Poorly paid, dangerous, work of nuclear sub-contracted workers
Desirability of nuclear power is the real question, THE HINDU, 28 Sept 12
MADHUMITA DUTTA“……In France, over 20,000-30,000 workers dubbed as “nuclear nomads” are subcontracted annually in the 58 nuclear reactors operated by Électricité de France S.A. (EDF) located in 20 sites which contribute 78 per cent of the electricity produced in the country.
EDF subcontracts over 1,000 companies, who employ the “nuclear nomads,” sometimes of foreign origin, to do the dangerous maintenance, repair and clean-up work in these plants, exposing them to ionising radiations. In her book “Nuclear Servitude: Subcontracting and Health in the French Civil Nuclear Industry,” French social scientist Annie Thébaud-Mony has highlighted this division of labour and “risk” by subcontracting dangerous work in the French nuclear power industry.
In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, over 18,000 workers were hired to clean-up the power plant, who were all subcontracted to do dangerous radioactive clean-up work. These men, hailed as “national heroes” by many, were actually local residents rendered unemployed by the disaster or were daily wagers from city slums.
Since the 1970s, Japan has had a dubious track record of subcontracting maintenance
work of reactors to outside companies which hire workers on a short-term basis who remain employed till they reach their radiation exposure limit (Nuclear Nomads: A look at the Sub-contracted Heroes by Gabrielle Hecht in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 9, 2012)…. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/desirability-of-nuclear-power-is-the-real-question/article3939373.ece
Closing Fessenheim nuclear plant will create jobs for French workers
Speaking on French television, Labor Minister Michel Sapin said the closure of Fessenheim would actually create jobs as it would take years of specialized work to dismantle the plant.
EDF denies seeking $2.6 billion for Fessenheim closure (Reuters) Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by Anthony Barker, Hans-Juergen Peters, Gary Crosse 16 Sept 12, – French power group EDF denied it had requested compensation from the government over its decision to close the state-controlled energy company’s Fessenheim nuclear power
plant. Continue reading
Quebec to close down its nuclear reactor
Quebec will close, rather than refurbish, its only nuclear reactor. Montreal Gazette, 12 Set 12, Nearly 30 years after it went into operation, it appears the days are numbered for Quebec’s only operating nuclear power plant.
A spokesperson for the Parti Québécois said the newly-elected government will go ahead with a plan to close Gentilly-2 in Bécancour. The party has wanted to do it since December 2009, Éric Gamache said….
. Gordon Edwards, a mathematician and president of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, said after it is closed, Gentilly-2 could be transformed into a centre of expertise on dismantling nuclear power plants. Nearly 100 nuclear power plants in
the U.S. will soon come to the end of their natural life, creating a “great” opportunity for Trois-Rivières, he said. http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2012/09/12/parti-quebecois-says-it-will-keep-promise-to-close-gentilly-2-nuclear-power-plant/
Secrecy and poor radiation monitoring in Japan’s, (and France’s) nuclear industry
Faced with an ongoing radioactivity which is contaminating Japan’s food and water supply, what should be done? The Nuclear Mafia’s ethos is silken sewn into the socio-political Kabuki theater of a post modern Japanese society, which seems helpless to save itself. Maybe Ambassador Matsumura, with his international political connections of good will, and the Skilled Veterans for Fukushima would be good people to turn to for advice.
The Nuclear Mafia Derails Democracy in Japan Dissident Voice, by Richard Wilcox / August 31st, 2012 “….The Nuclear Workforce French sociologist, Paul Jobin, “began research on Japanese and Taiwanese nuclear plant workers in 2002, mainly at Fukushima Daiichi,” and he did follow up interviews after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Jobin notes that:
* Subcontracting labor at nuclear plants in Japan began shortly after their creation, in the mid-1970s. “In France, this trend would develop after 1988, reaching a rate of 80% by 1992.”
* “According to NISA’s data, in 2009, Japan’s nuclear industry recruited more than 80,000 contract workers against 10,000 regular employees.”
