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Japan’s intractable problem of virtually permanently irradiated areas

Fukushima zone likely off-limits for ‘decades’, ABC Radio 774 ,Mark Willacy, August 22, 2011 The Japanese government says highly radioactive areas around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will remain no-go zones for decades after the damaged complex is stabilised.

Authorities say they plan to bring the stricken nuclear plant to a state of cold shutdown early next year. But with some areas near the complex continuing to show high levels of radioactive contamination, the government says it is unavoidable that some places will remain no-go zones.

Japanese newspaper The Daily Yomiuri reports government sources have said it could be “several decades” before the area is considered safe to enter. For the first time, the government has released figures revealing that many communities within 20 kilometres of the complex have contamination levels up to 500 times higher than safety limits.

The radiation readings were taken in 50 locations within a 20-kilometre radius of the Fukushima nuclear plant.Based on that data, the government has released estimates of the annual dose of radiation residents would be exposed to.

It found that in one town, Okuma, people would receive a dose of 508 milisieverts per year – more than 500 times the acceptable limit.At more than half the locations it was more than 20 times the limit.Tokyo Institute of Technology’s associate professor of radiobiology, Yoshihisa Matsumoto, says efforts to decontaminate the area will likely prove difficult…http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-22/fukushima-radiation-500-times-safe-limit/2849394/?site=melbourne

August 22, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan’s lawmakers committed to nuclear power?

Japan’s redemption ‘emancipation from mental slavery’ Business report, IOL 22 Aug 11William Pesek On a hot Friday evening in Osaka, Japan, street musician Jun Fukuda is channelling Bob Marley on a downtown bridge. Not the feel-good, party-hearty Marley, but the mortality questioning ballad Redemption Song.

As the 20-year-old belts out the lyrics, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery”, he scans the gathering of 20 or so Japanese hipsters to be sure they’re getting the point. “There is no future in Japan for people like me,” Fukuda says. “Our leaders are useless, our economy is bad, there’s nuclear stuff in my food. There is nothing out there for my generation.”……

There’s still hope the events of the past five months will catalyse Japan to reinvent itself. Yet I haven’t found a smidgen of evidence that real change is afoot.

Rather than taking steps to enliven growth, politicians are, as usual, relying on the Bank of Japan to take the lead.

Instead of encouraging fresh alternative-energy research, lawmakers are digging in to protect the primacy of nuclear power…….http://www.iol.co.za/business/opinion/columnists/japan-s-redemption-emancipation-from-mental-slavery-1.1121907

August 22, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Silex laser uranium enrichment opening opportunities for nuclear terrorism

Dr. Slakey of the American Physical Society noted that the State Department a dozen years ago warned that the success of Silex could “renew interest” in laser enrichment for good or ill — to light cities or destroy them.

Laser Advances in Nuclear Fuel Stir Terror Fear, NYT, By ,August 20, 2011 Twenty miles southwest of Sydney, in a wooded region, Horst Struve and Michael Goldsworthy kept tinkering with the idea at a government institute. Finally, around 1994, the two men judged that they had a major advance.

The inventors called their idea Silex, for separation of isotopes by laser excitation. “Our approach is completely different,” Dr. Goldsworthy, a physicist, told a Parliamentary hearing… Continue reading →

August 22, 2011 Posted by | safety, technology, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

A new route to more nuclear bombs – Silex laser enrichment

Laser advance may increase spread of nuclear bomb, SMH, William Broad, August 22, 2011 In a little-known effort, General Electric has successfully tested laser enrichment for two years and is seeking permission from the US government to build a $US1 billion ($960 million) plant that would make reactor fuel by the tonne.

That might be good news for the nuclear industry, but critics fear that if the work succeeds and the secret gets out, rogue states and terrorists could make bomb fuel in much smaller plants that are difficult to detect……. critics want a detailed risk assessment. Recently, they petitioned Washington for a formal evaluation of whether the laser initiative could backfire and speed the global spread of nuclear arms.

”We’re on the verge of a new route to the bomb,” said Frank von Hippel, a nuclear physicist who teaches at Princeton University. ”We should have learnt enough by now to do an assessment before we let this kind of thing out.”  New varieties of enrichment are considered dangerous because they simplify obtaining the fuel……http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/laser-advance-may-increase-spread-of-nuclear-bomb-20110821-1j4mm.html

August 22, 2011 Posted by | technology, Uranium, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Australian anti uranium protestors walking 1250 km

WA uranium protest to cover 1250km, Narelle Towie , PerthNow , August 21, 2011 ANTI-URANIUM protesters will begin their 1250km march from Wiluna to Perth today in their fight to have mining of the ore banned.Walk Away From Uranium Mining protesters will travel through two proposed uranium mining sites – in Wiluna and Yeelirrie – before arriving in Perth nearly a month later on October 27….

