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No records kept of Japan’s nuclear disaster crisis response!

“Perhaps there were some goings on that the participants did not feel comfortable being made public,” 

Japan Task Force Kept No Records Of Nuclear Crisis Response, Planet Ark, 25-Jan-12,  JAPAN by Yoko Kubota and Shinichi Saoshiro Japan’s energy minister admitted on Tuesday that no records were kept of top level discussions in the critical early days on how to respond to the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

USA swinging voters want renewable energy and action on climate change

the passages where Obama discussed phasing out subsidies for oil companies and competing with China and Germany for new developments in wind and solar power did particularly well.

 63 percent of Americans say there is solid evidence that earth’s average temperature has been getting warmer over the past few decades,

SOTU 2012: Renewable Energy Scores High With Swing Voters, International Business Times, By ASHLEY PORTERO: January 25, 2012  Denying the science behind climate change may be in vogue among conservative Republicans this year, but it won’t help the party attract valuable swing votes come the presidential election in November…

..  a focus study of 50 swing voters that was conducted as Obama delivered his speech revealed strongly favorable reactions to those proposals, especially renewable energy, which received one of the most positive responses from the night. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

UK govt not happy with GE Hitachi’s plan for plutonium waste

the UK stockpile of waste plutonium – the biggest civilian stash in the world 

UK Nuclear Watchdog Toughens Stance On Waste Reuse, Planet Ark 25-Jan-12,  BRITAIN by Oleg Vukmanovic Britain’s nuclear watchdog has hardened its stance against a proposal by U.S.-Japan joint venture GE Hitachi to dispose of UK radioactive waste in a plutonium-burning reactor but has not ended talks.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which advises the government on how best to manage the UK’s growing plutonium stockpile, is considering a number of options including the fast-reactor design proposed by GE Hitachi in November.

The NDA has repeatedly ruled the multi-billion pound 600 megawatt (MW) reactor out of the running on the grounds that the technology lacks credibility for the purposes of plutonium disposal. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, UK | Leave a comment

Uranium mining and radioactive water pollution

The truly frightening part is the sentence that reads, ” Covering tailings material with water during operations …”  Where do they imagine all that water will end up?  It’s water containing not only radioactive material, but a host of other toxins as well?  And how do they know for certain that an earthquake could not crack that containment cell open like an egg or that a hurricane would not dump enough water on Coles Hill to cause those cells to become so saturated that they leak their contents into the groundwater surrounding them?

Uranium risks far outweigh benefits AltaVista Journal, Jesse Andrews, 25 Jan 12,   Virginia Uranium Inc.’s most recent propaganda release, “We’re committed to protecting water quality.”   Why does VUI feel the need to continue to explain itself if in fact uranium mining would be as safe and innocuous as they claim?  If uranium mining had ever been safe anywhere, which it has not, they wouldn’t feel such a desperate need to explain just how safe their mine would be.

What they have presented is a pretty drawing of a disaster waiting to happen. A containment cell constructed just like your local landfill, only instead of household garbage, it contains radioactive waste.  A nice concept, but one whose reliability over the course of 1,000 years is indeed doubtful. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | 3 Comments

Over 2 million Californians risk radioactive water pollution in proximity to nuclear reactors

Nuclear Power Plants Threaten Drinking Water for 2.3 Million Californians
San Diego is the 6th Largest Region in the Country to Have Drinking Water Sources Located Within 50 Miles of a Nuclear Plant YubaNet.com  Jan 24, 2012   By: CALPIRG  San Diego, CA January 24, 2012 – The drinking water for 2.3 million people in California could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at a local nuclear power plant, says a new study released today by the California Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Environment California Research and Policy Center.

“The danger of nuclear power is too close to home. Here in California, the drinking water for 2.3 million people is too close to an active nuclear power plant,” said Emily Rusch, CALPIRG Education Fund State Director. “An accident or a leak could spew cancer-causing radioactive waste into our drinking water.” Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | USA, water | Leave a comment

Nuclear personnel asleep at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

Vulnerable U.S. Nuclear Weapons Site Faces Allegations of Snoozing Security Guard Potential Pattern of Fatigue Among Wackenhut Nuclear Personnel
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) 25 Jan 12, By MIA STEINLE
The security contractor for the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee is investigating reports that one of its security guards was sleeping and had also been using an unauthorized cell phone while they were supposed to be guarding a sensitive nuclear facility with bomb-grade material.

Photos of the alleged incident were sent to Wackenhut Security Inc.’s (WSI) Oak Ridge unit, the Energy Department, and the Knoxville News Sentinel, which broke the story Tuesday.
The photos were allegedly taken inside Building 3019, which raises “the additional issue of who took photographs inside a high-security nuclear installation,” according to the News Sentinel. Building 3019 stores about a half-ton of uranium-233, which POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton said today in a statement is roughly the amount needed for 250 improvised nuclear detonations.

“Perhaps the most egregious part of all this is that the Energy Department is allowing Wackenhut to investigate the latest security lapse itself,” Stockton said. “This is too important to leave up to Wackenhut.” WSI is commonly known as Wackenhut. In 2002, the Florida company was acquired by a Danish corporation and is now officially known in the U.S. as G4S Secure Solutions.

