Fukushima Exponentially More Dire than Chernobyl — Deteriorating Plant Threatens Global Radiation? By Guy Crittenden Global Research, December 18, 2014 ENEnews 12 December 2014
- “…………Instead of a long article about what transpired in 2014 and what may be ahead, I’m going to offer readers three items… that have made a deep impression on me recently; these are “must watch” items for anyone interested in helping our species avoid peril from environmental degradation
- The deteriorating status of things at the destroyed nuclear plant at Fukushima, Japan…you have an obligation, really, to be aware of conditions there
- [There is a] very real and present threat from the… highly radioactive… destroyed cores of the reactors, as well as things like the storage of contaminated water in hastily-built, rusting containers
- This is serious stuff… an actual meltdown of the reactors — real China Syndrome stuff — as had been assumed would never likely happen in a modern reactor
- The situation is exponentially more dire than Chernobyl
- [Workers must] remove the rods for safe containment without having them contact one another and trigger a fire, the consequences of which would be unimaginable — We’re talking mass extinction around the world, especially in the northern hemisphere
- Most people have forgotten the situation and think of it only as a local Japanese problem
- It’s only a matter of time before another earthquake or tidal wave triggers such an event
Kevin Kamps, nuclear waste watchdog for Beyond Nuclear, Nuclear Hotseat, Dec 9, 2014 (at 37:00 in): “If the meltdown is bad enough, that’s going to burn its way right through the foundations of the containment — like we’ve seen at Fukushima Daiichi.” http://www.globalresearch.ca/fukushima-exponentially-more-dire-than-chernobyl-deteriorating-plant-threatens-mass-extinction-around-world/5420579
December 20, 2014
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Fukushima 2014 |
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India looks to sway Americans with nuclear power insurance plan BY TOMMY WILKES AND SANJEEV MIGLANI NEW DELHI Fri Dec 19, 2014 (Reuters) – India is offering to set up an insurance pool to indemnify global nuclear suppliers against liability in the case of a nuclear accident, in a bid to unblock billions of dollars in trade held up by concerns over exposure to risk.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is hoping the plan will be enough to convince major U.S. companies such as General Electric to enter the Indian market ahead of President Barack Obama’s visit at the end of next month.
Under a 2010 nuclear liability law, nuclear equipment suppliers are liable for damages from an accident, which companies say is a sharp deviation from international norms that put the onus on the operator to maintain safety.
From the 1950s, when the United States was the only exporter of nuclear reactors, liability has been channeled to plant operators across the world.
India’s national law grew out of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, the world’s deadliest industrial accident, at a factory owned by U.S. multinational Union Carbide Corp which Indian families are still pursuing for compensation………..
GE-Hitachi, an alliance between the U.S. and Japanese firms, Toshiba’s Westinghouse Electric Company and France’s Areva received a green light to build two reactors each. They have yet to begin construction several years later, according to India’s Department of Atomic Energy…………..
State-run reinsurer GIC Re is preparing a proposal to build a “nuclear insurance pool” that would indemnify the third-party suppliers against liabilities they would face in the case of an accident.
Under the plan, insurance would be bought by the companies contracted to build the nuclear reactors who would then recoup the cost by charging more for their services. Alternatively, state-run operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) would take out insurance on behalf of these companies………..
Moves to win over the Americans coincide with Russia’s push to build more nuclear reactors in India……..http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/12/19/us-india-nuclear-exclusive-idINKBN0JX1I020141219
December 20, 2014
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India, politics |
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6 tons of contaminated water leak at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant Fox News 19 Dec 14 As many as six tons of radioactive water has leaked into the ground at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said this week.
Crews were transporting the water to storage tanks when it leaked from pipes at the plant’s reactor building number one Wednesday.
The water had been scrubbed in an advanced liquid processing system, theJapan Times reported, citing TEPCo. It seeped into the ground, officials said, and did not flow into the sea because there was no nearby drainage ditch……….
Wednesday’s leak occurred on the same day a team of experts from South Korea spent three hours at the plant, looking into the safety of Japanese fishery products. The group was informed of measures to keep the nuclear crisis under control, but apparently were not made aware of the leak, the Times reported.
