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South Korea pushes to export nuclear reactors to Europe

Asian nation seeks to become leading player in market dominated by China and Russia

Ft.com Song Jung-a and Christian Davies in Seoul, Raphael Minder in Warsaw, Sarah White in Paris and Alice Hancock in Brussels , 29 Aug 24,

South Korea is accelerating its push to export nuclear reactors to Europe as it seeks to become a leading player in a global market dominated by China and Russia.

After beating Westinghouse of the US and France’s EDF to become preferred bidder on a $17bn project in the Czech Republic in July, state-run utility Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is set to sign a contract early next year for two reactors in the central European country.

The deal, if completed, will mark Korea’s first major overseas nuclear power project in 15 years, since a consortium led by KHNP parent Kepco won a $20bn contract in 2009 to build and operate four nuclear plants in the United Arab Emirates.

Whang Joo-ho, the president of KHNP, said the company was conducting a feasibility study for a nuclear power plant in the Netherlands and was in talks to build reactors in Finland and Sweden as it aims to export 10 more reactors globally by 2030.

Kepco has also held early-stage discussions with British officials about building a new station on the island of Anglesey off the coast of Wales. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

There could be bumps along the way for the South Koreans, however. KHNP faces claims from Westinghouse that they used its proprietary technology for their APR1400 reactors. A US district court last year dismissed Westinghouse’s lawsuit that argued that the Korean companies violated US export regulations requiring US government approval for technology sharing. However, the dispute remains unresolved as the court did not rule on the issue of intellectual property infringement.

The Czech deal has highlighted South Korea’s efforts at a time when projects run by western competitors including EDF remain mired in construction delays and cost overruns.

Although Ahn, the South Korean industry minister, said earlier this month that the two companies were “in last-stage talks” to settle the disputes, the US company this week filed an appeal with the Czech anti-monopoly office in protest at the selection of KHNP as the preferred bidder.

“KHNP neither owns the underlying technology nor has the right to sub-licence it to a third party without Westinghouse consent,” the US company said……………………………………………………………

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Suh Kyun-ryul, a nuclear expert and a former professor at Seoul National University, said KHNP would probably have to reach a financial settlement with Westinghouse. “This could even end up as a lossmaking deal,” he said. Suh also noted that South Korea was constrained by a long-standing agreement with the US that was signed in the 1950s to restrict Seoul’s ability to develop a nuclear weapons programme.

Under the agreement, South Korea’s access to raw material supplies is limited and it is not allowed to conduct uranium enrichment or the reprocessing of used fuel. Long-term buyers were likely to ask for a one-stop service ranging from nuclear fuel supply to waste disposal, he said, adding the US agreement remained “South Korea’s Achilles heel”.  https://www.ft.com/content/85a7e313-6089-4ba9-8f5b-f45adcbc5074

August 29, 2024 Posted by | marketing, South Korea | Leave a comment

Hokkaido more plugged in to renewable energy than rest of Japan

 Hokkaido had over 40% of its electricity generated by renewable energy
sources in fiscal 2023, nearly twice the national average and already above
the maximum share that the central government is looking to achieve by
2030.

With use of renewables — especially wind power — expected to grow
further, the local government has set a goal of getting 60% of its
electricity from solar, on and offshore wind, biomass, hydropower,
geothermal and some nuclear energy by 2030.

For all of Japan, the average
goal is to have between 36% and 38% of electricity be from renewables by
then.

 Japan Times 26th Aug 2024

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/08/26/japan/society/hokkaido-renewable-energy/

August 29, 2024 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

North Korea condemns new US nuclear strategic plan report

VOA News, Seoul, South Korea26 Aug 24

North Korea vowed Saturday to advance its nuclear capabilities, reacting to a report that the United States had revised its own nuclear strategic plan.

The country will “bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate all sorts of security challenges that may result from Washington’s revised plan,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The New York Times reported this week that a U.S. plan approved by President Joe Biden in March was to prepare for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea.

The highly classified plan for the first time reorients Washington’s deterrent strategy to focus on China’s rapid expansion in its nuclear arsenal, the Times said.

KCNA said North Korea’s foreign ministry “expresses serious concern over and bitterly denounces and rejects the behavior of the U.S.”

It added North Korea vowed to push forward the building of nuclear force sufficient and reliable enough to firmly defend its sovereignty.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and Seoul have accused North Korea of providing ammunition and missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Pyongyang, which has declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons power, has described allegations of supplying weapons to Russia as “absurd.”…………………………………… more https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-condemns-new-us-nuclear-strategic-plan-report/7755256.html

August 28, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | Leave a comment

China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports

Japan Times, Zhoushan, China – 24 Aug 24

China is keeping its door tightly shut to Japanese fishery products after imposing an import ban a year ago in protest against the discharge of treated water into the sea from a crippled nuclear power plant in Japan.

Despite Tokyo’s repeated assurances that the procedure is safe, Chinese officials still refer to the treated water, which contains small amounts of radioactive tritium, as “nuclear-contaminated water.”

Tokyo and Beijing are in talks over the issue but there are no clues yet as to how the situation could be resolved.

In a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa late last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated Beijing’s demand that an international system to monitor the water release be established.

China imposed the blanket ban on fishery products from Japan on Aug. 24 last year immediately after the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant started releasing treated water.

Chinese trade statistics show that no fishery products, except aquarium fish, have been imported from Japan since September last year…………………………………………..

The Japanese food company’s sales in China have yet to return to normal levels. “The situation remains tough,” the food company official said.

The impact of the import ban has spread further than Beijing had anticipated.

A woman in her 40s in Beijing said she has not eaten marine products for a long while.

……………………………………………Beijing has said seafood sold in China is safe because strict radiation inspections are conducted in China.

But a dealer in fishery products in Zhoushan said that the ocean is connected. It is illogical that Japanese products are dangerous and Chinese products are safe, the dealer said.

In China, experts’ views that the treated water would reach the Chinese coast as early as this spring spread in state media and on social media. ……………………………………………… https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/08/24/china-ban-japan-seafood/—

August 27, 2024 Posted by | business and costs, China | Leave a comment

US crying wolf over China’s ‘nuclear threat’ while expanding nuclear arsenal

Aug 22, 2024  https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202408/1318466.shtml

On Tuesday, a New York Times report caused quite a stir: US President Joe Biden has ordered US forces to prepare for “possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea.” It sounds like the US president was instructing the military to prepare for doomsday, observers pointed out.

The report revealed that in March, Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategy plan called “Nuclear Employment Guidance,” which for the first time reorients the US’ deterrent strategy to focus on the so-called threat posed by China’s rapid expansion in its nuclear arsenal. The article states that this shift comes as the Pentagon believes China’s stockpiles will rival the size and diversity of the US’ and Russia’s over the next decade.

With over 5,000 nuclear warheads, the US possesses the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal. So why does it repeatedly target China in its nuclear threat rhetoric? This can be traced back to a dilemma faced by the US Department of Defense – how to justify maintaining such a massive nuclear arsenal in the post-Cold War world. To secure more defense budgets for the domestic military-industrial complex, the US chooses to constantly manufacture or exaggerate baseless “nuclear threats.” And China has become the best excuse.

What the US truly seeks is to ensure that its power far exceeds that of any other country in the world, allowing it to threaten and coerce other nations at will, without fear of retaliation. As a hegemonic state, US’ security is built on the insecurity of other countries. To maintain its hegemonic status, the US struggles to ensure its absolute superiority in power, with nuclear weapons being a crucial tool in maintaining its global dominance. Therefore, this new nuclear strategy plan is an excuse for expanding its nuclear arsenal and sustaining its military hegemony.

China and the US have fundamentally different perceptions of the strategic role of nuclear weapons. China has repeatedly emphasized that it pursues a nuclear strategy of self-defense, and is committed to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons. China does not engage in any nuclear arms race with any other country, and keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required for national security. The notion of establishing an offensive nuclear hegemony or pursuing the so-called goal of rivaling the nuclear arsenal size of the US does not align with China’s strategic logic. As experts pointed out, China’s development of nuclear weapons is aimed at avoiding threats from other nuclear-armed states.

No matter how the US fabricates or exaggerates the so-called China threat narrative, China’s nuclear development follows its own set pace, including a measured increase in the quantity and quality of its nuclear arsenal, which will not be swayed by the US’ interference. This is a necessary measure for China in a complex international environment to safeguard its national security and territorial integrity – a legitimate act of self-defense, Shen Yi, a professor at Fudan University, told the Global Times. 

The US repeatedly harps on the “China nuclear threat” narrative, yet it is, in fact, the one that poses the biggest nuclear threat to the world. In possession of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, the US follows a nuclear policy that allows first-use of nuclear weapons. In recent years, the US has invested heavily to miniaturize nuclear weapons, lowering the threshold of their use in real-combat, and used nuclear weapons as a bait to hijack its allies and partners. Its irresponsible decisions and actions have resulted in the proliferation of nuclear risks, and its attempts to maintain hegemony and intimidate the world with nuclear power have been fully exposed.

There will be no winners in a nuclear war. We urge the US to abandon Cold War mentality, recognize that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national and collective security policies, and take concrete actions to promote global strategic stability, instead of doing the opposite. Instead of smearing and hyping up China, the US should reflect on itself and consider how to rebuild mutual trust with China through dialogue and sincerity.

August 24, 2024 Posted by | China, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The U.S. and China Can Lead the Way on Nuclear Threat Reduction

Policies of “no first use” are a model for nuclear states.

Foreign Policy, By Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University and a retired senior colonel in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. August 20, 2024,

Since the end of the Cold War, the role of nuclear weapons has only grown. Nuclear arsenals are being strengthened around the world, with many nuclear states continuing to modernize their arsenals. In June, outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons, taking them out of storage and placing them on standby. Robert C. O’Brien, a former national security advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has urged him to conduct nuclear tests if he wins a new term, arguing that it would help the United States “maintain technical and numerical superiority to the combined Chinese and Russian nuclear stockpiles.”

There are two bleak conclusions about nuclear diplomacy in this age. First, it will be impossible to ban such weapons anytime soon. Since its passage in 2017, no nuclear-armed states have signed the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, some of them instead contending that it will distract attention from other disarmament and nonproliferation initiatives.

It is also very hard, if not impossible, to convince these states to reduce their nuclear stockpiles amid ever-intensifying geopolitical and military competition. On the contrary, in February 2023, Russia announced that it was suspending its participation in the 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START)—the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty limiting Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear forces.

In response, the United States has also suspended the sharing and publication of treaty data. In November, Russia went a step further and withdrew its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), citing “an imbalance” with the United States, which has failed to ratify the treaty since it opened for signature in 1996.

Amid such a situation, it is impossible for Beijing to stand by idly. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that the size of China’s nuclear arsenal has increased from 410 warheads in January 2023 to 500 in January 2024, and it is expected to continue to grow. For the first time, China may also now be deploying a small number of warheads on missiles during peacetime. According to the U.S. Defense Department, China is likely to increase its nuclear warheads to 1,500 by 2035.

Given this reality, perhaps the most promising near-term way to guard against nuclear risks is not by limiting the number of nuclear weapons but by controlling the policies that govern their use. In this regard, a pledge by nuclear-armed states of “no first use” of nuclear weapons looks to be the most realistic approach in reducing the escalation of nuclear threats.

In theory, no first use refers to a policy by which a nuclear-armed power formally refrains from the use of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in warfare, except in the case of doing so as a second strike in retaliation to an attack by an enemy power using weapon of mass destruction.

Of the five nuclear states that have signed onto the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—only China has ever declared a no-first-use policy. On Oct. 16, 1964, when China successfully detonated its first atomic bomb, the country immediately declared that it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, and unconditionally committed itself not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states or in nuclear-weapon-free zones…………………………………………..

