Top Japan paper reports 100,000 at Tokyo nuclear protest, then alters headline (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/100000-reported-at-tokyo-nuclear-protest/comment-page-1#comment-304861
Title: Thousands protest against nuclear power in central Tokyo
Source: Mainichi
Date: Nov 12, 2012
Thousands of people staged a demonstration near the Diet Building on the rainy evening of Nov. 11 to call for an end to nuclear power.
According to figures released by demonstration organizer Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes, roughly 100,000 people took part in the protest. Police put the figure at about 7,000.
[…] At one point, there were so many protesters packed into one place they disrupted use of the local crosswalks. […]
A demonstration scheduled for the capital’s Hibiya Park the same day was cancelled after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government refused to issue a permit.
Video on enenews link
Sacrificing Our Children: Nuclear Accidents challenge Priorities of United Nations by Akio Matsumura
Finally, the international system is only one part of addressing responses to nuclear accidents. Governments and media cannot shirk their important roles, and should focus on putting human security before national security and political survival. The bottom line is that our children should not be lost in the clamor of the political circus or forgotten in the debates of headstrong scientists.
” Shunichi Yamashita, vice president of Fukushima University Medical School, has urged thyroid specialists across Japan to not give second opinions to concerned families.
The survey denounces his “repressive conduct” and considers it a violation of human rights for the affected children and their families. At the very least, why wouldn’t the government err on the side of caution and provide as much help as they can for these children?
SUNDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2012
Posted by Mia June and friends at 07:09
Here is a full copy of his article. His comment doesn’t take a side of anti-nuclear, but he points out well what’s lacking internationally to address the issue of human rights.
Japan’s Lack of Concern for Fukushima’s Children
The children of Fukushima need greater medical attention and assistance. After the Chernobyl accident, concerns grew in that region as to whether higher rates of cancer, especially in the thyroid gland, would be found in children due to exposure to radioactive iodine. With this in mind, to alleviate concern after TEPCO’s nuclear accident, the Fukushima prefecture has been conducting a “Prefecture Health Management Survey.” According to the survey (as translated by Fukushima Voice), there is a high rate of thyroid cysts appearing in the children tested.
The appearance of cysts, fluid-filled sacs, does not translate to cancer, but something extraordinary is happening in cell development. Their abnormally high prevalence shows that they were caused by environmental factors and are cause for concern. In the same vein, worries exist about decreased pulmonary function and bone marrow abnormalities.
One Year Eight Months On -fukushima blog -Anne Kaneko
Fukushima blogger -recommend
Posted by Anne Kaneko
Wednesday, 14 November 2012
Hi folks
First, the vital question of the interim storage facility. Back in August the Environment Ministry nominated, out of the blue, twelve sites along the coast Nuclear Waste (2) There was an outcry, not so much about the proposal itself – everyone knows this faciltiy has to go somewhere – but about the way it was done. No consultation with residents beforehand. Previous to that, the government had announced that compensation and repatriation would be carried out according to levels of airborne radiation. Pity then the people in Naraha, where levels are low, who had begun to plan going home but who suddenly find that the biggest dump is to be on their doorstep! Surely it’s the wrong way round. First, these big issues should be settled. And only then should villages and towns be deciding if and when to return. (A similar issue incidentally concerns the ‘buffer zone’ round Fukushima Daiichi. We hear there is to be one, but no one yet has any idea how big it will be. Several hundred metres, or several kilometres?)
Anyway, the ministry wants to carry out further surveys and has been carrying out consultations with residents to smooth the way. Three months on and it seems that the basic plan will be completed by the end of this month and work for the surveys go out to tender.
SOUTEIGAI: BEYOND IMAGINATION -Feature on Fukushima -Audio
360DOCUMENTARIES
21 OCTOBER 2012
‘Souteigai’ or ‘beyond imagination’, said the Japanese government spokesman when the tsunami waves rolled across a 300-kilometre-long strip of coastline. ‘Souteigai’ was also the word used in self-justification by nuclear plant owner TEPCO in reference to the meltdown at Fukushima. And ‘Souteigai’ was the thought on people’s minds as they were forced to watch the black water rolling over houses and people and flattening everything – and on the minds of the 80,000 evacuees who lost their homes because of Fukushima.