The team inquired about the types of radioactive materials in the water and the results of radiation checks on local seawater, according to Japan’s Fisheries Agency.
In September last year, South Korea banned imports of fishery products from Fukushima and seven other areas due to recurring water leaks at the Fukushima plant. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/12/19/6-tons-contaminated-water-leak-at-japan-fukushima-nuclear-plant/
December 20, 2014
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Fukushima 2014 |
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Kawauchi will have radioactive waste incinerator http://www.fukushima-is-still-news.com/2014/11/kawauchi-will-have-radioactive-waste-incinerator.html November 26, 2014 Radioactive waste incinerator built in Fukushima http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20141126_27.html
A facility to incinerate radioactive debris and other waste is ready to open in a village near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Environment Ministry had been building the temporary incineration facility in the village of Kawauchi since May.
Officials and village delegates marked the completion of the work in a ceremony on Wednesday.
The facility is designed to burn 7 tons of waste per day while removing radioactive cesium.
Ministry officials plan to put the facility into full operation in early January following test runs.
The government lifted an evacuation order for part of Kawauchi last month. But about 1,700 tons of debris and other waste stored in the village remain to be disposed of.
Village Mayor Yuko Endo said some residents are worried about radiation and an unsafe living environment. He said he hopes the incineration facility will help ease their concern.
The Environment Ministry says Kawauchi is the first municipality in Futaba County to have an incineration facility. It says it plans to build similar facilities in other municipalities in the county where Fukushima Daiichi is located.
December 20, 2014
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Japan, wastes |
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Japan set for nuclear showdown http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2012/12/japan-set-for-nuclear-showdown.html 12/27/2012 Days after Japan’s pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party was swept back to power in a landslide, millions of the country’s citizens have signed an online petition demanding the government phase out nuclear power generation. The petition has received 8 million signatures, while hundreds have taken to the streets to demonstrate against nuclear power, the AFP reports. Meanwhile, on Dec. 27, the LDP set to work dismantling the previous government’s plan to rid the country of nuclear power by 2040. The LDP’s victory on December 16 brought the party back to power after a rare three-year hiatus in its status as the majority party.
December 20, 2014
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Japan, politics |
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China: Lines blur between nuclear and conventional warfighting, The Interpreter 19 December 2014 China recently tested its WU-14 hypersonic device, marking its third flight test this year. These tests have elicited analysis for their impact on Beijing’s military capabilities, including their potential to break through missile defences. They merit even closer attention, however, for what they signal about possible shifts in Chinese views on deterrence, transparency and strategic stability.
The WU-14 flights are just the latest installment of Chinese military systems revealed to the world through tests and roll-outs. Other examples in recent memory include China’s anti-satellite test (ASAT) in 2007, its ballistic missile defence (BMD) tests in 2010, 2013 and 2014, as well as its unveiling of the J-20 stealth fighter in 2010. This is not to mention its flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in 2013, test of the intercontinental ballistic missile DF-31A in 2014 and recent revelations regarding the DF-41.
The level of sophistication and deployment of many of these systems remains to be seen. Still, these roll-outs indicate that China is shifting from transparency based on intent to one rooted in capabilities.
t first glance, Beijing’s approach towards conventional and nuclear deterrence may appear distinct and static. China’s conventional deterrence is based on war-fighting, counter-force, asymmetry and pre-emption. This is contrasted with its nuclear deterrence posture, which has for decades been founded on non-war-fighting, counter-value, asymmetry and no-first-use. It is often taken for granted that these two deterrence postures are isolated, with their only real point of intersection being asymmetry. Yet, there are indications that China’s conventional and nuclear deterrence are far less independent and fixed than its rhetoric suggests.
This stems from at least five factors:
- China’s Second Artillery has been responsible for both its conventional and nuclear missiles since the early 1990s. The potential for crossover between these two domains has only grown since that time, particularly in light of its training of personnel and advances in missile technology in recent years.
- China’s conventional and nuclear command and control centres are reportedly co-located. This means that an attack, whether through advanced conventional systems or cyber-attacks, while intending to negate conventional command and control centres, could also threaten China’s nuclear command and control, thus leading to escalation.
