Radioactive materials found in seawater near Japan nuke plant

Radioactive materials have been detected in seawater near a quake-crippled nuclear power plant in Japan, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday.

The IAEA cited reports from Japanese authorities that the Tokyo Electric Power Company detected the radioactive materials in seawater near a discharge canal.

"Samples taken included levels of iodine-131, cesium-134, and cesium-137," it said in an update Wednesday (Manila time).

It said the samples were found at one location near the Southern discharge canal at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

"Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has announced that contamination has been found in sea water samples taken close to the outlet of the Fukushima Daiichi plant. We have been informed by NISA about plans to monitor the marine environment," IAEA Special Adviser to the IAEA Director General on Scientific and Technical Affairs Graham Andrew said.

To study a larger area of the marine environment, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) plans to measure radioactivity around the plant from March 22 to 23.

"Seawater will be collected from eight locations, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency plans to analyze the samples and release results on 24 March. The analysis will include radionuclide concentrations found in sea water and dose rate in the air. The IAEA will continue to follow this information," the IAEA said.

Andrew said there continues to be some improvements at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but the overall situation remains very serious.

High levels of contamination have been measured in the locality of the plant, he said.

"On the Fukushima site the highest concern remains the spent fuel in the storage ponds of each reactor unit, particularly Unit 4. Reactor Units1-3 remain of concern, in particular Unit 2," he said.

"We have not received validated information for some time related to the containment integrity of Unit 1 so we are concerned that we do not know its exact status," he added.

Gray smoke was observed from Unit 3 which led to the evacuation of plant personnel for several hours yesterday due to elevated dose rates, he said.

In addition, white smoke or vapor was observed from Unit 2. Efforts continue in Unit 2 to connect AC to pumps etc. Work for the recovery of off-site power supply to Units 3 and 4 is also proceeding.

Seawater is being injected into the reactor vessels of Units 1, 2 and 3. Water is being sprayed periodically into the spent fuel pools at Units 2, 3 and 4 but no information is available for the spent fuel pool of Unit 1.

The IAEA said it still lacks data on water levels and temperatures in the spent fuel pools at Units 1, 3 and 4.

However, there have been some positive developments concerning Units 5 and 6 that are in cold shutdown.

Off-site power is now being used in Unit 5; the pressure of the reactor pressure vessel of both units has decreased; and water is being injected in to the reactor pressure vessel, as needed.

IAEA monitoring of gamma dose rates and beta-gamma contamination has continued over the last 24 hours, Andrew said.

This has been carried out together with the Japanese authorities to facilitate the comparison of results, he added.

The IAEA said it took measurements at additional locations between 35 to 68 km from the Fukushima plant.

Dose-rate results ranged from 0.8 to 9.1 microsieverts per hour.

Israeli airstrike hits Gaza

One Palestinian was seriously injured in a air strike last day that targeted Gaza militants trying to fire an anti-tank missile towards Israel, sources on both sides said.

Medical sources told" The injured man was in a serious condition", while witnesses said he was part of a group of militants who were trying to fire rockets into southern Israel shortly before the strike, which was mounted by an Israeli drone and hit the Shejaiya district close to the border.

The Israeli military said the strike had targeted "a group of terrorists preparing to launch an anti-tank missile" at troops operating nearby, and confirmed that one person had been hit.

UK: Removing Gaddafi not allowed

The UN has not given coalition forces the "legal authority" to remove Muammar Gaddafi by military action, David Cameron has said while US state department spokesman Mark Toner said ousting Gaddafi is the ultimate goal as conflict of interests over Libya intervention became apparent.
The UK prime minister told Parliament a UN resolution allowing strikes on the country was "limited in its scope".
The head of the armed forces said it "absolutely" did not allow the targeting of Colonel Gaddafi.
But there is some confusion, as Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said such action is "potentially a possibility".
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama's administration insisted, after coming under pressure for not spelling out its war aims in Libya, the goal is to see Muammar Gaddafi removed from power.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague did not rule out the possibility of targeting Gaddafi as a legitimate one in an interview on Monday, adding he would not "speculate on the targets".
British prime minister said: "The UN resolution is limited in its scope. It explicitly does not provide legal authority for action to bring about Gaddafi's removal from power by military means.
"We're trying to convince Colonel Gaddafi and his regime, and his associates, that they need to step down from power," said US state department spokesman Mark Toner. "That remains our ultimate goal here."

A strong earthquakes rattled northeast Japan

A strong earthquakes rattled northeast Japan last day, keeping residents on edge more than a week after a devastating tremor and tsunami battered the region.

Two 6.6-magnitude tremors and one 6.4 quake struck within two and a half hours off Japan's tsunami stricken northeast coast, starting from 0718 GMT

There were no reports of casualties or damage and no tsunami warnings.

JAPAN WILL OVER COME THE CRISIS

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said that "The situation at Japan's quake-damaged nuclear plant remains very serious" And IAEA director-general Yukiya Amano said he had "no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome".

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant have been battling to cool reactors and spent fuel ponds to avoid a large-scale release of radiation.

The Fukushima plant was crippled by fire and explosions after the 11 March quake and tsunami.

Electricity has been restored to all reactors and engineers hope to test water pumps soon.

Earlier, some workers were temporarily evacuated from the complex after grey smoke was seen rising from the No 3 reactor.

Radiation levels did not appear to have risen significantly though after the smoke was spotted, the IAEA and Japan's nuclear safety agency said.

White smoke was later seen rising from the No 2 reactor.

"The crisis has still not been resolved and the situation at the [plant] remains very serious," Mr Amano, the head of the IAEA, told an emergency board meeting.

But he said he was starting to see positive developments; the cooling system had been restored to reactors 5 and 6, and they "are no longer an immediate concern".

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission - whose staff are in Tokyo conferring with the Japanese government and industry officials - said the Japanese nuclear crisis appeared to be stabilising.

The NRC said that reactors 1, 2 and 3 had some core damage but their containment was not currently breached.

The World Health Organization said it had no evidence of contaminated food reaching other countries. However, China, Taiwan and South Korea have announced plans to toughen checks of Japanese imports.

F-15 jet crew safe

" Both the crew of an F-15 fighter jet that crashed in Libya are safe and back in American hands" said BERLIN-A U.S. official says.

The official, speaking Tuesday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record, said a Marine Corps Osprey search and rescue aircraft retrieved the pilot. He says the second crew member, a weapon's officer, was recovered by Libyan rebel forces and is now in U.S hands.

The crash occurred Monday night at 2130 GMT (5:30 p.m. EDT) after what the military says was an equipment malfunction. Its exact location was not given.

How to foretell Earthquake?

China has suffered some terrible earthquakes, and it isn't surprising that China's scientists want to find ways of forecasting them. In 1975, they were successful. They cleared the city of Haicheng two hours before a devastating quake and saved the city's population. Earthquake forecasting is, however, still inexact; the Chinese have failed to predict several earthquakes since 1975, but they have advanced the science of earthquake prediction.