(CBS/AP) TOKYO – Fukushima prefecture (state) has opened its first beach to swimmers since last year’s nuclear disaster after judging the water to be safe.
About 1,000 people on Monday descended on Nakoso beach, about 40 miles south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, where three reactors melted down after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
The opening was celebrated with beach volleyball games and hula dancers from a nearby spa.
Iwaki city official Joji Kimura says negligible radiation was detected in water at the beach. Airborne radiation was measured at 0.08 microsieverts per hour, far below dangerous levels.
Swimming had been banned at all beaches in Fukushima prefecture (state) since last March’s disaster.
The beach was reopened as tens of thousands of people rallied at a Tokyo park Monday demanding that Japan abandon nuclear power as the country prepares to restart another reactor shut down after last year’s tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant.
Continue reading at Beach reopens near Fukushima, epicenter of Japan’s post-tsunami nuclear crisis
