Japanese court admits radiation risk to children, but rules out evacuation
Japan court rejects demand to evacuate kids, acknowledges radiation risk The Associated Press CTV News, , April 25, 2013 TOKYO – A Japanese court has rejected a demand that a city affected by the fallout of the country’s 2011 nuclear disaster evacuate its children. The unusual lawsuit was filed on behalf of the children by their parents and anti-nuclear activists in June 2011. The Sendai High Court handed down its ruling Wednesday.
The case had drawn international attention because it touched the uncertainties about the effects of continuous low-dose radiation on health, especially that of children, who are far more vulnerable than adults.
The lawsuit argued the city of Koriyama had legal responsibility to evacuate children at elementary schools and junior-high schools, which are part of compulsory education under Japanese law.
The court acknowledged radiation in the city exceeded levels deemed safe prior to the disaster. But it said the government shoulders no responsibility for evacuating the schools as demanded — in effect, telling people to leave on their own if they were worried. Continue reading
Rejection of evacuation claim for Japanese children – is this justice?
Japan court rejects demand to evacuate children while acknowledging radiation risks on health http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/24/japan-court-rejects-demand-to-evacuate-children-while-acknowledging-radiation/#ixzz2RWzeEca2 April 24, 2013 Associated Press
TOKYO – A Japanese court has rejected a demand that a city affected by the fallout of the country’s 2011 nuclear disaster evacuate its children.
The unusual lawsuit was filed on behalf of the children by their parents and anti-nuclear activists in June 2011. The Sendai High Court handed down its ruling Wednesday.
The case had drawn international attention because it touched the uncertainties about the effects of continuous low-dose radiation on health, especially that of children.
The court acknowledged radiation exceeded levels deemed safe prior to the disaster. But it said the government shoulders no responsibility for evacuating the schools as demanded — in effect, telling people to leave on their own if they were worried.
Strange developments in the Julian Assange legal affair
Assange blasted Justice Lindskog – who is chair of the Supreme Court of Sweden, the
country’s highest court of appeal – for his decision to publicly discuss the case. “If an Australian High Court judge came out and spoke on a case the court expected or was likely to judge, it would be regarded as absolutely outrageous,” he told Fairfax media.WikiLeaks characterized the judge’s lecture as part of the Swedish government campaign against Assange, following Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt’s recent visit to Australia.
“The head of Swedish Supreme Court campaigning on a case they expect to judge with $ from the embassy in the run up to an election,” the group wrote on Twitter.
Assange legal shakeup: Prosecutor walks, Supreme Court judge to speak out on case RT March 28, 2013 The lead Swedish prosecutor pursuing sexual assault charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is no longer handling the case, media reports revealed. Her departure comes as a top Swedish judge is set to speak publicly on the ‘Assange affair.’ Continue reading
EU rules do not permit UK to give nuclear operators fixed prices
British nuclear support plans flout EU rules: lawyers, Climate Spectator, 22 Mar 13 Britain’s plans to reward nuclear plant operators through fixed prices for low-carbon energy are illegal under existing EU rules and efforts to adapt them are likely to draw opposition from other member states, EU and legal sources said.
Britain plans to reform its electricity market to fix a minimum price for nuclear, wind and solar-generated power, which is carbon free.
The proposals are being assessed by the British parliament but the subsidy instruments, named contracts-for-difference (CfDs), will also require approval from the European Commission, the EU executive, under state aid rules.
“Neither under the current (…) nor under possible future frameworks could the CfD scheme for nuclear generators be declared compatible with European state aid rules,” said Doerte Fouquet, a lawyer specialised in EU law at Becker Buettner Held in Brussels. Continue reading
USA Navy Men – legal action grows, over Fukushima radiation exposure
The plaintiffs say they are suffering a range of disorders related to radiation exposure, from headaches and difficulty concentrating to rectal bleeding, thyroid problems, cancer and gynecological bleeding.
