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Scientists: Japan’s Plan To Dump Nuclear Waste Into The Pacific Ocean May Not Be Safe

CIVIL BEAT, By Thomas Heaton   , 25 Apr 22,

A panel of scientists has identified critical gaps in the data supporting the safe discharge of wastewater into the Pacific.

Independent scientists are questioning Japan’s plans to dump just over 1 million tons of nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, following a review of the available evidence.

The panel of multi-disciplinary scientists, hired by the intergovernmental Pacific Islands Forum, has not found conclusive evidence that the discharge would be entirely safe, and one marine biologist fears contamination could affect the food system.

Last year Japan announced that wastewater from the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, destroyed in March 2011 following the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami, would be dropped into the Pacific in 2023.

The announcement triggered immediate concern from nations and territories in the Asia-Pacific region and led the Pacific Islands Forum to hire a panel of five independent experts to review the plan.

Previously, it was broadly believed that dropping the wastewater into the ocean would be safe, given it had been treated with “advanced liquid processing system” technology, which removes radioactive materials from contaminated water.

But panel scientist Robert Richmond, director of the University of Hawaii Kewalo Marine Laboratory, says the panel unanimously believes that critical gaps in information remain.

Previous discussions over the safety of Japan’s plans emphasized the chemistry of the discharge, but not how it could interact with marine life, he said.

“If the ocean were a sterile glass vessel, that would be one thing,” Richmond said. “But it’s not, you know, there’s lots of biology involved.”

Richmond has been particularly concerned about the potential for tritium – a key compound of concern – being absorbed into the food system because the radioactive isotope can bind to phytoplankton.

Through phytoplankton, Richmond says, the radioactive element could then find its way into the greater food system as the microscopic plants are consumed by mollusks and small fish, which are later consumed by other fish and eventually humans.

“Things like mercury in fish are now of an international concern. Radionuclides will be the same,” Richmond said.

The situation is dynamic too, as climate change affects the temperature of waters and weather patterns change.

“As temperatures go up, many chemicals become more interactive, they become a little bit different in terms of break down,” he said. “So these are all the things we need to consider.”

…………………………………….  the information seen by the panel showed less than 1% of the tanks of wastewater had been treated and less than 20% had been adequately sampled, Richmond says.

Based on those numbers alone, we’re uncomfortable in making predictions of where things are going to end up,” Richmond said.

The Pacific Perspective

Community groups and environmental organizations were quick to respond to the news last year, raising concerns about the longterm effects to their region, with its legacy of nuclear testing and the fallout. And coastal communities and fishermen in Japan have also raised concerns.


The U.S. expressed its support for the plan in April last year, which has since been criticized by U.S. territories and affiliated states.

Rep. Sheila Babauta of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands introduced a resolution to CNMI’s House of Representatives opposing any nuclear testing, storage or waste disposal in the Pacific.

It was passed in December, months after the U.S. stated its position and after other Pacific groups and governments condemned the move.

“I’m really disappointed in the lack of engagement, the lack of information and the lack of free, prior and informed consent,” Babauta, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, said.

The mistrust that is harbored by many in the Pacific stems back to U.S nuclear testing in the Republic of Marshall Islands following World War II, British testing in Kiribati and the French in French Polynesia, which had flow-on effects to the environment and long term health of Pacific people. And in 1979, Japan provoked backlash when it revealed plans to dump 10,000 drums of nuclear waste in the Marianas Trench.

Babauta says she introduced the resolution as a show of solidarity for the rest of the Pacific.

“The ocean is our oldest ancestor. The ocean is our legacy,” Babauta said. “It’s what we’re going to leave for our children.”  https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/04/scientists-japans-plan-to-dump-nuclear-waste-into-the-pacific-ocean-may-not-be-safe/

April 26, 2022 Posted by | Japan, oceans, wastes | Leave a comment

Hibakusha renews call for nuclear abolition

Hibakusha renews call for nuclear abolition,  https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220425_01/

Concerns about the possibility of nuclear warfare are growing as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on.

A Japanese hibakusha, an atomic bomb survivor, shared her experiences in a virtual event organized by a group of university students in Tokyo on Sunday.

Wada Masako was one year old when an atomic bomb was detonated by the US Army over Nagasaki in 1945.

