Higher Fukushima Radiation Levels Triggered by Typhoons
MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova – Radiation levels at Japan’s notorious Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant jumped after the plant was hit earlier this month by two typhoons: Phanfone and Vongfong.
“The back-to-back weather disturbance typhoons Vongfong and Phanfone had triggered the elevated radiation quantities at the plant,” writes the International Business Times, citing NHK, Japan’s state-run media outlet.
According to Japan’s JIJI agency, levels of cesium, a radioactive isotope that causes cancer, are three times higher than their previously registered rates and are currently 251,000 becquerels per liter, while levels of tritium, another dangerous isotope, have grown as high as 150,000 becquerels.
Tepco’s (Tokyo Electric Power Co.) spokesperson emphasized that heavy rainfall triggered by Typhoon Phanfone had apparently impacted Fukushima’s groundwater.
“In addition, materials that emit beta rays, such as strontium-90, which causes bone cancer, also shattered records with a reading of 1.2 million becquerels,” JIJI agency pointed out, adding that the wells that groundwater samples had been taken from were located close to the nuclear plant’s port in the Pacific.
Asahi Shimbun underscores that Tepco’s task of decontaminating all the radioactive water stored at the Fukushima No. 1 plant by the end of this fiscal year will be “increasingly difficult” to accomplish.
“According to a Tepco estimate made in February, the amount of highly contaminated water should have been reduced to 300,000 tons by about now, but the water cleaning procedure is currently a month behind the original schedule,” the media outlet stresses.
Asahi Shimbun reveals that another problem is that the groundwater flow into the plant’s reactor building is increasing the amount of highly radioactive water by 400 tons a day. Although the corporation claims that it has succeed in reducing the influx by 130 tons a day due to its various counter-measures and its “underground water bypass project,” these estimations have not been verified, the media source notes. The ambitious water-decontamination plans have yet to be completed and it remains to be seen when Tepco will be able to accomplish its task.
Source: RIA Novosti
Japan’s timid coverage of Fukushima led this news anchor to revolt — and he’s not alone
Former NHK anchor Jun Hori speaks at a TEDx event in Kyoto, Japan,
about opening Japanese journalism to non-traditional sources.
October 17, 2014
No one is telling Shiga Kamematsu the truth.
It’s been three-and-a-half years since 83-year-old Kamematsu left his home, with its rice patties, vegetable fields and 10 cows, fleeing the disaster at the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. He still can’t go back.
When will it be ready for people again? No one seems to know — or be interested in telling him. “I can’t take my land with me,” he says, “so I don’t know what to do. I can’t see ahead.”
Kamematsu is one of about 80,000 people in Japan still officially displaced by the nuclear crisis. Questions remain about radiation levels, the clean-up process and when residents can return home. Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor of media studies at Tokyo’s Sophia University, says many Japanese are frustrated by what they see as a lack of information.
Japanese journalists did what Tajima calls “announcement journalism” in reporting on the crisis. He says they were reporting the press releases of big companies and the people in power. And he’s not the only one who thinks so.
“I am a newscaster, but I couldn’t tell the true story on my news program,” says Jun Hori, a former anchor for NHK, the Japanese state broadcaster.
Hori says the network restricted what he and other journalists could say about Fukushima and moved more slowly than foreign media to report on the disaster and how far radiation was spreading. The attitude in the newsroom was not to question official information
“I was on the ground in Fukushima, and a lot of people kept asking me, why didn’t you tell us earlier about what is happening?” Hori says.
Out of frustration, Hori started tweeting uncensored coverage. “I got a huge response,” he says, “but then my superiors said the NHK was getting complaints from politicians about what I was saying. They told me I had to stop.”
Hori eventually quit the NHK and started his own website for citizen journalism — 8-Bit news. He says Fukushima showed people in Japan that they had to be proactive about getting information. Anyone can submit videos and news content to his site.
“Until now, the Japanese thought someone was doing it: companies, the government, someone,” Hori says. “But once you peeled back the cover, you saw that nobody was doing it.”
That’s backed up by outside observers as well: Japan has dropped 31 places since 2011 in a World Press Freedom ranking compiled by the group Reporters Without Borders. The group cites “a lack of transparency and almost zero respect for access to information on subjects directly or indirectly related to Fukushima.”
