VOX POPULI: Power company execs should think of liability if accident occurs

July 19, 2022
I see something akin to chaos in the notably varied conclusions different courts reached in their verdicts of the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which Tokyo Electric Power Co. operates.
Some courts ruled the government’s long-range assessment, which pointed out at an early date the possibility of a major tsunami, was scientifically reliable, while others raised their doubts.
Some verdicts severely questioned the responsibility of plant operators for failing to implement tsunami countermeasures, while other courts ruled that the government could not be held responsible as a regulatory authority because the disaster would have occurred no matter what countermeasures were in place.
Judges are human. As long as their decisions are made independently, I believe it is only natural that their opinions vary.
But as in a kaleidoscope where ordered patterns are created out of disorder, it may be possible to see a broad pattern emerge from the chaotic jumble of diverse court decisions.
When an accident occurs at a nuclear power plant, the government’s responsibility is not questioned too severely, but the utility and its executives are made to pay a huge price.
The Tokyo District Court on July 13 ordered former TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and three other former top executives to pay 13 trillion yen (about $94 billion) in damages.
If this ruling holds, the defendants will probably have to sell off their entire personal assets and, if necessary, eventually file for personal bankruptcy. That is the sheer size of the compensation they will have to pay.
The industrial-bureaucratic-academic complex dealing with nuclear power is dubbed Genshiryoku Mura (Nuclear power village) in Japanese. The “villagers” share common interests, but they do not share a common destiny.
I wonder how TEPCO’s current executives feel about the reality that has emerged from the court rulings to date.
And the government, whose destiny remains independent of the village’s, has started calling louder for nuclear power plants to be brought back online.
I respectfully suggest to utility executives that they think very carefully, as many times as needed, about how much 13 trillion yen actually is.
Aomori Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant Stops Cooling Function “Valve Mistakenly Closed?”
July 19, 2022
Regarding the trouble at a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, where the cooling function for high-level radioactive liquid waste temporarily stopped, the operator, JNFL, revealed the results of its investigation, which indicated that workers likely accidentally closed a valve on an operating pipe that circulates water for cooling.
At the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, the cooling system at one of the tanks storing high-level radioactive liquid waste stopped for about eight hours on the second of this month, and JNFL was investigating the cause.
There are two systems of piping for circulating cooling water, and as a result of the investigation, it was revealed at the press conference that there is a high possibility that workers mistakenly closed the valve of the piping in operation, when they were instructed to close the piping under construction.
According to JNFL, the valves were not clearly labeled and instructions were given only orally. JNFL said that it will take measures by the end of this month, such as attaching tags to valves in more than 500 locations in the building where the trouble occurred, so that the status of the system and valves open and closed can be identified.
JNFL has informed the Nuclear Regulation Authority and the local government of the results of the investigation and measures to prevent recurrence. We have strongly requested that JNFL take all possible safety measures, and the village will continue to closely monitor the response.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20220719/k10013725711000.html?fbclid=IwAR1JCD1htc96PAjbz9jJ3Zn7SKjRBvKTuL1akwhNLcdRkRH5J0fsUzTp7zM
Fukushima beach in former evacuation zone reopens after 11 years
Located 25 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant… Madness!
July 16, 2022
Naraha, Fukushima Pref. – The Iwasawa swimming beach in the town of Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, reopened Saturday for the first time since it was shut down after the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
The beach became the first swimming beach to reopen in areas once covered by evacuation orders issued after the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The beach is located about 25 kilometers from the nuclear plant.
Before the disaster, the beach was popular among local surfers, attracting some 30,000 visitors every year.
Due to the tsunami, most of the beach’s facilities, such as a watch tower and revetment blocks, were destroyed.
As an evacuation order was issued for the whole of Naraha following the nuclear disaster, the beach had been left untouched.
After the evacuation ordered was lifted for Naraha in 2015, the town started fixing the damaged facilities in 2019 and completed the reconstruction work in March this year.
The town decided to reopen the beach after no problems were found in monitoring surveys of water quality and radioactive materials.
“We had to rebuild almost everything from scratch,” a town official said. “While preserving the atmosphere from before the disaster, we rebuilt beach facilities that are easier to use.”
Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said, “We want the beach to once again become a popular tourist spot.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/16/national/fukushima-beach-reopens/
Fukushima Beach in Former Evacuation Zone Reopens
Too close, way too close. The effluent from the plant is still pouring into the ocean j_ust up the coast…
July 16, 2022
The Iwasawa swimming beach in the town of Naraha in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, reopened on Saturday for the first time since it was shut down after a major earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident hit the region in March 2011.
The beach became the first bathing resort to reopen in areas once covered by evacuation orders issued after the triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The beach is located some 25 kilometers from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Before the disaster, the beach was popular among local surfers, attracting some 30,000 visitors every year.
Due to the tsunami, most of the beach’s facilities, such as a watch tower and revetment blocks, were destroyed.
Building security on nuclear deterrence is not sustainable — Beyond Nuclear International

