Deception and mistrust crippled Japan’s response to Fukushima disaster
many of the residents around the plant who evacuated went north, on the assumption that winds blew south during winter in that area. That took them directly into the radioactive plume, he said — exposing them to the very radiation that they were fleeing….
In Nuclear Crisis, Crippling Mistrust NYT, By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER, June 12, 2011 “…..it became clear that a prime minister who had built his career on suspicion of the collusive ties between Japan’s industry and bureaucracy was acting nearly in the dark. He had received a confusing risk analysis from the chief nuclear regulator, a fervently pro-nuclear academic whom aides said Mr. Kan did not trust. He was also wary of the company that operated the plant, given its history of trying to cover up troubles… Continue reading
Murky background to plan for nuclear plant in Belarus
Rep. Dan Burton: 25 Years After Chernobyl, Russia and Belarus Still Don’t Get It, HUFFINGTON POST, 13 June 11“…..a new nuclear power plant set for construction this fall on former Soviet territory raises alarm at how little has been learned.What set Chernobyl apart from Fukushima more than anything else was the way the closed Soviet regime responded to the disaster, remaining in denial for weeks that a catastrophe was unfolding. The same could occur in Belarus, which is currently ruled by an autocratic leader who falsified his own reelection last December. Belarus and Russia’s mishandling of the proposal to build a reactor near Astraviec, a town in western Belarus, is a warning sign the West should not ignore. Again, we see the potential lack of transparency, international coordination, and communication……..
Rep. Dan Burton: 25 Years After Chernobyl, Russia and Belarus Still Don’t Get It
UN reports on Syria’s nuclear program
U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Presses Case Against Syria, NYT, By DAN BILEFSKY June 9, 2011 UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations nuclear watchdog voted Thursday to report Syria to the Security Council, citing Syria’s construction of a covert nuclear reactor and its failure to cooperate with investigators, diplomats said……Citing a lack of confidence that Syria’s nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and pointing to a history of concealment by Damascus, the I.A.E.A. resolution says that the destroyed Dair Alzour site was “very likely a nuclear reactor and should have been declared by Syria.”
The 15-member Security Council has the power to rebuke Syria by urging it to cooperate with the I.A.E.A. and imposing sanctions against the country, as it has done in the case ofIran’s nuclear program. But Russia and China, two veto-wielding members of the Security Council, voted against the resolution, underlining international divisions over how to approach Damascus and signaling that punitive measures against the Syrian government were unlikely.
Syria has said the Dair Alzour site was a non-nuclear facility and has denied having a secret nuclear program. It has urged the I.A.E.A. to focus on Israel and allegations about its own covert nuclear activities…..http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/world/middleeast/10nations.html
A big conflict of interest in the International Atomic Energy Agency
…it controls research on health issues surrounding radiation that should then feed into its safety standards.
.. it promotes nuclear power. According to the statutes of the agency, the objective of the IAEA is to ‘accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy’.
Can you begin to see the conflicts of interest here? An organisation charged with promoting nuclear power around the world also controls nuclear safety and health standards. It’s like expecting a tobacco company to prevent lung cancer.
No confidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency, Greenpeace International by Justin – June 3, 2011 The IAEA was at Fukushima to assess the situation at the disaster site in its role as the global nuclear watchdog and regulator. The problem is that that’s not the organisations only role. The IAEA is a four-headed beast: Continue reading
Japanese actor punished for his anti nuclear stance
“I received an email from my manager today. ‘Your planned role in a July 8 drama has gone away because of your statements regarding nuclear power plants.’”…
It’s Not Easy Being Antinuclear – Japan Real Time – WSJ* May 30, 2011, By Yoree Koh It’s a difficult time to trumpet the virtues of nuclear energy in Japan, but it appears naysayers are finding that speaking out can have negative consequences. Continue reading
Japanese buying Geiger counters, don’t trust govt information on radiation
Demand for personal Geiger counters soars in Japan, Reuters, By Chiaki Kawase, TOKYO May 25, 2011 – With a nuclear plant just 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo still leaking radiation, demand for personal Geiger counters has skyrocketed in the Japanese capital and manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the demand…..With many people unsure of who to trust for their information, some buy Geiger counters to check for themselves……
plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) confirmed on Tuesday that the fuel rods at three reactors at the plant had melted down. Radioactive traces exceeding national safety standards have been found in various foods grown in areas around the plant as well as in tap water in places as far away as Tokyo, keeping residents on edge.
“I don’t think that the information you got are the real information in Japan. That’s the problem,” said restaurant chef Bruno Menard, noting that a French company he had checked with that morning for radiation levels had said levels were very high around Fukushima.
“Especially when it’s raining we have to be concerned.”….Demand for personal Geiger counters soars in Japan | Reuters
France’s nuclear weapons program secretly was helped by USA
US secretly helped French nuclear program: documents, Google News By Shaun Tandon (AFP) – 26 May 11, WASHINGTON — The United States secretly helped France develop advanced nuclear weapons in the 1970s as part of a bid by the Nixon administration to sow divisions in Europe, declassified US documents showed. Continue reading
Broadening spying on Julian Assange – Australian govt introduces new law
Last week the government introduced legislation to define ASIO’s role more broadly to include collection of intelligence ”about the capabilities, intentions or activities of people or organisations outside Australia.”..
