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U.N. agency to aid Fukushima decontamination

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Is Mr Amano referring to the removal of radioactivity from the environment or just the surface removal of contamination from houses and roads? Just washing the walls of a house is not enough, the irradiated materials will will flow down to ground level and could leach into the ground. The only way to remove materials from the soil is to remove the top layer and either store that or subject the soil to a washing and filtering process. How is it possible to remove radiation from surrounding forests and mountains?

I wonder just how practical,safe or realistic it can really be to 'decomtaminate' ?

If it were the case wouldn't we see Russians living at Chernobyl or Germans being able to eat their wild pig after decades?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

If it were the case wouldn't we see Russians living at Chernobyl or Germans being able to eat their wild pig after decades?

Yeah but Japan has money

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

"Many activists and scientists have said the evacuation zone is not wide enough and does not account for unpredictable spread of fallout. The government has warned some areas near the plant may be uninhabitable for years."

That is what they need to focus on: stop further radiation from getting out and evacuating all area with elevated radiation.

It is utterly disgraceful that he IAEA (run by a Japanese of course) is giving FALSE HOPE to people saying they can decontaminate Fukushima. it's impossible. You still can't live in Chernobyl. Wake up people! Oh wait I forgot the "insensitive" people who say this are fired or dismissed from their jobs because it goes against the massive business deals planned for your tax money hat plan on stealing again with endless building projects a la 1990's style. Rebuild? At be sensible and avoid doing it where ther is radiation.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Hmm, it will be interesting to see if TEPCO and J-Govt actually allow outside agencies to go into the area.

The lawyers definitely want to control information. If we can get outside agencies to report the radiation levels TEPCOs lawyers will have a hard time disputing the evidence. I'm sure anybody going into that area will be asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Now if they refuse the support and lets say claim "This is our problem, we'll clean it up" then right then and there you should know, they don't want anybody to know exactly what's going on. Instead they'll control all the data and information.

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Btw, they will never be able to remove the affected 500 plus tonnes a day of water flowing directly I to the reactors. The ground table water will be affected for several hundred thousand years. Plutonium has a 24,000 yr half life, and it, strontium and everything else a reactor produces is in the ground water. Hey avoided that at Chernobyl. The Japanese are living in fantasy world if they the corrupt IAEA can fix that! Don't believe any of it.

2 ( +2 / -1 )

About time the UN stepped in.

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we can provide confidence and credibility,

But can you provide the truth and the honesty along with it?

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Wow, all these "experts" here who know for a cold, hard, fact that it is impossible to attempt to clean up an area the size of a prefecture. For those of you citing Chernobyl as proof of your claims, how much effort did the Soviet Union put into cleaning up the area? (Hint, they were already out of cash and it was only five years later that the Soviet Union was dissolving.) The only thing I can find on their "clean-up" was that they tossed all the most radioactive things into the reactor before sealing the whole thing up in a "sarcophagus". All their irradiated vehicles used when battling the disaster are still parked near the reactor in nice neat rows and leeching irradiated iron oxide.

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Decontamination is going to be a long process, some areas maybe too HOT to decontaminate right now Like the Hot spot found in Daiichi that was over 10 millisieverts.

The last segment of this documentary [http://bit.ly/mTiWOZ] is about a village near Chernobyl, the decontamination and how they live with the radiation

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Fadamor,

We would all love for decontamination to happen, but as Gorbechev cleary says such a feat was impossible with Chernobyl was a large area and even though they tried, it wasbeyond ANYONE'S ability. Fukushima is a huge forest area and, unlike Chernobyl, the groundwater is affected in tonnes beyond imagination.

It's not about money. Btw, The Russians "spared no expense" and had an unlimited budget for Chernobyl. Dont believe me, listen to Gorbechov speak before you make such statements.

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Look up Russian "liquidators" and the several hundred thousand men operation that tried to do what the Japanese know is impossible. Japan didn't and cannot make plutonium and strontium disappear from the groundwater; it will just get worse.

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Finally, a return on Japan's investment in the U.N. The USA and Japan pay most the expenses that the U.N. has. It is in the financial budget for the U.N. It is good to know that the victims in Fukushima MAY have some assistance.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Noriyosan@

The same US that refused to pay its UN fees for years? Ha, lol. Way off the mark, mate.

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Back on topic please.

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noriyosan73: Very true! Japan does indeed throw a lot of money at the UN... instead of dealing with the problems. Money aid, until March 11th where it now seems FOOD aid to poor nations, was a way of 'dealing while not getting involved'. It IS nice the UN is getting involved in this matter, since it's clear Japan can't deal with it on its own, but the question is how much Japan will actually let the UN in on and help with. My guess is they'll allow ground crew in to try and clean up waste several kilometers from the plant, but won't let any inspectors near the actual plant.

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The UN gets involved. Ha! When has it solved any problems?

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Some people are confused- Chernobyl is in Ukraine. People do live in Chernobyl.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

http://www.safecast.org

Real readings from real people. Educate yourself. The life you save may be your own.

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