Hat tip legitgov.org
Breaking: Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake Strikes off Fukushima Region of Japan, Tsunami Warning Issued 25 Oct 2013 Magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes off Fukushima region of Japan, US Geological Service says. A tsunami warning has been issued. (Wires) [This story will be updated]
Radiation doubles to new high in Fukushima No. 1 plant water ditch 24 Oct 2013 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that radiation rose to a new record in water collected from a drainage ditch at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. Tepco said it detected a maximum of 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances, including strontium, from a water sample collected Wednesday from the ditch, which extends to the sea beyond the plant’s port. The figure is 2.3 times higher than the previous record of 59,000 becquerels detected in water sampled at the same location Tuesday, and was more than 11 times the previous day’s reading. The measurement location is about 600 meters from the open ocean and close to the storage tank that leaked some 300 tons of radioactive water in August. [And, not a peep from cable news! Apparently, 300 tons of radioactive water leaking into the sea doesn't rate as high as Obama's website glitches. --LRP]
Human rights experts rap U.N. report dismissing concerns about Fukushima radiation 25 Oct 2013 Human rights experts, including a U.N. special rapporteur, are criticizing a U.N. scientific report dismissing concerns about the effects of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster on the Japanese public. Speaking Thursday at an event organized by U.S. and Japanese nongovernmental groups, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to health Anand Grover took issue with the report’s conclusion that “there is nothing to worry about” for members of the public exposed to radiation from Fukushima No. 1. The report was prepared by the U.N. Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.
Japan Cabinet to OK state secrets bill to satisfy U.S. –New law would stiffen maximum penalty meted out to leakers 24 Oct 2013 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet is set to approve a controversial bill Friday to protect state secrets that stops short of fully guaranteeing the public’s right to know and freedom of the press. Critics fear the bill, which would next go to the Diet, gives the government too much power to control access to information. The bill imposes heavier punishments on leakers of classified information in an attempt to tighten security and thereby satisfy the U.S. and its allies concerned about what they see as destabilizing factors in Asia.