Fukushima worker’s leukaemia confirmed as caused by radiation
Fukushima worker diagnosed with leukaemia after shocking radiation leak at nuclear plant, news.com.au OCTOBER 20, 2015 A FORMER Fukushima nuclear plant worker has been diagnosed with radiation-linked cancer, making him the first such confirmation more than four years after the worst atomic accident in a generation.
An official with the health ministry said the ex-employee, who was in his thirties while working at the plant following the 2011 crisis, has developed leukaemia. He is now 41 years old, local media reported.
“The case has met the criteria” to link his illness to the accident, the official told a Tokyo press briefing on condition of anonymity, adding that other possible causes have been ruled out.
“This person went to see a doctor because was not feeling well. That was when he was diagnosed with leukaemia.” The ministry revealed few details about the man, but said he had worked at a destroyed building that housed one of the crippled reactors.
The man, who wore protective equipment during more than a year spent at Fukushima, will be awarded compensation to pay for his medical costs and lost income, the official said, without elaborating on the amount.
Three similar cases of cancer in plant workers are still awaiting confirmation of a link to the accident…….
The announcement Tuesday will likely further inflame widespread public opposition to nuclear power……..
The case was likely to deal another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s unpopular attempt to switch on Japan’s stable of atomic reactors………http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/fukushima-worker-diagnosed-with-leukaemia-after-shocking-radiation-leak-at-nuclear-plant/story-fnh81fz8-1227576166328
Obama and Pakistan’s President Nawaz Sharif talking about nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons, Taliban in focus as Obama meets Pakistan’s Sharif http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/22/us-usa-pakistan-idUSKCN0SG29020151022 WASHINGTON | BY DAVID BRUNNSTROM U.S. President Barack Obama met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday and was expected to stress U.S. concerns over Pakistan’s expanding nuclear arsenal and to press Sharif to help bring the Taliban back to talks.
Washington has been trying to persuade Pakistan to make a declaration of “restraint” over its nuclear program but Pakistani officials said Sharif would tell Obama Islamabad will not accept limits on its use of small tactical nuclear weapons.
Analysts also question whether Sharif has sufficient influence with his own security establishment to get them to press the Taliban to return to talks on Afghanistan.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is pushing for a negotiated settlement to the 14-year insurgency, which has escalated since tens of thousands of U.S.-led NATO combat troops withdrew ahead of an end-2014 deadline. The two sides held inaugural talks in Pakistan in July but the process has since stalled.
While the Washington talks were expected to focus on nuclear weapons and Islamist militancy, the Obama administration is preparing to sell Pakistan eight F-16 fighter jets in an attempt to bolster the relationship, a U.S. source familiar with the matter said.
The sale, which Congress could block, would be a symbolic step given Pakistan’s already large fleet of fighters.
U.S. concerns have been growing about Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, tensions between Islamabad and India, and the continued existence of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan used to target the U.S.-backed Afghan government and U.S. forces.
The insurgency in Afghanistan is hampering Obama’s efforts to withdraw U.S. troops, but Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution think tank said it was not clear Sharif had the clout with his own army to get military leaders to pressure the Taliban back into talks.
Pakistan insists smaller tactical nuclear weapons would deter a sudden attack by India, which is also a nuclear power, but Washington worries they may further destabilize an already volatile region because their smaller size makes them more tempting to use in a conventional war.
The Federation of American Scientists said this week that since 2011, Pakistan had deployed two new nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles and a new medium-range ballistic missile and was developing two extended-range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and two nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
It estimated Pakistan’s stockpile had grown to 110 to 130 warheads from 90 to 110 in 2011 and could reach 220 to 250 by 2025, making it the world’s fifth-largest nuclear-weapons state.
Pakistani officials say Washington is demanding unreasonable limits on its nuclear weapons while not offering much in return apart from a hazy promise to consider Pakistan as a recognized recipient of nuclear technology.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Additional reporting by Julia Edwards, Roberta Rampton, Idrees Ali and Andrea Shalal; Editing by James Dalgleish)
The public recognition of a radiation-cancer threat may lead to high compensation payments
Japan Acknowledges First Possible Radiation Casualty at Fukushima Nuclear Plant The public recognition of a radiation-cancer threat may lead to high compensation payments TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Japan on Tuesday acknowledged the first possible casualty from radiation at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, a worker who was diagnosed with cancer after the crisis broke out in 2011.
