An investigation into dosimeter tampering and the selection of a potential leader for Japan's new nuclear regulatory agency highlighted the recent news from Fukushima Daiichi.

Developments related to the Tokyo Electric Power Co. plant damaged following last year's earthquake and tsunami include:

Fukushima unit 3 reactor building on July 13. Source: TEPCODosimeters Shielded with Lead

In interviews over the weekend with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, employees working for a Fukushima subcontractor said that several workers covered their dosimeters with thin pieces of lead to lower their readings in an attempt to boost the number of hours they could work before reaching the 50 millisievert annual dose limit. The incident is reported to have taken place during work insulating the hoses of a water treatment system in early December. Different reports have offered conflicting numbers of workers involved. They alleged workers for the subcontractor Build-Up were pressured to tamper with dosimeters, though not all did. The plan was apparently abandoned when the shielding failed to adequately reduce recorded doses. The health ministry is investigating the incident.

Leader for New Nuclear Agency Chosen

Japanese media reported Friday that the government has picked a native of the city of Fukushima who previously served as a vice chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission to head a new and more independent nuclear regulatory agency. Shunichi Tanaka is an expert in radiation physics, Kyodo reported, and has been involved in cleanup efforts in Fukushima Prefecture. His position on the previous nuclear commission and as the president of the academic Atomic Energy Society of Japan, though, may create opposition to his appointment because of his perceived ties to the nuclear industry.

Others expected to be selected for the new agency's oversight board include a former UN ambassador, the head of an earthquake prediction organization, a member of the Japan Radioisotope Association and a member of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

Toshiba Water Treatment System Unveiled

Toshiba unveiled its ALPS technology for reporters Tuesday – a system expected to begin testing in September that can scrub strontium, cesium and 60 other radioactive contaminants from water at the plant to a degree that the systems currently in operation cannot. Pretreatment equipment and 42 absorption towers were designed to purify 500 metric tons of water per day to levels that meet regulatory limits for release into the ocean, Japanese media reported. At first, treated water will be stored at the plant. Various buildings and containers hold an estimated 180,000 tons of contaminated water at Fukushima.