environment « nuclear-news

Uranium mine danger to world heritage park in Tanzania

Tanzania gets U.N. nod for uranium mine in game park DAR ES SALAAM, July 5 (Reuters) – Tanzania has received U.N. approval for Australia-based miner Mantra Resources to build a $400 million uranium mine in a world heritage game reserve despite pressure from environmental groups opposed to the project, it said on Thursday.

Green groups have warned that toxic mining activities at the plant would harm the ecologically sensitive Selous Game Reserve in the east African country… http://af.reuters.com/article/tanzaniaNews/idAFL6E8I57YN20120705

July 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AFRICA, environment, Uranium | Leave a comment

How nuclear radioactivity has killed Japan’s surfing industry

AUDIO Japan’s surfers lament radioactive coast, Radio Australia 2 July 2012, Japan overnight restarted a nuclear reactor – the first time it’s done so since the Fukushima disaster. The move has polarised the country, with many fearing the reactor on the country’s west coast is just as vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis as the Fukushima plant.

And some of those fighting hardest against the restart of more nuclear
plants are Japan’s professional surfers, who say Fukushima’s coastline
was once regarded as one of the best surfing spots in the country. Continue reading →

July 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan, Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Radiation at Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant

Fukushima Watch: At Fukushima Daini, It’s Safer Inside Than Outside WSJ, July 4, 2012, That’s because Daini is just 10 kilometers south of Fukushima Daiichi, the site of Japan’s biggest nuclear accident. And since the area still receives lots of radioactive fallout from Fukushima Daiichi, radiation exposure is less inside the thick-walled reactor buildings than it is out in the compound.

JRT, which went on a media tour of Daini on Wednesday, found that background radiation levels in the plant compound were around 0.5 to 1.0 microsieverts per hour — some 16 to 33 times higher than prior to the March 2011 accident.

In Tokyo, radiation levels are about 0.05 microsieverts per hour, in most places….
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/07/04/fukushima-watch-at-fukushima-daini-its-safer-inside-than-outside/

July 5, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Japanese seafood products banned in South Korea, due to radiation risks

South Korea Bans Imports of 35 Japanese Seafood Products VOA, June 27th, 2012 South Korea has placed a temporary import ban on 35 Japanese seafood products because of fears of lingering radiation contamination from last year’s devastating nuclear disaster.

Seoul’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries says the ban is a temporary measure meant to protect South Korean citizens from products originating from the waters near the Fukushima nuclear power plant…….. The items banned Wednesday by South Korea include several types of flatfish, clams and sea urchins, products that are already prohibited from sale in Japan. With the latest move, Seoul now prohibits a total of 64 Japanese seafood items from entering South Korea. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/06/27/south-korea-bans-imports-of-35-japanese-seafood-products/

June 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, oceans, South Korea | 1 Comment

North Carolina’s water faces danger from Virginia uranium mining

Virginia uranium mining ‘would be a huge mistake’ for NC HENDERSON, N.C.WRAL News : Beau Minnick, 27 June 12, — As Virginia considers lifting a 30-year-old ban on uranium mining, some North Carolina residents have been crossing the border to share their concerns about the possible environmental effects on this state.

Lifting the ban, which has been in place since 1982, would allow a Chatham, Va., company to tap into the nation’s largest undeveloped resource of uranium. The question is how that could impact Kerr Lake and surrounding bodies of water, which straddle both states. Continue reading →

June 28, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium, USA, water | Leave a comment

High radiation levels in Fukushima fish

Fukushima fish still hard to stomach http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-06-25/fukushima-fish-still-hard-to-stomach/967258, 26 June 2012 Japanese fishermen are facing a struggle for their livelihoods.An ABC report shows that many fish caught in the oceans around Fukushima contain dangerous levels of radioactive material. Continue reading →

June 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2012, oceans | Leave a comment

Rain and mud bring radioactivity to areas in Tokyo park

Radiation hotspots found in Tokyo park, June 26, 2012, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Radiation levels exceeding official standards have been detected at a park in Tokyo, after a metropolitan government inspection carried out under pressure from the Japanese Communist Party.

