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Nuclear marketing going ahead in China and India, anyway

in China, which has the world’s most ambitious nuclear expansion plans, a vice minister of environment, Zhang Lijun, said on Saturday that Japan’s difficulties would not deter his nation’s nuclear rollout…..The United States has lobbied extensively to open India’s nuclear power market to American industry. Indian and American officials spent more than five years negotiating a nuclear energy agreement that was blessed by both governments and international nuclear agencies.

Emerging economies move ahead with nuclear plans, New York Times, by Heather Timmons and Vikas Bajaj, 15 March 11, NEW DELHI — Despite Japan’s crisis, India and China and some other energy-ravenous countries say they plan to keep using their nuclear power plants and building new ones. Continue reading →

March 15, 2011 Posted by | China, India, marketing | Leave a comment

Dangerous radiation levels from TEPCO’s no 2 nuclear reactor

With radiation levels around the facility up, TEPCO suspects the core of the No.2 reactor has partially melted, a critical nuclear safety situation..

Stay indoors: Japanese PM’s order to residents beyond nuclear reactor evacuation zone after blast, Sydney Morning Herald, Glenda Kwek, March 15, 2011

Radiation levels near a quake-stricken nuclear plant are now harmful to human health, Japan’s government says after explosions and a fire at the facility. Continue reading →

March 15, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Japan’s history of nuclear power troubles

Japan’s history of civilian nuclear power generation is also littered with problems, … Since 1999 there have been several accidents that have marred what was perceived as a safe industry.

Japan’s Nuclear Half-Century, New Matilda,   15 march 11, All eyes are on Fukushima but this is not an isolated crisis. Mark Pendleton looks at how nuclear accidents have shaped contemporary Japan Continue reading →

March 15, 2011 Posted by | history, Japan | Leave a comment

Effects of Japan’s nuclear damage will be either serious or catastrophic

In the best case,……….the immense anxiety triggered by the incident and the toll of the subsequent evacuation on nearby residents.

The consequences of the most dire scenarios are much harder to estimate. They include the loss of the facility, an expensive local cleanup — a foregone conclusion — and a wide-scale disaster that renders the countryside around the plant uninhabitable for decades.

Ultimate impact of damage to Japan nuclear reactors still unknown, Washington Post, By Brian Vastag, March 13,

The detection of the highly radioactive elements cesium-137 and iodine-131 outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant heralds the beginning of an ecological and human tragedy. The open question is whether it will be limited, serious or catastrophic Continue reading →

March 14, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Possible meltdown of fuel rods inside the Fukushima Daiichi complex’s No.2 reactor

Water level near empty at Japan nuclear reactor

Reuters 03/14/2011 Water levels inside a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor were almost empty on Monday night, said the power plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. The Yomiuri newspaper was reporting that the cooling system at the reactor has stopped, and additional reports said fuel rods were exposed.

News agency Jiji said a meltdown of fuel rods inside the Fukushima Daiichi complex’s No.2 reactor could not be ruled out.

March 14, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear crisis continues in Japan

there has been no word so far on the spent fuel at the site which would be kept in pools at the reactor. Any breakdown in the cooling system could cause the spent fuel to melt, with the risk of a significant release of radioactivity.

There is widespread uneasiness despite the reassuring noises coming from the authorities over the situation, in part because of the industry’s history of ignoring warnings and covering up safety problems.

Japan earthquake: the nuclear crisis is not over yet.  guardian.co.uk, Julian Borger5, 13 March 11, Japan says disaster has been averted at the Fukushima nuclear plant but serious questions remain. Continue reading →

March 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Who will pay for the Japanese nuclear damage? Not Insurance!

Insurance policies often exclude certain factors from coverage….exclusions on earthquake damage in the property insurance for reactors and exclusions on nuclear damage for homeowners’ insurance policies…..What remains is likely to be an international liability pool, where reactor operators insure each other against claims in situations like this one. How deep that liability extends is unknown, however — Japan is not a party to major international conventions limiting the nuclear liability of operators.

Insurance industry likely spared Japan nuclear threat | Reuters, 13 March 11, “……….most experts agree the growing threat of disaster from damaged nuclear reactors is unlikely to have much effect on the mainstream insurance business because of the way insurance for the nuclear power industry is structured. Continue reading →

March 13, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Rating the Fukushima damage on a nuclear danger scale

On Saturday, before emergency measures were announced at a second reactor at that plant, Japanese nuclear safety experts rated the accident a four, putting it just behind the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 near Harrisburg, Pa. That accident, the worst in United States history, was designated a five……..The government issued evacuation orders for about 170,000 people in the surrounding area……..

Nuclear Emergency Is Worst in Decades, NYTimes.com, By ANAHAD O’CONNOR  March 12, 2011 The earthquake and tsunami that battered northern Japan on Friday set in motion one of the worst nuclear accidents in over two decades. The International Atomic Energy Agency rates the severity of radiological events, with a scale starting at one, an “anomaly,” and rising to seven, a “major” accident. A six and seven designate full meltdown, where the nuclear fuel or core of a reactor overheats and melts. The scale of the ensuing uncontrolled release of radiation that follows differentiates the two. Partial meltdowns, in which the fuel is damaged, are rated a four or a five. Continue reading →

March 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Technical information on the Fukushima nuclear loss of coolant

Moreover, in the spent fuel pools usually situated next to nuclear power plants, there are large numbers of additional fuel rods, used ones, disposed of as waste. There must be constant water circulation in the spent fuel pools. In what is labeled a “loss-of-water’ accident in a spent fuel pool, the zirconium cladding of the fuel rods is projected as exploding—sending into the environment the lethal nuclear poisons in a spent fuel pool…….