ASIO eye on WikiLeaks,The Age 23 May 11, “………declassified official briefings do not support Ms Gillard’s public assertion that Assange broke Australian law by publishing leaked US government secrets. Continue reading
Texas environmental agency covered up radiation level in drinking water
Alpha radiation is emitted from radionuclides such as uranium and radium. While health scientists have said it poses little danger if someone is externally exposed to it, the experts maintain that ingesting even the smallest amount of the particles can cause damage to DNA, and in rare cases, cause cancer.
AUDIO http://www.khou.com/home/-Texas-politicians-knew-agency-hid-the-amount-of-radiation-in-drinking-water-122205439.html Texas politicians knew agency hid the amount of radiation in drinking water by Mark Greenblatt / KHOU 11 News May 19, 2011 HOUSTON— Newly-released e-mailsfrom the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality show the agency’s top commissioners directed staff to continue lowering radiation test results, in defiance of federal EPA rules. The e-mails and documents, released under order from the Texas Attorney General to KHOU-TV, also show the agency was attempting to help water systems get out of formally violating federal limits for radiation in drinking water. Without a formal violation, the water systems did not have to inform their residents of the increased health risk. Continue reading
Criminal cover up of workers’ radiation exposures at Piketon former nuclear plant
One of the first signs of trouble, Lawson said, was an irregularity with the badge worn by Walburn and other employees that detected and record radiation exposure.
“When I went to the health physics department and asked about it, they said, ‘We were told that he might sue, and they’re trying to make it easier to understand by saying he got a zero dose.'”
Lawson said Walburn’s worker’s compensation claims were denied in part because of altered records. Court records obtained by 10TV News detailed a pattern of changing dose level records of workers.
Ex EmployeesAllege crimes at Former Piketon Nuclear Materials Plant May 19, 2011 WBNS-10TV , PIKETON, Ohio — The future of a site where nuclear materials were once developed was being debated on Thursday, as former employees came forward with allegations of criminal conduct.
For nearly 60 years, the Pike County plant enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons, 10TV’s Glenn McEntyre reported. Continue reading
Radioactive pollution dumping in Malaysia, by Australian company Lynas
Fuziah Salleh is critical of what she says are lower environmental standards in Malaysia and double standards from Lynas…SINGH: If it’s reasonably that good, why don’t they do the processing within Australia, why send it to Malaysia? it is a classic example of a polluting industry being exported to a developing country………
Demonstrators are planning to rally outside the Australian Embassy in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpor on Friday. Radio Australia, 19 May 11, They’ll be protesting against the Australian mining company Lynas and its plans to process rare earths in Pahang state. Local communities and environmental groups have raised concerns over the management of radioactive waste. They say the waste product thorium will affect fishing, tourism and public health .. while the Malaysian government has also asked for more information.
Backscatter Airport Radiation Tests Were Faked
Even physics professors question the TSA’s obvious cover-up
The evidence of the TSA’s fakery is now obvious thanks to the revelations of a 
letter signed by five professors from the University of California, San Francisco and Arizona State University.
TSA Backscatter Radiation Safety Tests Were Rigged, Lew Rockwell.com, by Mike Adams , 18 May 11 It can now be revealed by NaturalNews that the TSA faked its safety data on its X-ray airport scanners in order to deceive the public about the safety of such devices. Continue reading
Japan: collusion of govt, nuclear regulators, plant operators, courts
The lawsuits reveal a disturbing pattern in which operators underestimated or hid seismic dangers to avoid costly upgrades and keep operating. And the fact that virtually all these suits were unsuccessful reinforces the widespread belief in Japan that a culture of collusion supporting nuclear power, including the government, nuclear regulators and plant operators, extends to the courts as well.
Japanese Officials Ignored or Concealed Dangers, New York Times, By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER, May 16, 2011 OMAEZAKI, Japan — The nuclear power plant, lawyers argued, could not withstand the kind of major earthquake that new seismic research now suggested was likely.
If such a quake struck, electrical power could fail, along with backup generators, crippling the cooling system, the lawyers predicted. The reactors would then suffer a meltdown and start spewing radiation into the air and sea. Tens of thousands in the area would be forced to flee.
Although the predictions sound eerily like the sequence of events at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the lawsuit was filed nearly a decade ago to shut down another plant, long considered the most dangerous in Japan — the Hamaoka station. Continue reading
Nuclear safety body’s independence is questioned
Scientists welcome move to set up independent nuclear body PTI,May 15,2011 (Reopens BOM2) .” ……..The legislation for an independent authority is in the drafting stage currently and some DAE experts (who do not wish to be quoted) said the body would be better-off if it is not placed under a Ministry as has been suggested by some. They fear such a move would adversely affect radiation safety in the country. “It is a highly probable scenario becasue once it is under a Ministry, the present informal method of tapping all available scientific expertise within DAE would have to go through an inter-Ministerial bureaucratic mechanism,” they maintained. ,,,,,Scientists welcome move to set up independent nuclear body, IBN Live News
USA secret nuclear tests and coverups
America’s Secret Nuclear Test Revealed in Area 51, The Daily Beast, by Annie Jacobsen 13 May 11In her explosive new book, Area 51, investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen reveals for the first time secret nuclear tests and a nuclear space rocket meltdown. Plus, she explains how she uncovered the real story. Continue reading
1 This Month
26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- September 2026 (323)
- August 2026 (330)
- July 2026 (355)
- June 2026 (287)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (267)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (375)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