Malte Jaspersen has lived for 20 years in Kyoto. To the north of the city, there are 13 nuclear reactors. Not least because of this, he wanted to find out how the threefold catastrophe had altered the lives of those affected. He spoke with firemen who had seen unimaginable things, with parents from Fukushima who are trying to protect their children from radioactivity, with anti-nuclear activists, with priests and with people who, in the desolation and devastation of their towns and villages, are starting to rebuild their shattered communities. Since last year, Malte Jaspersen has included a Geiger counter among his household items.
Souteigai is winner of the 2012 Prix Italia President’s Cup, awarded to a radio program dedicated to important current issues.
The original feature was written and produced by Malte Jaspersen in Japanese and German for Deutschlandradio Kultur and the Bayerischer Rundfunk. This English language version of Souteigai was produced for 360documentaries by Nicole Steinke. The sound engineers were Andrei Shabunov and Phillip Ulman.
Japanese poems were written by Matsudaira Meiko and Ikura Chizu. The reader was Naomi Ota. Translations were read by Peter Kowitz (Malte Jaspersen), Asako Izawa, Eden Falk, David Rutledge and Nicole Steinke.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2012/10/tsy_20121021.mp3
or this link
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/360/360documentaries-21-october-2012/4313156
65 percent of worlds nuclear laboratories get Strontium 90 measurement wrong –
“The determination of 90Sr proved difficult for 65 % of the participants which submitted results outside the acceptable range (± 20 %). No improvement could be seen compared to 90Sr determination in one of the previous ILC exercises (Wätjen et al., 2008).
The laboratories concerned, i.e. the vast majority of laboratories reporting 90Sr results, are urged to review their analysis procedures.”
European Commission
Joint Research Centre
Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements
Report on the JRC comparison of labs performance to measure radioactivity in soil
13/11/12
The JRC’s Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) organised an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) for the determination of 15 natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil. A report describing in detail all the phases of this exercise has just been published.
The Euratom Treaty obliges EU countries to perform measurements of the radioactivity in their environment and to report the results to the European Commission (EC). In order to verify the performance of monitoring laboratories and to ensure the comparability of reported results, regular interlaboratory comparisons were introduced by EC. Since 2003, JRC-IRMM is responsible for their organisation.
A total of 73 laboratories (49 from EU27, 7 from associated countries, 2 from Switzerland and 15 worldwide) completed the exercise. They were nominated among those laboratories that monitor radioactivity in the environment and foodstuff by national representatives in the expert group (Euratom Treaty Art. 35/36) and by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The certified reference material IAEA-375 Soil (originating from the area affected by the Chernobyl accident) was used as basis for the testing material, although it was made unrecognizable for the participants. Laboratories were asked to determine the level of the activity concentration of radioisotopes of potassium, strontium, caesium, lead, radium, bismuth, thorium, uranium and plutonium (40K, 90Sr, 137Cs, 212Pb, 212Bi, 214Pb, 214Bi, 226Ra, 230Th,232Th, 234U, 235U, 238U, 238Pu, and 239 240Pu).
Finland Toxic Spill Worst Ever in History (Video)
“Tero Varjoranta of the Radiation and Nuclear Authority (STUK) said that uranium levels were elevated, but not a danger to humans. The samples tested most recently showed levels at 350 microgrammes per litre, while the recommended limit is 100 microgrammes.”“The local health people say that the levels of radiation from the uranium are below levels that would damage health – unless the radioactive material gets into the drinking water supply. That means that people cannot use the water from lakes, streams or rivers in the area for cooking or drinking. Due to the possible impact on skin, it is also recommended that people not use the water in their saunas.”