The Tokyo metropolitan government said June 25 that it had detected a maximum radiation reading of 1.22 microsieverts per hour at Mizumoto Park in Katsushika Ward. Officials took readings at two points in the shrubbery in the parking areas. Both readings exceeded the central government standard for decontamination of 1 microsievert per hour above background radiation. The metropolitan government said it will decontaminate the area.

The cause of the high radiation levels is still being investigated, but officials say both spots are likely places where rainwater and mud build up….. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201206260057

June 27, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

National Academy of Sciences’ report indicates “keep uranium mining ban in Virginia”

Here are just three of the report’s key findings:

» “Extreme natural events (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, intense rainfall events, drought) have the potential to lead to the release of contaminants if facilities are not designed and constructed to withstand such an event, or fail to perform as designed.”

» “The decay products of uranium provide a constant source of radiation in uranium tailings for thousands of years, substantially outlasting the current U.S. regulations for oversight of processing facility tailings.”

» “Because almost all uranium mining and processing to date has taken place in parts of the United States that have a negative water balance (dry climates with low rainfall) federal agencies have limited experience applying laws and regulations in positive water balance (wet climates with medium to high rainfall) situations.”

All the credible science says, ‘Keep the ban’ Go Dan River, By: Robert G. Burnley | GoDanRiver June 17, 2012 I began my career as a water quality scientist in Virginia 40 years ago — six years before uranium deposits were discovered beneath farmland in Pittsylvania County. Since shortly after that discovery, Virginia law has banned uranium mining.

It is my firm belief, based on review of the highly anticipated National Academy of Sciences’ report released last December, that the ban needs to remain in place. Continue reading →

June 20, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Yet again, radioactive materials found at Dalgety Bay, Scotland

More radiation discovered on beach, Google Hosted News, (UKPA) – 13 June 12 A third significantly radioactive particle has been recovered from a beach at the centre of a contamination scare, it has emerged. Tests are now being carried out on the particle found by scientists in front of the headland at Dalgety Bay, Fife at the end of April.
It was discovered outside the area which is cordoned-off to the public, but in a section of beach said to be used infrequently.
More than 2,000 radioactive particles are thought to have been uncovered since October last year, when high-activity radiation was found at the bay and parts of the beach were closed….. “The source, which further demonstrates the need for a comprehensive investigation
of the contamination, is currently undergoing testing.”
Radioactive material was found on the Dalgety Bay foreshore 22 years ago. The contamination is thought to stem from residue of radium-coated instrument panels used on military aircraft which were incinerated and put in landfill in the area at the end of the Second World War. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jAo-QrsuKQSJecRRyOFjfxRnjx8w?docId=N0240891339516232548A

June 13, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Fukushima radiation added to human impact on oceans

Fukushima radiation is showing up in tuna caught off the California coast. A new study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that bluefin tuna caught off America’s West Coast are carrying radiation from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima badly damaged in a tsunami last year. Fortunately, the radiation is not at levels that would be harmful to humans…… Video bonus: It’s hard to find a better ambassador for the sea than Sylvia Earle, who’s been exploring the deep for more than 40 years. Here’s her TED talk from a few years ago, but it’s more relevant than ever

Roiling in the Deep, Smithsonian.com, 8 June 12“…… marine biologist Callum Roberts wrote in Newsweek, “With an ever-accelerating tide of human impact, the oceans have changed more in the last 30 years than in all of human history before……. Since today is World Oceans Day, here’s a rundown of 10 things we now know about the sea that we didn’t a year ago. Continue reading →

June 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, oceans | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation moves up in the marine food chain

Radiation and Mercury in Fish: Should Americans be Concerned? One Green Planet June 5, 2012 by Joseph Keon: The May 29th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that fish caught off the California coast in 2011 by researchers from Stony Brook University in New York were contaminated with radioactive waste from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power facility.

The radioactive isotopes cesium-137 and cesium-134 were found in blue fin tuna at levels ten times higher than in the years prior to the accident, roughly four months after the waste was released into the ocean. Seven months after the accident, Japan’s Fisheries Agency reported broad-spread radioactive contamination (up to 100 percent) in fish caught both in Japanese coastal waters and hundreds of miles away.

