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USA’s radioactive rainwater from Fukushima nuclear disaster

High levels of radiation detected in Northwest rainwater, by GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News, July 11, 2011, SEATTLE — A Seattle nuclear watchdog group is accusing the federal government of failing to keep the public informed of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In the days following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. began monitoring radiation from Japan’s leaking nuclear power plants.

Most of the public attention went to the air monitoring which showed little or no radiation coming our way. But things were different on the rain water side.

“The level that was detected on March 24 was 41 times the drinking water standard,” said Gerry Pollet from Heart of America Northwest. He reviewed Iodine 131 numbers released by the Environmental Protection Agency last spring.

“Our government said no health levels, no health levels were exceeded.When in fact the rain water in the Northwest is reaching levels 130 times the drinking water standards,” said Pollet.Elevated rain water samples were collected in Portland, Olympia and Boise — which had the highest….http://www.king5.com/news/environment/High-levels-of-radiation-detected-in-Northwest-rainwater–125391598.html

July 12, 2011 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Taiwanese government not taking nuclear risks seriously

Nuclear safety inaction panned, By Lee I-chia  Taipei Times   Staff Reporte, 12 July 11, Four months after a powerful earthquake and tsunami sparked a crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, environmental protection activists yesterday said the Taiwanese government remained flippant about nuclear safety.

RISKS:The former head of an anti-nuclear group said problems could occur at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant given a lack of experienced engineers working there.

During a press conference at the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said that if an earthquake of similar magnitude occurred in Taiwan, the operating power plants might be unable to withstand the impact and catastrophe might ensue at tremendous cost to society.

There are 108 schools located within a 20km radius of the Jinshan, Guosheng and Fourth Nuclear Power Plants in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Shihmen (石門), Wanli (萬里) and Gongliao (貢寮) districts respectively, Tien said.

“If something goes wrong at any one of the three plants, many schools will face total evacuation,” she said…..http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/07/12/2003508030

July 12, 2011 Posted by | safety, Taiwan | Leave a comment

Global warming a factor, as nuclear plants hit by jellyfish explosion

“Global warming increases the water temperature. These animals are cold-blooded so the warmer you make it the quicker they grow,”

Jellyfish force shutdown of nuclear power plants, Sydney Morning Herald, Glenda Kwek, July 11, 2011 – Huge amounts of jellyfish have forced the shutdown of nuclear power plants in Japan – already hit by the earthquake and tsunami – Israel and Scotland in the past few weeks. Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | Leave a comment

Fukushima Prefecture will give radiation monitors to 280,000 children

Dosimeters will be given to 280,000 children, NHK World, 24 June 11, Fukushima Prefecture has decided to distribute dosimeters to about 280 thousand children to monitor their radiation exposure caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Voices of parents expressing concern about their children’s health have been growing louder. The prefecture said on Thursday it will give dosimeters to children ranging from infants to junior high school students.

The prefecture will also subsidize cities and villages to replace top soil in the school yards or set up air conditioners in schools.
Some municipalities in the prefecture have already distributed, or decided to distribute, dosimeters to children to monitor radiation exposure. The prefecture will provide financial help to those municipalities…http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/24_01.html

July 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Nuclear power loses even more credibility as Japan’s crooked email scandal is exposed

There can be no doubt that the sending of the e-mails under the guise of ordinary residents of the prefecture was perpetrated systematically….Making the problem worse is the fact that the company at first tried to cover it up.

E-mail scandal could amplify distrust of N-power, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 11 July , If they thought they could use the deception to increase support for restarting nuclear reactors, the idea was extremely ill-advised.

This is in reference to the e-mail scandal involving Kyushu Electric Power Co., in which the utility sought to manipulate public opinion to favor reactivation of its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture. Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

USA’s new nuclear regulations will take years to be developed

Analysis: After Fukushima, glacial change seen for U.S. nuclear, (Reuters) 11 July 11, – The U.S. nuclear industry this week gets its first peek at a roadmap for new regulations that ultimately could cost it billions in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

But the bottom-line impact of Fukushima on the U.S. fleet of 104 reactors could take most of the next decade to calculate.

