the US West Coast in 5 years. Wednesday, 13 July The Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission publishes a report dated 11 June 1993, (Heisei 5) whose title literally translates to The event of entire alternating current station blackout on the nuclear power plant (原子力発電所における全交流電源喪失事象について) conducted by a working group. This reports the results of an evaluation of the regulations to prevent and handle an occurrence of the full loss of alternating current (Station Blackout or SBO) in nuclear power plants in Japan and other countries. It concludes that further discussion is needed on methods to avoid or recover from such accidents. It also reports that the probability of an SBO in Japan is lower than in other countries. Thursday, 14 July The number of people actively working at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is about 3,000. NISA orders TEPCO to boost the number of safety managers to support this large number of workers. The water decontamination systems continue to be plagued by leaks and filter problems. Over the last week they had been operating at an average of 73% capacity, below the target of 90% which is required to meet the current timetable. Saturday, 16 July In a joint assessment the Japanese government and TEPCO say they have completed the first step of a 3-month plan outlined in mid-April for a complete cold shutdown. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 have been cooled down to a stable level and nitrogen has been injected into their containment vessels to prevent hydrogen explosions; however, the assessment admits that contaminated water has leaked out of storage tanks, and that water level settings at its water purification facilities were incorrect. August 2011 Monday, 1 August A radiation level of 10 sieverts per hour is read at a ventilation shaft between reactors 1 and 2. The area is subsequently sealed. The reading of 10 Sv is the maximum for many Geiger counters, including those used for these readings. One official states that it is entirely possible that the radiation readings were higher since the counter was reading its maximum. Radiation has been impeding attempts to replace cooling systems. These are the highest readings logged indoors since the initial March 2011 explosions. Tuesday, 2 August On Tuesday, 2 August, a radiation level of 5 sieverts per hour is detected on the second floor of the turbine building in reactor 1. The radioactivity rates detected on 2 and 1