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
The beautiful lakes, rivers and creeks – clean freshwater – are the most valuable asset Finns have. You wouldn’t think that we would let somebody poison them. But it happened. The people downstream feel themselves totally powerless, and fear their own drinking water. Greenpeace
USA -Fukushima: Radiation, Politics and Public Relations II -VETERANS TODAY
Sunday, November 11th, 2012 | Posted by Jim Fetzer
by Leuren Moret, Dr. Majia Nadesan and Jim Fetzer (with Major William Fox)
On Friday, 30 March 2012, Dr. Majia Nadesan and Leuren Moret appeared as the featured guests on “The Real Deal” hosted by Jim Fetzer to discuss the radiation effects of the Fukushima disaster and the fashion in which it has been covered up both by the Japanese and the American governments and media. Dr. Nadesan, a professor of communication in the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, has studied Fukushima extensively. Ms. Moret is an independent geoscientist who has done expert studies on the Fukushima disaster and radiation problems around the world, including depleted uranium. What they had to tell us smacks of politics and public relations and is profoundly disturbing. This is Part II of the original interview, which can be heard here:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/11/11/fukushima-radiation-politics-and-public-relations-ii/
Introduction AND TRANSCRIPT
by Major William Fox
NOTE: I invited Major William Fox (former USMCR commissioned officer), who was instrumental in arranging this interview to prepare an introduction. His key point is that the first line of defense to handle any major crisis is accurate information. Tragically, not only has accurate information been deliberately withheld from Americans regarding the Fukushima crisis, but they have also been steadily fed disinformation. He continues:
The stealth dirty nuclear war currently being visited upon America goes far beyond government and major media disinformation, although there is certainly plenty of the latter as well as the former. Dr. Majia Nadesan stated in this interview,
“In June it was reported in the Japanese press that there was actually melt-through. A melt-through is when the melted corium melts through all levels of containment. And not a single U.S. media — I did a search using EBSCO and using LexisNexis to see if any U.S. media picked up in June the Japanese report about the melt-through, and not one single U.S. media picked up that story. A melt-through means that the situation is out of control. Corium is sinking deeper into the ground while sporadically undergoing `limited criticalities’ and releasing ever more extremely dangerous volumes of contamination into the atmosphere, ground water, and ocean. The entire public in Japan, North America, and elsewhere needs to understand how this situation remains out of control.”
The failure to report these melt-throughs was followed by the Japanese government’s big lie perpetrated in December 2011 that all the reactors were in “cold shut down,” implying that all the melted nuclear fuel remained safely within their containment chambers and were subject to stable cooling systems which guaranteed against any further criticalities or radiation releases. Nothing could have been further from the truth. .
In the first part of this series, Dr. Nadesan described how Japanese media even went so far as to censor the Emperor of Japan’s speech in January 2012. She noted:
“This censorship was — the only American media that picked it up was The Atlantic where there was an article discussing this. But the Emperor of Japan stated that the Fukushima disaster was not over — one [his first point]. And there has been a concerted propaganda effort to make people in Japan and elsewhere believe that the reactors are in cold shut down, and that is a myth. And so the Emperor destroyed that myth by saying that the disaster was not over. The second thing that the Emperor said was that it wasn’t safe for people to return to their homes in the exclusion zone or even further out. That was censored in Japan, and there was no coverage of it in the United States. And, sort of the predominate message of cold shut down continues to prevail in the U.S. media.”
During the first hour of this interview, Leuren Moret explained how blame for the cover-up went much higher than just the Japanese government alone: “But the U.S. had to hide the effects of the nuclear weapons testing program, and they have hidden the effects of nuclear power in the United States, and actually it is Secretary of EnergySteven Chu and former British Petroleum scientist Steven Koonin from Cal Tech who have been directing TEPCO and the Japanese government on their emergency response.”
USA World’s most powerful laser becomes nuclear weapon project -now only half research for peaceful uses
….Unfortunately, the reality is that actually turning this technology into a sustainable and reliable energy source is something that will take decades, if it even happens at all.
[…]
The NIF will now only be able to spend 50% of its resources on ignition research. And, as a trade-off, it will now be mandated to spend more time with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
One project at the forefront is creating experiments that can simulate the conditions inside nuclear weapons. The goal is to assess the phase of nuclear weaponry where fission begins. This phase is comprised of the same chemical combination that was being manipulated in the energy research…..
Nov. 12, 2012 (6:45 pm) By: Mark Raby
Government officials have decided that a super high-tech facility with emerging laser technology will no longer put most of its focus on a futuristic energy source. Instead, it will now be spending half of its efforts and resources on how the technology can be used in the application of nuclear weapons.
The change marks an admitted setback for the hopeful scientists at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. They are convinced that it will be possible to some day use laser beams as an energy source. The basic process — known as ignition – would take place when hydrogen isotope pellets were smashed with powerful laser beams. By imploding hundreds or even thousands of pellets every minute, huge amounts of energy could be produced — as much as a power plant.
This process was of great interest and excitement to Congress. Legislators approved large amounts of funding to the group, on the assumption that a new energy source could be developed within a few years.
Unfortunately, the reality is that actually turning this technology into a sustainable and reliable energy source is something that will take decades, if it even happens at all. Now, Congress is forcing the NIF to re-allocate its use of federal funds.