- China’s system of tunnels leaves gaps in the understanding of its nuclear and conventional forces. While there has been debate about the potential trove of nuclear warheads within China’s Great Wall Engineering project, the issue is less one of quantity than of overall inability to account for location, systems and practices that some Chinese experts maintain verify nuclear posture…………………
December 20, 2014
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China, weapons and war |
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Toshiba in talks to sell portion of Westinghouse nuclear unit http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2012/12/toshiba-in-talks-to-sell-westinghouse-nuclear-unit.html 12/27/2012Toshiba Corp. (NASDAQ: TOSBF) is currently in talks with three unnamed parties as it seeks to sell up to 16 percent of its stake in the Westinghouse Electric Co. nuclear power unit, the Wall Street Journal reports. The conglomerate is mulling three “very good offers,” Toshiba President Norio Sasaki said, and remains optimistic about its nuclear reactor business despite uncertainty about the future of nuclear power in Japan in the wake of Fukushima. Toshiba paid about $4.2 billion for 77 percent of Westinghouse six years ago and has since sold 10 percent of the company to Kazakhstan’s state-owned NAC Kazatomprom JSC. Toshiba will retain at least 51 percent ownership of the company, said Mr. Sasaki.
December 20, 2014
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business and costs, Japan |
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DIA: North Korea Planned Attacks on US Nuclear Plants, Washington Free Beacon 18 Dec 14 Bill Gertz Five commando units trained for strikes, sabotage North Korea dispatched covert commando teams to the United States in the 1990s to attack nuclear power plants and major cities in a conflict, according to a declassified Defense Intelligence Agency report. The DIA report, dated Sept. 13, 2004, reveals that five units of covert commandos were trained for the attacks inside the country.
According to the report, the “Reconnaissance Bureau, North Korea, had agents in place to attack American nuclear power plants.”
The document states that the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, the ministry in charge of the military, “established five liaison offices in the early 1990s, to train and infiltrate operatives into the United States to attack nuclear power plants and major cities in case of hostilities.”…….
Disclosure of the report, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, comes amid threats by presumed North Korean agents to conduct September 11-style terrorist attacks against U.S. movie theaters……….http://freebeacon.com/national-security/dia-north-korea-planned-attacks-on-us-nuclear-plants/
December 19, 2014
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North Korea, safety, USA |
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Japan nuclear regulator ignores its duty to protect the people Greenpeace, Justin McKeating – 17 December, 2014
With today’s draft decision to approve the safety measures of two currently closed nuclear reactors, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) is ignoring public concerns and the major nuclear risks in the Kansai region. The decision to give backing to two reactors at the Takahama nuclear power plant puts millions of people at risk. Any severe accident at Takahama would be devastating for Kansai’s people and economy – there are no effective emergency plans existing that could protect the people in the region from radiation exposure.
But Kansai Electric Power Co (KEPCO) is keen to restart its reactors and the regulator is doing all it can to help them.
The thing is, KEPCO’s reactors have been offline for years which shows that they are completely unnecessary for Japan’s energy future.
The thirty-year-old Takahama 3 and 4 reactors in Fukui prefecture have been shut down for 34 and 41 months respectively. Seven of KEPCO’s eleven reactors are nearly or over 40 years old with decisions on the horizon on whether they should be closed permanently.
The Shiga Prefectural Government undertook risk analyses on nuclear accidents at KEPCO’S Ohi plant near Takahama in November 2011. They showed that the neighbouring Kyoto prefecture would be severely contaminated in the event of an accident. The area includes Lake Biwa, Japan’s largest sea and the source of drinking water for 15 million people.
This decision doesn’t mean the Takahama reactors will be restarting immediately, however. The NRA’s draft decision is merely the start of a multi-step process that will reach far into 2015…….
There is both public and political resistance against the restart of the two Takahama reactors. It comes from within the Kansai region as well as the three prefectures neighbouring Fukui.
The governor of Shiga wants the right to have a say over any restart decision. The governor of Kyoto disapproves of a restart. However, a decision on a local level is likely to be delayed as the Abe government is facing regional elections in April 2015, including for the governorship of Fukui.
At this stage, the NRA draft approval will only increase public and political opposition to any nuclear restart in Takahama……http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/japan-nuclear-regulator-ignores-its-duty-to-p/blog/51721/
December 19, 2014
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Japan, safety |
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50 NGOs in Japan released a declaration to protest the CSC which protects the nuclear power industry http://www.greenaction-japan.org/modules/wordpress0/index.php?p=119
カテゴリー: December 6, 2014
50 non-governmental organizations in Japan released a declaration to protest the “Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage” (CSC) which protects nuclear power technology vendors from responsibility for reparations and does not protect the victims of nuclear power accidents.
Declaration
To protest The Japanese Diet’s over-hasty approval of the “Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage” (CSC) , which heavily protects the nuclear power industry and encourages nuclear exports
On November 19, the “Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage” (CSC) was ratified by the House of Councilors. We strongly object to today’s vote to approve this treaty, without any discussion of its numerous problems, which was rushed through to accommodate the Abe administration’s schedule for dissolving the Lower House of the Diet.
The treaty promotes the export of nuclear power technology while ignoring the lessons of the Fukushima accident.
Specifically, we raise the following issues:
1) The exemption of nuclear power technology vendors from liability/responsibility for reparations. This will result in increased exports of nuclear power technology.
2) The use of international funds for nuclear accident damage compensation above a fixed amount. This will serve to benefit any nuclear technology vendor who causes an accident.
3) As a result of items 1 and 2, parties involved in the nuclear energy business only profit, without taking any risk – leading to moral hazard and the acceleration of nuclear exports. Continue reading →
December 19, 2014
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Japan, politics, Reference |
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China Wants its Nuclear Reactors ‘Made in China’ WSJ 16 Dec 14 When a unit of North Carolina’s Curtiss-Wright Corp. won a roughly $300 million deal in 2007 to supply components for new reactors in China, industry officials trumpeted China’s nuclear boom as good for U.S. business.
Today, Chinese companies are competing for that business—and foreign companies risk getting left out. Meanwhile, Curtiss-Wright’s contract is caught up in a legal dispute, while Chinese authorities blame the company in part for the delay of a landmark nuclear project. As the WSJ’s Brian Spegele reports:
U.S. and other foreign companies are now struggling to keep their hold in China, the industry’s biggest growth market and a rare bright spot more than three years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan put many of the world’s nuclear projects on hold. Yet China is increasingly turning to local companies to build crucial parts for multibillion-dollar nuclear projects, a result of Chinese industrial nationalism and frustration over U.S. supplier problems………http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/12/16/china-wants-its-nuclear-reactors-made-in-china/
December 17, 2014
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business and costs, China |
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Shinzo Abe reelection increases chance of Japan relying more on nuclear power and less on LNG Straght.com by CHARLIE SMITH on DEC 14, 2014 “……….The election results have strengthened Abe’s hand as he pushes to restart more nuclear reactors in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that crippled a power plant in Fukushima, spewing radiation across the Pacific Ocean.
The governor of Kagoshima prefecture has already approved firing up two reactors at the Sendai nuclear plant next year, rejecting calls from protesters to keep the facility closed…………….
In 2013, Abe told International Olympic Committee delegates that problems at the Fukushima plant were under control.
This was despite the calculations by Georgia Straight contributor Alex Roslin that about 800 people worldwide would develop cancer from Japanese fish eaten at the time of his article in October 2013.
Meanwhile, Japan News recently reported that a South Korean team will visit the Fukushima power plant and conduct tests on Japanese fish products.
South Korea has maintained a ban on importing fish from eight prefectures, including Fukushima.
The South Korean investigation will occur just as Japan’s nuclear watchdog is calling for the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima plant.
According to an article in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Nuclear Regulation Authority chairman Shunichi Tanaka said officials will need to gain the consent of local residents.