In a statement, NHK said it covered the event accurately and promptly reported a meltdown. It did not address claims that it faced outside pressure from politicians to restrict Hori’s Twitter account.
Hori’s 8-Bit is part of wave of new media launched since Fukushima, spanning everything from blogs and social media to documentaries. Yasumi Iwakami started one of the first efforts. He took live streaming video of press conferences and other coverage and loaded them up to a site called the Independent Web Journal.
“We just kept the cameras running all the time,” Iwakami says. “Even during the breaks at press conferences. We interviewed everyone we could.”
If you want to say something clearly and directly in Japan, Iwakami says, it takes a lot of effort. You have to do something drastic — like start a streaming news site run on donations. “That’s very crazy!” he says.
It is a big change from Japan’s traditional media, says Benjamin Ismail, head of the Asia-Pacific desk for Reporters Without Borders. He says that in covering Fukushima, self-censorship was a big issue.
“Some of the journalists really believed they had a duty not to create a global panic,” Ismail says, “and therefore they had to withhold some of the information they obtained.”
Ismail hopes Japan’s alternative media can gain steam, especially because there’s not much time to act. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is moving ahead on restarting the nuclear industry, and the first reactors are projected to be back online by next year.
Sources:
1. PRI’s The world
2. “Newsroom revolution” — empowering the people: Jun Hori at TEDxKyoto 2013
Hot debate in Japan as communities reject nuclear power plant restart
As Communities Block Nuclear Restart, Japan’s 48 Operable Reactors Idle, Forbes, 17 Oct 14, Nothing is as hotly debated in Japan right now as the restarting of the 48 inactive nuclear plants which closed one after the other for scheduled maintenance after the Fukushima disaster three years ago. Near Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai plant in southwest Japan, communities are thwarting revival plans despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urging on the restart plan after Sendai was found to meet the new safety guidelines set by the independent nuclear regulator.
The Sendai plant, located about 600 miles from Tokyo, is the first to receive the clearances but with the consensus process involving communities and local governments has become complex. The reactor’s restarting could be months away. Over three years have lapsed since the nuclear reactors run by the Tokyo Electric Power Co in Fukushima suffered a meltdown following an earthquake-triggered-tsunami. The accident in May 2011 was the worst disaster since Chernobyl. The contaminated towns near Fukushima are still out of bounds and could be for years while the clean-up process continues.
Since the Fukushima disaster, regulatory lapses have come to light and communities have rallied against plants and fought to keep the reactors idle as they closed for regular maintenance. The last of the reactors shut a year ago.
There is also the fact that Japan is prone to natural disasters and frequently hit by earthquakes and typhoons. After the volcanic eruption in Mount Ontake in September, fresh fears are being raised on nuclear safety during volcanic activity. Sendai, for instance, is about 30 miles from an active volcano……..http://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2014/10/16/as-communities-block-nuclear-restart-japans-48-operable-reactors-idle/
Strontium, Cesium – radioactive records soar in Fukushima groundwater
Agency: Fukushima workers urgently trying “to prevent groundwater from leaking into ocean” — Levels of nuclear waste surge next to sea — Strontium-90 shatters previous record by over 5 Billion Bq/m3 — Now 25 million times EPA limit http://enenews.com/agency-fukushima-workers-urgently-trying-prevent-groundwater-leaking-ocean-levels-nuclear-waste-skyrocket-next-sea-strontium-90-shatters-previous-record-5-billion-bqm3?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29
Jiji Press,Oct. 14, 2014: Cesium Level Rises in TEPCO Plant Well — [TEPCO] on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in cesium levels in water collected from an observation well near the sea [on] Monday [with] a record 251,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per liter, 3.7 times the cesium level… [last] Thursday… Monday’s reading was the highest level… from any of these wells… The samples in question also contained 7.8 million becquerels of beta particle-emitting radioactive substances, such as strontium-90, per liter, also a 3.7-fold increase.ITAR-TASS (Russian News Agency), Oct. 14, 2014 (emphasis added): Highest radiation inground water at Japan’s NPP after nuclear disaster… The highest radiation level was registered in subsoil water taken from a technical well at 1st and 2nd power units at Fukushima-1.., [TEPCO] said on Tuesday. The underground water sample was taken on October 13… Company’s experts said that a surge in radiation was linked with the impact of a typhoon raging in the locality, when heavy rain triggered spread of radiation-contaminated particles in underground water. Now nuclear plant’s specialists are pumping out ground water urgently to prevent it from leaking into the ocean.
