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Safecast – citizen scientists monitor Japan’s radiation levels

Safecast took its first reading on April 16. Today, it has about 50 regular volunteers who collect data from their homes or while driving, build devices or assist in other ways. Those using vehicles equipped with Geiger counters cover an area that Franken estimates to be about 620 miles long by 185 miles wide. To date, they’ve collected 251,000 data points from their drives and fixed reporting stations, and have received about 60,000 more from other sources, including people with their own Geiger counters.

Japan’s citizen scientists map radiation, DIY-style, World Blog, By Miranda Leitsinger, Senior Writer and Editor, msnbc.com  13 July 11, With the Japanese government only providing spotty information about the radiation leaking from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in the early days after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a group of tech-minded citizen scientists set out to fill in the “black holes” in the knowledge base. Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan, technology | 2 Comments

Suspend Jaitapur nuclear plant, extend liability for reactor suppliers

Accusing the UPA government of not being transparent on the issue of nuclear power, Mr. Karat said it had “failed” to take people into confidence, especially after the nuclear crisis in Japan.

Mr. Raja demanded that the nuclear liability law be reformed to extend the liability to the supplier in case of design defect. 

Left demands suspension of work at Jaitapur nuke project, MUMBAI, juillet 13, 201, THE HINDU,  The Left parties on Wednesday demanded immediate suspension of work at the proposed 9900 mw Jaitapur nuclear power project and said it favoured an independent review of existing nuclear installations in the country. Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

Renewable energy supplied almost 20% of world’s electricity jn 2010

The sector also delivered close to 20 per cent of the world’s electricity production,…“More and more of the world’s people are gaining access to energy services through renewables, not only to meet their basic needs, but also to enable them to develop economically,”

UN-backed report shows strong performance by renewable energy sector, UN News Centre, 13 July 2011 –  The renewable energy sector has continued to perform well despite the global economic slowdown, cuts in incentives, and low natural-gas prices, according to a United Nations-backed report unveiled today, which shows that the sector supplied an estimated 16 per cent of global energy last year. Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Wave and Tidal Power for UK Cost Competitive with Nuclear

Marine energy ‘could compete with nuclear on cost‘, Low Carbon Economy.com 13 juil. 2011 Marine energy could supply almost 20 percent of the UK’s energy needs and be cost competitive with onshore wind and nuclear sources.  This is according to a new report from the Carbon Trust, which sets out a three-year research and development programme for the marine energy sector.

The document claims the best marine energy sites in the UK could produce energy at a comparable cost to that generated from onshore wind and nuclear sources, once cost reductions following the first gigawatt of installation come into force.

Wave energy could provide 50TWh of power and tidal power could provide 20.6TWh, equating to 13 percent and five percent of the UK’s energy needs ……http://www.lowcarboneconomy.com/profile/the_low_carbon_economy_ltd/_low_carbon_blog/marine_energy_’could_compete_with_nuclear_on_cost’/14825

July 13, 2011 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Iran and IAEA talks might lead to better co-operation

Iranian, IAEA Experts to Find New Realms for Cooperation. FARS NewsAgency TEHRAN (FNA) 13 July 11, – Experts from Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are due to hold talks in a bid to explore ways of increasing cooperation between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after meeting IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano in Vienna, Salehi described his talks with Amano as positive, and said, “It was decided that the two sides’ experts hold meetings and find a mechanism for further cooperation on Iran’s nuclear issue so that the existing misunderstandings will be removed properly.”

Stressing that Iran’s nuclear case should have been closed long time ago, he said and main points of difference between Iran and the IAEA have been resolved. ….http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=900421327
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July 13, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

USA’s Aerial Radiological Survey – testing radiation levels in the atmosphere

Now You Know: That Thing in the Sky is Testing for Radiation, Seattlest 13 July 11  If you’ve recently spied a startlingly low-flying beast in the sky, don’t worry–it’s not Google trying to get a more recent photo of your back yard, and it’s not a search party looking for bad guys in your neighborhood. It’s just trying to get a read on how much radiation you might exposed to.

Yesterday, the Washington State Department of Health launched the Aerial Radiological Survey for King and Piece Counties. The survey, which is being conducted by a helicopter that flies in a grid pattern at about 300 feet above the ground, will last until July 28. It is being funded by the Department of Homeland Security, and can “detect the presence of radioactive materials that emit gamma radiation such as cesium and radioactive iodine.” The goal of the project is to establish a radiation baseline–that is, how much radiation each area is exposed to right now, in a time of normal levels.

The project, says the DOH, has been in the works since 2009. But, we imagine, since the Fukushima nuclear disaster across the pond in Japan, the information being gathered is more critical than they could have predicted. Having a baseline for what is “normal” will be massively helpful in the future, when determining what is dangerous, and what is abnormal….http://seattlest.com/2011/07/12/now_you_know_that_thing_in_the_sky.php

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July 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, technology, USA | 1 Comment

Japanese billionaire takes the lead in promoting renewable energy

His goal is to encourage local governments to shift to renewable energy sources and to provide land for mega-solar panels, wind turbines, geothermal, small hydropower generators, and other renewable energy forms.

Investment would come from Son’s fund as well as other public and private sources…..

As it takes a minimum of 10 years to build a nuclear plant, and given that the cost of solar power in other countries like the United States continues to fall thanks to ever more efficient solar panels, Son is betting that, by 2020, renewable energy technology will have developed to the point where it is extremely cost-competitive on a per kilowatt hour basis compared with nuclear power. And renewable energy would not have the social and environmental problems of nuclear power..

