Fukushima nuclear reactor 3 has a foot-wide leak, gushing water
Wall St. Journal, Japan TV: ‘Problem on their hands’ at Fukushima, constant flow of water pouring from foot-wide leak at Reactor 3; “They don’t know where water it’s coming from” —WSJ: Radiation level spikes 60-fold in seconds nearby (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/japan-tv-problem-at-fukushima-constant-flow-of-water-pouring-from-foot-wide-hole-at-reactor-3-they-dont-know-where-the-water-is-coming-from-wsj-radiation-level-spikes-60-fold-in-seconds
Wall St. Journal, Jan. 17, 2014: As the bus carrying reporters [taking part in a media tour on Jan. 15] drove past by unit 3 toward units 1 and 2, readings on a dosimeter carried by an employee of plant operator [Tepco] spiked at over 600 microsieverts per hour, compared with a reading of around 10 microsieverts just seconds earlier. Reactors 1-3 are so highly contaminated that no one, even in a protective suit, can enter the buildings. That means almost all the cleanup work at the three units will have to be undertaken by remote-controlled robots.
NHK Newsline (Transcript), Jan. 18, 2014: The people in charge of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have another problem on their hands. They say they found water pouring into a drain inside a reactor building. Officials at [Tepco] say they don’t know where the water is coming from and their not sure how much radioactivity it contains.
NHK, Jan. 18, 2014: Water leak found inside Fukushima reactor building […] spotted on the first floor of the reactor building on Saturday by a camera […] the water flow was about 30-centimeters wide [11.8 inches] and constant. TEPCO added that the water is likely flowing toward the building’s basement where a large amount of radioactive water has accumulated. TEPCO says that inside the reactor building there is water for cooling melted fuel and water in the spent fuel storage
pool. It says rain water may have entered the damaged building. TEPCO is trying to find out the source of the leaking water by analyzing footage […] radiation levels are too high for workers to approach the site.
Kyodo News, Jan. 18, 2014: Water leakage found inside No. 3 reactor of Fukushima plant: TEPCO […] Water that could contain radioactive material has been pouring [from a] 30-centimeter wide water leak […] It said the water had not leaked outside the building. TEPCO has been pouring cooling water on the No. 1 to 3 reactors to cool melted fuel, and water has been seen leaking through damaged parts of the No. 3 reactor’s containment vessel. […]
455 local assemblies in Japan calls for an end to nuclear power
Study: Nearly one-third of localities call for end to nuclear power,http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201401190021 By TORU NAKAGAWA/ Staff Writer Nearly one-third of the nation’s local assemblies, including those at the prefectural level, have submitted statements calling for the abolition of nuclear power plants to the Diet since the Fukushima crisis in 2011, according to a study by The Asahi Shimbun.
Most of such statements by 455 assemblies were adopted in prefectures that share borders with prefectures hosting nuclear power plants. The declarations called for a sweeping change in the nation’s energy policy, and a large number also advocate a significant increase in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Continue reading
Top USA Democrat opposes more sanctions on Iran
Top Senate Democrat opposes more Iran sanctions as nuclear deal nears start January 19, 2014 FoxNews.com A top Senate Democrat said Sunday he does not support bipartisan legislation in his chamber to impose new sanctions on Iran — one day before the start of an international deal in which that country will curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of existing sanctions.
“I think it’s a mistake,” Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.”
The Vermont Democrat argued that voting in favor of sanctions could alienate the five other world powers in the deal — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. “If [we] look like we’re prejudging the negotiations, they’re going to say, ‘Hey United States, you’re on your own,’” Leahy said. Continue reading
International Renewable Energy Agency predicts rapid increase in renewables’ market share
Irena details plan to double renewables’ market share by 2030, The National, 20 Jan 14 More than 1,000 delegates from around the world gathered in Abu Dhabi on Saturday for the release of a detailed plan to double renewables’ share of the global energy market by 2030. Heads of state and ministers from more than 150 countries and representatives of 120 organisations took part in the opening of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s fourth annual assembly.
At the St Regis resort on Saadiyat Island, Irena detailed its “REmap 2030” plan for increasing adoption of renewable energies around the world.
