Who could have thought to prepare for something so obvious?
Highly radioactive cesium was detected in sewage sludge and molten slag–a sandy substance created by incinerating sewage sludge–at sewage treatment facilities in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, the Fukushima prefectural government said.
Airborne radiation levels around the facilities were also significantly higher than in other areas of the city. The prefectural government said May 1 it is determining if radioactive substances generated by incinerating the sewage sludge could have spread from the facilities.
Results of an inspection conducted April 30 by the prefectural government showed 26,400 becquerels and 334,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium (the latter of which is about 1,400 times the level before the Great East Japan Earthquake) were found in sewage sludge and molten slag, respectively, at wastewater treatment facilities in the Hiwada area of Koriyama.
Since there are no guidelines established by the central government for disposing of highly radioactive sewage sludge, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was scheduled May 2 to discuss with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency how to handle the radioactive sludge.
Soil containing radioactive materials up to 1,000 times the normal level were found from the bottom of the sea near the nuclear plant, TEPCO’s Matsumoto said on Tuesday.
My aunt had a saying, “What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t feel.”