SON’S CLEAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, Son’s quest for sun, wind has nuclear interests wary, Japan Times, 12 July 11, By ERIC JOHNSTON, In late March, while engaging in volunteer work and making efforts to restore telecommunications networks in the quake-stricken Tohoku region, Softbank Corp. founder and Chairman Masayoshi Son met with evacuees from the area surrounding the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Days later, he returned to Tokyo and declared pursuit of a new energy policy, one emphasizing renewable sources, such as solar, wind and thermal energy, was needed. Continue reading →

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power

Japan PM says must reduce dependence on nuclear power

* PM Kan apologises for confusion over stress tests

* Suggests future of nuclear business open to debate..

By Linda Sieg, TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) – Japan has no choice but to reduce its reliance on nuclear power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Tuesday, as the country battles to end a four-month-old radiation crisis at a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.

The unpopular prime minister appears increasingly sensitive to growing public concern about nuclear power, but whether he oversees an overhaul of energy policy is in doubt as he has promised to resign, although he has not specified when.

“We must scrap the plan to have nuclear power contribute 53 percent (of electricity supply) by 2030 and reduce the degree of reliance on nuclear power,” Kan told the panel.

The crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima plant has sparked public debate over the role of nuclear power in quake-prone, resource-poor Japan, as well as immediate concerns about power shortages as 35 of the country’s 54 reactors are currently off-line.

A 2010 basic energy plan had called for boosting nuclear energy’s share of the electricity supply to 53 percent by 2030 by building at least 14 new reactors, but many politicians agree that is nearly impossible now given the growing public anxiety….http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/japan-nuclear-kan-idUSL3E7IC0EN20110712

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

USA House to vote on cutting back renewable energy, promoting fossil fuels

US House To Vote On Cuts To Renewable-Energy Research, NASDAQ By Ryan Tracy, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES, 12 July 11, WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Monday was expected to vote on cuts to renewable-energy research while boosting funding for energy technologies that use fossil fuel, the latest evidence of a partisan divide on energy policy…..http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201107111613dowjonesdjonline000291&title=us-house-to-vote-on-cuts-to-renewable-energy-research

July 12, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Radioactivity in waste incineration near Tokyo

Radioactive ash found in waste plants near Tokyo, Google News, (AFP)12 July 11, TOKYO — Japanese waste incineration plants near Tokyo have found high levels of radiation in ash, and officials said Tuesday it may be from garden waste contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The radioactive caesium was detected in plants in Kashiwa city in Chiba prefecture, northeast of Tokyo and about 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the plant that has leaked radiation since the March 11 quake and tsunami….

Authorities suspect the caesium may be from garden waste, such as tree branches and grass cuttings, that has been burnt in the facility.

Kashiwa city official Kiyoshi Nakamura told AFP: “Some people are believed to have cut plants and mown their lawns because of fear of radioactive contamination, and that waste was apparently brought to the plant.”…http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iPN-whkfu1E0C_LcAIeffM9uoHZQ?docId=CNG.30b3c946c2c894e47045f723d8b684af.b51

July 12, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide on USA nuclear waste repository

Fate of Yucca Mountain Decision in NRC Hands, By SONYA ANGELICA DIEHN, 11 July 11 , (CN) – The D.C. Circuit ruled that a decision on the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada lies firmly with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission…..Although the DOE withdrew its application and has halted construction at the site, it’s really up to the NRC to decide its fate, the appeals circuit wrote in three separate concurring opinions.

Judge Kavanaugh said this case is a “mess” due to overlapping responsibilities between the two agencies. While both are under the executive branch, the NRC can act more independently.
But for now, he wrote, “the ball in this case rests in the executive branch not with the President, but rather with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”
Since the commission hasn’t made a final decision on Yucca Mountain yet, the case was determined untimely and dismissed. …..http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/07/11/38033.htm

July 12, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Stuxnet computer worm ushers in new threat to nuclear installations

STUXNET: WORLD’S FIRST CYBER WEAPON, Big Think   July 12, 2011 .When the Stuxnet computer virus infected Iran’s nuclear power facilities at the Natanz enrichment plant, it became the world’s first cyber weapon…..”Stuxnet required an enormous amount of resources to produce, but its cost-benefit ratio is still in question. While it may have helped set Iran’s program back to a degree, it also altered the landscape of cyberattacks. Stuxnet’s authors mapped a new frontier that other attackers are bound to follow; and the next target for sabotage could easily be a nuclear facility in the United States. No one knows what Stuxnet might have achieved had it never been discovered by VirusBlockAda a year ago. … It appeared the attackers were still developing the code when it was uncovered.”..http://bigthink.com/ideas/39255

July 12, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology | Leave a comment

Investigations continue into radioactive leak from nuclear plant

Radioactive waste leaks at nuclear plant, Officials say no threat posed, but federal safety team continues to investigate, The State, South Carolina, By SAMMY FRETWELL , 12 July 11,

Federal nuclear safety inspectors are investigating a radioactive waste leak at SCE&G’s atomic power plant in Fairfield County.

An estimated 100 gallons of liquid waste spilled at the utility’s V.C. Summer plant, apparently from a pipe that leaked, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The discovery was made late last week.

State, federal and SCE&G officials say they have found no signs the material left the SCE&G nuclear plant or posed any threat to the public, but they are continuing to investigate….Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/07/12/1894714/radioactive-waste-leaks-at-nuclear.html#ixzz1RtIakhMk

 

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

Hospital fined for losing radioactive material

Federal nuclear regulators fine Bozeman hospital after losing radioactive material

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium – film reveals impact of uranium mining on indigenous people

  http://www.nfb.ca/film/Uranium   Uranium, Intercontinental cry By , Uranium is an award winning short film on the consequences of uranium mining in Canada. Narrated by Buffy Sainte-Marie, the 48-minute film explores how uranium mining can impact the environment, the health of those who are employed in the industry, and the quality of life of Indigenous peoples who live near the mines. Continue reading →

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

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