenpeace revealed traces of radioactive waste in packets of fresh and smoked salmon. The tests, conducted independently by Southampton University's oceanography centre, found low levels Technetium-99 (Tc-99) in farmed Scottish salmon sold at Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Safeway, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer. Tc-99 is a byproduct of Magnox fuel reprocessing. Dr David Santillo, a scientist at Greenpeace's research laboratories at Exeter University, said: "Tc-99 should not be there at all. It is inexplicable yet significant. Scottish salmon is marketed as something that comes from a pristine environment."