nuclear-news

latest news on the uranium/nuclear industry

Majority of Japanese would choose energy restrictions rather than restart nuclear power

the survey shows 61 percent of people in the Kinki region, which is expected to face the most serious power shortage, say they “can endure” such restrictions. Seventy-ninepercent of people in the Kanto region, which took sweeping energy-saving measures last summer, also say they can put up with restricted use of power. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of peoplepolled elsewhere in the country say they can live with such restrictions…..

63% of Japanese citizens say ‘no’ to restarting of Oi nuclear reactors: Mainichi poll. 8 May 12,  Sixty-three percent of Japanese people stand against reactivating two idled reactors at the Oi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukui Prefecture, and 74 percent say they “can endure” restricted use of electricity in the summer, a nationwide survey conducted by the Mainichi shows, suggesting that the general public is becoming increasingly in favor of breaking away from nuclear power generation. Read more »

May 10, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a Comment

Cheering Japanese in their thousands greet nuclear power shutdown

Electricity shortages are expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.

Japanese cheer as nuclear reactor shut for checkup SF Gate, Associated Press, May 6, 2012 Thousands of Japanese celebrated the switching off of the last of their nation’s 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped like giant fish that have become a potent antinuclear symbol. Read more »

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a Comment

Japan’s nuclear corruption

All 50 reactors have been suspended, but the nation still has power to heat toilet seats, light garish neon signs and run the ubiquitous vending machines despite the government’s repeated warnings of a possible power crunch.

the nation’s long-standing problem – excessively cozy ties between government officials and private enterprise.

 the tip of the iceberg in Japan’s corrupt power structure. Behind collusive ties between bureaucrats and power companies, “the public has been little short of becoming the guinea pig of radiation contamination,”

The media also have collusive ties with the power company as is often the case with Japanese newspapers and broadcasters.

Japan’s nuclear reactors run on corrupt structure, critics say http://www.brecorder.com/articles-a-letters/187/1186708/ MAY 07, 2012 TAKEHIKO KAMBAYASHI None of Japan’s 50 nuclear reactors is in operation after the last running unit was shut down Saturday.

With no power outages reported, some wonder why so much atomic power was needed in the earthquake-prone country to begin with. Read more »

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a Comment

Japan moves toward renewable energy, as nuclear lobby’s influence wanes

 ”We have the technological know-how. Japan can do anything that Germany can.”

the heavy political influence once exerted by the country’s “nuclear village” of power companies and regulators is waning, experts say.

above – wind turbines, Japan

Crisis-hit Japan mulls shift to renewable energy, Knox News,  By Elaine Kurtenbach and Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press  May 6, 2012  ”……..To offset the energy shortfall, utilities have ramped up oil- and gas-based generation, giving resource-poor Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, its biggest annual trade deficit ever last fiscal year. That $100 million-plus a day extra cost, worries over the risks of nuclear power and concern over carbon emissions are leading many decision-makers to view renewable energy sources such as solar, hydro and wind more positively. Read more »

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, renewable | 1 Comment

Japan is no further on in getting new nuclear regulator

 it would lead to problems in the future if the government rushes to restart Japan’s nuclear reactors without changing the current framework, in which the nuclear regulator is under the auspices of its promoter, the industry ministry.

New nuclear regulatory agency still up in air, Mainichi, 7 May 12 TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan entered a rare period on Sunday of having no nuclear power supply following last year’s
Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant disaster, without seeing much progress on shaping a new nuclear regulatory agency that could play a key role in addressing public concerns over the safety of atomic power.
The government plans to establish a new agency under the Environment Ministry amid criticism that the existing Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency lacks teeth because it is under the umbrella of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, a promoter of nuclear power.
But parliamentary deliberations on a bill submitted by the government to launch the new agency on April 1 have not yet started and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party has complained that the organization’s independence would not be sufficiently secure under the government plan. Read more »

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety and incidents | Leave a Comment

Shutdown could mean the end of nuclear power in Japan

  a ministry panel believes that Japan can still reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from 1990 levels without nuclear, provided it makes energy savings and speeds up the adoption of renewables, which currently account for just 10 percent of the energy mix.

Japan shuts down last nuclear reactor for tests. End of nuclear power? Christian Science Monitor,  If Japan survives the summer without power blackouts, citizens may pressure the government to make the temporary nuclear shutdown permanent. By Justin McCurry, Correspondent / May 4, 2012 TOKYO

This weekend’s nuclear shutdown in Japan is being greeted with a mixture of anxiety and optimism, just over a year since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident signaled the beginning of the end of the country’s dependence on atomic energy. By May 6, the last of Japan’s 50 working reactors – another four were crippled in the disaster – will be offline when the Hokkaido Electric Power Companycloses the No. 3 unit at its Tomari plant in the far north, in the industry’s first enforced closure in Japan since 1965.

Debate is now swirling around the prospects for the economy and environment post-Fukushima, as Japan braces itself for a long, hot summer and the possibility of power cuts that could prove the most severe test of public resolve yet………  Read more »

May 7, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a Comment

Japan’s leaders face the political crisis of public anti nuclear sentiment

In a direct snub to the central government, Mr. Hashimoto has appointed a panel of nuclear engineers and seismologists, who have faulted the stress tests for being conducted even before the government has finished its own inquiry into what went wrong at Fukushima. That criticism has resonated among many Japanese, who say the tests, conducted out of their view, were nothing more than a fig leaf..

Japan’s Leaders Fret as Nuclear Shutdown Nears By MARTIN FACKLER  Japan Times,  May 3, 2012 OSAKA, Japan — Barring an unexpected turnaround, Japan on Saturday will become a nuclear-free nation for the first time in more than four decades, at least temporarily. Japan’s leaders have made increasingly desperate attempts in recent months to avoid just such a scenario, trying to restart plants shut for routine maintenance and kept that way while they tried to convince a skittish public that the reactors were safe in the wake of last year’s nuclear catastrophe.

But the government has run up against a crippling public distrust that recently found a powerful voice in local leaders who are orchestrating a rare challenge to Tokyo’s centralized power. Read more »

May 5, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a Comment

Heroism of Japan’s saviour of Fukushima’s animals

Man stays to help animals left to die in Japan nuclear zone, by Susan Wyatt King 5.com May 2, 2012  This is truly a heartbreaking story – a 52-year-old man who lives in the shadow of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant is struggling – all alone – to help the animals left behind after the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster.

CNN reported in January that Naoto Matsumura, a life-long resident and fifth generation farmer, has refused to heed the mandatory evacuation since the nuclear meltdown. The government evacuated 78,000 residents around the exploding plant without a plan to rescue pets and livestock. As Matsumura began to feed his own animals, the neighborhood’s desperate cats and dogs started showing up. He started to feed them too and decided he couldn’t leave them behind to die. When Matsumura ran out of food, he slipped out of the exclusion zone and bought dog and cat food and then snuck back into town….. Matsumura has been tested for radiation and said his body is “completely contaminated.” But he said he will die in his hometown.

A ChipIn page has been set up to raise funds for Matsumura. Click here to help
You can get updates about Matsumura via a Facebook page    http://www.king5.com/community/blogs/the-pet-dish/Man-stays-in–149917285.html?c=n

May 5, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a Comment

Consumers ultimately paid up for nuclear bribery in japan

Consumers ultimately footed bill, Utilities gave nuclear plant hosts billions http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120502x1.html Kyodo Electric utilities, their subsidiaries and related organizations provided at least ¥28.7 billion to local governments, mostly as donations, during the five years through to March 31, local government sources and data obtained by Kyodo News revealed.

The electric power companies incorporated most of the expenses into their electricity
charges for consumers and business clients as necessary costs for power generation. Such donations are not required to be made public and may amount to more than the latest finding revealed Tuesday, experts said. Read more »

May 3, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a Comment

Costs and safety problems in Japan’s older nuclear reactors

Six reactors in Japan, including Tsuruga’s unit No. 1, have the same design as those that failed at Fukushima—a General Electric Co. model called Mark I originally designed based on tests from the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In 2009, Chubu Electric Power Co.  based in central Japan, decommissioned the No. 1 and 2 reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear-power plant because they were too expensive to keep up to safety standards.

 Japan Assesses Older Nuclear Plants WSJ,  By MARI IWATA and ELEANOR WARNOCK, May 2, 2012, TOKYO—Japan is grappling with the question of whether older nuclear reactors are more prone to spinning out of control when a disaster hits, as the nation pushes to restart units for the first time since last year’s accident in Fukushima. Read more »

May 3, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety and incidents | Leave a Comment

Fukushima: young women at 5 times greater cancer risk than general population

Nuclear Expert: Fukushima risk underestimated ENE News, — 5% of young girls will get cancer living in 20 milliSv/y for 5 years — “Actually worse than that” — Hot particles NOT included & only counts cancers, not other effects  : Cancer Risk To Young Children Near Fukushima Daiichi Underestimated Source: Fairewinds Associates, Inc Author: Arnie Gundersen   Transcript Excerpts That gets me to the issue of BIER, Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation. [...]

Now in Japan, the Japanese government is allowing people to go back into these radiation zones, when the radiation exposure is 2 rem. What that means is that they are willing to say that your chances of getting cancer are 1 in 500 if you go back into these areas that are presently off limits, and the exposure levels are 2 rem or 20 milisieverts in a year.

But it is worse than that. The number that we are using in the BIER Report is for the entire population, old people and young. And old people are going to die of something else before a cancer gets to them, whereas young people have rapidly dividing cells and they live a longer time, so they are more likely to get cancer. So if you go into the BIER Report and you look at Table 12-D, you will see that young women have a 5 times that number chance of getting cancer than the population as a whole. So young girls in the Fukushima Prefecture are going to get 5 times the exposure they would get from 2 rem. That means that about one in 100 young girls is going to get cancer as a result of the exposure in Fukushima Prefecture. And that is for every year they are in that radiation zone [at 20 milliSv/y]. If you are in there for 5 years, it is 5 out of 100 young girls will get cancer.

