Sorry, but I am just not doing snippets tonight.

NHK...

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says a cesium absorption device that it has started testing is working well.

Tokyo Electric Power Company began using the US-made equipment early on Tuesday morning to process low-level radioactive water at its planned water treatment facility.

Suspending the work about 10 hours later to analyze the treated water, TEPCO found that levels of cesium-134 had been reduced to about one-2,900th, and cesium-137 to about one-3,300th.

More than 105,000 tons of highly radioactive water is building up within the plant, and the utility says it may run out of space to store it in about 2 weeks.

TEPCO also plans to begin using a French-made chemical agent for decontamination at the facility on Wednesday.

As the start of testing was delayed for 4 days due to a series of malfunctions, TEPCO says it will shorten the test-runs by one day, and begin treating highly radioactive water from Friday.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 19:58 +0900 (JST)
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(Whatever in hell THAT means!?)

The operator of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant says tiny amounts of plutonium have been detected in samples of soil in the plant's compound.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, announced on Tuesday that an independent research institution has analyzed soil samples taken on May 30th at 3 locations.

The utility said plutonium was detected in samples collected near a recreational ground 500 meters from the Number One reactor. Plutonium was also detected in samples from near a waste disposal facility, also 500 meters from the reactor.

The utility said all the amounts of the detected plutonium are too small to pose risk to human health.
This is the third time that plutonium has been detected in soil samples at the plant since the nuclear accident began on March 11th. TEPCO said the levels of plutonium detected within the compound following the accident were about the same as those detected in Japan after atmospheric nuclear tests carried out by foreign countries during the Cold War era.

The utility said the level of plutonium-238 detected near the recreational ground was 0.19 becquerels per kilogram and the figure is down from the 0.26 becquerels detected in April.

Once plutonium is taken into human lungs and other organs, it can stay in the body for a long period of time and carries the risk of causing cancer.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 22:35 +0900 (JST)
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NHK has learned that 16 prefectures in Japan have detected radioactive material in sludge since the crisis began at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March.

NHK has found through interviews that at least 22 of Japan's 47 prefectures have been testing sludge for radioactive material. 16 of them, ranging from Hokkaido to Osaka, have actually detected radioactive substances.

The level of radioactive cesium was highest in Fukushima city, at 447,000 becquerels per kilogram. This was followed by Tokyo at 55,000 becquerels and Maebashi, north of Tokyo, at 42,800 becquerels.

Rain-soaked soil containing radioactive substances has turned into contaminated sludge and is being stored at waste treatment plants.

Maebashi has designated area around its waste treatment plant a radiation danger zone, after radiation levels at 2 storage sites for incinerated sludge exceeded the government set-safety level.

Japan has had no safety guidelines for contaminated sludge, which is a new problem.

Last month, the government decided on an emergency measure to incinerate and store sludge that's been found to contain 100,000 becquerels or more of radioactive materials.

But the measure applies only within Fukushima Prefecture, prompting other prefectures and municipalities to demand that the government quickly set guidelines on how to handle contaminated sludge.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011 19:13 +0900 (JST)