TEPCO: Melted fuel eroded containment vessel floor at Fukushima reactor2011/12/02
The No. 1 reactor building of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Most of the fuel rods that melted in the pressure vessel of the No. 1 reactor of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant dripped into the containment vessel and ate into it, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Cesium-137 deposits 50 times more than previous record
TSUKUBA, Ibaraki Prefecture--Nearly 30,000 becquerels per square meter of cesium-137 fell on Tsukuba in March as a result of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the government's Meteorological Research Institute said Dec. 1.
The amount was 50 times higher than the previous record level of 550 becquerels, which was measured in Tokyo in 1963 and was the result of deposits from atmospheric nuclear tests.
The MRI, affiliated with the Japan Meteorological Agency, said the cesium-137 deposits in Tsukuba in April fell to less than one-tenth the March level, and by summer fell further to several tens of becquerels per square meter, approximately the same levels found in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident, researchers said.
"It may take decades for the figures to come down to levels before the Fukushima accident," said Yasuhito Igarashi, a laboratory head at the MRI's Atmospheric Environment and Applied Meteorology Research Department.
Meanwhile, analysis of seawater collected in April and May found that radioactive substances spewed by the stricken Fukushima No. 1 plant fell over broad areas in the North Pacific. Fallout was also detected near the West Coast of the United States.
The research institute estimated that the Fukushima plant discharged at least 3,500 trillion becquerels each of cesium-137 and cesium-134 into the ocean. It forecast that the radioactive material will spread east across the North Pacific on surface ocean current before drifting southwest on deeper ocean currents. Part of the radioactive materials carried by mid-depth ocean currents will return to seas near Japan's coast in 20-30 years, the scientists said.
"Continual surveys are necessary across all areas of the North Pacific," said Michio Aoyama, a laboratory head at the MRI's Geochemical Research Department.
The MRI has been engaged in radioactivity measurements since 1954.
On March 31, the budget for fiscal 2011, which was to start the next day, was abruptly frozen, and the researchers were told to suspend the measurements. The latest findings are a fruit of efforts by scientists who ignored that order and continued with the measurements.
In meltdown, Japan dodged even bigger disaster
It turned out that the disaster at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant was much worse than was first thought. After last spring's tsunami, one reactor suffered a meltdown. CBS News correspondent Lucy Craft details how close it came to burning into the earth.
Recently, reporters got their first look at the devastation left in the wake of the accident, with heavily reinforced buildings torn to shreds after a series of meltdowns and explosions, But as CBS News found out this week, the damage was even worse: Rector 1 almost had a full meltdown.
A new report revealed that molten nuclear fuel burned through the 8-foot concrete walls of the first protective casing surrounding the reactor's core, and then ate 3/4 of the way through the second casing.
The meltdown stopped within a foot of the container's steel bottom, 25 feet above the earth's surface.
Masanori Naitoh is a nuclear engineer who has reviewed the plant's findings. "It was a close call," he said. "The meltdown may have been even worse. But we can say the containment held."
Video: Fukushima: A look inside with reporters
Japan faces years of food contamination fears
Video: Radiation threats linger over Japan's food supply
Held, according to the report, because of the huge efforts to dump a continuous flood of seawater on the reactors to cool the nuclear cores. If it had burned through, it would have contaminated the ground water and the soil. No one knows how far it would have spread.
One man who experienced the accident firsthand was Yukio Takayama, a veteran firefighter who was sent to Fukushima six days after the accident.
He said: "It reminded me of a haunted house -- total silence, billowing smoke, eerie. With fires, you can feel the heat or smell the gas. At Fukushima, it was all the more frightening, because the danger was invisible."
So far, he has no signs of radiation poisoning. Nor do any of the other 32 members of his squad. But at the time, they weren't sure they'd come back alive. And they didn't believe the government's assurances.
"The TV was saying, there was no meltdown, no radiation leaks, nothing to worry about," Takayama recalled. "But when you saw the damage, you knew this was no ordinary accident."
The plant's operator says it is on schedule for a "cold shutdown" by the end of this year -- that's when fuel has cooled enough to no longer pose a threat. But it's a long process. Dismantling the reactor and cleaning up the plant could take 30 years.