All nuclear powers could afford to adopt a formal no-first-use policy—taking the moral high ground without reducing their capabilities for retaliation.

Though it has never adopted a no-first-use policy itself, the United States’ nuclear posture is actually more similar to China’s than it seems. In its 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, the Biden administration declared that it would only consider the use of nuclear weapons “in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States or its allies and partners.” But it is hard to imagine which interests are so vital that they might require Washington to use nuclear weapons as a first measure to defend them.

To be sure, it is important for the United States to assure its allies that it will follow through on its deterrent promises. It is equally hard to imagine who would venture to launch a nuclear strike on a U.S. ally, knowing the dire potential consequences.

The United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent, meanwhile, is operationally independent. But in terms of its nuclear policy, the British government has made it clear that “we would consider using our nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence, including the defence of our NATO allies.” France, meanwhile adheres to a principle of “strict sufficiency.”

The real challenge, then, is getting Russia to commit to a no-first-use policy. The Soviet Union adopted a formal policy of no first use in 1982. But after its dissolution, the Russian Federation reversed this approach in 1993, likely to mitigate the comparative weakness of the Russian Armed Forces in the post-Soviet era………………………………………………….

A dual-track approach may be the best bet for the adoption of a formal no-first-use policy.

In Europe, NATO can start with a unilateral no-first-use pledge against Russia as a gesture of goodwill. Even if such an offer isn’t immediately reciprocated by Russia, it might begin to thaw tensions.

As a second—and crucial—step, NATO could pledge to halt any further expansion of its alliance in exchange for Moscow adopting a no-first-use policy This would be a difficult pill for the alliance to swallow. But after Sweden’s and Finland’s entry earlier this year, there are only three aspiring countries on the waiting list: the barely significant Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Georgia and Ukraine, which have deeply problematic ongoing conflicts with Russia that NATO is sensitive about.

The path forward would likely be smoother if it went through Asia. Both Russia and China have already agreed to no first use against each other. China and the United States could reach a similar agreement, thus de-escalating potential conflicts involving U.S. allies—such as the Philippines and Japan—as well as the dangers that could be provoked through accidental collisions in the sea or air. A U.S.-led example might then make it easier to bring the Europeans on board.

This may seem far-fetched in the current geopolitical climate, but there is precedent for it. When India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices in May 1998, they incurred swift condemnation from the U.N. Security Council, which called for both countries to sign both the NPT and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In a rare show of solidarity, China and the United States made a joint declaration in June 1998 agreeing to de-target their nuclear weapons against each other.

This was largely a symbolic and unverifiable step. But it was not only a defusing of tensions, but also good to see nuclear states at least partially honoring the vision of nuclear disarmament laid out in Article VI of the NPT. And this China-U.S. joint statement eventually led to another joint statement among the five nuclear-armed permanent Security Council states in May 2000, which affirmed that their nuclear weapons are not targeted at each other or at any other states.

No first use is a big step forward from nontargeting. It’s not out of bounds to imagine that, with enough diplomatic capital, a similar but more important pledge of no first use could be made today. In fact, in January 2022—only a month before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—these five nuclear powers agreed in a joint statement that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”

What is more significant is that during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow last year, China and Russia reiterated this commitment, even amid Russia’s ongoing war.

If, indeed, a nuclear war cannot be won, then what is stopping these nuclear powers from taking a no-first-use pledge? Nuclear weapons didn’t help the United States in its wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan—or the Russians in Ukraine. A commitment of no first use by the nuclear-armed states would give people hope that a nuclear-free world, however distant, is still possible one day.

This essay is published in cooperation with the Asian Peace Programme at the National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute. https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/08/20/nuclear-weapons-war-no-first-use-policy/—

August 22, 2024 Posted by | China, politics, politics international, USA | Leave a comment

A robot’s attempt to get a sample of the melted nuclear fuel at Japan’s damaged reactor is suspended

An attempt to use an extendable robot to remove a fragment of melted fuel from a wrecked reactor at Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear plant has been suspended due to a technical issue

abc news, By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press, August 22, 2024,

TOKYO — An attempt to use an extendable robot to remove a fragment of melted fuel from a wrecked reactor at Japan’s tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was suspended Thursday due to a technical issue.