Behind the Hydrogen Explosion at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, Common Dreams, by Karl Grossman, 12 March 11, The explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is being described as caused by a “hydrogen build-up” The situation harks back to the “hydrogen bubble” that was feared would explode when the Three Mile Island plant in 1979 underwent a partial meltdown…… Continue reading →

March 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety, technology | 1 Comment

Japan could be the new Chernobyl, as nuclear radiation emergency continues

Given the large quantity of irradiated nuclear fuel in the pool, the radioactivity release could be worse than the Chernobyl nuclear reactor catastrophe of 25 years ago.”

Risk of Nuclear Catastrophe Escalates in Japan – ‘Worse than Chernobyl’, Forbes,  William Pentland -m Mar. 11 2011 The Institute for Public Accuracy issued the following statement by nuclear expert, Kevin Kamp, about the risk of nuclear disaster in post-Earthquake Japan:  Continue reading →

March 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear emergency in Japan

Radiation 1000 times above normal at nuclear plant
Radiation 1000 times above normal at nuclear plant | The Australian

Japan earthquake forces thousands to evacuate in nuclear plant emergency- Thousands of people were being evacuated from their homes as Japan scrambled to shut down reactors and prevent a catastrophic meltdown
Japan earthquake forces thousands to evacuate in nuclear plant emergency | World news |

Japan earthquake: nuclear disaster fears as reactor overheats Japan was battling to avoid a nuclear disaster after a reactor was critically damaged by the country’s biggest earthquake. Japan earthquake: nuclear disaster fears as reactor overheats – Telegraph

Japan Reactor Damaged in Quake May Need to Vent Radiation, Official Says,
Japan Reactor Damaged in Quake May Need to Vent Radiation, Official Says – Bloomberg

Fire breaks out at Japanese nuclear power plant, World affairs | Fire breaks out at Japanese nuclear power plant

Hundreds perish in 8.9 earthquake, tsunamis as minister warns of nuclear radiation Hundreds perish in 8.9 earthquake, tsunamis as minister warns of nuclear radiation | The Australian
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Japan Earthquake: The Energy Players Who Stand to Benefit | BNET, 12 Marcg 11,
Japan Earthquake: The Energy Players Who Stand to Benefit | BNET

Factbox: Japan quake tears through commodity, energy sectorsFactbox: Japan quake tears through commodity, energy sectors | Reuters

March 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | 1 Comment

Political backing for India’s anti nuclear farmers

More than 3,000 people are taking part in the 350 km padyatra from Doliya village in Bhavnagar to Gandhinagar led by Kalsaria…..People shouted slogans like “Anu mathak moth nu mathak (nuclear plant, death plant).

Support grows for agitating farmers, The Times of IndiaVijaysinh Parmar, TNN | Mar 6, 2011, MITHIVIRDI (Bhavnagar): Farmers of Mithivirdi, Jaspara, Mandva and Khadarpar villages in Bhavnagar district who are protesting against the proposed 8,000 MW nuclear power plant have received support from Mahuva BJP MLA Dr Kanubhai Kalsaria, BJP’s farmers’ wing Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and Youth Congress. Continue reading →

March 8, 2011 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear | 1 Comment

Restrictions imposed on anti-nuclear former judges, in India

Curbs imposed on movement of two ex-judges opposing n-plant, Sify News 2011-03-06 Ratnagiri (Maharashtra)   (IANS) Toughening its stance against those opposing the 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant in this Maharashtra district, the area’s collector Sunday banned two former judges and others from entering the district. Continue reading →

March 7, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, India | Leave a comment

China’s $90 billion for weapons, including nuclear, in 2011

Chinese Defense Budget Boost Seen Aiding Nuclear Force, NTI: Global Security Newswire – March 7, 2011 China on Friday announced it had set aside roughly $90 billion in defense funds for 2011, a 12.7 percent boost over the nation’s declared 2010 defense budget, the Asahi Shimbun reported (see GSN, March 3).The People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery Corps, which oversees China’s strategic nuclear force, would benefit significantly from the additional spending, one military insider said. “Along with the second artillery (the strategic missile unit), the navy also received preferential budget treatment,” the source said……..NTI: Global Security Newswire – Chinese Defense Budget Boost Seen Aiding Nuclear Force

March 7, 2011 Posted by | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Indian police intimidating Jaitapur anti nuclear protestors

“In a democracy, we reserve our right to express our opinion against the project. But, the authorities can in no way prevent the people from opposing the project. My party stands solidly by the villagers opposing the JNPP,”

Uddhav to CM: Rein in cops riding roughshod over Jaitapur protestersThe Pioneer (India), March 4, 2011, Mumbai, — Shiv Sena’s executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday evening lodged a vehement protest with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan against the manner in which the Ratnagiri district police were trying to “intimidate” the villagers crusading against the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project. Continue reading →

March 5, 2011 Posted by | civil liberties, India | Leave a comment

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