The health ministry’s recognition of radiation as a possible cause may set back efforts to recover from the disaster, as the government and the nuclear industry have been at pains to say that the health effects from radiation have been minimal.
It may also add to compensation payments that had reached more than 7 trillion yen ($59 billion) by July this year…….
The male worker in his 30s, who was employed by a construction contractor, worked at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi plant and other nuclear facilities, a health ministry official said.
Of total radiation exposure of 19.8 millisieverts (mSv), the worker received a dose of 15.7 (mSv) between October 2012 and December 2013 working at Fukushima, said the official.
While the exposure amount was lower than the annual 50 mSv limit for nuclear industry workers, the government had decided it cannot be ruled out that the worker’s leukaemia was a result of radiation, the official said.
Tokyo Electric is also facing a string of legal cases seeking compensation over the disaster.
Inside the plant, Tepco has struggled to bring the situation under control. It is estimated removing the melted fuel from the wrecked reactors and cleaning up the site will cost tens of billions of dollars and take decades to complete. ($1 = 119.4200 yen) (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Nick Macfie) http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/japan-acknowledges-first-possible-radiation-casualty-at-fukushima-nuclear-plant/
Details emerge on UK’s nuclear deal with China
China to take one-third stake in £24bn Hinkley nuclear power station http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/20/china-to-take-one-third-stake-in-24bn-hinkley-nuclear-power-station Details unveiled of deal signed between state-owned companies from China and France to build world’s most expensive plant on UK soil, Guardian, Damian Carrington, 20 Oct 15 China will take a one-third stake in a French-led project to build a new £24bn nuclear power station in the UK at Hinkley Point in Somerset, expected to be the most expensive ever built.
The deal was signed between state-owned companies from China and France just hours before the Chinese president, Xi Jinping , arrived in London for a state visit, and is due to be announced on Wednesday.
It will lead to a final investment decision – the point of no return – by the end of 2015, according to the Financial Times.
The companies – France’s EDF and China General Nuclear Power Corporation – will be the only investors, having failed to attract others. The new completion date for the two reactors at Hinkley Point is 2025, eight years later than first suggested. The deal is strongly backed by the chancellor, George Osborne. The government believes the new plant, which would deliver 7% of the UK’s electricity, represents good value for low-carbon electricity which, barring problems, is always on.
The plant has been promised £92 per megawatt hour (MWh) for 35 years, double today’s average wholesale electricity price, with any shortfall being paid by consumers via household energy bills. Hinkley Point will also be backed by up to £17bn of UK government loan guarantees.
The deal signed this week is also expected to mention Chinese involvement on additional nuclear plants at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex. China hopes to build 110 nuclear power plants at home and wants to use its own designs at Bradwell as a showcase to help it sell its technology further afield.
But the nuclear push has many criticsover its cost, the time it takes to build and the possible threats to the UK’s national security of having China in control of a plant on UK soil. Osborne’s father-in-law, former energy minister Lord Howell, said the project was “one of the worst deals ever” for British consumers and industry.
Howell, and others, have warned the reactor design planned for Hinkley C has never been completed successfully, pointing to huge cost and time overruns at EDF’s projects at Flamanville in France and Olkiluoto in Finland .
EDF needs the Chinese investment as it is burdened with high levels of debt and is expected to sell €10bn of assets in the next five years, according to the Financial Times. Earlier in October, two of the world’s biggest ratings agencies warned the company it faced credit-rating downgrades if Hinkley Point goes ahead.
A Greenpeace poll this week showed 29% of the UK public supports the Hinkley project, with 34% against it.
A protest camp was set up outside the site this week and Alan Jeffery, a spokesman for the Stop Hinkley campaign said: “We remain mystified about why Osborne wants to throw good money after bad on this project. In the process, he has devastated the UK’s burgeoning renewable energy industry, threatening up to 20,000 jobs in the process. He is doing his best to kill off an innovative industry of the future in order to keep alive a technology of the past.”
However, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers have welcomed the Hinkley plan. “Nuclear is set to play a central and vital role in the UK’s energy future,” said the IME’s Jenifer Baxter. “Although the financial costs of nuclear power seem high, this power station will provide and modernise the diversification we so badly need in ensuring the UK’s lights stay on.”