The meeting is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which incorporates conferences including the World Future Energy Summit and the International Water Summit, and the announcement of the Zayed Future Energy Prize winners.
Irena is the global centre for renewable-energy cooperation for its 123 member states, as well as the European Union.
The assembly announced the first six renewable-energy projects in developing countries to receive loans under Irena’s project partnership with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development……
Figures from Middle East Economic Digest, Meed, show the total value of renewable-energy projects in the Middle East will be 36 times greater in the next decade……
Projects include Masdar 100-megawatt solar plant in Abu Dhabi, a 1,000MW solar park in Dubai, and ambitious projects planned for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/irena-details-plan-to-double-renewables-market-share-by-2030#ixzz2qxvy478H
Solar and wind the solution for Pakistan’s energy: nuclear power plan is preposterous
Stop running after nuclear energy, solar and wind power is the solution for Pakistan!, The Express Tribune By Ahsan Ashraf January 19, 2014 The efforts to attain nuclear power have increased globally in recent years. Several advocates in Pakistan, such as the recent article by Kazmi (Jan 7, 2014), have argued that nuclear power promotes economic development along with meeting the shortfall in energy supply.
A critical question I would like to ask is that, is nuclear power absolutely necessary for an economic development, given the potential safety risks and the vast amount of investment that it requires?
With Pakistan’s incredible potential of untapped renewable resources, why is Pakistan trying an untested nuclear technology when the rest of the world is moving towards greener energy solutions?
I feel that this is a preposterous idea. Continue reading
Parks Town USA still stuck with nuclear waste
Decision time yet again on whether to remove nuclear waste from Parks site, Trib Live Neighbourhoods, 19 Jan 14 By Mary Ann Thomas After more than 20 years of wrangling, the federal government has to decide — yet again — whether it will remove and ship out the buried nuclear waste at a dump on Route 66 in Parks.
The Pittsburgh District of the Army Corps of Engineers, the lead agency for a proposed 10-year cleanup that could cost up to $500 million, has not set a date for that decision. But before it does decide, the corps will hold a meeting in the spring to get public testimony on what it should do. The meeting has not been scheduled.
The project has grown much more complicated and expensive, causing the government to rethink what should be done. “People should be concerned that Congress has little appetite to clean up environmental messes and U.S. Rep. John Murtha is gone,” said Robert Alvarez, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington and former senior policy adviser to the secretary of the Department of Energy during the Clinton administration
When the cleanup plans sputtered and stalled in the 1990s, Murtha, the late congressman from Johnstown, initiated legislation in 2002 mandating the Army Corps take over the cleanup and remove the nuclear contamination from the site.
Although that agency is the first to put shovel to ground and remove nuclear contaminants, it had to rethink its role two years ago when workers unearthed greater-than-expected amounts of complex nuclear materials. The project price tag skyrocketed.
Originally estimated at between $21.5 million and $65.6 million in 2002, estimates rose to $170 million in 2010. Those have since ballooned to $250 million to $500 million.
U-235 AND U-233 Two volatile types of uranium — U-235 and U-233 — are present on the site. Known as “fissile materials,” they can cause a nuclear chain reaction or be used for an improvised explosive.
What’s not clear is how much of the material has been found. The corps refuses to release any information on the variety and quantities of isotopes found so far. The Army denied a Freedom Of Information Act request for documents from the Valley News Dispatch in 2012 regarding the materials…… http://triblive.com/neighborhoods/yourallekiskivalley/yourallekiskivalleymore/5270680-74/nuclear-corps-site#ixzz2qxatTfJA
USA nuclear missile officers have been cheating on safety tests for years
Cheating on tests at nuclear facility was common, ex-officers LA Tines 19 Jan 14 WASHINGTON—Air Force officers responsible for safeguarding and operating nuclear-armed missiles at a base in Montana cheated for years on monthly readiness tests, but rarely faced punishment even though some commanders were aware of the misconduct, according to three former officers who served at the base.
Their assertions shed new light on a cheating scandal involving 34 officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, who are under investigation for improperly sharing information about exam questions and failing to report the alleged misconduct.
Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James called the alleged behavior “absolutely unacceptable.”
But the former officers, two of whom served at Malmstrom in the last decade, said that cheating on the three monthly written tests — covering missile safety, code handling and launch procedures — was so commonplace that officers who declined to participate were the exception.
“Everybody cheats on every test that they can, and they have for decades,” said one former officer who served at Malmstrom from 2006 to 2010, and said he had cheated on tests. “Maybe five percent [of the officers] don’t. But they know about it.” He asked not to be identified, citing fear of retribution by the Air Force.
…….A third former officer, Bruce Blair, said, “There were hundreds of officers at my wing at Malmstrom, and I don’t think that I know anybody who didn’t cheat.”
Blair was a launch officer from 1970-1974 and went on to help found the organization Global Zero, which seeks the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.
The tests are used to measure the readiness of more than 500 launch officers — stationed at the three bases nationwide — who are responsible for securing 450 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and keeping them ready for launch around the clock….http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-air-force-nuclear-cheating-20140118,0,5357820.story#axzz2qxE51QKr
A new development in efficient large-scale storage of solar power
Better Solar Through Chemistry, Renewable Energy News, 20 Jan 14 A new method of harvesting fuel from water developed by scientists from University of North Carolina could answer the question of how to effectively store solar power for use long after the sun goes down. An entire industry has grown around storing the power generated by solar energy systems, from banks of lithium-ion batteries to molten-salt technology, but UNC researchers believe chemistry will provide the key to large-scale solar power storage.
“So called ‘solar fuels’ like hydrogen offer a solution to how to store energy for night time use by taking a cue from natural photosynthesis” says Tom Meyer, Arey Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Our new findings may provide a last major piece of a puzzle for a new way to store the sun’s energy – it could be a tipping point for a solar energy future.”
Meyer’s team used a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthesis cell, or DSPEC (an organic solar cell which mimics the process of photosynthesis in plants), to produce hydrogen fuel by separating water molecules into atoms. While hydrogen atoms are retained and stored for energy, oxygen is released into the atmosphere. Because the entire process is solar powered, it is also extremely efficient….. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4130
Pacific islanders becoming proficient in photovoltaic solar systems
Renewable energy training http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=257550 By TORIKA TOKALAU Monday, January 20, 2014 TECHNICIANS from around the Pacific began a three-week Vocational Training and Education for Clean Energy (VOCTEC) program at USP today.
The 14 participants from FSM, Kiribati, Samoa, PNG, Palau and Fiji will be trained as stand-alone Photovoltaic (solar) system trainers. After the program, the participants will hold technician trainings in their respective countries.
USP’s head of school for Engineering and Physics, Atul Raturi, said the main aim of the program was to build human capacity in renewable energy.
Nevada against nuclear waste dump for Yucca Mountain
Guy W. Farmer: Nuclear facts a dire reminder of Yucca perils Nevada Appeal , 19 Jan 14,A few folks are still telling us it would be good to turn Nevada into the nation’s nuclear waste dump, and that if we would endorse the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump, they’d shower us with “free” federal dollars. Fortunately, that’s not going to happen.
