Hiroshima remembers. Mayor rebukes Abe government
Hiroshima marks atom-bomb anniversary as Japan unveils warship (+video) Hiroshima marked the 68th anniversary Tuesday of the dropping of ‘Little Boy’ on the city. Sixty-eight years later, citizens of Hiroshima and the nation of Japan are considering revising its war-renouncing Constitution. By Gavin Blair, CSM, Correspondent / August 6, 2013 TOKYO
As 50,000 people marked the 68th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the mayor of the city used his speech at the somber annual ceremony to criticize Tokyo‘s plans to both restart the country’s nuclear reactors and export the technology. A peace bell was struck at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday, the moment the ‘Little Boy’ bomb was dropped on Hiroshima from a Boeing B-29 Superfortress on Aug. 6, 1945. ……
Hiroshima’s mayor is critical
In the traditional peace declaration speech delivered every year by the mayor of Hiroshima, however, Mayor Kazumi Matsui rebuked the Abe administration over its intention to sell Japanese nuclear power technology to India, one of four countries that have not signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferationof Nuclear Weapons. Continue reading
Japan’s emergency experimental methods to stem flow of radioactive water
J
apan Nuclear Plant’s Battle to Contain Radioactive Water Tepco Builds Sunken Barrier to Ring-Fence Site, but Water May Have Already Overtopped Wall WSJ, 6 Aug 13, by MARI IWATA and PHRED DVORAK “…………As an emergency measure, Tepco last month started to inject the ground near the coast with chemicals that hardened it into an underground barrier. But since then, groundwater levels in the area have risen faster, as they hit the barrier. Recently, Tepco has found that the groundwater has risen to around a meter below the surface—already above the level of the underground barrier, which starts 1.8 meters down.Now, Tepco is planning to pump out some of the water that’s built up behind the barrier, and store it as well. It’s preparing to extend the underground hardened-earth barrier in a ring around the most heavily contaminated section of coastline, in hopes of heading groundwater off before it can flood in. Tepco is also proposing to cap that ringed section with gravel and asphalt, so nothing gets out. The operator is hoping to get an initial ring of hardened ground done by October.
The company has some other more experimental ideas on the table as well. One involves surrounding the contaminated reactor buildings with a shield of frozen soil.
But there’s a risk to changing the flow of groundwater in the ways that Tepco is considering, said Tatsuya Shinkawa, nuclear accident response director of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, at a news conference last month. The water could pool dangerously underground, softening the earth and potentially toppling the reactor buildings, he said. Tepco should also try things like using robots to fix cracks in the reactor buildings where the water is likely seeping through.
Freezing soil has its own problems, said Kunio Watanabe, a geology professor at Saitama University. The technology, which is used in civil engineering to dig tunnels, may be able to cut down the amount of groundwater entering the contaminated site, but it is expensive. “You’ll need hundreds of millions of yen to build a system,” Mr. Watanabe said. “You’ll also need a large amount of electricity to maintain the ice walls.”….. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323420604578651713545887032.html
Fukushima’s radioactive leak now reaches emergency stage
Contaminated water could rise to the ground’s surface within three weeks, national newspaper Asahi Shimbun said on Saturday. Mr. Kinjo said the three-week timeline was not based on NRA’s calculations but acknowledged that if the water reaches the surface, “it would flow extremely fast.”
A Tepco official said on Monday the company plans to start pumping out a further 100 tonnes of groundwater a day around the end of the week.
Radioactive leak from crippled Japanese nuclear plant creating ‘emergency’ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/radioactive-leak-from-crippled-japanese-nuclear-plant-creating-emergency/article13602630/ ANTONI SLODKOWSKI AND MARI SAITO TOKYO — Reuters Monday, Aug. 05 2013 Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an “emergency” that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country’s nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.
Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the utility that runs Fukushima, are only a temporary solution, he said.
Tepco’s “sense of crisis is weak,” Mr. Kinjo said. “This is why you can’t just leave it up to Tepco alone” to grapple with the ongoing disaster.
“Right now, we have an emergency,” Continue reading
Nearly 1000 Fukushima workers have increased risk of getting leukaemia
9,640 Fukushima plant workers reach radiation level for leukemia compensation http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201308050104 August 05, 2013 By MIKI AOKI/ Staff Writer Nearly 10,000 people who worked at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant are eligible for workers’ compensation if they develop leukemia, but few are aware of this and other cancer redress programs. Continue reading
Discovery of medical records of world’s first nuclear bomb radiation victim
“The records are invaluable as those reporting in detail on changes in her health condition after she was exposed to a fatal level of radiation.”
