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Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s State of the Art Spin on ionising radiation

Nuclear accidents pose little risk to health: NRC The study found there was “essentially zero risk” to the public of early fatalities due to radiation exposure following a severe accident.

The long-term risk of dying from cancer due to radiation exposure after an accident was less than one in a billion and less than the U.S. average risk of dying from other causes of cancer, which is about two in one thousand.

The study, called the State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analyses (SOARCA), looked at the radiological health consequences for potential severe accidents at Exelon Corp’s Peach Bottom nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and Dominion’s Surry nuclear plant in Virginia.

February 2, 2012 Posted by | spinbuster, USA | Leave a comment

Small modular nuclear reactors” – is this REALLY “a way for USA to regain leadership in nuclear”

from a strictly commercial perspective, there is no reason to use nuclear power at all. The capital costs are enormous and the operations and maintenance costs are very high, to say nothing liability insurance.

daviddelosangeles  comments on  Feds To Finance Small Nuclear Reactor Designs, Ucilia Wang, Forbes, 21 Jan 12,   “The key question is would that there need to be a certain minimum number of these [small nuclear] reactors in service for a civilian nuclear power system based on these smaller reactors to operate successfully. This is true for mining, processing, research, and waste disposal. It is not clear that that “critical mass” of reactors could be developed in the current environment.

The decision of the Federal government in the 1950′s to subsidize the creation of the civilian nuclear power industry (e.g. The Price-Anderson Act) was made because nuclear power was not commercially viable but the military needed a nuclear power industry (naval powered submarines – and later aircraft carriers- and nuclear warheads for the air force).

The military alone could achieve the necessary critical mass. A federally subsidized commercial nuclear power industry was the answer. Continue reading →

January 21, 2012 Posted by | spinbuster, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

“cold shutdown” – incorrect words to hide the truth on Fukushima

News of a “cold shutdown” sounds like a PR smokescreen.

Redefining “Cold shutdown” doesn’t hide the truth about Fukushima Greenpeace, by Justin McKeating – December 20, 2011 The Japanese authorities stated last Friday that Fukushima is in a state of “cold shutdown. This is not true. At first glance, the announcement that the stricken nuclear reactors are now “stable” sounds like some rare good news from the disaster zone. Not at all. As we all know, first impressions can be deceptive.

The industry definition of “cold shutdown” means that the temperature inside a nuclear reactor has stabilized below 95℃ from the hellish temperatures of the nuclear fission process. In the case of Fukushima, this suggests the crisis is over. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the Japanese authorities have cheated by redefining  “cold shutdown” to suit the situation at Fukushima. Continue reading →

December 21, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Nationalise Fukushima nuclear plant – to get to the truth- says Japan’s former Prime Minister

Hatoyama: Nationalize Fukushima N-plant The Yomiuri Shimbun, 18 Dec 11 Only by bringing the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into government hands can scientists thoroughly discover what caused the nuclear crisis, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says in an article published in the Dec. 15 issue of the British science journal Nature.

In the two-page article coauthored by Hatoyama and Tomoyuki Taira, a fellow Democratic Party of Japan member of the House of Representatives, Hatoyama said the Fukushima plant “must be nationalized so that information can be gathered openly.”

“A special science council should be created to help scientists from various disciplines to work together on the analyses,” he said. “Through such a council, the technologies needed for decommissioning and decontamination…can be developed.”

It is extremely rare for a major science journal to carry an article written by a former prime minister as a cover story, according to an official of Nature Japan.

In the article, Hatoyama criticizes Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the crippled plant, for disclosing only limited information to Diet committees. He also hints at the possibility of recriticality at the plant and says there is still much about the crisis that needs clarification, including the state of the molten fuel within the nuclear reactors.

Hatoyama also says that he and Taira obtained data on samples of contaminated water TEPCO obtained from the basement of the plant’s No. 1 reactor and asked an outside research institute to reanalyze them…. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111215005428.htm

December 19, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | 1 Comment

Working at Fukushima nuclear plant likely to be a death sentence?

 Government was likely avoiding the huge task of evacuating major cities like Iwaki and Fukushima.

He also expressed concern for those working to recover the plant. He said: “Working at Fukushima is equivalent to being given an order to die”…..

Fukushima nuclear shutdown: ‘No progress is being made’ ZDNet By Hana Stewart-Smith | December 16, 2011, Summary: The Japanese government says that troubled nuclear plant
Fukushima is under control. But an undercover journalist suggests that no progress is being made towards recovery.

The Japanese government announced publicly today that the troubled Fukushima plant is now under control, having achieved a ‘cold shutdown‘….This is reassuring news for the public after the reactor sprung a leak earlier this month, pouring out an estimated 45 tonnes
of radioactive water, which may have reached the sea….
However, freelance journalist Tomohiko Suzuki, who worked undercover at Fukushima for over a month, disputed this news.      Suzuki spoke to reporters at a Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan conference yesterday, telling a very different story to the one officially given
by the Government. Continue reading →

December 19, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Nuclear “Cold Shutdown” – a good “spin” phrase, but not actually true

Again, should “Cold Shut Down” be a term applicable to broken reactors with molten cores in their basements?,  Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, December 19, 2011 probably not. The actual pressure vessels are empty and unsealed, and the state of the fuel and its precide disposition are unknowns. If you dont know the temperature and whereabouts of the fuel, how is that “cold shutdown”. The fuel has gone feral. Just like the industry.

Partial quote: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/japan-nuclear-crisis-cold-shutdown_n_1152889.html

Japan Nuclear Crisis: Prime Minister Says Tsunami-Devastated Nuclear Power Plant Has Reached Stable State Of ‘Cold Shutdown’

“…..The government said Fukushima Dai-ichi has reached cold shutdown “conditions”_ a cautious phrasing reflecting the fact that TEPCO cannot measure the temperatures of melted fuel in the damaged reactors in the same way as with normally functioning ones.”……  http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/

December 19, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

The term “cold shutdown” is not appropriate to the Fukushima nuclear reactors

Japanese Government speeds rezoning of contaminated areas. Paul Langley’s nuclear history blog 18 Dec 11  The appropriateness of the use of the term “cold shutdown” in relation to the Fukushima reactors in meltdown has been discussed in an editorial by the Mainichi Daily News, Japan, 17 Dec 2011. It is term applicable to a reactor in normal mode, not disaster failure meltdown mode.

The pressure vessels are essentially in a vastly abnormal state, and although the Japanese  Government  states venting of radionuclides has “significantly” stopped, things are still very abnormal in the Fukushima reactors. Neither TEPCO nor the Japanese  Government understands the true state of the escaped fuel, nor how much the reactor vessels have been eroded. Continue reading →

December 19, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear plant nowhere near ‘under control’ despite govt’s claims

The nuclear power lobbyists are the ones who can claim credit for stabilizing their own situation and getting the government under control.

 Fukushima power plant is far from ‘cold’,Deutsche Welle, Alexander Freund , 16 Dec 11 http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6682457,00.htm The Japanese government has claimed to have reached a cold shutdown in Fukushima. But experts are skeptical and believe it could take another 40 years to get the situation under control. Headlines from Japan surely sound good: Fukushima is under control, the dilapidated nuclear power plant is stable.

But these headlines are nothing more than a euphemism. The situation at Fukushima is nowhere near under control. Continue reading →

December 16, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Unreliable claim that Fukushima nuclear plant is now ‘stable’

TEPCO has not been able to take direct measurements of the temperatures at the bottoms of the containment vessels, and the site is still too radioactive for the fuel rods’ status to be visually confirmed.

Radiation levels are too high for people to get close to the reactors, leaving engineers and scientists to make important judgments using computer simulations, scattered bits of data and guesses.

Skeptics cast doubt on Fukushima status, even as Japan declares nuclear reactors ‘stable’ Christian Science Monitor, By Arthur Bright, December 16, 2011 Japan’s government declared that the damaged reactors from the Fukushima disaster were ‘stable.’ Not everyone is convinced.   The Japanese government announced that the Fukushima nuclear complex, heavily damaged by the March 11 tsunami in the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, is now stable.  But serious doubts remain about Fukushima’s status, as officials remain unable to confirm the status of the reactors’ fuel and an undercover report impugns the clean-up efforts’ efficacy.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told a government nuclear emergency meeting that “The reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown” and are “stable,”
reports Reuters.  Mr. Noda and his environment and
nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono, both said that the situation at
the plant is under control , though the clean-up may still take decades.  The Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which operates the reactor and has been leading the clean-up, had been attempting to achieve cold shutdown before the end of the year. Continue reading →

December 16, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Climate change deniers attack renewable energy in North Carolina

Climate-warming opponents join forces against NC renewable-energy program Xpress, By Jeff Fobes on 12/11/2011  Progressive think-tank and news outlet Facing South reports:
Climate-science deniers with ties to the fossil-fuel industry have joined forces in an assault on North Carolina’s renewable energy program and particularly wind power, which has been making big gains in the U.S. in recent years. Continue reading →

December 12, 2011 Posted by | spinbuster | Leave a comment

Individual landowners responsible for radioactive material on their lands – says TEPCO

“Radioactive materials that scattered and fell from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant belong to individual landowners there, not Tepco,” the company said. 

Adding Insult to Injury TEPCO: Fukushima Radiation Isn’t Our Problem Counter Punch, by JOHN LaFORGE, 8 Dec 11,  In the amoral milieu of the corporate bottom line, you can’t blame Tokyo Electric Power Co. for trying.

Tepco owns the 6-reactor Fukushima complex that was wrecked by Japan’s March 11 earthquake and smashed by the resulting tsunami. It faces more than $350 billion in compensation and clean-up costs, as well as likely prosecution for withholding crucial information that may have prevented some radiation exposures and for operating the giant station after being warned about the inadequacy of its protections against disasters. Continue reading →

December 9, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Nuclear radiation treated lightly in new Japanese schoolbooks

 “They highlighted coexistence with radiation. They treated radiation risks lightly.” On the subcontractor, he said, “I don’t think it reasonable for an organization that promotes nuclear power generation to be entrusted with the project. Soul-searching on the nuclear accident is lacking.”

TEPCO boss part of utility group in shady deal on publication of radiation books  Mainichi Daily News, 8 Dec 11The education ministry commissioned a group managed by top executives of utility firms to produce supplementary books on radiation for elementary, junior and senior high school students even after the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, it has been learned.

The Japan Atomic Energy Relations Organization (JAERO) won a contract from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to produce supplementary books on radiation for school children before the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear complex on March 11. But the ministry did not change its decision to ask JAERO to produce the educational materials even after the nuclear disaster.

Toshio Nishizawa, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and other top executives of utility firms are JAERO’s board members. Critics say the selection of the group as a subcontractor for the contract is not appropriate in light of the situation gripped by the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima……. Continue reading →

December 9, 2011 Posted by | Japan, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Bill Gates touting “incredibly safe” nuclear reactor to China

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

The word “incredible” has really lost its currency.  Derived from Latin – “Credo – I believe”, the real meaning of this adjective is “unable to be believed”.  Sadly, everyone now uses “incredible” to mean “very”.

We don’t seem to have a word for “simply not able to be believed”.

However – in the case of Bill Gates’ statement about his gee whiz new nuclear reactors, I think that the word really does revert to its true meaning!  Incredibly safe – indeed ! – Christina Macpherson

Bill Gates glowing with optimism about nuclear power for China  Seattle Times,  by Jon Talton, 7 Dec 11 Here’s the “hmmm” story of the day: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is in China discussing jointly developing with Beijing a “new and safer” nuclear reactor. “All these new designs are going to be incredibly safe,” Gates told the audience in China, according to the Associated Press. “They require no human action to remain safe at all times.” Continue reading →

December 8, 2011 Posted by | spinbuster, USA | Leave a comment

The good ole nuclear industry remains optimistic

Security breaches, radiation leaks, disasters; Nothing worries the nuclear industry, Greenpeace,  by Justin McKeating – December 5, 2011  One of the many odd qualities of the nuclear industry is its seemingly boundless optimism: “everything’s going to be just fine, folks.”
Apparently, there’s no need to worry about terrorists attacking nuclear reactors. Which is why Greenpeace campaigners could peacefully walk into three French nuclear power plants  – Nogent-sur-Seine, Chinon and Blayais – this morning without being challenged by any
security measures whatsoever should be absolutely no cause for alarm, according to the authorities.

Our team that entered the Nogent-sur-Seine power plant, just 95 kilometres from Paris, were even able to scale the dome of one of the reactors and paint a pretty picture on it.
EDF, the operator of these three plants, happily announced that Greenpeace’s visit to Nogent-sur-Seine “had no impact on the safety of the plant, or the safety of employees at the site.” Of course not: Greenpeace aren’t terrorists.

Would EDF be so positive if terrorists had come calling today? With the nuclear industry able to see the good in everything, we can say: yes, probably. Everything’s going to be
just fine, folks.
Another example of boundless optimism in the nuclear industry is the recent stress tests conducted by European Union countries on their nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.
Supposedly designed to identify safety concerns at the reactors, most operators felt there was no need to test the vulnerability of reactors to being struck by a large aircraft or to review evacuation plans in the event of an accident. And why would there be? It’s not as if
anybody has ever flown large aircraft into buildings or people have had to be evacuated from a nuclear disaster.
We’re seeing much the same attitude right now with the Fukushima nuclear disaster site in Japan. Continue reading →

December 6, 2011 Posted by | France, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Nuclear power has always been, and still is, the excuse for nuclear weapons

Nuclear power has always been the nefarious Trojan horse for the weapons industry, and effective publicity campaigns are a hallmark of both industries.The concept of nuclear electricity was conceived in the early 1950s as a way to make the public more comfortable with the U.S. development of nuclear weapons.

“The atomic bomb will be accepted far more readily if at the same time atomic energy is being used for constructive ends,” a consultant to the Defense Department Psychological Strategy Board, Stefan Possony, suggested. The phrase “Atoms for Peace” was popularized by President Dwight Eisenhower in the early 1950s.

After Fukushima: Enough Is Enough, NYT,  By HELEN CALDICOTT, 2 Dec 11“…….After the [Fukushima] accident, lobbying groups touted improved safety at nuclear installations globally. In Japan, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. — which operates the Fukushima Daiichi reactors — and the government have sought to control the reporting of negative stories via telecom companies and Internet service providers.

In Britain, The Guardian reported that days after the tsunami, companies with interests in nuclear power — Areva, EDF Energy and Westinghouse — worked with the government to downplay the accident, fearing setbacks on plans for new nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

December 3, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | Leave a comment

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