Nuclear news this week
Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs
Fukushima. Tepco’s plan was to start. on Friday 8th Nov the perilous removal of 1300 nuclear fuel rods from the cooling pool atop nuclear reactor No 4. Fraught with danger, any slip up could result in catastrophe, the evacuation of Tokyo, the virtually perm anent radioactive contamination of the region, and global consequences.. The building is tipping and sinking, due to the soggy ground from radioactive water leaks. The process will take over year. Highly radioactive – it needs to be done mechanically – too “hot” for human closeness. Should the rods touch each other, or should they crumble into a big enough pile, an explosion is possible.
The start date has now been delayed, as the government-linked Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has demanded a test procedure be done first. The USA will help, but Japan must first sign an agreement that frees USA vendors from any liability from USA equipment, should an accident occur due to faulty USA equipment.
Medical experts accuse UNSCEAR of playing down Fukushima radiation health consequences. 64 Japanese organisations ask UNSCEAR and UN General Assembly to revise the inaccurate statements .
Nuclear costs – UK shows how they are too great.
European Union to consider mandatory disaster insurance for nuclear power plants.
Soon to begin – the dangerous process of removing nuclear fuel rods from Fukushima Unit no. 4
Unit 4 presented particular dangers because its entire stock of fuel rods was in the pool at the time of the accident.
If the operation goes as planned, attention will then focus on the massive challenges posed by Units 1, 2 and 3.
Tepco will not confirm the precise timing of the fuel rod operation but after so much public outrage at the company’s handling of the crisis so far, scrutiny of this latest episode will be intense.
Fukushima nuclear plant set for risky operation http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24843657 7 Nov 13 David Shukman A task of extraordinary delicacy and danger is about to begin at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power station.
Engineers are preparing to extract the first of more than 1,000 nuclear fuel rods from one of the wrecked reactor buildings. This is seen as an essential but risky step on the long road towards stabilising the site.
The fuel rods are currently in a precarious state in a storage pool in Unit 4. This building was badly damaged by an explosion in March 2011 following the Great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Moving the rods to safety is a high priority but has only become possible after months of repair work and planning.
One senior official told me: “It’s going to be very difficult but it has to happen.” Continue reading
UNSCEAR falsified estimations of medical effects of Fukushima radiation
U.N. cover-up of Fukushima exposed on TV — Medical Doctor: There’s now many more cancer cases than we expected from Fukushima, UNSCEAR report has falsified estimations (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/tv-investigation-details-u-n-cover-up-of-fukushima-medical-doctor-theres-now-many-more-cancer-cases-than-we-expected-from-fukushima-unscear-report-has-falsified-estimations-video
Title: Medical experts criticize UNSCEAR report for playing down consequences of Fukushima nuclear accident
Source: 3sat (German language public TV network)
Captions: World Network For Saving Children From Radiation
Date Published: Nov. 5, 2013
Dr. Alex Rosen, Medical Doctor and radiation specialist: There is now a much higher number of thyroid cancer cases than we expected. […]
Narrator: According to Dr. Alex Rosen, there are various falsified estimations in the UNSCEAR [United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation] report. […]
Professor Wolfgang Hoffman, professor of epidemiology at Geifswald University: It is certain that we will have an elevated level of cancer. […]
Marc Molitor, journalist with Belgisher TV (Belgium): A certain member within UNSCEAR told me that the report was written to play down the consequences of the Fukushima nuclear accident. Moreover, he also said that the members pretend not to learn the lesson from Chernobyl. There was seemingly a discussion on it.
[UNSCEAR Report:t: “No discernible increased incidence of radiation-related health effects are expected among exposed members of the public or their descendants. The most important health effect is on mental and social well-being”]
Environmental groups scorn the idea of nuclear power as a fix for climate change
Greens dispute climate scientists on nuclear power http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/189258-greens-dispute-climate-scientists-on-nuclear-power By Ben Geman, 7 Nov 13 Environmentalists are pushing back against four prominent climate scientists who say the green movement should embrace nuclear power plant construction to help fight climate change.
