Radioactivity in Fukushima reactor No.2 ten times greater than in No.1
Unit 2 water 10 times more radioactive than Unit 1 — 47,000,000 becquerels per liter in turbine room basement July 25th, 2012 By ENENews Nuclides Analysis Result of the Accumulated Water in the Turbine BuildingBasement at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Tepco Published July 23, 2012 Sample Taken: July 10, 2012
Cs-137 4,300,000 becquerels per liter (Bq/l) in water inside Unit 1 Turbine Building basement
47,000,000 Bq/l in water inside Unit 2 Turbine Building basement
Cs-134 2,700,000 Bq/l in water inside Unit 1 Turbine Building basement
29,000,000 Bq/l in water inside Unit 2 Turbine Building basement 1 cm³ = 1 milliliter…….
http://enenews.com/unit-2-water-10-times-more-radioactive-than-unit-1-47000000-becquerels-per-liter-in-turbine-room-basement
Japanese turning to clean energy, and energy efficiency, in a big way
The World’s Next Hot Solar Power Market May 
Be Japan HUFFINGTON POST: 07/25/2012 With its nuclear power plants virtually shuttered since the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, Japan is starting to turn to clean energy in a big way.
On July 1, one of the world’s most aggressive examples of a feed-in tariff (FIT) — a key government incentive for renewable energy — took effect in Japan. A FIT essentially requires utilities to buy kilowatt-hours of electricity from clean, renewable sources like solar, wind, and geothermal at a rate prescribed by the government. Such policies have been behind the rapid growth of solar energy in countries like Spain, Italy, and Germany. No one thinks of Germany for its sunshine, but it’s actually the largest solar energy market in the world, with 25 gigawatts of solar capacity installed (output comparable to about 20 large nuclear reactors) at the end of 2011…..
Japanese government out of step with public on nuclear power
“the demonstrations started out with 500, then several thousand and have now even reached 150,000. Each week, they have grown.”
The dissent on the issue of nuclear energy is bringing to the fore tensions between the political establishment and public will.
“Japan could easily end its reliance on the nuclear energy. From May 5 to July 5, Japan was nuclear free. No single power plant operated and there were no black outs…Japan is the most ideal country for renewable energy. We have sun. We have wind everywhere. What is missing is the political will.”.
After Fukushima, Nuclear Power on Collision Course With Japanese Public The Indypendent, BY TINA GERHARDTJULY 25, 2012 “….. in May, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in the face of overwhelming public opposition, decided to restart Japan’s nuclear power plants. Now, a growing movement is protesting the decision.
Weekly demonstrations, with turnout initially numbering in the hundreds, have been taking place on Friday evenings in front of the Prime Minister’s office. People show up after work and school. And their numbers have been swelling, reaching into the thousands in recent weeks. Continue reading
Japan’s religious leaders call for an end to nuclear power
Religious figures call for future free of atomic energy http://www.japan-press.co.jp/modules/news/index.php?id=3629July 14, 2012 Regardless of differences in faiths, 51 religious figures on July 13 jointly published a statement calling for an end to nuclear power generation.
Initiators of this statement, including the former president of the
Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF) and a reverend of the Anglican
Episcopal Church in Japan, met in Kyoto City to seek broader support
to the statement from other religious leaders.
Kono Taitsu, the former JBF president and now the chief priest of the Myoshinn-ji branch of the Rinzai Zen Denomination, said, “As a religious leader who speaks to the value of life, I came to feel obliged to say something” about the nuclear energy issue.
The statement asserts that the Fukushima accident has proven that all beings and creatures cannot coexist with atomic energy, and points out that as nuclear power plants “inevitably accumulate radioactive wastes, they will endanger ‘all living things’ and pass on a negative legacy to future generations.”
The statement requests that the government and nuclear establishment complete the earliest possible decontamination, provide long-term healthcare for victims, and sincerely fulfill compensation obligations.