Now the BIER Report only addresses cancer, and of course, there are other effects of radiation that are not included in BIER, so it is actually worse than that.

Two more items: The first is that the BIER Report does not address hot particles. Now we have been over that extensively on the site, and you will see that imbibing it (a kid gets radioactive cesium on their hands and they swallow it, or breathing it in), is not included in the BIER Report.

And the last piece brings us over to Ian Goddard’s video, and that is this assumption by the Japanese and International Atomic Energy Agency, that at some point, this radiation is really so hard to measure that it does not count anymore. Well, the data indicates that just the opposite is happening…… http://enenews.com/gundersen-fukushima-cancer-risk-underestimated-5-of-young-girls-will-get-cancer-living-in-20-millisvy-for-5-years-actually-worse-than-that-hot-particles-not-included-only-counts-cance

May 1, 2012 Posted by | Japan, women | Leave a Comment

Japan wants India to sign the Nuclear non Proliferation Treaty

Sign nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Japan tells India The Hindu, 30 April 12, SANDEEP DIKSHI  Japan on Monday asked India to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) even as the two sides decided to reopen talks on a bilateral civil nuclear agreement…..
“We have instructed our negotiators on the way forward,” Mr. Krishna said and added the two countries understood the “concerns” of each other which were related to their historic experiences. Officials explained this to mean that while India says its clean non-proliferation record was good enough to restart civil nuclear talks, Japan feels that since India is not a signatory to the NPT, it should demonstrate its commitment to a ban on testing in words…. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3371546.ece

May 1, 2012 Posted by | India, Japan, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a Comment

Revelations of the un-safety of Japan’s nuclear reactors

”All the samples would be considered nuclear waste if found here in the US.”   - Arnie Gundersen on soil samples taken recently from parks, playgrounds and rooftop gardens throughout Tokyo.

Fukushma the Japanese Chernobyl’…a year later and politics still ‘trump’ safety…UK Progressive,   | APRIL 29, 2012  The Japanese Prime Minister Declares Nuclear Plant Safe… Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda declared that nuclear units 3 & 4 at the Ohi Nuclear Plant were safe for operation.
Prime Minister Noda based this declaration on ‘stress tests’ which were nothing more than computer simulations.  The computer simulations merely estimate any given reactor’s ability to withstand large earthquakes and/or tsunamis, allegedly like last year’s Fukushima disaster.  No other studies, expert testimony or other considerations were mentioned.  Unfortunately, for Japan—and the world—Noda couldn’t be more wrong. Read more »

April 30, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, safety and incidents | Leave a Comment

The transition from nuclear energy, fossil fuels – to efficiency, renewables, and smart grids

The upshot of these events is an intensified focus on energy efficiency and renewables, two solutions that hold promise of bridging the supply-demand gap in the years ahead while simultaneously reducing the current heavy reliance on fossil fueled generation. 

At the same time, new investments in smart grid technologies to manage demand and integrate renewable power supplies into the grid are increasing rapidly. 

 Backfilling Nuclear Shutdowns With Efficiency And Renewables In Japan, Germany And California? Think Progress,  Apr 29, 2012   by James Newcomb, via the Rocky Mountain Institute Electric utilities and policymakers in Japan and Germany have been scrambling for months to find ways to compensate for nuclear power plants shut down in the aftermath of Fukushima.

In both instances, fossil fuels are part of the stopgap solution to offset the declines in nuclear generation in the short term, but longer-term energy policies are shifting definitively toward efficiency and renewables. Now, the unexpected and indefinite shutdown  of both units at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in Southern California has raised questions about California’s short-term electricity supply options and long-term contingency plans. Read more »

April 30, 2012 Posted by | ENERGY, Japan, USA | Leave a Comment

.TEPCO’s history of fraud

TEPCO’s ‘malpractices’ included:
• falsification of inspection records over many years;
• covering up data about cracks in water circulation pumps and pipes which are critical for reactor cooling;
• failure to report cracks in reactor core shrouds (stainless steel cylinders surrounding the reactor core), steam dryers, access hole covers, and components associated with jet pumps (which circulate cooling water inside the reactor);
• in 1991 and 1992, tests of the leak rate of a Fukushima reactor containment vessel were faked by surreptitiously injecting compressed air into the containment building;
• written records of cracks in neutron-measuring equipment at Fukushima were deleted by contractor Hitachi at TEPCO’s request; and
• eight TEPCO reactors were still operating although required repairs
had not been carried out.”

Fukushma the Japanese Chernobyl’…a year later and politics still ‘trump’ safety…UK Progressive,   | APRIL 29, 2012 ”……….TEPCO’s history of fraud…on top of a flawed Mark 1 design… The operator responsible for Fukushima Daiichi, namely TEPCO has a history of fraud allegations.  In 2002, five TEPCO executives resigned over allegations they falsified nuclear plant safety records.  Five reactors were shut down as a result.

In 2006 the Japanese government discovered false water coolant temperature readings at Fukushima Daiichi in 1985 and 1988 and ordered TEPCO to re-inspect past data. Read more »

April 30, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a Comment

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