Authorities just don’t have accurate data on Fukushima nuclear crisis
nuclear fuel in the core of one of the stricken reactors had probably leaked from its thick steel pressure vessel, its most important protective barrier. If that proved to be accurate, it would raise the prospect of continuing fuel leaks and high levels of radioactive releases that would vastly complicate containment and the cleanup
Lack of Data Heightens Japan’s Nuclear Crisis, New York Times, By HIROKO TABUCHI and KEITH BRADSHER April 8, 2011 TOKYO — Nearly one month after Japan’s devastating nuclear accident, atomic energy experts, regulators and politicians around the world are still puzzling over a basic question: How much danger is still posed by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant? Continue reading
Earthquake prone Diablo a test case for risky nuclear license extension
Diablo is drawing particular scrutiny because of its location in one of the country’s most seismically active areas and its long, troubled history of trying to deal with the risk of a major quake.
Nuclear Crisis Fuels Duel at Diablo, WSJ.com, 8 April 11, By BEN CASSELMAN In Earthquake-Prone California, License Extension Sought for Reactors Poses Major Test for Nation’s Atomic-Power Industry Japan’s unfolding reactor crisis is fueling a battle over nuclear power across the Pacific, in earthquake-prone California. Continue reading
French nuclear company denied license for Calvert Cliffs reactor
US NRC denies license to build nuclear reactor in Maryland WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has denied Unistar a license to build a new reactor at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power station in Maryland due to its foreign ownership, said the watchdog group Nuclear Information and Resource Service.The NRC could not be immediately reached. Unistar is owned by Electricite de France (EDF.PA: Quote)….
US NRC denies license to build nuclear reactor in Maryland | Energy & Oil | Reuters
Top scientists research radioactive waste in Pacific Ocean
“The levels that we observe are not likely to be dangerous to humans at present, but of course over time the levels will be magnified in the food web and with time the levels in the upper level of the food web and the higher predators will probably lead to levels that might be in conflict with human use of those organisms,”
VIDEO Mid-Pacific search for Japan nuclear water : World News Australia on SBS, *By Jenny Curtis, 8 April 11, A Spanish research vessel that’s just finished testing the waters off the South coast of Australia, will head to the Pacific Ocean to search for traces of radioactive waste from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. Hesperides research vessel is part of the Malaspina expedition that’s analysing the quality of the oceans around the world.Costing around 23 million dollars, it’s an ambitious project with hundreds of the world’s top scientists involved. Continue reading
Food imports from 12 Japanese areas now banned in China
China bans farm produce imports from 12 areas of Japan because of radiation worries Canadian Business Online, 9 April 11, BEIJING (AP) – China has banned imports of farm produce from 12 areas near Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant. Continue reading
The fearful town of Minamisoma.
by far the biggest problem is the Fukushima reactors. I think the accident shows we have to stop building nuclear plants. The radiation doesn’t stop in Japan: it goes all around the world.”
A city left to fight for survival after the Fukushima nuclear disaster – The Irish Times , Apr 09, 2011“……A common plot sees a modern city reduced overnight to a ghostly husk as fears of nuclear contamination empty it of people. Businesses shut and food, water and petrol run out. Old people left behind begin to die. The city mayor makes a desperate televised appeal for help. Such is real life in Sakurai’s city of Minamisoma. Continue reading
Wobbly nuclear words – how reassuring they are!
Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs
There are just so many of these wobbly words, pouring out of the pro nuclear lobby, as the lobby develops its current strategy, in response to the Japanese nuclear disaster, and with the anniversary of Chernobyl coming up. The two strategy themes are as follows:
1. Nuclear radiation “low level” radiation is not so bad, quite good really. Don’t mention the cancers and birth deformities from Chernobyl – or just gloss over the (relatively treatable) thyroid cancers.
2. Safety. New nuclear designs will be so safe – Fukushima just shows us how safe they are. And anyway, action is now taken to strengthen safety at old plants – Fukushima’s been a good reminder really.
Nuclear doublespeak has crept into the mainstream media. And – note even a 7.1 earthquake is now labelled an “aftershock” – sounds better, doesn’t it? And – of course, any nuclear incident is “no immediate danger”
Radioactive spill after earthquake at Onagawa nuclear plant
The 7.1-magnitude quake that hit offshore late yesterday resulted in water flowing from containers onto the floor in all three reactor buildings at the Onagawa plant,
Japan quake makes radioactive water spill at nuclear plant Herald Sun, : AAP * April 08, 2011 A POWERFUL aftershock in northeast Japan rocked a nuclear plant, causing a small amount of radioactive water to spill, officials say, but the operator says there is no immediate danger. Continue reading
The revolving door of nuclear politicians and industry lobbyists
Revolving-door lobbyists for nuclear companies will advocate on their behalf as some lawmakers and environmental groups raise questions about safety…..Nuclear issues are taking priority for some utility company lobbyists…...
Former Hill Stars Add Muscle to Nuclear Industry’s Post-Japan Lobbying, By ANNE C. MULKERN of Greenwire : April 7, 2011 As a congressman, Rep. Robert Walker extolled the safety of nuclear power, arguing that technology prevented radiation poisoning during the meltdown at Three Mile Island.