Despite safety problems, South Korea obsessed with plan for massive nuclear station
South Korea’s Nuclear Obsession The fixation on nuclear power ignores Fukushima and the global trend towards renewables. The Diplomat By Daul Jang October 22, 2015 Five Greenpeace activists last week entered the security zone of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant. Arriving via a black inflatable boat, they climbed out and scampered up a rocky slope, unfurling a bright yellow banner in front of the plant’s fence. For 40 minutes they stood their ground as guards looked on, sirens blazed, and warnings from the Coast Guard were broadcast over the loud speaker.
In South Korea, the world’s fourth largest producer of nuclear power, the government is planning to expand the Kori site. With six reactors online, two waiting for operating license approval, and an additional two planned, it will bring the total number to ten reactors by 2022. Yet with 3.4 million people living within the 30 km zone, major companies such as Hyundai Motors located nearby, and popular Haeundae beach also in the vicinity, it reveals a government in denial of the threat to its people and nation.
But for the government and the industry, the argument is that Korea needs nuclear power. But the reality is that industrial economies, both established and rapidly developing nations, are investing in renewables because they are reliable, affordable, quick to install, safe, and are the best generating technology to reduce carbon emissions. In 2014, Germany, Japan, China, India, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and the Netherlands collectively generated more electricity from renewables (excluding large-scale hydro) than from nuclear power.
Even before the tragic Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011, the global nuclear industry was in decline. ……..
The meltdown of three nuclear reactors at Fukushima dramatically exposed the reality that multiple reactors at a nuclear power plant site equal catastrophic failure. …….
The majority of South Korean people, like the people of Japan, have understood the lessons of Fukushima – that nuclear power is a technology with unacceptable risks. In contrast, both the Abe government in Japan and the administration of Park Geun-hye in South Korea are deliberately ignoring the lessons of Fukushima. It took the Fukushima Daiichi accident to change the mind of one national leader. South Korea should not have to wait for an accident at Kori to have a similar effect.
Daul Jang is the Project Leader for the Climate and Energy Campaign at Greenpeace East Asia in Seoul. http://thediplomat.com/2015/10/south-koreas-nuclear-obsession/
Chinese firm seeking to build nuclear in UK has history of errors in construction
Errors revealed at Chinese nuclear firm seeking to invest in UK plants, Guardian, Emma Graham-Harrison, 19 Oct 15 Huge quantity of protective steel was left out of initial construction of China General Nuclear Corp’s first reactor, built close to Hong Kong in 1987. One of the Chinese nuclear power firms pushing for a stake in the UK’s energy industry left out hundreds of critical steel rods when building its first reactor nearHong Kong in 1987 because workers misread the blueprint.
The missing parts were added in a higher layer of the foundation, with extra steel to reinforce them, after the extraordinary mistake was discovered. The plant has now been operating safely for more than two decades.
But the nature and scale of the error raises serious questions about the rigour of Chinese nuclear firms and the country’s oversight regime, experts say.
“[This a prospective] partner who, when they built the first nuclear power station in China, forgot to put in a large percentage of the protective steel,” said Professor Steve Tsang, senior fellow of the China Policy Institute at Nottingham University. “Potentially we are putting ourselves in a very difficult situation.”
China General Nuclear Corp built and runs Daya Bay nuclear plant in Shenzhen. It is one of two Chinese power firms expected to invest in the UK’s Hinkley Point power station and potentially build and operate a future nuclear plant, along with China National Nuclear Corporation and French firm EDF.
Chancellor George Osborne, on a trade mission to China last month, said the government would provide £2bn in initial financing for the much-delayed project, which EDF has struggled to fund. ndustry observers believe the Chinese cash for Hinkley is conditional on allowing Chinese firms to build their own plant at Bradwell in Essex. That project would function as a showcase for Chinese technology.
“I understand what the Chinese want, which is to have a demonstration plant, to show they can build inexpensively, quickly and reliably,” said Theresa Fallon, senior associate at the European Institute of Asian Studies.
“But it’s at a time when energy is relatively inexpensive, and this plant is a bit untried technology. I understand there are rules, but there were rules in Hong Kong too when you had the problems in Daya Bay. You are not building a gazebo, it’s really dangerous, serious stuff.”
News of the problems at one of China’s first commercial nuclear power plants only reached neighbouring Hong Kong weeks after the mistake was discovered on 14 September 1987……
A leading Chinese scientist told the Guardian this year that China’s nuclear power expansion plans are “insane” because the country’s safety controls are notrigorous enough.
“China currently does not have enough experience to make sound judgments on whether there could be accidents,” said 88-year-old He Zuoxiu, who worked on China’s nuclear weapons programme. “The number of reactors and the amount of time they have been operating safely both matter.”……http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/19/steel-rods-missing-at-chinese-nuclear-firm-seeking-to-invest-in-uk-plants
South Korea claims that North Korea is preparing for nuclear test
Seoul says North Korea preparing for nuclear test http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/10/20/seoul-says-north-korea-preparing-for-nuclear-test.html The South Korean spy agency says its assessment is based on the monitoring of activities at North Korea’s main Nyongbyon nuclear complex. By: The Associated Press, Published on Tue Oct 20 2015
The office of lawmaker Lee Cheol Woo said the National Intelligence Service made the assessment after monitoring activities at North Korea’s main Nyongbyon nuclear complex.
Lee and another lawmaker, Shin Kyung-min, said the spy agency didn’t say how it obtained the information. Shin said it also didn’t elaborate on what test preparations meant. The spy agency’s public affairs office said it could not confirm the reported assessment.
Last month, North Korea said it had upgraded and restarted all of its atomic fuel plants, sparking speculation that it might carry out a fourth nuclear test explosion.
The speculation subsided after North Korea did not go ahead with a threat to conduct a banned long-range rocket launch to send what it called a satellite into orbit earlier this month. All of North Korea’s three previous nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 came after it launched long-range rockets.
A fourth test could put North Korea a step closer to its goal of building a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on a long-range missile that could threaten the United States. North Korea says it has already manufactured such a warhead, but many foreign analysts are skeptical of its claim.
Fukushima insect study shows there is no safe low level of ionising radiation
The researchers found that caterpillars that ate radioactive leaves pupated into mutated butterflies that did not live as long, compared with caterpillars that ate non-radioactive leaves. These mutations and increased mortality were seen even in butterflies that consumed only very small doses of radioactive cesium.Deaths and mutations spike around Fukushima; no safety threshold for radioactive cesium exposure http://theunhivedmind.com/wordpress3/deaths-and-mutations-spike-around-fukushima-no-safety-threshold-for-radioactive-cesium-exposure/October 16, 2015 theunhivedmind Deaths and mutations spike around Fukushima; October 16, 2015 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
http://www.naturalnews.com/051581_fukushima_radiation_nuclear_power.html
Plants in the area around Fukushima, Japan are widely contaminated with radioactive cesium, which is 
producing mutation and death in local butterflies, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa and published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The butterflies were found to experience severe negative effects at all detectable radiation levels, even very low ones.
“We conclude that the risk of ingesting a polluted diet is realistic, at least for this butterfly, and likely for certain other organisms living in the polluted area,” the researchers wrote.
Insects hard hit
The researchers note that although the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant released “a massive amount of radioactive materials … into the environment,” few studies have looked at the biological effects of this disaster. Researchers have, however, measured elevated radiation levels in the polluted area, and have chronicled the accumulation of radioactive material in both wild and domestic plant and animal life in the region.
Studies have also suggested that insects may be particularly hard-hit by the increased radiation. One study found an increase in morphological abnormalities (physical deformities) in gall-forming aphids. Another found that insect abundance has decreased in the affected region, particularly butterfly abundance. Continue reading
Concerns over Japan’s huge stockpile of weapons grade nuclear material
China calls on Japan to address world concerns on excessive nuclear stocks http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/15/c_134717556.htm BEIJING, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) — China on Thursday called for action from Japan to defuse concerns over its excess of nuclear materials as both Chinese and U.S. think tanks expressed worry in recent reports.
“The international community has always been concerned about Japan’s stockpile of enriched uranium and the risks relating to nuclear proliferation and safety,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
“The reports suggest there are ways to resolve the surplus nuclear material issue,” she said at a regular news briefing, calling on Japan to be responsible and act to address the international community’s concerns.
The stockpile puts Japan, its neighbors and the world at risk, a joint study by China Arms Control and Disarmament Association and the China Institute of Nuclear Information and Economics said on Friday.
“If, in future, a different country started to stockpile — could be enriched uranium, it could be plutonium — that country could cite Japan as a precedent,” said James Acton, author of a new report on Japan’s reprocessing policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank.
The Chinese study suggests Japan should make a rational plan for its nuclear consumption and address the imbalance, while ensuring the safety and security of these materials.
Citing the latest data from the Japanese government submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Chinese study found Japan has 47.8 tonnes of highly sensitive separated plutonium, 10.8 tonnes of which are stored in Japan, enough to make 1,350 nuclear warheads.
Climate change already impacting Bangladesh coastal communities
Rising salinity threatens Bangladesh’s coastal communities – experts Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation – Tue, 13 Oct 2015 Author: Pantho Rahaman Reporting by Pantho Rahaman; editing by Jumana Farouky and Laurie Goering -the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, women’s rights, trafficking and corruption. Visitwww.trust.org/climate
“……..Climate change-induced alterations to sea level, temperature and rainfall are affecting freshwater supplies in low-lying coastal areas around the world, scientists and environmentalists say.
With more than a quarter of its population living in 19 districts facing or near the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is especially vulnerable, they say.
If access to fresh water continues to decrease at current rates in Bangladesh, experts warn, the country faces worsening drinking and irrigation water scarcity in the next few decades.
“Left unattended, 2.9 million to 5.2 million poor (people) in southwest coastal Bangladesh will face serious river salinity problems by 2050,” said Susmita Dasgupta, the lead environmental economist of the World Bank’s research department, in an email interview.
A DIRE PICTURE
A study by the World Bank and Bangladesh’s Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) published last year paints a dire picture of the future of freshwater supplies for the country’s coastal communities.
In a worst case scenario, the study predicts that the area served by freshwater rivers – those whose salt levels measure less than 1 part per thousand – in the country’s 19 coastal districts will drop from 41 percent to 17 percent by 2050.
Researchers believe sea-level rise, rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns and a reduction of water flow in the country’s rivers could add to river salinity.
Losing freshwater could mean “significant shortages of drinking water” and a lack of irrigation water for dry-season agriculture, the study said.
“The impact of the increase in salinity is already being felt by the local communities, as they now have to purchase water from water treatment plants run by commercial operators,” said Ainun Nishat, a noted Bangladeshi environmentalist and one of the researchers on the World Bank study.
A dramatic decrease in the area served by freshwater rivers would also do damage to the region’s fishing industry, which supports approximately a half million families, researchers said…..
Of Bangladesh’s 19 southwestern coastal districts, the study pinpointed nine already in danger of being unable to protect their freshwater resources.
Even in the best case, by 2050 four districts – Barguna, Jhalokoti, Khulna, and Patuakhali – may no longer have regular access to fresh water from rivers. And in a worst-case scenario, Pirojpur district could lose 100 percent of its fresh river water, while Bagerhat and Barisal could lose over 90 percent, the study said.
In addition, the study said, five districts will suffer a serious shortage of water for dry-season agriculture.
“This worrying change might lead to a migration of people from southwestern Bangladesh,” Nishat said……http://www.trust.org/item/20151013101601-r0cyw/?source=jtDontmiss
No evacuation plan, yet PM Abe restarts another Sendai nuclear reactor
Last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would not allow a reactor startup unless its safety is completely confirmed. But the process of approving reactor restarts at the Sendai nuclear power plant has not been in line with his pledge at all
Safety put on the back burner as another nuclear reactor is restarted, Asahi Shimbun, 14 Oct 15 Kyushu Electric Power Co. is set to restart the No. 2 reactor at its Sendai nuclear power plant in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Oct. 15. In August, the plant’s No. 1 reactor became the first to resume operations under new safety regulations that went into force in July 2013.
Some areas near the plant may not even have a dependable evacuation route in the event of a disaster. Furthermore, no evacuation drills for residents have been undertaken.
The electric utility’s plan to restart the idled reactor was given the green light by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The nuclear watchdog body has no authority, however, to examine evacuation plans.
A reactor should not be restarted under such circumstances. Continue reading
Second nuclear reactor started at Sendai, despite public opposition
Japan restarts second nuclear reactor despite public opposition, Guardian, 15 Oct 15
Number-two reactor at Sendai has gone on line more than four years after a quake-sparked tsunami swamped a plant at Fukushima. Japan on Thursday restarted a second nuclear reactor after a shutdown triggered by the 2011 Fukushima crisis, as the government pushes to return to a cheaper energy source despite widespread public opposition.
Utility Kyushu Electric Power said it restarted the number-two reactor at Sendai, about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) southwest of Tokyo at 10.30am (0130 GMT).
The same power plant’s number-one reactor was restarted in August, ending a two-year nuclear power hiatus. Engineers will now spend several days bringing the newly restarted reactor up to operational level before running it commercially from November…….
But the public is largely opposed to atomic energy after the Fukushima crisis sent radiation over a wide area and forced tens of thousands from their homes – many of whom will likely never return – in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986…….http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/15/japan-restarts-second-nuclear-reactor-despite-public-opposition
USA in Talks on Deal to Limit Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal
U.S. Exploring Deal to Limit Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal, NYT By DAVID E. SANGER OCT. 15, 2015 WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is exploring a deal with Pakistan that would limit the scope of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, the fastest-growing on earth. The discussions are the first in the decade since one of the founders of its nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, was caught selling the country’s nuclear technology around the world.
The talks are being held in advance of the arrival of Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in Washington next week. They focus on American concern that Pakistan might be on the verge of deploying a small tactical nuclear weapon — explicitly modeled on weapons the United States put in Europe during the Cold War to deter a Soviet invasion — that would be far harder to secure than the country’s arsenal of larger weapons.
But outside experts familiar with the discussions, which have echoes of the Obama administration’s first approaches to Iran on its nuclear program three years ago, expressed deep skepticism that Pakistan is ready to put any limitations on a program that is the pride of the nation, and that it regards as its only real defense against India………http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/world/asia/us-exploring-deal-to-limit-pakistans-nuclear-arsenal.html?_r=0
Expansion of South Korea’s massive Kori Nuclear Power Plant near 3.4 million people – an insane plan
The insane plan to expand the world’s biggest nuclear plant http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/nuclear-kori-korea-protest-busan/blog/54400/ [excellent photos] by Daul Jang – 13 October, 2015 Over 3 million people live within 30 km of what is set to become the largest nuclear power plant in South Korea and the world. So why is the government expanding nuclear and locking out safe, clean renewables?
Two inflatables with ten courageous and committed activists from around the world departed this morning to protest the expansion of the Kori Nuclear Power Plant, near Busan. They are taking action to highlight the risk of nuclear power and the urgent need to transition to clean, safe renewables.
The situation at Kori is insane, and it’s only getting worse. Here’s why the need for action is so urgent.
1. When the next unit is expected to go online next month, it will become the world’s largest nuclear power plant in terms of installed capacity (6860MW) with 7 reactors in operation.
2. What is most disturbing is that there are around 3.4 million people living within the 30km zone around the plant. This compares to 160,000 in the case of Fukushima.
3. When the two planned reactors start operation by 2020, it will become the only nuclear power plant with 10 reactors and more than 10,000 MW in the world.
4. More reactors = more risk. One of the critical lessons from the disastrous Fukushima disaster is that multiple reactors means increased risk.
5. Since beginning operation in 1978, the plant has continuously encountered problems including malfunctions, lack of safety regulations and poor maintenance. In February 2012 a complete station blackout was deliberately concealed by the high level decision makers at the Kori plant, only to be reported to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSCC), South Korea’s regulatory body, a month later.
We aim to expose the intolerable risk of adding two more reactors to the world’s largest nuclear power plant and the threat it poses to the general public and the citizens of Busan. The future is renewables. We’ve already helped convince one big company in South Korea to switch to 100% renewable energy – so what is the South Korean government waiting for? Out with the old, and in with the new!
It’s time to switch on renewables and abandon costly, dangerous nuclear.
Daul Jang is the Project Leader for the Climate and Energy Campaign at Greenpeace East Asia in Seoul.
Record low price for solar power to be sold by Indian Government
Indian government plans to sell solar power at record low price of $0.07 per unit. News Forage, 13 Oct 15, India’s strategy of a foreign currency-denominated tariff plan for solar energy is aimed at providing solar power at a new low of Rs.4.75 per unit to the states. Continue reading
1 This Month
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (126)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 