Nuclear safety? Depends on who you ask
But for their governments and most of the regulators gathered in Ottawa this week “nuclear safety” means something entirely different: protecting the profits of nuclear companies.
Blogpost by Shawn-Patrick Stensil – April 9, 2013 at 16:10
Nuclear safety regulators from around the world are in Canada’s capital this week to discuss what lessons they should learn from the Fukushima disaster. It’s a bad choice of venue.
Canada’s approach to nuclear safety isn’t one to emulate. In Canada, the nuclear regulator is a promotional agency first and a safety watchdog second.
After investigating the disaster, the Japanese government’s Independent Investigation Commission conclude Fukushima was not the result of a freak act of nature and was instead due to collusion between the government, the regulator and plant operator TEPCO.
This collusion was driven by the Japanese government’s desire to promote its nuclear industry. There was an implicit understanding between the Japanese government, reactor operators and the national reactor safety watchdog that nuclear profits go before nuclear safety.
In this topsy-turvy world, greed is a virtue and respect for human security a vice and as a Canadian, I’ve seen this same reversal of priorities at play here in Canada’s nuclear industry.
In 2008, Canada’s federal government fired Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) president Linda Keen. Behind her firing was Keen’s imposition of more modern international reactor safety standards on Canada’s nuclear industry.
SNC-Lavalin wanted to boost its profits building new reactors in Ontario by cutting back on safety systems. It hoped to build a reactor on the cheap with a pre-Chernobyl, pre-September 11 Canadian reactor design. Because of Keen saying safety came first, SNC-Lavalin lost the contract.
More than a little enraged, SNC-Lavalin used its backroom influence over Canada’s Conservative government to get Keen fired and replaced with a more industry-friendly regulator. We quickly saw the impact on Canada’s nuclear regulator.
The Canadian commission’s new president was quick to establish his mandate and put industry profits ahead of safeguarding Canadians. He even provided promotional quotes for Canadian reactors in industry press releases.
And remember that outdated reactor design that couldn’t pass modern, post September 11 safety standards under Linda Keen? Under Canada’s new industry-friendly nuclear safety watchdog, it curiously now seems to meet Canadian safety standards.
Senate advances bill to put brakes on nuclear fees
Source: Miami Herald
For the first time in seven years, a Senate committee has stood up to the state’s utility companies and unanimously passed a bill that would weaken a law that has allowed them to charge customers for nuclear projects before they are built.
The Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee voted unanimously Monday for SB 1472, which would impose strict new requirements on utility companies by demanding that they obtain a license to build a plant before they can continue to charge customers.
The bill is opposed by the state’s largest utility companies, who for years have persuaded legislators not to change the 2006 law known as the Nuclear Cost Recovery Clause even though costs of the plants has quadrupled and their construction plans were postponed.
“What we’ve done is we hit the reset button and then we move forward,” said Sen. John Legg, R-Lutz, one of the bill’s sponsors. “This is not an anti-nuclear bill. This is a responsible piece of legislation that we think puts reasonable parameters going forward.”
<snip>
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/08/3330606/senate-advances-bill-to-put-brakes.html
Former U.S. Nuclear Chief: American Nuclear Plants Should Be Phased Out — “Can’t Guarantee Against Accident Causing Widespread Land Contamination”
……The biggest problem with the NRC continues to be the heavy influence that the industry has in selecting the members of the commission. It is a very political process.There are few commissioners who ever get onto the commission who are not endorsed by the industry…….
Nuclear Regulators Just “Rolling the Dice”
Energy intelligence reports:
Former Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko says that the current fleet of operating plants in the US should be phased out because regulators can’t guarantee against an accident causing widespread land contamination. In two key decisions last week Jaczko said the agency “damaged significantly” its international reputation for upholding safety and he accused the five commissioners of “just rolling the dice” in dealing with severe accidents.
Jaczko is correct that “the current fleet of operating plants in the US [is unsafe] regulators can’t guarantee against an accident causing widespread land contamination”.
An investigation by Associated Press found that 75 percent of all U.S. nuclear sites have leaked radioactive tritium.
And whistleblowers at the Nuclear Regulator Commission say that the risk of a major meltdown at U.S. nuclear reactors is much higher than it was at Fukushima.
And an accident in the U.S. could be a lot larger than in Japan … partly because our nuclear plants hold a lot more radioactive material. Radiation could cause illness in huge numbers of Americans, and a major nuclear accident could literally bankrupt America.
And yet the nuclear regulators have dragged their feet in demanding even modest upgrades to prevent Fukushima-type disasters. We reported more than a year ago:
The geniuses at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have given the green light for new nuclear power plants in the U.S. [over Jaczko’s objections] which don’t include safety upgrades which were demonstrated vital by the Fukushima meltdown.
Japan nuclear safety protocols still fall short, investigators say
Published Monday, April 8, 2013 6:33AM EDT
TOKYO — Experts who investigated Japan’s nuclear crisis say a watchdog’s oversight of the crippled plant’s operator is still too lax.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has been plagued with glitches. A blackout last month left the plant’s fuel storage pools without cooling for more than a day. Last Friday another cooling failure occurred, and hours later the operator reported a massive contaminated water leak from underground tanks.
The investigators said Monday that the Nuclear Regulation Authority is only rubber-stamping work by operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the plant that runs on makeshift equipment.
Nine of the 10 members testified at a lower house nuclear committee for the first time since releasing their findings in July. The report called the March 2011 disaster “manmade,” and blamed regulator-operator collusion and botched crisis management.
FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR ACCIDENT: ‘RESULT OF COLLUSION’
Thursday, 5 July 2012
- “The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster.”
- “It was a profoundly manmade disaster — that could and should have been foreseen and prevented.”
- “…a multitude of errors and wilful negligence…”
- “It’s fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the program’; our groupism; and our insularity.”
- “The accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties.”
- “TEPCO was too quick to cite the tsunami as the cause of the nuclear accident and deny that the earthquake caused any damage.”
- “The residents’ confusion over the evacuation stemmed from the regulators’ negligence.”
- “The government and regulators are not fully committed to protecting public health and safety; that they have not acted to protect the health of the residents and to restore their welfare.”
- “The safety of nuclear energy in Japan and the public cannot be assured unless the regulators go through an essential transformation.”
- “Replacing people or changing the names of institutions will not solve the problems.”
http://www.ourmaninabiko.com/2012/07/fukushima-nuclear-accident-result-of.html
Russian NGOs blast Putin’s estimate they have receive $1 billion in last four months
….. An overwhelming majority of these NGOs, including ERC Bellona, could now face fines as much as $20,000, ostensibly for health and fire code violations. …
NGO representatives on Monday harshly questioned the validity of President Vladimir Putin’s comments to a German television station that NGOs in Russia have received about $1 billion from abroad since the “foreign agent” law was adopted in 2012. Charles Digges, 09/04-2013
In the interview broadcast Friday, Putin said there were 654 active NGOs in Russia being funded from abroad, meaning each organization receives an average of $382,000 a month.
Putin made the comment while dismissing criticism of the recent wave of inspections of nongovernmental organizations.
“For four months after we adopted the respective law on these organizations’ accounts, can you imagine how much money came [to them] from abroad? You can’t imagine […] 28.3 billion rubles ($1 billion),” he told Germany’s ARD television channel.
“These are organizations engaged in domestic political activities. Shouldn’t our society know who is getting this money and what it is for?” Putin said without elaborating.
Alexander Nikitin, chairman of the Environmental Rights Center (ERC) Bellona immediately slammed the figures presented by Putin as vastly overestimated to the point of being an “outright lie.”
“They have a problem with basic arithmetic – I don’t know where Putin and his inner circle went to school, and further have no idea on what they base this overestimation,” said Nikitin. “ I think he just made it up, because I don’t know of a single NGO in Russia that received anywhere near $382,000 a month.”
Nikitin said Putin’s remarks were a disingenuous shot at NGOs in Russia to make them look bad.
“This is obviously an attempt to make NGOs look bad, as if they are rolling in money,” said Nikitin. “But this is a lie, and at such high level politics, Putin cannot lie.”
Government agency says Putin’s figure five times too high
Nikitin added that Putin was recently more and more prone to evading the truth, and that ERC Bellona had not received “even a fraction of the amounts” Putin cited as flowing from foreign donors.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, as cited by Vedomosti, losses in financing from foreign donors put yearly figures received from abroad by NGOs at about five times less than the billion-dollar figure cited by Putin.
Russian daily Vedomosti on Monday quoted Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, as saying the president was citing confidential information obtained by the security services.
Scolded by Merkel and greeted by topless protesters
Putin’s remarks to German television came during a visit to a trade fair in Hannover, Germany, where he was greeted by topless female protesters who had written “Go to hell Putin” across their backs in Russian.
Bellona’s St. Petersburg office meets with Norwegian PM Stoltenberg over Russian NGO crackdowns
Charles Digges, 05/04-2013
Bellona.org
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenburg today met with representatives of the Environment and Rights Center (ERC) Bellona to discuss onerous fines the Russian Prosecutor General is hinting it will levy against the organization and the situation of Russian NGOs in general.
The meeting, which took place at the Norwegian consulate, comes quickly on the heels of a meeting ERC Bellona’s Executive Director Nikolai Rybakov had with prosecutors on Wednesday, where they hinted ERC Bellona could be fined some $20,000. Prosecutors said then that they were still compiling evidence and told Rybakov a final decision on the fine would be made next Wednesday.
Rybakov said that Stoltenberg, who is in St. Petersburg to attend the meeting of Baltic Sea Countries later on Friday, promised to bring up the concerning situation of Russian NGOs with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is also attending the meeting.
Bellona’s General Director Nils Bøhmer in Oslo said that, “It is vitally important that Prime Minister Stoltenberg take a vigorous position defending not only Bellona’s work, but the work of thousands of other NGOs in Russia.”
“We are not spies,” he added. “Our work is centered on 20 years of supporting Russian citizens’ rights to a clean environment.”
A month of ‘unannounced inspections’
ERC Bellona is just one of thousands of NGOs that have been swooped on by a variety of Russian official bodies from the tax inspectorate to health and fire officials over the last month, apparently as part of a new enforcement effort of Russia’s new laws requiring civil society organizations engaged in vaguely defined “political activity” to register with the Ministry of Justice as “foreign agents.”
Dr. O. Turk-Warshawsky’s warnings on Fukushima radiation to USA’s West Coast
Transcript of radio broadcast by Dr. O. Turk-Warshawsky March 17, 2011., Long Beach, California, Today I would like to describe a current situation on the US West coast due to Japanese nuclear disaster, go over the possible dangers and provide recommendation how to minimize exposure to the radioactive particles.
I received many questions and would like to address them in my presentation
Can the radiation reach the US West coast?
The answer is yes; the air masses during this season are going at high speed across the Pacific, however most heavy elements such as plutonium and strontium will be deposited near the station (as it happened during Chernobyl disaster back in 1986)
In my opinion we should expect to detect cesium 137- and possible iodine-131 isotopes Continue reading
Japan’s oversight of Fukushima radiation too lax: public concern about food
Japan nuclear safety plans too lax for crowded, quake-prone nation, say nuclear experts The Star, By: Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press, Apr 08 2013 TOKYO—Experts who investigated Japan’s nuclear crisis said Monday that government oversight of the crippled plant’s operator is still too lax, as public concern has grown over recent safety problems.
A power failure last month caused by a rat that short-circuited a switchboard left the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant’s fuel storage pools without cooling water for more than a day. Last Friday another cooling failure occurred, and hours later the operator reported a large leak of radioactive water from underground tanks.
The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., revealed Saturday that up to 120 tons of highly contaminated water escaped from a temporary underground tank and a smaller amount from another tank. TEPCO said it believes the water has not flowed into the ocean.
Regulators asked TEPCO on Monday to determine the cause and contain the problem quickly.
But the investigators told parliament on Monday that the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is merely rubber-stamping TEPCO’s work at the plant, Continue reading
Korean nuclear conflict would result in utter devastation
Putin warns Korean nuclear conflict could make Chernobyl ‘a fairy tale’ TV NZApril 09, 2013 Source: ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin says any nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula could make Chernobyl look like a fairy tale.
His remark came as North Korea suspended its sole remaining major project with the South, after weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea.
Putin said conflict on the peninsula could cause greater devastation than the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
“I would make no secret about it, we are worried about the escalation on the Korean peninsula, because we are neighbours,” he told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to a trade fair in Germany.
“And if, God forbid, something happens, Chernobyl which we all know a lot about, may seem like a child’s fairy tale. Is there such a threat or not? I think there is… I would urge everyone to calm down… and start to resolve the problems that have piled up for many years there at the negotiating table.”