E2-Wire wrote about the open letter from the four scientists to environmentalists on Sunday.
Several anti-nuclear environmental groups said Tuesday that it didn’t change their minds. Greenpeace wasn’t swayed by the letter from scientists James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Tom Wigley and Kerry Emanuel.
“While we respect Dr. Hansen and his advocacy to raise the alarm about catastrophic climate change, we thoroughly disagree that nuclear power has any role to play in addressing the threat posed by global warming. If we are to abate the worst impacts of climate change we need solutions that are fast, affordable, and safe. Nuclear is none of these,” said Jim Riccio, nuclear power analyst with Greenpeace USA. Continue reading
Nuclear power far to expensive as climate change cure – – renewables faster and cheaper
Who killed nuclear power? Hint: It’s not the people who actively supported placing a high and rising price on carbon pollution.
Four of the country’s top climate experts have distributed an open letter “To those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power.” I have the greatest respect for James Hansen, Kerry Emanuel, Tom Wigley, and Ken Caldeira — and have written dozens of blog posts about their vital climate work.
But I think their letter is mis-addressed and also misses the key point about nuclear power — because it is so expensive, especially when done safely, the industry has no chance of revival absent a serious price on carbon. Continue reading
Examining the subject of radiation and cancer
Experts debate ‘safe’ dose of radiation http://www.wnem.com/story/23813407/experts-debate-safe-dose-of-radiation Nov 06, 2013 By Kimberly Wright – email (RNN) – Is there such a thing as a safe dose of radiation? Some experts say no. Research shows that any dose of radiation increases an individual’s risk for the development of cancer.
Decades of research show clearly that any dose of radiation increases an individual’s risk for the development of cancer, according to the Physicians for Social Responsibility. The primary risk of radiation is cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, with the higher the radiation dose, the greater the chance of developing cancer.
The chance of developing cancer, not the seriousness of the cancer, increases as the radiation dose goes up. It can be difficult to discern what causes cancer when it is detected, as cancers caused by radiation do not appear until years after the radiation exposure.
Some are more likely to develop cancer than others from radiation. Less likely,radiation can also cause genetic mutations and birth defects to a developing embryo or fetus. Fetuses are most susceptible to radiation exposure, following by infants, children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fetuses are most sensitive between about eight to 15 weeks after conception. Continue reading
The health price paid by Fukushima clean-up workers
Fukushima: Japan’s Cut-Price Nuclear Cleanup: Human Error, Plummeting Morale and Worker Exodus 福島は割引清掃 By Global Research News Global Research, November 04, 2013 The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 43, No. 2, October 28, 2013. “……….Shigemura is most concerned about the 70 percent of Tepco workers at Fukushima Daiichi who were also forced to evacuate their homes by the meltdown. They have yet to come to terms with the loss of their homes, and many are living apart from their families in makeshift accommodation near the plant.
“They were traumatized by the tsunami and the reactor explosions, and had no idea how much they had been irradiated,” Shigemura says. “That was the acute effect, but now they are suffering from the chronic effects, such as depression, loss of motivation and issues with alcohol.”
Men such as Watanabe Kai(30), who was forced to flee his family home in March 2011, have never had psychological counseling and were immediately thrown back into the fight to save the Daiichi plant. Today, he monitors tanks full of highly toxic water for leaks. For a job with potentially serious consequences on his health, he is paid 15,000 yen a day.
Relatively little is known about the people who work at the Daiichi plant. Tepco severely rations interviews with its full-time staff. Contract workers such as Watanabe, employed by one of dozens of subcontractors, rarely talk to journalists because they fear for their jobs. Watanabe insists on a pseudonym for interviews.
Born and raised in the town of Okuma, a few miles from the plant, Watanabe’s family are nuclear refugees. His mother and father left the home he shared with them on March 12th and now live and work in Iwaki, 34 km south of the plant. He doesn’t believe they will ever return. Like Pripyat, the Ukrainian town evacuated after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, Okuma is a nuclear ghost town.