13 French Associations band together to stop uranium mining abuses in Niger
This action is urgent because what is organized in the shadows, is the abandonment of the site by the operator and the transfer responsibilities and problems in the community. So that people do not have to pay the bill or suffer contamination, it is essential to apply the principle of “polluter pays” principle, to obtain the decontamination dwellings and areas affected and the continued responsibility of waste producers as long no permanent containment solution have been made.
Due to their radiotoxicity, their business and their life, these waste categories are TFA-VL and FA-VL which impose a series of requirements to prevent the transfer to the biosphere and people.
However, none of the rules are respected.The actions taken at the local level encounter power AREVA and its relationship with the state.
In addition, lawsuits are even more difficult than the regulation was put in place to encourage operating cost of uranium deposits. It is one thing to see and pollution operations unacceptable, is quite another to be able to take legal action. This is shocking and illegal but is not necessarily illegal.
CREATION OF THE COLLECTIVE “URANIUM MINES”
From different regions of France and Niger, associations have decided to join forces to combat the health and environmental consequences of the extraction of uranium.
15 October 2012
Read the joint statement with the list of signatories
23 and 24 August, representatives of 12 organizations met in Lavoine near Saint-Priest-Laprugne (Loire), near the site of the Bois Noirs Limouzat where CEA and Cogema, extracted and processed from
uranium ore.
This work has led to the drafting of a joint statement which was discussed this September by each association and all decided to sign.
So far, 13 French departments are
concerned (Allier, Cantal, Corrèze, Creuse Deux-Sèvres, Finistère, Haute-Vienne, Loire, Loire Atlantique, Maine Loire, Morbihan, Puy-de-Dôme and Vendée), but the first network is expected to expand.
Petraeus mistress reveals real motive behind Benghazi attack (VIDEO) -RT
“Now I don’t know if a lot of you heard this, but the CIA annex had actually had taken a couple of Libya militia members prisoner,” Broadwell told a crowd at the University of Denver alumni symposium on October 26. “And they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back. So that’s still being vetted.”
Broadwell’s address was publically available on YouTube until this weekend; it has since been removed, although mirrors have surfaced.
The fallout from former CIA head David Petraeus’ resignation might be more significant than first thought: as all eyes turn to the ex-intelligence chief’s mistress, it’s apparent that she may have been privy to what really happened in Benghazi.
Two months after the storming of an US consulate in Benghazi, questions remain largely unanswered about both how and why insurgents entered the facility on September 11 and executed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The discussion became a heated issue on the campaign trail leading up to Election Day, and conflicting accounts from the White House, State Department and Congress all led to a mess of confusion that has only further spun out of control following the unexpected stepping down of Petraeus on Friday.
In the immediate aftermath of the CIA chief’s resignation, skeptics quickly suggested that there was more to the story, especially given Petraeus’ role as head of the country’s intelligence agency and the relatively unscathing extramarital affair that he rightfully admitted to in citing his departure from office. As journalists and investigators tried to dig deep for info on the alleged mistress, Petraeus biographer Paula Broadwell, as expected the story took a drastic turn by Sunday when it was revealed that she may have been briefed on the truth of the Benghazi scandal while the rest of the country claws for answers.
A speech given by Broadwell only last month at her Alma matter suggests that she was given information about the terrorist attack that never made it to the American public.
Breaking! Imports from Tanzania grown with Uranium dust from Uranium mining for Global supermarkets? UK and India affected?
The project was recently visited by Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, whoviewed the project as an innovative approach that shows that using the country’s traditionalculture is not a barrier to economic progress and supports his point that sustainable economichealth in Africa depends on working with local customs and practices.
The first crop that the pioneer MIMs were asked to grow was baby corn. The market, obtained by Gomba, existed in Europe, and the crop is straightforward to grow, and the smallholders have been growing maize for years. It has proved a suitable trial crop, allowing systems to be ‘bedded down’ before more demanding crops, such as mange tout, sugar snap or podded peas are attempted. A future development can be to seek fair trade registration for the grower groups
Tanzania exports a relatively small volume of vegetables to the UK (Figure 8.1) concentrated on five products, although green beans represent the major export by far, with year on growth since 2003 (Figure 8.2). Tanzania does not export any significant volumes of fruit, although cashews are listed under fruit and nut exports (HTS 0802), with exports predominantly to India.