She was too young to remember that day, but her mother often told her what it was like to walk through the city in the bombing’s aftermath.

Wada said, “my mother told me people were stumbling around, their hair caked with blood. She said their clothes were in tatters, and one couldn’t tell whether they were men or women.”
She has been involved in the nuclear abolition movement for much of her life. She participated in rallies in New York City to support the adoption of the UN nuclear ban treaty.

Wada says she was shocked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin’s recent threats to use nuclear weapons.

She said, “I’m worried there may soon be new hibakusha. I want everyone to know that what we have right now is a crisis. I want to tell them what happens when nuclear weapons are used.”

Wada said she hopes for real progress toward abolition at the first meeting of the parties to the nuclear ban treaty this June. She believes the advocacy of young people from Japan and around the world will only strengthen the movement.
She also urged the Japanese government to participate in the conference, and take an active role in the abolition movement. Japan has refused to join the ban treaty as it is under the US nuclear umbrella.

April 25, 2022 Posted by | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

No more nuclear power plants, no more war! 〜4.16 “Sayonara Nuke Plant Metropolitan Area Rally” was held.

　On April 16, at 1:30 p.m., a “Sayonara Nuclear Power Plant Metropolitan Area Rally” was held at Kameido Chuo Park in Tokyo. Eleven years have passed since the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, and the decommissioning of the plant, a gigantic accident unparalleled in the world, is still not in sight. The government and TEPCO are forcing the release of ALPUS contaminated water into the ocean. They are trying to pollute the sea of Fukushima again. Without taking into account the lessons learned from the accident, the government has formulated a new basic energy plan that calls for nuclear power plants to account for 20 to 22% of the nation’s power supply by 2030. This is based on the premise that 30 nuclear reactors will be restarted. Furthermore, the government is aggressively trying to extend the life of the broken nuclear fuel cycle. The Fukushima nuclear accident has ushered in an era of nuclear decommissioning, and public opinion strongly demands it. Now is the time to raise the voice of “good-bye nuclear power plant” and create a swell for nuclear power plant phase-out!　(Report by Toshikazu Miyagawa)

Organized by Citizens’ Circle for 10 Million Signatures for “Sayonara Nuclear Power Plant
Music】13:00 Nisshikawa meets Folk
Opening】13:30

Organizer’s Greeting: Toshi Kamada (Reportage writer)
The current situation is that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is openly taking place, but cannot be stopped. Biden calls it a holocaust, but speaking of holocaust, we have experienced enormous damage from air raids and the dropping of nuclear power plants. With the invasion of Ukraine, the conservative Liberal Democrats, like fish out of water, talk about possessing nuclear weapons and attacking enemy bases. The Russians are digging trenches and exposing themselves to massive radiation in an attempt to overrun the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plants are playing the same role as nuclear bombs; a ceasefire and an end to the war must be put in place as soon as possible. This is the first gathering in a long time to spread the peace movement. Let’s work hard until there are no more nuclear power plants, until there are no more wars!

Solidarity speech】】 ◆ “From Fukushima
◆”About the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Criminal Complaint Trial” by Ms. Akiko Uno from Fukushima
I am happy to be able to speak in front of so many of you. Those who were evicted and evacuated due to the nuclear accident left everything behind. Some of them lost their lives. There are still more than 60,000 people in Fukushima. There are 293 children with thyroid cancer in Fukushima alone, more than one in 10,000. We must stop the discharge of contaminated water into the sea. The government has abandoned what it learned from the nuclear accident. We will seek a fair trial and work hard until the end.

◆”Japan Power Supply obstructs the postponement of the judgment on Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant” by Mr. Kiyohiko Yamada
I will run for Rokkasho village mayor on June 12. I have been vocal about the seriousness of the nuclear fuel cycle. I will do my best with the pledge “because I am afraid.

◆”About the Tokai No.2 Nuclear Power Plant Operation Injunction Trial” by Mr. Mitsunobu Oishi
The fight has moved to the Tokyo High Court. Last year, Mito District Court ruled that Tokai No.2 Nuclear Power Plant should not be operated. I believe this is in response to the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant accident. 1 year has passed and it has not started. Evacuation must be effective. The Tokyo High Court tries to overturn this. Eleven years of struggle since the nuclear accident has revealed the truth. It was the trial that revealed the truth over the past decade. We will do our best until the Supreme Court in a struggle that is etched in history.

◆Hideyuki Bamba on Russian invasion and occupation of nuclear power plants
The unexpected Russian invasion of Ukraine, from the control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to the exposure of Russian soldiers to radiation at nuclear facilities. The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the best in Europe, was also temporarily overrun. Nuclear power plants are always in danger of being targeted. In Japan, an attack on a nuclear power plant would be a disaster. We must accept the danger and work hard to end nuclear power generation in Japan.

◆Assistance to Ukraine Mr. Tsutomu Taguchi (YMCA)
The YMCA in Russia and Ukraine has been promoting friendship activities from the standpoint of citizens. Individual income in Ukraine is 1/5 of that in Japan, and it is not possible for individuals to travel to Ukraine for evacuation. Individuals cannot evacuate to Japan due to difficulties with administrative procedures. The main evacuees to Japan are women. In Ukraine, 90% of women go to university, work after marriage, and have no sense of being housewives; everyone has a desire to work. In Japan, securing a place to work is also an issue.

Closing remarks】 【Closing remarks
◆Mr. Keiko Ochiai
I saw the trees and thought again that spring has come to a country with nuclear power plants, although it is natural. What kind of words will be used to describe Putin’s invasion of Ukraine? The fact that people are living in a country with nuclear power plants. We must not cease. There are 15 nuclear reactors in Ukraine. Japan is the same. How much suffering did we suffer 11 years ago in the spring? We have not been able to reduce even one of those sufferings. We should not endure it. Our only pride is that we have fought. We can fight against power, it is our treasure. We do not want to be victims. We do not want to look back on the sorrow of Fukushima. We do not want to be perpetrators against anyone. That is our pride. The environment may not change in the future. But, since it won’t change, it is not cowardly not to do it. Let’s do our best to make peace properly.

March】14:45
■Venue→Kinshicho Station area
http://www.labornetjp.org/news/2022/0416hokoku?fbclid=IwAR1F6zxaj7UIxTNik40gJrSloPwbR7_jUV7VrEIDwcxUc-lIh2Enbvpbj6A

April 23, 2022 Posted by | Japan | | Leave a comment

Greenpeace chief urges Yoon to reevaluate nuclear-focused decarbonization plan

Greenpeace chief urges Yoon to reevaluate nuclear-focused decarbonization plan https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220422004700315

All News 11:20 April 22, 2022  SEOUL, April 22 (Yonhap) — The leader of Greenpeace urged President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to “reevaluate” his nuclear-focused decarbonization plan in a letter sent to him on the occasion of Earth Day.

Yoon’s transition team is pushing to modify the country’s carbon neutrality plans that the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration declared with a goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The overhaul will likely include reversal of Moon’s nuclear phase-out policy and changes in energy mix.

“We urge you to reevaluate whether nuclear energy could be safe, fast, and affordable enough to achieve the 1.5 degree C temperature goal,” Greenpeace International Executive Director Norma Torres said in the letter.

She said, “Korea already has the highest nuclear power plant density in the world … we wonder whether further nuclear expansion will be acceptable by the public.”

Torres also said, “The unsolved nuclear waste problem is also a major issue you need to consider in your nuclear focused decarbonization plan.”

South Korea, instead, needs a new, ambitious energy transition strategy to employ more renewable energy coupled with an ambitious fossil fuel and nuclear phase-out plan, according to her.

“Needless to say, your term from 2022 to 2027 is a critical time to decide whether Korea will pull its weight and therefore contribute to the global mission to prevent disastrous climate change in time or not,” she said.

April 22, 2022 Posted by | politics, South Korea | Leave a comment

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake shakes Fukushima and Ibaraki

Magnitude 5.3 earthquake shakes Fukushima and Ibaraki  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/04/19/national/quake-fukushima/ 19 Apr 22,

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 struck Ibaraki and Fukushima prefectures as well as other parts of Japan on Tuesday morning, the Meteorological Agency said.