Problems with Radioactive Waste Predate Fukushima Even before Fukushima, fish have been shown to carry radioactive waste from the nuclear industry. Tests of salmon from six British supermarkets revealed contamination by the radioactive isotope technetium-99, which has also been found in lobster and shellfish, and has been traced to Britain’s Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, even though the fish were raised hundreds of miles away.

According to James Waczewski of Florida State University, author of Legal, Political, and Scientific Response to Ocean Dumping, the United States has dumped an estimated 112,000 containers of long-lived radioactive nuclear waste into the Pacific and Atlantic oceans at 30 different sites. A U.S. Senate ruling has since imposed a moratorium on this practice, but nuclear power plants continue to discharge radioactive waste-water into the world’s oceans daily.

No Fish from the Ocean Is Protected Because ionizing radiation from nuclear waste is a carcinogen,
radioactivity in fish is a disturbing reality. Yet even without the Fukushima disaster, the world’s fish supply has become a dubious source of nutrition…….
Although we seldom see the waste floating on the surface of the oceans, if we’re willing to test it, we find that sea life has become our proverbial “canary in the coal mine,” clearly revealing the hidden truth of all that has infiltrated the world’s oceans. Some bodies of water are vastly more polluted than others, but one toxin, mercury, permeates the world’s oceans to such a degree that no fish (and no one who eats fish) is protected.

Mercury in Fish Mercury is a toxic substance that can devastate the nervous system,
leading to lower intelligence and compromised fine motor skills. …..
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/radiation-and-mercury-in-fish-should-americans-be-concerned/

June 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, oceans | Leave a comment

New crisis dividing Japanese – dealing with radioactive debris

Japan’s Latest Nuclear Crisis: Getting Rid of the Radioactive Debris, The Atlantic, JUN 4 2012, A plan to disperse the waste to incineration facilities across the country, meant to instill national unity, is doing the opposite, and further delaying Japan’s ability to move beyond Fukushima. KITA KYUSHU, Japan — Disposing the more than 20 million tons of rubble caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is proving to be a difficult problem for Japan, not least because much of the rubble has been irradiated by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The government’s plan — to destroy 4 million tons of potentially radioactive earthquake debris in garbage incinerators around the country — is dividing the nation and further delaying the country’s ability to put Fukushima behind it. Continue reading →

June 6, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Radiation in Japan’s foodstuffs – the invisible hazard

Unlike harmful iodine 131, which disappears in matter of days, caesium 137 has a “half-life” of 30 years and lingers even longer.

Radioactive discharge from the crippled power station fell directly on crops and vegetables, and worked its way into the food chain when fish or animals in affected areas consumed contaminated plants.

Japan’s invisible enemy within TOKYO, Malaysian Insider, June 2 — Before March 11, 2011, procuring food for an average Japanese household was a pretty straight-forward affair.

Following long-established traditions, a housewife — it is, still, almost always a woman in charge — did her best to ensure that every product brought to the table could be traced to Japanese soil or waters. This, it was widely held, was the best way to avoid eating fish, meat
or produce tainted with dangerous contaminants. Chinese imports were to be avoided whenever possible.
The accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, unleashed by a devastating earthquake and tsunami, shattered this age-old faith in the purity of Japanese produce. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Californian tuna found to have Fukushima radiation

Fukushima radiation fear in Californian tuna, Radio Australia 30 May 2012, Mark Doman Low levels of radiation have shown up in bluefin tuna off the US coast and experts believe it may have originated from a tsunami-damaged Japanese power plant. The discovery may lead to an international monitoring system for radioactive fish products. Continue reading →

June 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | oceans, USA | Leave a comment

High level nuclear waste dump for shores of Great Lakes!

how did governments around the world, citizens like us around the world, science and the nuclear industry, turn a blind eye to the huge buildup of nuclear waste for more than 40 years as we enjoyed the fruits of nuclear power?

the nuclear waste dangers will remain for thousands of years, longer than civilization itself. And right next to the largest fresh-water lake system in the world.

Nuclear waste, tourism don’t mix http://www.lfpress.com/comment/2012/05/25/19800186.html By WAYNE MACDONALD, May 26, 2012 A packed council chambers in Saugeen Shores, where I live, stood in stunned amazement as its local council- once again – took a huge step toward changing the face of this lakeside community with no discussion, no debate. Absolutely none. Continue reading →