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Evacuation zone widened beyond 20 kms from nuclear plant

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About 3,400 cows, 31,000 pigs and 630,000 chickens were left in the zone, according to government figures, though most were assumed to have died by now.

Whether they have died of radiation poisoning - or more likely of starvation and lack of water - it was an awful way to go. The Russians at least sent the troops in to shoot all the animals and pets in their 30km Chernobyl zone. It would have been humane if the Self-Defence Forces did the same here.

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BurakuminDes

The SDF were probably (hopefully?) all busy working to help the tsunami/earthquake victims. I feel bad for the animals, but in this situation I think the priorities were pretty clear.

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The Soviets used 600, that is six hundred THOUSAND personnel, ubiquitously known as the Chernobyl liquidators, against the monster that was released in the Ukraine. That's prioritizing.

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It does seem very unfair - people should be given a way to get their valuables and essential back with them. Who's going to pay for replacements?

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"people who enter the zone will now be subject to fines of up to 100,000 yen or possible detention for up to 30 days."

This does not bode well for all of the volunteer groups who are attempting to get access to the area to rescue pets.

If only the fiasco that occurred after Katrina with respect to pets that were left behind became a lesson to the rest of the world, then maybe the pets that everyone is responsible for would have a better chance.

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Maria. They will get access at a later stage, same as the guys and families did when the Volcano blew up on that one Island and everyone was evacuated.

I reckon the animals that survived so far will continue to do so.

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Zenny:

" I reckon the animals that survived so far will continue to do so. "

Not the animals that are chained or locked in.

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WilliB.

Agree but how long they been chained and/or locked in? RIP to those.

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The Soviets used 600, that is six hundred THOUSAND personnel, ubiquitously known as the Chernobyl liquidators, against the monster that was released in the Ukraine. That's prioritizing.

How can the SDF send 600,000 troops if their max number of troops is under 250,000? From what I heard, they sent 100,000, with is nearly half of their troops. I could agree with sending a lot more though, but then you'd have to feed all those extra troops when instead all of that food could be going to the evac centres....

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Does this radius extend out to sea? I saw in the paper today that the initial release of highly-toxic water by TEPCO was 20,000 times the annual limit. A fact they just admitted to yesterday. Now I know the Pacific is a big ocean, but 20,000 times the annual limit is pretty big too.

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"ate Thursday, with the deadline approaching for the area to be sealed off, evacuees ventured into the evacuation zone, some in white protective suits and others in face masks and rain gear they hoped would protect against radiation."

Ummm... these are going to do much against anything except maybe radioactive dust or particles in the water. It's not going to stop rays.

Maria: "It does seem very unfair - people should be given a way to get their valuables and essential back with them. Who's going to pay for replacements?"

It's not fair... not one iota... but the point isn't whether they SHOULD be allowed in or not, it's a matter of safety; the threat's not going to go away whether it's fair or not. What should be done, and I admit that this would take a LOT of time and effort, is that people or families are chosen and allowed to enter, accompanied by military/TEPCO personnel and allowed to collect things, provided that they agree to wear the appropriate protective gear. Of course they will also have to be compensated, but I guess the amount won't come to near the amount that they've lost -- let alone it won't give them back their personal valuables.

As for the animals... man this is just awful. There should indeed have been military allowed in to put the animals down (as a last resort).

Zenny11: Some pets, like cats and maybe dogs, can survive longer assuming that they aren't getting fatal doses of radiation, as they could eventually eat other animals (when they got really hungry), but there's no way livestock would survive for very long, and even the pets would almost all die. Extremely sad, all around.

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Early Friday, the government sealed off a wide area around the nuclear power plant to prevent tens of thousands of residents from sneaking back to the homes they quickly evacuated, some with little more than a credit card and the clothes on their backs.