The 8:16 a.m. quake registered a lower 5 on japan’s seismic intensity scale of 7 in northern Ibaraki, while parts of Ibaraki, Fukushima, Tochigi and Saitama prefectures registered a 4. No tsunami warning was issued.

The temblor originated in an inland part of Fukushima at a depth of about 90 kilometers.

More information:

April 19, 2022 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

North Korea tests new weapon bolstering nuclear capability

North Korea says it has successfully test-launched a newly developed tactical guided weapon

  • By HYUNG-JIN KIM – Associated Press
  • Apr 17, 2022   

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon designed to boost its nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Sunday, a day before its chief rivals the United States and South Korea begin annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

The 13th weapons test this year came amid concerns that North Korea may soon conduct an even larger provocation. That may include a nuclear test in an effort to expand the country’s arsenal and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul while denuclearization talks remain stalled…………………………..   https://www.news-gazette.com/coronavirus/north-korea-tests-new-weapon-bolstering-nuclear-capability/article_0413e1d9-3fb7-5c42-a63c-e1ea66b3e084.htm

April 18, 2022 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Tons of Japanese nuclear waste may be destined for overseas disposal

A steam generator is being replaced at the Mihama nuclear plant’s No. 3 unit.

April 17, 2022

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japan’s nuclear power plants have over 57,000 tons of large equipment that have, or will in time, become radioactive industrial waste and may be destined to be disposed of overseas, a tally of electric power company data showed Saturday.

The scale of the would-be hazardous waste underscores the ongoing move within the government to reexamine a rule banning the exports of radioactive waste at a time when few municipalities are willing to accept such waste.

Creating an exception to the rule under the foreign exchange law would allow power companies to commission contractors overseas to dispose of certain types of large equipment on the condition they are recycled in the destination countries.

But critics say radioactive waste created in Japan should not be forced on other countries and that such waste should be recycled domestically by improving related disposal technology.

The tally showed nuclear power plants in the country had 57,230 tons of the large equipment, including those still in use, at the end of March.

The equipment in question comes in three types. Steam generators create steam used to generate electricity, while feedwater heaters heat the water that goes back into a reactor and casings are used to store or transport spent nuclear fuel.

This photo shows a feedwater heater at the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant’s No. 1 unit.

For example, there are 37 used steam generators, weighing a total of 12,000 tons, according to the tally. Twenty-two generators, or 7,500 tons, remain at reactors to be decommissioned, while another 51 units, or 15,300 tons, are still in use.

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has 3,360 tons of spent nuclear fuel casings. But the industry ministry says it sees no scenario in which waste emerging from the plant’s decommissioning process would be disposed of overseas.

The tally did not include data on the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plant. Tohoku Electric Power Co. declined to provide data.

Decommissioning of nuclear reactors is expected to speed up from the mid-2020s in Japan, with an attendant increase in radioactive waste. Already, 24 commercial reactors are due to be decommissioned.

This photo shows a spent nuclear fuel casing.

Radioactive waste is expected to be buried underground, depending on its pollution levels. But few disposal sites have been picked, leaving the handling of large reactor equipment, in particular, in limbo.

A steam generator is a large cylindrical metal object that is 20 meters long and weighs 300 tons. Because of its size, it cannot be easily cut up, encased in drums and buried.

Kansai Electric Power Co. has 21 generators stored away on its premises. “We are concerned about having little room left on our premises (at power plants) going forward as it would impact decommissioning work,” a company source said.

“It is virtually impossible to dispose of the waste domestically. The regulatory reconsideration is a gleam of hope for the waste issue that is at a dead-end,” the source added, expressing hope for overseas disposal.

One company the Japanese side is talking with about possible waste export is EnergySolutions Inc., a U.S. nuclear service company and a major player in the reactor decommissioning business.

The Utah-based company has processed over 60,000 tons of waste produced in reactor decommissioning in and outside of the United States.

A company official expressed confidence that it can process not just the three types of large reactor equipment under consideration for export, but other waste, such as metals from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Tatsujiro Suzuki, a Nagasaki University professor, who served as an acting head of the government’s Atomic Energy Commission, is critical of the envisioned disposal of radioactive waste overseas.

“This is what you get when the state has failed to seriously discuss what to do with waste,” Suzuki said, warning that it is a slippery slope and could lead to an export of waste from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“It is sheer irresponsibility when looked at from the principle that disposal must be done in one’s own country.”

