Japan stumbles from one Fukushima crisis to the next
ABC News: ‘Never-Ending Disaster at Fukushima’ — ‘Japan is stumbling helplessly from one crisis to the next’ http://enenews.com/abc-news-a-never-ending-disaster-at-fukushima-japan-is-stumbling-helplessly-from-one-crisis-to-the-next-as-it-battles-the-ongoing-disaster
Title: Japan’s Nuclear Migraine: A Never-Ending Disaster at Fukushima
Author: Von Marco Evers
Date: Sept. 14, 2013
Japan’s Nuclear Migraine: A Never-Ending Disaster at Fukushima
Japan is stumbling helplessly from one crisis to the next as it battles the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
[…] In the eyes of industry experts and the Japanese public alike, the company has proved one thing unequivocally — that it is in far over its head in trying to handle the aftermath of the disaster. […]
Malfunctions, bungling and cluelessness seem to be ongoing themes at Fukushima. […]
“The day-to-day catastrophes are so serious that TEPCO never gets a chance to turn its attention to its actual plan,” says Michael Maqua at the Society for Plant and Reactor Safety (GRS), in Cologne, Germany. He too is appalled by TEPCO’s handling of the situation. […]
Endless catastrophe of Fukushima puts a threat over 2020 Olympic Games
Given these impending problems, how can Japanese Prime Minister Abe possibly say that Tokyo will be safe for the Olympics? He actually said that “there is absolutely no problem” and “the situation is under control.”
Endless Fukushima catastrophe: 2020 Olympics under contamination threat Dr Helen Caldicott RT.com: September 15, 2013 As the escape of radiation at Fukushima seems virtually unstoppable, there are still steps that governments all over the world should take to prevent worst case consequences. One of them would be canceling the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Scientific estimates predict that the radioactive plume travelling east across the Pacific will likely hit the shores of Oregon, Washington State and Canada early next year. California will probably be impacted later that year. Because the ongoing flow of water from the reactor site will be virtually impossible to stop, a radioactive plume will continue to migrate across the Pacific affecting Hawaii, North America, South America and eventually Australia for many decades.
We are only talking about ocean currents, however, fish swim thousands of miles and don’t necessarily follow the currents. As noted in Part I, big fish concentrate radiation most efficiently, and tuna have already been caught off the coast of California containing cesium from Fukushima. Seaweed also efficiently concentrates radioactive elements.
As I contemplate the future at Fukushima, it seems that the escape of radiation is virtually unstoppable. The levels of radiation in buildings 1, 2 and 3 are now so high that no human can enter or get close to the molten cores. It will therefore be impossible to remove these cores for hundreds of years if ever ……..
Nuclear Olympics
Given these impending problems, how can Japanese Prime Minister Abe possibly say that Tokyo will be safe for the Olympics? He actually said that “there is absolutely no problem” and “the situation is under control.” Does he not understand that parts of Tokyo are already radioactively contaminated and that his government is dumping ashes from the incineration of thousands of tons of radioactive debris from the tsunami and earthquake into Tokyo Bay? Is this what the athletes will be swimming in?
What if there is another major release of radiation before the Olympics? Young fit people who have spent years in rigorous training must, under no circumstances be exposed to radioactive air, food or water. And how can Abe possibly consider spending all thatmoney housing people in expensive accommodation and constructing stadiums etc. when his own people – 160,000 Fukushima refugees – live in shacks and millions still live in highly radioactive zones and when the Fukushima complex is out of control? http://rt.com/op-edge/fukushima-catastrophe-nuclear-olympics-883/
Doubtful that Japan’s nuclear industry will restart
Japan’s uncertain nuclear future Australia Network News, 16 Sept 13 Japan has begun the process to become nuclear power-free for just third time in more than 40 years, after the country’s only reactor was disconnected from the power grid ahead of planned maintenance.
Nuclear power has provided about a third of Japan’s electricity, but the industry came to a virtual halt following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Kansai Electric Power will gradually take offline the No. 4 reactor at its Oi nuclear plant in Fukui prefecture in western Japan.
The work was scheduled to start Sunday evening, with the reactor expected to stop power generation after several hours before coming to a complete stop early Monday.
The Kansai reactor was the only one of Japan’s 50 reactors in operation, although several operators have applied to restart their reactors under new rules which were developed following leaking at Fukushima.
