Analysis of the disaster that stuck Japan on March 11 reveals and that caused multiple worries concerning radiation from nuclear plants reveals a positive conclusion that can prove to be a source of relief for most of the parties involved.

It appears that the levels of radiations have not reached high levels that could greatly impact the health of the population. A study that was conducted between March and June led by Ikuo Kashiwakura and it showed the fact that the levels were low to non-existent in the majority of cases and that only 10 people among those tested have had high levels of contamination. Even so, neither of them required decontamination.

While the findings are encouraging the monitorization for long term effects will not stop and the population will definitely be constantly evaluated for potential risk in terms of long term health. Still, the findings are quite reassuring.

A panel which was tasked to investigate the nuclear disaster in Japan following the devastating tsunami earlier in the year, has released the interim report of its findings. The panel was created by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and one of its prime tasks was to determine how many hydrogen blasts took place and at which reactors. The panel was also tasked to identify if the disaster was made worse by technical flaws.

After the investigation, the panel wrote that there was no hydrogen blast at Plant 2. TEPCO announced in March that there has been an explosion at the Fukushima Plant 2. The company announced that the blast took place on the 15^th of March, four days after the deadly tsunami.

However the report identified that the explosion that was heard on that particular day did not come from Plant 2 but rather Plant 4. Contrary to what has been entered into several official documents in Japan, four hydrogen explosions did not take place after the tsunami. Though several exploding sounds were heard, officials say data at the Fukushima reactors revealed that there were only three hydrogen explosions.

The document is currently not official because an independent third party team has not verified it. The company plans to get the report audited before it can be released to the public. Details of the report has however been made public through a press briefing by the panel.

The panel identified that the first hydrogen explosion took place just a day after the tsunami struck. The report said Plant 1 was the first to explode because of pressure build-up inside. On the 12^th of March, the report says the first hydrogen explosion took place at the reactor. Two days later on the morning of the 14^th of March, the report says the second explosion took place at Reactor No. 3.

On the 15^th of March, a double explosion was heard and TEPCO announced then that there have been hydrogen explosions in Reactors 2 and 4 but the report says the explosion only took place in Reactor 4. There was no explosion in Reactor 2 as it was earlier announced, the report says.

Though the report identified that some damage might have been done to Reactor 2 the panel failed to give further details on that.

Another highlight of the report is the exoneration of TEPCO of any wrongdoing. The panel says the massive nature of the tsunami made it almost impossible for the company to handle the catastrophe that it brought in its wake. The report argued that no one was in the position to predict what would happen if a disaster of such scale occurs.

The 11^th of March quake is one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of Japan. The quake was triggered by a massive 9.1 quake that flattened several houses in the coastal part of the country. The rescue mission was compounded by the damage that the tsunami did to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. The cooling system of the plant became unresponsive and the temperature in the reactors kept rising. Multiple blasts in the plant sent radiation into the sky and that hampered the rescue efforts.

The TEPCO fact-finding committee was put together on the 11^th of June to come out with what actually happened at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. The panel is made up of TEPCO officials and the company plans to get the report audited by a third party before its planned release to the public in November.

The third party verification committee is made up of seven members and will be led by University of Tokyo’s professor emeritus Genki Yagawa.

TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was heavily damaged by the earthquake and tsunami back in March, is now building a tent to cover one of the most damaged nuclear reactors.

The reactors at the plant are still at high risk of leaking radiation, and the tent will offer some protection from any future explosions or leaks. Any current radiation leaking will also be contained within the tent.

The tent will go over reactor #1, which sustained heavy damage and whose outer building had been decimated due to an explosion on March 12th.

The tent construction began last week, when conditions were deemed safe enough for workers to begin construction in the area of the reactor.

The tent that will house reactor #1 is made of polyester that is airtight. The tent will be over 50 meters tall and nearly 50 meters in length. A metal frame will secure the tent to a foundation.

Earlier this month, extremely high levels of radiation were detected near the air ducts and ventilation areas. The area was sealed off and no work was allowed in the area.

Officials say that if the first tent is successful in limiting radiation leakage, tents will also be constructed over the other reactors.

The tent is scheduled to be up by the end of next month.

Early morning on Sunday, local time, a quake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale hit the Fukushima prefecture. The quake was centered about 60 miles south/southeast of Fukushima City.

There were no reports of major damage. Also, no tsunami warning was issued.

Officials say that aftershocks continue in the region with often multiple 4.0 or higher aftershocks felt each day.

Area fire and rescue organizations say that 7 people were hurt during the latest quake, 1 person in Sendai, 2 people in Koriyama, and another 4 people from Ibaraki prefecture.

Officials at the Fukushima nuclear plant say the nuclear plant sustained no new damage from today’s quake.

New Concerns About Radiation Exposure Limits

New concerns have been raised over the safety of workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant. The old exposure limit of 100 millisieverts was raised to 250 millisieverts.

A new report about nuclear plant workers who were exposed to less than 100 millisieverts of radiation, there are documented cases of at least 10 who have or had cancer or a form of cancer.

