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Fukushima nuclear disaster remains critical

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over   HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, 22 April 12,  Spent reactor fuel, containing roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl, still sits in pools vulnerable to earthquakes.

More than a year after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster began, the news media is just beginning to grasp that the dangers to Japan and the rest of the world are far from over. After repeated warnings by former senior Japanese officials, nuclear experts, and now a U.S. Senator, it’s sinking in that the irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools amidst the reactor ruins pose far greater dangers than the molten cores. This is why:

• Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl

• Several pools are 100 feet above the ground and are completely open to the atmosphere because the reactor buildings were demolished by explosions. The pools could possibly topple or collapse from structural damage coupled with another powerful earthquake.

• The loss of water exposing the spent fuel will result in overheating and can cause melting and ignite its zirconium metal cladding resulting in a fire that could deposit large amounts of radioactive materials over hundreds, if not thousands of miles……

The urgency of the situation is underscored by the ongoing seismic activity where 13 earthquakesof magnitude 4.0-5.7 have occurred off the northeast coast of Japan between April 14 and 17. This has been the norm since the first quake and tsunami hit the Dai-Ichi site on March 11 of last year. Larger quakes are expected closer to the power plant.

Spent nuclear fuel is extraordinarily radioactive and must be handled with great care. In a matter of seconds, an unprotected person one foot away from a single freshly removed spent fuel assembly would receive a lethal dose of radiation within seconds. As one of the most dangerous materials on the planet, spent reactor fuel requires permanent geological isolation to protect humans for thousands of years…… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-alvarez/the-fukushima-nuclear-dis_b_1444146.html

April 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Decision to restart nuclear reactors send Japan’s Prime Minister’s approval rating tumbling

 Japan PM Approval Rating Tumbles On Nuclear Power Decision, Market
News International, APRIL 22, 2012 – TOKYO (MNI) – The public approval rating for the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dropped five percentage points to 29% in asurvey conducted between Friday and Sunday by Nikkei Inc and TV Tokyo
Corp from the previous month.

The reading was the lowest since Noda took office in September and it came after the government decided earlier this month to restart two idled nuclear reactors at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Oi plant in western Japan.

The poll showed that 54% of the respondents criticized such move and only 30% favored it.
The survey also found that 46% said the minimum of Japan’s 50 nuclear power plants should be brought back online, with 29% arguing that all should be suspended.
Meantime, the disapproval rating rose eight points to a record
62%…… https://mninews.deutsche-boerse.com/index.php/japan-pm-approval-rating-tumbles-nuclear-power-decision?q=content/japan-pm-approval-rating-tumbles-nuclear-power-decisio

April 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Japan still does not have a new, independent, nuclear regulator

Neglect of nuclear regulation http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120423a1.html  23 April 12, The Nuclear Regulatory Agency was originally scheduled to be set up on April 1. Although the Noda Cabinet endorsed a bill to establish the agency on Jan. 31 and send it to the Diet that day, the Diet has yet to start deliberating on it. Continue reading →

April 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Don’t restart nuclear reactors say 6 Japanese ruling party lawmakers

6 ruling party lawmakers propose to delay reactor restarts http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201204210011 April 21, 2012 The Asahi Shimbun By SHINICHI SEKINE/ Staff Writer Six lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, elected from Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, have crafted a proposal to postpone reactivating two nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture. Continue reading →

April 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Fukishima’s radioactive wastes and the failure of nuclear reprocessing

The main reason why there is so much spent fuel at the Da-Ichi site is that the plan to send it off for nuclear recycling has collapsed.

This scheme is based on long discredited assumptions of …. a new generation of “fast” reactors

 nearly all of the spent fuel at the Da-Ichi containing some of the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet will remain indefinitely in vulnerable pools.

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over   HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, 22 April 12,“……Last week, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) revealed plans to remove 2,274 spent fuel assemblies from the damaged reactors that will probably take at least a decade to accomplish. The first priority will be removal of the contents in Pool No. 4. This pool is structurally damaged and contains about 10 times more cesium-137 than released at Chernobyl. Continue reading →

April 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, reprocessing, wastes | Leave a comment

Radiation danger to Japan’s reconstruction workers

Recovery workers to get radiation limits http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120422002572.htm Jiji Press 23 April 12, The health ministry will introduce radiation exposure control standards for reconstruction workers in areas damaged by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, officials said.

The ministry found it necessary to implement the new standards, as reconstruction work is beginning in earnest in Fukushima Prefecture, home to a nuclear power station crippled by the disasters.

Currently, there are radiation exposure control standards for workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and those engaged in decontamination around the plant but not for construction and other workers. In areas where annual radiation exposure is estimated at greater than 5 millisieverts, employers will be obliged to have each worker carry a dosimeter and receive health checks at least once a year, officials said Friday. In other areas, such individual radiation exposure control will not be required.

April 23, 2012 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Cesium 137 and the follies of Chernobyl and Fukushima

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over   HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, 22 April 12, “….It’s been 26 years, since the Chernobyl reactor exploded and caught fire releasing enormous amounts of radioactive debris — seriously contaminating areas over a thousand miles away. Chernobyl revealed the folly of not having an extra barrier of thick concrete and steel surrounding the reactor core that is required for modern plants, in the U.S., Japan and elsewhere. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident revealed the folly of operating several nuclear power plants in a high consequence earthquake zone while storing huge amounts of highly radioactive spent fuel in vulnerable pools, high above the ground.

What both accidents have in common is widespread environmental contamination from cesium-137. With a half-life of 30, years, Cs-137 gives off penetrating radiation, as it decays and can remain dangerous for hundreds of years. Once in the environment, it mimics potassium as it accumulates in the food chain. When it enters the human body, about 75 percent lodges in muscle tissue, with, perhaps, the most important muscle being the heart.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-alvarez/the-fukushima-nuclear-dis_b_1444146.html

April 23, 2012 Posted by | environment, health, Japan, Reference | Leave a comment

Overwhelming majority of Japanese businesses want safety, not restart of nuclear reactors

Japan businesses choose nuclear safety over profits, First Post, Apr 20, 2012  Tokyo: Nearly three-quarters of Japanese firms want safety guaranteed before idled nuclear reactors in the country are restarted, seeing no need to rush the process despite the impact the loss of the power source could have on their businesses.

Japan is set to have no nuclear power within weeks for the first time in over 40 years following last year’s crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which crushed public trust in nuclear power and prevented the restart of reactors shut for regular maintenance checks.

The poll, taken alongside the monthly Reuters Tankan company sentiment survey, showed only 15 percent of firms want an early restart for idled reactors, while 72 percent said safety should be the key priority…… Trade Minister Yukio Edano this week signalled two reactors idled after the Fukushima disaster would not be back online before the last one currently operating is shut down….. http://www.firstpost.com/world/japan-businesses-choose-nuclear-safety-over-profits-282207.html

April 21, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Half of Japan’s ruling Party against restarting nuclear reactors

Mayday for Japan’s nuclear industry BY: RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT  The Australian April 21, 2012 “…….Teruyuki Mtasushita, head of a local group in the Oi area that is organising rallies to prevent the restart, said he was stunned the government was pushing ahead with new safety measures. “Anyone who stops and thinks about it finds it an absurd and impossible idea,” he said at a press conference in Tokyo.

“What locals are worried about is an earthquake. There are three faults on the east side of the Oi plant and those have not been evaluated, even though the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was told to investigate.”

While the government is pushing all out for the Oi restart, Democratic Party of Japan insiders say it has deeply divided the ruling party. Mr Matsushita’s press conference was attended by five DPJ MPs opposed to the restart.

DPJ MP Kuniko Tanioka said the restart was “unforgivable” and showed that the government was unduly influenced by the nuclear industry. “Before we can talk about breaking with nuclear power generation, we need to break up the nuclear village in the parliament,” she said.

Another DPJ MP, Ben Hashimoto, said opposition within the party was growing. “I would say as many as half of us are against the idea of restart,” he said.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/mayday-for-japans-nuclear-industry/story-e6frg6so-1226334685674

April 21, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Fukushima Daiichi’s Unit 4 reactor a radioactive time bomb

 if the [spent fuel rods] pool should spring a leak, or another earthquake bring the pool crashing down, all that fuel would be exposed to the outside air, letting them heat up and release massive amounts of radiation. 

Fukushima Daiichi’s Achilles Heel: Unit 4′s Spent Fuel?  WSJ,  By Phred Dvorak, April 17, 2012,  Just how dangerous is the situation at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant? Very, according to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, a senior member of the Senate’s energy committee who toured the plant earlier this month.

Another big earthquake or tsunami could send Fukushima Daiichi’s fragile reactor buildings tumbling down, resulting in “an even greater release of radiation than the initial accident,”
Mr. Wyden warned in a Monday letter to Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki. Continue reading →

April 18, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

After May 5, Japan will be functioning with no nuclear power

Japan to be without nuclear power after May 5  By Yoko Kubota TOKYO, April 17 | 2012  (Reuters) – Japan will within weeks have no nuclear power for the first time in more than 40 years, after the trade minister said two reactors idled after the Fukushima disaster would not be back online before the last one currently operating is shut down.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano signalled it would take at least several weeks before the government, keen to avoid a power crunch, can give a final go-ahead to restarts, meaning Japan is set on May 6 to mark its first nuclear power-free day since 1970.

“If we thoroughly go through the procedure, it would be (on or) after May 6 even if we could restart them,” Edano told a news conference, adding that whether they can actually be brought back online is still up to ongoing discussions….. Exactly when Fukui Governor Issei Nishikawa and Ohi Mayor Shinobu Tokioka will make decisions is unclear.

Members of the expert panel will be visiting the Ohi plant on Wednesday and are likely to meet several more times before they reach a conclusion, while the Fukui assembly may meet as early as next week to discuss whether they can back the restarts, Masao Sato, a member ofthe assembly, told Reuters…… http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/17/japan-nuclear-idUSL3E8FH16V20120417

April 18, 2012 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Fukushima radiation leaks bringing sickness to children

Japanese professor says Fukushima radiation leaks are harming children’s health http://www.straight.com/article-660131/vancouver/japanese-professor-says-fukushima-radiation-leaks-are-harming-childrens-health
VIDEO  Radio host Steve Zeltzer conducted the interview Akira  Murakami’s comments about children’s health are at 13:37 of the video.

By Charlie Smith, April 13, 2012 A media professor at Akia University in Japan has claimed that
children in his country are suffering serious medical problems as a result of last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In an interview on WorkWeek Radio (which works with Project Censored), Prof. Akira “Lazy Cat” Murakami linked the leak of radiation to kids have suffering nosebleeds, skin diseases, short tempers, and cardiovascular diseases.

Murakami said that the Japanese mainstream media is not covering the impacts, but this information is being disseminated to Japanese people through cyberspace.

“Our food regulations are quite loose,” Murakami said. “We have only spot inspections.” He called on Americans to do whatever they can to shut down remaining nuclear reactors.

“This planet could not afford another Chernobyl or another Fukushima,” he said.

April 14, 2012 Posted by | health, Japan, Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Don’t restart nuclear reactors, says Fukushima Governor

Fukushima Gov. blasts gov’t over push to restart nuclear reactors
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120413p2a00m0na014000c.html
April 13, 2012(Mainichi Japan) FUKUSHIMA — Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato, whose prefecture hosts the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, has spoken out against central
government moves to restart reactors across the country idled for periodic maintenance.

“The investigation into the Fukushima No. 1 plant disaster isn’t yet complete, but (the government) is already discussing restarting reactors. That is a problem,” Sato told reporters at a regular news conference. “It makes me question whether the government really understands how severe nuclear disasters are.

“As the nuclear disaster progresses, we hear of new incidents every day,” he added, referring to the frequent reports of spreading radioactive contamination and radioactive water leaks since the meltdowns at the No. 1 plant.
Sato also touched on the proposed new nuclear power regulatory agency, which was supposed to start work at the beginning of April but has not yet been launched, saying,

“There’s also a problem when the promotion of nuclear power is happening alongside the regulation of nuclear power, while the government has yet to present a long-term energy
policy.”

April 14, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Adjoining prefectures oppose restarting of Japan’s nuclear reactors

The Union of Kansai Governments, which is involved in setting electricity conservation targets, remains unconvinced that nearby Fukui’s reactors can be restarted safely, 

Analysis: Japan reactor restart debate swells beyond nuclear frontline By Yoko Kubota OTSU, Japan | Fri Apr 13, 2012  (Reuters) – Japan’s nuclear power industry had never spent much time or money winning over the hearts and minds of people like Susumu
Takahashi, a fisherman angling for small sweetfish from the serene shores of Lake Biwa, a world away from any nuclear reactor.

But with the industry paralyzed after last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, and badly in need of public trust to get moving again, itmay wish it had gone to the trouble.

“If Lake Biwa gets contaminated, then that would be irreversible,” said Takahashi, a doctor who regularly casts his line into the mountain-ringed lake in western Shiga prefecture, which contains none of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors but sits next to Fukui prefecture which
hosts 13 of them.

“The lake is in our hands now but it is also for future generations, and contamination would be passed down for generations. I am against the restarts of halted reactors,” Continue reading →

April 14, 2012 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Developing nuclear weapons together – Japan and UK

UK and Japan agree to act in unison on nuclear interests Enformable, 13 April 12, For the first time in history, Japan has agreed to develop weapons with a country other than the United States, proclaiming the agreement will strengthen bilateral defense cooperation, including joint weapons development. Continue reading →

April 13, 2012 Posted by | Japan, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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