Reclusive North Korea’s decision to all but close the Kaesong industrial park coincided with speculation that it will carry out some sort of provocative action – another nuclear weapons test or missile launch – in what has become one of the most serious crises on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953….. http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/putin-warns-korean-nuclear-conflict-could-make-chernobyl-fairy-tale-5399414
South Korea: backdown on claims about North Korea’s nuclear test preparations
S. Korea official backpedals on North’s nuclear test preparation Pyongyang has underground tunnels for nuclear tests CBC News, 9 Apr 13 The Associated Press A top South Korean official says he misspoke when he told legislators there is an “indication” that North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test. But that doesn’t change what Seoul has been saying for months: that Pyongyang has already prepared a tunnel for a nuclear blast and can use it whenever it wants….. http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/04/08/north-korea-fourth-nuclear-test-possible-south-korea.html
Fukushima radiation levels rise in rivers, in food 225 miles away
Deadly levels of radiation found in food 225 miles from Fukushima: Media blackout on nuclear fallout continues
http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2013/04/08/deadly-levels-of-radiation-found-in-food-225-miles-from-fukushima-media-blackout-on-nuclear-fallout-continues/ – Source: NaturalNews By Ethan A. HuffAPRIL 8, 2013 NEW DATA 
RELEASED BY JAPAN’S MINISTRY OF HEALTH, LABOR AND WELFARE (MHLW) SHOWS ONCE AGAIN THAT THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR DISASTER IS FAR FROM OVER. DESPITE A COMPLETE MEDIA BLACKOUT ON THE CURRENT SITUATION, LEVELS OF CESIUM-137 (CS-137) AND CESIUM-134 (CS-134) FOUND IN PRODUCE AND RICE CRACKERS LOCATED ROUGHLY 225 MILES (~ 362 KM) AWAY FROM FUKUSHIMA ARE HIGH ENOUGH TO CAUSE RESIDENTS TO EXCEED THE ANNUAL RADIATION EXPOSURE LIMIT IN JUST A FEW MONTHS, OR EVEN WEEKS. Continue reading
Arrests as protestors gather against Uranium Processing Facility
Protest against Uranium Processing Facility http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2013/04/protest-against-uranium-proces.html 6 April 13, Peace activists gather across from the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant this afternoon to protest the government’s plans to construct the multi-billion-dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Oak Ridge site. Newly installed barriers prevented the protesters from gathering at the Y-12 sign near the plant entrance, a traditional spot for protests, and Oak Ridge police routed the protesters — who marched to Y-12 from a city park — to the other side of Scarboro Road. Three protesters (Gyoshu Utsumi of Newport, Bill Ramsey of Asheville, N.C., and Larry Coleman of Knoxville) were reportedly arrested during the march for impeding traffic.
TEPCO on a tightrope in attempt to move tons of radioactive water
Japan nuclear safety plans too lax for crowded, quake-prone nation, say nuclear experts The Star, By: Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press,Apr 08 2013 TOKYO
“…….TEPCO is moving tons of highly radioactive water from the temporary tanks to two similar ones nearby to minimize the leak. They are among seven underground tanks of different sizes which employ the same design.
TEPCO admitted Sunday it had dismissed earlier signs of water loss as within a margin of error and waited until a spike in radiation levels around the tanks was detected. Critics suspect cash-strapped TEPCO built poorly designed underground pits instead of safer and more manageable steel tanks to save money. TEPCO has also been criticized for delaying replacement of makeshift equipment, raising questions about whether the plant is really under control.
The underground tanks, several times the size of an Olympic swimming pool and similar to an industrial waste dump, are dug directly into the ground and protected by double-layer polyethylene linings inside an outermost clay-based lining, with a felt padding between each layer. Officials suspect there were ruptures in the linings due to the weight of the water.
Contaminated water at the plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns after the 2011 disaster, has escaped into the sea several times during the crisis. Experts suspect a continuous leak into the ocean through an underground water system, citing high levels of contamination in fish caught in waters just off the plant.
The contaminated water in the tanks is part of more than 270,000 tons of water used to cool melted fuel at the plant’s reactors damaged in the disaster. So much water has been used that TEPCO is struggling to find storage space. The water is also kept in hundreds of steel tanks.
NRA commissioner Toyoshi Fuketa told reporters Monday that the water leak poses a more immediate threat to the plant’s water management than to the environment. He questioned TEPCO’s risk evaluation in the tanks’ design process, but acknowledged that regulators have to allow TEPCO to use the remaining underground tanks for now.
“Although we need more long-term plans, we have to tackle the most immediate problem first. TEPCO’s decommissioning process is a tightrope situation to begin with,” he said. http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/04/08/japan_nuclear_safety_plans_too_lax_for_crowded_quakeprone_nation_say_nuclear_experts.html
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