Involvement of Hibakusha and victims of nuclear testing is essential
Building security on nuclear deterrence is not sustainable — Beyond Nuclear International
TODAY. In France, Global Heating is killing Nuclear Power – but wasn’t this supposed to be the other way around?

Oh dear! Macron’s dream of the mighty French global nuclear empire is looking a bit dodgy, as extreme heat is causing nuclear reactors to cut energy production, (as well as the fact that the aging fleet is corroded and unsafe)
But wait! it’s only the pesky world of nature that is causing this hiccup to the nuclear dream. It’s only the fish, and frogs, and plant life that are damaged by the release of hot nuclear cooling water. That is easily solved by just weakening, better still, scrapping the regulations that forbid the release of hot water.
Of course, there are wildfires too, with one already threatening the old Brennilis nuclear site.
But – Vive la France! Cool weather will come again. I mean – it’s all been a ”once in a hundred years” heat-wave. Won’t happen again. will it?

Ukraine Defense Minister Offers Ukraine as a ‘Testing Ground’ for NATO Weapons

Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine is ‘inviting arms manufacturers to test the new products here’ https://news.antiwar.com/2022/07/19/ukraine-defense-minister-offers-ukraine-as-a-testing-ground-for-nato-weapons/ by Dave DeCamp
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Tuesday openly offered Ukraine as a venue to test NATO weapons against Russia in an online conversation with the director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
Reznikov said that Ukraine “is essentially a testing ground” for the advanced weaponry the US and its allies are pouring into the country. “Many weapons are now getting tested in the field in the real conditions of the battle against the Russian Army, which has plenty of modern systems of its own,” he said.
The Ukrainian military chief made the offer in a fresh pitch for more Western arms. “We are interested in testing modern systems in the fight against the enemy and we are inviting arms manufacturers to test the new products here,” he said.
One weapons system that is getting its first use on the battlefield in Ukraine is the Polish Krab artillery system that was provided by Warsaw. “So, I think for our partners in Poland, in the United States, France, or Germany, it’s a good chance to test the equipment. So, give us the tools. We will finish the job and you will have all the new information,” Reznikov said.
The Western response to the war in Ukraine has been a boon for US arms makers, who are making money sending weapons into the war zone, replenishing NATO stockpiles, and selling arms to European countries that have decided to boost military spending.
Kyiv has been asking for more advanced arms than it has been sending, including F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. Ukrainian pilots would need to be trained to fly the US aircraft, and the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes $100 million to go towards that training, although the massive spending bill has not yet been finalized.
NATO: The Most Dangerous Military Alliance on the Planet

