食品や環境の放射能を測定しているいわき市のＮＰＯ法人「いわき放射能市民測定室たらちね」（織田好孝理事長）は５日、楢葉町内の道路脇の土壌で、セシウム合算で１キログラム当たり５万ベクレル超の放射性物質を検出したとする調査結果を発表した。
土壌は町からの避難者で、東京電力協力企業の技術者だった安島琢郎さん（７５）らが今年６月に町内４カ所で採取した。同町上繁岡の生活道路脇の土壌で５万２５００ベクレル▽町営住宅近くの小学校の通学路脇で３万４７９０ベクレル▽寺院近くの生活道路脇で２万６４８０ベクレル▽中学校の通学路で８８５０ベクレルなどを検出したという。近辺の空間線量は０・３～０・７マイクロシーベルトと比較的低かったが、安島さんは「低線量でも健康被害は報告されている」「通学路になる場所の土壌が高濃度汚染されている」と町への帰還に懸念を示した。
「たらちね」の鈴木薫事務局長は「特に小さな子どもを持つ若い母親はこの現状では帰還をためらう。帰還する人としない人の間で住民同士のあつれきが生じる」と話した。
当サイト既出関連記事：
Japan’s dispute with South Korea over its import restrictions on Japanese seafood imposed after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster is now going to the World Trade Organization.Following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, South Korea banned imports of some marine products caught in waters off Fukushima and seven other prefectures, mainly areas along the Pacific coast between Aomori and Chiba prefectures. Then in autumn 2013, Seoul expanded the scope of the ban to include all marine products from these prefectures.
The Japanese government responded to the move by criticizing the measure for “lacking a scientific basis.”
Tokyo has been demanding that the measure be withdrawn while cooperating with Seoul’s investigations. But the two countries have failed to resolve their disagreements, and Japan has asked the WTO to set up a dispute-settlement panel comprising experts from third countries to rule over South Korea’s import ban.
[…]
The WTO tends to be regarded as dysfunctional because of the lack of progress in the global trade-liberalizing talks under its auspices. But the world trade watchdog has at least been performing its dispute-settling functions.
Japan has been making active use of the WTO’s ability to settle trade disputes.
Over the past several years, Tokyo has filed complaints with the WTO over China’s restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals and Ukraine’s emergency restrictions on automobile imports, for instance. These actions have produced certain positive results for Japan.
[…]
The South Korean government says it has expanded the import curbs in response to leaks of radiation-contaminated water from the Fukushima plant.
With the South Korean public deeply worried about food contaminated with radioactive materials, the step was aimed at preventing confusion among consumers in the country, according to Seoul.
The scope of the import restrictions and the means involved may be open to dispute. It should be noted, however, that in both South Korea and Japan, food safety from a scientific viewpoint doesn’t necessarily reassure consumers.
The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has been plagued by leaks of polluted water. Local fishermen have lodged protests every time such an incident occurs.
It must not be forgotten that every leak of contaminated water makes consumers even more unwilling to put their faith in the safety of products from the areas.
The only way to restore the public’s trust in the safety of food is to ensure there will be no more leaks of contaminated water nor any exacerbation of the nuclear accident. The food trade dispute with South Korea should serve as a reminder of the absolute need to achieve these most basic nuclear safety goals.
東京電力は７日、福島第１原発の「Ｋ排水路」で、放射性物質を含む汚染雨水が外洋に流出したと発表した。外洋に直接つながるＫ排水路は４月から雨水をポンプでくみ上げて港湾内に流しているが、大雨でくみ上げが間に合わなかった。疑い例を含め流出は６回目。流出量は不明。
東電はこれまで、ポンプのくみ上げ能力を上回る大雨で流れ出る可能性は年４～５回と説明していたが「短時間の豪雨で容量を超えるケースを想定していなかった」と釈明し、今後も流出が続く可能性を示唆した。
福島県は、県外避難者を対象に、内部被曝（ひばく）線量を測定する検査装置（ホールボディーカウンター）を搭載した移動式放射能測定車による無料の検査を、１１日から松江市、２５日から山口市で各４日間、実施する。
福島県が全国への避難者を対象にした検査の一環で、島根、山口両県での検査は初めて。島根県内は松江市内中原町の県職員会館で開く。
[…]両県以外に住む避難者も対象。福島県によると６月１１日現在、島根に７１人、山口に６９人が避難している。事前申し込みが必要。専用電話Ｔｅｌ０８０（５７４３）５８６７＝午前９時～午後５時。
全文を読む。
DAVID Cameron is poised to sign a landmark deal next month to allow China to build a prototype nuclear reactor in Bradwell, Essex – which would become the first Chinese-operated facility in the West.
The deal, part of a wide-ranging civil nuclear pact between Britain, France and China, may be sealed in October during the Chinese president’s state visit.
The plant is the price Beijing wants in return for its agreement to help pay for two new plants to be built by France’s EDF Energy – one at Hinkley Point in Somerset and the other at Sizewell, Suffolk.
EDF has admitted that Hinkley Point – Britain’s first atomic power station in almost two decades – is already facing delays.
[…]
However, the plans for the nuclear plant have stirred controversy because of the huge subsidies the Government has agreed to pay EDF and its Chinese partners – which will be tacked on to taxpayers’ household bills and pay out until 2060.The starting rate of £92.50 per megawatt hour of power produced is more than double the current wholesale rate and will rise every year with inflation.
A growing number of critics have begun to lobby against Hinkley Point.
Read more.
【パリ宮川裕章】フランス電力公社（ＥＤＦ）は、北西部フラマンビルで建設中の最新型原発ＥＰＲ（欧州加圧水型炉）の稼働開始時期を、トラブルなどのた め、現行予定の２０１７年から１年延期し、１８年末とする計画を発表した。電力需給への影響から、オランド大統領が脱原発依存政策の象徴として公約した東 部フッセンハイム原発の任期中の廃止が実現しない可能性が高まった。
フラマンビル原発のＥＰＲは、出力１６５万キロワットの大型炉で、航空機の墜落にも耐えられる安全構造などを売り物にし、０７年に着工した。だが、 仏原子力安全機関（ＡＳＮ）に原子炉の一部で欠陥が指摘されたほか、部品の落下事故などのトラブルが相次ぎ、１２年稼働開始予定だった工期をこれまでに３ 回延長。今回の４回目の延長計画で、建設費は当初見積もりの３０億ユーロ（約４０００億円）から３倍以上の１０５億ユーロに膨らんだ。
オランド大統領は１２年大統領選の公約に、老朽化が進むフッセンハイム原発を１７年５月の任期末までに廃止する方針を盛り込んでいた。今年７月に 採択されたエネルギー関連法案で、原発による電力の上限を現状維持水準に定めたため、１７年にＥＰＲが稼働すると、フッセンハイム原発の運転停止が事実 上、義務付けられる計算だった。だがＥＰＲの稼働開始延期で、電力不足への懸念を理由にフッセンハイム原発の存続を訴える野党・右派が勢いづく見通しで、 任期中の廃止が難しくなってきた。
続きはフランス：新型原発また稼働延期 ４度目 廃炉計画に影響
関連記事：
「脱原発をめざす首長会議」のメンバーで、高知県内の首長経験者らが高知市で５日記者会見し、四国電力伊方原発３号機（愛媛県伊方町）の再稼働について「高知県の首長が反対意見を積極的に表明することを求める」とするアピールを発表した。
アピールは高知県の自治体の首長経験者８人と、首長会議の世話人で茨城県東海村村長だった 村上達也 （むらかみ・たつや） 氏の連名で発表。原発の周辺自治体では有効な避難計画を立てられないと指摘し、「首長は災害時において住民の生命と財産を守る責務を有する」として、近く 高知県知事や県内の市町村長に提出する予定。
村上氏は会見で「全国的に、見せ掛けだけの避難計画を作ろうとしている」などと批判した。
Radiation levels in northeast town of Naraha deemed safe following decontamination
[…]
According to a government survey, however, 53 per cent of the evacuees from Naraha, which is 20 kilometres south of the nuclear plant, say they’re either not ready to return home permanently or are undecided. Some say they’ve found jobs elsewhere over the past few years, while others cite radiation concerns.
