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Japan’s nuclear power industry gave money to nuclear regulators

Nuclear safety panel given donations, 9 News 2 Jan 12, Almost one-third of commissioners and examiners at Japan’s nuclear safety commission received donations from the country’s nuclear power industry, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Sunday.

The daily said the governmental commission’s neutrality could be brought into question at a time when the safety of nuclear reactors in Japan was in doubt after a March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster…..


Two of the organisation’s five permanent commissioners and 22 of its 84 outside examiners received donations from companies and industrial organisations related to nuclear power, in five years to March 2011, Asahi said.

The donations totalled about Y85 million ($1.08 million), the daily said. Of them, 11 received donations from nuclear reactor manufacturers and, or, power utilities and nuclear fuel companies which are examined by the commission, Asahi said.

The commission is authorised to guide the state and power utilities from a neutral position.

Haruki Madarame, chairman of the commissioners, received four million yen from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries between 2006 and 2009 when he was a professor at the University of Tokyo before assuming the commission’s post last April, Asahi said….. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8397277/nuclear-safety-panel-given-donations

January 2, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation and thyroid cancer

Vital Signs: Thyroid questions answered.   The Daily Progress  January 01, 2012  The terrible earthquake in Japan, and the resulting nuclear meltdowns, again have placed thyroid cancer in the news. There is a very close link between radiation exposure and thyroid cancer, and it is likely that Japan will see a sharp increase in aggressive thyroid cancers in the coming years, as was the case in Russia after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Here in the United States, there was an increase in thyroid cancer following the nuclear testing in the 1950s in the Southwest. Though we have ceased such open-air testing, there are still numerous ways to be exposed to radiation, such as by receiving radiation therapy for cancer. And there is also a natural incidence of thyroid cancer unrelated to radiation exposure.

January is Thyroid Awareness Month, so it’s an apt time to discuss the thyroid, thyroid cancer and other thyroid conditions……. There are aggressive forms of thyroid cancer unrelated to radiation exposure, but they are very rare and typically occur in older males…. http://www2.dailyprogress.com/lifestyles/2012/jan/01/vital-signs-thyroid-questions-answered-ar-1575329/

January 2, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, health, Japan, USA | Leave a comment

As radioactivity lingers, most of Japan’s evacuees not returning home

 “We can’t go home even if we want to, out of consideration for our children,”

More than half of nuclear radiation zone evacuees in Japan have yet to return home, The Australian Eye, By Nigel Shelbourne, December 31, 2011 FUKUSHIMA, Japan _ Fifty-four percent of evacuees from areas between 20 and 30 kilometers (12.5 and 18.6 miles) of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Japan have yet to return home, three months after the government lifted its emergency evacuation preparation zones. Continue reading →

January 2, 2012 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Reuters reports on diplomatic dance – USA and Iran on nuclear development

However, Obama asked for scope to apply the measures flexibly, and will have discretion to waive penalties. Senior U.S. officials said Washington was consulting foreign partners to ensure the new measures did not harm global energy markets.

Despite its missile tests, war games and threats to close the Hormuz Strait, Iran has also made conciliatory gestures, saying it wants to resume talks with major powers, stalled for a year, about its nuclear research programme…..

Iran reports nuclear progress as sanctions loom  Jan 1, 2012 
* Missile test and fuel rod breakthrough challenge West

* Obama signs sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports

* Tehran offers fresh nuclear talks in letter to EU

By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN, Jan 1 (Reuters) – – Iran announced a nuclear fuel breakthrough and test-fired a new radar-evading medium-range missile in the Gulf on Sunday, moves that could further antagonise the West at a time when Tehran is trying to avert harsh new sanctions on its oil industry. Continue reading →

January 2, 2012 Posted by | Iran, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

Iran developing nuclear fuel rods and plates

First nuclear fuel rod tested in Iran TEHRAN, Tehran Times 1 Jan 12  – Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have successfully tested the first domestically produced nuclear fuel rod containing natural uranium, Iranian news agencies reported on Sunday.

According to the reports, the first nuclear fuel rod was loaded into the core of the Tehran research reactor as part of an experiment to test its performance in operation.

Now Iran should convert fuel rods into fuel plates to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

Iran has constructed an advanced plant at the Isfahan nuclear facility for manufacturing nuclear fuel plates. With the construction of the plant, Iran is now among the few countries that can manufacture both nuclear fuel rods and plates. The nuclear plant for converting enriched nuclear fuel into fuel rods was inaugurated in Isfahan in early spring 2009. ….
http://tehrantimes.com/politics/94128-first-nuclear-fuel-rod-tested-in-iran

January 2, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, Iran | Leave a comment

Pakistan, India, exchange nuclear site information and hold peace talks

Pakistan, India swap nuclear lists Courier Mail,  AFP January 02, PAKISTAN and India have exchanged lists of their nuclear sites. The two countries did so under an accord which prohibits both sides from attacking these locations, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said
yesterday.