”At all times relevant herein, the Japanese government kept representing that there was no danger of radiation contamination to the USS Reagan (CVN-76) and/or its crew, that ‘everything is under control,’ ‘all is OK, you can trust us,’ and there is ‘no immediate danger’ or threat to human life, all the while lying through their teeth about the reactor meltdowns at FNPP,” lawyers stated in the complaint.
More U.S. military join lawsuit over Fukushima exposure By Peter Shadbolt, CNN March 19, 2013 – Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) faces mounting damages from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster as more U.S. servicemembers joined a lawsuit accusing the Japanese national utility of lying about the risks involved in an aid effort to the stricken area in 2011.
Attorneys said the number of plaintiffs had grown to 26 from an initial eight, who filed their original lawsuit in December, and that 100 more were ready to join the lawsuit which is now seeking more than $2 billion, the Stars and Stripes newspaper reported late last week.
READ: TEPCO accused of lying over Fukushima
TEPCO confirmed that more plaintiffs had been added to the court petition filed with the U.S. District Court in California in December but did not give details…..
The amended lawsuit increases the amount of damages lawyers are seeking for crew aboard the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and other service vessels in the area who say they are suffering continuing health problems from the rescue effort that followed the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan on March 11, 2011, crippling reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Continue reading
Legal win for the Grand Canyon against uranium minng
Judge Upholds Uranium Mining Ban on 1 Million Acres Near Grand Canyon http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2013/uranium-mining-03-20-2013.html GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK— U.S. District Judge David Campbell today denied a uranium industry motion to overturn the Obama administration’s ban on new uranium mining on 1 million acres near the Grand Canyon. The ban was adopted January 2012 to protect the Grand Canyon’s watersheds. The withdrawal prohibits new mining claims and development on old claims that lack “valid existing rights” to mine.
“It’s a great day for the Grand Canyon, and for rivers, wildlife, and communities across the West,” said Ted Zukoski of Earthjustice, one the attorneys representing conservation groups and the Havasupai tribe in the case. “The uranium industry was hoping to cripple the Interior Department’s ability to temporarily protect lands from destructive mining. Today’s opinion upholds the Interior Department’s authority to take such protective measures.” Continue reading
European laws on competition may stall UK’s nuclear power plans
Nuclear power plans threatened by European commission investigation Proposed nuclear reactor in Somerset could be delayed by two years if competition directorate launches full-scale investigation, Juliette Jowit and Ian Traynor The Guardian, 14 March 2013 Britain’s planned nuclear reactor programme could be delayed for years, and the nation’s long-term energy policy thrown into turmoil, as European commission officials launch the first stage of a formal investigation into the use of taxpayer subsidies to support the development.
Sources in Brussels have indicated that Britain hopes to win approval for a multibillion-pound deal with French energy giant EDF at the initial stage, which usually takes two months.
But if after a preliminary investigation the EC’s competition directorate decides to launch a full-scale investigation, that would last at least 18 months and probably two years or more. Such an outcome is made more likely by reports that ministers and EDF are discussing a minimum or “strike” price for the nuclear-generated electricity of a little under £100 per megawatt hour – nearly double the current market rate. Continue reading
Court martial of Bradley Manning, for telling the truth, and being humane
I am the type of person who likes to know how things work. And, as an analyst, this means I always want to figure out the truth
Bradley Manning’s personal statement to court martial: full text 
Guardian UK , Alexa O’Brien 1 March 13“…..The fact neither CENTCOM or Multi National Forces Iraq or MNF-I would not voluntarily release the video troubled me further. It was clear to me that the event happened because the aerial weapons team mistakenly identified Reuters employees as a potential threat and that the people in the bongo truck were merely attempting to assist the wounded. The people in the van were not a threat but merely “good samaritans”. The most alarming aspect of the video to me, however, was the seemly delightful bloodlust they appeared to have.
The dehumanized the individuals they were engaging and seemed to not value human life by referring to them as quote “dead bastards” unquote and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers. At one point in the video there is an individual on the ground attempting to crawl to safety. The individual is seriously wounded. Instead of calling for medical attention to the location, one of the aerial weapons team crew members verbally asks for the wounded person to pick up a weapon so that he can have a reason to engage. For me, this seems similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.