Regarding the resumption of operations and export of nuclear power plants with the cause of the Fukushima accident still remaining unknown, the statement criticizes these moves as “giving preference on ‘making money’ over safeguarding ‘lives’.”
Japan Shifts from Nuclear Power to Renewable Power
International Support for Renewable Energy, Environmental Leader, Jeff Colton, 24 July 12, “……As a result of the vulnerability and global scrutiny of nuclear power following the March 2011 earthquake in Japan and the resulting Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan recently approved incentives for renewable energy, which will help the country decrease its dependence on nuclear power and increase clean energy programs, such as offshore wind farms . These incentives could result in billions of dollars in clean energy investment, expanding revenue from renewable generation and equipment, including wind turbine components such as ultracapacitors, to more than $30 billion by 2016…….. Just 1 percent of Japan’s power supply comes from renewable energy sources, apart from hydro-electric dams which account for most of the rest of the electric power.
Despite the low starting point, Japan has the potential to generate cleaner and safer energy from renewable sources such as the sun, wind and geothermal. Over the past decade, Japan’s wind power capacity has multiplied to 2.5 million kilowatts, and the Japan Wind Power Association estimates the country can generate 740 million kilowatts of wind power on a commercial basis on land and offshore. With worldwide estimates suggesting 118,000 wind turbines installations through 2015 and nearly 75 percent of new turbines using electric pitch control systems, wind turbine design teams will turn to ultracapacitors as a reliable and cost-effective option. The newly approved incentives aim to spur growth in the renewable energy industry in Japan, just as subsidies have driven substantial renewable energy growth in Germany….. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/07/24/international-support-for-renewable-energy/
USA rejects South Korea’s push to enrich uranium
Samore says no need for S. Korea to enrich uranium By Lee Chi-dong WASHINGTON, July 23 (Yonhap) — Gary Samore, President Barack Obama’s top aide for nonproliferation, said Monday that the U.S. sees no need for South Korea to enrich uranium, a stance against Seoul’s goals. Continue reading
Solar energy panels designed specifically for Japanese roofs
Global Solar Energy Brings Powerful Building Integrated Solar to Japan’s Growing Renewable Energy Market, Clean Technica, JULY 24, 2012 BY NICHOLAS BROWN Global Solar Energy Incorporated, a manufacturer of flexible solar panels, has announced that it is entering the Japanese solar market with flexible solar panels that are designed specifically for Japanese roofs. Continue reading
Radiation exposure to over 40 Indian nuclear power plant workers
The first accident occurred on June 23 when 38 people were exposed during maintenance work on a coolant channel at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata, senior plant manager Vinod Kumar told AFP.
Two of them received radiation doses equivalent to the annual permissible limit, he said, but all those involved have returned to work.
In a second incident last Thursday, another four maintenance workers at the plant were exposed to tritium radiation while they were repairing a faulty seal on a pipe.
India is on a nuclear power drive, with a host of plants based on Russian, Japanese, American and French technology under consideration or construction. … environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often under-staffed and under-funded…..
In May 2011, four labourers were exposed to low levels of radiation at the Kakrapur Atomic Power Station in eastern Gujarat state.
In November 2009, workers at a nuclear plant in southern Karnataka state fell ill after radioactive water contaminated their drinking water. … http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/40-india-nuclear-plant-workers-contaminated-firm/articleshow/15119386.cms
Japan not able to find truly independent nuclear power regulators
Japan Struggles to Find New Nuclear Regulators WSJ, By MARI IWATA TOKYO July 24, 2012,—Racing against a legislative deadline, the Japanese government
is trying to find regulators who understand nuclear technology—but aren’t close to the nuclear industry.
