MissingSky101

Published on 10 Jan 2014

January 10, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Welcome to Fukushima – 2013. Alain de Alou director, Belgium

Follow You tube for the other parts by clicking on the you tube button in the bottom right of the above screen…

hadibadashi

Published on 29 Oct 2013

January 10, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Microalgae May Help Clean Radioactive Pollution at Fukushima, Researchers Say

…“Our results provide an important strategy for decreasing radiopollution in Fukushima area,” the team wrote. “An urgent risk has arisen due to biological intake and subsequent food web contamination in the ecosystem.”….

• January 9, 2014

http://specialreports.com/microalgae-may-help-clean-radioactive-pollution-at-fukushima-researchers-say/

Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials check a wall along the coastline at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan on Nov. 7, 2013. Scientists said that microalgae are helping remove radioactive pollution from the waters around the plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns after an earthquake in March 2011.

Microscopic species could help clean up one of the world’s biggest environmental disasters, researchers claim.

In an article published in the Journal for Plant Research this week, a team of Japanese scientists said that six strains of microalgae, along with certain types of aquatic plants and other algae, could help remove radioactive pollution from the waters around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, which suffered multiple meltdowns after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

[READ: Suburbs Wipe Out Cities’ Green Initiatives]

In particular, the strains absorb radioactive cesium, iodine and strontium, which make-up most of the radioactive pollution in the area, the study said. The findings, researchers added, may ultimately help workers develop more methods for mopping up the area around Fukushima.

“Our results provide an important strategy for decreasing radiopollution in Fukushima area,” the team wrote. “An urgent risk has arisen due to biological intake and subsequent food web contamination in the ecosystem.”

Japan’s Ministry of Energy has estimated that cleanup around the plant will cost about $35 billion. Initially slated to be completed in March, the timeline was pushed back in December to 2017, the Japan Times reported

http://specialreports.com/microalgae-may-help-clean-radioactive-pollution-at-fukushima-researchers-say/

Research: Aquatic plant life can help clean up radioactive pollution

TOKYO, Jan. 9 (UPI) — Seventeen types of aquatic plant life can help remove radioactive materials from the atmosphere, Japanese scientists reported.

The Japanese plant scientists said their findings will add to existing bio-remedial options that could help to reduce radioactive pollution in Fukushima area, where an earthquake in 2011 spawned a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

Their two years of research was published Thursday in a special edition of Springer’s Journal of Plant Research.

The research group, led by Yoshihiro Shiraiwa of the University of Tsukuba, identified 17 microalgae, aquatic plants and algae could efficiently remove radioactive cesium, iodine and strontium from the environment.

Because the strains identified are easy to harvest and dry, they could potentially be used to recover radioactive cesium from a huge volume of polluted water if the cesium is dissolved in the water, the researchers said.

“Biological concentration of radio-nuclides is an essential technology for bio-remediation of radio-polluted soils and water,” Shiraiwa said. “Therefore our results provide an important strategy for decreasing [radioactive pollution] in the Fukushima area.”

The researchers said more studies were needed on the algal strains before their findings could be implemented.

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pentagon Agency Admits It Began Stockpiling Potassium Iodide Due to Fukushima

Radiation leaks from nuclear plant “renewed interest” in iodide, agency said in 2012

Kit Daniels
Infowars.com
January 9, 2014

http://investmentwatchblog.com/pentagon-agency-admits-it-began-stockpiling-potassium-iodide-due-to-fukushima/

A federal bid notice reveals that a Pentagon agency began stockpiling potassium iodide in 2012 due to its concerns over the Fukushima nuclear crisis, shedding light on why the Dept. of Health and Human Services is now ordering 14 million doses of iodide.

The Defense Logistics Agency posted a solicitation on FedBizOpps in 2012 asking contractors for 75,000 packages of potassium iodide tablets because the “recent earthquake in Japan in March of 2011 and the resultant nuclear crisis has renewed interest in this item.”

“The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency has submitted a MILSTRIP (Military Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures) for this item to ensure that critical operational forces are protected in the event of nuclear fallout,” the solicitation added.

Potassium iodide keeps radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid gland and therefore it is commonly taken in the event of a severe nuclear emergency, such as the current Fukushima crisis.