Wackenhut has a history of sleeping security guards. “It was Wackenhut that in 2007 initially denied that its guards at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania were sleeping on the job—that is until the company was confronted with a video of the guards that was leaked to the media,” Stockton said. In the wake of that scandal, Wackenhut lost its contract with Exelon to manage security at ten nuclear power plants, according to a Washington Post article.

POGO called Oak Ridge National Laboratory a “high risk” as early as 2006 for its inadequate security, and also found that Wackenhut security guards at the nearby Y-12 National Security Complex were overworked to the point of severe fatigue.    http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2012/01/vulnerable-us-nuclear-weapons-site-faces-allegations-of-snoozing-security-guard.html

January 26, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Three Japanese films about Fukushima nuclear disaster

Japanese filmmakers tackle the 3/11 tragedy, SBS 23 January 2012  – By World Movies Three films focusing on Japan’s nuclear plant meltdown and the aftermath will be unveiled next month.   “If one was to be poisoned by radiation, if he or she did so out of their own will and conviction I believe it to be perfectly fine. But you can’t force that onto the children. The children, you must distance them from the poisoned areas.”

So says Koide Hiroaki, Associate Professor at Kyoto University’s Nuclear Test Facility and a prominent anti-nuclear campaigner, in the documentary Friends After 3.11, which will have its international premiere at next month’s Berlin International Film Festival.
Also being unveiled at the festival are two other Japanese films dealing with the March 11, 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power station and ensuing tsunami. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Japanese govt’s secrecy on nuclear disaster report

Japan kept silent on worst nuclear crisis, Herald Sun,   Tokyo From: AP January 26, 2012  THE Japanese government’s worst-case scenario at the height of the nuclear crisis last year warned that tens of millions of people, including Tokyo residents, might need to leave their homes, according to a report.

But fearing widespread panic, officials kept the report secret. The recent emergence of the 15-page internal document may add to complaints in Japan that the government withheld too much information about the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. It also casts doubt about whether the government was sufficiently prepared to cope with what could have been an evacuation of unprecedented scale.

The report was submitted to then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his top advisers on March 25, two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, causing three reactors to melt down and generating hydrogen explosions that blew away protective structures…..
After Mr Kan received the report, he and other Japanese officials publicly insisted that there was no need to prepare for wider-scale evacuations.

The government continues to refuse to make the document public. The AP obtained it overnight through a government source, who insisted on anonymity because the document was still categorised as internal……. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japan-kept-silent-on-worst-nuclear-crisis/story-e6frf7jx-1226253974563

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Middle East- a nuclear weapon-free zone or allout nuclear arms race?

AP Interview: Saudi warns of Mideast nuclear race, Google News, By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press  26 Jan 12, DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — An influential member of the Saudi royal family warned Wednesday that unless the Middle East becomes a nuclear weapon-free zone, a nuclear arms race is inevitable and could include his own country, Iraq, Egypt and even Turkey.
Prince Turki Al Faisal said the five permanent U.N. Security Council members should guarantee a nuclear security umbrella for Mideast countries that join a nuclear-free zone — and impose “military sanctions” against countries seen to be developing nuclear weapons. “I think that’s a better way of going at this issue of nuclear enrichment of uranium, or preventing Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction,” the former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | Saudi Arabia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA backs United Nations on Sustainable Energy

Investing in Renewable Energy is Good for the United States and the World
Statement of United Nations Foundation President Timothy E. Wirth on President Obama’s State of the Union Address We need to raise sustainable energy to the top of the global agenda and focus our attention, ingenuity, resources, and investments to make it a reality.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) January 25, 2012 In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama highlighted the importance of increased investment in renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. Prioritizing sustainable energy will position the United States and its partners for a stronger economic future, and will help advance global sustainable energy goals. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Iowa Utilities Board warns on nuclear power cost burden on ratepayers

IUB staff raises red flags about nuclear power plant legislation, Bettendorf.com, January 25, 2012   The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) staff has raised several warning flags about legislation sought by MidAmerican Energy to shift the risk of building a new nuclear power plant to utility ratepayers.

In a memo sent to the IUB and state legislators in December, the IUB staff warns that “some of these (bill) provisions could create incentives for the company to engage in behavior that could be contrary to the public interest in certain situations.”

To illustrate what might happen, the staff report gives this possible scenario: Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Supergrid or networks of grids for renewable energy in Europe

European Supergrid to Revolutionise Renewable Energy?, Oil Price.com, By James Burgess | , 25 January 2012  Europe is the world leader in renewable energy generation, but as with all renewable energy sources they face the problem of reliability. One way of overcoming this limitation and ensuring that power supply will be constant is to have expensive, traditional, fossil-fuelled power stations to generate electricity whilst conditions are unfavourable for the renewable source; but this almost makes the whole investment in renewable power sources irrelevant. A better way of ensuring consistent power is to link several diverse sources of renewable energy on one electrical grid. So when a wind farm can’t produce much power on a windless day, a solar farm might compensate. Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by | energy storage, EUROPE, renewable | Leave a comment