Archive for April, 2011

Beer Shortage – Kirin Halts Production of Several Drinks

If you like any of the above-pictured drinks, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. Kirin has announced that it will have to halt production of those beverages :

The decision was made because Kirin’s Sendai factory suffered considerable damage from the March 11th earthquake. There is also a shortage of aluminum cans.

List of Kirin Beer drinks that will stop production:

• キリン クラシックラガー
• 淡麗ダブル
• キリンゼロ〈生〉
• キリン 円熟
• キリン ストロングセブン
• キリン コクの時間〈贅沢麦〉
• キリン 本格〈辛口麦〉
• キリン 濃い味〈糖質０（ゼロ）〉
• キリン 休む日のAlc.0.00％

Asahi Beer is also having similar problems. It has announced a temporary halt to the production of its “Strong Off” drinks.

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Fukushima Worker: Protective Suits Tear Easily

A worker who had been participating in the clean up of radioactive water in reactor #1 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant talks about his concerns regarding the protective suits that workers wear:

While the suits do provide some protection against radiation, they are apparently made of paper. If the suit were to get caught on something, it can tear very easily.

Some of the suits are also being disposed of in an improper manner:

The Tamura city government received a report from a citizen on April 6 that the suits were abandoned at a site along National Highway Route 288.

Government officials found 10 suits, masks and gloves discarded on the ground that day. Two more suits were found disposed of April 12 and on Friday, respectively, at the same location. The government checked the amount of radioactivity and detected radioactive emissions at a level of about 4,000 counts per minute from one of the suits.

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City Apologizes After Fukushima Evacuees Face Discrimination

The government of Tsukuba City in Ibaraki prefecture has apologized after it faced strong criticism for a “discriminatory” policy that asked evacuees from Fukushima to undergo radiation checks or provide certificates that they were free of radioactive substances:

This week Tsukuba officials including Mayor Kenichi Ichihara apologized for the measure, scrapped last week, saying it was intended solely as a safety precaution for the evacuees themselves. But a government minister described such steps as “heartless,” the issue of possible discrimination against victims of radiation carrying stark echoes of what happened for survivors of World War II’s atomic bombings, known as “hibakusha.”

Between March 17 and April 11, Tsukuba, population 200,000, city insurance and fire offices asked those relocating from towns close to the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to submit proof that they had been screened for potential radioactive substances clinging to their hair, clothes and body before given clearance to permanently move to Tsukuba. The measure was scrapped after Ibaraki Prefecture said it received complaints from a displaced survivor looking to move to the area.

“We feel very sorry,” said Koichi Iida, a city official. “We did not mean it as an act of discrimination.” Tsukuba Mayor Ichihara said the intention was misunderstood and apologized for the confusion at a news conference Tuesday. He said it was never an enforced rule and was applied out of consideration for the well being of the Fukushima evacuees to ensure they were safely free of radioactive substances. But he conceded it was also a means to assuage concerns among residents who worried unchecked residents could infect others with radiation — although such transfer is not possible.

The radiation checks may have been instituted to ensure the safety of evacuees, but such a policy could also reinforce public misconceptions about evacuees being able to spread radiation as if it were some kind of communicable disease.

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Cowardly Japanese Soldier Steals Truck & Drives Away From Fukushima

A Japanese soldier has been arrested in Tokyo after abandoning his post near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant:

The 32-year-old man was a Self-Defense Forces NCO in charge of coordinating communications between units carrying out radioactive decontamination work in Fukushima. Instead of fulfilling his duties, he stole a GSDF truck and fled. At some point, he ditched the truck and switched to a stolen civilian vehicle.

When questioned by military police, the man said he ran away because he was afraid of radiation.

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Fukushima Danger Decreasing: U.S. Marine Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Will Leave Japan

On April 10th, I posted about the presence of the United States Marine Corps’ Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) in Japan.

A couple days ago, it was announced that the unit will be returning to America:

The unit had made itself available to provide assistance to the Japanese military in the event of a serious catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It now looks like there is a very slim chance of any escalation of the nuclear accident, so the CBIRF will not need to remain in Japan.

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Radioactive Iodine Found in Breast Milk

A citizen’s group has conducted radiation tests on breast milk from several women living near Fukushima. A few of the samples contained iodine-131, but all would be deemed safe by Japanese, American, and European standards:

The samples of around 120 to 130 milliliters each were offered by nine women in Chiba, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures on March 24 and 30. The group had them analyzed at a private-sector radiation measurement company.

According to the group, milk from a woman in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, contained 31.8 becquerels of radioactive iodine, but the second test for her showed a lower reading of 8.5 becquerels.*

Milk from two women in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, contained 8.7 and 6.4 becquerels.

Meanwhile, no radioactive iodine was detected in the breast milk of four women in the city of Fukushima, the town of Tanakura in Fukushima Prefecture, Shiroishi in Miyagi Prefecture and Tsukubamirai in Ibaraki Prefecture.

The group said breast milk from a woman in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, was still being analyzed.

It is a very good thing that citizen groups are working to verify the Japanese government’s claims about radiation safety.

For reference, here are safety limits for radioactive iodine in baby milk:

• Japanese Government: 100 becquerel per kilogram
• European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom): 150 becquerel per kilogram (for baby food)
• United States (FDA): 55 becquerel per kilogram (“level of concern” for baby food)

Note: Kyodo’s English translation leaves out the exact unit of measurement, which is becquerel per kilogram.

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