Tropical deluge might spread Fukushima nuclear radiation
Deluge could spread Fukushima radiation ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy 30 may 11, There are fears a tropical storm off the coast of Japan could wash radioactive material from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the air and sea.
Now downgraded to a tropical storm, former Typhoon Songda is still expected to bring strong winds and torrential rain to Tokyo later this morning, with the Fukushima area also forecast to experience a deluge.
The plant’s operator, Tepco, has apologised for not being prepared for the bad weather. The company has been pouring synthetic resins over the facility to stop radioactive material from being swept away, but the job is far from complete. Tepco and the Japanese government both fear contamination could be washed out of the uncovered reactor buildings. Deluge could spread Fukushima radiation – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
TEPCO does not know how long it will take to stabilise Fukushima nuclear plant
“Unless we understand the extent of the damage, we don’t even know how long that work alone would take,” noting the need for one or two months more than previously thought to establish an entirely new cooling system…….”
TEPCO can’t stabilise reactors by year end: report , May 29, 2011, TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501.TO) is coming to the view that it will be impossible to stabilize the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the end of this year, possibly affecting the timing for the government to consider the return of evacuees to their homes near the plant, Kyodo News reported, citing senior company officials. Continue reading
Would you trust Japan to lead global nuclear safety discussions?
Japan Seeks Lead Role in Nuclear Safety Guidelines, WSJ.com, 27 May 11 By GEORGE NISHIYAMA DEAUVILLE, France—Japan wants to host an international meeting to discuss nuclear safety issues next year, as part of its efforts to share lessons learned from the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Thursday.
Addressing a lunch session marking the start of the G-8 leaders summit, Mr. Kan also said Japan wanted to contribute to creating an international standard on nuclear safety.
“It is our nation’s obligation to share information and lessons learned from the unprecedented experience we went through, and to achieve the highest possible safety standards for nuclear energy,” Mr. Kan told G-8 leaders after the summit host, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, asked him to make the opening remarks…..Japan Seeks Lead Role in Nuclear Safety – WSJ.com
300 km of seabed near Fukushima highly polluted with radiation
High radiation found on seabed in 300-km stretch off Fukushima Japan Today 28th May, TOKYO —Radiation levels up to several hundred times normal have been detected on the Pacific seabed in a 300-kilometer-long area off the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the science ministry said Friday.
The ministry said high-level radioactive materials were detected on the seabed in a north-south stretch ranging from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, and warned the contamination could affect the safety of seafood. The science ministry said it detected iodine and cesium on the seabed at 12 spots 15- to 50-km from the coastline between May 9 and 14…..High radiation found on seabed in 300-km stretch off Fukushima ‹ Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion
Japanese govt makes some concessions to Fukushima parents worried about radiation
An environment ministry spokesman said Friday’s announcement does not mean it is altering the 20 millisieverts dosage standard, rather it is formally stating its aims to reduce radiation dosages. …The ministry will also distribute dosimeters to teachers at schools in the prefecture, where the unstable nuclear power plant is located,
Japan Bows to Parent Pressure Over Radiation Concerns WSJ , May 27, 2011 Education Minister Yoshiaki Takaki for the first time said on Friday the government will seek to reduce the radiation levels on school grounds in Fukushima Prefecture to one-twentieth of the current annual limit amid concern from parents over health risks. Continue reading
India’s national anti-corruption campaigner joins Gujarat battle against nuclear power
The resolve to fight till the last against land acquisition by the government or private companies for industrialization received a boost from anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, who on a recent visit to Gujarat said a nation-wide campaign against land acquisition for industrialisation was the next move he would like to undertake.
Gujarat villagers vow to oppose Bhavnagar nuclear plant News One 27 May 11 Jaspara (Gujarat), May 27 (IANS) Village council members of over 50 coastal villages in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district Friday took a pledge to oppose the proposed 6,000 MW nuclear power project at Mithi Virdi, saying they would not allow the government to acquire their fertile lands. Continue reading
Will Japan change energy policy, or will powerful nuclear lobby prevail?
The fate of the Shimane plant could provide clues to whether a serious shift in energy policy is in store or whether powerful interests backing nuclear power will stage a comeback……..
Japan city grapples with nuclear doubts after Fukushima crisis By Linda Sieg May 27, 2011 MATSUE, Japan (Reuters) – For decades, local politician Tomoaki Tanaka campaigned on a platform promoting nuclear power as a safe form of energy and a welcome economic boon to his hometown of Kashima, nestled between mountains and the sea in southwestern Japan.