As Paul Joseph Watson reported on Jan. 1,HHS ordered an unprecedented 14 million doses of potassium iodide for delivery next month.

Read more: http://www.infowars.com/pentagon-agency-admits-it-began-stockpiling-potassium-iodide-due-to-fukushima/
Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/pentagon-agency-admits-it-began-stockpiling-potassium-iodide-due-to-fukushima/#vei4pPE808fmX73H.99

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Major Fukushima failure: French designed ALPS decontamination system stops functioning

Published time: January 09, 2014

http://rt.com/news/fukushima-decontamination-system-stops-352/

The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) has stopped using its systems to decontaminate radioactive water at the facility, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

The Advanced Liquid Processing System, or ALPS, has been utilized to liquidate radioactive substances from contaminated water stored at the plant.

The crane to get rid of the container from the ALPS ceased working on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, TEPCO stopped operating all 3 ALPS systems at the facility. The company officials say the system may take a long time to restart.

The container where the radioactive substances are stored has to be replaced when it fills up.

TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, crippled in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, said that the company plans to decontaminate all radioactive water stored in the tanks by March 2015, NHK reported.

That’s despite the company officials telling The Japan Times a month ago that the radioactive water will be decontaminated by the end of fiscal 2014.

It’s not the first time that the ALPS system has experienced trouble: at the beginning of December, the system was reported to have broken down during trial operations.

The Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) consists of 14 steel cylinders, through which the contaminated water is filtered. After the filtering, waste materials like the absorbent and remaining sludge are transferred to high-integrity containers (HICs) that are transported to a temporary storage facility.

The ALPS can remove 62 different types of radionuclides, including strontium and cobalt from contaminated water.

The year has started off badly for the Fukushima Daiichi plant: a few days ago, a Japanese worker, who participated in the mending of the plant to avoid further radiation leaks, has revealed that adhesive tape had been used to deal with the issue of sealing in radioactive water.

The 48 year-old, Yoshitatsu Uechi, an auto mechanic and tour-bus driver, was one of the 17 workers to be sent to the crippled facility to make more containers to store the contaminated water.

On New Year’s Day, plumes of strange steam rose from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with TEPCO failing to provide details on the emissions of steam – in all probability radioactive.

On the international scene, the picture hasn’t been very bright, either.

Continue reading →

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Fort Calhoun, 1st nuclear plant offline due to Polar vortex

Omaha Public Power District said in a release that the sub-freezing temperatures caused an ice build-up on one of six sluice gates in the plant’s Missouri River water-intake structure.

The ice build-up was enough to keep the gate from fully closing. All of the gates must be able to close in case of flooding, so this meant the plant had to shut down, even though no flooding is predicted.

Workers checking the plant first noticed the ice buildup Wednesday night. Operators then began analyzing the situation and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the non-emergency condition that would require the plant to shut down.

OPPD said the plant went offline at 9 a.m. The shutdown took place with no complications.

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nuclear launch officers tied to narcotics probe

Hans Kristensen, a nuclear weapons expert at the Federation of American Scientists, said publicity about missteps has made the ICBM force a “hot potato,” causing Pentagon officials to “scratch their heads about how to manage this program. You cannot reassure the public about this when you are having these failures all the time.”

Robert Burns, Associated Press 5:38 p.m. EST January 9, 2014

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/01/09/nuclear-launch-officers-tied-to-narcotics-probe/4396277/

F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. (AP) — Hoping to boost sagging morale, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made a rare visit Thursday to an Air Force nuclear missile base and the men and women who operate and safeguard the nation’s Minuteman 3 missiles. But his attempt to cheer the troops was tempered by news that launch officers at another base had been implicated in an illegal-narcotics investigation.

Two officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana are being investigated for allegations of drug possession, said a service spokesman in Washington, Lt. Col. Brett Ashworth. Both of those being investigated are ICBM launch officers with responsibility for operating intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The launch officers’ access to classified information has been suspended, and they have been prohibited from serving on missile launch control duty while the Air Force is investigating, another defense official said. That official provided no further details and spoke only on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly by name.

At the Wyoming nuclear missile base, meanwhile, Hagel addressed officers and airmen after a series of security lapses and discipline problems that were revealed in Associated Press news stories in 2013. Officials have said the service members are increasingly tired of working in what can seem like oblivion. They win no battles, earn no combat pay and only rarely are given public credit of any kind.

