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Where to put over 100,000 tons of radioactive waste materials?

6,800 tons of radiation-tainted rice straw left lying in 8 prefectures, Mainichi Daily News, 5 Mar 12, http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120303p2a00m0na010000c.html  Some 6,800 metric tons of rice straw contaminated with radioactive substances leaked from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant remains in eight prefectures with no immediate prospect of disposal, the Mainichi has learned.

Moreover, sludge generated from radiation-contaminated waste water as well as ash tainted with radioactive materials amounts to some 97,000 tons in 12 prefectures — 3.6 times the figure as of July last year, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, wastes | Leave a comment

Obama tries (a bit) to prevent war with Iran

Obama urges Israel to use diplomacy in nuclear stand-off with Iran, THE AUSTRALIAN, AFP March 05, 2012 US President Barack Obama criticised “loose talk of war” as he pleaded for patience in ending the nuclear stand-off with Iran, arguing that sustained international pressure would force Tehran to the negotiating table.

On the eve of White House talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Obama sought to reassure a powerful pro-Israel lobby by vowing to use force if necessary. Speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington alongside Israeli President Shimon Peres, he said sanctions were working and cautioned against the saber-rattling of recent months.

“Because of our efforts, Iran is under greater pressure than ever before,” he told thousands of delegates at the AIPAC annual policy forum. “Iran is isolated, its leadership divided and under pressure,” he said..

..  US intelligence is said to believe Iran does not currently intend to produce nuclear weapons, though it may be seeking the capacity to do so, and Washington has emphasised the importance of deterrent sanctions and diplomacy.

But Israel is reportedly eager to move more quickly and decisively against Iran’s nuclear activities, using a military strike to prevent it from obtaining even the capacity to take a decision to produce nuclear weapons….. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-urges-israel-to-use-diplomacy-in-nuclear-stand-off-with-iran/story-e6frg6so-1226289117802

March 6, 2012 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Pakistan fires nuclear capable missile

Pakistan military says nuclear-capable missile test-fired, Can deliver warheads with high accuracy, Gulf News, IANS  March 6, 2012, Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the military said.

The Hatf-2 missile can travel up to 180km and deliver nuclear as well as conventional warheads with high accuracy, the statement from Inter-Services Public Relations said.
The test is part of the process of validation of a land-based ballistic missile system, it said.
“The test provides an operational level capability to Pakistan’s strategic forces, in addition to the strategic and technical level capability which Pakistan already possesses,” Xinhua quoted the military as saying…. http://gulfnews.com/news/world/pakistan/pakistan-military-says-nuclear-capable-missile-test-fired-1.990638

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Pakistan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Rocketing costs for cleaning up nuclear waste

Nuclear cleanup costs expected to skyrocket at Parks, TRIB LIVE News, By Mary Ann Thomas, ASPINWALL HERALD, March 4, 2012 The cleanup costs for the nuclear waste dump in Parks Township are expected to soar from $170 million to at least $250 million and maybe as much as half a billion dollars because of recently discovered complexities of the site and safety considerations. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

$67 billion lawsuit against executives of nuclear company Tepco

Shareholders to sue Tepco execs for $US67b, SMH, March 6, 2012,   Shareholders of Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc, operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in northeast Japan, are suing the utility’s executives for a record 5.5 trillion yen ($US67.4 billion) in compensation, lawyers said….

. In the biggest claim of its kind in Japan, 42 shareholders filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court on Monday accusing 27 current and former Tepco directors of ignoring multiple warnings of a possible tsunami and of failing to prepare for a severe accident, lawyers for the shareholders said in a statement.
They want the executives to pay damages to Tepco, which would then use the money to compensate those affected by the disaster.

There is deep public anger over Tepco’s handling of the crisis and the perceived arrogance of top management, including underplaying the seriousness of the disaster in its early stages and delays in compensating those forced to leave their homes. Government officials
have walked a tightrope between that taxpayer anger and keeping afloat a firm that provides electricity to 45 million people in Japan.
Japan’s trade minister last month approved nearly $US9 billion in additional support for Tepco to help compensate victims of the crisis, but said the government would not go ahead with a plan to inject more money into the utility unless it had more say in its management.

“By seeking to hold individuals responsible, we want to correct the collective and systemic irresponsibility in the nuclear industry,” Hiroyuki Kawai, one of the lawyers, told a news conference.
Kawai said the record compensation was based on calculations by a government-appointed experts’ panel of what Tepco might have to pay to victims and businesses. The company has forecast an annual net loss of 695 billion yen……. http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/shareholders-to-sue-tepco-execs-for-us67b-20120306-1ueup.html#ixzz1oN2tudjN

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

Solar industry’s bright prospects in Japan

 New Tariff, Nuclear Halt May Fuel Japan Solar Demand By MARI IWATA, March 5, 2012, TOKYO—Japan may become a bright spot for the solar industry due to regulatory changes and its nuclear power crisis, which equipment makers from home and abroad hope will help offset a profit outlook clouded by oversupply, falling prices and shrinking demand elsewhere.

A new feed-in tariff designed to boost industrial use of renewable energy will come into force this summer, with the government likely to recommend Tuesday rates that utilities should pay for renewable energy-sourced electricity and periods during which they should buy it.

Around the same time, the last of the country’s fleet of 54 reactors will be shut pending government decisions on Japan’s nuclear future.

The new feed-in tariff and the vacuum left by idled nuclear capacity are contributing factors to a European Photovoltaic Industry Association forecast of a 50% rise in Japanese solar panel demand in 2012, to 1.5 gigawatts.

Several foreign solar panel and component makers have already set up shop in Japan, putting them head-to-head with big local producers such as Sharp Corp. and Kyocera Corp., who have benefited from local consumers’ faith in locally made products.Kyocera said Monday that it and partner Softbank have been selected by Kyoto City to build and operate two 2.1-megawatt utility-scale solar power plants that together will be able to supply enough power for 1,000 households. They will be the largest such installations in the prefecture, and are due to be operational by July, when the new feed-in tariff takes effect.

SB Energy, a renewable energy unit of Softbank Corp., said separately Monday that it will build two solar farms, one in Gumma and the other in Kyoto…. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204276304577262781511394776.html

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Older breast cancer patients should not be getting so much radiation treatment

Radiation still used despite evidence of little benefit to some older breast cancer patients, Health Canal, 6 March, 12 http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/27253-Radiation-still-used-despite-evidence-little-benefit-some-older-breast-cancer-patients.html   By Karen N. Peart – Even though a large clinical study demonstrated that radiation has limited benefit in treating breast cancer in some older women, there was little change in the use of radiation among older women in the Medicare program, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the March Journal of Clinical Oncology. “We were surprised by these results,” said lead author Dr. Cary P. Gross, associate professor of internal medicine at Yale School ofMedicine. “Clinical trials are considered the gold standard of medical research and in this case the trial was influential enough to lead to a change in treatment guidelines. We expected it to have more of an impact on clinical care at the bedside.” Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | health, USA, women | Leave a comment

Climate change leading to overuse of groundwater

UN scientists warn of increased groundwater demands due to climate change, Eureka Alert,  Philip Riley, SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2012 –– Climate change has been studied extensively, but a new body of research guided by a San Francisco State University hydrologist looks beneath the surface of the phenomenon and finds that climate change will put particular strain on one of our most important natural resources: groundwater.

SF State Assistant Professor of Geosciences Jason Gurdak says that as precipitation becomes less frequent due to climate change, lake and reservoir levels will drop and people will increasingly turn to groundwater for agricultural, industrial, and drinking water needs. The resource accounts for nearly half of all drinking water worldwide, but recharges at a much slower rate than aboveground water sources and in many cases is nonrenewable.

“It is clear that groundwater will play a critical role in society’s adaption to climate change,” said Gurdak, who co-led a United Nations-sponsored group of scientists who are now urging policymakers to increase regulations and conservation measures on nonrenewable groundwater.

The scientists recently released a book of their research, titled “Climate Change Effects on Groundwater Resources,” that is the result of a global groundwater initiative by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). They will soon make their case to international policymakers at the March 12-17 World Water Forum in Marseille, France.

The high-profile forum will allow the scientists for the first time to put the comprehensive groundwater findings before decision makers who have the power to enact regulatory changes. Gurdak will recommend closely monitoring or limiting groundwater pumping as well as renewing cooperation from communities to consume less water.

“In many ways, California is leading the way in developing solutions,” he said. “Artificial recharge, managed storage and recovery projects and low impact development around the state will become more important for many local water systems to bank excess water in aquifers.”

The World Water Forum will be held from March 12 to 17 in Marseille, France. ”Climate Change Effects on Groundwater Resources: A Global Synthesis of Findings and Recommendations,” was published in December 2011 by CRC Press. Selections from the book can be read here: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~jgurdak/Publications/Treidel_etal_2011_ClimateChange-Groundwater_tableofcontents.pdf        http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/sfsu-usw030512.php

March 6, 2012 Posted by | climate change, Reference, Resources -audiovicual, water | Leave a comment

Japan’s March 11 radiation forecast was too scary to be released

Ministry hid data on fallout from public,SPEEDI forecast judged too chilling to be released: internal memo, Japan Times, 5 March 12, Kyodo Former science minister Yoshiaki Takaki and other top ministry officials decided to withhold radiation forecast data from the public four days after the March 11 disasters triggered the nuclear crisis, an internal document shows.

Takaki, lawmakers serving as top ministry officials and senior bureaucrats decided March 15 to withhold data about the predicted spread of radioactivity, including an assumption that all radioactive material would be discharged from the crippled reactors’ cores at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

The prediction of the spread of radioactive substances, compiled through the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information (SPEEDI), “could by no means be released to the public,” the document, dated March 19, shows….. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120304a1.html

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Scotland’s renewable energy will mean cheaper electricity by 2020

Renewable energy cheaper, Scotland says, Outcome, March 5, 2012, EDINBURGH, Scotland, March 5 (UPI) — Energy bills for consumers in Scotland could be as much 7 percent higher if the government didn’t pursue its renewable energy strategy, a minister said.

Scotland has some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in Europe. The government aims to meet 100 percent of the electricity demand through renewable energy resources by 2020.

A report from the Scottish government concludes that consumers would pay around $2,035 per year for energy bills by 2020 under the low-carbon policies. If the government pursues a “business as usual” model, bills would be around $2,182 per year.

Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said there are some doubts as to whether the government can meet its renewable energy targets but they are achievable. “We know there is doubt and skepticism about our 100 percent renewables target and the financial and engineering challenges required to meet it,” he said in a statement.

“But we will meet these challenges. I want to debate, engage and cooperate with every knowledgeable, interested and concerned party to ensure we achieve our goals.” Ewing added renewable energy targets would be met without the need for new nuclear power stations. http://outcomemag.com/science/2012/03/05/renewable-energy-cheaper-scotland-says/

March 6, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Scotland’s commitment to renewable energy is welcomed

RSPB and green groups welcome Scotland’s renewable energy report, by ClickGreen staff.  05 Mar 2012 Green groups have welcome today’s Scottish Government’s energy policy statement, which confirms plans for 100% renewable energy by 2020 are achievable.

The RSPB Scotland was one of a number of campaign groups that welcomed Scotland’s commitment to increasing electricity generation from renewables that are developed in harmony with nature. The charity believes the document also effectively rules out the need
for Peel Energy’s controversial coal plant proposed for Hunterston in Ayrshire.

Aedán Smith, Head of Planning and Development for RSPB Scotland said: “We urgently need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the risk of climate change, which threatens birds and other wildlife in Scotland and across the world. “We therefore welcome Scottish Minsters’ continued commitment to renewables that are located and designed to minimise impacts on wildlife. … http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/opinion/opinion/123268-rspb-and-green-groups-welcome-scotland%5Cs-renewable-energy-report.html

March 6, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Malaysia needs an independent panel to scrutinise Lynas’ radioactive wastes

’Let independent panel monitor Lynas’, New Straits Times,  05 March 2012, KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to hire independent monitoring bodies to publish the radiation readings of residue to be disposed by Lynas Corporation. Environmental Protection Society Malaysia adviser Gurmit Singh said this was important as proof that the radiation level was safe as the government had claimed…

…. “As long as the research and findings by the government are not published, there is always going to be concern,” he told the New Straits Times when contacted yesterday. Citing the now-closed Asian Rare Earth (ARE) project in Bukit Merah, Perak, as an example, he urged the government to reconsider its decision to continue with the project.

