nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Mechanism for toxic radioactive water release sought

“What I find problematic is that TEPCO, the Japanese government and the IAEA are not addressing the long-term environmental impacts and the accumulation in the environment resulting from individual data. In the case of long-term releases, there is a concern about accumulation in the marine environment and concentration through the ecosystem, but this aspect is not being adequately evaluated.”

By JIANG XUEQING in Tokyo  2023-10-24  https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202310/24/WS65372116a31090682a5ea51d.htmll

Experts urge long-term intl monitoring and participation of all stakeholders

Experts call for the establishment of a long-term international monitoring mechanism with substantive participation from stakeholders, as Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency are both criticized for not addressing the long-term environmental impacts of the dumping of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea.

The IAEA is sending its team to Japan to continue its safety review of the release from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Starting Tuesday, the IAEA will conduct a safety review of the activities carried out at the Fukushima plant to make sure these activities are consistent with the international safety standards, said Lydie Evrard, IAEA deputy director-general and head of the agency’s department of nuclear safety and security.

A report on the review is expected to be finalized by the end of 2023, she told a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Oct 11 said the collection of marine samples near Fukushima, analysis by laboratories and comparison of those samples were carried out by the IAEA Secretariat under its bilateral arrangement with Japan. Therefore, he said, it falls short of an international monitoring arrangement with the full and substantive participation of all stakeholders.

“The international community requires the immediate establishment of an international monitoring arrangement with substantive participation of all stakeholders, including Japan’s neighboring countries, that will stay effective for the long haul,” Wang said, urging the IAEA to play its due role and take the responsibility of providing rigorous supervision on Japan’s discharge.

The key issue is how to establish an international monitoring mechanism for the real-time and long-term effective management of nuclear-contaminated water being discharged, said Zhang Yulai, vice-president of the Japan Institute of Nankai University.

Major challenge

“Information disclosure is a major challenge because the Japanese government and TEPCO share common interests, making genuine monitoring difficult,” he said.

There are also technical challenges, as certain radionuclides that the Advanced Liquid Processing System cannot remove still exist, he said.

Fukushima plant operator TEPCO announced pre-discharge test results on Thursday, showing that the third batch of nuclear-contaminated water to be released during Japan’s next round of ocean discharge contains seven radionuclides, namely tritium, carbon-14, cobalt-60, strontium-90, yttrium-90, iodine-129 and cesium-137. Among them, strontium-90 and yttrium-90 were not detectable before the second round of discharge.

The measured quantity of strontium is relatively low, but given its 29-year half-life, it will persist in the environment to a certain extent. Strontium is a significant radionuclide that tends to accumulate in bones when ingested by fish or humans, said Hideyuki Ban, a renowned Japanese nuclear expert and co-director of the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center.

“What concerns me is the lack of information about the measurement times and methods. I believe that rapid measurements may lack precision,” Ban said.

“What I find problematic is that TEPCO, the Japanese government and the IAEA are not addressing the long-term environmental impacts and the accumulation in the environment resulting from individual data. In the case of long-term releases, there is a concern about accumulation in the marine environment and concentration through the ecosystem, but this aspect is not being adequately evaluated.”

Many Japanese said they do not believe the data disclosed by TEPCO and the Japanese government.

Chiyo Oda, co-director of KOREUMI, also known as the Citizens’ Conference to Condemn Further Pollution of the Ocean, said those who have experienced the nuclear disaster have developed distrust in the government and TEPCO.

The promise not to release the water without first understanding the concerns of fishermen and citizens, as stated just before the release, has been disregarded. Though they have announced monitoring results immediately after the release, the data is not trustworthy, Oda said.

“It is evident that the marine environment will be contaminated over a long period of time, and there is potential for long-term impacts on human health,” she said. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

 

October 25, 2023 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, oceans | Leave a comment

Decontaminating Fukushima: have the billions spent been worth it?

The Conversation, Jim Smith, Professor of Environmental Science, University of Portsmouth, October 24, 2023

The Chernobyl and (to a lesser extent) Fukushima nuclear accidents contaminated large areas of land with low-level radioactivity. After both accidents, huge efforts were taken to decontaminate the affected areas.

But a recent study at Fukushima raises doubts about whether these decontamination efforts were worthwhile. Less than one-third of the population has returned to the evacuated zones and extensive areas of forest in the region remain contaminated.

Following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, approximately 1,100 square kilometres were evacuated, resulting in the relocation of more than 100,000 people from their homes. A contaminated area about eight times larger remained inhabited, albeit subject to continuous radiation monitoring.

The dominant source of radiation exposure for people stemmed from gamma rays emitted by contaminated soils, pavements, roads and buildings. The objective of the decontamination operation was to ensure that the general public received an annual dose from Fukushima’s radioactivity of less than 1,000 microsieverts (µSv) above the natural background level. The average natural radiation dose in Japan stands at 2,200 µSv per year.

Radiocaesium, which is the most important long-lived radioactive element emitted by the accident in terms of radiation dose, adheres to soil particles very strongly. Consequently, the decontamination of agricultural land primarily involved removing the top 5cm of soil. In urban areas, decontamination efforts entailed the removal of topsoil from sports fields, as well as sandblasting or pressure washing hard surfaces, and pressure washing drains and gutters.

These efforts reduced doses by about 60% in residential areas and farmland, allowing people to return to their homes in a large part of the evacuated area. This is a far cry from Chernobyl, where extensive decontamination initiatives were ultimately abandoned, leaving huge evacuated areas that remain empty to this day. But was undertaking decontamination in Fukushima worthwhile?

Costs and benefits

Decontaminating the land in Fukushima has cost tens of billions of dollars. The process has, unfortunately, also caused substantial radiation exposure for the workers involved, and has generated huge amounts of radioactive soil waste. But the question of whether to decontaminate land is complex and only partially related to scientific evidence.

On the one hand, decontamination provides reassurance that radiation is being “cleaned up” and that doses are being reduced. But it can also give the impression that low-level radiation is more dangerous than it actually is.

Dose rates were not dangerously high in many areas of Fukushima that were subject to decontamination. In fact, doses were relatively low in the first year following the accident (less than 12,000 µSv), and these levels decreased significantly in subsequent years.

These levels fall within the natural range people are exposed to from radioactivity in rocks, soils, building materials and cosmic radiation worldwide (typically between 1,000 µSv and 10,000 µSv per year, but sometimes higher).

On balance, I think the reassurance that contamination was being cleaned up was valuable in many areas where people remained living. Decontamination also allowed agricultural land to be returned to productive use more quickly. However, the process of removing topsoil had the side effect of damaging soil fertility.

Accidental rewilding

In the evacuated zone where dose rates were around ten times higher, it’s less clear that decontamination was beneficial. Only 30% of people have returned to their homes in the decontaminated part of this area and much of the land in the most contaminated so-called “difficult to return zone” remains abandoned.

A better option may have been to declare most of this zone a nature reserve and allow managed rewilding of the area. Rewilding is happening to a large extent anyway, as it has at Chernobyl. It would also have avoided decontamination workers being exposed to radiation and allowed more financial support to help people relocate.

But this is a complex decision that needs to consider the views of many stakeholders, not least the evacuated people themselves.

Fukushima’s contaminated forests

The land in and around the region’s towns and villages has generally been decontaminated effectively. However, much of the Fukushima Prefecture (71%) is covered by forest. Most of this forest remains contaminated.

The persistence of radiocaesium in ecosystems, particularly in forests, has been known for many decades. Globally, radiocaesium levels in wild foodstuffs such as mushrooms, edible plants, game animals and freshwater fish tend to be higher than those found in agricultural systems.

Wild boar in certain regions of Germany, for instance, still exhibit radicaesium levels exceeding consumption limits as a consequence of both Chernobyl and historical nuclear weapons testing. Restrictions on the consumption of forest products have lasted for decades following the Chernobyl incident. And they are expected to persist in many forested areas of Fukushima too.

Radiocaesium lingers in forests due to the prevalence of organic soils and the absence of fertiliser application. Low nutrient levels facilitate the absorption of radiocaesium by plants. This is mainly attributed to radiocaesium’s chemical similarity to potassium, a crucial plant nutrient.

Forests do pose a wildfire risk. There have been many forest fires in the vicinity of Chernobyl since the accident. But radiation doses from smoke inhalation are extremely low, even for firefighters, and the fires have not significantly redistributed radioactivity.

There are no easy answers regarding clean up after a nuclear accident. Japan has made huge and often successful efforts to reduce radiation doses and reassure people living in or returning to the affected areas. But low-level radiation remains everywhere, particularly in forests……….. https://theconversation.com/decontaminating-fukushima-have-the-billions-spent-been-worth-it-215836 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes.

October 24, 2023 Posted by | environment, Fukushima continuing, Reference | Leave a comment

China highlights marine radiation monitoring in draft law revision

China Daily, Xinhua 2023-10-20 

BEIJING — China is considering strengthening its monitoring of radiation in the marine environment in the latest draft revision to the Marine Environment Protection Law, a spokesperson said Thursday.

Scheduled for its third deliberation at a session of the country’s top legislature in late October, the draft revision states that departments of the State Council in charge of environmental issues should set out emergency plans for radiation monitoring and organize its implementation.

The draft stresses improving the capacity of monitoring and managing the marine environment by raising the technological and informatization level, and requires efforts to enhance comprehensive, coordinated and regular monitoring, according to Yang Heqing, a spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, at a press briefing.

Pollution prevention and control in rivers flowing into the sea should also be strengthened in coordinated efforts to ensure the water quality at the mouths of the rivers meets the relevant standards, Yang said citing the draft revision

The sixth session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee will be held from Oct. 20 to 24. The NPC Standing Committee completed two readings of previous versions of the draft revision to the Marine Environment Protection Law in December last year and June……..

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202310/20/WS6531db77a31090682a5e9b28.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 22, 2023 Posted by | China, oceans | Leave a comment

Deadly radioactive dust

In the case of Semipalatinsk, the former Soviet Union’s nuclear testing grounds, the exposure was due to the passage of radioactive clouds. The area and the people were exposed gradually not only during the passage of the cloud but also from the subsequent contamination of the area.

  by beyondnuclearinternational  https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2023/10/15/deadly-dust/

A look at the studies of professor Masaharu Hoshi. From Impact

The risks of radiation exposure are better understood today thanks to researchers dedicated to working with the victims of exposure, understanding their symptoms, identifying treatments and developing safety protocols. This article looks at the work of one such researcher, Dr. Masaharu Hoshi.

Harnessing atomic particles and radiation led to powerful and world changing technologies. The field of medical imaging has saved countless lives and continues to push the boundaries of medical interventions and research, which would have been impossible without the first x-ray machines. Unfortunately, not all inventions have been so altruistic. 

The advent of nuclear weapons showed the world the destructive potential possible via scientific inquiry. While the dangerous effects of radiation exposure were documented from the inception of this technology, catastrophic events like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and nuclear disasters at Chernobyl, Semipalatinsk or Fukushima provide a real-time glimpse into the long-term effects of exposure. 

Investigating the causes of this exposure in order to prevent future accidents is essential, but so too is cataloguing the rates and types of exposure among the victims. With this information, correlations between exposure and health effects, both short- and long-term, can be assessed. This data is crucial for understanding the mechanisms behind radiation effects on living creatures and in assessing risks, safety protocols and treatment. Since the 1980s, Dr Masaharu Hoshi, Professor Emeritus at Hiroshima University, has been traveling around the world, visiting the sites of nuclear disasters in an effort to fully comprehend the risks. In doing so he is also revealing that there is still much we need to learn regarding the effects of radiation exposure. 

Quantifying the risks

“I started my research with the people exposed to radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the year 1980,” says Hoshi. “Before that I completed my dissertation on nuclear physics with a specialty in radiation measurement.” This graduate training positioned him to become an expert on the effects of radiation. 

The work that commenced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki right after the blast showed that with higher doses of radiation, the greater the effect on the human body, in the form of symptoms like carcinogenesis. The ratio between exposure and effects is termed risk. This measure of risk is useful in treating people exposed to radiation and it can quantify how much risk individuals face depending on the dose of exposure. 

Quantifying the risks

“I started my research with the people exposed to radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the year 1980,” says Hoshi. “Before that I completed my dissertation on nuclear physics with a specialty in radiation measurement.” This graduate training positioned him to become an expert on the effects of radiation. 

The work that commenced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki right after the blast showed that with higher doses of radiation, the greater the effect on the human body, in the form of symptoms like carcinogenesis. The ratio between exposure and effects is termed risk. This measure of risk is useful in treating people exposed to radiation and it can quantify how much risk individuals face depending on the dose of exposure. 

“This work can inform us whether a medical check-up is required every two years depending on the degree of exposure, or if hospitalization is necessary if there has been too much exposure,” explains Hoshi.

He says that the work done in Japan has informed laws regarding radiation exposure safety and protocols in countries around the world, but this is only one scenario in which a person can come into contact with the deadly rays. 

“The people exposed to radiation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki from the atomic bomb were exposed to gamma rays, including a few neutrons, in a short instant,” outlines Hoshi. “From 1 microsecond to about 1 minute which is quite different from the gradual exposure of actual workers in the radiation industry.”

In the case of Semipalatinsk, the former Soviet Union’s nuclear testing grounds, the exposure was due to the passage of radioactive clouds. The area and the people were exposed gradually not only during the passage of the cloud but also from the subsequent contamination of the area. “Therefore, the risk is considered to be different from that of the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” confirms Hoshi. 

“Because of that, we started our study on the radiation dose and the health effects occurring in Semipalatinsk, which has been going on since 1994.”

Over the course of these studies over decades he has worked with colleagues to amass databases of over 300,000 cases of exposure and long-term follow-up. It was among these cases, spread out in different locations, that a pattern emerged, revealing yet another variable to consider during an exposure event, being radioactive microparticles. 

Radiation detectives

Initially in Japan, research started on people who came to the area right after the explosion to help their families and were not the direct victims of the bombing. For these individuals the calculated radiation exposure dose was less than 10 mSv which, according to Hoshi, is usually not a problem. 

“Using the Hiroshima University database of people who were exposed to the bombing incident, we found that the mortality rate was higher for those who came to the vicinity directly after the explosion and the cause for this was unknown,” he states. 

Furthermore, Hoshi began to see a similar pattern of exposure and symptoms in other places. In Semipalatinsk it was called Kainal Syndrome and again there was no explanation. Many of the survivors of Chernobyl, Gulf War and Hiroshima Nagasaki who entered after the bombing also suffered from hair loss, severe malaise, which can lead to an inability to work, bleeding, diarrhea and more. 

“It was then that I understood I would have to use epidemiological ideas to uncover what all of these victims had in common,” he says. Eventually, he realised that commonality was radioactive dust.

Hoshi and his team began investigating the potential for radioactive microparticles to cause internal exposure in all organs of the rats, especially in the lung. They found the effects are 20 times more dangerous than usual external exposure according to the animal experiments. 

“With regards to the effects of radioactive particles, some experts have previously pointed it out,” says Hoshi. “However, since there was no supporting research, it has been ignored by public institutions.” 

The effects of radiation exposure are the same for every person on the planet, no one country or group of people are immune. Furthermore, when disaster strikes it is usually not contained to one spot. Contamination of air and water can spread over vast distances, bringing with them their deadly side effects. Hoshi and his collaborators are acutely aware of this and are working hard to share their data as far and as wide as possible. 

Furthermore, Hoshi stresses that due to the need for a variety of expertise, collaboration is absolutely essential. 

“For example, these results are not possible without the input from reactor physicists, radiation and medical physicists, epidemiologists, thyroid specialists, pathologists, medical doctors, as well as statistics and computer database experts,” he highlights. 

Hoshi is grateful for all of the hard work this diverse group has done and will continue to do for the benefit of victims and potential victims. Along with further research on progressive treatment and protection, Hoshi plans to continually develop this field. Their work will carry on studying the effects of radioactive dust and ways to protect against it as well as tackling the big problem of evaluating dose exposure from radioactive dust. 

This article first appeared on impact.pub whose content is available under a creative commons license.

Dr Masaharu Hoshi is Professor Emeritus at Hiroshima University’s Peace Center. You can read his studies here and here. #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants #radiation

October 16, 2023 Posted by | environment, radiation | Leave a comment

Sunken Nuclear Submarine May Be Leaking Radiation Into The Ocean

The wreckage has been resting on the seabed for over 30 years, but is it now contaminating the surrounding water?

IFL Science, DR. RUSSELL MOUL 10 Oct 23

In April 7, 1989, a Russian nuclear submarine sank off the coast of Norway after a fire broke out on board as a result of a short circuit. At the time, the sub was carrying two nuclear torpedoes which it took with it to the cold depths of the Arctic Ocean. To this day, neither the vessel nor its weapons have been recovered and, unfortunately, it seems these artifacts from the Cold War have been leaking radioactive materials ever since.

A terrible accident

The Russian K-278 Komsomolets, as the submarine was called, was a nuclear-powered attack submarine that belonged to the Soviet navy. It was commissioned in 1983 and was one of the first submarines to have a titanium hull, which allowed it to dive to much greater depths than any of her competitors – the vessel could reach depths below 914 meters (3,000 feet). The K-278 was the only one of its kind to enter into service…………………………………………………………………………

What is the legacy?

For more than 30 years, K-278 and her nuclear torpedoes have rested at the bottom of the ocean in one of the richest fishing areas in the world. In that time, the seawater has slowly corroded the vessel’s hull and the casings surrounding its nuclear warheads, which have been leaking radioactive material into the surrounding ocean.

In 2019, researchers from Norway reported that some samples taken from the water at the K-278 wreckage site had about 800,000 times higher levels of radiation than what is normal for the Norwegian Sea. The samples of radioactive cesium (cesium-137) were collected from a ventilation shaft on the sunken vessel by a Norwegian remotely

…………………….. Whether the contamination is coming from the nuclear reactor or the torpedoes remains unknown. …………………………………………………………….  https://www.iflscience.com/sunken-nuclear-submarine-may-be-leaking-radiation-into-the-ocean-71037 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes

October 11, 2023 Posted by | oceans, Russia | Leave a comment

How safe is the release of treated radioactive water from Fukushima plant

#nuclear #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes

5 Oct 2023Japan begins second discharge of treated nuclear water from Fukushima Japan has begun discharging a second batch of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean. It’s happening amid protest from countries like China, Russia and South Korea who are all concerned about the risks. Robert Jacobs from the Hiroshima Peace Institute explains with these worries are founded.

October 9, 2023 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, oceans | Leave a comment

5 animal species that became radioactive after being exposed to nuclear fallout zones

Scientists believe that the long-term effects of radiation in the macaque population may have contributed to smaller heads, smaller brains, delayed growth, and anemia. 

Business Insider Elias Chavez , Oct 7, 2023, #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes

  • The impact of nuclear disasters throughout history can still be seen in the environment today. 
  • Animals in areas near nuclear disasters are being found with radiation still in their bodies. 
  • Nuclear fallout spreads and impacts communities and environments near and far. 

Long after the events of Chernobyl and Fukushima, their impacts are still being felt. 

The animals near major nuclear events and nuclear testing sites, like Enewetak Atoll, were discovered to have radioactive elements in their bodies immediately after. But even decades later, animals near and far are still being found to have radioactive elements in their body due to the contamination of food sources.

Enewetak Atoll was the site of intense nuclear testing by the US military.

Between 1948 and 1958, the US conducted 43 nuclear tests at Enewetak Atoll, including the first test of the hydrogen bomb. Because of the nuclear testing, the lagoon surrounding the chain of islands became irradiated, as well as the sand and soil on the islands. 

In 1972, the US spent $100 million in an effort to clean up the area. Clean-up crews mixed 80,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil and debris with cement that they poured into a blast crater that was 30 feet deep and 360 feet wide.

Afterward, the clean-up team constructed a dome made of 358 concrete panels to cover the radioactive material.

Sea turtles in the area by Enewetak Atoll have been found to have traces of radiation in their shells.

After the cleanup at Enewetak Atoll, turtles were found with radiation in the layers of their shells. The leading theory is that the clean-up efforts disrupted radioactive sediment in the lagoon near Enewetak Atoll and the turtles swallowed the sediment.

Chernobyl was a nuclear meltdown event in 1986, and its impacts are still being felt today.

On April 26, 1986, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant went out of control during a test at low power. The result was an explosion and a fire that released over 100 radioactive elements into the atmosphere.

Additionally, the uranium fuel melted through protective barriers and the absence of a protective concrete dome led to the release of radioactive elements like plutonium, iodine, strontium, and cesium……………………

Wild boars in Bavaria, Germany, are still being found with radioactive elements in their bodies.

Boars forage for mushrooms and truffles which feed off nutrients in the soil.

When nuclear tests are done, nuclear elements swell into the sky, get carried by the wind, and settle onto the ground. As mushrooms grow, they absorb radiation from that nuclear fallout from the ground. 

Wild boars in Bavaria have been found to have 15,000 becquerels of radiation for every kilogram of meat. The European safety limit is 600 becquerels per kilogram.

The packs of wild dogs surrounding Chernobyl have also been impacted by the meltdown.

Over 700 dogs living near Chernobyl are believed to be descendants of the dogs left behind by people who evacuated the area after the meltdown.

Researchers have been studying mutations in the dog’s genomes and DNA as well as measuring the radiation in their bones. The dogs in Chernobyl live much shorter lives than the average dog with a lifespan of three to four years, compared to the average 10 to 12.

Reindeer as far away as Norway have also been impacted by the meltdown at Chernobyl.

Nuclear sediment from Chernobyl was carried by the wind up to Norway where it fell into the soil in rain droplets. The radiated elements were absorbed from the soil by moss and fungus. 

Reindeer in the area would feed on the moss and fungus. Immediately after the fallout, they could be found with levels of more than 100,000 becquerels per kilogram.

Current radiation levels in reindeer are now below safety standards, but every now and then spikes are seen in reindeer meat that exceed 2,000 becquerels.

The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster resulted in the evacuation of thousands and is the second-worst nuclear disaster in history……………………………………..

The Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, were found to have increased levels of radiation after the Fukushima disaster.

Immediately after the Fukushima disaster, macaques were found with levels of concentrated cesium up to 13,500 becquerels per kilogram. 

Because of their diet of mushrooms, tree bark, and bamboo — all food sources that absorb radioactive cesium from the ground — the macaques were more likely to be found with radioactive elements in them. 

Scientists believe that the long-term effects of radiation in the macaque population may have contributed to smaller heads, smaller brains, delayed growth, and anemia. 

October 8, 2023 Posted by | environment, World | Leave a comment

Groups Demand DOE Environmental Impact Statement Before Agency Bails Out Palisades Zombie Reactor Restart

Beyond Nuclear, September 20, 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes

NEPA Requires “Major Federal Project” Hard Look, Groups Assert
Covert Township, MI and Washington, DC, September 20, 2023– Legal counsel for Beyond Nuclear, Don’t Waste Michigan, and Michigan Safe Energy Future, have written the Energy Secretary and the Loan Programs Office director at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), demanding National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance before DOE awards Holtec International a requested $1 billion risk- and interest-free nuclear loan guarantee, backed by U.S. taxpayer dollars.

The billion dollar federal loan, which Holtec does not have to pay back, is the linchpin in Holtec’s reactor restart scheme, also backed by Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, as well as the state legislature.

The State of Michigan has already gifted Holtec with $150 million towards the restart, although Holtec requested twice that. The state handout is contingent on the much larger federal bailout. A Power Purchase Agreement was just announced between Holtec and rural electric co-ops in Michigan (Wolverine) and Indiana (Hoosier), although how far above market rates the co-ops’ members will be forced to pay, and for how long, has not been publicly disclosed.

Citing the largesse provided by the public (which most taxpayers and ratepayers are not even aware of, let alone consent to), Holtec is pressuring the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to simply reverse legally-binding, permanent shutdown filings from June 2022.

A coalition of hundreds of environmental groups, including more than fifty groups in Michigan, have written Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm — herself a former governor and attorney general of the State of Michigan — several times in the past year, urging Holtec’s requests for federal bailouts to restart Palisades be rejected.

Toledo, Ohio-based attorney Terry Lodge, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based attorney Wally Taylor, serve as legal co-counsel for the environmental groups. They provided DOE with a litany of pathways to catastrophic reactor core meltdown at Palisades, which Energy Secretary Granholm and Loan Programs Office Director Shah have been asked by Holtec to bankroll. The severe safety risks include: the most neutron radiation-embrittled reactor pressure vessel in the country, at risk of pressurized thermal shock through-wall fracture; a reactor vessel closure head in need of replacement for more than two decades; steam generators in need of replacement for more than two decades, as well; and the worst control rod drive mechanism seal leaks in industry.

There is no indication that, even with $1.15 billion, or more, in federal and state subsidies, Holtec will fix any of those severe safety problems before restarting the long problem-plagued reactor.

Lodge and Taylor also pointed out that restarting Palisades’ more than half-century old reactor would lead to the generation of another 20 metric tons per year of highly radioactive irradiated nuclear fuel. The high-level radioactive waste stored on-site since 1971 already poses its own severe risks, including violating NRC earthquake safety regulations. Palisades’ dry cask storage is perched on the very edge of Lake Michigan, a major headwaters of the entire Great Lakes, 84% of North America’s surface fresh water, and drinking water supply to 40 million people in eight U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and a very large number of Indigenous Nations……………………………………………. more https://beyondnuclear.org/groups-demand-doe-eis-before-bailing-out-palisades-zombie-reactor-restart/?fbclid=IwAR1qlrC0heccGG150YGtyT3F1-38m4p2TVIz0ITiuFOK0Pi-qpjc6VNUrDM

October 8, 2023 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear plant starts 2nd release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea

Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says it has begun releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea after the first round of discharges ended smoothly

abc news, By The Associated Press, October 5, 2023, #nuclear #nuclear-free #anti-nuclear #NoNukes

TOKYO — Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said it began releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea on Thursday after the first round of discharges ended smoothly.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said workers activated a pump to dilute the treated water with large amounts of seawater, slowly sending the mixture into the ocean through an underground tunnel.

The plant’s first wastewater release began Aug. 24 and ended Sept. 11. During the 17-day first release, TEPCO said it discharged 7,800 tons of treated water from 10 tanks. About 1.34 million tons of radioactive wastewater is stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant…………….

In the second discharge TEPCO plans to release another 7,800 metric tons of treated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean over 17 days. ………………………………………………………………..https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/fukushima-nuclear-plant-starts-2nd-release-treated-radioactive-103742211

October 5, 2023 Posted by | oceans | Leave a comment

Japan to release second batch of wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant next week

UN-approved release to go ahead despite China’s ban on all Japanese sea imports following first batch

Japan will begin releasing a second batch of wastewater from the crippled
Fukushima nuclear plant from next week, its operator has said, an exercise
that angered China and others when it began in August.

Guardian 29th Sept 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/29/japan-fukushima-nuclear-powerplant-wastewater-release-second-batch

September 30, 2023 Posted by | Japan, oceans, wastes | Leave a comment

Microsoft Is Using a Hell of a Lot of Water to Flood the World With AI

Angely Mercado, September 12, 2023 https://gizmodo.com.au/2023/09/microsoft-is-using-a-hell-of-a-lot-of-water-to-flood-the-world-with-ai/
—

As artificial intelligence is increasingly developing and data centres are erected to further this tech, it’s becoming clear that AI has a water usage problem.

Microsoft’s latest sustainability report revealed that the software giant’s water usage saw a tremendous spike between 2021 and 2022. In 2021, the company used up 4,772,890 cubic meters of water. In 2022 that went up to 6,399,415—which is around a 30 percent increase from one year to the next. That’s almost 1.7 billion gallons of water in just one year, which is enough to fill more than 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Why did Microsoft draw so much freaking water? Data centres that run AI supercomputers are hot. Equipment heats up, and if a centre overheats, those computers can shut down. The increase in water use is directly tied to the company’s investment and development of AI. Microsoft has backed OpenAI, which has a data centre in Des Moines, Iowa. During the summer months, the centre has to use a ton of water to keep equipment cool, especially as Iowa experiences rising temperatures due to climate change.

The water is drawn from nearby watersheds including the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers to cool the supercomputer that develops AI systems, the Associated Press reported. However, local waterways also provide drinking water for nearby communities. The volume used by the data centres has become a concern for the local utility company, West Des Moines Water Works.

A document from the utility dated April 2022 outlined that officials and the utility will only “consider future data centre projects beyond Microsoft Data Center Project Ginger East and West” unless the new projects can significantly lower their water usage. “This approach to resource conservation will help preserve the water supply for current and future commercial and residential needs of West Des Moines,” the document read.

Google, another tech giant that has heavily invested in AI products, has also seen a spike in water usage. An environmental report released this July outlined that the company’s water usage increased about 20% from 2021 to 2022. “We’re working to address the impact of our water consumption through our climate-conscious data centre cooling approach and water stewardship strategy,” a spokesperson told Gizmodo in an email this July.

As the planet becomes warmer, it may become harder for large tech companies to cool facilities. Many data centres are in cooler locations like the Pacific Northwest and states like Iowa in the upper Midwest, but neither location has been spared from heat waves.

Other tech companies have experienced challenges with keeping their centres online during especially hot weather. Last September, equipment at then Twitter’s data centre in Sacramento shut down during a heat wave. Increased instances of heat waves due to the climate crisis have also plagued data centres overseas. Last July, Google and Oracle’s London-based data centres went offline as England baked through sky-high temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius.

September 29, 2023 Posted by | technology, USA, water | Leave a comment

Cooling system at Zaporizhzhya stabilised – but military action in the area continues

In its Update 183 on the Ukraine situation International Atomic
Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi announced that Zaporizhzhya
Nuclear Power Plant has been drilling more wells at the site as part of
efforts to find new sources of cooling water following the destruction of
the downstream Kakhovka dam more than three months ago.

ZNPP has built
another two groundwater wells to supply the sprinkler ponds that cool the
six reactors and spent fuel, bringing the total of new wells to nine.
Together they pump around 200 cubic metres of water per hour into the
sprinkler ponds, representing most of the cooling needs of the six shutdown
reactors.

The remainder of the water comes from the drainage system and
clean water that is periodically discharged from the plant’s chemical
water treatment facility. The IAEA has been informed that the water supply
situation will be assessed after a tenth well has been constructed to see
if more will be needed.

September 21, 2023 Posted by | Ukraine, water | Leave a comment

South Korea will expand the number of spots for water testing amid concerns over the release of nuclear waste from Japan’s crippled Fukushima power plant.

Seoul plans to raise the number of testing spots to nearly 250 next year, said South Korean Oceans Minister Cho Seung-hwan.

About a month ahead of Tokyo’s release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant in August, South Korea had begun “emergency radiation tests on samples from a total of 75 coastal locations in the east, west and south of South Korea, as well as the waters off the southern island of Jeju,” Seoul-based Yonhap News reported on Monday.

“We chose the spots, as they are expected to have the released waters first given the sea current. We will add more locations to the list, particularly in the East Sea, to further ensure safety,” said Cho, after visiting a test spot off the southern port city of Busan last week.

Seoul is also conducting radiation tests on 33 points from more distant areas, the minister said.

Tokyo began releasing the nuclear waste on Aug. 24, triggering a sharp reaction from China and opposition parties in South Korea.

Beijing has imposed a blanket ban on imports of seafood from Japan.

Today, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo refuted claims that Beijing had “refused to join” the International Atomic Energy Agency’s international monitoring mechanism.

Early this month, Seoul warned it will take Japan to the UN if Tokyo does not follow its original plan about releasing the treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The warning came after Seoul called for a discussion on the potential impacts on the marine environment while Japan ignored the call  https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/south-korea-to-expand-water-testing-amid-concerns-over-japan-s-nuclear-waste/2994594

September 20, 2023 Posted by | oceans, South Korea | Leave a comment

Radioactive discharge from Fukushima nuclear plant raising concerns on California coast.

CBS News, BY ANNE MAKOVEC, MOLLY MCCREA, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A controversial plan to release more than one million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea is now underway in Japan, giving scientists here in the Bay Area pause as well as those who seek escape on the open water. 

Near Fort Cronkhite in the Marin Headlands recently, surfer Jason Gittens contemplated what is means to be able to enjoy the open oceans. For him, the Pacific Ocean is a treasure………………..

……………………………………………………………….. Recently, protestors have gathered in Tokyo and in parts of South Korea. They oppose Japan’s release of more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean which started on August 24.

Soon after, China announced a ban on all imported Japanese fish because of the release.

That prompted the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, to go shopping for Fukushima fish in a supermarket and to chow down sushi to show support for Japan in front of the news media……………………………………………

The damaged reactors are still hot. There is a massive amount of melted nuclear fuel and fuel debris inside them and they require constant cooling.

‘Water was used to cool the reactors and it is still needed to cool the reactors,” explained UC Berkeley nuclear engineering professor Dr. Kal Vetter. The water used for cooling turns radioactive. …………………

The water is cooling the molten cores of the Fukushima reactors from the time of the accident,” said Dr. Arjun Makhijani. “It’s coming into direct contact with highly radioactive fission products and plutonium. So that’s why the water gets extremely radioactive.”

Makhijani is a nuclear fusion expert and president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER).

In addition to the cooling water that is pumped inside, groundwater has seeped into the site, and rainwater has fallen on the damaged reactors and turbines. All this water is now contaminated with radioactivity. The tainted water is collected, filtered, and stored on-site in specially prepared tanks.