While saddened by the aerial weapons team crew’s lack of concern about human life, I was disturbed by the response of the discovery of injured children at the scene. In the video, you can see that the bongo truck driving up to assist the wounded individual. In response the aerial weapons team crew – as soon as the individuals are a threat, they repeatedly request for authorization to fire on the bongo truck and once granted they engage the vehicle at least six times. Continue reading
Full text transcript of Bradley Manning’s statement to court martial
Bradley Manning’s personal statement to court martial: full text Guardian UK , 1 March 13,
In the absence of a full official copy of Manning’s statement, journalists have had to rely on their own note-taking from court Bradley Manning read out a personal statement to the court in Fort Meade, Maryland, at a pre-trial hearing over his prosecution for leaking the largest trove of state secrets in US history. It provides the first account in his own words and under his own name of how he came to download hundreds of thousands of classified documents and videos from secure military databases and transmit them to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
The US government has refused to publish contemporaneous transcripts and documents from the Manning court martial, prompting legal complaints from open government groups. In the absence of a full official copy of Manning’s statement, journalists covering the case have had to rely on their own note-taking from the courtroom.
Here the Guardian publishes a transcript compiled by independent journalist Alexa O’Brien, who has been covering the pre-trial hearings. It provides the most comprehensive and accurate account of a highly significant statement. This transcript was compiled by O’Brien from her contemporaneous notes, not from a recording nor from an official document. Inevitably, it may contain errors…..http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/01/bradley-manning-wikileaks-statement-full-text
Legal action by residents of Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki against Japanese govt and TEPCO
NHK: Residents from outside Fukushima to sue gov’t over radioactive contamination — Compensation for health concerns (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/nhk-residents-miyagi-ibaraki-sue-govt-fukushima-contamination-victims-request-compensation-health-concerns-video
Title: Fukushima people to sue govt., TEPCO
Source: NHK
Date: Feb. 8, 2013
h/t Anonymous tip
[…] About 350 residents of Fukushima, Miyagi, Ibaraki and other prefectures will participate in the [class] action against the national government and Tokyo Electric Power Company.
At a news conference on Friday in Fukushima City, their representatives said they will demand that the defendants reduce the radiation levels of the areas where they have homes to those before the nuclear accident in March 2011.
They will also seek some 550 dollars per plaintiff per month in compensation for health concerns and indirect damage to their businesses. […]
NHK: “Some evacuees are so fed up they’re taking legal action…”
Lawyer: “This case has huge significance because we’re trying to show that blame not only lies with Tepco, but also with the government.”
Fukushima survivors to file class action lawsuit against Japanese govt, plant operator
A TEPCO spokesman admitted that the utility gave inaccurate information to the parliamentary commission but claims it did not intentionally lie about conditions within the structure.
In July a parliamentary report said Fukushima was a man-made disaster stemming from Japan’s culture of “reflexive obedience.”
Published: 08 February, 2013, 20:10
Edited: 09 February, 2013, 02:51
RT
At least 350 people affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown will file a class action lawsuit against the Japanese government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on the second anniversary of the disaster.
This handout picture, taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) on March 18, 2011 and released on February 1, 2013 shows water discharged against unit 3 reactor building at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant at Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture. (AFP Photo/TEPCO)
Lawyers representing residents whose homes and farms were hit by radiation in the wake of the disaster said it was the largest suit on the issue filed against the government.
The plaintiffs will further seek some US$535 each in compensation from TEPCO for every month they have been displaced as a result of the accident.
They also plan to seek a court injunction that will require both the government and TEPCO to reduce radiation levels in the affected area to pre-disaster levels.
The suit will be filed on March 11, the two-year anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Several other similar class-action suits against both the government and TEPCO will be filed with the Tokyo District Court on the same day.
“The government promoted nuclear power as a national policy and has been closely involved with it,” lawyer Izutaro Managi told AAP news agency.
