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Hamaoka nuclear plant – seawater in reactor core, radiation in farmland

Seawater enters reactor core at nuclear plant,  Oman Observer, Sat, 21 May 2011 TOKYO — Some five tons of seawater is estimated to have entered a reactor core at the Hamaoka nuclear power station in central Japan, the operator said on Thursday. That followed the discovery of an estimated 400 tons of seawater that has inundated the main steam condenser at reactor 5 of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka prefecture, south-west of Tokyo.

Chubu Electric Power Co, which runs the plant, found the 400 tons of seawater while shutting down the reactor as requested by the government. Chubu Electric officials said their assessment of the purity of water inside the pressure vessel showed some 5 tons of seawater came from the condenser. The utility will not decommission the reactor. Instead, it will dilute and desalinate the seawater to prevent any corrosion inside the reactor as salt causes corrosion…….
The plant is run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). On Saturday, after Chubu Electric started to put the Hamaoka plant in a stable state known as cold shutdown, it discovered seawater in the reactor core, Jiji said. Meanwhile, local officials in the prefecture of Miyagi said on Thursday they had found high levels of radioactive substances in a sample of pasture grass.
Local government officials detected 1,530 becquerels of radioactive caesium per kilogram in a sample collected a week ago from a farm run by the town of Marumori, some 60 kilometres north of the Fukushima plant. — DPA… Seawater enters reactor core at nuclear plant | Oman Observer

May 21, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

A legal win for Namibia’s groundwater against uranium mining

issue is the question of who has the legal standing to go to court to ask for protection for the environment, which is unable to speak for itself…plan to extract large quantities of water from an underground water source in such a dry, environmentally sensitive and hitherto unspoilt area.

Uranium company loses desert water plan appeal, the Namibian, 20 May 11, By: WERNER MENGES  A LEGAL challenge to a Canadian-owned mining company’s plan to use underground water to set up a uranium mine in the Namib Desert south-west of Usakos is heading back to the High Court after an appeal judgement that was given in the Supreme Court yesterday.

An issue that has never before had to be decided by a Namibian court is expected to be at the core Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | Legal, Namibia, water | Leave a comment

UK government’s hidden subsidies to nuclear industry

Government’s ‘hidden’ nuclear subsidies blasted, North West Evening Mail, 20 May 2011 MPs have accused the government of planning to subsidise nuclear power despite pledging no public financial support for the industry.The coalition government says it is committed to new nuclear build but has insisted it would not be taxpayer funded.But a report by the Commons Energy and Climate Change committee said hidden subsidies for nuclear will be awarded through government-supported long-term contracts to supply energy, and a minimum price for carbon emissions.It condemned the attempts to hide the subsidies as “deeply irresponsible” and said it put the government’s green credentials in jeopardy….
it would be deeply irresponsible to skew the whole process of electricity market reform simply to save face.”

Nuclear companies could also receive government assurances that the taxpayer could meet the cost of any increases to the estimated bill for storing radioactive waste from new reactors.

Mr Yeo said: “The government must be upfront about the support it is giving to nuclear and not hide subsidies.”….

May 21, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Agonising decisions over animals left in Fukushima prefecture

As the no-go zone spreads, ever more farmers are being forced to make agonising decisions over whether to move their livestock to safe areas and incur huge costs, slaughter their animals or — perhaps the most unacceptable option — leave them to their fate.

Agony for Japan livestock farmers in nuclear crisis, By Shingo Ito (AFP) – GoogleNews, 20 May 11, FUKUSHIMA CITY, Japan — As more people are forced to leave their homes around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, anger is growing in a farming community forced to make the agonising decision whether to slaughter livestock or face ruin. Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Tribunal raps Indian govt over Jaitapur health and safety issues

Jaitapur public tribunal gives govt a rap on the knuckles, May 20, 2011,  By Alok Deshpande  Mumbai  : DNA  As around 20 fisherfolk, men and women from Sakhri Nate village, situated around the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) site appeared before a People’s Tribunal for the second day to blow the lid off police atrocities, the government’s nuclear agencies were for the first time ever, forced to submit their depositions to the panel of two retired high court judges. Justice AP Shah, however, reacted sharply, calling it a “half-hearted attempt” from the government to answer people’s grievances over the JNPP.

“The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has submitted its deposition to the tribunal, which has no answer to the questions raised by the people. Even Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has sent large number of documents, but strangely no-one is appearing, in person, before the people’s court and is not ready to face cross-examination,” said Shah.

He added that the documents are related to radiation, health and safety and seemed to be regular brochures. “I have asked the experts to study them and tell us what was not mentioned in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report,” said Shah. The judges have however, noted that this is the first time that a full-fledged discussion over nuclear energy is taking place in a free environment, which is a good sign…..Jaitapur public tribunal gives govt a rap on the knuckles – Mumbai – DNA

May 21, 2011 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

US nuclear reactors same design as Fukushima’s- are they safe?

 US reactors of the same design have generally been found to have less, not more, emergency battery power to cool reactors during power outages. Most such reactors also have much larger loads of spent fuel in their cooling pools than did their counterparts at Fukushima.

Nuclear power safety: Latest on Japan crisis fuels new concern in US Nuclear Regulatory Commission still insists that US nuclear plants with same design as Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi facility are safe. But watchdog groups cite failed venting system, which led to hydrogen explosions.   CSMonitor.com, By Mark Clayton, Staff writer / May 20, 2011 Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Growing global protest against Jaitapur nuclear power plant

As occurs so often in such situations, the Indian government has employed ruthless tactics, carrying out midnight arrests and forcing farmers off of their land. Yet, in the face an increasingly oppressive and brutal state, the people have stood their ground.

Protest mounts against earthquake prone nuke plant Greenpeace International by Karuna Raina – May 20, 2011  Since its earliest stages, the proposed Nuclear Power Plant at Jaitapur has faced concerned opposition from local people who clearly recognised the inherent risks that the Indian government appeared to be ignoring. With the proposed site sitting directly on top of one of India’s most seismically active zones, those with the most to lose saw clearly the danger they were being placed in and started the fight for their safety, their livelihoods and the future of their families. Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

“New Generation” nuclear raectors have safety problems, says NRC

U.S. Nuclear Agency Has ‘Technical Issues’ With Toshiba Reactor,  WSJ.com, MAY 21, 2011By CASSANDRA SWEET The top U.S. nuclear regulator on Friday threw a roadblock in the way of a new type of nuclear reactor that some U.S. operators are using for their next-generation nuclear plants, saying officials have discovered “technical issues.” Continue reading →

May 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

New nuclear missile test by Russia

Russia tests nuclear missile amid row with US | Herald Sun * May 21, 2011  RUSSIA has conducted its second intercontinental ballistic missile test in less than a month as it stepped up its campaign against a US-backed interceptor system for Europe.News reports said the Sineva missile was launched from a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea and later successfully hit its target on the opposite side of the country on the Kamchatka Peninsula.
“The launch was conducted from a submerged position,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russian news agencies…..
Moscow is currently furious with Washington for pushing ahead with plans to deploy a missile defence system for Europe – a shield that Russia fears could one day be transformed into an offensive weapon that targets its soil……Russia tests nuclear missile amid row with US | Herald Sun

May 21, 2011 Posted by | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment