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High levels of cesium found in tanks at 18 Yokohama schools

8 Comments

The Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education said Friday that high levels of radioactive cesium had been found in tanks at 18 schools in Yokohama.

According to the board, 44 schools in the city use rainwater for flushing toilets. The rainwater is first stored in underground tanks.

Between last November and December, the city checked the sludge in the underground tanks and found radioactive cesium measuring more than 8,000 becquerels per kilogram at 18 schools.

A junior high school in Tsurumi Ward measured 16,800 becquerels, which was the highest level of cesium found in the schools.

Yokohama city officials said they are going to stop recycling rainwater for toilets from now.

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8 Comments
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Does this mean that some students and faculty members sprayed their butts with contaminated water? o.O

1 ( +1 / -0 )

While it may or may not have a direct influence on the students' bodies, it does show how radiation has fallen over Yokohama, south of Tokyo, (so also over a wider area by implication) and how it has managed to accumulate unseen to a surprising degree over a single year.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Any correlation between this rain water and using the toilets at those schools, like cancer?? How much radiation is too much?? MORE INFO pleez!!

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

How much radiation is too much??

One particle is too much. Radioactive Caesium does not exist naturally on planet Earth.

The only thing missing from the article is the phrase "no immediate health risks".

2 ( +4 / -2 )

It becoming maddening this constant discovery of radioactive materials, when will the sheep rise up.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

And where else is radiation lurking? Why is it so prevelant in Yokohama? Where is it coming from?

What are the plans to store this waste?

There just aren't any answers forthcoming concerning this are there!?

At the same time we are being told that Japanese food is safe and that we should even visit Tohoku?

It would be fine if radiation were harmless but it isn't-it is deadly!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Yokohama has been more often a place for these kind of news... Has someone tried to explain why (government or anyone)? Or do other cities do less checks? Or don't make them public? How do these news impact people in Yokohama? Do people even get to the hear the news? There's a lot of unanswerd heavy stuff in these happenings. It's good stopping to use the water, but this isn't solving the problem isn't it? Like kurisupisu said, what's the plan to handle all the waste piling up everywhere? Seems like an impossible task... Would be kind of ok if we could wait to find a solution, but all the while the radioactive stuff is active...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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