Japan’s government on shaky ground as it promotes nuclear power
In another development that could fan public concerns about nuclear safety, Trade and industry minister Yukio Edano said the government would review seismological data for nuclear plants to assess whether any are built on active fault lines.
He was responding to media reports that a review by the nuclear watchdog indicated Hokuriku Electric Power Co’s Shika station northwest of Tokyo sits atop a faultline……
Nuclear issue puts increasing pressure on Japan government By Linda Sieg, additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori and Risa Maeda TOKYO Jul 18, 2012 (Reuters) – Japan’s government came under fire on Tuesday over its handling of public hearings on nuclear energy policy, threatening to dent already sagging support for the 
ruling party ahead of an election many expect to be this year.
The latest furor follows Monday’s massive rally in Tokyo against nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, an issue now so contentious that lawmakers and analysts say it could trump taxes as the focus of lower house elections, which must be held by September 2013 but could come sooner.
“This gives the impression that they haven’t learned anything,” Continue reading
Can Japan’s government continue to ignore the growing anti nuclear protests?
“There’s something wrong in this country when even if thousands of people protest in front of the prime minister’s residence they still reactivate the plants,”
Tokyo Anti-Nuclear Rally Attracts Thousands As Protests Grow Bloomberg, By Aya Takada, Shunichi Ozasa and Scilla Alecci – Jul 16, 2012 Tens of thousands of people packed Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park yesterday for Japan’s biggest anti-nuclear rally since the Fukushima disaster last year in growing protests against government moves to restart atomic reactors. Continue reading
Delhi High Court considers radiation poisoning of university researcher
“Strontium 90 is a toxic radioactive substance having a half life of about 28 years, a beta rays emitter and is one of the most hazardous products … Which if enters the human body, it accumulates within the bone marrow and over a period of time would cause certain type of cancers/tumors of the bone and of the blood cell….
they mixed the “hazardous and radioactive Strontium in a liquid form in cups of tea which the petitioner used to consume without knowing that those were contaminated.”
Researcher Affected by Radiation: Centre’s Reply Sought http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=769120 PTI | NEW DELHI | JUL 17, 2012 The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre’s response to a plea by a researcher in a Haryana university accusing his guide and other staffers of making him drink tea, laced with radioactive element Strontium 90. Continue reading
With no future in Japan, nuclear engineers move to other countries
Japan the only country in the world equipped with the know-how to operate the two main types of nuclear power reactors — the pressurized water reactor (PWR) and the boiling water reactor (BWR)….
And it has been the engineers of Tepco and other power companies in Japan who have accumulated the know-how to operate nuclear power plants using nuclear power plant components that incorporate the most advanced technology……
Nuclear engineers ditching Japan for a bigger paycheck, SENTAKU MAGAZINE, July 16, 2012 Although Japan is reputed to be one of the most technologically advanced nations in nuclear power generation, it now faces a serious “brain drain” as some of its highly experienced nuclear engineers are lured to work in other countries for much better remuneration than they could hope to receive at home….
In Japan, public opinion has been increasingly against nuclear power generation since the March 11, 2011, accidents at Tokyo Electric Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Continue reading
Safecast providing impartial information on Fukushima radiation
visit Safecast at blog.safecast.org .
Local governments in Fukushima are linking up with Safecast to get additional readings, for example in schools, and are sharing data with residents. More volunteers are joining, including Europeans and Japanese as well as other nationalities.
U.S. group supplying radiation data Japan Times, 18 July 12By YURI KAGEYAMA People seeking information on radiation levels from the Fukushima crisis are turning to a volunteer group founded in the U.S. that has created a detailed and constantly updated visual database online. Continue reading
Massive police presence does not stop public opposition to Gorakhpur nuclear power plan
Opposition demands scrapping of nuclear project, govt seeks to alley fears quoting scientists Deepender Deswal, TNN | Jul 17, 2012, ROHTAK: Haryana state committee of CPI (M) has demanded scrapping of the proposal for setting up a nuclear power plant at village Gorakhpur village in Fatehabad district in view of stiff opposition expressed by the villagers.