* Part time employment is carried out in order to limit labor costs “whether in France or Japan, the nuclear industry nurtures a heavy culture of secrecy concerning the number of irradiated workers.” Continue reading
Scandalous nuclear worker conditions in nuclear Japan
The Nuclear Mafia Derails Democracy in Japan Dissident Voice, by Richard Wilcox / August 31st, 2012 “…..Nuclear Situation Prime Minister Noda recently rejected protester’s requests to shut down the nuclear reactors. As the Metropolitan Coalition Against Nukes told Noda in a face to face meeting, “[w]e the people do not believe you” regarding his empty promises to phase out nukes in the future. The Nuclear Mafia are restarting reactors even though they are unnecessary for electricity production. An overwhelming majority of people want to abolish nuclear power. Having contaminated the world with quadrillions of becquerels of radiation (petabecquerels), Tepco is under a pseudo nationalization process that funnels tax money into their pockets yet maintains their autonomy.
Worker Shortage A common practice among workers in nuclear plants is to hide their real exposure rate of radiation. Because there are legal limits of radiation exposure, workers will take off their dosimeters, or cover them with lead. In normal times in Japan workers could also migrate from one plant to the other without indicating previous work experience, and work “under the table.” How long it takes to get sick and or die from such a practice is anyone’s guess. Continue reading
Michigan’s initiative for renewable energy jobs and economy
Counterpoint: More renewable energy will create jobs, rein in energy costs M Live Micigan, By Todd Fettig , August 23, 2012, Opponents of increasing Michigan’s renewable energy standard should rethink their obstruction to more Michigan-made energy, more jobs, more clean air and water, and more opportunities for Michigan manufacturers and businesses to compete in the clean energy economy.
They should also rethink using paid and unpaid mouthpieces like former state Sen. Ken Sikkema and Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Rick Baker to spread misinformation and distortions about what the bipartisan Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs proposal will actually do.
Mark Fisk Just as flat-screen TVs that cost $6,000 in 2002 cost less than $450
today, renewable energy is also getting cheaper with innovation and new technology. Michiganders should know one fact up front: The Michigan Public Service Commission clearly states that renewable energy now costs $58 per megawatt/hour LESS than the cost of building a new coal plant. Continue reading
Up to 113,845 jobs in clean energy for Michigan
“It’s a job creating machine, with the added benefit of cleaner air, improved public health and healthier communities.”
All told, the initiative would create between 74,495 and 113,845 jobs in Michigan..
Renewable energy ballot measure called ‘job creating machine‘ By Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau, August 10, 2012 Lansing— At least 74,000 jobs would be created if voters approve a proposed ballot measure that requires 25 percent of energy to come
from renewable sources by 2025, according to a Michigan State University study released Friday.
Results of the study were announced by supporters of the Michigan Energy Michigan Jobs renewable energy ballot proposal, which is opposed by utility companies and business groups. The higher renewable electricity standard would create more than $10
billion in investments, according to the study. Continue reading
Nuclear power workers co-operate in deception, in order to keep their jobs
Nuclear power plants: A hidden world of untruths, unethical behavior August 06, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN The long and the short of it is this: Nuclear power plants probably would not operate properly in Japan if workers were not willing to sacrifice their health, and possibly their lives.
It emerges that workers at nuclear plants routinely resorted to ingenious ways to conceal the true levels of radiation to which they were exposed–simply to go on earning a living. Continue reading
Fukushima – deception in the workplace
Asahi: Disturbing picture emerging as nuclear employees come out of the woodwork — Fukushima workers report groups clocking in with no dosimeters http://enenews.com/asahi-disturbing-picture-emerging-nuclear-employees-woodwork-fukushima-workers-report-groups-clocking-dosimeters August 6th, 2012
By ENENews (Subscription Only) Title: Nuclear power plants: A hidden world of untruths, unethical behavior
Source: Asahi AJW
Author: Compiled from reports by Miki Aoki, Toshio Tada and Tamiyuki Kihara
The long and the short of it is this: Nuclear power plants probably would not operate properly in Japan if workers were not willing to sacrifice their health, and possibly their lives.
It emerges that workers at nuclear plants routinely resorted to ingenious ways to conceal the true levels of radiation to which they were exposed–simply to go on earning a living. Continue reading
Shortage of workers at Fukushima amid revelations of “doctored” radiation records
Fukushima Watch: Doctoring Dosimeters — How Far Did It Go? WSJ, By Mitsuru Obe and Phred Dvorak, 23 July 12 Over the weekend, a subcontractor that worked at the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant confessed to asking some of its employees to put lead covers on their dosimeters in order to keep their radiation exposure readings artificially low. Now, Japanese officials are trying to figure out whether the subcontractor, a small Fukushima Prefecture-based firm, was the only one to doctor dosimeters or whether other companies may have done the same…. Continue reading
Strike and problem of decaying concrete at Canada’s nuclear power plants
those employees should also be demanding safety in their workplace as well. At least one Candu plant – Gentilly-2 in Quebec – is decaying .