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220417/p2g/00m/0bu/004000c?fbclid=IwAR3E0q7lMuQdPGB1_eY7yJNwrXsDNppOj7mvvG6iptg57xgKm7YXyt9tCMQ

April 17, 2022 Posted by | Japan | | 1 Comment

Once Rocked by Nuclear Disaster, Fukushima Is Now a Renewables Hub

  https://e360.yale.edu/digest/once-rocked-by-nuclear-disaster-fukushima-is-now-a-renewables-hub, 15 Apr 22,

More than a decade after a major nuclear power plant disaster, Fukushima, Japan is seeing extensive renewable energy development on abandoned lands, as satellite imagery from NASA shows.

When an earthquake and resulting tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, damaged reactors released radioactive material into the surrounding area, rendering large swaths of farmland unusable. Today, some of those fields are home to sprawling solar arrays.

The Fukushima prefecture has set a goal of 100 percent renewable power by 2040. Around 40 precent of its power currently comes from renewables, with plans underway to spend $2.75 billion on the development of 11 solar farms and 10 wind farms on contaminated or abandoned lands.

“A strong desire to never see a repeat of such an accident was the most important starting point” for Fukushima’s renewable push, Noriaki Saito, energy director at the prefecture’s planning department, told AFP.

April 16, 2022 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Japanese groups voice growing opposition, organize rallies over govt’s nuclear-contaminated water dumping plan decided one year before

Japanese groups voice growing opposition, organize rallies over govt’s nuclear-contaminated water dumping plan decided one year before

By Zhang Hui, Xing Xiaojing and Zhang Changyue, Global Times, Apr 13, 2022  Several Japanese groups voiced growing opposition and organized rallies on Wednesday against Japan’s plan to release contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, marking one year after Japan’s decision. 
The Japanese government turned a deaf ear to waves of opposition from Japan and surrounding countries including China and South Korea, as it aims to move ahead with the plan, Chinese experts said, noting that international society should request the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the illegality of the planned release and collect scientific evidence such as nuclear-related data. 

April 14, 2022 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

China Is Accelerating Its Nuclear Buildup Over Rising Fears of U.S. Conflict

China Is Accelerating Its Nuclear Buildup Over Rising Fears of U.S. Conflict

Beijing believes U.S. could turn to nuclear weapons in a war; Ukraine invasion underscores the value of a robust arsenal

By Alastair Gale, April 9, 2022     China has accelerated an expansion of its nuclear arsenal because of a change in its assessment of the threat posed by the U.S., people with knowledge of the Chinese leadership’s thinking say, shedding new light on a buildup that is raising tension between the two countries.

The Chinese nuclear effort long predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the U.S.’s wariness about getting directly involved in the war there has likely reinforced Beijing’s decision to put greater emphasis on developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent,…(subscribers only)   https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/china-is-accelerating-its-nuclear-buildup-over-rising-fears-of-u-s-conflict-11649509201

April 11, 2022 Posted by | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

India’s Inadvertent Missile Launch Underscores the Risk of Accidental Nuclear Warfare

Complex weapon systems are inherently prone to accidents, and this latest launch is one of a long history of military accidents in India,   Scientific American  By Zia Mian, M. V. Ramana on April 8, 2022

Last month, while most of the world focused on the war in Ukraine and worried that a beleaguered Russian leadership might resort to nuclear weapons, thus escalating the conflict into a direct war with the U.S.-led NATO nuclear-armed alliance, a nearly tragic accident involving India and Pakistan pointed to another path to nuclear war. The accident highlighted how complex technological systems, including those involving nuclear weapons, can generate unexpected routes to potential disaster—especially when managed by overconfident organizations.

India and Pakistan possess more than 300 nuclear weapons between them, and have fought multiple wars and faced many military crises. On March 9, two years after their dispute over Kashmir escalated into attacks by jet fighters, the Pakistan Air Force detected “a high speed flying object” inside Indian territory change course and veer suddenly toward Pakistan. It flew deep into Pakistan and crashed. The object was a BrahMos cruise missile, a weapon system developed jointly by India and Russia. India soon stated the launch was an accident.