The farmers have been protesting against the proposed nuclear plant for many months and also registered their protest today during public hearing organized by the district administration. The party state secretary Inderjit Singh has claimed that the stand taken by CPI(M), opposition parties and other organizations has been vindicated by the open unwillingness of the people of the area.
He also criticized the massive deployment of police force at Gorakhpur and yet it could not deter the public from expressing their opposition to the nuclear plant. He also described the political stand of the ruling Congress leaders invoking the stand of former chief ministers
like late Devi Lal and Bhajan Lal regarding nuclear power as irrelevant stating that the situation had fundamentally changed in the aftermath of Fukusima accident in Japan.
“Congress leaders should see by themselves that there was a serious rethinking at global level in the matter of nuclear power”, he said…….
Gorakhpur farmers not impressed with pro nuclear speakers
Bishnoi, while addressing the farmers, said that as per rules, the locals should have been given the Environment Impact Assessment report one month before such a hearing, but it was not done.
Public hearing on nuke plant ends abruptly amid tension DNA, Jul 17, 2012, The public hearing on the proposed nuclear power project at Gorakhpur village here today ended abruptly amid tension triggered by the entry of political leaders at the venue.
The hearing was wound up within an hour after it started and efforts of nuclear scientists and Deputy Commissioner ML Kaushik to convince farmers went in vain as they were not ready to listen to them and raised slogans.
As Haryana Janhit Congress chief and Hisar MP Kuldip Bishnoi, and INLD leader Abhay Chautala entered the venue, the deputy commissioner stopped the proceedings and declared the hearing as “close and complete”. He abruptly wound up the discussion and left the place with the scientists and officers in a huff to avoid any ugly situation at the village where a huge police force was deployed. Continue reading
Study on cancer from Fukushima, but they didn’t count internal emitters of radiation
Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs
Note that this study – like so many touted in the media – counts only “external emitters” – not the cancers caused by “internal emitters” . Internal emitters are the sources of radioactive material that lodge inside a person’s body – the lungs or the gut – and will cause cancer later on – perhaps years after they have been taken in by the body, through eating or breathing. They can be taken in long after the actual radioactive release, as they are the particles that have settled somewhere – on the ground, on plants, in water.
Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster may cause 1,300 deaths: report Radio Australia 18 July 2012 US researchers have released a study warning that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan may eventually cause up to 1,300 deaths….. And they forecast anywhere between 24 and 2,500 thousand cases of cancer.
While the estimates have a large range, they do contrast with a UN prediction that the meltdowns would cause no severe health effects…. The study relied on a 3-D atmospheric model to predict the spread of radioactive material, and then calculated the estimated exposure to people in the path of the contamination…
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-07-18/japans-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-may-cause-1300-deaths-report/981808
Tokyo anti nuclear rally by 170,000
Thousands reject nuclear,http://www.theage.com.au/world/thousands-reject-nuclear-20120716-226gd.html#ixzz20xx3KSqt The Age, July 17, 2012, TOKYO. Tens of thousands of people have rallied in Tokyo demanding an end to nuclear power, the latest in a series of demonstrations following the disaster at Fukushima. As many as 170,000 demonstrators chanting ”Don’t resume nuclear power operation. Prime Minister (Yoshihiko) Noda should quit” marched in one of the biggest rallies since last year’s earthquake and tsunami disaster sparked one of the world’s worst atomic disasters. Participants included Nobel-winning author Kenzaburo Oe and Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.
”We are so angry because no progress has been made in terms of compensation and decontamination,” said Noboru Shikatani, 71, who was evacuated from Fukushima following the disaster.
picture from http://www.facebook.com/internetocracy
Japan’s ruling party risks election defeat, due to anti nuclear feeling
Nuclear issue puts increasing pressure on Japan government By Linda Sieg TOKYO Jul 17, 2012 (Reuters) – Japan’s government came under fire on Tuesday over its handling of public hearings on nuclear energy policy, threatening to dent already sagging support for the ruling party ahead of an election many expect to be this year.