Medical records of world’s first radiation victim from A-bomb recovered Asahi Shimbun, By YURI OIWA/ Staff Writer, 4 August 13,
Long-lost medical records detailing the sharply deteriorating health of the world’s first recognized radiation sickness patient have been
recovered 68 years after the victim died within weeks of being exposed to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.
The patient, Midori Naka, a stage actress, died 18 days after she was injured in the nuclear blast on Aug. 6, 1945. She was staying in Hiroshima as part of a traveling theater troupe. After returning to Tokyo a few days later, Naka died while undergoing treatment, which included blood transfusions, at the University of Tokyo Hospital. She was 36.
The discovery came after decades of efforts by researchers to locate her missing records.The hospital kept updates of her condition leading up to her death and the results of her autopsy. But other vital records have been missing until their recent recovery.
Kazuhiko Maekawa, professor emeritus with the University of Tokyo who is expert in treating patients suffering from radiation exposure, hailed the discovery of Naka’s medical records. Continue reading
Up to 40 trillion becquerels of tritium in the sea, from Fukushima
Japan learns extent of nuclear leakage, news.com.au AAP August 04, 2013 THE operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has given its first public estimate of the size of the leakage of radioactive tritium into the Pacific Ocean since the disaster.
Between 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of the substance is estimated to have leaked into the sea since May 2011, said Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). It was the first such figure TEPCO has released since a massive tsunami led to the accident in March 2011, a spokesman said Sunday…..
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/japan-learns-extent-of-nuclear-leakage/story-e6frfkui-1226691042588#ixzz2b7p2HHZg
Japanese island resisted nuclear bribery for 31 years
it is unfair to push the islanders against their will into something they have strived so hard all these years to steer well clear of.
Japanese island that has refused nuclear money for 31 years pushed into a 
compromising situation http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/08/03/japanese-island-that-has-refused-nuclear-money-for-31-years-pushed-into-a-compromising-situation/ After the explosion at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant back in 2011, the subject of nuclear power has become a very delicate and complicated issue for the Japanese. While there is an element of danger associated with the creation of nuclear energy, many towns have also benefited from the large sums of compensation, known as “nuclear money”, that have gone into creating jobs and strengthening the prosperity of areas that have agreed to home such power plants.
Despite pressure from surrounding groups and the mainland, a small island off the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture has for years refused to have anything to do with nuclear money, and has firmly opposed plans to build nuclear power stations in the area. But all that may be about to change.
Iwai island is a Japanese island that lies out to sea opposite the site where Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant is expected to be built in the Yamaguchi Prefecture, and home to around 500 people. What makes this island markedly different from mainland Yamaguchi Prefecture is the determination with which the islanders have fought off “nuclear money” for over 31 years in attempt to preserve a safe, clean environment. While the prefecture’s local government has been accepting nuclear money for many years and pushing for the completion of Kaminoseki power plant, a staggering 90 percent of Iwai islanders are against plans for the power plant being built so close to where they live. Continue reading
40 feet below Fukushima nuclear reactor, radioactivity becomes greater
Revealed: The deeper they check underneath Fukushima plant, the higher contamination levels get http://enenews.com/revealed-the-deeper-they-check-underneath-fukushima-plant-the-higher-contamination-levels-get-now-sampling-over-40-feet-below-surface
gets, Tepco revealsitle: Cesium levels in water under Fukushima No. 1 plant soar the deeper it gets, Tepco revealsSource: JIJI, Kyodo
Date: Aug 1, 2013
Cesium levels in water under Fukushima No. 1 plant soar the deeper it gets, Tepco reveals […]
Tepco found 950 million becquerels of cesium and 520 million becquerels of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium, in the water from 13 meters [~43 feet] underground.Water from 1 meter down contained 340 million becquerels, and a sample from 7 meters down contained 350 million becquerels.
[…] Cesium, a metallic element, is subject to gravity. […] also: Official reveals contamination levels at Fukushima plant are likely higher outside reactor units than inside
Strange highly radioactive objects found on Fukushima coast
TEPCO sources said they were considering asking an outside agency to conduct a detailed analysis, citing limitations on what the utility could investigate
Mystery objects with high radiation found on Fukushima coast Asahi Shimbun, By SHUNSUKE 
KIMURA/ Staff Writer August 03, 2013 In a coastal area long silent due to the Fukushima nuclear accident, the only sounds of human activity on June 18 were from workers removing rubble and continuing their decontamination efforts. But soon, their supervisor discovered something that broke up the monotony of the work and added to the eeriness of the atmosphere.
After a call to the Environment Ministry, Takeshi Kato, 55, a ministry specialist, immediately headed to the location about 15 kilometers south of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
As he slowly walked around with a dosimeter, he reached a hot spot where radiation levels nearly doubled those of the surrounding areas. Using a fallen branch to clear away dirt, Kato uncovered a grayish pile about 3 centimeters long, about 1.5 cm wide and about 0.5 cm thick.
The surface of the pile, which looked like soil, had gamma ray readings of about 85 microsieverts per hour. The total reading, including beta rays, came to 1 millisievert per hour.
It was the first of four mysterious objects with high radiation levels found near the mouth of the Idegawa river in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture. Continue reading
Uranium glut pile rises, with doubts over Japan’s much-touted nuclear restart
.All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors remain idle due to the Fukushima disaster and must meet stricter safety standards set by the NRA before they can be restarted………The reactor review process is likely to take six months for each one, Deutsche Bank said in a July 15 note, citing NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka. An evaluation of all of Japan’s reactors may take more than three years
Slow reactor restart process rattles energy markets as uranium piles up, Japan Times, BLOOMBERG AUG 2, 2013 MELBOURNE – Uranium prices are showing little sign of recovery after sinking to their lowest levels in more than seven years amid a glut of the radioactive metal and speculation Japan will delay restarting its reactors……….. Uranium has averaged $40.94 so far in 2013 after sliding to $34.50 in July, the lowest price since November 2005.
While Japanese power producers including Tokyo Electric Power Co. are seeking to restart reactors as soon as possible as the cost of other fuels escalates, operations may not resume until next year, according to Deutsche Bank AG.
That’s threatening to delay a rebound in demand for uranium, hurting miners such as Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd. as supplies outstrip demand. There is about 60 million pounds of surplus uranium around the world, according to Cantor Fitzgerald LP.
“The process for restarts is clearly going to take some time,” said Jonathan Hinze, a senior vice president at Ux, which provides research on the nuclear industry. “Japanese utilities are unlikely to require any new fuel until 2014 at the earliest. There is a realization that the uranium demand from Japan is unlikely to dramatically change anytime soon, especially this year.”
Uranium for immediate delivery has dropped as much as 21 percent this year, extending a 17 percent decline in 2012, according to data from Ux. Prices slumped 12 percent in July, the biggest monthly loss since March 2011. They climbed as high as $152 in June 2007.
“The weakness in uranium prices is partially attributable to uncertainty surrounding the timetable for reactor restarts in Japan,” John Borshoff, the chief executive officer of Australia-based Paladin Energy, said in the company’s quarterly production report July 16…..All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors remain idle due to the Fukushima disaster and must meet stricter safety standards set by the NRA before they can be restarted………The reactor review process is likely to take six months for each one, Deutsche Bank said in a July 15 note, citing NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka. An evaluation of all of Japan’s reactors may take more than three years…..Deutsche said.http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/02/business/slow-reactor-restart-process-rattles-energy-markets-as-uranium-piles-up/#.Uf2iE9Jwo6I
Atomic bombing of Japanese cities was wrong and unnecessary
In a Newsweek interview, Ike would add: “…the Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing.”
Countdown to Hiroshima, for July 31, 1945: Top Truman Aide Opposes Use of Bomb Greg Mitchell, HUFFINGTON POST, : 07/31/2013 For the past several days here, and for more to come, I am counting down the days to the atomic bombing of Japan (August 6 and August 9, 1945), marking events from the same day in 1945. I’ve written hundreds of article and three books on the subject: Hiroshima in America (with Robert Jay Lifton), Atomic Cover-Up (on the decades-long suppression of shocking film shot in the atomic cities by the U.S. military) and Hollywood Bomb (the wild story of how an MGM 1947 drama was censored by the military and Truman himself).
Here are previous daily pieces this month in this unique series.
July 31, 1945: The assembly of Little Boy is completed. It is ready for use the next day. But a typhoon approaching Japan will likely prevent launching an attack. Several days might be required for weather to clear.
- In Germany, Admiral William D. Leahy, chief of staff to Truman–and the highest-ranking U.S. military officer during the war–continues to privately express doubts about the bomb, that it may not work and is not needed, in any case. He would later write in his memoirs:
“It is my opinion that the use of this barbarous weapon at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.”The lethal possibilities of atomic warfare in the future are frightening. My own feeling was that in being the first to use it, we had adopted an ethical standard common to the barbarians of the Dark Ages. I was not taught to make war in that fashion, and wars cannot be won by destroying women and children.”…………… Continue reading
Fukushima radioactive water tanks may not last long
‘Water Storage Nightmare’: Bolts in Fukushima tanks will corrode in just a few years, plant workers reveal — “Tepco says it doesn’t know how long tanks will hold” – http://enenews.com/nightmare-bolts-fukushima-tanks-will-corrode-years-plant-workers-reveal-full-extremely-radioactive-water-tepco-doesnt-long-tanks-will-hold-reuters
Title: Fukushima clean-up turns toxic for Japan’s Tepco
Source: Reuters
Authors: Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito
Date: July 31, 2013
[…] WATER STORAGE NIGHTMARE
Experts say Tepco is attempting the most ambitious nuclear clean-up in history, even greater than the Chernobyl disaster […]
[…] radioactive water that cools the reactors […] mixes with some 400 tonnes of fresh groundwater pouring into the plant daily.
Workers have built more than 1,000 tanks […]
With more than 85 percent of the 380,000 tonnes of storage capacity filled, Tepco has said it could run out of space.
The tanks are built from parts of disassembled old containers brought from defunct factories and put together with new parts, workers from the plant told Reuters. They say steel bolts in the tanks will corrode in a few years.
Tepco says it does not know how long the tanks will hold. […]
Drain radioactive water from underground tunnels – TEPCO is ordered
TEPCO ORDERED TO DRAIN RADIOACTIVE WATER FROM UNDERGROUND TUNNELS http://www.tokyotimes.com/2013/tepco-ordered-to-drain-radioactive-water-from-underground-tunnels/ 31 July 13 BY TOKYO TIMES
Japan’s nuclear regulator ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to drain all underground radioactive water from the underground tunnels of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The measure is taken after the authorities made public the fact that radioactive water leaked into the sea at the Fukushima nuclear plant site.
High levels of radioactivity have been detected in wells in the plant site and an adjacent port since May, the media reports.
The operator says it will start injecting chemicals into the gravel layers to block the water and that it will also decontaminate the water in the tunnels from September by circulating it through a purifier.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said Saturday it has detected 2.35 billion becquerels of cesium per liter from water in an underground passage at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that is leaking into the sea. This is roughly the same level as the level of radiation measured in April 2011, shortly after the nuclear disaster the preceding month.
The water sample taken Friday from a trench contained 750 million becquerels of cesium-134 and 1.6 billion becquerels of cesium-137 per liter, while 750 million becquerels of other radioactive substances were detected, according to TEPCO, quoted by Kyodo.
The trench is located below the No. 2 reactor turbine building and is hypothetically the source of the latest leakage into the ocean.
The operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant admitted for the first time, last week, that the radioactive underground water leaked into the ocean. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) was studying radioactive water in its monitoring wells since May and recently observed a drop in the radioactivity. This can only mean that the tainted water leaked into the Pacific Ocean.
Secrecy over the REAL state of Fukushima nuclear plant
“They say everything’s fine until bad data comes out.”
Japanese utility, and the public, in dark about crippled nuclear plant -Japanese utility, and the public, in dark about crippled
* Tokyo Electric Power confronts many unknowns at crippled plant
* Japanese public also in the dark over clean-up, say critics
* Utility says radiation makes it hard to reach all parts of facility
* Says trying to explain clean-up problems to the public
* Chair of third party panel blames incompetence, not deliberate policy
By Antoni Slodkowski and Mari Saito TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) – Two and a half years after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima plant faces a daunting array of unknowns.
What is clear, say critics, is that Tokyo Electric Power Co is keeping a nervous Japanese public in the dark about what it does know.
The inability of the utility, known as Tepco, to get to grips with the situation raises questions over whether it can successfully decommission the Fukushima Daiichi plant, say industry experts and analysts. Continue reading
Kanagawa’s malformed beetle larvae, Fukushima
“Larvae of beetles were all malformed and died in a few days in Kanagawa” [Express] “Larvae of beetles were all malformed and died in a few days in Kanagawa” | Fukushima…
When the larvae got out of the soil recently, they were terribly malformed and died soon. The larvae of another child were also malformed and died soon. Probably there are more unreported.
1 This Month
19 May – Webinar No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War
1 June Webinar – The High Cost of Nuclear Power – Register
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
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