Most expect Tuesday’s report from a task force of senior staff members at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to be just the first step in years of deliberations and rule-makings…….

The last time the NRC did this kind of regulatory soul-search — after the September 11, 2001, attacks — it took a decade to get the entire plan in place. Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Fukushima cows ate irradiated straw

High radiation found in straw given to cows whose meat was contaminated, Mainichi Daily News, 11 July 11, FUKUSHIMA –– High levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in rice straw used as feed for cows from a Fukushima Prefecture city whose meat contained excessive levels of cesium.

The meat of 11 head of Japanese black cattle that were raised and shipped from a farm in the city of Minamisoma had 1,530 to 3,200 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, while the maximum amount permitted is 500 becquerels per kilogram.

According to Fukushima prefectural officials, the farm operator fed the cattle rice straw that had been harvested last autumn and left outside. Officials believe it is highly likely that the rice straw eaten by the cows contaminated their meat, and are considering tightening rules on feed management…..http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110711p2a00m0na017000c.html

July 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

David Wagner reports on the nuclear crisis in Japan

Report From Tokyo: My Final Report, Huffington Post, David Wagner, 11 July 11, “……….I have a list of my own remaining concerns I share here along with my take on how things may play out:

1) Food Chain: I have talked about this issue numerous times and just the past week further evidence of radiation’s spread in to the food chain was confirmed. This will grow in magnitude as time goes on, leading to pressure to establish an effective food monitoring system. Currently, less than 1 percent of all food in Japan is tested for radiation.

2) Child Safety: As I have written in the past, it is the children of Japan that are in harm’s way near the plant. Faced with the dilemma of staying (mortgage, job, family) or leaving (safety, peace of mind), I suspect more and more families will leave affected regions.

3) Hot Spots: The explosions in two nuclear reactors in March created many “hot spots” where radiation gathered and remains. Mapping these, determining who has had exposure to them, and cleaning them up will be a top priority. Recent reports confirm that the clean up process from the mess in Fukushima will take decades. That sounds about right.

4) Brain Drain: Rising numbers of non-Japanese and Japanese alike will leave Japan. The result will be a notable loss in human talent and creativity, both of which Japan needs to remain competitive. Not a good sign for the future for a country I love.

5) Responsibility: A well-known book by Karel Van Wolferen, written in 1989, highlighted the lack of responsibility taken in decision-making in Japan. Nothing has changed since then. I would not count on much movement in this area. If anything, count on more manipulation of public opinion…….http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-wagner/japan-radiation-_b_893955.html.

July 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Disgrace for Kyushu Electric, as deceitful nuclear power promotion exposed

part of the e-mail instruction read: “Send opinions and questions …which could win sympathy from the prefecture residents.”     It also said, “Use personal computers from home.”…

Kyushu Electric president to resign over pro-nuke e-mails, Asahi.com 8 July 11, Toshio Manabe, president of Kyushu Electric Power Co., said July 7 that he intends to resign after the utility was found to have instructed employees to manipulate public opinion on nuclear power.

Manabe said he will take responsibility for instructing employees to send “pro-nuclear power” e-mails to organizers of a public hearing broadcast on television in late June. Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | 1 Comment

UK govt twists and turns, as it pretends not to subsidise nuclear power

 Government and the nuclear industry have been in each others pockets ever since, as shown by the shocking collusion to downplay the Fukushima disaster, just hours after it happened….

the “no subsidy” claim is ludicrous in principle, given that taxpayers plays the same role for the nuclear industry as they did for the banks: they bail them out when things go wrong, an implicit subsidy…. burying the subsidies in an attempt to hide political embarrassment hinders proper debate.