This is disgusting. What right does the government have to prevent people from entering their own homes. If I were one of the people in these areas, I'd sue the government for the full value of everything I owned. What an outrage. Even the language is disgusting -- "sneaking"? No, not sneaking. People were returning to the private property that they owned.

Fearing they might not see their homes again for months, evacuees raced into the deserted towns Thursday before the ban took effect to grab whatever belongings they could cram into their cars.

This is even more disgusting. What were people without cars, such as the visually impaired, to do? They were limited to what they could cram into their pockets?

If any person thinks it's worth it to them to secure their possessions even if it means exposing themselves to radiation briefly, that's nobody's decision but the resident's. Not the government's! Even if a resident wants to stay in their home until they die, that's their right as a human being.

Shame on whoever made this wrong-headed human-rights-trampling decision.

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The exclusion or evacuation zone just keeps on getting larger. Where and when will it stop? It's got a life of its own.

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@ ThonTaddeo If those private possessions are radioactive, the Government should protect the public from contamination. It's crazy that they've been able to enter the zone for the past month.

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elderly people who cannot move

What? why cant they move? No ambulances available or is this place so retarded they havent worked out how to move elderly people around in an emergency?

Beggars believe sometimes what goes on here.

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I hate this, Japan hates being told what to do, when the ICAE came in they recommend this but Japan did nothing about it, 3 weeks later...

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AND for the LOVE of it, will the government STOP saying, 'It isn't bad for your health immediately...'

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The J Govt an TEPCO, need to really understand that being truly honest about the catasrophic situation is not a bad thing.....transparency of information will save lives.... now and in the future.....the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still crippled and there making plans to rebuild in Aomori prefecture.....

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You cannot trust those running the show. I made my plan and left Tokyo on 03/14. I knew from the get-go that they were not going to be upfront about what is going on and the magnitude of it. They will suffer their fate over this in the near future. The people of Japan will not easily forgive this.

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It's a stupid way to boil water. It really is. Those storage pools, no info on those for weeks. Are they dry? Are they covered because we know for damn sure there's no roof over them. Tell the truth. Clear. Concise. Now.

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Splitting the atom changed everything except man's mode of thinking. The Government has to tell as it is: All radiation is damaging, it is cumulative and increases your risk of cancer.

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It's still perfectly safe.

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Just in case any of you want to do some more reading on the topic, please check out NukeFree.org Yes. They are an anti-nuke group but there are lots of interesting articles on the site. Is updated often every day.

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Koriyamaboy, sorry if you are in Koriyama, Fukushima. What's it like there now (that is if you are still in the city)?

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Where will these new homeless go? The government is only worried about their "image". Wonders what the real reason for the "evacuation"? There is more to this story than pumps not working, much more. There is a basic flaw that is being covered up. So we have more people would will be homeless, jobless; bet the bank still wants their mortgage money. The government has done a lousy job at taking care of it citizens as usual. Nothing never really changes in Japan.

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YongYang:

" It's a stupid way to boil water. "

You want a real stupid way to boil water? Think windmill.

" Those storage pools, no info on those for weeks. Are they dry? Are they covered because we know for damn sure there's no roof over them. Tell the truth. Clear. Concise. Now. "

If you paid any attention, you would know all this. The status of the plant is being reported constantly.

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ExportExpert, maybe they do not want to leave. The increased risk for cancer is for the young. A lot of these people will not live long enough to die from cancer. They are at a increased risk of dying from "living" in a shelter. So I wonder how many people will leave or will the government send in the troops and force them out? History keeps repeating itself, over and over again. What will happen if they can never return? My guess is they will be forgotten in the long run. Shikata ga nai

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On March 30, TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata told a news conference that the company will decommission four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But he did not make clear on how to handle the remaining two reactors. .......................

Gotta love TEPCO's samurai spirit, never give up . Now the question is who's going to supervise the daily operation of the 2 reactors (assuming they are actually saved )? fully automate the plant? remote control ? what ?

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@WB. No and no again. Stop your bluster and post calmly.

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