The plant is one of many that regulators say is operating well past its expected life of 25 to 30 years
Major Problems Facing Canada’s Nuclear Sector http://www.care2.com/causes/major-problems-facing-canadas-nuclear-sector.html#ixzz20GmGP3Pi by Amy Boughner July 9, 2012 Canada’s nuclear industry is once again facing major issues. More than 800 Candu Energy employees are on strike as of the morning of July 9, looking for higher wages. The scientists, engineers and technologists work at Candu plants in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. Continue reading
Production stops at AREVA’s Niger uranium mine, as workers strike
Niger Areva uranium workers begin 72-hour strike, NIAMEY, Jul 9, (Reuters) – About 1,200 workers at Niger’s Akouta uranium mine owned by COMINAK, a subsidiary of France’s Areva, have began a 72-hour strike to demand higher wages, a union official said on Monday. Inoua Neino, secretary general of the SYNTRAMIN union, said production had stopped at the over 1,600 tonnes a year mine in the north of the west African nation after the workers downed tools.
“We embarked on a strike after our demand for a 3 percent raise in salaries, even though insignificant, was not met with satisfaction by management,” Neino told journalists.
“Workers did not go down into the mine today and if they are not down there, it means that there was no extraction, and if there was no extraction, there is no production,” he said.
The company was not immediately available for comment….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/niger-areva-strike-idUSL6E8I9CEF20120709
Fukushima disaster workers forced to do cleanup without safety precautions
there was never any health supervision or monitoring of radiation doses. I am worried about the amount of radioactive substances that may have built up in my body.”
FINAL REPORT (4) : TEPCO failed to warn nuke plant workers after 3/11 http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201207060070, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Workers who remained in the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant even after it was hit by the huge earthquake and tsunami to deal with the fast-moving crisis were praised as heroes dubbed the “Fukushima 50.”
But the reality was that most were forced to do the dangerous work without vital information and safety precautions, the report by the Diet’s investigation panel has revealed.
The final report by the Diet’s Fukushima accident investigation panel has revealed that workers at the nuclear plant after the onset of the disaster were forced to tackle the accident without adequate information and or safety precautions.
The report, issued by the National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission on July 5, also reveals what Tokyo Electric Power Co. employees and subcontractors experienced and felt during operations after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on March 11, 2011. Continue reading
Nuclear company Entergy suddenly cutting out health benefits for Pilgrim nuclear workers
The Louisiana-based Entergy is slashing benefits as part of a hard-line lockout, while inexperienced and lesser trained replacements try to manage the 40-year-old plant’s complex operations.
“Our members have literally risked their lives time and again to keep this community safe and to help Entergy make $1 million a day in profits,”
Entergy’s Countdown to Cruelty: 48 hours until Pilgrim Nuclear workers and families lose healthcare Just days after Supreme Court Upholds Healthcare for all, Louisiana-based Entergy Corp. set to end medical coverage for workers and families facing surgery, cancer treatment, childbirth and other healthcare issues
The Sacramento Bee, By Utility Workers Union of America Local 369 , Jun. 28, 2012 PLYMOUTH, Mass., June 29, 2012 — Locked-out Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant
workers and their families are bracing for a devastating blow as Entergy Corp. prepares to end their healthcare coverage at midnight on Saturday, June 30. Continue reading
Pilgrim Nuclear power plant workers vote down contract, with safety concerns
Workers say the inability of Entergy to perform a safety drill is one more reason why the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should shut down the plant while the workers are locked out. …
Nuclear Power Workers Vote Down Contract As Safety Questions Mount, In These Times, BY MIKE ELK , 22 June 12, On Wednesday, locked-out nuclear power plant workers in Plymouth, Mass., members of Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), voted down a proposed contract by a margin of 137 to 89. ….. UWUA Local 369 President Dan Hurley announced that the union had voted down the contract.
“The hardworking men and women who keep Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant operating profitably and safely have spoken loud and clear: They will not accept cuts to their pay or healthcare from a company making record profits and paying executives in the tens of millions,” said Hurley. “We urge Entergy to return to the bargaining table so that we can realistically address the very real concerns of our members.”… Continue reading
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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