Powering the UK: why the new electricity plan is all about nuclear, The Guardian, Damian Carrington, 11 July 11, The UK government has wanted new nuclear reactors for years, but a political contortion means explicit support is impossible. Result: a bewildering maze of measures Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Japanese Nobel laureates call for an end to nuclear power

Four months after the outbreak of the nuclear crisis, the committee said at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ), “The nuclear fuel continues to be over-heated and cannot be controlled and stabilized” and “the highly polluted water used as coolant is still unmanageable.”

‘World Peace 7’ calls for nuclear-free Japan, Mainichi Daily News,  (By Shiro Yoneyama, Staff Writer), 11 July 11, Members of the “Committee of Seven for World Peace Appeal” issued fresh calls for an end to nuclear power plants in Japan and abroad on July 11, the four-month anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and subsequent crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Continue reading →

July 11, 2011 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Warmer seas bring jellyfish invasion to four nuclear reactors

PHOTOS, http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/177280/20110710/jellyfish-invade-four-nuclear-reactors-japan-israel-scotland-2011-power-plant-shut-down-unusual-grow.htm  Jellyfish Invade Four Nuclear Reactors in Japan, Israel, Scotland, By International Business Times,  Times Staff Reporter | Jul 10, 2011 

Four nuclear reactors in Japan, Israel and Scotland were forced to shutdown due to infiltration of enormous swarms of jellyfish, which clogged the plant’s cooling system.

Earlier this week, the Orot Rabin nuclear power plant in Hadera, Israel was forced to shutdown when a swarm of jellyfish blocked the plant’s water supply which is used as a coolant.

The string of jellyfish surges began a week before with a reactor in Shimane, Japan. And in a week’s time two reactors at Torness power station, operated by EDF, in Scotland had to be shutdown as the seawater used as coolant was inundated with jellyfish.

The reactors were closed as precautionary measure due to “high volumes of jellyfish fouling the cooling water screens”, an EDF spokesman said.

July 10, 2011 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Earthquake, not tsunami, caused first Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown?

Japan Nuclear Disaster Update 30: It was, is, and will be worse than you thought, Greg Laden’s Blog  July 9, 2011, by Analiese Miller and Greg Laden Perhaps the most interesting single thing on the table in today’s update is the revelation that at least one of Fukushima’s reactors suffered sufficient damage from the earthquake that hit the region … prior to the tsunami … to have likely gone out of control or melted down. Continue reading →

July 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

France moving towards renewable energy, despite AREVA and other nuclear lobbies

Critics have accused France’s nuclear lobby – made up of the industry’s powerful unions and its state-controlled companies EDF and Areva – of impeding renewable investment.

France aims to rebalance its energy mix, FT.com By Peggy Hollinger, 10 July 11, France will on Monday begin a big push on renewable energy that could signal a weakening in the traditional hold of nuclear power over a country that has long led the field in atomic energy.

“Our objective is to rebalance the energy mix in favour of renewables,” said Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, ecology minister, in an interview with the Financial Times as she prepared to launch a €10bn ($14.2bn) tender for five new offshore windpower farms. Continue reading →

July 10, 2011 Posted by | France, renewable | Leave a comment

Fukushima workers evacuated as new earthquake strikes NE Japan

7.0 aftershock hits off Japan coast; no damage reported, Washington Post, By ,  July 10. TOKYO — Northeastern Japan was jolted Sunday morning by a 7.0 magnitude aftershock, the largest to hit here in more than three months, triggering a tsunami warning for coastal areas trying to recover from the March 11 mega-disaster.

Initial reports indicated no damage as a result of this tremor, but residents — including workers at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant — were urged to evacuate. Tsunami waves between 10 and 20 centimeters high were reported in Miyagi and Iwate Prefecture……

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/japan-earthquake-70-aftershock-hits-off-coast-no-damage-reported/2011/07/09/gIQAIZwH6H_story.html

July 10, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

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