Watanabe labored through the disaster at the Daiichi plant until he reached his annual limit for radiation exposure. He then cycled through the remaining jobs for nuclear workers in Fukushima, ending up with a decontamination crew, cleaning up the radiation that poisoned his home. The irony wasn’t lost on him but he says he bears no grudges. “We have to fix the mess we made.”…….http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-japans-cut-price-nuclear-cleanup/5356796
UN inspectors in Japan to monitor Fukushima radiation leaks
UN nuclear inspectors in Japan as China demands ‘accurate’ information on radiation Voice of Russia, 6 November 2013, Inspectors from the UN’s nuclear watchdog arrived in Tokyo Wednesday to monitor marine pollution near Fukushima as China demanded Japan provide “accurate” information on how it is handling the crisis.
China told the UN General Assembly it was worried about radioactive water leaks from the Japanese plant, which went into meltdown after being hit by a tsunami in March 2011.
“China follows closely the countermeasures to be adopted by Japan,” China’s deputy UN ambassador Wang Min told a debate on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We urge the Japanese side to spare no effort in minimising the subsequent impact of the accident and provide timely, comprehensive and accurate information to the international community,” Wang added……..
Fukushima “continues to be a source of serious concern, especially to adjacent countries, because of the spillage of contaminated water into the sea,” said South Korea’s deputy UN ambassador Sul Kyung-Hoon………
The first batch of IAEA experts arrived in Japan on Wednesday at the invitation of the Japanese government as it looks to bolster its credibility.
The two researchers from the Environment Laboratories in Monaco are planning to analyse sea water near Fukushima, the agency said.
Their analysis will contribute to the IAEA-led international peer review of Tokyo’s roadmap towards decommissioning the destroyed reactors, it said.
“One of the focuses of the mission is the contaminated water issue,” the agency said.
The experts are David Osborn, director of Environment Laboratories in Monaco, and Hartmut Nies, head of the Radiometrics Laboratory, it said…..: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_06/UN-nuclear-inspectors-in-Japan-as-China-demands-accurate-information-on-radiation-0357/
Low morale amongst Fukushima’s cut price nuclear clean-up workers
Fukushima: Japan’s Cut-Price Nuclear Cleanup: Human Error, Plummeting Morale and Worker Exodus 福島は割引清掃 By Global Research News Global Research, November 04, 2013
The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 11, Issue 43, No. 2, October 28, 2013. TEPCO woes continue amid human error, plummeting morale and worker exodus By Justin McCurry and David McNeill reporting from Fukushima
During a visit to Fukushima Daiichi in September, Abe Shinzo told workers: “the future of Japan rests on your shoulders. I am counting on you.”
The prime minister’s exhortation was directed at almost 6,000 technicians and engineers, truck drivers and builders who, almost three years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown, remain on the frontline of the world’s most hazardous industrial cleanup.
Yet as the challenges facing Fukushima Daiichi become clearer with every new radiation leak and mishap, the men responsible for cleaning up the plant are suffering from plummeting morale, health problems and deep anxiety about the future. Even now, at the start of a decommissioning operation that is expected to last four decades, the plant faces a shortage of workers qualified to manage the dangerous work that lies ahead, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the situation inside the facility. Continue reading
The floating toxic Fukushima debris approachng USA
Texas-sized toxic ‘island’ of Japan tsunami waste approaching US http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_11_05/Texas-sized-toxic-island-of-Japan-tsunami-waste-approaching-US-2200/
A huge chunk of toxic debris from Japan’s 2011 tsunami is inevitably nearing the US West coast. Currently 1,700 miles away, between Hawaii and California, the “isle of junk” is worth million tons, while another million is still wandering in the Pacific.
In case the floating junkyard, dubbed by Fox News as the “toxic monster,” reunites with the rest of the rubble, its weight might reach five million tons while the area might exceed that of the States. That’s according to the report released last week by the US Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as the NOAA was trying to predict exactly the point at which the junkyard would reach land.
The “toxic monster” consists of items swept into the ocean by the tsunami – boats, houses, devices, consumer goods.
The data indicates that the movement of the debris is wildly unpredictable, as experts expect the bulk of the rubbish washing-up at any spot of the West coast of either US or Canada in the next several years.
