More than a year after a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan and led to meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, a Japanese newspaper reported that an executive at a power plant subcontractor ordered employees to downplay their radiation exposure linked to the plant’s post-disaster clean-up.

According to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, employees would have reported higher levels of radiation than legally permissible if not for downplaying exposure levels by wearing lead casings. The newspaper also called for the government to complete a thorough investigation of work conditions during clean-up of the Fukushima site.

A 184-page report released by the U.S. Geological Survey found an increased likelihood of a large-scale earthquake along the trans-boundary region of the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years.

As a result of the study, researchers are calling for heightened awareness in the region for an off-shore earthquake that could reach or exceed the magnitude of the 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan last year.

Federal housing authorities are currently auditing more than $650 million allocated for sewage and water systems in Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina for potential recommendations or future criminal investigations.

Local governments in five counties in southern Mississippi obtained land for the project under eminent domain, but concerns have arisen that the land had been previously contaminated and officials invested millions of dollars in sewage plans and water tanks that were unnecessary. Advocates of the sewage and water systems claim the project will bring long-term growth in the region.

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