WA Senator Scott Ludlam, who will take part in the march, said WA should joining a growing list of countries around the world, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Greece and Ireland, who were walking away from nuclear power.

“This is an extraordinary moment for our state and for the future. The nuclear industry is in decline around the world and public awareness of the dangers of uranium mining and nuclear power is growing,: Mr Ludlam said.

“This march is a powerful statement from Western Australians who do not want uranium mining in WA and who do not want their state to support the nuclear industry in any way.” http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/special-features/wa-uranium-protest-to-cover-1250km/story-e6frg19l-1226118950758

August 22, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Japan – prejudice against residents of Fukushima Prefecture

Teachers lack knowledge It is important to teach children the meaning of “becquerel,” which indicates how much radiation a radioactive substance emits, and “sievert,” the unit for calculating the effect radiation has on the human body. This will help children better understand daily news reports about radiation….

Better radiation education needed to end prejudice, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 20 Aug 11 Ever since the accident at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, many evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture have been subjected to discrimination and prejudice.

A student who transferred from the prefecture to a primary school in the Kanto region was shunned by classmates and eventually stopped going to class. Some gas stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area have refused to serve cars bearing Fukushima license plates. Continue reading →

August 22, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Radiation testing of sockeye salmon a wise precaution


“If it’s sockeye (salmon), then it’s a wise precaution,” said fisheries oceanographer Tony Pitcher from the University of British Columbia. Sockeye salmon migrate quite far north and west in the Pacific Ocean into waters that are also crossed by currents coming from Japan, Pitcher said, so there is a chance the salmon will come into contact with organisms carrying some radiation.

Salmon, caribou to be tested for radiation from Japanese reactor, Montreal Gazette By Beatrice Fantoni, Postmedia News August 19, 2011  Salmon caught off the coast of British Columbia will be tested for traces of radiation from the nuclear disaster in Japan, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced. Continue reading →

August 22, 2011 Posted by | general | 1 Comment

Radiation effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on WW2’s American soldiers

When the servicemen returned to the United States, many of them suffered from strange rashes and sores. Years later some were afflicted with disease (such as thyroid problems and leukemia) or cancer associated with radiation exposure. Little could be proven beyond a doubt, and all of their disability and compensation claims were denied,

The Last Great Untold Story of World War II—and the Lingering Effects Today, THE NATION, Greg Mitchell, August 19, 2011  ”……..Most of the [U.S.]troops in Hiroshima were based in camps on the edge of the city, but a larger number did set up camps inside Nagasaki. Because of the alleged absence of residual radiation, no one was urged to take precautions. Some bunked down in buildings close to ground zero, even slept on the earth and engaged in cleanup operations, including disposing bodies, without protective gear. Few if any wore radiation detection badges.

“We walked into Nagasaki unprepared…. Really, we were ignorant about what the hell the bomb was,” one soldier would recall. Another vet said: “Hell, we drank the water, we breathed the air, and we lived in the rubble. We did our duty.” Continue reading →

August 20, 2011 Posted by | history | 1 Comment

Hillary Clinton’s pact with Japan to downplay Fukushima radiation risks

Radiating Americans with Fukushima rain, food: Clinton’s secret pact, The National,  , Human Rights ExaminerAugust 14, 2011 –Government agreed to downplay Fukushima radiation Fukushima is far from stabilized according to energy advisor veteran with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, Arnie Gundersen who told Solar IMG Saturday that Americans, not just in the northwest, are unaware of being rained on with Fukushima nuclear hot particles and eating Fukushima contaminated food because the US government has deliberately minimized the catastrophe, partially due to a pact Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed with Japan. Gundersen, with a team of other scientists, intends to prove government statements about Fukushima are false. Continue reading →

August 20, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | 5 Comments

As Fukushima worsens, Beyond Nuclear petition accepted by NRC!

  Reports indicate Fukushima nuclear crisis worsening and widening  News sources are reporting that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, now more than 161 days old, is worsening and the scope of contamination widening.  One source cites anonymous TEPCO workers reporting numerous cracks that have opened up in the ground that are releasing highly radioactive steam into the air. Another Mainichi Daily News story disclosed that excessively high radioactive cesium contamination has been discovered more than 62 miles away from the reactor ruins.  In the widening catastrophe, the Japanese UPI reports excessive amounts of radioactive cesium and strontium have been detected in Chinese territorial waters threatening sea food contamination in the East China Sea. Read more.