Like many politicians in the rural backwaters that host Japan’s 54 nuclear power plants, Tanaka was a small player in a nexus linking local interest groups with powerful forces in Tokyo promoting atomic power and, critics say, ignoring the risk of disaster in this earthquake-prone land. Continue reading
Fears of Al Qaida attack on Pakistan’s nuclear facilitues
Attack on naval base raises fresh nuclear fears, gulfnews, 27 May 11A serious breach of the security perimeter could lead to calls for a unilateral American move to secure the atomic weapon, Islamabad: A raid by militants on a Pakistani naval base this week has raised fresh anxiety about Pakistan’s ability to protect its nuclear sites. Although Western governments and analysts agree there is little chance militants could succeed in stealing nuclear material in an assault like the one in Karachi, attacks by Al Qaida or the Taliban against a nuclear facility remain a possibility…..gulfnews : Attack on naval base raises fresh nuclear fears
Long lasting radioactive contamination of the sea, from Fukushima disaster
for all the focus on land-based contamination, the continuing flood of radioactive materials into the ocean at Fukushima could have the most problematic long-term impacts. ….for centuries to come, at least some radioactive materials dumped into the sea at Fukushima will find their way into the creatures of the sea and the humans that depend on them. ……
Is Fukushima Now Ten Chernobyls into the Sea? | Common Dreams, May 26, 2011 by Harvey Wasserman New readings show levels of radioisotopes found up to 30 kilometers offshore from the on-going crisis at Fukushima are ten times higher than those measured in the Baltic and Black Seas during Chernobyl.
“When it comes to the oceans, says Ken Buesseler, a chemical oceonographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “the impact of Fukushima exceeds Chernobyl.” Continue reading
Radioactivity increasing in marine life around Japan
Greenpeace: Japan nuclear plant radiation accumulating in marine life – CNN.com 27 May 11, Radiation from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is accumulating in marine life off Japan’s coast above legal limits for food contamination, Greenpeace said Thursday. The environmental group said its findings run counter to Japanese government reports that radiation from the Fukushima plant, damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, is being diluted as time passes.“Despite what the authorities are claiming, radioactive hazards are not decreasing through dilution or dispersion of materials, but the radioactivity is instead accumulating in marine life,” Greenpeace radiation expert Jan Vande Putte said in a press release. Continue reading
Japanese public opinion might result in aborting the global “nuclear renaissance”
Could these angry, scattered voices from below congeal to topple Japan’s entire energy policy, or even abort the global turn to nuclear power?
photograph Kim Kyung Hoon, Reuters
The sun sets on Japan’s nuclear age, Irish Tims, 26 May 11, DAVID McNEILL, NUCLEAR FALLOUT: The meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant has grave implications for Japan’s planned atomic energy expansion, and also its long-term economic growth
IN A CITY where mass demonstrations are rare and generally tame, Tokyo has seen at least four in the past month, all against nuclear power. Thousands of people have marched past the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) shouting slogans at the executives they hold responsible for the world’s worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. Continue reading
Fukushima nuclear plant might now be used as a temporary nuclear waste dump
As the sites are for intermediary use, the nation is still searching for a deep underground storage site for the waste, according to the World Nuclear Association…
Fukushima set to become Nuclear waste graveyard Bloomberg / Tokyo May 27, 2011, Japan’s atomic energy specialists are discussing a plan to make the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant a storage site for radioactive waste from the crippled station run by Tokyo Electric Power Co.The Atomic Energy Society of Japan is studying the proposal, which would cost tens of billions of dollars, Muneo Morokuzu, a professor of energy and environmental public policy at the University of Tokyo, said in an interview yesterday. The society makes policy recommendations to the government. Continue reading
Unprecedented criticism of Tokyo Electric Power Company
The IAEA’s 10-day visit, which began on Monday, coincides with mounting criticism of the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, as it becomes clear that the damage caused by the March 11earthquake and tsunami was far worse than initially thought. Its findings could have a significant impact on public attitudes toward both the plant’s operator and the Japanese government, and are certain to attract the interest of other countries with nuclear power plants.
Tepco’s handling of Japan’s nuclear crisis under severe scrutiny, The International Atomic Energy Agency’s visit to Japan this week coincides with unprecedented criticism of the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s handling of Japan’s nuclear crisis following the March 11 earthquake. CSMonitor.com, By Justin McCurry, May 26, 2011 Ichinoseki, Japan Continue reading
Japan’s nuclear lobby still promoting nuclear power
The sun sets on Japan’s nuclear age, The Irish Times -DAVID McNEILL, May 27, 2011 “……..Japan’s largest business lobby, the Keidanren, has made its position very clear. Chairman Hiromasa Yonekura this month demanded that Kan rescind his decision on Hamaoka, which he called “extralegal” and a “political performance”. With Japanese businesses already struggling to compete with mighty China, the nation cannot afford to ditch nuclear power, he warned.For that reason, many analysts say that Kan’s more recent pronouncements are rhetoric designed to appease angry voters. Continue reading
“Allowable” radiation levels for children in Japan and the anger of parents
“Do you really care about our children’s health?” one parent shouted. “Why have you acted so late?” said another. Among other concerns: isn’t radiation still raining down on Fukushima? Shouldn’t the entire school building be decontaminated? The entire city? Can we trust you?
Angry Parents in Japan Confront Government Over Radiation Levels, NYTimes.com,By HIROKO TABUCHI, May 25, 2011 FUKUSHIMA CITY, Japan — The accusations flew on Wednesday at the local school board meeting, packed with parents worried and angry about radiation levels in this city at the heart of Japan’s nuclear crisis. Continue reading
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