Japanese nuclear plant beset by new problems
an even bigger problem when the water inside the reactor is much more radioactive than usual and is under extremely high pressure, as it has been in all three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant at various times since the earthquake and tsunami…..
New Problems Arise at Japanese Nuclear Plant, NYTimes.com, By KEITH BRADSHER March 23, 2011 “……..nuclear engineers say some of the most difficult and dangerous tasks are still ahead — and time is not necessarily on the side of the repair teams. Continue reading
The problem of the nuclear industry being its own regulator
This is the situation not only in Japan but in Canada, the United States and other countries, Edwards said. “There are few independent nuclear experts in the world. Everyone either works in the industry or used to and are now regulators,”
Who controls nuclear control agencies? Japan’s earthquake caused a nuclear crisis which could be repeated in other countries .. Al Jazeera Stephen Leahy 23 Mar 2011“….. Regulatory problems Japan’s environmental activists have long complained about the inadequacy in government regulation and a culture within the industry’s management of covering up mistakes.The problem is that nuclear power companies like TEPCO and the government regulators are “essentially one and the same,” Continue reading
Conflicting information on state of spent nuclear fuel rods at Fukushima
“We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool, and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures.”
Foreigners Advised to Leave Tokyo; US Citizens OK’ed to Evacuate, by: Nancy Roberts 18 March 11, Conflicting Information on Exposed Fuel Rods US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Greg Jacszko testified before Congress on Wednesday that he believes there is no water in the spent fuel pool in one of the Fukushima reactor buildings, leaving the fuel rods exposed and in danger of overheating: Continue reading
Winds could carry Fukushima nuclear radiation across Japan’s mainland
Global rescue teams depart as winds threaten to turn nuclear cloud inland * Brendan Nicholson The Australian * March 22, 2011 AUSTRALIAN authorities have warned that the wind direction in the region surrounding the stricken Japanese nuclear reactors was set to change last night and could carry radioactive contamination over the mainland.
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency said the prevailing wind had been carrying radiation out to sea since the Fukushima Daiichi power stations were damaged. But during the next 36 hours, a wind change is likely to produce a complex pattern of wind directions over mainland Japan.”Any radioactivity that may occur from deterioration in the current status of any of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor units is predicted to pass across mainland Japan during this time.”
ARPANSA said the wind should swing back out over the ocean after that time.ARPANSA has recommended that Australians within 80km of the power plant move out of the area….Global rescue teams depart as winds threaten to turn nuclear cloud inland | The Australian
Italy and Switzerland halt nuclear programs
Italy Puts Nuclear Plans on Hold for a Year Voice of America, 23 March, Italy has declared a one-year moratorium on plans to re-establish a nuclear power industry, in response to a Japanese nuclear crisis that has raised concerns across Europe about the safety of the technology.
The Italian Cabinet approved the moratorium Wednesday, halting any decision-making and research into suitable locations for nuclear plants….. Switzerland reacted to the Japanese nuclear crisis by suspending the approval process for three nuclear plants. Italy Puts Nuclear Plans on Hold for a Year | Europe | English
Halt on food imports to Australia from Japan
Tests have revealed vastly elevated levels of radioactive iodine and caesium.
Imports of Japanese food halted, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 march 11, Australia’s food standards regulator has ordered a halt to Japanese food imports, such as sauces and seaweed, amid rising radiation concerns. Continue reading
Vermont the only US State that can say No to nuclear plants
“It puzzles me that more states don’t take control into their own hands about aging nuclear power plants,”
Vermont’s unique nuclear-power veto – Boston.com, By Alan Wirzbicki 23 march 11, Who has the final word on regulating nuclear power plants?In 49 states, it’s the federal government, acting through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. At the moment, Vermont is the lone exception.
As the result of a deal in 2002 and subsequent legislation in 2006, the state Legislature has the authority to block the Vermont Yankee plant from staying in operation past 2012, when its license runs out. Continue reading
Japan’s history of falsified nuclear safety records
In 2002 TEPCO was caught falsifying safety records and was forced to shut down all 17 of its reactors, including those at the stricken Fukushima I facility, located some 240km north of Tokyo in eastern Japan, on the Pacific coast. TEPCO executives admitted to over 200 submissions of false technical data in the previous two decades. The only reason TEPCO was caught was because a US nuclear engineer working at TEPCO came forward with the information,
Who controls nuclear control agencies? Japan’s earthquake caused a nuclear crisis which could be repeated in other countries .. Al Jazeera Stephen Leahy 23 Mar 2011 As Japan struggles to confront a nuclear disaster that could be the worst in history, it seems clear that any discussion about the safety of nuclear energy should address the independence of regulatory agencies. Continue reading
World’s nuclear arsenals even more risky than nuclear power plants
Current events at Fukushima remind us of the negligence of nuclear power companies in building nuclear power plants on earthquake fault lines or vulnerable coastlines. But they should also remind us of the even greater negligence of the nuclear weapon states in maintaining their arsenals of 20,000 nuclear weapons — most with yields over 100 times greater than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, and many on hair trigger alert, ready to launch within minutes.
Nuclear Energy and Weapons: Uncontrollable in Time and Space, Alyn Ware, 23 March 11, “……natural disasters and accidents will happen. If it can go wrong sooner or later it will go wrong, and Murphy’s law and nuclear energy do not mix. …..
Japan’s nuclear crisis has brought back to public consciousness the basic truth that the effects of nuclear disasters — whether from nuclear energy or nuclear weapons — are uncontrollable in time and space. Continue reading
25 embassies in Tokyo shut due to nuclear radiation concerns
Nuclear fears shut 25 embassies in Tokyo Herald Sun, March 23, 2011 THE nuclear emergency following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has led 25 embassies to temporarily shut their doors in Tokyo, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said today.As of yesterday; “eight of them had transferred their functions outside Tokyo or Japan”, Matsumoto told AFP by email……Nearly two weeks after the double disaster ravaged the country’s Pacific coast on March 11, workers were battling to avert catastrophe at a crippled nuclear power plant, located 250 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.
The foreign ministry’s press division said the following countries had closed their doors: Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Kosovo, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama and Switzerland Nuclear fears shut 25 embassies in Tokyo | Herald Sun
Radiation concerns: Evacuation advised for foreigners from Tokyo
Foreigners Advised to Leave Tokyo; US Citizens OK’ed to Evacuate, by: Nancy Roberts 18 March 11, As conflicting information fueled further fears over the potential for radiation emanating from the Fukushima nuclear facility, Germany, Britain and Australia have advised their citizens to leave Tokyo, some 170 miles from the affected plant. Americans have been advised to move beyond a 50 mile radius from the facility, far greater than the 12-mile limit set by the Japanese government.
US citizens and dependents working for the American Embassy or other government institutions have been authorized to evacuate at government expense. The American Embassy remains open, and American dependents have not been ordered to leave, but may “exercise the opportunity” to evacuate, according to Under Secretary of State Patrick F. Kennedy……Foreigners Advised to Leave Tokyo; US Citizens OK’ed to Evacuate
Fukushima cooling effort increasingly being done by robots
More robots sent in to tackle crisis at Fukushima, New Scientist, 24 march 11, Robots from other nations are joining in the efforts to stabilise the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.In addition to the Monirobo radiation monitoring robots reported previously, the Japanese have also used an unmanned fire engine. This was operated by the Tokyo Fire Department, which introduced its first robot, the Rainbow 5 water sprayer, in 1986. Such robots are used for fires which are too large or too hazardous for human fire-fighters to approach. The engine sprayed seawater from an eight-hundred-metre hose directly into the spent fuel rod pool at No. 3 reactor for thirteen hours to prevent overheating.A much more powerful unmanned water cannon has now been flown in from Australia. Made by Bechtel Corporation, the system is manoeuvred into place remotely and can spray nine thousand litres a minute out to a distance of a hundred and fifty metres…… One Per Cent: More robots sent in to tackle crisis at Fukushima
Fukushima radioactive emissions – a guarded secret
”The notion that you can track an air parcel precisely as it travels across the Pacific is fanciful,” he said. “The difficulty in doing that is we really don’t know what is being emitted.” That information, if known at all, is being closely held by Japanese authorities and the U.S. government,
Computer models aid Japanese nuclear response, The Washington Post, By Andrew Freedman, 23 March 11, U-Md. research team wants more data made public. As the Japanese nuclear crisis continues to unfold, the airborne spread of radioactive materials from the stricken reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station continues to be a key concern of Japanese and American officials. Continue reading
Chairman of Japan’s nuclear watchdog call for rethink on nuclear power
Nuclear energy promoter apologises The Australian, March 24, 2011 The pro-nuclear chairman of Japan’s atomic watchdog has called for a worldwide review of the nuclear energy industry after admitting that mistakes had been made in the design of the Fukushima power plant.In comments that will provide ammunition for anti-nuclear campaigners, Haruki Madarame said assumptions behind the building of the now dangerously radioactive nuclear plant had been wrong and global safety guidelines for the industry should be reconsidered.His admission and accompanying apology represented a U-turn from an individual who has advised the Japanese government on nuclear matters for 30 years and chaired its Nuclear Safety Commission since April last year.”As a person who promoted nuclear power, I have a personal feeling of apology,” he said. Nuclear energy promoter apologises | The Australian
Mixed oxide fuel means danger for No 3 Fukushima nuclear plant
New Problems Arise at Japanese Nuclear Plant, NYTimes.com, By KEITH BRADSHER March 23, 2011 “…..Fukushima Daiichi’s Reactor No. 3 began belching black smoke for an hour late in the afternoon, leading its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to evacuate workers.. No. 3 is considered one of the most dangerous of the reactors because of its fuel — mixed oxides, or mox, which contain a mixture of uranium and plutonium and can produce a more dangerous radioactive plume if scattered by fire or explosions. The cooling system at Reactor No. 5, which was shut down at the time of the earthquake and has shown few problems since, also abruptly stopped working on Wednesday afternoon, said Hiro Hasegawa, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric.New Problems Arise at Japanese Nuclear Plant – NYTimes.com
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