 

Beyond Nuclear “Freeze Our Fukushimas” petition accepted in part by NRC:
Prompts deeper investigation of GE Mark I reactors A Petition Review Board of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission accepted and rejected in part emergency enforcement actions requested by Beyond Nuclear’s April 13, 2011 petition regarding the 23 Fukushima-style reactors operating in the US.

The petition, which NRC confirms includes more than 5,000 additional co-petitioner requests from around the country, seeks to suspend the operation of the dangerous and deeply flawed General Electric Mark I Boiling Water Reactors.
NRC accepted several of the requested actions for further review which include; 1) revoke the NRC prior approval of the “voluntary” installation of the same Mark I containment venting system demonstrated at Fukushima to have a 100% failure rate and; 2) order operators to immediately install emergency back-up electrical power for reliable cooling of densely-packed nuclear waste storage pools atop each of the reactors in the event of “station blackout.” Read more.

August 19, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Radiation caused illnesses now seen in Japan

Doctors in Japan are already treating patients suffering health effects they attribute to radiation from the ongoing nuclear disaster.
“We have begun to see increased nosebleeds, stubborn cases of diarrhoea, and flu-like symptoms in children,” Dr Yuko Yanagisawa, a physician at Funabashi Futawa Hospital in Chiba Prefecture, told Al Jazeera.  

Fukushima radiation alarms doctors , Aljazeera,  .Dahr Jamail Japanese doctors warn of public health problems caused by Fukushima radiation.: 18 Aug 2011 , Scientists and doctors are calling for a new national policy in Japan that mandates the testing of food, soil, water, and the air for radioactivity still being emitted from Fukushima’s heavily damaged Daiichi nuclear power plant.

“How much radioactive materials have been released from the plant?” asked Dr Tatsuhiko Kodama, a professor at the Research Centre for Advanced Science and Technology and Director of the University of Tokyo’s Radioisotope Centre, in a July 27 speech to the Committee of Health, Labour and Welfare at Japan’s House of Representatives.

“The government and TEPCO have not reported the total amount of the released radioactivity yet,” said Kodama, who believes things are far worse than even the recent detection of extremely high radiation levels at the plant. Continue reading →

August 19, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

The mental health toll in Fukushima

Radiation fears bring psychological stress to Fukushima residents, Mainichi Daily News, 19 Aug 11, FUKUSHIMA — Residents of Fukushima Prefecture are increasingly visiting psychiatrists complaining of sleeplessness or the inability to concentrate as they worry about the effects of leaked radiation from the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the Mainichi has learned…… Continue reading →

August 19, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | 1 Comment

They say radiation is safe. Don’t believe it

John LaForge discusses the unbelievable: “The Obama administration, the EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the FDA will be dismantling their emergency radiation monitoring.”…

Corporations influence Congress and the president through campaign contributions. PG&E will continue lobbying the public, stating how safe nuclear power is. No doubt they will use the argument about low doses of radiation being safe.

Safe radioactivity? Experts say no, Santa Maria Times, 19 Aug 11, James Murr, The nuclear industry has been telling us it is a clean and safe type of energy. In view of the problems still raging in Japan at the Fukushima plant, it is considered an uncontrolled disaster.

Nuclear engineers and physicists claim small doses are legal and cannot harm us. It was our political system, bought and paid for by corporate campaign contributions, that legalized small releases of radiation from power plants. Otherwise, nuclear power plants would not be able to operate. Continue reading →

August 19, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Cautious optimism of a nuclear thaw on the Korean peninsula

The Two Koreas’ Long Slog over Nuclear Weapons


Asia Sentinel,  by Lee Byong-chul   
, 19 AUGUST 2011 There is cautious optimism in Washington DC and other capitals about a possible nuclear thaw on the Korean peninsula since the visit of North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan to New York to discuss nuclear proliferation, and a later meeting in Bali between nuclear negotiators for both North and South Korea. 

The Bali meeting, on the side of a regional meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was the first since disarmament talks collapsed in 2008. The two events have generated at least some hope that an armed and dangerous North Korea could somehow be controlled. They appear to be at one with a three-step plan by China for resumption of the Six-Party talks. They have been accomplished so relatively quickly and painlessly that they appear to suggest that step three – the resumption of the talks, is right around the corner. …http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3399&Itemid=182

August 19, 2011 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry subsidies and other payments to Japan’s local governments

2.5 trillion yen in nuclear money doled out to local governments since 1966, Mainichi Daily News, 19 Aug 11, Local governments have received at least 2.5 trillion yen in “nuclear money” in the form of subsidies, fixed property taxes and other payments since the start of nuclear power generation in Japan in 1966, a tally by the Mainichi shows.

But the total is certain to be much higher because many local governments are not releasing data on nuclear power-related fixed property taxes and donations. Continue reading →

August 19, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

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