“Being fully aware of the danger of losing power due to a tsunami, the government neglected its duty to prevent such an event,” he said. “This is a suit to recover a Fukushima with neither radiation nor nuclear power,” he continued.
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami crashed into the power station and knocked out its cooling system leading to the meltdown of three reactor cores. Tens of thousands were forced to flee the area and many are still unable to return.
TEPCO ‘lies’ to government
With residents preparing to sue the government and TEPCO for their role in the worst nuclear disaster in a generation, on Thursday the power company found itself in hot water for allegedly misleading a government panel over possible quake damage to its reactor building.
TEPCO said that radiation levels were “dreadfully high” in order to prevent an onsite inspection of its crippled nuclear plant, according to Mitsuhiko Tanaka, a former member of the now-disbanded Diet commission, which had been tasked with uncovering the cause of the nuclear crisis.
The commission had hoped to determine to see if the isolation condensers – key safety components at nuclear plants – had been damaged in the earthquake.
The National Diet is Japan’s bicameral legislature. It consists of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councilors.
TEPCO had denied they were damaged in the quake and falsified actual conditions within the plant to keep inspectors out, Tanaka said in a statement submitted to the chiefs of the two Diet chambers on Thursday.
Toshimitsu Tamai, then chief of TEPCO’s corporate planning department, urged Tanaka not to carry out the probe in light of major safety concerns, saying “If you got lost, you would run into areas with dreadfully high levels of radiation,” The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports.
“Zombie” uranium mines can keep operating near Grand Canyon
conservation groups that had challenged the decision to reopen Arizona
1 said the court’s ruling sets a precedent that will let “zombie
mines” operate under old regulations and ignore years of new
environmental science.
“They are basically zombie mines that will live perpetually without
ever being subject to new environmental reviews,”
Appeals court upholds reopening of uranium mine near Grand Canyon By
Mary Shinn, Cronkite News Service February 5, 2013
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court Monday upheld the government’s
decision to let a uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park
continue to operate under environmental standards now decades old. Continue reading
Federal court rules against Cameco getting money from uranium spill ship
No money for Cameco after sale of ship that had uranium spill By Kevin O’Connor CBC News Feb 7, 2013 Saskatchewan mining company Cameco will not get any money from the sale of a ship that once had a uranium spill at sea — and that it spent millions cleaning up.
Instead, according to a recent Federal Court decision, a German bank that held a mortgage on the shipping vessel MCP Altona will get most of the $4.6 million raised when it was sold.
The case stems from an incident at sea two years ago….. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2013/02/07/sk-radioactive-spill-on-boat-case-1302.html
$35 million awarded to Sacramento utility over nuclear waste
Sacramento utility gets $35M in nuclear waste case, SF Gate, February 1, 2013 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal court has awarded nearly $35 million to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District because of the federal government’s failure to build a permanent home to store nuclear waste.
The utility filed had filed suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking to recover $80 million in payments it was required to make from 1992 to 2009 to eventually house nuclear waste from the closed Rancho Seco plant near Sacramento.
Since Rancho Seco closed in 1989, the utility has been storing the spent fuel because Congress never opened its planned facility at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain….. similar lawsuits have been filed across the country…….
Court puts Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the spot, about public participation
“Now the burden isn’t on the public to show why they need to be part of the exemption process,’’
“The burden is on the N.R.C. to show why they shouldn’t be.
Court Seeks More Public Input on Nuclear Safety, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, 9 Jan 13 A federal appeals court has ruled that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must either allow more public participation in its decisions about fire safety at the Indian Point 3 nuclear reactor or to show why such input is impractical or inappropriate.
A lawsuit brought by Richard L. Brodsky a former New York State assemblyman and opponent of Indian Point, involves exemptions granted by the commission from compliance with some fire regulations. Like many reactors around the country, Indian Point installed a fire retardant called Hemyc around critical electric cables in the 1980s to meet a rule that the cables had to be safe from fire for one hour. But the material turned out to be nowhere near as fire-resistant as advertised. Continue reading
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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