Tokyo High Court holds Japan government not liable for Fukushima nuclear disaster
Sean Nolan | Southwestern Law School, US, DECEMBER 28, 2023
Tokyo’s High Court found the government of Japan not liable Tuesday for damages related to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and associated mass evacuations, leaving responsibility solely with plant operator the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).
The ruling also reduced the damages amounts of a previous court order from $414,400 to $165,000 for 44 of 47 petitioners. The decision mirrors a previous ruling in 2022 which found that the government “was highly unlikely to been able to prevent the flooding” that damaged the plant. Ultimately, the court held that more stringent regulatory actions would have been insufficient to prevent the disaster since the size, direction and scale of the tsunami exceeded estimations for such an event. This is the latest in a series of decisions with different outcomes over the last several years including court cases in 2020 and 2017 which litigated the government’s role in failing to prevent the disaster. There is also a 2022 court case that found TEPCO executives personally liable.
Motomitsu Nakagawa, a lawyer, representing the evacuees expressed dismay with the decision and raised the possibility of another appeal calling the decision a “copy and paste” of the previous Supreme Court ruling. The nuclear disaster has already caused $82 billion in damages to victims, decommissioning work and storage for contaminated materials. While TEPCO has been responsible for all the decommissioning, including contaminant storage, it’s financial position has deteriorated over the last few years amid the massive costs associated with the work and multiple postponements due to technological challenges.
Legal fallout has also extended to the cleanup itself with court cases from South Korea fisheries and Japanese fisherman over the release of radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. The discharge also sparked international concern from neighboring countries and protests from activists who fear pollution and widespread destruction of wildlife and marine ecosystems.
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Japan Lifts Operational Ban on Fukushima Nuclear Plant Owners
Japanese nuclear safety regulators lifted an operational ban Wednesday imposed on a nuclear plant owned by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima plant that ended in disaster, allowing the company to resume preparations for restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant after more than 10 years.
At its weekly meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority formally lifted the more than two-year ban imposed on the TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant over its lax safety measures at the site, saying a series of inspections and meetings with company officials has shown sufficient improvement. The decision removes an order that prohibited TEPCO from transporting new fuel into the plant or placing it into reactors, a necessary step for restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s reactors.
The plant on Japan’s northern coast of Niigata is TEPCO’s only workable nuclear power plant since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed its Fukushima Daiichi plant and caused Fukushima Daini plant to cease operations. For the company now burdened with the growing cost of decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant and compensating disaster-hit residents, restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors soon is key to stabilizing its business.
TEPCO President Tomoaki Kobayakawa told reporters Wednesday that it was too early to comment on the prospect for the restart. He said the company will provide its safety and security measures to gain understanding from the local residents, who must approve a restart…………………………………………………………..
The case raised questions about whether TEPCO learned any lessons from the 2011 Fukushima crisis, which was largely attributed to the utility’s lack of concern about safety.
NRA Chair Shinsuke Yamanaka told Wednesday’s meeting that the lifting of the restrictions is just the beginning, and TEPCO is still required to keep improving its safety precautions………………………………………………………. https://www.voanews.com/a/japan-lifts-operational-ban-on-fukushima-nuclear-plant-owners/7414251.html
Japan allows world’s biggest nuclear plant to restart
DW, 27 Dec 23
The safety ban on TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has been lifted, allowing it to become operational once again. However, the facility still needs permission from local government bodies
Japan’s nuclear regulator announced Wednesday that it has lifted its safety ban on Tokyo Electric Power’s (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, the largest in the world in terms of capacity.
TEPCO has been looking to restart the plant due to high operating costs. It must now seek permission from local bodies in the Niigata prefecture, Kashiwazaki city, and Kariwa village.
Why was the ban imposed?
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has a capacity of 8,212 megawatts (MW) and was TEPCO’s only operable atomic power station. It has been offline since 2012, after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011 led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in Japan……………………
Previously in 2021, the NRA had barred the plant from operating due to safety breaches and insufficient antiterrorism measures. This included a failure to protect nuclear materials and an incident that involved an unauthorized staff member accessing sensitive areas of the plant.
It had then issued an order that prevented TEPCO from transporting new uranium fuel to the plant or loading fuel rods into its reactors……………………….