Under the 1988 agreement, the nuclear-armed neighbours are required to submit the lists of all their respective nuclear installations and facilities – civilian and military – on January 1 every year.

“In accordance with the aforesaid agreement, a list of requisite facilities in Pakistan was given to the Indian high commission official at the foreign office today,” a statement from Pakistan’s
foreign ministry said.

The Indian side also handed over its list to the Pakistan high commission official at the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi, it added…… As part of the resumed dialogue process, experts from the two countries recently held peace talks in Islamabad on nuclear
confidence-building measures… http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/pakistan-india-swap-nuclear-lists/story-fn6ck55c-1226234513906

January 2, 2012 Posted by | India, Pakistan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Speculation on who will control North Korea’s nuclear weapons

Who Is in Charge of N.Korea’s Nuclear Weapons? Chosin Ilbo, 2 Jan 11 “…..A South Korean intelligence officer said the North Korean military attaches the greatest importance to the nuclear arms, and Kim Jong-un is now in charge of them. The regime is believed to have about 50 kg of plutonium extracted and up to 10 nuclear bombs, and there was some anxiety abroad who would control them in the power vacuum after former leader Kim Jong-il died.

But some experts say the 29-year-old Kim Jong-un has no military background and cannot really be in charge of the nuclear arms. He is nominally only a vice chairman of the commission, appointed alongside Ri Yong-ho, the chief of General Staff. One South Korean government official speculated that Ri probably controls the regime’s weapons of mass destruction, including any nuclear bombs.
Others believe the commission is collectively in control because it includes all the top military brass. They believe that the first thing the regime did after Kim Jong-il’s death was to ensure control of the nuclear weapons. …..
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/12/26/2011122601337.html

January 2, 2012 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Opposition in Spain to nuclear waste dump plan

New nuclear waste dump sparks controversy in Spain Olive Press, JANUARY 1, 2012   RAJOY’S new government has announced a €700 million nuclear waste dump for a village near Madrid, provoking mixed reaction from residents and green groups…

..Those in nearby villages, however, are considering taking legal action against the
plan. Greenpeace are also critical, saying the project is likely to cost nearly three times what the government has proposed, and that transporting waste to the site will be dangerous.
The plan was originally voted in 2004, but the location decision was delayed by Zapatero’s government amid protests….

January 2, 2012 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Spain | Leave a comment

USA’s big increase in wind and solar energy in past 2 years

Obama has Nearly Quadrupled Renewable Energy on Public Lands CLEAN TECHNICA, DECEMBER 31, 2011 BY   With two years of the Obama administration, almost four times as much clean energy has been put on the grid on public lands as in all the previous 40 years.

All the renewable energy ever permitted on public lands totaled 1,800 MW by the end of 2008. In the last two years, the Department of the Interior has approved 6,600 MW of new projects. Continue reading →

January 2, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

Scotland’s success in renewable energy and energy efficiency

Scotland Cheers Record-Breaking Renewables Year Earth Techling,   by Lauren Craig, January 1st, 2012 There have been several big renewable energy news stories to come out of Scotland this year. The country commissioned its first grid-tied commercial scale tidal turbine; signed lease agreements for five new offshore wind farms; and dedicated £35 million ($54 million) to support the marine and tidal industry over the next three years. Since setting an ambitious goal to meet 100 percent of the country’s electricity needs with renewable energy by 2020, the Scottish government is keeping a close eye on the numbers. And, if things keep going the way they have been going, 2011 will be a record year for renewable electricity production in Scotland.

New figures recently released by the Scottish Department for Energy and Climate Change show that in the first nine months of 2011 Scotland had already generated 94 percent of the amount of renewable energy produced in 2010, and 83 percent of that produced during the old record year of 2009. The percentage of renewable electricity production had decreased from 27.4 percent in 2009 to 24.1 percent in 2010, but the figures indicate Scotland will bounce back in 2011 and produce enough renewable generation capacity to meet its 2011 interim target of 31 percent.

Part of the increase can be attributed to falling energy consumption. The figures show that energy consumption fell by 7.4 percent compared to 2008, and that Scotland is on track to meet its energy reduction target of 12 percent by 2020.

“These figures show that [2011] is on course to be truly the best year yet,” said Energy Minister Fergus Ewing. “This year projects were switched on representing £750 million of investment in renewables, and a staggering £46 billion of investment is in the pipeline. But most importantly, we have taken real steps to ensure that communities all over Scotland will benefit from the renewable energy generated in their area, with a community benefit register [and] loan projects to help them develop renewable energy projects of their own.”  http://www.earthtechling.com/2012/01/scotland-cheers-record-breaking-renewables-year/

January 2, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment