“Fresh Currents” – a must-read book for Japan and the world
Even if you don’t live in Japan, “Fresh Currents” has something profound to offer. As the Kyoto Journal’s Einarsen notes, “The writings in ‘Fresh Currents’ explore Japan’s path forward from Fukushima to a renewable energy future — and why this is important, wherever you live.”
“Fresh Currents” can be downloaded free. It is also available from good bookstores, priced ¥2,000. For more details, including news updates, visit:www.freshcurrents.org. Stephen Hesse is a professor in the Law Faculty of Chuo University. He can be reached at stevehesse@hotmail.com.
‘Fresh Currents’ charts the way to, and from, Fukushima, Japan Times, 28 Oct 12, By STEPHEN HESSE This month’s column is about a book that is very much more than just a book: It is a work of art, a labor of love and a realizable dream of a better future for Japan…..
Japan has limited options regarding its energy future: To accept the status quo and the cronyism that taints its government-industry relations, leaving energy policy in the hands of those who prioritize political gain; or to pursue national energy security that puts a priority on safety and on sharing the costs and benefits, financial and technological, across all of the nation’s regions and residents.
In a nutshell, Japan can either remain nuclear, with all the dangers that portends for these islands perched on the Pacific Rim of Fire — or it can pursue policies that foster and reward dramatic increases in energy conservation and efficiency and the development of alternative energies that are safe and widely decentralized. Continue reading
Salem and Indian Point nuclear reactors remain offline
Storm-Area Nuclear Reactors Remain Offline WSJ,By RYAN TRACY, 31 Oct 12 Two nuclear reactors in New Jersey and New York that had shut down during superstorm Sandy remained offline Wednesday, but waters receded from one plant that had issued a safety alert.
In Southern New Jersey, Public Service Enterprise Group‘s PEG +0.95% Salem nuclear plant shut down its Unit 1 after experiencing water-pump problems as the storm moved past. U.S. regulators said the pumps were affected by debris and high water levels near the plant.
The company is “developing a repair plan” and will “make repairs as needed to return the plant to safe operation,” a spokesman said on Wednesday, offering no timeline for bringing the plant back to power. Another reactor at the site, Unit 2, is out of service for refueling.
An Entergy Corp. ETR +0.67% spokesman said the Unit 3 reactor at the Indian Point plant north of New York City was still offline Wednesday, though the company was prepared to return it to service “when the grid is ready to accept the power.” The unit shut down Tuesday after an electrical-grid disturbance…. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203707604578090523975335526.html
Oyster Creek nuclear power plant still under alert
http://enenews.com/gundersen-suspect-going-reports-spent-fuel-pools-heating-new-jersey-nuclear-plants-video NRC: Alert still in effect at NJ nuclear plant — High water levels in Oyster Creek’s water intake structure remain
Title: ALERT REMAINS IN EFFECT AT OYSTER CREEK NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Source: U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
Oct. 30, 2012
[…] Heightened coverage will continue at Oyster Creek, a plant in Lacey Township, N.J., still in an “Alert” due to high water levels in its water intake structure. […]
At Oyster Creek, the Alert – the second lowest of four levels of emergency classification used by the NRC – remains in effect as plant operators wait for the water intake levels to drop to pre-designated thresholds. The water level rose due to a combination of a rising
tide, wind direction and storm surge. Oyster Creek was shut down for a refueling and maintenance outage prior to the storm and the reactor remains out of service. Water levels are beginning to subside to more normal levels, but the plant remains in an Alert status until there is enough confidence levels will remain at more normal levels. Offsite
power at the plant is in the process of being restored. […]
India’s Attorney General not happy about waiving nuclear liability law for Russian nuclear reactors
‘Why nuclear liability waiver for Russian company’
Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN | Nov 1, 2012 NEW DELHI: Attorney general G E Vahanvati has reservations over the ministry of external affairs’ backing for grant of a nuclear liability law waiver to the Russian
manufacturer for Units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam nuclear power plant on the ground that while this could be legal under a 2008 inter-governmental agreement, it might not be prudent. Continue reading
Hitachi, desperate for nuclear sales, will own Britain’s nuclear power enterprise!
Masaharu Hanyu, head of Hitachi’s nuclear division, hinted that the Japanese conglomerate had little choice but to win business abroad.
Hitachi enters Britain’s nuclear sector TOKYO, Oct. 31 (UPI) –– Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. will build up to six new nuclear reactors in the United Kingdom as part of its agreement to acquire Horizon Nuclear Power from German energy companies RWE and
E.ON.
The $1.1 billion deal announced this week propels Hitachi into the “new and uncomfortable” role as the owner of an entire atomic-power enterprise instead of just a contract reactor builder, says a report in the Financial Times.
Domestically, in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan aims to phase out nuclear power by 2040. Continue reading
AUDIO: Oyster Creek nuclear plants problems are not over, after the hurricane
http://enenews.com/9pm-special-edition-exactly-happened-fukushima-going-njs-oyster-creek-except-reactor-refueling-gundersen-audio SPECIAL EDITION PODCAST: AFTER HURRICANE SANDY – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED In this special edition question & answer podcast, Gundersen and Hurley discuss what effects Hurricane Sandy had on U.S. nuclear power plants, especially Oyster Creek. Gundersen explains how spent fuel pools are not configured to be cooled with diesel power in the event of a loss of offsite power. Oyster Creek and several other nuclear power plants did lose offsite power and Thomson Reuters reports that they may use fire pumps to cool the pools.
Corruption in Pacific rim countries means that nuclear power safety is unlikely
Karamoskos points to an international transparency-and-corruption scale compiled by Transparency International (partially supported by AusAID) as a reasonable indicator of whether countries can take on the complex safety responsibilities of nuclear power. Indonesia doesn’t rate highly on this scale, coming in at 100 of 183 countries on the Corruption Perception Index; Vietnam and Bangladesh are worse, at 112 and 120 respectively. India ranks 95th.
“That’s my first and foremost concern — do these countries have the underlying principles … to foster a robust safety culture?”
Asia’s Nuclear Feeding Frenzy Global Mail By Clare Blumer October 30, 2012
How safe is the Pacific rim, where 100 reactors in 10 years are planned, some in earthquake-prone, developing nations? Ask the fish.
“You can’t decontaminate that forest,” says Australian radiologist Dr Peter Karamoskos about Fukushima, the region of Japan hardest hit by last year’s deadly earthquake and tsunami.
“The stuff is on the ground — in the leaves, in the trees,” he says, referring to the radioactive matter that has blanketed the region since the disaster. Inside the 20 kilometre exclusion zone, radiation from the earth — known as “ground shine’’ — is so bad people are still not allowed to enter. Continue reading
Despite repression, 1000 anti nuclear protestors rally again at Kudankulam
Protest erupts in Tamil Nadu over Kudankulam nuclear power plant, India Express, : Chennai, Oct 29 2012, Thousands of anti-nuclear activists thronged to the streets in Chennai on Monday in an attempt to lay siege to the state assembly as mark of protest against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Protest against the power plant has only intensified over the past year, while nuclear fuel has already been loaded in the plant that is awaiting approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for commissioning. Activists from various political groups and anti-nuclear bodies shouted slogans against the federal and state government, urging them to shutdown the plant permanently.
“Throughout Tamil Nadu, the state government has arrested hundreds and thousands of people to prevent them to come to Chennai to stage thisprogramme. In spite of that thousands of people have gathered here. We want that the Kudankulam nuclear plant should be closed, once and for all……
Nuclear worker takes legal action against TEPCO, for radiation negligence
“So I decided I’ve had enough of this unjust treatment. That’s why I decided to come forward,”
Plant worker: Radiation injuries during crisis at Japan nuke plant not mishap, files complaint Fox News,October 31, 2012 Associated Press IWAKI, Japan – The operator of a Japanese nuclear plant that went into a tsunami-triggered meltdown knew the risks from highly radioactive water at the site but sent in crews without adequate protection or warnings, a worker said in a legal complaint. Continue reading
“Nuclear Savage” shows recently declassified films about Marshall Islands bombing
John Dear will speak Nov. 9 at the Call to Action conference in Louisville, Ky. To see John’s 2012 speaking schedule, go to John Dear’s website . His new book, Lazarus, Come Forth! , explores Jesus as the God of life calling humanity (in the symbol of the dead Lazarus) out of the tombs of the culture of war and death. John’s talk at last year’s Sabeel conference in Bethlehem is featured in the new book Challenging Empire . John is profiled with Dan Berrigan and Roy Bourgeois in a new book, Divine Rebels by Deena Guzder (Lawrence Hill Books). This book and other recent books, including Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings ; Put Down Your Sword and A Persistent Peace , are available from Amazon.com.
Nuclear Savage’: A powerful new documentary on U.S. hydrogen bombs, National Catholic Reporter, John Dear S.J. | Oct. 30, 2012 Recently, I saw a powerful, disturbing new documentary about the U.S. hydrogen bomb explosions in the islands in the South Pacific, the U.S. government’s campaign to keep the indigenous people on those contaminated islands and the U.S. government’s secret program to monitor the effects of radiation on them.
“Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1 ,” a film by former Greenpeace activist Adam Horowitz, uses recently declassified government film footage of the hydrogen bombs we dropped in the South Pacific and recent interviews with survivors to tell this nightmarish nuclear tale. In old black-and-white footage, we see excited white, U.S. military men speaking somberly into the camera about the glories of the hydrogen bomb and describing how well “the savages,” his term for the people of the Marshall Islands, were responding to our nuclear bomb explosions. The combination of militarism, U.S. imperialism, nuclear weapons, environmental destruction, sheer racism and total disregard for these gentle, impoverished people is shocking, to say the least.
Of course, the real savages are the Americans who built and dropped these bombs and who maintain our nuclear weapons industry today. Continue reading
Progress Energy’s nuclear plans a threat to Florida’s wetlands
Expert testimony from scientists appearing before the NRC judges on behalf of the Ecology Party of Florida and Nuclear Information & Resource Service (NIRS) warned that construction and operation of the proposed dual reactors would deplete the region’s aquifer, cause saltwater intrusion to the already-imperiled local water supply, and harm fragile springs and wetland plants and wildlife in the area. Continue reading
UK nuclear power plants – safety problems not fixed
Third of U.K. Nuclear-Safety Concerns Unresolved, Regulator Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-31/third-of-u-k-nuclear-safety-concerns-unresolved-regulator-says.html
The ONR will “if necessary, consider enforcement action to ensure that appropriate measures are implemented,” said Deputy Chief Inspector Andy Hall. Reactors must be better prepared to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies, the ONR said, calling for plant reinforcements, reviews of cooling systems and ventilation routes for combustible gases.
The regulator’s recommendations last year followed the results of so-called stress tests on U.K. reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused a meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Dai-Ichi plant. The crisis triggered similar reviews in other countries and led some, including Germany, to decide to phase out nuclear power altogether.
“Much work is still to be done to implement the lessons from Fukushima,” the ONR report shows. “We expect the licensees to make proposals on how they intend to meet the required safety outcomes, and to justify why their proposal represents the safest reasonably practicable option for improvement.”
Spent nuclear fuel likely to heat up at New Jersey nuclear plants
AUDIO: Gundersen: I suspect we’re going to see reports of spent fuel pools heating up at New Jersey nuclear plants — The problem is reactors were in refueling mode
http://enenews.com/gundersen-suspect-going-reports-spent-fuel-pools-heating-new-jersey-nuclear-plants-video
October 30th, 2012
Nuclear Expert Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Associates: The problem is that Salem and the Oyster Creek plant, which we just talked about, were in a refueling mode. And what that means is that all of the nuclear fuel is not in the nuclear reactor, it’s in the spent fuel
pool. And when you lose off-site power, you can’t cool the fuel pool. I suspect in the next couple days we’re going to see reports of the fuel pools heating up because they were unable to cool the spent fuel pool.
AUDIO: Oyster Creek nuclear plant: lucky it was refueling
AUDIO : Special Edition: Exactly what happened at Fukushima is going on at NJ nuclear plant, except now reactor is in refueling -Gundersen (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/9pm-special-edition-exactly-happened-fukushima-going-njs-oyster-creek-except-reactor-refueling-gundersen-audio
October 31st, 2012
Special Edition Podcast: After Hurricane Sandy – Questions and Answers
About What Happened, Oct. 30, 2012
Host: […] What if the reactor were running in that type of situation?
Nuclear Expert Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Energy Education: That
would be worse case scenario.
If Oyster Creek wasn’t in a refueling and this tidal surge hit, it’s
exactly what happened at Fukushima Daiichi at that point.
You’ve lost off-site power and you can’t cool the nuclear reactor
because these pumps were flooded.
We can all be thankful that the plant was in a refueling outage.
Luck saved world from nuclear holocaust, in Cuban crisis
While Kennedy and Khrushchev’s restraint helped avert disaster, luck played an equally significant role. In one of the most dangerous moments of the crisis, a Soviet captain almost fired his submarine’s nuclear-tipped torpedo at a U.S. warship. However, authorization to fire was denied by one of the officers on board.
A nuclear nightmare The Hill, By Kingston Reif, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation – 10/31/12 “.….. the 50th anniversary of one of the most terrifying real-life horror stories of all time: The Cuban Missile Crisis. Continue reading
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