Thanks to the stable climate of the country, we are able to produce seed throughout the year enabling us to easily obviate seed shortages and to introduce new varieties quickly. In the dynamical vegetable seed market, this is of essential importance.
Cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper and melon. These are the principal crops of which we produce hybrid seed in Tanzania. However, our programme is expanding more and more with numerous other crops.
Uranium dust used as pesticide in Tanzania: urgent need to stop this
Action needed’ on uranium use in Tanzania, DW 11 Nov 12, Reports say Tanzanian farmers have used uranium dust as a pesticide. Immediate inspections are needed, says Ute Koczy, a member of the German parliament and Green Party spokeswoman on development issues.
DW: Tanzanian media have reported that local farmers have used uranium dust to protect their crops. When you found out about this, you wrote an open letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as the president and prime minister of Tanzania. What did you call for in the letter?
The production of fresh produce in Africa for
export to the United Kingdom:
October 2006
Tanzania
Tanzania exports a relatively small volume of vegetables to the UK (Figure 8.1) concentrated
on five products, although green beans represent the major export by far, with year on growth
since 2003 (Figure 8.2). Tanzania does not export any significant volumes of fruit, although
cashews are listed under fruit and nut exports (HTS 0802), with exports predominantly to
India.
[…]
The production base has two nuclear estates and currently 2,070 SSGs (pers. comm. Dr Alan
Legge – Gateway to Growth) supplying vegetables to the UK retails and wholesale markets
(Table 8.1). The number of dependents associated with the export sector is over 32,000 and
opportunities for expansion exist. The estimates are based on the number of smallholders and
rural labourers working on the estates and their direct dependents.
Apples from Fukushima to Be Exported to Thailand -EXSKF
(UPDATE) I think I know why Fukushima has targeted Thailand. While China, Hong Kong, Korea, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Brunai still ban the import of Fukushima produce, Thailand only requires certificates of radiation testing. In the same category as Thailand are Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. (See the PDF from the Ministry of Agriculture, cache captured bythis blog.)
=========================
Rejoice, wealthy residents of Bangkok! In addition to peaches from Fukushima, now you can buy apples from Fukushima at an inflated price.
Fukushima Minpo (11/11/2012) just reported (I saw the headline at Kyodo News):
モモに続いてリンゴも輸出 本県産、今月にもタイへ
Following peaches, Fukushima apples to be exported to Thailand, starting this month
県は今月下旬以降、タイに県産のリンゴを輸出する。タイの首都バンコクの大型商業施設で販売され、好評だったモモに続いて企画した。県の担当者は「モモに続き、安全でおいしい県産農産物の知名度アップにつなげたい」と意気込んでいる。
Fukushima Prefecture will start exporting apples grown in the prefecture to Thailand, starting later this month. Apples will be sold at a large commercial complex in the Thai capitol Bangkok. The prefectural government planned the apple export after the peaches from Fukushima were well received. Officials in charge in the prefectural government is in high spirits, saying “After our peaches, the apples will help promote the Fukushima’s produce as safe and delicious.”
今後、収穫が最盛期を迎える「ふじ」を輸出する。蜜が入り甘くてみずみずしい味わいが特徴。県北地方の農家が収穫し、放射性物質検査で安全性を確認したリンゴを輸出する。モモと同様、バンコクの大型商業施設で販売される予定。
Fuji apple, entering the prime harvest season, will be exported. They will be harvested by fruits farmers in the northern part of Fukushima, and exported after the safety is confirmed by the radiation testing. Just like peaches, they will be sold at a large commercial complex in Bangkok.
US NRC panel does NOT support mandatory filters at nuclear units -Too expensive?
Requiring filtered containment vents for the reactors in question is “a no-brainer,” said Mary Lambert, head of the group Pilgrim Watch in Massachusetts. Entergy’s 728-MW Pilgrim reactor in Plymouth, Massachusetts, is one of the 31 units that the proposed order would cover.
Requiring the vents would put the US in line with most other countries operating BWRs, said Jim Riccio, a nuclear policy analyst with Greenpeace in Washington.
The new measures, if approved by the commission, would apply to certain models of General Electric-designed reactors.
Washington (Platts)–9Nov2012/447 pm EST/2147 GMT
An advisory panel to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it does not support requirements that 31 nuclear units install expensive external filters, saying a more general requirement that the plants improve protection from radiation release would be a better regulatory step.
Picture Courtesy of Fairewinds Energy Education
NRC staff, at a briefing for the advisory panel last week, will formally recommend to commissioners that the external filtered vents be required for the 31 units, which are boiling water reactors similar in design to those that experienced core melting at Fukushima 1 in March 2011.
Commissioners will decide whether to require the vents, which the agency has estimated may cost $16 million each to install, or take different measures after receiving a staff paper outlining options later this month.
The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, a group of professors, scientists and engineers, said in a letter made public Friday that they supported tougher measures for the 31 reactors, and recommended that existing systems to ventilate the reactors’ containment structures be upgraded.
Moscow orders closure of indigenous peoples organization
Russia’s Ministry of Justice orders close-down of RAIPON in what is another crackdown on NGOs in Russia. The organization has an official cooperation agreement with the Norwegian Barents Secretariat.
RAIPON, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East, is under increasing pressure after the federal Ministry of Justice said that statutes of the organization are not in line with federal law and that it therefore must be closed down, the RussianAgency of Social Information reports.
The organization plays a central role in international cooperation among indigenous peoples and other Arctic states. Last spring, the Norwegian Barents Secretariat signed an official cooperation agreement with RAIPON.
Reindeers and a Nenets boy on the tundra on the Kanin Peninsula in the northern part of Arkhangelsk Oblast.
Photo Christina Henrikisen
Regret closure
“We regret a closure of RAIPON, says head of the Norwegian Barents Secretariat Rune Rafaelsen to BarentsObserver.
“We have a close and good cooperation with RAIPON because indigenous peoples contact across the borders is one of the core topics mentioned in the Kirkenes declaration,” says Rune Rafaelsen. Signed in 1993, the Kirkenes declaration formalized the Barents Euro-Arctic Cooperation.
RAIPON has reportedly made several attempts to adjust its statutes in line with the requirements of the ministry. However, the steps taken have not been approved, supposedly because they were not sufficiently authorized by the member organizations. The association has twice gone to court to dispute the ministry decision, however the attempts have failed, and the organization now intends to appeal the verdicts, Deputy leader of the association, Pavel Sulyandzigi says. He also confirms that the organization is reaching out for help to its international partners.
Represents 300,000 people in Russia’s north
Over the 20 years of its existence, RAIPON has worked actively to protect indigenous peoples’ human rights and legal interests, as well as to promote their right to self governance. RAIPON represents 41 groups of Indigenous peoples, in total some 300,000. They live in 60 percent of the whole territory of the Russian Federation from Murmansk to Kamchatka.
Federal legislation passed over the last years has made it increasingly easy for Russian authorities to crunch bothersome non-governmental entities. However, RAIPON is far from an ordinary NGO operating in a specific field of interest, but an organization representing a wide range of interests and serving a significant part of Russia’s Arctic population. Furthermore, the association has been heavily engaged in a number of legislative processes involving Russian Arctic territories and represents Russian indigenous interests in a number of international fora.
Activists urge Congress to ‘constrain’ work on uranium processing facility -Oak Ridge
John Eschenberg, the federal project director for UPF, spoke last week at the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association’s conference in Knoxville. He called UPF a “game-changing project” and said it will be “much more than just a bomb plant.” Eschenberg said the new production facility will be needed no matter the size of the nation’s future nuclear arsenal, noting that the same facility used to build new parts for old weapons will also be used to dismantle weapon systems and recycle or otherwise process the materials.
“The Uranium Processing Facility is a stunning example of the worst in government accountability. It is already breaking records for wasting money and it continues to struggle to meet safety and technology standards. We are pleased that the UPF is drawing the attention of so many other organizations . . . “
Posted by Frank Munger on November 11, 2012
UPF Federal Project Director John Eschenberg speaks at last week’s Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association conference in Knoxville.
Dozens of activist groups have asked Congress to constrain funding for the Uranium Processing Facility and not authorize an accelerated construction plan for the multibillion-dollar project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge.
The groups — including the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliiance and a number of national groups, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility — joined together for a letter delivered last month to U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, chariman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The letter, which is signed by representatives of more than 60 groups, cites the government project’s uncertain price tag, which is currently estimated at a range of $4.2 billion to $6.5 billio, and the National Security Administration’s recent acknowledgement of “space/fit” issues that will require a redesign of the UPF building.
Activists also claim that the plans for the new facility at Y-12 have a capacity that far exceeds the needs for a downsized weapons arsenal.
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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