The collection of a tiny sample of the debris inside the Unit 2 reactor’s primary containment vessel would start the fuel debris removal phase, the most challenging part of the decadeslong decommissioning of the plant where three reactors were destroyed in the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

The work was stopped when workers noticed that five 1.5-meter (5-foot) pipes used to maneuver the robot were placed in the wrong order and could not be corrected within the time limit for their radiation exposure, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said.

The pipes were to be used to push the robot inside and pull it back out when it finished. Once inside the vessel, the robot is operated remotely from a safer location.

The robot can extend up to about 22 meters (72 feet) to reach its target area to collect a fragment from the surface of the melted fuel mound using a device equipped with tongs that hang from the tip of the robot.

The mission to obtain the fragment and return with it is to last two weeks. TEPCO said a new start date is undecided…………………………………………………………….

The government and TEPCO are sticking to a 30-40-year cleanup target set soon after the meltdown, despite criticism it is unrealistic. No specific plans for the full removal of the melted fuel debris or its storage have been decided.  https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/robots-attempt-sample-melted-nuclear-fuel-japans-damaged-113049701

August 22, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, technology | Leave a comment

Japan: Removal of nuclear fuel remains in Fukushima will begin on August 22

the first step it will be the recovery of “a few grams” of spent fissile fuel from the plant’s nuclear reactor no. 2.

Large-scale removal of semi-melted fuel rods is expected to be undertaken early in the next decade

Tokyo, August 20 2024,  https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/Japan-the-removal-of-the-remains-of-nuclear-fuel-in-Fukushima-will-begin-on-August-22/

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), operator of the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, will begin on August 22 the delicate operations to recover the remains of nuclear fuel from the reactors damaged in the 2011 disaster. The company announced today that the first step it will be the recovery of “a few grams” of spent fissile fuel from the plant’s nuclear reactor no. 2. Plans call for the gradual expansion of operations to unit #3.

Large-scale removal of semi-melted fuel rods is expected to be undertaken early in the next decade. The removal of radioactive debris contained in the power plant’s reactors is considered the most difficult challenge in the process of decommissioning and disposing of the infrastructure, which was seriously damaged following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan 12 years ago. In all, around 880 tonnes of radioactive debris will have to be removed from reactors number 1, 2 and 3 at the nuclear power plant.

August 21, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

’Balance of terror’: South Korea’s unthinkable ‘shift’

Amid worrying times, South Korea is considering building nuclear weapons of its own in what could create a “balance of terror”.

news.com.au Jamie Seidel, August 19, 2024 

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un now has 50 nuclear warheads under his thumb.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to pull out of the troubled peninsula altogether. That’s left South Korea thinking the unthinkable – building nuclear weapons of its own.

“Proponents argue that this approach would create a ‘balance of terror’ similar to that which maintained peace during the Cold War, ensuring that neither side could risk initiating a conflict without facing catastrophic consequences,” argues Seol-based Asia Institute geostrategist Dr Lakhvinder Singh.

A national campaign was launched Thursday to gather 10 million signatures in support of establishing a South Korean nuclear weapons program.

“This represents a profound shift, driven by doubts about the reliability of relying solely on the United States for extended deterrence,” says Singh……………………..

Now, many South Koreans doubt the 70-year-old “nuclear umbrella” of protection offered by the United States remains a reliable deterrent……………………………………………………………………………more https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/balance-of-terror-south-koreas-unthinkable-shift/news-story/2459122e37191a7b7e5644932ca85b62

August 20, 2024 Posted by | South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japan: Radioactive water leaks reported at crippled Fukushima power plant

Economic Times 14 Aug 24

About 25 tons of radioactive water have leaked within the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the plant’s operator has reported, a week after the latest round of ocean discharge started.

Tokyo: About 25 tons of radioactive water have leaked within the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the plant’s operator has reported, a week after the latest round of ocean discharge started.

The nuclear-contaminated water, which leaked from a surge tank connected to the Unit 2 reactor building, was meant to be contained in a tank receiving overflow from the spent nuclear fuel pool, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

Accumulating on the first basement level of the reactor building, the leaked water led to a rise in the level of contaminated water already present in the area, TEPCO introduced on Tuesday, confirming that the contaminated water had not escaped outside the reactor building.

The leak was first identified last Friday when a decrease in the water level of the surge tank was detected, according to TEPCO, which, upon further investigation, discovered water flowing into a drain in a room on the third floor of the reactor building…………………………. https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/amp/news/japan-radioactive-water-leaks-reported-at-crippled-fukushima-power-plant/112522815?fbclid=IwY2xjawErZw1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSWwmPKOPQUA1lBz87XbNFrQ3wk0wpyhN7qtxdfQuEx-DbXmtfHad_QMGg_aem_4DBCWO0jAgCiBqQbTvKONA

August 18, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, incidents | Leave a comment

South Korea’s Yoon seeks dialogue with North, path to unification

Reuters, By Hyonhee Shin, August 16, 2024

Summary

  • Yoon unveils blueprint for unification in Liberation Day speech
  • Offers to form consultative body for inter-Korean cooperation
  • Yoon says to keep offering humanitarian aid to the North
  • South Korean opposition boycotts speech over Japan outreach

SEOUL, Aug 15 (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol offered on Thursday to establish a working-level consultative body with North Korea to discuss ways to ease tension and resume economic cooperation, as he laid out his vision on unification of the neighbours.

In a National Liberation Day speech marking the 79th anniversary of independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule after World War Two, Yoon said he was ready to begin political and economic cooperation if North Korea “takes just one step” toward denuclearisation……………………………………………………………………………………more  https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-yoon-offers-working-level-talks-with-north-korea-2024-08-15/

August 17, 2024 Posted by | North Korea, politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

Fans of peace call for nuclear-free Northeast Asia

 https://cathnews.com/2024/08/14/fans-of-peace-call-for-nuclear-free-northeast-asia/

A three-nation Catholic peace meeting in Japan has appealed for an end to militarisation and nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia. Source: UCA News.

In a joint press statement on August 10, the participants of the Catholic Peace Forum at Nagasaki also released the “Nagasaki Appeal for Peace”, seeking peace and reconciliation in the region.

In his keynote address, Bishop Emeritus Peter Kang U-il of Jeju, co-president of Pax Christi Korea, recalled the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II and urged Christians to denounce militarisation.

“Political leaders who believe in and promote security through nuclear weapons in the face of such human tragedies can only be seen as prisoners of madness, incapable of normal thinking,” Bishop Kang said.

“It is up to Christians, who know and practice the peace of Christ, to constantly criticise and call attention to such illusions and beliefs so that they may be awakened.”

This year’s forum, themed “Nagasaki Catholic Peace Forum for a Nuclear Weapon-Free World,” was attended by more than 40 participants from Japan, South Korea, and the US.

Bishops of Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Santa Fe dioceses were among the forum participants.

The forum was held as part of the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Japan and the first anniversary of the Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, which was launched on August 9, 2002.

The forum’s appeal consisted of five “Key Asks” that were aimed at reducing militarisation and nuclear weaponry and promoting reconciliation in the region.

The forum urged to stop and reject militarisation and the arms race, a peace treaty among parties to the conflicts on the Korean peninsula, and ratify and implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, among others.

The forum also called for the promotion of a Common Security Framework and the Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone and reconciliation among the nations and peoples of the countries of past conflicts.

FULL STORY

Catholic forum seeks nuclear-free Northeast Asia (UCA News) 

August 16, 2024 Posted by | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Latest leak accident in Fukushima ‘once again exposes management chaos of TEPCO’

By Liu Xin Aug 14, 2024  https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202408/1318029.shtml
The recent report of 25 tons of radioactive water leaking from Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)’s troubled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant once again exposes TEPCO’s internal management chaos. It also highlights the unreliability and risks associated with Japan’s moves to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea, analysts said. 

Approximately 25 tons of water containing radioactive materials leaked into the spent fuel cooling pool of Reactor Unit 2 in the Fukushima plant. TEPCO has stopped water injection into the pool and is investigating the cause of the leak. To ascertain the precise location of the leak and its underlying cause, TEPCO plans to deploy robotic equipment for an inspection scheduled for this week, Japanese media NHK reported on Tuesday.  

Although TEPCO claims that there has been no discharge into the outside environment, the report raises concerns about Japan’s current practice of dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea given TEPCO’s notorious history of cover-ups related to the Fukushima disaster, analysts said. 

This incident exposes TEPCO’s internal management chaos and disorganization. Lü Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences said that both TEPCO and the Japanese government bear major responsibility for handling the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater and should be transparent about any incident that has occurred in Fukushima. 

Despite using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s report as a shield, Japan continues to dump nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean, disregarding objections from neighboring countries and calls for international oversight. If this attitude continues, it could lead to further catastrophic incidents, causing severe and irreversible damage to the ocean and the environment, Lü told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

As of press time on Wednesday, IAEA has not responded to Global Times’ inquiries on the incident. 

This is not the first time this has happened in the Fukushima plant. In February, approximately 5.5 tons of wastewater, which may contain 22 billion becquerels of radioactive materials such as cesium and strontium have leaked from equipment at the nuclear power plant. Also, in October, 2023, five workers were accidentally splashed with liquid containing radioactive materials while cleaning at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to Japanese media. 

On August 7, despite persistent opposition at home and abroad, Japan started its eighth round of dumping of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. In response, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan said in a statement that Japan is irresponsibly shifting potential pollution risks onto the entire world. It is continuously discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean without addressing international concerns about the safety of the discharge, the long-term reliability of the purification equipment and the effectiveness of monitoring arrangements. 

The spokesperson urged Japan to fully cooperate in establishing a comprehensive, independent and effective long-term international monitoring arrangement involving relevant stakeholders, including neighboring countries. 

August 16, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, safety | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear fuel debris retrieval to start as early as August

August 14, 2024 (Mainichi Japan)

 The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant plans to begin
retrieving debris that contains melted nuclear fuel at one of the three
meltdown-hit reactors as early as this month, with the unit to be the first
to undergo the procedure. The removal of the radioactive debris is
considered one of the most challenging tasks in decommissioning the
Fukushima Daiichi plant, whose reactors were severely damaged by the loss
of cooling functions triggered by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in
northeastern Japan.

 https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240814/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c

August 15, 2024 Posted by | Fukushima continuing, wastes | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear plant detects 25 tonnes of radioactive water leak

14-Aug-2024, CGTN  https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-08-14/Fukushima-nuclear-plant-detects-25-tonnes-of-radioactive-water-leak-1w3gCiamCmA/p.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawEqAK5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHWaBuNTmYYW_lNGXO-DABEmVfw5SYiSOtbtqikVxPRmgYBtjJ85oXc6QaQ_aem_q2KZR-ZMq1wMIjXPXF-YAg

A significant leak of 25 tonnes of radioactive water has been detected within the spent nuclear fuel cooling pool of Reactor Unit 2 at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Tuesday.

The utility company has assured the public that the nuclear-contaminated water has not breached the plant’s containment and that the cooling system for the nuclear fuel remains operational.

To ascertain the precise location of the leak and its underlying cause, TEPCO plans to deploy robotic equipment for an inspection scheduled for this week.

Previously, TEPCO announced on August 9 that equipment related to the spent fuel pool of Reactor Unit 2 had malfunctioned. As a precautionary measure, the cooling system for the spent fuel pool was subsequently halted while investigations into the cause of the malfunction commenced.

August 15, 2024 Posted by | Japan, oceans, safety | 1 Comment

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