Japan – nuclear power woes

Hiccups causing major delays at nuclear plant THE ASAHI SHIMBUN BY EISUKE SASAKI AND HIDENORI TSUBOYA 3 March 09 “……………….technical failures, responsible for yet another delay in two- decade-old efforts to launch the plant, are far from last-minute crinkles.

Not only have they proved frustratingly difficult to iron out, the problems at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, conceived as a major link in Japan’s nuclear fuel recycling program, could shake the program to its foundations.

Plant operator Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL) announced Jan. 30 it would postpone the end of testing from February to August–the 16th time it has delayed completion of the plant, which was originally due to go into full operation more than a decade ago, in 1997.

The technical troubles affecting one of its two glass melting furnaces, built to treat complex, heat-generating radioactive materials so that they can be buried safely in the ground, continue to confound JNFL.

When in operation, the Rokkasho plant will reprocess spent fuel from nuclear power stations in Japan to extract plutonium, which will be burned again to generate electricity. But the latest delay could jeopardize the nation’s nuclear fuel recycling policy.

The last five delays were due to malfunctions that occurred in the furnace in the process of vitrifying the liquid high-level radioactive waste…………………the Rokkasho plant employs technology developed in France,……………………Meanwhile, Japan’s fuel recycling program has come under scrutiny from the international community, which has asked questions about the country’s handling of weapons-grade plutonium. Among non-nuclear nations, Japan is the only country allowed under the international nonproliferation regime to produce plutonium in its reprocessing plant………………………….will leave a vast quantity of weapons-grade plutonium from the 31 tons already possessed by Japan–25 tons of which are in storage in Britain and France, where Japan sent spent fuel to be reprocessed from the 1980s, and 6 tons in Japan…………………the changing international political climate could affect Japan’s plans. Under the new administration of President Barack Obama, the United States will likely shift away from its nuclear fuel recycling policy.

Mongolia Web 2 March 09 Mongolia will hold a regional meeting of nations to discuss issues related to maintaining the area as a nuclear weapons free zone. Announced by the Ministry of External Relations, the meeting will be held in Ulaanbaatar on April 27 and 28. Specifically, attendees will discuss preparations for the third preparatory committee for the 2010 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) review conference as well as for the second Conference of the States parties and signatories to the nuclear weapons free zone treaties, which is scheduled in 2010. Nearly 120 nations have declared themselves members of the nuclear weapons free zone. The creation of such zones are considered important regional measures of strengthening international peace and security, reinforcing the nuclear non-proliferation regime and effective means for achieving nuclear disarmament.

March 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers19 Feb 2009, 0354 hrs THE ECONOMIC TIMES , ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Warning of a nuclear threat from the sea, the Indian Navy chief on Wednesday said terrorists may use shipping containers

to smuggle

nuclear weapons into the country.

“Today 70-75% of global cargo is containerised…container is the most likely means for terrorist organisations for illegal transporting of nuclear weapons and, hence, the serious concerns about container security

,” Admiral Mehta told reporters at a seminar on ‘Port Sector, Developments and Security.’

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

February 19, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | Leave a comment

Finds of Radioactive Steel on the Rise in Germany, probably from India

SPIEGEL ONLINE

By Christian Schwägerl 16 Feb 09

German authorities in recent months have found a disturbingly large amount of radioactive steel in factories across the country. Much of the contaminated metal is thought to have originated in India………………….radiometers indicated unusually high levels of radiation. They measured a level of 71 microsieverts per hour, a level that in 24 hours would exceed the amount permitted for an entire year………………………..For months, similar cases have been found across Germany, all involving bits of metal contaminated with radioactive cobalt. And most of them come from the same source: three steelworks in India, in particular a company called Vipras Casting, based in Mumbai. Germany’s environmental authorities are alarmed……………………………..Since last August, a total of 150 tons of contaminated metal has been seized. Some of it has been sent back to India. The rest is being stored by the companies that discovered the radioactivity, pending a decision on how to safely dispose of the material……………………..

Authorities noted that there is already a European Union directive designed to prevent the import of radioactive materials. Enforcement, however, apparently remains problematic………………..

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,607840,00.html

February 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Germany, India | Leave a comment

Earthquake in area nuclear facility in Japan

Strong earthquake hits northern Japan

Canada.com 17 Feb 09 A strong earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale shook northern Japan early Thursday………………..

Japan endures some 20 per cent of the world’s powerful earthquakes.

The area of the earthquake lies near Rokkasho, the hub of Japan’s nuclear power industry and site of a controversial plant that reprocesses spent fuel.

Officials said they detected no problems in the nuclear power plants, with some shut down manually.

An earthquake last year caused a small leak in the world’s largest nuclear power plant in Niigata prefecture northwest of Tokyo………………………

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/story.html?id=9aae5ae9-fb31-4bb4-a19a-1912849b8ddc

February 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Japanese firms played key role in Pakistan’s nuclear programme

Press Trust of India 17 Feb 09

Islamabad/Tokyo, Feb 16 (PTI) In what could come as a major embarrassment to Japan’s strident anti-nuclear stance, Japanese companies have been found to have played a key role in supplying at least 6,000 ring magnets and other materials to rogue Pakistani scientist A Q Khan.
This supply “knowingly or unknowingly” helped Islamabad to acquire nuclear capability and were incorporated in its supply framework, it emerged today.

“Japanese companies played a key role in supplying equipment used for Pakistan’s nuclear development,” Japan’s Kyodo News reported, quoting the outcome of its investigations in Islamabad and Tokyo.

Comments by Khan and former employees of the companies reveal in detail for the first time how leading Japanese manufacturers knowingly and unknowingly helped Pakistan acquire nuclear capability and were incorporated into its supply framework.

Investigations revealed that both Khan and the head of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission visited Japan at least once in the 1980s to shop for their respective programmes.

Khan, dubbed the “father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme,” told Kyodo in a written interview that Khan Research Laboratories acquired a wide range of machines, laboratory equipment and metal products from Japan. PTI

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/3D6D10847AF3A19B6525755F0028053E?OpenDocument

February 17, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany DETSCHE WELLE 15 Feb 09

Germany is investigating 150 tons of steel items imported from India which were contaminated with radioactivity, a leading newsmagazine said in a report to appear in its Monday issue.

It said the most serious case was five tons of stainless steel wool which had to be disposed of by a nuclear-waste company, GNS.

The contamination was thought to be the result of the radioactive isotope cobalt 60, which is used in nuclear medicine, being inadvertently mixed with steel scrap and being melted down at three Indian steel works.

Anyone near the container of steel wool, which had been intercepted in August last year in the German port of Hamburg, would have received one millisievert of radiation in 24 hours.

Der Spiegel said German regulations treated more that one millisievert in an entire year as unsafe………………….

The ministry also said it would like to see an initiative developed on the international level to address the issue of irradiated goods.

In France, Sweden and the Netherlands, radioactive steel from India was discovered which in some cases had been used to manufacture buttons used in elevator control panels.

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 15.02.2009

February 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Germany, India | Leave a comment

Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve

Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve- THE CANADIAN PRESS 16 Feb 09 YOKOSUKA, Japan

— As Masahiko Goto sees it, the USS George Washington is not a ship. It’s a floating nuclear disaster waiting to happen near one of the world’s biggest cities.The recent deployment of the huge aircraft carrier to a port just south of Tokyo has been welcomed by brass bands, an open-house crowd of 30,000 and promises of greater security for Japan and northeast Asia.

But to determined opponents here, it all boils down to two nuclear reactors and one big question. Are they safe?”It is unthinkable that we have reactors floating in the bay,” said Goto, a lawyer who is leading an effort to have the USS George Washington banned from Japan. “If there was a problem, it would affect not just our city, but Tokyo and the heart of Japan.”The George Washington is the first and only U.S. nuclear-powered warship with a home port outside the United States, and officials know that Japan – the only country ever attacked by nuclear weapons – has special sensitivities about anything nuclear…………………………..

Two recent incidents have raised concerns, however.

The George Washington’s arrival in September was delayed after a fire broke out in its lower decks on May 22 while it was docked in the United States under repairs. A Navy investigation found it took nearly eight hours to discover the source of the smoke and flames, by which time the fire had burned through eight decks and damaged 80 compartments…………………………a month earlier, it emerged that the submarine USS Houston had leaked radiation during visits to two Japanese ports, provoking headlines and a formal Japanese government protest.

Goto and others, who are pushing a referendum on whether Japan should host nuclear-powered vessels, have raised both incidents, saying they undermine the Navy’s general claim that the George Washington is safe.

The Canadian Press: Deployment of nuclear warship off the coast of Japan touches a nerve

February 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Emergency nuke centers ordered to bolster radiation protection

The Japan Times Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009 Emergency nuke centers ordered to bolster radiation protectionKyodo NewsThe internal affairs ministry Friday advised seven facilities designated to serve as command centers in the event of a nuclear emergency to bolster their safety systems against radiation exposure.The seven are among 22 command centers across Japan operated by the industry and science ministries. Each was built within 20 km of a nuclear plant so it can expeditiously deal with an emergency.
A recent inspection of 13 centers by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry found that seven would have problems with radioactive contamination in an accident, exposing those inside to the risk of radiation sickness.………………….The centers in question are in Hokkaido, Aomori, Miyagi, Fukushima, Shizuoka, Ishikawa and Ehime prefectures.

Five were found to have ventilation problems, but shielding was found inadequate at all seven facilities.

Emergency nuke centers ordered to bolster radiation protection | The Japan Times Online

February 14, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News

N-commerce gets going, pact signed with French firm Bhagyashree Pande Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 4
Taking the first major step towards undertaking nuclear commerce after the NSG waiver, India today signed a preliminary sales agreement with French atomic reactor giant Areva for setting up two nuclear reactors in India.

Areva, the world’s biggest maker of atomic reactors, inked the MoU with state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for building the country’s first large-capacity plants using overseas equipment.

This will end India’s nuclear trade isolation marking a new chapter in strategic relationship with France……………………Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon said her company was committed to supply fuel for the lifetime of the reactors, which, she pegged at about 60 years. She said Areva would meet the fuel requirements through its uranium mines located in various countries, including Australia, Kazakhstan and Niger. Though the MoU provides for supply of two nuclear reactors, the order may be stepped up to six at a later date. The cost of one EPR has been estimated at between $5.2 and 7.8 billion, although final costs are subject to negotiations…………………….Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Power, said signing of the MoU signals end of India’s nuclear isolation and its emergence as a responsible nuclear state. He hoped that this relationship would go further in form of forging technological alliance to export nuclear reactors from India to various countries.

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive

February 5, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | Leave a comment

China to Continue Nuclear Weapon Expansion

Monday, Feb. 2, 2009

Global Security Newswire 2 Jan 09

http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20090202_6084.php

China plans to continue bolstering its nuclear forces to maintain the nation’s strategic deterrence, two generals stated yesterday in a journal affiliated with the Communist Party of China (see GSN, Jan. 26).

“We will accelerate the building of our nuclear and conventional combat strength,” said Gen. Jing Zhiyuan, who commands China’s nuclear forces as head of the Second Artillery Corps, and Gen. Peng Xiaofeng, the corps’ political commissar. “We will strengthen the buildup of combat systems and improve the training of high-quality personnel.”

The article appeared in Qiushi, a journal used by communist leaders to publish their views, Agence France-Presse reported

February 2, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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