“You are doing something of great importance to the world,” Hagel told the group. Lest they sometimes doubt that importance, he said, “You have chosen a profession where there is no room for error — none.”

He made no direct reference to the problems revealed in the past year but declared, “How you do the job is really as important as the job itself. We depend on your professionalism.”

A day earlier, he said he realized the ICBM workforce has morale issues.

“It is lonely work,” he said. “They do feel unappreciated many times.”

Continue reading →

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

West Coast Radiation Exposure: What are the risks?

Fairewinds Energy Education’s Arnie Gundersen discusses the risk to the US West Coast population from the ongoing releases from Fukushima Daiichi. Should we be worried about walking by or swimming in the Pacific? How safe are California’s beaches? What about eating Pacific seafood?

Posted On: Jan 8, 2014

http://vimeo.com/83717604

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Sellafield – Big changes or buisness as usual?

Sean Balmer exits post after eight years following heavy criticism of organisation’s performance, particularly at Sellafield

The role of commercial director of the much criticised public body overseeing the cleanup of Britain’s old nuclear power stations has been axed amid a wider management shakeup.

The exit of Sean Balmer, who has been at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for eight years, follows recent heavy criticism of the organisation’s performance, particularly at Sellafield in Cumbria.

John Clarke, the chief executive of the NDA, has scrapped the commercial director post and created three new positions on his executive team including one full-time job looking after Sellafield, the UK’s largest atomic complex.

The moves also follow the departure of the chief operating officer, Mark Lesinski, before Christmas and the planned exit at the end of March of the head of human resources, Jim McLaughlin.

Clarke was subjected to ferocious criticism from politicians at a meeting of the Commons public accounts committee that expressed grave concerns over the estimated £70bn cost to the taxpayer of work at Sellafield.

The NDA boss appeared at before the committee alongside Tom Zarges, the boss of the NDA’s private sector contractor Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) which has just been controversially reappointed to clean up Sellafield.

Clarke insisted that the reappointment was the best way forward even though he admitted NMP had repeatedly failed to meet many of its targets, while Zarges said he was “humbled and truly sorry” for cost overruns and an expenses scandal.

Clarke said the latest management changes would improve the performance of his organisation. “It was always the case that the role of the NDA would change as the private sector takes a greater role in delivering our mission and it’s important that the make-up of our executive team reflects that,” he said.

“I’m confident that these changes will place us in good shape to face the challenges that lie ahead as we strive to accelerate the cleanup of the UK’s nuclear legacy while delivering value for money for the taxpayer,” he added.

Clarke said that Peter Lutwyche, from Jacobs Engineering, would take on the Sellafield director role while David Vineall, from Tata Steel, would take over from McLaughlin in the spring.

The NDA employs only 300 staff directly but is responsible for overseeing annual spending of over £2bn on cleaning up the sites where nuclear power stations have ceased operation having come to the end of their working lives.

The Sellafield facility, first used by the ministry of defence for making atom bombs, also includes Calder Hall which was Britain’s first nuclear power plant, the THORP atomic fuel reprocessing plant and the Magnox nuclear fuel reprocessing plant.

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Japanese Scientists Plan a Controlled Nuclear Meltdown to reasure public

Since that accident the Japanese public has become much more interested in the prevention of future accidents with increasing calls for more safety.

“In addition to the standard duties, a PR person might have to shepherd an alcoholic and half-mad (but brilliant) author through a twenty-city interview tour or try to put a warm ‘n fuzzy spin on the company’s latest oil-spill.”  http://ayuputriwllndr.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/public-relations.html

http://www.menafn.com/3e41ce44-8de8-4ecc-8593-f5a2c7098018/Scientists-Plan-a-Controlled-Nuclear-Meltdown?src=main

MENAFN – – 1/9/2014

Jan 09, 2014 (Menafn – Voice of America News/ContentWorks via COMTEX) –Scientists Plan a Controlled Nuclear Meltdown

January 9, 2014

Japanese nuclear scientists say they plan to create a controlled nuclear meltdown looking for clues how to deal with possible future disasters.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday said it will use a scaled-down nuclear reactor to deliberately create conditions of a serious malfunction. The experiment will start later this year at a research facility in Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.