In recent reports, a number of workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant have been said to be exposed to more than 250 millisieverts.

Massive Fly Problem

In communities destroyed or damaged by the March 11th tsunami, flies are becoming a big problem. Swarms of flies are irritating residents who struggle to cleanup and rebuild their communities.

The fly problem stems from the massive amounts of debris, wreckage and dead fish still littering the damaged coastal communities.

In mid July, testing was done in several coastal communities, to see how bad the fly problem was. In the hard-hit city of Rikuzentakata, over 300 flies were caught in a trap within a span of just 20 minutes. In the devastated city of Kesennuma, the numbers were ten times that.

TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, has announced that they have restarted a crucial cooling system for cooling the damaged reactors. The move will also help the company to avoid dumping any additional radiated water into the nearby ocean.

An adviser to Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said it was “a giant step forward” towards getting the nuclear crisis under control.

The move was hailed as “a giant step forward” by Goshi Hosono, an adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The adviser said that the development will ultimately solve the contaminated water problem, and also begin to stabilize the cooling of the reactors.

Several of the reactors at the plant melted down or partially melted down in the hours and days after the massive March 11th quake and tsunami that caused extensive damage to the plant.

TEPCO says they hope to bring the plant to full stabilization by the beginning of 2012.

The new system installed de-contaminates radioactive water, then re-uses it to cool the reactors. The system uses French and American technology to treat the water, and it is estimated that the system can handle about 1200 tons of water each day.

Currently, over 100,000 tons of contaminated water is being stored at the plant. In April, overflow of contaminated water was released into the Pacific Ocean to make room for storage of highly radioactive water.

In other Tohoku earthquake related news, the earthquake has prompted Japan’s already earthquake aware residents to seek safer housing options. Some Tokyo residents are considering moving away from Tokyo Bay and into apartments, condos or homes that have the most stringent earthquake standards. Many families are choosing to build their own homes, with flexible steel frames and fuel cell energy options installed, and opting to forgo purely aesthetic options for improved safety.

Pearl S. Buck’s, The Big Wave, Captures Japanese Attention

A novel by American early 20th century author, Pearl S. Buck, called The Big Wave, has captivated Japanese readers. The novel, about a young boy who sees his family swept away by a tsunami wave, and follows his journey through grief and recovery, has struck a chord with Japanese readers. The publishing company that owns the rights to the book, has published several editions and is printing more to reach demand. The book is said to be both comforting and informative for tsunami survivors.

The damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan is still leaking radiation, but despite the obvious dangers to workers at the plant, there is no shortage of people willing to work there.

Many workers are living off-site, in the town of Iwaki-Yumoto. The town, a favorite vacation destination because of it’s hot springs, hosts hundreds of workers that have come from all over Japan to work at the plant. Each morning, the workers are picked up by bus and taken to the plant to complete their shifts.

Some of the workers have previously worked at the plant, while others have come from as far as 600 miles away only recently. Construction workers, metal workers, people who have worked at other nuclear plants and in other major industries have come to help contain the radiation danger. Many workers have lost their homes to the tsunami. Some feel they are too old to find any other type of job.

Workers are frequently checked for radiation, and each has a dosimeter on them to keep track of their levels. However, workers are still aware of the possibility of another explosion at any time, due to the unstable reactors.

Japanese officials today doubled their previous estimate as to how much radiation has escaped from the plant in recent months. The Japanese government also said that an extension of the exclusion zone around the plant will likely be enlarged. Currently, nearly 90,000 residents have been forced to evacuate in the exclusion zone.

The organization, The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has said that they believe the radiation released has been estimated at about 770 thousand (770000) terabecquerels just during the week after the March 11th quake and tsunami damaged the plant.

Earlier estimates noted the radiation released to be about 370 thousand terabecquerels.

In addition to the revised estimates, agency officials stated that they believe that reactors 1 and 2 melted faster than TEPCO had previously stated.

Concerns about workers at the plant and their work conditions have risen in recent weeks, with multiple incidents of exhaustion, heat exhaustion and dehydration.

Out of concern for workers and the overall welfare and safety of Japan, a band of retirees, many over 70 years old have volunteered to take over work duties at the plant.

Japanese Green Tea Banned

In other news related to the nuclear disaster, the Japanese government has banned the shipment and sale of green tea that has been growing in several prefectures near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This was after testing on samples of tea leaves came up high in cesium, a radioactive element released from the plant, and higher than the legally allowed level. Green tea in prefectures banned include Ibaraki, Chiba, Tochigi and Kanagawa.

Radioactive Rubble

Japan’s Environment Ministry has announced plans to allow the incineration of rubble and possible burying of rubble underground, that may be high in radiation. The plans are designed to speed up the removal and disposal of debris associated with the disaster.

Government officials estimate that there will be over 23 million tons of debris that needs to be removed from coastal areas that were decimated by the disaster, in order to facilitate any rebuilding that will take place.