Some rice fields/paddies north of the plant showed up as contaminated - it would have been rather suspicious if all fields came up clear.

The gov't has finally admitted that the original 3km evacuation zone around Daiichi will be uninhabitable for decades. They might as well have said centuries. No talk of the 20 km zone, which does have swaths that have rad levels that are comparatively quite low for how close they are. The 3km zone announcement comes as a surprise to no one and is more of a catch up admission from the gov't. More and more talk of storing contaminated soil, sewage sludge etc. that is building up in regions around the plant in facilities that would be constructed in the immediate vicinity of Daiichi. It is a very practical idea which the gov't can move on now that it has admitted the areas long term inhabitability.

Of course, though it is uninhabitable, 3,000 permanent and contract workers are still onsite most every day - Japan's peace time kamikaze it would seem.

The current prime minister, Kan (rare Japanese name) is gearing up to step down saying a stable situation has been achieved in Fukushima. He is deeply unpopular, but most everyone realizes the gov't reaction to the crisis would have been largely the same regardless of who was in power, it is the diffuse nature of the Japanese gov't that exacerbated things.

I hadn't seen any reports about the contamination level of the sea immediately around the plant, and was very surprised to discover that the levels had dropped to "undetectable". This must be a good sign. I would have assumed that as leaky and as close to the shore as the reactors are that at least some runoff would have made it to the ocean - glad it's not. Of course, that also means the contamination that was there was dispersed far and wide, but it should be diluted enough to be of little danger.

The air rad levels in the plant are scary, but still exponentially lower than they were. The latest I read was 311 microseiverts per hour just west of the reactors on the plant premises. Compare 311 microseiverts to the current .0557 microsieverts per hour in central Tokyo and .34 just northeast of Tokyo where I work.

As I write this my son pointed out the news to me on TV that an official estimate of the amount of cesium 137 (largely the source of all residual radiation from Daiichi and Chernobyl) released by Daiichi is - ready? - 168 times that released in Hiroshima. 168 times. And we have chosen to remain. I hope and pray this was the right choice.

TEPCO now believes it will beat the January date for cold shutdown in all three reactors. Amazing. I don't think even TEPCO believed it's original date. Reactor 3, which is in by far the worst shape structurally, just got an extra water input installed and is getting water from two directions. Not sure how they pulled that off, but it is now below 100 degrees Celsius, the criteria for cold shutdown. That leaves only reactor 2 hovering around 112 degrees. If these numbers can be maintained, they will have achieved cold shutdown. Barring any major earthquake or huge manmade area, the chance of any additional radiation being released is minimal. The managed to get the leaking water decontamination system bug free enough just in time for the rainy season, and the water level in the trenches below the reactors drops 1 to 5 cm a day. Though it is still quite high, there is much less danger of it running off into the ocean etc.

So, I jinx myself, but I would say it's about official that the aftereffects can be the number one area for TEPCO and the govt to concentrate on. New news everyday about real and possible contamination of soil and food supplies.

The food front is not as rosy. News and speculation is full of scary stories about how producers and regulators fudge numbers to get lower radiation readings. Examples are: Not digging deeply enough as necessary for accurate rice field tests, mixing milk over regulated limited with milk that is not to dilute it enough to get it under the limit, producers playing dumb about the level of radiation found in their vegetables that were tested AFTER they got to market, etc. etc. I understand these people want to get back to having an income. Who wouldn't. And in their minds, a little bit over isn't going to hurt anyone. But this shyte adds up.

Pertaining to the 3km Dead Zone.. what happens to the people who lived in those areas... more to the point.. will they be compensated for their homes by TEPCO.. or by the government? Or are they just sh@t outta luck?

Dead Zone is an apt term. Yes, TEPCO has put together a compensation scheme for people in this area, very detailed. I believe payouts have even begun. It will never be enough, but people will take what they can get. Funny, it was always about money money money for TEPCO, and now it will never be anything but money money money flowing out of TEPCO and the govt when it the inevitable bailout comes. Too big to fail is definitely an issue here.

The problem I heard is finding land that these people can rebuild their lives on ?

I wonder this compensation packages from TEPCO <-- will they now own the land that those homes are on ? That will create a buffer zone around the plant , at which I don't think it will ever be running again.

Lots of inventive plans are being suggested for the no go zone - most of them centering around storing all kinds of other dangerous stuff. Places to store dangerous stuff are at a premium in Japan, since it is such a densely populated country.

Not sure about putting dangerous stuff (on) dangerous stuff

Japan could make a contract with the US Feds for Johnston Island Incinerators - Thats where the US sends its dangerous stuff for burn off.

Love the little flaming icon next to this thread. Like it's still burning. I remember I got a certain grim pleasure out of that fact when things were still burning every so hotly up Fukushima way.