NATO is determined to stay in business. Its business is war. That meant expanding its war machine far beyond the border of Europe and engaging in ceaseless antagonism toward China and Russia.
NATO sees the future, as detailed in its “NATO 2030: Unified for a New Era,” as a battle for hegemony with rival states, especially China, and calls for the preparation of prolonged global conflict.
the U.S. and NATO seem determined to funnel billions of dollars of weapons into the conflict for months if not years — the more the unthinkable becomes thinkable.
The massive expansion of NATO, not only in Eastern and Central Europe but the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia, presages endless war and a potential nuclear holocaust.
By Chris Hedges, July 16, 2022: Information Clearing House — The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the arms industry that depends on it for billions in profits, has become the most aggressive and dangerous military alliance on the planet. Created in 1949 to thwart Soviet expansion into Eastern and Central Europe, it has evolved into a global war machine in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
NATO expanded its footprint, violating promises to Moscow, once the Cold War ended, to incorporate 14 countries in Eastern and Central Europe into the alliance. It will soon add Finland and Sweden. It bombed Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo. It launched wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, resulting in close to a million deaths and some 38 million people driven from their homes. It is building a military footprint in Africa and Asia. It invited Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea, the so-called “Asia Pacific Four,” to its recent summit in Madrid at the end of June. It has expanded its reach into the Southern Hemisphere, signing a military training partnership agreement with Colombia, in December 2021. It has backed Turkey, with NATO’s second largest military, which has illegally invaded and occupied parts of Syria as well as Iraq. Turkish-backed militias are engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Syrian Kurds and other inhabitants of north and east Syria. The Turkish military has been accused of war crimes – including multiple airstrikes against a refugee camp and chemical weapons use – in northern Iraq. In exchange for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s permission for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, the two Nordic countries have agreed to expand their domestic terror laws making it easier to crack down on Kurdish and other activists, lift their restrictions on selling arms to Turkey and deny support to the Kurdish-led movement for democratic autonomy in Syria.
It is quite a record for a military alliance that with the collapse of the Soviet Union was rendered obsolete and should have been dismantled. NATO and the militarists had no intention of embracing the “peace dividend,” fostering a world based on diplomacy, a respect of spheres of influence and mutual cooperation. It was determined to stay in business. Its business is war. That meant expanding its war machine far beyond the border of Europe and engaging in ceaseless antagonism toward China and Russia.
NATO sees the future, as detailed in its “NATO 2030: Unified for a New Era,” as a battle for hegemony with rival states, especially China, and calls for the preparation of prolonged global conflict…………………………………….
NATO has provided more than $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine, while the US has committed nearly $54 billion in military and humanitarian assistance to the country.
China, however, is the main course. Unable to compete economically, the U.S. and NATO have turned to the blunt instrument of war to cripple their global competitor.
The provocation of China replicates the NATO baiting of Russia………………………..

The conflict in Ukraine has been a bonanza for the arms industry, which, given the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan, needed a new conflict. Lockheed Martin’s stock prices are up 12 percent. Northrop Grumman is up 20 percent. The war is being used by NATO to increase its military presence in Eastern and Central Europe. The U.S. is building a permanent military base in Poland. The 40,000-strong NATO reaction force is being expanded to 300,000 troops. Billions of dollars in weapons are pouring into the region………………….
The war makers are frighteningly cavalier about the threat of nuclear war……………………………
The Biden administration has formed a Tiger Team of national security officials to run war games on what to do if Russia uses a nuclear weapon, according to The New York Times. The threat of nuclear war is minimized with discussions of “tactical nuclear weapons,” as if less powerful nuclear explosions are somehow more acceptable and won’t lead to the use of bigger bombs.
At no time, including the Cuban missile crisis, have we stood closer to the precipice of nuclear war. ………..
The longer the war in Ukraine continues — and the U.S. and NATO seem determined to funnel billions of dollars of weapons into the conflict for months if not years — the more the unthinkable becomes thinkable. Flirting with Armageddon to profit the arms industry and carry out the futile quest to reclaim U.S. global hegemony is at best extremely reckless and at worst genocidal. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57120.htm
Macron facing NUCLEAR nightmare as scorching heatwave cripples SIX reactors.