Some of the debris may have already crossed the Pacific, as reports claim Japanese fishing vessels to have been washed up to Canadian shores as early as winter of 2011. In this case, the level of toxic junk already on the US beaches is probably high.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Environment, the tsunami left around five million tons of rubbish on the coast of Japan, but only 30% floated out into the wider Pacific. The rest, the Ministry claims, sunk to the ocean floor around Japan.
Nuclear power – the costly ‘renaissance’ that went awfully wrong
“The fundamental problem was the renaissance was always economically unsound,” Bradford said. “There was never a point in time at which private investors were prepared to back new nuclear. There were just too many things that could go wrong.”
“The problem with using nuclear as an answer to climate change is it’s so much more expensive than other potential answers,” Bradford said. “It’s like building palaces to solve a housing shortage, or using caviar to solve world hunger.”
The ‘nuclear renaissance:’ What went wrong? By Matt Smith, CNN 6 Nov 13“…….Not long ago, nuclear energy seemed poised to start a much-touted renaissance in the United States. Buoyed by forecasts of increased demand, utilities were gearing up to start building the first new reactors since the 1970s. Concerns about the emissions from carbon-rich fossil fuels blamed for global warming started to offset public fears about safety that had lingered since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. But since then, the industry has seen a dramatic reversal of fortune. And while some environmentalists, now argue that nuclear power is needed to head off climate change, the market has become a hostile place. Continue reading
Fact Checking Israel’s claims about Iran’s nuclear programme
FACT CHECK: A look at Israel’s claims on Iran’s nuclear program “…..A look at the claims: WP, 6 Nov 13
CLAIM: At an Oct. 27 meeting of the Israeli Cabinet, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “improvements” in Iran’s nuclear program in the past year would allow it push past the “barrier” of 20 percent enriched uranium — the highest level acknowledged by Iran — to reach 90 percent enrichment within “weeks at most.” Uranium at 90 percent enrichment is close to weapons-grade.
DETAILS: Netanyahu may be talking about the amount of 20 percent material now on hand. This is close to 200 kilograms (440 pounds). Experts say 250 kilograms (550 pounds) would be needed to produce a single bomb by enriching that amount to above 90 percent. There is significant debate over a possible timetable, but many experts say it could be several months or longer, based on the hypothetical scenario that Iran would move ahead with higher enrichment.
Netanyahu also could be referring to the number of centrifuges installed in the past year or upgrades that allow faster production of enriched uranium. Except for a test station, however, none of the new generation machines are running. CLAIM: At the same meeting, Netanyahu said Iran’s planned heavy water reactor in the city of Arak has “no connection with energy for peace, but only for nuclear weapons.”
DETAILS: The heavy water reactor — currently under construction in central Iran — uses a molecular variant of water as a coolant and can use natural, non-enriched uranium as a fuel. Such reactors produce a higher amount of plutonium as a byproduct. The plutonium can be reused in nuclear weapons production, but needs a special extraction and enrichment process that Iran currently does not possess. Iran has not released details on its plans for plutonium, but said the reactor’s main purpose is to produce isotopes for cancer treatment and other medical uses. Iran has said it will allow 24-hour video surveillance at the reactor by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. Similar around-the-clock monitoring is in place at other enrichment and nuclear sites.
LAIM: Israel’s Security Cabinet said Oct. 15 that Iran has “systematically defied” U.N. Security Council resolutions to halt uranium enrichment.
DETAILS: The U.N. Security Council in July 2006 passed the first in a series of resolutions demanding Iran halt its enrichment program. Iran dismissed the resolution and moved ahead with advances in enrichment, as well as the then-secret construction of a new and fortified enrichment facility built into a mountain south of Tehran……….http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/fact-check-look-at-israels-claims-over-irans-nuclear-program/2013/11/06/ae607770-46dd-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html
The multi $billion cost of USA “modernising” its nuclear weaponry
US to spend billions ‘modernizing’ nuclear arsenal By AFP | 6 Nov, 2013, WASHINGTON: The United States plans to spend billions to upgrade a decades-oldatomic bomb designed to stop a Soviet invasion of Europe, as part of a controversial project to modernize its nuclear arsenal.