Cronyism has been widely blamed for contributing to the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. following the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011. In a scathing investigation commissioned by parliament, a panel concluded: “The Tepco Fukushima nuclear-power-plant accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and Tepco.” Continue reading
Children led into radioactive areas in Fukushima accident chaos
Nuclear plant chaos http://www.smh.com.au/world/nuclear-plant-chaos-20120724-22n74.html#ixzz21gCDQY2E Chaotic evacuations after the tsunami struck the Fukushima nuclear power plant left children in areas where radiation was dangerously high while causing unnecessary deaths among patients hastily removed from hospitals, an inquiry has found.
The 450-page report on the inquiry said the failure to act on computer-aided predictions of
radioactive releases as the disaster unfolded might have caused residents of at least two communities to be led straight into the radioactive plume.
Shortage of workers at Fukushima amid revelations of “doctored” radiation records
Fukushima Watch: Doctoring Dosimeters — How Far Did It Go? WSJ, By Mitsuru Obe and Phred Dvorak, 23 July 12 Over the weekend, a subcontractor that worked at the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant confessed to asking some of its employees to put lead covers on their dosimeters in order to keep their radiation exposure readings artificially low. Now, Japanese officials are trying to figure out whether the subcontractor, a small Fukushima Prefecture-based firm, was the only one to doctor dosimeters or whether other companies may have done the same…. Continue reading
Anti nuclear movement becoming a force in Japan’s elections
Fukushima Watch: Anti-Nuclear Candidate Gains Ground in Yamaguchi Race WSJ. 23 July 12, By Yoree Koh Pro- and anti-nuclear candidates are again locked in battle in a Japanese local election. But while pro-nuclear candidates have had the upper hand in all post-Fukushima elections until now, a clean slate of newcomers has made the gubernatorial contest in Yamaguchi prefecture one of the most high-profile among the anti-nuclear camp as recent
polls indicate the candidate opposing nuclear power appears to have a fighting chance for the seat……
The Yamaguchi race is seen as the latest litmus test of voters’ opinions on the soul-searching issue of nuclear power — a controversial topic that has become even more divisive among members of the public than a contentious sales tax hike. Helping further focus attention on the nuclear issue in the upcoming poll is the pending issue of whether to unfreeze a planned nuclear power plant in the town of Kaminoseki…..
Perhaps the most significant figure to emerge from the two polls is that about 71% of respondents in the Asahi survey said they were against construction plans for the Kaminoseki nuclear plant. http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2012/07/23/fukushima-watch-anti-nuclear-candidate-gains-ground-in-yamaguchi-race/
4 exposed to radiation at Rajasthan n-plant Express news service : Jaipur, Jul 24 2012 In the second such incident in a month, four workers at Rawatbhata Atomic Power Station in Rajasthan were exposed to harmful doses of leaked tritium radiationon July 19. Two persons were exposed to similar radiation on June 29.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/4-exposed-to-radiation-at-rajasthan-nplant/978569/
Widespread practice of underreporting radiation exposure of Fukushima workers
AP: Fukushima radiation cover-up http://enenews.com/ap-fukushima-radiation-cover-believed-be-part-widespread-practice-plant 22 July 12, “believed to be part of a widespread practice at the plant” Japanese authorities are investigating subcontractors on suspicion of forcing workers at the tsunami-hit nuclear plant to underreport the amount of radiation they were exposed to so they could stay on the job longer.
The investigation marks the first time the government has looked into the case, believed to be part of a widespread practice at the plant since it was hit by the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.
Health and Labor Ministry officials […] said TEPCO had several workers share a dosimeter not just early in the crisis when the equipment was in short supply due to tsunami damage, but even after a full stock had been regained.
Fukushima workers faked radiation doses, to keep their jobs
Without faking the exposure level, the executive told the workers they would quickly reach the legally permissible annual exposure limit of 50 millisieverts,
Japan firm ‘told workers to lie about radiation dose’ News.com.au July 21, 2012 Workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan were apparently told to lie about radiation.
A SUBCONTRACTOR at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant reportedly told workers to lie about possible high radiation exposure. Continue reading
1 This Month
1 June Webinar – The High Cost of Nuclear Power – Register
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- May 2026 (235)
- 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 