Naraha represents a test case, as most residents remain cautious amid lingering health concerns and a lack of infrastructure. In the once-abandoned town, a segment of a national railway is still out of service, with the tracks covered with grass. Some houses are falling down and wild boars roam around at night.
Only about 100 of the nearly 2,600 households have returned since a trial period began in April. Last year, the government lifted evacuation orders for parts of two nearby towns, but only about half of their former residents have returned.
[…]
No medical clinic
“Our clock started moving again,” he said during a ceremony held at a children’s park. “The lifting of the evacuation order is one key step, but this is just a start.”
Matsumoto said he hoped Naraha could set a good example of a recovering town for the other affected municipalities.
About 100,000 people from about 10 municipalities around the wrecked plant still cannot go home. The government hopes to lift all evacuation orders except for the most contaminated areas closest to the plant by March 2017 — a plan many evacuees criticize as an attempt to showcase Fukushima’s recovery ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Matsumoto said that fear of radiation and nuclear safety was still present, and that Naraha had a long way to go in its recovery. The town will be without a medical clinic until October, while a new prefectural hospital won’t be ready until February.
A grocery store started free delivery services in July, and a shopping centre will open next year. Still, many residents, especially those who don’t drive, face limited options for their daily necessities.
[…]
Toshiko Yokota, a 53-year-old homemaker who had to leave her Naraha house after the disaster, said Saturday that she came back to attend the ceremony and clean her home, and that she eventually wants to move back with her husband. Their house was damaged by rats, bugs and rainwater leaks in their absence, and still needs to be fully renovated, but she hopes to return in a few years.
“My friends are all in different places because of the nuclear accident, and the town doesn’t even look the same, but this is still my hometown and it really feels good to be back,” said Yokota, who currently lives in another town in Fukushima prefecture.
“I still feel uneasy about some things, like radiation levels and the lack of a medical facility,” she said. “In order to come back, I have to keep up my hope and stay healthy.”
Read more at Fukushima-area residents return home after 4½ years
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東京電力福島第一原子力発電所３号機で、使用済み燃料プールからがれきを撤去する作業中に重機から油が漏れ出してプールに流れ込み、東京電力は、油を回収するためプールの冷却を中断しています。現時点で水温は十分に低く、安全上の問題はないとしています。東京電力によりますと、３日午前８時すぎ、福島第一原発３号機の原子炉建屋の最上階にある使用済み燃料プールで、散乱したがれきの撤去作業を進めていたと ころ、がれきを切断する重機の油圧ホースが燃料プール内の部品に接触して油が漏れ出しました。重機を停止させたところ油漏れは止まったということですが、 東京電力は、漏れた油を回収するため、核燃料を冷やすための冷却水の循環を中断しています。プール内の核燃料は全部で５６６体ありますが、午前中 の測定で水温がおよそ２６度なのに対し、温度の上昇は１０時間で１度程度とみられ、運転上の上限としている６５度に比べて余裕があるとしています。また、 漏れた油も燃料プールに設けられたオイルフェンスの中にとどまっているため、ほかの設備への影響もないとしています。
A leading environmentalist says fish populations in the Connecticut River have rebounded after the shutdown of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant.
Rep. David Deen of Westminster is the Upper Valley River Steward for the Connecticut River Watershed Council.
Deen expected the health of the Connecticut River to improve following the closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant at the end of 2014. But he says he was shocked when fish counts were conducted this spring.
The number of American shad reached record levels, according to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Counts of all aquatic species also trended upward.
[…]
Deen and other environmentalists had argued that the hot water by the plant harmed shad and other fish.
Deen said the spring fish count for American Shad was more than 39,000, surpassing the previous record set in 1992 of about 37,000.
“This year’s fish count, in terms of American shad coming over the Vernon Dam, is an indicator of the resilience of nature,” he said. “If we simply leave natural systems alone, they will recover.”
Deen said it was too early to prove conclusively that the closing of the plant is directly leading to the higher fish counts. But he said the news was encouraging
Read more at Fish Stocks Rebound After Vermont Yankee Shutdown
A nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois. Taken by photographer Joseph Pobereskin (http://pobereskin.com).