After the decision, TEPCO said it would continue to work towards gaining the trust of the local community and society at large. On Tuesday, a Tokyo court ruled that TEPCO, the only operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees.
Japan has been trying to reactivate all domestic nuclear power plants that comply with the safety network, to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels which need to be imported. But in some cases, there is opposition from locals or other regulatory bodies. https://www.dw.com/en/japan-allows-worlds-biggest-nuclear-plant-to-restart/a-67829687
Tokyo court holds only the utility responsible to compensate Fukushima evacuees, and reduces damages
A Tokyo court has ruled that only the operator of the tsunami-wrecked
Fukushima nuclear power plant had to pay damages to dozens of evacuees,
relieving the government of responsibility. Plaintiffs criticized the
ruling as belittling their suffering and the severity of the disaster. The
Tokyo High Court also slashed the amount to half of a lower court’s
decision, ordering the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, known as
TEPCO, to pay a total of 23.5 million yen ($165,000) to 44 of the 47
plaintiffs.
AP News 27th Dec 2023
The Spread of Radiation Internal Contamination thru Fresh Produce in Japan.
[Photo] Green: vegetables, Brown: mushrooms, Navy blue: seafood.
FROM THE ARCHIVES – June 15, 2016
Here is the map of Japan, which indicates the spread of radiation contamination studied with fresh produce.
Everyone should be careful and aware that radiation contaminated food is being distributed anywhere in Japan, not only in Fukushima Prefecture.
To know the exact measure, becquerels level in each food to be consumed is becoming vital so as to not be harmed internally, knowing that radiation exposure internally is much more harmful than external exposure : at least 100 times more harmful.
Professional insight is there important. In Japan today professional insight is only presently given by White Food company, whose main concern is now to sell food that is not radioactive contaminated. (If only once proven wrong White Food would lose its credibility, which is the foundation of their company.)
Why is this happening ◾️? Because radioactive contamination in distributed foods is harder to be known, to be detected than the geographical distribution of hotspots in Japan which can be easily detected and are now well listed.
As an example, although it is not well known, the best shiitake mushrooms are mostly produced in Fukushima prefecture, and from there distributed all over Japan, some even exported abroad.
Map of mushrooms only. Type details.
Recently, information about contaminated foods is become more available, than just after the accident. Nevertheless radioactive contamination is ongoing and well present in food everywhere as it shows on the map above.
Data Sources:
Radioactivity inspection map per category & destination list links
Seafood: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_fish/
Meat: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_meat/
Mushroom: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_mush/
Beans: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_bean/
Fruit: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_fruit/
Vegetables: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_vegi/
Rice, grain: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_rice/
Water, tea: http://news.whitefood.co.jp/tag/map_drink/
Radioactivity inspection map of food (2015) information source
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
2014 monthly test results
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/kinkyu/0000045281.html
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/kinkyu/0000084439.html
Article Sources:
http://saigaijyouhou.com/blog-entry-10727.html
http://sharetube.jp/article/2958/
https://news.whitefood.co.jp/news/foodmap/
Special credits to Kitagawa Takashi for the informations
Translated by D’un Renard from Japanese.
Fukushima nuclear plant worker exposed to radiation
TOKYO. 12 Dec 23 https://japantoday.com/category/national/fukushima-nuclear-plant-worker-exposed-to-radiation
A plant worker at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex may have ingested radioactive materials after his face was exposed to the substances, the plant operator said Monday.
The operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc said the man in his 20s was wearing a protective full-face mask and suit while working in a room near the plant’s No. 2 reactor building, decontaminating fences and other equipment ahead of the removal of 615 spent nuclear fuel rods from the building.
But radioactive material was found on his face during a routine radiation test as he was leaving the site and he was decontaminated immediately.
The incident follows one in October when two men were exposed to radioactive liquid while cleaning a water filtration facility at the same plant.
Possibly irradiated items stolen at site 3 km from Fukushima plant
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, November 26, 2023
OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture–Potentially highly radiated items have been stolen from a temporary storage site for contaminated waste here and were likely put up for sale, The Asahi Shinbun has learned.
Although the site is strictly controlled, managers on the front line said there is a limit in what they can do to monitor the waste. So it is unknown if or how many possibly dangerous goods have been sold to unsuspecting buyers.
The site, located about 3 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, features a home improvement center that was abandoned after the triple meltdown in March 2011. The building and merchandise inside were left untouched.
The site and the surrounding area are now used for temporary storage.
Nishimatsu Construction Co., a second-tier general contractor, has been commissioned to demolish the commercial facility.
The special measures law concerning the handling of radioactive materials states that contaminated waste should be taken to temporary storage sites to measure their radiation levels before deciding where they should be disposed of………………………………………
The ministry has yet to announce the theft.
RISK OF RESALE
Each entrance to the temporary storage site has a gate to keep out unregistered workers and vehicles.
But an on-site manager said it was practically impossible to check all the comings and goings of people and vehicles.
“A total of 1,000 workers were involved in the demolition project, with 30 to 40 of them coming in and going out of the site on a steady basis,” the manager said. “Frankly speaking, if they put merchandise into their pockets and took them outside, I wouldn’t know.”…………………………………….
A worker said several 4-ton trucks have entered the demolition site on a few occasions after employees of Nishimatsu Construction, which oversees the site, finished their shifts and left their posts.
“The truck beds were covered with tarps, so I don’t know what was inside,” the worker said.
He added that a rumor was going around that merchandise taken from the demolition site was being sold on flea market app Mercari…………………………..
Recently, four former workers were arrested on suspicion of stealing iron scraps from a demolition site of a library and folklore museum, which lie within the “difficult-to-return zone” in Okuma.
It is impossible to recover the iron scraps because they were already sold and distributed in the market, according to the Environment Ministry.
(This story was written by Yukiko Sakamoto, Nobuyuki Takiguchi and Takaoki Yamamoto.) https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15045134
A Photographer Goes Inside the Ruins of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
The first tests, during which remotely operated underwater robots were launched into the containment structure, were unsuccessful……… The extremely high levels of radiation (650 Sv/h) would destroy the vehicles’ electronic circuits in minutes. A person would die in seconds in such conditions..
Peta Pixel NOV 26, 2023, ARKADIUSZ PODNIESIŃSKI
This article has copious photographs. They are not very interesting, as the photographer was banned from photographing the seriously dangerous parts of place
For more than a dozen years, I have been documenting the aftermath of the disasters at the Chornobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants, the progress of the cleanup, and the decontamination and revitalization of the contaminated areas. During this time, I made many visits to the Chornobyl plant. Finally, it was time to visit the Fukushima plant………………
Given my critical attitude towards nuclear power, as demonstrated by my published album about the tragic consequences of the two disasters as well as my photographs and films that have been shown around the world, obtaining permission was not easy or straightforward. However, after several months of trying and dozens of emails and phone calls, I finally managed to get approval.
Interestingly, I was told no photographer before me had ever had such an extensive itinerary for a visit. Despite this, I hope that my two-day visit will not be the last. The decommissioning of the power plant is a process that will take several decades, so I hope there will be more than one opportunity to return.
……………………………..nowhere else in the world have I seen so many workers guarding the exits of underground garages, building sites and intersections, or thousands of flashing bollards shaped like frogs, mice, and other animals.
..For security reasons, taking pictures of many places is prohibited……………………………………..
Similarities or Differences
Only when I’m standing in front of the damaged units do I grasp the scale of the tragedy and destruction. The first unit has no roof, as it was destroyed by a hydrogen explosion. Only the jagged remnants of the steel skeleton now protrude from it. There is less external damage to the second unit, but inside the meltdown of the reactor core produced a similar effect. When I look at the exposed roof of the first reactor building, comparisons to Chornobyl automatically come to mind.
Units 3 and 4 have already been covered with new structures that are intended to strengthen their substructures and enable the removal of the spent fuel inside. Probably to avoid comparisons with Chornobyl, these are not called sarcophagi, but they serve an identical purpose – they reinforce the damaged buildings, prevent radioactive substances from escaping, and serve or will be used to extract the fuel inside. At Chornobyl, one reactor was damaged, while at Fukushima it was as many as three.
On the one hand, in Chornobyl, the areas around the nuclear power plant are still closed 37 years later. The damaged reactor has already been covered by a second sarcophagus and the removal of the fuel inside of it is still a subject of debate. On the other hand, in Japan, after 12 years most of the areas around the plant have already been cleaned and returned to their residents.
The process of removing the fuel from the damaged reactors is expected to begin in 2024. This very complex and dangerous task will be divided into two separate phases. The first involves removing the melted fuel from the damaged reactors, while the second consists of removing the spent fuel stored in the spent fuel pools. Fuel remains in the first two units as debris is still being cleaned up and other obstacles blocking access to the interior are being removed. The next two units are in much better condition: the spent fuel has already been removed from the pools, and only one of them has had a nuclear core meltdown.
After a while, we drive up to the reactor buildings themselves. Standing next to the vertical walls of the structure, I realize their magnitude. For obvious reasons, I can’t go inside any of them. It’s a red zone, where the damage is greatest, and the radiation levels are deadly high.
Inside of Primary Containment Vessel
I also visit Units 5 and 6, which sustained less damage. They were shut down when the earthquake and tsunami hit, although there was still nuclear fuel in the reactors and spent fuel pools the entire time. Due to the power outages and the cessation of the cooling processes, they did not operate properly and had to be monitored constantly. After the damage was repaired and cooling restored, the remaining fuel in the reactors was moved to a spent fuel pool several floors above. Besides having the chance to take photos, visiting these units is an excellent opportunity for me to better understand how the disaster unfolded and the work to clean up the resulting damage, particularly the melted fuel from inside the reactors.
In Unit 5, I enter the safety enclosure known as the PCV (Primary Containment Vessel) that houses the reactor. This is already a yellow – more radioactive – zone, so once again I must change my clothes. The safety enclosure is shaped like a huge steel pear, more than 30 meters high. Inside it is the reactor, which is surrounded by hundreds of pipes, valves, and pumps. I squeeze between them and come to a small opening in the wall. This leads to a tiny room where the control rod drive hydraulic system is located.
The room is cramped and not even a meter high – definitely not a place for people who have claustrophobia. The reactor is just a few meters above me. It is identical to the ones whose cores melted down due to the power outages and lack of cooling. Under the extreme heat, their uranium fuel rods melted like candle wax and dripped to the bottom of the reactor casing. The hot mass then burned through the steel walls and seeped into the bottom of the containment enclosure, exactly where I stand now.
Because of these similarities, Unit 5 is currently being used to test various methods of removing fuel from damaged reactors. The first tests, during which remotely operated underwater robots were launched into the containment structure, were unsuccessful. More often than not, they got stuck while maneuvering underwater amid piles of debris, cables, and rusted structures. The extremely high levels of radiation (650 Sv/h) would destroy the vehicles’ electronic circuits in minutes. A person would die in seconds in such conditions………………………………
According to a report by the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission – not disclosed to the public for fear of causing panic – in the event that the situation went completely out of control and the direction of the wind changed, there would have been so much contamination that it would have necessitated the evacuation of the 50 million people living within a 250 km radius of the plant, an area that includes Tokyo. Thus, the fact that the worst-case scenario was avoided is not only due to the superhuman efforts of hundreds of power plant workers, firefighters, and other emergency responders, but also to chance or, if you prefer, luck.
Although the danger was averted, fuel remains in the spent fuel pools in Units 1 and 2 (the most damaged ones) as well as in Units 5 and 6. I was allowed to enter the last of these. It stores over 1,600 fuel assemblies………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..more https://petapixel.com/2023/11/26/a-photographer-goes-inside-the-ruins-of-the-fukushima-nuclear-power-plant/
Japanese and Chinese top envoys eye more talks on Fukushima row
Jsapan Times, BY JESSE JOHNSON, STAFF WRITER 26 Nov 23
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Saturday, with the top Japanese diplomat “strongly urging” Beijing to immediately remove its complete ban on seafood imports from Japan over Tokyo’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The Fukushima issue has bedeviled Sino-Japanese relations already facing tensions over issues such as China’s growing military assertiveness in the region. Despite this, both sides agreed to find a way to resolve the wastewater matter “through discussion and dialogue in a constructive manner,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Wang repeated China’s opposition to the discharge of “nuclear-contaminated water,” a move that he labeled as “irresponsible,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The two top diplomats also agreed to hold bilateral security talks “at an early date,”…………………………………………………………………………………………….
On Thursday, Wang met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner in the ruling bloc, for talks in Beijing. China called for independent monitoring of the ongoing Fukushima discharge, according to Yamaguchi.
China’s seafood ban has hit Japanese exporters hard, with Chinese customs authorities reporting last week that imports of fish and shellfish from Japan in October dropped 99% from a year earlier to $332,000. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/25/japan/politics/japan-china-yoko-kamikawa-wang-yi/
Japan’s Fukushima plant completes third water release
Canberra Times By Mari Yamaguchi, November 20 2023 – Australian Associated Press
The release of a third batch of treated radioactive wastewater from Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean ended safely as planned, its operator says, as the country’s seafood producers continue to suffer from a Chinese import ban imposed after the discharges began.
Large amounts of radioactive wastewater have accumulated at the nuclear plant since it was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
It began discharging treated and diluted wastewater into the ocean on August 24 and finished releasing the third 7800-ton batch on Monday.
The process is expected to take decades.
The discharges have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighbouring countries including China, which banned all imports of Japanese seafood, badly hurting Japanese producers and exporters of scallops and other seafood……………………………………………………
Japan’s government has set up a relief fund to help find new markets for Japanese seafood, and the central and local governments have led campaigns to encourage Japanese consumers to eat more fish and support Fukushima seafood producers.
TEPCO is also providing compensation to the fisheries industry for “reputational damage” to its products caused by the wastewater release and said it has mailed application forms to 580 possible compensation seekers…………………………..
TEPCO and the government say the process is safe, but some scientists say the continuing release of water containing radionuclides from damaged reactors is unprecedented and should be monitored closely.
Monday’s completion of the release of the third batch of wastewater brings the total to 23,400 tons.
TEPCO plans a fourth release by the end of March 2024.
That would only empty about 10 of the approximately 1000 storage tanks at the Fukushima plant because of its continued production of wastewater, although officials say the pace of the discharges will pick up later.
The tanks currently hold more than 1.3 million tons of wastewater, most of which needs to be retreated to meet safety standards before release.
TEPCO and the government say discharging the water into the sea is unavoidable because the tanks need to be removed from the grounds of the plant so that it can be decommissioned. https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8430646/japans-fukushima-plant-completes-third-water-release/
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant starts 3rd round of wastewater release, potentially impacting seafood quality in U.S.
The Daily Universe, Belle Lewis, November 14, 2023
The Fukushima-Dachii nuclear plant started its third release of nuclear wastewater on Nov. 2 as scientists warn that seafood products from the Pacific Ocean could be contaminated.
Although the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the 30-year water release plan, scientists and civilians in nations bordering the Pacific Ocean have questioned the safety of the plan, especially as it relates to seafood.
In a press release approving of the plan, the IAEA stated, “the discharges of the treated water would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.”
Paul Dorfman, member of the Irish Government Environmental Protection Agency Radiation Protection Advisory Committee and chair of Nuclear Consulting Group, explained that some scientists have questioned IAEA’s approval of the water release.
“I and others are concerned by IAEA’s attitude,” Dorfman said. “Normally even low levels of radioactive pollution will find its way into local seafood, one way or another.”
In 2020, Japan exported 332,926 kilograms of frozen scallops to the U.S. Japan exports many fish products to the U.S.
Samantha Valeriano, a psychology student from Hawaii, said she eats seafood about once a week. She does not often think about where her food comes from but wants to be more cautious following the nuclear water release.
“I think I would be a little more cautious of what I ate, checking labels a little bit more,” Valeriano said. “I would be conscious of what I ate and where it came from.”
As the People’s Republic of China has imposed bans of Japanese fish exports, the U.S. has supported the Japanese market by increasing fish purchases.
In a press release, the United States Embassy and Consulate in Japan explained that military bases in Japan will carry Japanese seafood as a way to buoy up seafood markets and undermine the PRC’s ban.
“United States elected representatives and senior government officials have stood in solidarity with Japan during this baseless ban,” the statement said. “Another step to help provide additional sales to counter the ban was to start selling Japanese seafood at the U.S. military facilities in Japan, both through the commissaries and mess halls.”
According to the statement, government officials like former speaker Kevin McCarthy ate seafood from Japan as a testament to Japan’s safety standards.
However, other U.S. agencies, like the National Association of Marine Laboratories question whether accurate research was conducted by the IAEA and Japanese Government to determine safety of seafood products.
They explain that the lack of data on potential health impacts is a cause for serious concern.
“Many of the radionuclides contained in the accumulated waste cooling water have half-lives ranging from decades to centuries, and their deleterious effects range from DNA damage and cellular stress to elevated cancer risks in people who eat affected marine organisms, such as clams, oysters, crabs, lobster, shrimp and fish,” the statement reads.
Eve Nagareda, medical laboratory science major from Hawaii, shared she wants to avoid seafood from dumping grounds even if levels are considered safe.
“I think I would try to go as far as possible from it,” Nagareda said…………………………………………………………………………..
On Sep. 8, the IAEA conducted seawater sampling off the Japanese Coast. They recorded Tritium levels below the internationally mandated limit of 1,500 bequerels per liter.
Dorfman explained that below-accepted tritium levels does not mean that the ALPS is functioning properly.
“The Japan government and IAEA say that the treatment is sufficient, and levels of radiation, especially tritium, in the water releases are low.” Dorfman said. “However, others note that the treatment process has already failed once before, and may let through a series of radioisotopes, not only tritium.”
A pre-publication scientific paper found that radionucleotides from the Fukushima plant will distribute globally and penetrate into the deep ocean. The highest concentration of these particles would be along the eastern coast of Japan.
This paper contradicts assertions made by the IAEA that once the water is dumped into the Pacific Ocean, the particles will dilute.
Radiation experts often say that “dilution isn’t the solution to pollution,” according to Dorfman.
Why release the water?
After the water is released, the land the tanks occupy will be available for the Japanese government to build facilities to fully decommission the Fukushima-Daiichi Plant.
In the greater scheme of things, it has to be said that the main issue at Fukushima remains the almost impossible task of trying to extract the nearly 880 tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear fuel that have melted in three of the plant’s six reactors,” Dorfman said.
According to Dorfman, decommissioning is far off.
“We are a very very long way away from decommissioning Fukushima,” Dorfman said. “At the moment, there are no feasible plans to do so.”
What is the future of nuclear energy?
As the Fukushima nuclear water release continues its third phase and looks toward its 30-year release plan, scientists like Dorfman consider the overall effectiveness of nuclear power and its potential risks.
“The weight of evidence shows that due to the pace, scale and economics of the renewable evolution, all nuclear can do is make promises it just can’t keep,” Dorfman said.
Dorfman continued to explain how renewable energy will outstrip nuclear soon.
“Nuclear is quite simply just marginal,” Dorfman said. “In terms of cost, time, and do-ability — it’s renewable expansion in all sectors, energy efficiency and management, rapidly advancing storage technologies, grid modernization, interconnection and market innovation from supply to service provision that will power the global net-zero energy transition.”
As Nuclear wastewater disposal continues, organizations like the IAEA and NAML continue to debate the potential health impacts. https://universe.byu.edu/2023/11/14/fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-starts-third-round-of-wastewater-release-potentially-impacting-seafood-quality-in-u-s/
Collective calls on Pacific leaders to oppose Fukushima nuclear wastewater discharge
The Pacific Collective on Nuclear Issues has denounced once again the dumping of radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, calling on Pacific leaders to suspend Japan’s status as a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) dialogue partner.
The Collective, composed of civil society groups, non-governmental organizations and movements in the Pacific, issued a statement this week, during which the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting was held in the Cook Islands.
The statement condemned the Japanese government and the facility operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), for insisting on this flawed and dangerous course of action.
“The findings of the independent panel of scientific experts commissioned by the Pacific Islands Forum were unequivocal – the data provided so far, to support Japan’s claim that the treated wastewater is safe, is inconsistent, unsound and therefore far from reliable,” the statement said, adding that “if the Japanese government and TEPCO believe the radioactive wastewater is safe, they should be prepared to safely dispose of it within terrestrial Japan.”
The Collective also declared that such dumping into the Pacific Ocean is a direct violation of human rights.
Aside from being a brazen violation of international law, the Collective said, Japan’s behavior and handling of this matter is an affront to the very sovereignty of Pacific states and unbecoming of a dialogue partner of the PIF.
Founded in 1971, the PIF is the region’s premier political and economic policy organization which comprises 18 members.
The Collective called on the Pacific leaders to reaffirm the long-held position of the Pacific to keep their region nuclear-free and to review diplomatic relations with Japan at the next Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in 2024.
They also called on the international community not to turn a blind eye to the threat that dumping radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean poses to Pacific peoples, their livelihoods, safety, health and well-being.
Japan conducted the third round of release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean earlier this month, despite numerous and repeated objections by governments and communities, environmental groups, NGOs, and anti-nuclear movements in Japan and the Pacific
Pacific island nations express concern over Fukushima water release
Japan Times, AVARUA, COOK ISLANDS – 11 Nov 23
Leaders of Pacific island nations expressed strong concerns over the release of treated radioactive water from Japan’s wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean during a regional summit, according to Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown.
Brown, who currently chairs the Pacific Islands Forum, said Thursday there were “strong concerns” raised by “our forum leaders for the significance of potential threats of contamination to the health and security of the blue Pacific.”
The bloc’s 18 members have expressed differing views on the treated wastewater discharge from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which began in late August, after extensive dialogue between the member states and Japan………………………………………………….
The leaders’ meeting began in the Cook Islands Monday, with the main talks taking place Wednesday and Thursday on Rarotonga, the country’s most populous island, and Aitutaki.
The Pacific Islands Forum comprises Australia, the Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/11/japan/politics/japan-pacific-island-nations-fukushima-water-release/
Accident proves Japan’s toxic water plan dubious
By LI YANG 2023-11-06 https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/06/WS65483427a31090682a5ec88b.html
Despite the strong opposition at home and abroad, Tokyo Electric Power Company, the owner of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake-generated tsunami, started the third release of the radioactive water from the plant into the sea on Nov 2.
The release will continue until Nov 20, with TEPCO planning to dump about 7,800 tons of the nuclear-contaminated water into the sea this time. The company claims the wastewater to be discharged has limited concentration of radioactive tritium. But the radioactive waste sputtering accident that happened last week raises doubts on the credibility of TEPCO’s claim.
As TEPCO itself said, five workers “accidentally” came in contact with the radioactive “fluid” while cleaning the pipelines used to “detoxify “the nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima plant on Oct 25, and two of them, after being “decontaminated” for treatment, will be kept under medical observation.
Although, according to the company, a doctor said the possibility of both men sustaining burns due to radiation exposure was low, the radiation levels in the bodies of the two men did not fall below the standard threshold of 4 becquerels per square centimeter despite the initial treatment at the plant.
The accident exposes the ineffectiveness of the so-called Advanced Liquid Processing System the company uses to treat the radioactive water accumulated at the plant. Also, TEPCO has not explained why and how “the hose used to drain waste liquid containing radioactive substances into a tank became detached” while the workers “were washing (the processing facilities) by pouring nitric acid into the piping”.
The Japanese government claims the ALPS is reliable, and the water obtained after being treated using the ALPS is safe enough to “drink”.So it should explain how only about 100 milliliters of the “fluid” was enough to cause such a serious accident.
It also needs to answer the public’s query that since four of the five workers “were wearing protective gear and full-face masks, which prevented ingestion of the fluid”, how could the “fluid” splash and burn the “lower body and both arms” of one of them, and why the other worker whose “entire body was found to be exposed”, was allowed to do the dangerous work without wearing any protective gear?
The accident shows Japan’s claim of the radioactive water being “safe” to be released into the sea is questionable, and the risks associated with the disposal process of the radioactive water should not be underestimated. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
China calls for a long-term international monitoring mechanism for Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater
Minister Huang urges Japan on nuclear-contaminated water
By JIANG XUEQING in NAGOYA, JAPAN | chinadaily.com.cn 2023-11-05 https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/05/WS65476d92a31090682a5ec7c3.html
Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu urged Japan to engage in full consultations with stakeholders in handling the release of nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in a responsible manner.
“We also called for the prompt establishment of a long-term international monitoring mechanism with the participation of Japan, neighboring countries, and other relevant stakeholders to effectively protect the global marine environment,” Huang said at the 24th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, South Korea, and China. The two-day meeting closed on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
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