“Shifting the disposal site is not going to address bigger problems that will occur later in the future, the site might be shifted far from where people live but there is still the eco-system and animals could also be affected. ”Radiation is not something that can be immediately seen or felt, hence the phobia by the public.”

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government had decided to ask Lynas Corporation to dispose of residue from its rare earth processing plant to a dedicated site far from residential areas.

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, politics, Uranium | Leave a comment

Lynas ordered to relocate its proposed radioactive waste site

Malaysia Upholds Decision on Lynas; but Wants Relocation of Residue Disposal Facility, International Business Times,  By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | March 5, 2012  The Malaysian government continues to uphold Australian miner Lynas Corp., and its beleaguered Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) after it directed the Australian company to relocate its earlier proposed residue disposal facility to a site that is far from the LAMP location in Gebeng, Kuantan province.

Malaysian news agencies reported over the weekend it was Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who specifically ordered the rare earths miner to locate an alternative location for its residue disposal facility that is away from Gebeng and its residential communities.

Suffice to say, this could mean Lynas Corp.’s assurance of a winning edge over its detractors who have turned the business investment into a political mill. The Lynas plant would remain at its present location, Mr Najib was quoted as saying by www.asiaone.com. The new location of the residue disposal facility would be announced later……
On Feb. 17, Gebeng residents filed a case against Lynas Corp., as well as an application for leave for judicial review, over the temporary operating licence it received from the AELB and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) issued end January.

The High Court Apellate and Special Powers Judge Justice Rohana Yusuf had scheduled Mar. 20 as initial hearing.

March 6, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, Malaysia, politics, Uranium | Leave a comment

Tighter radiation limits for food in Japan

Japan tightens limits on radiation in food , The New Age, Mar 4 2012 Japan is to place stricter limits on the amount of radiation in vegetables sold for human consumption from April 1. The new maximum limits of radioactive cesium will be between one-twentieth and one quarter of the provisional limits imposed after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was crippled by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the gigantic tsunami that it triggered on March 11 last year.

Under the revised regulations, the upper limit on foods such as meat, vegetables and fish will be set at 100 becquerels per kilogram. The limit will be 50 becquerels per kg for milk and infant food and a maximum of 10 becquerels for drinking water.

At present, the levels are set at 500 becquerels per kg for the majority of foodstuffs and 200 becquerels for milk, dairy produce and water. There is presently no specific figure for infant food. Continue reading →

March 6, 2012 Posted by | health, Japan, Reference | Leave a comment

Danger of uranium and plutonium use by terrorists

Resolution on the use of uranium, plutonium to be tackled at summit, Business World, Philippines, 5 Mar 12, THE GOVERNMENT will be pushing for an international resolution that would tighten security measures and prevent nuclear resources such as uranium and plutonium from being used for terrorist activities, a high-ranking Executive official said late last week.

  “In the case of the Philippines, we have decided to push for a resolution at the [2012 Nuclear Security] Summit calling for a much stricter monitoring and supervision in the transport, safekeeping and using of these resources,” Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay told BusinessWorld in an e-mail last Friday.
“That resolution should call for [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)] Member States to give as much attention to these small high-grade uranium and plutonium resources as those being kept and safeguarded by Member States which are in large quantities,” added Mr. Binay who was appointed by President Benigno S. C. Aquino III to lead the Philippine delegation to the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul, South Korea on March 26-27.
Mr. Binay remarked that with the pressing threat of nuclear terrorism, member states of the IAEA — a specialized United Nations body comprising 153 countries and aims to promote safe and peaceful nuclear technologies — “should not only focus on the possibility of terrorists being able to use nuclear bombs in the future, but should urgently improve their respective security and safety measures in the storing and keeping of their uranium and plutonium resources.”…. http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Resolution-on-the-use-of-uranium,-plutonium-to-be-tackled-at-summit&id=47788

March 6, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, 2 WORLD, Philippines, safety, Uranium | Leave a comment

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