Kyodo News, Oct 14, 2014 (Google translation): … record high values of cesium, the influence of the typhoon in Fukushima first nuclear power plant… from the water of the well in the seawall of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant Units 1 and 2 [cesium is 251,000] becquerels per liter… manganese 54 is… 700… cobalt 60 [is 3,600]… [TEPCO] found under the influence of typhoon No. 18 earlier this month, contaminated water that has accumulated in the piping has been spreading. Both record high values in groundwater…
Note that the most recent stontium-90 test results for well No. 1-6 published by Tepco on Oct. 1show that levels of Sr-90 are virtually equal to Gross Beta. This means the Oct. 13 Sr-90 levels are near 7,800,000 Bq/L — 26,000,000 times the EPA limit for Sr-90 in water (0.3 Bq/L).
Handicaps to Japan’s nuclear power restart
Japan’s nuclear restart unlikely this year, local vote expected in December http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/72335 16-Oct-14 JAPAN Kentaro HamadaAs Japan pitches an unpopular nuclear restart to residents near Kyushu Electric Power Co’s Sendai plant, local politicians say approval is unlikely until December, delaying an already fraught process to revive the country’s idled reactors.
More than three years after the nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, the worst disaster since Chernobyl, Japan’s nuclear plants remain offline nationwide even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pushes to restart reactors that meet new safety guidelines set by an independent regulator.
The focus has switched to townships located near the Sendai reactors, the nation’s first to receive safety clearance from regulators. The debate over restarts pits host communities that get direct benefits from siting reactors against other nearby communities that do not reap the benefits but say they will be equally exposed to radioactive releases in the event of a disaster. Continue reading
South Korea monitors products, very aware of nuclear radiation from Japan
South Koreans Still Fear Radiation From Japan WSJ, 17 Oct 14 More than three years have passed since the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, but some South Koreans are still leery over possible radioactive contamination from their neighbor.
Environmental activists and residents of Changwon, a city on South Korea’s southeastern coast, staged a rally Tuesday in front of a steel company to protest its import of scrap steel from Japan through a nearby port of Masan.
The protesters demanded local steel companies stop importing Japanese steel for recycling through seaports that aren’t equipped with radioactive detection devices, such as Masan.
“A case in August, in which imports of scrap steel from Japan were found to contain radioactive material and sent back to Japan clearly shows we’re exposed to a real risk,” said Park Jong-kwon, chairman of the Masan Changwon Jinhae Korea Federation of Environmental Movements.
Mr. Park said his group will continue to demand the government divert such imports to other ports until Masan has a radiation detection system.
Concerns have heightened after the Seoul government in August found some imported scrap metal from Japan bore traces of radiation and ordered the importer to return the items to Japan.
The protest in Changwon followed similar complaints earlier this week by a civic group in another port city of Gunsan, southwest of Seoul, that the country should stop steel imports from Japan.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said Aug. 11 that it had returned some steel scrap imported from Japan due to radiation contamination, the first returned shipment since Seoul heightened nuclear safety checks in 2012………
One of Korea’s industries hit hardest by Japan’s latest nuclear disaster was seafood as domestic sales of marine products plummeted following leaks of radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011.
Since September last year, the Seoul government has blocked all fishery imports from prefectures surrounding the Fukushima plant. http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/10/15/south-koreans-still-fear-radiation-from-japan/
Australian rare earths miner Lynas must make a plan for radioactive waste disposal, says IAEA
IAEA reports no long-term plan for Lynas waste, Malaysian Insider 17 October 2014 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday gave a passing safety grade to a controversial Malaysia rare earths plant, but raised concerns that there was no long-term plan for properly disposing of the plant’s potentially radioactive waste.
The rare earths processing plant in the state of Pahang has generated opposition from green groups who fear radioactive contamination and have accused authorities and Lynas of overriding public concern.
In a report, the IAEA said it saw little risk of contamination due to the low-level radiation involved, and that its investigators were “not able to identify any instances of non-compliance” with international standards. “Lynas needs to demonstrate that the disposal of solid waste can be carried out in a safe manner over the long-term,” the report said.
It recommended that Malaysian authorities require Lynas to come up with a plan.
“There is a lack of a plan for managing the waste from the decommissioning and dismantling of the plant at the end of its life,” it said……
However, it also appeared to underscore environmentalists’ concerns that Australian miner Lynas Corp has no long-term plan for the disposal of waste from the plant.- http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/iaea-teams-says-lynas-plant-generates-low-level-radioactive-waste-bernama#sthash.JEFk1poD.dpuf
Safety anxiety as Tepco plans to remove canopy from Fujushima No 1 nuclear reactor
Plan to remove cover over damaged Fukushima reactor draws concern, Asahi Shimbun October 16, 2014 Amid local concerns of the further spread of radioactive materials, Tokyo Electric Power Co. announced plans to start dismantling the canopy installed over the destroyed Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant’s No. 1 reactor building.
The operation, announced by TEPCO on Oct. 15, will remove the cover that was erected in October 2011 over the building to prevent radioactive materials from entering the atmosphere……..
The process, which will begin Oct. 22, is a necessary step in removing the vast amounts of highly contaminated debris, rubble and dust that remain inside the building.
However, as the work to clear debris at the plant’s No. 3 reactor building in August 2013 spread radioactive materials in the area, the Fukushima prefectural government and experts are calling for careful measures to be taken in the dismantling………..
n the removal, the utility will drill 48 holes in the roof of the cover, each 30-centimeter squares. From the holes, synthetic resin will be sprayed as anti-scattering agents inside the building to minimize the possibilities of radioactive materials rising.
Starting from the end of this month, two of the six roof panels will be removed to install a camera to monitor the status of the debris inside.
Once the condition of the rubble is better understood, a specific schedule for the dismantling process will be created. The utility plans to begin major operations in March 2015 in hopes of starting the removal of debris in fiscal 2016. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201410160049
Japanese electricity utility very unhappy about anti nuclear art
Tohoku Electric Power kicks up a stink about art display at publicity hall Asahi Shimbun, By HIDEAKI ISHIBASHI/ Senior Staff Writer 16 Oct 14, SENDAI–A solitary bulging black sandbag, a sprinkling of dirt on a solar panel and a dosimeter: As art installations go, the work on display at a venue here smacked more of a statement than anything else.
And it got the attention of Tohoku Electric Power Co., operator of the Green Plaza hall where the exhibit could be seen by passers-by.
The utility uses the hall to publicize its activities, as well as providing a venue for the public to mount exhibitions.
Tohoku Electric asked for the work to be temporarily removed on grounds that people looking in from the street might regard it as suspicious.
The dirt is from Fukushima Prefecture, site of the 2011 nuclear disaster. It has already been decontaminated of radiation. The installation was created by Takashi Murakami, who is also an associate professor of art education at Miyagi University of Education.
He should not be confused with the pop artist of the same name, who is internationally famous and has also been involved in charity efforts to assist victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Artists from Japan and Canada organized an exhibition titled “Power To The People” to be held at the Green Plaza from Oct. 7 to 19. Murakami and the other artists said they wanted the exhibition to make visitors think about the future of energy from a neutral standpoint.
The artists chose the Green Plaza for their venue for the simple reason it is operated by an electric power company in the area most severely affected by the 2011 natural disasters.
“I tried to express the current situation in Fukushima where sand bags filled with dirt from decontamination work are stacked up everywhere,” Murakami said……….
The exhibition finally was opened to the public on Oct. 10, three days behind schedule.
In response to an inquiry from The Asahi Shimbun, Minamihaba explained why the work was moved and said, “It did not match the policy of managing the Green Plaza in order to provide citizens with a place for enrichment and relaxation.”…..
Murakami said, “Art is by nature multifaceted, so it can be not only comforting to people, but also disgusting to some. Tohoku Electric Power overreacted.” http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201410140032
Bangladesh’s dangerous nuclear power program
Is a nuclear disaster looming in Bangladesh? http://www.thedailystar.net/is-a-nuclear-disaster-looming-in-bangladesh-46005 Abdul Matin 16 Oct 18, The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory (Amendment) Bill, 2014 was passed by the parliament on September 14. Surprisingly, instead of bringing the qualifications and experience in conformity with the IAEA guidelines, the amendment further relaxed the qualifications of the top brass of BAERA to “adequate qualification and experience about nuclear energy management.” “Adequate qualification and experience” is a vague term subject to interpretations. In technical terminology, it carries little significance. Moreover, management of nuclear energy does not necessarily imply nuclear safety. The door has thus been opened, perhaps deliberately, to any Tom and Harry to occupy the top positions of BAERA. It shows that the authorities are least concerned about the safety of the proposed nuclear plant at Rooppur.
The real motive for making the amendment is a mystery. It is probable that the changes were made because of unavailability of sufficiently qualified and trained engineers. In that case, our priority should have been to train necessary manpower first before embarking on an ambitious nuclear power programme. Furthermore, the concerned authorities are solely responsible for creating this crisis. They, perhaps due to negligence or incompetence, did not initiate any serious programme of recruitment and training of nuclear engineers during the last six years in spite of our strong recommendations at a round table organised by The Daily Star and ABUETA (DS, May 10, 2009) and attended by the adviser on power and energy and the state minister of science and technology. Did we not have enough time to train at least fifty nuclear engineers with MS degrees by now if we had acted promptly at that time?
The recent amendment could partly relax the experience only in selected cases but certainly not the requirements of qualifications or training. How can one ensure nuclear safety without a solid background (at least at MS level) in nuclear engineering and nuclear reactor safety? It is inconceivable and unacceptable in the nuclear industry. By relaxing the qualifications and experience of the top officials of the BAERA, the authorities have acted most irresponsibly and put the country at the risk of a likely ‘man-made’ nuclear disaster.
No solution in sight, to South Korea’s mounting tonnes of radioactive trash
As Nuclear Waste Piles Up, South Korea Faces Storage Crisis, Scientific American, 14 Oct 14 Among the usual commercials for beer, noodles and cars on South Korean TV, one item stands in marked contrast. By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL (Reuters) – Among the usual commercials for beer, noodles and cars on South Korean TV, one item stands in marked contrast.
A short film by a government advisory body carries a stark message: the nation faces a crisis over storing its spent nuclear fuel after running reactors for decades.
The world’s fifth-largest user of nuclear power has around 70 percent, or nearly 9,000 tonnes, of its used fuel stacked in temporary storage pools originally intended to hold it for five or six years, with some sites due to fill by the end of 2016.
It plans to cram those sites with more fuel than they were originally intended to hold while it looks for a permanent solution, suggesting little has been learned from the Fukushima disaster in neighboring Japan.
In the Fukushima crisis in 2011, the storage of large amounts of spent nuclear fuel in elevated pools posed a threat of massive radioactive release on top of meltdowns at three reactors. Spent fuel rods heated up after a quake knocked out water-cooling pumps, underlining the dangers of holding troves of radioactive material in relatively exposed cooling ponds.
“We cannot keep stacking waste while dragging our feet,” said Park Ji-young, director of the science and technology unit at respected think tank the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
“If we fail to reach a conclusion (on how to manage spent fuel), it would be time to debate if we should stop nuclear power generation.” With South Koreans still spooked by Fukushima and a scandal at home over fake safety certificates for nuclear equipment, the commission has its work cut out to come up with more than a temporary fix to the storage crunch in a report due by year-end………..
OUT OF FAVOR
A permanent solution remains elusive, Continue reading
Subsoil under Fukushima nuclear plants – highest level ever, following typhoon
Highest radiation in ground water at Japan’s NPP after nuclear disaster http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/75421 October 14, 
The caesium isotope content has made 251,000 Becquerel (Bq) per liter in subsoil water taken from a technical well at 1st and 2nd power units at Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant OKYO, October 14. /TASS/. The highest radiation level was registered in subsoil water taken from a technical well at 1st and 2nd power units at Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant after the nuclear disaster in Japan in 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company operating the nuclear plant said on Tuesday. The underground water sample was taken on October 13.
The caesium isotope content has made 251,000 Becquerel (Bq) per liter. Japan has set the highest permissible level of these elements for water split in the ocean at 30 Bq.
Company’s experts said that a surge in radiation was linked with the impact of a typhoon raging in the locality, when heavy rain triggered spread of radiation-contaminated particles in underground water. Now nuclear plant’s specialists are pumping out ground water urgently to prevent it from leaking into the ocean.
South Korea desperately buying time, as another 750 tonnes add yearly to its nuclear waste stack
it’s really stupid to just keep on making the stuff
As Nuclear Waste Piles Up, South Korea Faces Storage Crisis, Scientific American, 14 Oct 14“……….The 23 nuclear reactors in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy add a total of 750 tonnes of spent fuel every year to the 13,300 tonnes that filled 71 percent of its wet and dry storage capacity as of last year, according to reactor operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd, owned by state-run Korea Electric Power Corp.
That means storage could fill by 2021, with some pools in danger of reaching capacity by the end of 2016.
Seoul hopes to win time by stacking spent fuel more densely in those concrete-covered pools next to reactor buildings, and by moving waste to pools at 11 new power plants that are set to be built by 2024.
But experts warn that leaving spent fuel in water could be fraught with danger, even in a country that is not anywhere near as seismically active as Japan. They note that the buildings that house pools are typically not as strong as those that hold reactors, which have steel vessels inside concrete domes.
“Spent fuel in a concrete building next to reactor buildings is vulnerable to missile or other attacks from the outside,” said one expert, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
He said that stacking fuel more densely would compound any risk as it would reduce air circulation.
“Air circulation helps lower chances of spent fuel meltdown if water drains or water-cooling pumps are broken when hit by natural disaster or terror attack.”http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-nuclear-waste-piles-up-south-korea-faces-storage-crisis/
Following typhoon, record levels of ‘highly toxic’ nuclear material near Fukushima reactor
Officials: Typhoon caused significant increase in radioactive releases from Fukushima — Record levels of ‘highly toxic’ nuclear material found in ground outside reactor — Among the most poisonous substances at plant http://enenews.com/officials-typhoon-caused-significant-increase-radioactive-releases-fukushima-record-levels-highly-toxic-nuclear-material-found-ground-reactor-among-poisonous-substances-plant?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29 10 Oct 14
Radiological Fact Sheet; [It’s] possible to dissolve Co-60… making it a potential inhalation or ingestion hazard… Inhaled Co-60 contamination can give high radiation dose to lungs…Ingested insoluble Co-60 can give high radiation dose to the intestinal tract, while soluble Co-60 distributes fairly evenly through the body… “hot” particles can give very high dose locally, in area of particle… 45% of Co-60 that enters the blood is evenly distributed through the body…
Michael Maqua, nuclear expert and head of plant engineering at GRS, Oct. 10, 2014: Over the past days, the concentration of radioactive substances in the groundwater has increased significantly at some of the plant’s measuring points and, according to TEPCO, this was caused by the recent heavy rains… Contaminated water… is in fact constantly reaching sea water… caused, for example, by leakages in building structures
From Oct. 6: Typhoon triggers alarm at Fukushima — Warning of leakage at Units 1, 3
Tight control over town meetings, as Japan’s authorities sell the idea of nuclear power
In a statement emailed to Reuters, Greenpeace called the meetings a “farce”. The group said it was clear officials considered the event a one-way conversation without truly addressing residents’ concerns.
Japan pitches nuclear restart in tightly controlled townhalls BY KENTARO HAMADA SATSUMASENDAI Japan Fri Oct 10, 2014 (Reuters) – As part of a plan to restart its nuclear industry, Japan on Thursday began a controversial consultation process with local residents near idled reactors that was criticized for failing to give everyone in the region a say.
More than a year after Japan’s last reactor was shut down in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, officials began a series of townhall meetings to explain the approval process that cleared the Sendai plant in the southwest of the country for restart.
But local authorities set strict ground rules for the first meeting in Satsumasendai, the coastal city of 98,000 people 1,000 km (600 miles) southwest of Tokyo that hosts the two-reactor Kyushu Electric Power Co facility. “As we saw in Fukushima, once there’s an accident, the impact is felt across a large region,” said Makoto Matsuzaki, an anti-nuclear legislator for Kagoshima prefecture, where Satsumasendai is located.
“They face that risk but have no rights and no say,” said the Japanese Communist Party assemblywoman. “It’s like going to get a risky surgery at a hospital without giving your consent.”…….
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) approved Sendai’s safety features in September. The plant still needs to pass operational safety checks.
The government says it will defer to local authorities before proceeding, but there are no legally binding rules governing the consultation process. 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
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