THE RAGING heatwave that currently engulfing Europe has threatened to worsen France’s energy crisis, as six nuclear power plants have been crippled this month.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1643201/emmanuel-macron-france-facing-energy-nightmare-six-nuclear-reactors-scorching-heatwave By ANTONY ASHKENAZ, Jul 20, 2022 , Experts have warned that parts of France are currently facing a “heat apocalypse” as temperatures reach record levels across Europe. Aside from triggering horrifying forest fires, these scorching temperatures are now also threatening to worsen France’s energy crisis. As a result of higher temperatures, rivers like the Rhone and Rhine, which are used by nuclear power plants for cooling, have become too warm to be used in the energy generation process.
Without cooler water supplies, six nuclear power plants in France have been forced to reduce their output drastically.
Without cooler water supplies, six nuclear power plants in France have been forced to reduce their output drastically.
EDF’s nuclear plants along these rivers use the waters to regulate the temperature of their reactors, discharging warm water back into the waterway.
Regulations are in place that limits reactor production during times of high heat to prevent the process from damaging local wildlife.
However, these rules could soon be scrapped at the cost of regional flora and fauna, as France’s nuclear safety authority green-lighted “temporary modification” of regulations for Blayais, Golfech and St Alban nuclear power plants.
Energy expert Thibault Laconde tweeted: “To state the obvious, it also highlights the vulnerability of #nuclear power to climate change, in particular the vulnerability of ‘French-style’ nuclear power, with its large reactors, large power plants and therefore large cooling needs.
“Climate change has to be factored in nuclear projects.
“Especially as France is preparing to renew its fleet, it would be unimaginable to build reactors if we cannot demonstrate that they will be able to operate with the #climate they will experience throughout their lifetime”
The heatwave crippling nuclear power plants could be devasting for Mr Macron, as France has already been suffering a major energy crisis after half of EDF’s ageing nuclear power plants were forced to shut down recently over safety concerns.
Experts have previously warned Mr Macron of significant corrosion safety problems in EDF nuclear power plants in France as cracks were detected in some nuclear reactors.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Bernard Laponche, the co-author of a recent study on EDF’s reactors warned that cracks in the cooling systems of many of these reactors could result in horrifying disasters that are only comparable to events like “Three Mile Island or Fukushima”.
As a result of these corrosion problems, four 1500 MW, seven 1300 MW and one 900 MW reactors are shut down.
As a result of these reactor shut downs, EDF has been forced to lower its power output this year, amidst fears of a disastrous winter where fears grow Vladimir Putin could cut Europe off its gas supply.
Dr Laponche also warned that more reactor shutdowns could happen in the future, as EDF power stations are currently under investigation for similar reactor flaws.
Evacuation of site in France , as wildfires rage near nuclear power plant being decommissioned

The EDF site in Brennilis, consisting of a nuclear power plant being deconstructed and a thermal power plant in operation, was evacuated around 1 p.m., due to the fumes stinking the air. It’s 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
The swirling fire, fanned by a wind blowing at 40 – 45 km/h, plays hide and seek with the firefighters. Claire Maynadier, sub-prefect of Châteaulin, has just hung up with the director of the Brennilis nuclear power plant . The evacuation of personnel is therefore not envisaged. “The fire front
is not near. Nevertheless, it remains uncontrolled. We remain vigilant,” she explains.
Le Telegramme 19th July 2022
Against advice of the Planning Inspectorate the UK’s interim government gives go-ahead to Sizewell C nuclear power plant.