The latest furor follows Monday’s massive rally in Tokyo against nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, an issue now so contentious that lawmakers and analysts say it could trump taxes as the focus of lower house elections, which must be held by September 2013 but could come sooner. Continue reading
Secrecy and safety issues at troubled Kudankulam nuclear power plant
An atom of doubt at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant Reuters, By Gokul Chandrasekar JULY 17, 2012 KUDANKULAM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SAFETY ISSUES Opponents of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, under construction in Tamil Nadu, are raising fresh questions about the plant’s safety because of Indian government documents that they say reveal a problem in the design of one of the two reactors.
The reactor’s design differs from the plan that Russia and India came up with when they agreed to build the reactor in 1988, according to the documents published by India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
The design of the reactor pressure vessel, which contains the reactor coolant and core, was not supposed to have welds in its core region, the bulletin said. The vessel has two welds there, it said.
People who live near the Kudankulam plant and the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy called this deviation a “serious breach of contract” that exposes the plant to high failure risk and a higher possibility of offsite radiological contamination. Continue reading
Japan’s Shika nuclear power plant on top of an active earthquake fault?
Shika nuclear plant may sit on active fault Confirmation could doom facility; others probed Japan Times, 17 July 12 Kyodo Government research indicates the fault running beneath Hokuriku Electric Power Co.’s Shika Nuclear Power Station may be active, raising questions about the utility’s claim in the late 1990s to the contrary, according to sources.
Government regulations do not allow construction of a nuclear reactor above an active fault. If it is confirmed active, the Shika nuclear plant in Ishikawa Prefecture may not qualify to operate. Continue reading
Japan’s police not able to stop 150,000 anti nuclear protestors
Tobiyama explained that her husband had come every Friday but that this week was her first time. Flipping open her phone, she showed off a picture of her ninth grandson.
“I’m here so that he won’t have to live in a world with nuclear power,” she said.
Barriers Fail to Stop Japan’s Anti-Nuclear Demonstrators WSJ, By Eleanor Warnock, July 13, 2012, Police cordons and closed subway exits didn’t stop Japanese protesters from carrying on a nearly four-month tradition of holding Friday-night anti-nuclear demonstrations in front of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s residence in Tokyo. The protesters turned up for the 16th such rally to protest the restart of the first nuclear reactors since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and future restarts.
Since the first rally on March 29, the number of participants has grown from 300 to approximately 150,000 this week, according to the organizers. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department told JRT it doesn’t release its own estimate of the number of participants…..
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department ordered that only one of the access points to the nearby subway station be open to people exiting the station, leaving the other three as entrances for workers going home. Police also limited the areas where protesters could stand and didn’t allow protesters to spill from the sidewalk onto the streets. Continue reading
Taiwan – anti nuclear protest alerts rock festival crowd to reactor danger
The [nuclear ] plant is only 8 kilometers away from watershed of Feitsui Resevoir, the major source of drinking water for Taipei residents.
About 7 million people could die as a result of a nuclear disaster at the plant
the plant ‘s safety has been constantly questioned by domestic nuclear experts… Like Japan, Taiwan is also prone to massive earthquakes.
Anti-nuclear activists protest reactor at rock festival http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/taipei/2012/07/16/347687/Anti-nuclear-activists.htm By Kathy Chu-–Only three kilometers away from the fourth nuclear power plant, the five-day Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival kicked off on 7/11 in Gonliao, New Taipei City. According to the estimate, several hundred thousand people would have swarmed to this small seaside town by the end of 7/15. About two dozen young men and women among them, however, were not there for fun; calling themselves the “Anti-Nuclear Troop,” they were there to launch a no-nuke campaign in this annual beach party. Continue reading
Japan moving towards renewable energy
the Japanese Wind Power Association has put the longer-term wind potential at over 200 GW, on and offshore, even taking account of locational constraints. That is similar to Japans total present energy generating capacity.
the aim would be to create a 50 trillion yen ($628 billion) green energy market by 2020 through deregulation and subsidies to promote development of renewable energy and low-emission cars.
Greening Japan’s energy http://environmentalresearchweb.org/blog/2012/07/greening-japans-energy.html 15 July 12 As part of its policy of moving away from nuclear power, the Japanese government is pushing ahead with renewables and improved energy efficiency. Given the urgent need to cut energy demand, following the shut down of all its nuclear plants in May, it encouraged voluntary energy saving initiatives, with some success. Continue reading
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