He’s buttressing nuclear again today, this time working from the inside. Retired from the House, the Pennsylvania Republican provides strategic advice to the trade group Nuclear Energy Institute. Continue reading
USA sending huge concrete pumps to Fukushima nuclear plant
Massive pumps departing U.S. for Japan nuclear plant, By Vivian Kuo, April 8, 2011 Atlanta (CNN) –– Two of the world’s largest concrete pumps will depart the United States later this week as part of the effort to resolve the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, officials said.
Each pump weighs 190,000 pounds and has a boom reach of over 227 feet, and can pump water and concrete at massive rates. They will be loaded aboard enormous Russian cargo jets Friday.
The pumps’ manufacturer, Putzmeister, said in a release the devices are normally used to pour concrete for bridges and high-rise construction projects, but can offer pinpoint accuracy “to directly target hotspots within the reactors” and help with cooling.
There are only three such pumps in the world, said Putzmeister spokeswoman Mary Roberts……Massive pumps departing U.S. for Japan nuclear plant – CNN.com
Barack Obama – a President for the nuclear industry
One of Obama’s largest campaign donors since 2003 has been the Exelon Corporation, a nuclear power company. Obama’s former chief of staff, David Axelrod, previously worked as a consultant for Exelon. As a state Senator in Illinois, Obama skillfully played both sides of the nuclear debate, but ultimately did the industry’s political dirty work after a leak at an Exelon plant was exposed, causing public outrage. Obama put forward a bill requiring leaks to be immediately reported, but then worked hand-in-hand with Exelon to strip the bill of any teeth
Obama: The Nuclear Industry’s President Apr 7, 2011, By Patrick Ayers Following the nuclear disaster in Japan, President Obama sought to reassure the public, saying, “I still think that nuclear power is an important part of our overall energy mix.”
Since coming to office, Obama has spearheaded the nuclear industry’s revival in the U.S., championing it as a “safe, clean, and reliable” alternative to foreign oil. But as Normon Solomon pointed out, “There is no more techno-advanced country in the world than Japan. Nuclear power is not safe there, and it is not safe anywhere,” (Commondreams.org, 3/14/11). Continue reading
Unprecedented problems face Japanese workers at Fukushima
“The fact they have to handle two spent fuel pools and three reactor cores with kid gloves, (they) don’t have any margin for error,”
Nuclear experts: Many challenges, few options for Japanese By Jim Barnett, CNN Senior Producer,April 7, 2011 Washington (CNN) — Nuclear experts at the Union of Concerned Scientists said again Thursday there are many challenges ahead and few options left to Japanese workers trying to ease the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Continue reading
Society gambles with finance and nuclear industries
In the US and elsewhere, even plants that have the same flawed design as Fukushima continue to operate. The nuclear industry’s very existence is dependent on hidden public subsidies – costs borne by society in the event of nuclear disaster, as well as the costs of the still-unmanaged disposal of nuclear waste….
As a society, we are gambling – with our big banks, with our nuclear power facilities, with our planet…..the lucky few – the bankers that put our economy at risk and the owners of energy companies that put our planet at risk – may walk off with a mint. But on average and almost certainly, we as a society, like all gamblers, will lose.
One egg; one basket – you weigh the risk, The Age, Joseph Stiglitz, April 8, 2011 Joseph Stiglitz is university professor at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate in economics. Once-in-a-lifetime events are raining down thick and fast.
THE consequences of the Japanese earthquake – especially the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant – resonate grimly for observers of the American financial crash that precipitated a big recession. Both events provide stark lessons about risks, and about how badly markets and societies can manage them….. Continue reading
America is not ready to deal with a radiation disaster
After a nuclear blast, hospitals probably would fill with trauma patients. Later, others would arrive with acute radiation syndrome, which can take days to manifest and affects multiple organ systems. Without supportive care, about 50 percent of people exposed to 3.5 Gray, a measure of radiation dose, would die. Proper care would almost double the exposure level at which 50 percent would survive, but only a small fraction of American medical professionals have training and expertise in treating radiation injury……Given that not enough beds would be available, hospitals and first responders would have to choose which patients to save.
U.S. health-care system unprepared for major nuclear emergency, officials say The Washington Post, By Sheri Fink, Thursday, April 7,“………in national surveys, U.S. hospital workers have expressed fears ,… saying they would be less willing to report to work for a radiological or nuclear incident than for other types of emergencies. Continue reading
High radiation levels at Minamisoma
“While the Japanese government’s data is not necessarily incorrect, it is neither telling the full story, nor being adequately used to protect the health of people in Minamisoma…“Our measurements, taken between government monitoring points, show elevated levels of contamination outside the official 20 km mandatory evacuation zone that indicate a risk to health, yet people in Minamisoma are only being advised to stay indoors or leave on a voluntary basis. This is unacceptable.”
Greenpeace Team Identifies “High Contamination Levels“ in Minamisoma Vegetables, April 6, 2011 Yonezawa, Japan- (PanOrient News) Greenpeace said in a statement today that its radiation experts investigating impacts from the Fukushima nuclear crisis have discovered high levels of contamination in crops grown on the outskirts of Minamisoma city, raising further concerns over health risks to residents and a lack of official information outside the 20 km evacuation zone. Continue reading
1 This Month
of the week – Shut Down Drone Warfare!
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
Petition to revoke the licensing of the Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7247
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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