Nuclear power irrelevant, counter productive, to addressing climate change
NUCLEAR POWER AND CLIMATE: WHY NUKES CAN’T SAVE THE PLANET TOO MANY REACTORS; NOT ENOUGH CARBON REDUCTIONShttp://www.climatecollective.org/media/uploads/resources/nukesclima.pdfEngland’s Queen Elisabeth enriched through her investments in depleted uranium weapons
UK Queen in Depleted Uranium Trade –http://humansarefree.com/2014/01/uk-queen-in-depleted-uranium-trade-her.html Her Fortune is £17 Trillion – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is one of the richest women on earth and much of her profits are from arms trade including the notorious depleted uranium trade. The British monarch has managed to increase her wealth from £300 million early in her 60-year reign to £17 billion at present thanks to investments in arms firms that produce uranium used in depleted uranium (DU) shells, including Rio Tinto Zinc. DU shells are notorious for their ability to pierce armor and kill targets due to their deadly radioactive features. –
Amid increasing secrecy, Japan may be moving towards getting nuclear weapons
There is little comfort in knowing that the walls of secrecy Japan has been putting up around Fukushima and other nuclear power activities will surely make it harder to know what if any weapons programs the country undertakes
Nuclear Japan? Op Ed News, 17 Jan 14 By William Boardman (about the author) American nuclear officials are wary of Japan’s new nuclear push Official Japanese policy on nuclear power has swung full circle since the Fukushima disaster of 2011 — from avidly pro-nuclear power then, to rejecting nuclear power as too dangerous, and now back to avidly pushing on to re-start old reactors and build new ones. Adding the chronic secrecy and denial of the nuclear industry to such politically-driven indecision making, Japan has created a funhouse of distorting mirrors from which emerging information about the on-going Fukushima disaster cannot be considered credible without reliable, independent verification. Reliable and credible information about Fukushima is just what authorities in Japan and around the world apparently do not want. …… Continue reading
Iran nuclear deal gives some hope for later long term agreement
The short-term deal will last for just six months, during which time more extensive negotiations with the Iranians will unfold. There is no guarantee of success, but if there had been no six-month deal – as the critics would have preferred – there would have been no chance whatsoever of any permanent deal. And what would the alternatives have been then?
Nobody has to like the theocratic regime in Iran to deal with it, and dealing with it is better than practising the foreign policy of the podium.
Black-and-white views leave us blind on Iran http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/black-and-white-view-leaves-us-blind-on-iran/article16372544/ JEFFREY SIMPSON The Globe and Mail, Jan. 17 2014, When a new government was elected in Iran and began expressing a different attitude toward negotiations with the West, the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu warned that nothing had changed. Mr. Netanyahu spoke darkly of developments in Iran being a smokescreen. Predictably, his views were echoed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Canadian government.
When the United States, its major European allies plus Russia and China began to negotiate a deal to halt temporarily Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for some lifting of sanctions, Mr. Netanyahu decried the negotiations, calling them a “historic mistake.” Canada’s government didn’t go quite that far, but it did express grave doubts about Iran and the negotiations.
In both cases, the Harper government remained blind to developments in Iran, where it had already closed Canada’s embassy, because it sees the Middle East through a Netanyahu lens. The result was the further marginalization of Canada in the Mideast (a region where Canada is a marginal factor anyway) and a distancing of this country from its traditional Western allies. Put bluntly, given a choice between aligning itself with the United States, which wanted to explore prospects, and Israel, which did not, the Harper government plumped for Israel.
Now, it turns out that at least in the short term, the United States and its negotiating partners were right and the Israelis and Canada were wrong. Negotiations with Iran for a short-term deal have succeeded, although verifying compliance will be critical and a short-term deal does not guarantee conclusion of a successful long-term one. Continue reading
Illnesses of USA sailors from USS Reagan – debris from ship sent to Hanford
Radio: US Navy sailors had radioactive snow ball fights off Fukushima — Crew “pretty well toast” after weeks on Pacific… significant cancers, incessant bleeding from anus or vagina, blindness — Debris from USS Reagan sent to Hanford nuclear waste site (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/radio-u-s-navy-sailors-were-havinng-snow-ball-fights-on-deck-using-radioactive-snow-off-fukushima-crew-was-pretty-well-toast-by-time-they-came-into-port-contaminated-debris-off-uss-reagan
Voice of Russia – US Edition, Jan. 15, 2014:
7:30 in — Paul C. Garner, attorney for Navy sailors exposed to Fukushima radioactive contamination: They’re out there in the elements breathing it in, soaking it in. According to Lindsay Cooper who was on the deck, it started to snow and then she tasted this metallic taste in her mouth, and so did the others. And they were having snow ball fights and joking around about it, until they were warned that it was radioactive and they should not be doing that.
9:45 in — Garner: They were considered to be too highly radioactive […] The Reagan sailed around for weeks before they could find a friendly port to land in. By that time the people on board were pretty well toast. And the Reagan itself became contaminated. After that the Reagan spent a year and half in Bremerton, Washington for what they considered to be routine maintenance, but it was anything but routine. They decontaminated the vessel as best they could, and they shipped the contaminated debris over to Hanford.
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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