Tokyo Soil – Blanketed With Fukushima Radiation – Would Be Considered “Radioactive Waste” In the United States

Tokyo Soil – Blanketed With Fukushima Radiation – Would Be Considered “Radioactive Waste” In the United States [5]

We noted in August that some parts of Tokyo have more radiation [6] than existed in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zones. And see this [7] and this [8].

There are indications that radiation levels are increasing [9] in Tokyo.

Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen took 5 random soil samples in Tokyo recently, and found that all 5 were so radioactive that they would be considered radioactive waste in the United States, which would have to be specially disposed of at a facility in Texas:

Indeed, shortly after the earthquake, U.S. government officials notes widespread contamination throughout northern Japan, including Tokyo, and said [13]:

Entire region would be required to be posted as radiological area.

No wonder the potential evacuation of Tokyo [14] has been quietly discussed by Japanese officials ever since the earthquake hit.

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Tepco: Less Than 2 Feet of Water Left in Fukushima Reactor [15]

NHK reports [16] today that only 60 centimeters – or 23.62 inches – of water still cover the number 2 reactor:

Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has found that the cooling water in one of the damaged reactors at Fukushima is only 60 centimeters deep, far lower than previously thought.

 

The utility confirmed the water level by inserting an endoscope into the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Monday.

 

TEPCO had thought that the water level was about 3 meters [i.e. almost 10 feet - 5 times as high as actually exists]. It has been injecting nearly 9 tons of water per hour into the reactor to cool the melted fuel that has fallen to the bottom of the containment vessel.

 

But the shallow level indicates that the water continues to leak into the reactor building through the suppression chambers under the vessel.

 

***

 

The low level suggests that decommissioning the reactor could be much more difficult. The operator may need to repair more parts of the containment vessel so it can be filled with water to block the strong radiation.

 

The No. 2 reactor’s containment vessel is believed to have been damaged on March 15th with the sudden loss of pressure inside the reactor.

There are other troubling data coming from unit 4. For example, hydrogen levels within the reactor have increased 500% [17] in the last two weeks.

Temperatures have also fluctuated fairly dramatically [18] within reactor 2 in recent weeks.

DID FUKUSHIMA MELTDOWN 30 YEARS AGO?

We assume the following is just a bad translation or ambiguious statement.  German speakers: Please let us know...

We've previously noted that governments have been covering up nuclear meltdowns for 50 years to protect the nuclear power industry [19].

This month, German state television broadcaster ZDF [20] (which has previously interviewed workers at Fukushima [21]) ran a special [22] on Fukushima which - according to a Youtube translation - claims:

A new investigation discovered that the electricity company TEPCO has been falsifying documents for decades, has hushed up serious incidents, including a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima that was concealed for 30 years.

Here is a screenshot from the English subtitles (viewable by clicking "CC" at the bottom of the Youtube video):

[23]
We assume that this is a mistranslation of German into English or - if it is not a mistranslation - that the concealment for 30 years is referring to a "serious incident" other than a meltdown.

We would appreciate it if a fluent German speaker could verify the translation of the phrase "a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima that was concealed for 30 years", and - if accurate - any information about what is actually being referenced.