……………………………….The discharging of the radioactive waters will take at least 30 years and will be controlled and monitored not just by Japanese officials, but by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). “The monitoring remains critical,” advised Vetter,…………………………………

 Makhijani and Dalnoki-Veress remain concerned. Both belong to a panel of experts representing the Pacific Islands Forum. The panel consulted with Japan over its intentions to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean and found the decision to release “regrettable.”

“There’s a lot of things that can go wrong,” said Dalnoki-Veress.

Tritiated water remains a concern for the panel. Makhijani recently wrote the book “Exploring Tritium’s Danger,” which challenges many long-held beliefs about the radioactive substance. He maintains that the impacts of tritium on human health, especially when taken into the body, warrant much more attention. 

Makhijani told CBS News Bay Area that in addition to the discharges, we all must pay more attention to what else we’re putting into the oceans.

“Because it’s not just this dumping,’ he said. “The oceans are under extreme stress. They’re under heat stress. They’re under acid stress, they’re under plastic stress.”

The oceans cover 72% of the earth and supplies half its oxygen. They also absorb 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere.

A recent poll conducted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Consortium on the Ocean’s Role in Climate found Americans care deeply about the ocean and that the majority worry about how climate change is impacting the ocean’s health.

………………………………”We used to think in the old days, “Out of sight, out of mind.” And they just dump stuff in the ocean,” said Gittens. “Well, now it’s not so out-of-sight, and going forward, I worry about my kids. Are they going to enjoy the ocean as much as I do?”  https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/radioactive-discharge-from-fukushima-nuclear-plant-raising-concerns-on-california-coast/

September 17, 2023 Posted by | oceans, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium Mining Protections Needed Across the West

The Biden administration needs to protect communities and water supplies across the West from the dangers of uranium mining.

Geoffrey H. Fettus Senior Attorney, Nuclear, Climate & Clean Energy Program

President Biden’s designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument will go far in protecting the rich cultural and ecological value of this majestic landscape. It will safeguard some of the most iconic public lands in the American West from the ravages of destructive mining and destructive waste. This protection has been a top priority for tribes in the area, and the designation is long overdue.

“That’s our aboriginal homelands,” Dianna Sue Uqualla, a Havasupai tribal council member, told the Bureau of Land Management at a public meeting according to Bloomberg Law. The monument will “keep at bay these mining people that are coming in,” and will protect the Grand Canyon from companies that are “desecrating, raping the Mother Earth.” 

This is wonderful news, but there is much more to be done about uranium mining across the American West. And there’s also a lot of misinformation out there that muddies what should be a clear path forward to protecting all the people and watersheds of the West from unchecked uranium mining. 

Uranium mining contaminated tribal lands for decades

The uranium mining industry has left a dreadful history of contamination and harm across vast swathes of the American West, but especially with respect to the Indigenous People who call this area home. It’s a complicated history that intertwines with the Manhattan Project and the Cold War, and it’s a legacy that has yet to be addressed. 

On Navajo land alone, nearly four million tons of uranium ore were extracted from 1944 to 1986. The industry and the U.S. government left behind hundreds of abandoned uranium mines, four inactive uranium milling sites, a former dump site, and the widespread contamination of land and water; this includes the 1979 collapse of a tailings dam in Church Rock, New Mexico, that deposited 93 million gallons of radioactive and chemically contaminated liquid and 1,100 tons of solid radioactive tailings into the Rio Puerco, contaminating the river for more than 60 miles downstream. After decades of pressure, the government has finally started to assess and mitigate this contamination. 

Much is left to be done: More than 500 abandoned uranium mines remain on Navajo land. 

We need new standards 

Back in 2016, the Obama administration was poised to take action on uranium mining standards, but then Donald Trump was elected president. It will come as no surprise that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Trump administration cast aside the Obama EPA’s long-overdue protective environmental standards. In an about-face, the Trump EPA and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) moved to weaken uranium mining rules. 

Once Biden took office in 2021, NRDC had hoped for a new approach. So far, however, we haven’t heard anything from either the EPA or NRC, despite repeated requests by NRDC and other major environmental groups, tribal representatives, and regional groups across the West.

It is time for the EPA to clear the obstacles and move forward on the uranium protections it drew up years ago.

The Biden administration can begin to protect the communities and water resources that have been negatively affected by uranium mining for decades by taking two steps: (1) dissolving a 2020 memorandum of understanding between the EPA and NRC that undercuts the EPA’s ability to enact standards; and (2) issuing protective uranium in situ mining standards that have been sitting on a shelf for years. ……………………………………………………………….

more https://www.nrdc.org/bio/geoffrey-h-fettus/uranium-mining-protections-needed-across-west?fbclid=IwAR2Hafe0PnFW-p5cPU2Cp85i6Azz9D5VHgZ5PH4gjUv2WKaGIULw_zTYMDQ—

September 16, 2023 Posted by | environment, indigenous issues, USA | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »