Japan Plans Safety Review for Every Atomic Reactor

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Japan on Wednesday announced plans to probe how well each of its atomic energy facilities could stand up to significant environmental pressures, a new effort to alleviate the fear of nearby populations following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Jiji Press reported (see GSN, July 5).Wednesday, July 6, 2011The Fukushima plant's operator has struggled to prevent radioactive contaminants from escaping the six-reactor facility following a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan (Jiji Press, July 6). Multiple additional reactors in Japan have remained switched off amid fears of potential new crises, Reuters reported (Tsukimori/White, Reuters, July 6).

The "stress tests" would take place in addition to standard risk audits, Jiji Press quoted Japanese Industry Minister Banri Kaieda as saying.

"Although the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan has already been ensured, we will be doing the stress tests to have Japanese people feel safer," Kaieda said (Jiji Press).

Meanwhile, a trace amount of cesium 137 has turned up in Tokyo's public water supply, the Dow Jones Newswires reported on Monday.

A quantity drawn on Saturday had .14 becquerels per kilogram of the radioactive substance, down from the .21 becquerels found in a April 22 check, the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health said. Cesium 137 was the only contaminant seen in the fluid, the organization indicated.

Water containing as much as 100 becquerels per kilogram is considered reasonable for consumption by very young children (Hiroyuki Kachi, Dow Jones Newswires, July 4)