The firing of the BrahMos missile falls within a long history of accidents involving military systems in India.  Military aircraft have strayed across the borders during peacetime. India’s first nuclear submarine was reportedly “crippled” by an accident in 2018, but the government refused to divulge any details. Secrecy has prevented the investigation of an apparent failure of India’s ballistic missile defence system in 2016. Engagements between India and Pakistan can arise from such accidents, as in 1999 when a Pakistani military plane was shot down along the border by India, killing 16 people. Pakistan has had its share of accidents, including a Pakistani fighter jet crashing into the capital city in 2020.

All these weapons systems are inherently accident-prone because of two characteristics identified by organizational sociologist Charles Perrow decades ago—interactive complexity and tight coupling—that combine to make accidents a “normal” feature of the operation of some hazardous technologies. The first characteristic refers to the possibility that different parts of the system can affect each other in unexpected ways, thus producing unanticipated outcomes. The second makes it hard to stop the resulting sequence of events. For Perrow, “the dangerous accidents lie in the system, not in the components,” and are inevitable.

Perhaps the best and most troubling proof of this proposition is in the realm of nuclear weapons—which embody all the properties of high-risk technological systems. Despite decades of efforts to ensure safety, these systems have suffered many failures, accidents and close calls. During 1979–1980, for example, there were several false warnings of Soviet missile attacks, some of which resulted in U.S. nuclear forces being put on alert. 

 ……………………………………The mistake that is of greatest concern is a false alarm of an incoming nuclear attack, possibly directed against nuclear forces. Indian or Pakistani—or Russian or NATO—policy makers may find themselves under immense pressure to launch a preemptive attack, thereby compounding the crisis. The terrible dilemma confronting them would be whether to use their nuclear weapons first or wait for the bombs from the other side to land. Nuclear war, even of a limited nature, between India and Pakistan could lead to millions of deaths in the short term and even graver consequences in the longer term for the region and beyond.  

……………  As the legendary analyst of nuclear command and control Bruce Blair warned, among nuclear weapon system managers and operators there is an “illusion of safety” that masks “the systematic potential for tragedy on a monumental scale.” Whether it is India and Pakistan preparing for a fifth war, or the forces of a nuclear-armed Russia struggling ever more violently to subdue Ukraine and stem the flow of lethal NATO weapons, such illusions threaten the destruction of cities and may lead to the killing of nations. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/indias-inadvertent-missile-launch-underscores-the-risk-of-accidental-nuclear-warfare/

April 9, 2022 Posted by | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear bunkers are not what they used to be, with earth-penetrating weapons on the rise

Chinese tests show nuclear bunkers are not what they used to be, with earth-penetrating weapons on the rise, Stephen Chen in Beijing, SCMP , 8 Apr 22,

Current engineering standards ‘severely underestimated the actual impact’ of a nuclear blast targeting underground defence facilities, according to paperMajor nuclear powers have a growing interest in small-yield bunker busters because they produce little or no radioactive fallout to pollute the landscape.

.……. In the past, shelters buried several hundred metres deep were rated nuclear-proof but the Chinese test facility shows that a tunnel more than 2km (1.24 miles) under the surface could be destroyed, according to the researchers.In one test, the simulated tunnel almost crumbled after taking hits the effective equivalent of five consecutive strikes by earth-penetrating nuclear weapons, an outcome that would have once been considered impossible………………. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3173478/chinese-tests-show-nuclear-bunkers-are-not-what-they-used-be?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article&campaign=3173478

April 9, 2022 Posted by | China, safety | Leave a comment

In Japan, no return to nuclear power any time soon, despite loud voices wanting this,

Nuclear Power’s Growing Fan Base in Japan Faces a Reality Check  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-06/nuclear-power-s-growing-fan-base-in-japan-faces-a-reality-check By Tsuyoshi Inajima and Shoko Oda, 6 April 2022,   Voices calling for Japan to ramp up its use of nuclear power are getting louder, but a rapid return is unlikely even as the nation faces another possible energy crunch this summer. 

The global power crisis is causing electricity bills to surge in Japan, while war in Ukraine is pressuring the country to seek alternatives to Russian energy. The fragility of the nation’s power grid was exposed last month when the one-two punch of a strong quake and frigid weather nearly delivered a blackout to Tokyo.

With few resources available to build capacity, and the threat of another power shortage looming with the return of hot, humid weather, lawmakers from both the ruling party and opposition are calling for a quick restart to reactors. Public support is also growing, as a recent survey showed a narrow majority in Japan now support turning idled plants back online

But a web of red-tape governing nuclear reactors born from the Fukushima nuclear disaster 11 years ago means that resuming operations can’t speed up, no matter the political pressure.

“If the Nuclear Regulation Authority approves nuclear reactor restarts based strictly on scientific findings, and not political decisions, then the current pace won’t change anytime soon,” said Reiji Ogino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

Japan’s NRA oversees the restart protocols of the country’s remaining 33 operable nuclear reactors. Ever since Japan turned its fleet of 54 reactors offline after the 2011 disaster, only 10 have restarted under the new rules that ensure the units are safe. 

“The NRA is restarting nuclear reactors at a slower pace than everyone had expected,” Ogino said. 

That’s putting Japan’s power grid under more strain, which nearly caused the blackout in Tokyo last month. Thermal power plants were knocked out by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake, followed by a blast of cold weather that boosted power demand, threatening outages in the nation’s biggest city. While Tokyo managed to prevent a disaster, the situation could repeat when summer demand spikes as residents turn on their air conditioners. 

Seven nuclear power units, while being cleared by the NRA, have yet to finish additional construction work needed to restart. “It’s unlikely that these units will restart before the upcoming peak summer season,” Ogino said. 

Syusaku Nishikawa, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Co., forecasts most of the seven reactors won’t resume operations until October next year at the earliest.

One way to speed up the process would be to shift nuclear authority back to the government. Before the independent NRA was created on the back of the Fukushima disaster, the authority existed under Japan’s trade ministry, which had actively pushed for using more atomic power but at the cost of cutting corners. Passing that power back isn’t expected anytime soon, and would be highly controversial.

“Someone has to take responsibility for safety” should the rules change and nuclear power plants that haven’t met standards are allowed to operate, said Nishikawa. “There’s a lot of difficulty in making that political decision.”

April 7, 2022 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

South Korea’s president-elect wants U.S. nuclear bombers, submarines to return

South Korea’s president-elect wants U.S. nuclear bombers, submarines to return, By Hyonhee Shin,  SEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) – Advisers to South Korea’s president-elect sought redeployment of U.S. strategic assets, such as nuclear bombers and submarines, to the Korean peninsula during talks held on a visit to Washington, one of the advisers said on Wednesday………  (subscribers only)  https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skoreas-president-elect-wants-us-nuclear-bombers-submarines-return-2022-04-06/

Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Clarence Fernandez

April 7, 2022 Posted by | South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The forgotten nuclear threat of North Korea


As the West remains focused on the war in Ukraine, Kim Jong Un has begun testing his most powerful missile to date. New Statesman,  By Katie Stallard , 6 Apr 22, Even by the bombastic standards of North Korean propaganda, the video that accompanied Pyongyang’s missile launch on 24 March was extraordinary. The opening sequence showed Kim Jong Un, apparently channelling the late 1980s and Tom Cruise in Top Gun, striding out of a hangar in slow motion, wearing a black leather bomber jacket and dark sunglasses. Kim checked his watch……..

While the action movie-style montage was somewhat dated, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test that followed demonstrated significant, and seriously concerning, new capabilities. The missile, which South Korea claimed was an updated version of a previous model rather than the weapon shown in the video, reached a height of more than 6,000 kilometres, 15 times higher than the International Space Station, putting the entire US mainland within range………………………

North Korea has steadily increased the pace and scale of its missile tests in recent months, launching newly developed weapons from submarines and trains, and test-firing what the regime said was its first hypersonic missile. …………………………….

“Kim has told us what he wants,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of Kim Jong Un and the Bomb. “He wants better missiles, more precise missiles, and larger missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads.” Kim has also called for the development of tactical nuclear weapons, Panda told me, and the regime is likely to carry out new nuclear tests as it experiments with smaller warheads and more compact designs.  https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/geopolitics/2022/04/the-forgotten-nuclear-threat-of-north-korea

April 7, 2022 Posted by | North Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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