The following advice to Canadians in Japan has been compiled by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Japan and may be of interest to non-residents in Canada or others who are planning to visit Japan:
For official updates on the situation in Japan, please visit the Embassy of Canada to Japan website for the most up-to-date information. The Travel Report for Japan is continuously updated and is available here:
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=140000
Updates – The following are summaries of updates put out by sourced bodies. Links provided.
TEPCO Updates:
TEPCO releases roadmap to move from the ‘Emergency response phase’ to the ‘planned and stabilizing action phase’. The Roadmap will be monitored mainly by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. TEPCO will be responsible for the implementation of the Roadmap, including procurement of equipment and material. Under this roadmap, the Government hopes to be able to determine in 6 to 9 months whether those displaced will be able to return to their homes in the evacuation area.
The Roadmap is comprised of 2 steps:
Step 1: Restore cooling systems to reactors and spent fuel pools (3 month period)
Step 2: Control and curb radioactive emissions (3-6 months)
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11041707-e.html
TEPCO ordered to pay compensation to those forced to evacuate due to Fukushima nuclear incident. “Temporary Compensation” will be in the amount of ¥1 Million per household and ¥750,000 per individual’s household. TEPCO will establish the “Fukushima Nuclear Compensation Office” April 28th to act as the main contact point for compensation-related issues.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/11041501-e.html
TEPCO president noted Monday that the company will revise its overseas business strategy in light of the recent events in Japan. The original strategy included TEPCO spending between ¥800 Billion and ¥1 Trillion over the next 10 years in overseas activities including nuclear power projects.
Nikkei: http://e.nikkei.com/e/fr/tnks/Nni20110418D18JF390.htm
METI Updates
METI is providing daily updates in their ‘Overview of Damage Situation and METI Measures’ release. The updates provide information on the status of Electricity Supply and other critical services, as well as information on the current situation of the manufacturing industry based on production status by company.
http://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/overview/20110418_overview.pdf
Water related:
It is noted that both Cs-137 and I-131 concentrations being reported in drinking water in Japan would now meet the Canadian Guidelines on Drinking Water Quality which are the guidelines used across Canada as the basis for establishing the non-emergency drinking water quality requirements for people living in Canada. Taken from Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/updates/april-05-2011-japan-earthquake-japanese-water-food-and-the-environment.cfm
Only in a few prefectures, I-131 or Cs-137 is detectable in drinking water at very low levels. As of 16th April, one restriction for infants related to I-131 (100 Bq/l) is in place in a small scale water supply in a village of the Fukushima prefecture.
http://iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
For daily readings of radioactivity level in drinking water by prefecture visit here: http://www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/detail/1303986.htm
Air related:
Monitoring stations in Japan generally report low ambient dose rates with the exception of areas close to the reactor site. Overall, the ambient dose rates in and around Japan are either remaining constant or trending slightly downwards.http://www.nuclearsafety.gc.ca/eng/mediacentre/updates/april-05-2011-japan-earthquake-dose-rates-in-japan.cfm
For updated tables of radiation level readings by prefecture view this MEXT table: http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/04/18/1305097_041819.pdf
For detailed tables of radiation level readings by city/province in Canada, visit Health Canada’s Fixed Point Surveillance Network Data here:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/ed-ud/respond/nuclea/data-donnees-eng.php#ddrl_apr2011
Food related:
According to analysis done by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, results from food samples on various fruits, vegetables, seafood and raw milk, across 9 prefectures, 146 of 150 samples indicated that I-131, Cs-134 and/or Cs-137 were either not detected, or below the Japanese regulation levels. The 4 results above the regulatory levels were from 4 samples of shiitake mushrooms taken in Fukushima on April 14th,
IAEA: http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html
Earthquake/Aftershock related: According to the Japan Meteorological Agency since the initial 9.0 Magnitude Earthquake 3/11 to 4/18, Japan has received the following number of aftershocks:
423 Magnitude 5 or greater
72 Magnitude 6 or greater
5 Magnitude 7 or greater
As to Aftershock outlook, the Agency states there is a 10% possibility of a M7 or greater earthquake over the next 3 days.
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/2011_Earthquake.html
As a result of the 3/11 events, according to the National Police Agency, as of April 19th at 3pm;
– 13,985 people killed
– 13, 677 people missing
– 62,356 totally collapsed properties
– 24,976 partially collapsed properties.
For full details of the damage situation broken down by prefecture, visit here: http://www.npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/biki/higaijokyo_e.pdf
Electricity Related:
Number of households without electricity: approximately 150,000 households Blackout areas:
– Iwate Prefecture: some areas (approximately 29,000 households)
– Miyagi Prefecture: some areas (approximately 91,000 households)
– Fukushima Prefecture: some areas (approximately 35,000 households)
http://www.meti.go.jp/english/earthquake/overview/20110418_overview.pdf