Fukushima 4 Years On (update 3/10/15)

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• published: 11 Mar 2015
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Japan Marks 4th Anniversary of 3/11 Disaster Mar. 10, 2015 - Updated 14:46 UTC-4 People in Japan are observing the 4th anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country's northeast on March 11th, 2011. The magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered waves more than 10 meters high. The tsunami caused extensive damage along the Pacific Coast. Police say about 18,500 people were killed or went missing. At least 3,200 others died while evacuating from their homes. The government says nearly 230,000 people were still living in temporary housing as of February. It plans to build about 30,000 public housing units, but only 19 percent of them have been completed so far. Dismantling the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is the biggest burden for the nation. Workers with the Tokyo Electric Power Company are struggling to deal with a buildup of radioactive water at the complex. TEPCO executives had planned to clean up the tainted water by the end of March, but they say they will not be able to keep to this schedule. Authorities estimate it will take up to 40 years to decommission the plant. There are concerns about possible delays. The most difficult task will be removing the molten nuclear fuel. The central and local governments plan to complete the decontamination work for mainly residential areas by March 2017. But the survivors fear that public interest in the issue may wane over time. ~~~~~ Prime Minister Abe "committed" to REBUILDING the devestated North Eastern portion of Japan in Spite of the Radioactive Contamination and Shortage of Storage. ~~~~~ Nuclear Energy Agency in Japan Calling for "More Transparency" of TEPCO. ~~~~~ Anti-Nuclear Protests bursting in Japan ~~~~~ Shop owners face dilemmas in North Eastern Japan. Must avoid more liquifaction (sinking of the land) and continue dealing with radioactive fallout. ~~~~~ The Debate over a Possible Nuclear Deal with Iran Reaches a New Level in Washington DC. ~~~~~ http://enenews.com/ Headlines: Latest Headlines: Video: Fukushima had “meltdown, melt-through, & melt-out within days of quake” — US Gov’t: Analysis says containment vessel fails after fuel melts through barrier — Experts: Corium may have melted out to reactor building, prepare for radiation doses over 200,000,000 microsieverts/hour UCLA Researchers: Fukushima “not only affecting that local area, but also worldwide” — Gov’t Expert: “Immediately the Iodine-131 plume moved eastward reaching US West Coast [then] covering entire northern hemisphere… Significant concern on the safety of the population and environment worldwide” (VIDEO) Gov’t: It’s getting “even worse” on West Coast this year — Experts say over 35,000 baby sea lions could be dead; “This phenomenon is unprecedented in scale” — Hundreds of times more pups than usual at rescue center — Doctor: “Definitely indicates ocean not normal… Really, we should be worried” (AUDIO) Report: Fukushima fallout detected in U.S. fish — Dose equal to samples caught 100 miles from plant — Persistently high levels detected in marine life offshore “not anticipated… orders of magnitude” more than expected — “Measurements needed… along predicted plume trajectory” TV: “Radioactive cover-up” at Fukushima — Experts believe “other sources of contamination” are flowing into ocean — Emergency hearing with plant officials — “TEPCO decided long ago there was no need to monitor” the water with high-level radioactive materials (VIDEO) US Gov’t: Radioactive material from reactors is 2 billion times more toxic than industrial poisons — Harm caused by nuclear disaster “greater than for any work of man” other than atomic bomb — Top Expert: Radiation “like explosions going off in cell… blows hole in DNA” (VIDEO) Officials ‘Alarmed’ at Press Conference on Dam with Nuclear Plants Downstream: ‘Movement’ in foundation 100s of feet underground; Rock dissolving — “Sinkhole is indication of bigger problem” — “Urgency of issue is obvious” — Examining “every possible type of failure” (VIDEO) ‘Absolute Shock’: Nuclear waste on roof of Fukushima reactor flowing directly in ocean — Officials kept secret for past year & did nothing to stop it — Coming from highly radioactive debris on top of Unit 2; Gundersen: Reactor pressures got so high “it blew top off” — Amount of leakage ‘unknown’ — “Fallout far from over… International fury rising” (VIDEO) FOX L.A.: “Dead sea lions litter Malibu beaches, families shocked… WARNING: Graphic Images” Nuclear Engineer: New video appears to show molten corium that melted out of Fukushima reactor — “Some of it is still oozing” —