(Update) Summary of Japan's Reactor Status and The Rebuild Costs

IAEA Update Briefing on Fukushima Nuclear Accident

28 April 2011, 18:00 UTC

Presentation:
→ Summary of Reactor Status

1. Current situation

     Overall, the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains very serious, but there are signs of recovery in some functions, such as electrical power and instrumentation.

2. Changes to Fukushima Daiichi plant status

     The IAEA receives information from various official sources in Japan through the Japanese national competent authority, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA). Additional detail is provided in the IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) status summary with information received by 17:00 UTC on 27 April 2011.

3. Management of on-site contaminated water

     According to the 25 April evaluation by NISA of the report submitted by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), there is a little less than 70,000 tonnes of stagnant water with high level radioactivity in the basement of the turbine buildings of Units 1, 2 and 3.

Teenage Binge Drinkers in Western World

Binge Drinking

Alcohol is the most widely used recreational drug in Australia. Because of its popularity, people don't tend to think of it as a drug, or even realise that it can be harmful. But alcohol is the largest cause of drug-related deaths among Australian teenagers.

According to a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in 1998 alcohol was the cause of 814 deaths and 25,207 hospital admissions for people between the age of 15 and 34.

• What is binge drinking?

(Update) Japan's Emperor Made His First Trip to The Disaster Zone

TOKYO, April 14th: Japan's widely respected emperor made his first visit Thursday to the disaster zone devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, kneeling on mats to commiserate with survivors who bowed in gratitude and wiped away tears.


    Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited two evacuation shelters Thursday in Asahi city, where they spoke quietly with evacuees sitting on mats in the community centers that have become their temporary homes.
Asahi, about 86 kilometers (54 miles) east of Tokyo near the Pacific coast, is one of the southernmost areas to be heavily affected by the March 11 natural disasters, which killed up to 26,000 people and also set off a crisis of radiation leaks at a flooded nuclear plant.

    

(Update) Japan Changes in Public Attitude Towards Nuclear Power

      Explosions in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan have created active protest against nuclear energy in Western Europe and Estonian economy and coruscations minister Juhan Parts said that the Estonian government will also have to take into account the change of public opinion, LETA/National Broadcasting reports.

Building a nuclear power plant is in the election programme of the leading Reform Party, and Pro Patria and Res Publica Party (PRU) programme also prescribes corresponding studies.

“We have to take into account the public opinion and it is clear that what is seen on TV affects public opinion,” said Parts (PRU).

Non profit organisation Estonian Nuclear Power Plant CEO Kalev Kallemets (Reform Party) said that most likely the governmental and Riigikogu cannot focus on that field of energy fully this year. “Most likely thorough studies and explanation work has to be done before such a decision can be made,” he noted.