Meltdowns occur when the nuclear fuel in the reactor’s core, normally very hot in order to create steam for turbines that create electricity, overheats beyond its melting point. This can cause explosion and release of radioactive material, as has happened at the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011, after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami.

Since that accident the Japanese public has become much more interested in the prevention of future accidents with increasing calls for more safety.

Similar tests have been conducted by all major nations with nuclear power plants, including the U.S., but never in Japan.

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

UKIP go nuclear

I can’t help  myself  – my comment on the post below is going to have to appear here at the top

– Christina Macpherson

YOUR correspondent Mike Rath asks if UKIP is pro-nuclear, and whether he can expect a nuclear power station in Devon (Is UKIP keen on nuclear? Journal, December 19).

The answer is that UKIP favours proven, grown-up energy technologies like nuclear, coal and gas, rather than ineffective playground technologies like solar and wind ( and this?  https://nuclear-news.net/2013/05/03/an-aluminium-fuel-cell-why-is-uk-government-blocking-it/ )

I daresay Mr Rath wants the lights to come on when he flicks the switch. So we need power stations, and they have to go somewhere. I daresay most people would prefer a single power plant to a thousand wind turbines.

And the curious thing is that people who live near nuclear power stations seem much more positive about them than those who don’t. Nearby residents see the benefits in terms of jobs and prosperity.

UKIP currently has no policy on where new nuclear capacity should be sited. The Government seems to favour putting new nuclear on the same sites as existing plants, and this seems a reasonable approach.

ROGER HELMER MEP,

UKIP Spokesman on Energy.

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

South Korea extends reactor shutdown after 2 workers drown in drain

Jan 9 (Reuters) – South Korea’s nuclear operator said on Thursday it had been told to extend the shutdown of a nuclear reactor to improve safety after two workers drowned this week when the water level in a drain rose.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/09/nuclear-korea-idUKL3N0KJ0NU20140109

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co Ltd was ordered by a local labour office to keep the plant closed until it had strengthened safety for workers after the deaths on Monday.

The 1,000-megawatt Hanbit No. 5 reactor had already closed for scheduled maintenance due to run from Dec. 12 to Jan. 19.

South Korea has been under pressure to ensure stable power supply due to a nuclear safety scandal which led to shutdowns of some nuclear reactors in a country where about a third of its electricity comes from nuclear power.

Ahead of peak winter demand this month, the nuclear regulator last week approved the restart of three reactors shut since last May to replace cables supplied with fake safety certificates.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy has 23 nuclear power plants. Of the 23, three are offline including the Hanbit No. 5.

A second is awaiting an extension of its licence after its 30-year lifespan expired in November 2012 and another is shut for scheduled maintenance extended to mid-January to repair cracks found on the reactor head. (Reporting By Jane Chung; Editing by Ed Davies)

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nuclear Hotseat #133 – Debunking Radioactive beaches Sean Bonner of Safecast – No Cesium!

Petition asking for leniency in the sentencing of peaceful anti-nuclear weapons protesters 84-year-old Sister Megan Rice – a Buddhist nun, Michael Walli and Gregory Boertje-Obed for their non-violent yet deeply embarrassing (to the government) protest at the Oak Ridge Site: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9007

http://www.nuclearhotseat.com/blog/

DOWNLOAD HERE:

http://lhalevy.audioacrobat.com/download/4ce1e3ca-cf08-a2d1-0e96-4cee50141e3c.mp3

INTERVIEWS: The holiday season saw rumors flying about Fukushima, radiation and elevated dangers in the U.S. Wildly exaggerated claims got picked up by mainstream media and had people panicking. Nuclear Hotseat gets to the root of the problems with Sean Bonner, one of the founders of Safecast. He talks about how a radiation reading can be misinterpreted in and directly addresses the Internet video claiming Fukushima radiation had risen to life-threatening levels at a California beach. Here’s a link to the report referenced in the interview: http://blog.safecast.org/2014/01/radiation-on-california-beaches/

Then Mimi German of RadCast talks about the psychology of the anti-nuclear echo chamber and what we need to do to stay centered, grounded and accurate in interpreting radiation numbers.