波恩國際阿富汗會議旨在發出積極信號
柏林定於下週一（12月5日）召開的波恩國際阿富汗會議旨在為國際社會長期支持該國製定大政方針。這是繼2001年後，在德國波恩召開的第二次阿富汗問題國際會議。德國聯邦政府發言人塞貝特（Steffen Seibert）週五（12月2日）在柏林表示，會議的主要議題之一是2014年底國際部隊全部撤離後阿富汗的發展。 90多個國家的代表將出席會議。為凸顯此次會議的重要意義，聯邦德國總理默克爾將同聯合國秘書長潘基文和阿富汗總統卡爾扎伊一起主持開幕式。作為東道主，德國政府仍繼續做出努力，說服巴基斯坦參加會議。德國外長韋斯特韋勒承認，如果作為阿富汗重要鄰邦的巴基斯坦缺席，意味著地區和平努力的"挫折"。
日本將繼續出口核技術
東京雖然發生福島核災難，日本仍將出口核技術。據該國媒體報導，野田佳彥首相週五（12月2日）在議會一個委員會上作證時表示，日本將繼續在和平利用核能的前提下向其他國家出口核技術。儘管本國民眾對核電安全有強烈擔憂，日本國會仍將於本月批准同約旦、俄羅斯、韓國和越南等國家之間的雙邊和平利用核技術合作協定，從而為日本企業出口核技術奠定法律基礎。同這四個國家之間的相關合作協定是在福島核災難前簽訂的。
中國副外長：我們的錢並非用來救歐洲
北京據路透社報導，在同債務危機的鬥爭中，歐元區國家不能指望擁有3.2萬億美元外匯儲備的中國會出大氣力拯救它們。中國副外長傅瑩週五（12月2日）在題為"新形勢下的中歐關係"的論壇上發言指出，關於中國應拯救歐洲的要求並不成熟，在中國如何使用其外匯儲備方面，歐洲人或許有誤會。傅瑩在講話中雖未斷然排除中國使用部分外匯用於更具目的性措施的可能性，但明確指出，中國不會大量動用本國資金，用於幫助歐元國家。作為當今全球第一大外匯儲備國的中國，外匯儲備量約值2.3萬億歐元，其中一大部分以現金方式儲備，用以應對國內緊急情況；另一大部分用以長期投資。如果中方大量出售這部分儲備，有可能引發國際金融市場動盪。根據專家的估計，中國動用外匯儲備的活動空間約在每年1000億美元上下。
一名前僧侶在西藏自焚
北京據德新社報導，出於對北京統治西藏的抗議，一名前藏族僧侶在昌都自焚。據流亡藏人組織和美國自由亞洲電台週五（12月2日）報導，46歲的前噶瑪寺僧侶丹增平措（Tensin Phuntsog）昨天點火自焚。自焚前，他曾散發傳單、呼喊口號。在場的警察撲滅了他身上的火焰，並將已被嚴重燒傷的他送往醫院治療。今年10月26日，噶瑪寺所在的昌都地區的一個政府機構前發生炸彈爆炸事件。從那以來，噶瑪寺受到警方嚴密監控。丹增平措成為今年以來藏族地區自焚抗議的第12人，同時是在西藏本地自焚的第一人。北京當局指控流亡藏人組織策動了自焚行動，但遭到這些組織的駁斥。美國國務院近日對中國境內一再發生藏人自焚抗議事件表示關注，並指出，自焚行為清晰地顯示了行為者對中國國內藏族人權、宗教自由遭受嚴重侵犯的害怕和絕望。
上海發生千人罷工事件
上海據法新社報導，因抗議裁員，上海一家電子工廠一千多名職工進行罷工。據總部位於美國的人權組織“中國勞工觀察”週五（12月2日）通報，罷工已進入第二天。在同警方的衝突中，有多名工人受傷。該廠隸屬新加坡的電子集團公司“赫比國際（Hi-P International）”。該廠新近裁員千人，原因是，生產線將遷至毗鄰的蘇州。中國勞工觀察指出，罷工者指出，他們在沒有接到任何預告的情況下就失去了工作，並且沒有獲得恰當賠償。中國國內近來罷工事件越來越頻繁，勞工自我意識增強，對雇主提出更高要求。雇主方面則苦於金融危機導致的成本增加、出口減少等問題。上個月，廣東一家工廠的7000名僱員罷工，抗議削減薪水和裁員，並與警方發生衝突。該廠生產阿迪達斯斯和耐克等品牌產品。
日本大規模核污染清理意見兩極Japan Split on Hope for Vast Radiati...
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