“I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of tanks (holding water tainted with radioactive substances),” Tanaka told journalists. “We have to dispose of the water.” http://www.straight.com/news/789111/shinzo-abe-reelection-increases-chance-japan-relying-more-nuclear-power-and-less-lng
December 17, 2014
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Japan, politics |
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NRA head signals massive release of tainted water to help decommission Fukushima site The head of Japan’s nuclear watchdog said contaminated water stored at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant should be released into the ocean to ensure safe decommissioning of the reactors. Shunichi Tanaka, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, made the comment Dec. 12 after visiting the facility to observe progress in dismantling the six reactors. The site was severely damaged in the tsunami generated by the 2011 earthquake.
“I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of tanks (holding water tainted with radioactive substances),” Tanaka told reporters, indicating they pose a danger to decommissioning work. “We have to dispose of the water.”
With regard to expected protests by local fishermen over the discharge, Tanaka said, “We also have to obtain the consent of local residents in carrying out the work, so we can somehow mitigate (the increase in tainted water).”
December 15, 2014
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Fukushima 2014, oceans |
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CHINA-NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR STANDOFF Eurasia Review By Debalina Ghoshal Even though North Korea and China have traditionally shared strong ties, their “key divergence” lies in Pyongyang’s nuclear program. China is an important ally for North Korea, but despite this, China has not reacted positively to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. China is keen on the denuclearization of Northeast Asia, and hence views North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as an obstacle to achieving this goal. North Korea, on the other hand, views its nuclear program as a “treasure sword” with which it can counter threats from the United States and its ally of South Korea.
The United States and South Korea have realized the importance of Beijing in any matter pertaining to the denuclearization of North East Asia. This was also echoed by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he opined that given its extensive trade relations with North Korea, China has “greater potential” to influence North Korea’s behavior [its nuclear ambitions that is] more than any other power……….http://www.eurasiareview.com/12122014-china-north-korea-nuclear-standoff-oped/
December 15, 2014
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North Korea, politics international |
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Nuclear Liability in India, http://leondelhi.blogspot.com.au/ Diogenes Syndrome, by Latesh Bhatia 14 Dec 14 Irrespective of the circumstances, directly or indirectly in their control, the suppliers and operators of nuclear plants could not shun the responsibilities for any destruction caused to human life, property or environment in the course of their operation in India.
Risk mitigating is always preferred by any intelligent investors; however, it comes with a premium: but here the scenario is altogether different. The risk-reward ratio seems acutely tilted. Almost all of the US nuclear operator and suppliers group are stanch advocates of this bill; while other NSG [Nuclear Suppliers Group] members (mainly Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, USSR, UK) are watching the development, with crossed figures, expecting a favorable outcome.
The history of nuclear mis-happenings can be traced back since the invention of nuclear technology. With the growing concern for environment and better life conditions, the public pressure has compelled the companies and government of the advance countries to spend huge amount of money, time and resources in inventing safer and environment friendly technologies to replace the obsolete one.
In order to get rid of the obsolete technologies with outdated equipment and apparatus, the developed countries are notorious to export it to the poor nations, just like the ‘stock clearance sale.’ The receiver countries mainly comprise of nations where human development index is low (as India). Due to apathy, ignorance, lack of awareness and absence of public participation in policy making these deals are hardly come into limelight, until media or any NGO cry foul. The outdated technology is one of the biggest causes of nuclear accidents.
The main reason for such export, as quoted by the rich nations, is that developing countries could not afford the price of the latest know-how. Whereas, the developed countries artificially keep the price of the specific technology so high, that it becomes commercially nonviable in the third world nations.
All inventions or innovations cost lot of time and money and involve great risk of failure, so the inventor should have a right to decide the price for his innovative end product as an incentive to encourage entrepreneurship. I deeply abide to this notion. My point is: You want to maximize the profits and assets, but want a cap on the liabilities? Can you practice such economics in advance countries like US or in Europe?
In US, with the population density of 32.08 person per square km., the liability is Rs. 46,000 crore ($10 billion); in India, with population density of 358.485 person per square km., NSG wants a cap of just Rs. 500 crore, (the rest is borne by Indian Government, through taxpayers’ money.) By this calculation the cost of India life or one square kilometer of land is Rs. 1.4; however, the cost of American’s life or one square kilometer of US land is Rs.1437.5. For Indian government, a US citizen is 1030.5 times more valuable than the life of an Indian citizen.
December 15, 2014
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
civil liberties, India |
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