Image by 281_Antinuke

Image by 281

NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Japan’s Monju nuclear breeder reactor picks up computer virus in control room. Oy!

PLUS:

Fukushima prefectural government and Fukushima Medical University sign secrecy pact with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
TEPCO restructures so it can still make money while continuing to fumble the Fukushima Daiichi clean-up;
Plutonium dump with levels 1,000 times normal found in Pacific Ocean 50 miles west of San Francisco;
Russia banned shipments of more than 130 radioactive cars from Japan in 2013;
Ireland’s government and citizens now able to sue the UK over nuclear contamination, damages.

LINKS:

Arnie Gundersen‘s report debunking rumors of new meltdown at Fukushima Unit 3: http://fairewinds.org/demystifying/fukushima-daiichi-unit-3-going-explode

Petition asking for leniency in the sentencing of peaceful anti-nuclear weapons protesters 84-year-old Sister Megan Rice – a Buddhist nun, Michael Walli and Gregory Boertje-Obed for their non-violent yet deeply embarrassing (to the government) protest at the Oak Ridge Site: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9007

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Buesseler, K.O. 2014. – Fukushima and Ocean Radioactivity. Oceanography

…The Fukushima disaster provides a critical tool for the ocean science community to study fundamental physical, chemical, and biological processes in the Pacific Basin for as long as we can detect traces of the suite of long-lived radionuclides that originated there. It should serve as a call for ocean scientists to turn their attention to all aspects of this event, which continues to unfold and to present a plethora of new challenges, opportunities, and questions….

EARLY ONLINE RELEASE

Posted January 5, 2014

THE FUKUSHIMA DISASTER PROVIDES

A CRITICAL TOOL FOR THE OCEAN SCIENCE

COMMUNITY TO STUDY FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICAL,

CHEMICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES IN

THE PACIFIC BASIN FOR AS LONG AS WE CAN

DETECT TRACES OF THE SUITE OF LONG-LIVED

RADIONUCLIDES THAT ORIGINATED THERE.

THE FACT THAT WE LIVE IN A RADIOACTIVE

WORLD AND THAT THE WORLD OCEAN ALREADY

CONTAINS A WIDE RANGE OF NATURAL AND

ANTHROPOGENIC RADIONUCLIDES IN NO

WAY DIMINISHES THE SCALE AND NATURE

OF EVENTS AT FUKUSHIMA .

Abstract

[…]

In Japan, seafood consumption rates are higher (57 kg yr –1), but even using the legal limit of 100 Bq kg –1 Cs in fish results in a dose of 75 μSv or more than 10 times lower than the international dose limit of 1 mSv yr –1 set for members of the public. At a Cs level of 100 Bq kg –1, the dose from 210Po is almost 20 times greater. As such, none of these potential doses from Cs would be expected to result in observable increases in cancer rates in the populations of Japan or the United States (Fisher et al., 2013).

Clearly, it is important to keep monitoring Cs in fish off Japan, espe- cially in bottom-feeding fish, but also in freshwater fish (which are higher in radioactive Cs due to lower stable Cs in fresh waters).

Continue reading →

January 9, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

N-test legacy in stratosphere bigger than thought

Levels of radioactive plutonium in Earth’s stratosphere from nuclear tests and accidents is higher than previously thought, but probably not dangerous to humans, scientists in Switzerland said Tuesday.

AFP

A view of a radioactive sign near a shelter and containment area built over the destroyed 4th block of Chernobyl’s old nuclear power plant on August 25, 2013A view of a radioactive sign near a shelter and containment area built over the destroyed 4th block of Chernobyl’s old nuclear power plant on August 25, 2013

Levels of radioactive plutonium in Earth’s stratosphere from nuclear tests and accidents is higher than previously thought, but probably not dangerous to humans, scientists in Switzerland said Tuesday.

It was previously thought that plutonium radionuclides — radioactive atoms which can take decades or thousands of years to degrade — were present in the stratosphere only at negligible levels.

It was also believed that levels of these pollutants were higher in the troposphere, the layer of the atmosphere that is closest to the ground, than in the stratosphere.

Both ideas turn out to be wrong, according to the new study, whose authors also found no likelihood of a hazard to health.

Continue reading →

January 7, 2014 Posted by arclight2011part2 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment