The head of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is stepping down for health reasons.
Masao Yoshida of Tokyo Electric Power Company has been in charge of dealing with the situation at the plant since the March earthquake and tsunami damaged the reactors.
The utility says Yoshida, who will be replaced on Thursday, is resigning in order to receive medical treatments at a hospital. The company says it cannot disclose his illness and level of radiation exposure as that is personal information.
In a statement issued on Monday, Yoshida expressed his regret over leaving the plant at a crucial time and apologized to all the people involved. He said he has to undergo treatment for a disease that was discovered in a health check-up
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http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/11/fukushima-chief-got-down/http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/28/1040658/-TEPCO-Fukushima-Exec-Resigns-for-Health-Treatment?via=siderecand:
This is insanely bad news:
Japan’s science ministry says 8 per cent of the country’s surface area has been contaminated by radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
It says more than 30,000 square kilometres of the country has been blanketed by radioactive caesium.
The ministry says most of the contamination was caused by four large plumes of radiation spewed out by the Fukushima nuclear plant in the first two weeks after meltdowns.
The government says some of the radioactive material fell with rain and snow, leaving the affected areas with accumulations of more than 10,000 becquerels of caesium per square metre.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-22/japan-land-contaminated-by-radiation/3686324/?site=melbourne