Some lawmakers and experts dismiss the effort as a colossal waste of money that could derail arms control talks with Russia. ……. Some members of Congress are wary of the price tag, as the estimated cost for modernizing the B61 bomb keeps rising, from an initial $4 billion to $8.1 billion. And a Pentagon panel has projected the cost could reach $10 to $12 billion.
“The case against the B61 life extension is simple: it is unaffordable, unworkable and unnecessary,” said Kingston Reif of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
For skeptics, the project looks overly ambitious at a time of budget austerity, when the Air Force is already planning major spending on the new F-35 fighter jet, a new long-range bomber and a new cruise missile.
The cost of the program is coming under particular scrutiny because Obama himself is pushing to scrap tactical weapons in Europe, prompting criticism that the whole undertaking is unneccessary.
“To me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend billions of dollars to extend the life of weapons that the president has already said he wants to get rid of,” said Tom Collina, director of research at the Arms Control Association.
In an editorial, the New York Times denounced the effort as a “Faustian bargain” Obama made with Senate Republicans in 2010, promising modernization of the nuclear arsenal to secure approval of the New Start arms reduction agreement with Russia. Obama has touted fresh arms control negotiations with Russia as a priority but making improvements to the B61 bomb could undermine prospects for any deal with Moscow, Collina and other experts said.
“Certainly, if the United States puts upgraded B61 bombs that are more accurate in Europe, Russia will probably have a response,” Collina said.
“I don’t know what that would be, but it certainly won’t be very positive.” http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/us-to-spend-billions-modernizing-nuclear-arsenal/articleshow/25333663.cms
Scotland’s “mass walk-on” protest against firing of depleted uranium weapons
Dundrennan depleted uranium protest staged http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-24835544 6 Nov 13 The last DU tests were carried out at Dundrennan five years ago Campaigners have held a “mass walk-on” at the Dundrennan range in protest at the test firing of depleted uranium (DU) weapons into the Solway Firth.
It was part of an international day of action and followed concerns about serious health issues resulting from the use of such weapons in war zones.
The last DU tests at the south of Scotland range were in 2008. Earlier this year the Ministry of Defence said it had no plans to restart firing in the area.
One of the campaigners, Rachel Thompson, said the protest had been well supported from across Scotland and beyond. “We have found that depleted uranium is one of those issues people really do care about,” she said.
“They knew when they started that Scottish people did not want this to happen.” She said the protest wanted to make the link between that objection and the consequences of the use of such weapons in Iraq.
Fukushima radiation could rise to Cold War levels in Alaska’s waters
Scientists in Alaska Warn About Spread of Fukushima Radiation Intellihub, By JG Vibes | November 4, 2013 Scientists say Fukushima radiation has reached Alaska ALASKA ) — For years the mainstream media looked the other way as Fukushima has been irradiating the planet, but there have been clear indications that this nuclear disaster is already having an effect, even on the other end of the world.
This week it was reported that scientists in Alaska are raising concerns about the possibility of Fukushima radiation contaminating the local food supply.
Douglas Dasher, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says radiation levels in Alaskan waters could reach Cold War levels.
“The levels they are projecting in some of the models are in the ballpark of what they saw in the North Pacific in the 1960s,” he told CBC……. Throughout the whole entire meltdown process TEPCO and the Japanese government have downplayed the environmental impact of the Fukushima disaster………All parties involved behind the scenes are remaining completely silent, although the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC) has already concluded that the nuclear disaster at Fukushima was “a profoundly man-made disaster that could and should have been foreseen and prevented.”[3]
In contrast to the official reports coming from the government and the power company, test after test has shown that the meltdown has had a significant impact on the surrounding area.
It was reported last year that irradiated fish captured near the inoperative nuclear plant showed 25,800 becquerels of caesium per kilo, which is actually 258 times the level determined ‘safe’ by the government. http://intellihub.com/2013/11/04/scientists-in-alaska-warn-about-spread-of-fukushima-radiation/
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