UK government gives go-ahead to Sizewell C nuclear power plant, Decision goes against advice of Planning Inspectorate, which rejected project owing to impact,
Guardian, Alex Lawson Energy correspondent, Thu 21 Jul 2022 ,
The UK government has given planning consent to the £20bn Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk.
The decision by the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, which had been repeatedly delayed, was finally announced on Wednesday and went against the advice of the independent Planning Inspectorate.
French energy company EDF wants to build the 3.2 GW, two-reactor plant next to its existing site at Sizewell B, which began operating in 1995.
However, the proposals have faced fierce opposition from local campaigners, who have argued against the project because of the environmental impact and the cost to energy billpayers. Campaigners now have six weeks to decide whether to appeal against the decision.
Planning permission was seen as a key hurdle for the project which remains subject to a further final investment decision, expected next year. It is hoped the plant can generate enough power for six million homes.
The approval process for Sizewell C has so far included four rounds of public consultation which began in 2012 and has involved more than 10,000 East Suffolk residents.
The Planning Inspectorate rejected the scheme because of concerns over the plant’s impact on protected species and habitats, and the long-term water supply at the site.
EDF worked with Chinese state-backed nuclear specialist CGN on the first phase of the project. However, it is understood the UK government is keen to ease CGN out amid concerns over Chinese involvement with sensitive assets.
Bankers at Barclays have been hired to secure new financial backing for the project alongside EDF and the UK government.
Boris Johnson’s government put £100m of funding behind the project in January to support its development………………………………………………..
Alison Downes, of the Stop Sizewell C campaign, said: “The wrong decision has been made but it’s not the end of our campaign to Stop Sizewell C. Not only will we be looking closely at appealing this decision, we’ll continue to challenge every aspect of Sizewell C, because – whether it is the impact on consumers, the massive costs and delays, the outstanding technical questions or the environmental impacts – it remains a very bad risk.”
Beccy Speight, the chief executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: “The construction of the proposed development will be damaging and it has been granted with insufficient consideration for the effects on nature as described by the government’s own experts. This is a ludicrous decision for an interim government to make.”
Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist, Dr Doug Parr, called the project a “red herring energy solution” as the UK attempts to move towards a low-carbon energy system……………………
The French government said on Tuesday it was prepared to pay €10bn (£8.5bn) to fully nationalise EDF amid concerns over its finances. Ministers in France want to keep a handle on soaring energy bills.
Johnson has set a target of making investment decisions on eight new nuclear projects by the end of the decade. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/20/uk-government-gives-go-ahead-to-sizewell-c-nuclear-power-plant
Death toll rises above 1,500 as temperatures soar across Europe
Death toll rises above 1,500 as temperatures soar across Europe
Soaring temperatures across Europe have claimed the lives of at least 1,500 people, according to authorities, as the searing heat sees wildfires raging across the continent.
VIDEO: Germany criminalizes journalist for exposing Ukrainian war crimes
Ed. note . This video is blocked by both Twitter and Facebook. Corporate media censorship is taking over social media too.
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/07/13/video-germany-criminalizes-journalist-for-exposing-ukrainian-war-crimes/ MAX BLUMENTHAL·JULY 13, 2022
Independent Donetsk-based journalist Alina Lipp of Germany details her prosecution by the German state for violating new speech codes through her reporting in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
As the only German reporter on the ground in Donetsk, Lipp has exposed Ukrainian forces shelling civilians, attacking a maternity ward, mining harbors, and bombing a granary filled with corn for export. She faces three years in prison if she returns to her home country.
Russia says Ukrainian drone struck nuclear plant, but caused no damage.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-occupation-official-says-ukrainian-drone-struck-nuclear-plant-caused-no-2022-07-20/ July 20 (Reuters) – Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of firing two drones at a nuclear power station in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia on Monday but said the reactor was undamaged.
Reuters could not independently verify the report and Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment. The facility is the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
“Ukrainian nationalist formations used two kamikaze drones to attack facilities at the Zaporozhzhia nuclear power plant – one drone was destroyed on approach to the plant,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement.
“It was only by sheer luck that this did not lead to damage to the plant’s equipment and a man-made disaster.”
Ukraine has previously accused Moscow of basing troops and storing military equipment on the grounds of the power station.
Earlier in the day Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed regional administration, wrote on Telegram that three Ukrainian “kamikaze drones” had struck the plant.
Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom, whose employees still run the plant despite the area being under Russian control, issued a statement later accusing Russian forces of demanding access to the machine halls of three reactors at the plant in order to store tanks and equipment there.
Energoatom said, without providing evidence, that Russian troops were doing so for fear of “presents” from Ukraine’s armed forces, an apparent reference to targeted strikes. The company did not comment on the alleged drone impact.
Reporting by Reuters Editing by Peter Graff, Mark Heinrich and Jonathan Oatis
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