The last time Japan went without nuclear power was in the period between May and June 2012 and that was the first shutdown since 1970. However, the nuclear-free energy is expected to only be temporary, with industry projections pointing to reactor restarts as soon as December.
But opinion polls show a majority of Japanese are opposed to restarts and want to end the country’s reliance on atomic power.
“The argument that no nuclear power dents the economy would be myopic, considering that if by mistake we had another tragedy like Fukushima, Japan would suffer from further collateral damage and lose global trust,” the head of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, Tetsunari Iida, said.
“In the new economy, the less you use energy, the more value-added you become. The big chorus for nuclear power is hampering the efforts to move to a new, more open economy.”.,….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-15/an-japan-nuclear-free/4958932
Japan’s government wants nuclear power, but its future is doubtful
Japan’s uncertain nuclear future Australia Network News, 16 Sept 13 Japan has begun the process to become nuclear power-free for just third time in more than 40 years, after the country’s only reactor was disconnected from the power grid ahead of planned maintenance.
Nuclear power has provided about a third of Japan’s electricity, but the industry came to a virtual halt following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Kansai Electric Power will gradually take offline the No. 4 reactor at its Oi nuclear plant in Fukui prefecture in western Japan.
The work was scheduled to start Sunday evening, with the reactor expected to stop power generation after several hours before coming to a complete stop early Monday.
The Kansai reactor was the only one of Japan’s 50 reactors in operation, although several operators have applied to restart their reactors under new rules which were developed following leaking at Fukushima.
The last time Japan went without nuclear power was in the period between May and June 2012 and that was the first shutdown since 1970. However, the nuclear-free energy is expected to only be temporary, with industry projections pointing to reactor restarts as soon as December.
But opinion polls show a majority of Japanese are opposed to restarts and want to end the country’s reliance on atomic power.
“The argument that no nuclear power dents the economy would be myopic, considering that if by mistake we had another tragedy like Fukushima, Japan would suffer from further collateral damage and lose global trust,” the head of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, Tetsunari Iida, said.
“In the new economy, the less you use energy, the more value-added you become. The big chorus for nuclear power is hampering the efforts to move to a new, more open economy.”.,….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-15/an-japan-nuclear-free/4958932
Japanese fishermen not reassured about “expert” confidence on Fukushima radiation
Nuclear expert not worried about Fukushima ABC Radio PM, Mark Willacy reported this story on Friday, September 13, 2013 SCOTT BEVAN: Stung by criticism that its handling of the ongoing crisis at Fukushima has been shoddy, the nuclear plant’s operator TEPCO has brought in a US expert to advise it……..
Now that is despite revelations that about 300,000 litres of contaminated groundwater is flowing into the sea every day and of course it is despite a serious leak of highly radioactive water from one of the hundreds of storage tanks at the site and that was a product of what some say was rushed and shoddy workmanship.
LAKE BARRETT: This is not finished. But I don’t believe there’s anything of major concern and they do have an adequate leak control system there but it needs to be better and addressed, it needs to be explained much better than it’s been explained…….
So that opinion as you’d imagine Scott hasn’t gone down too well with many Japanese, particularly fishermen who used to make their livelihoods from the waters off Fukushima. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3848510.htm
Fish migrate: therefore all fish from Japan is suspect
Microbiology Professor: “Gov’t needs to ban all fish imports from all regions of Japan” — Nuclear Professor: “No one can block fish migration along with sea currents” http://enenews.com/microbiology-professor-govt-needs-to-ban-all-fish-imports-from-all-regions-of-japan-nuclear-professor-no-one-can-block-fish-migration-along-with-sea-currents
Title: Government says seawater passes safety test-INSIDE Korea
Source: JoongAng Daily
Date: Sept. 12, 2013
[…] Fear of radiation has grown so bad that Korean consumers have stopped buying even locally caught fish. Sales have plunged at discount and department stores, according to the nation’s largest discount chains […]
[Oceans Minister Yoon Jin-sook] dismissed concerns that contaminated fisheries from the eight blocked Japanese prefectures were being disguised as products from other parts of the country. […]
Meanwhile, some experts’ views contrast with the minister’s.
“No one can block fish migration along with sea currents,” said Chang Jung-ouk, a nuclear energy policy professor at Matsuyama University. “When fishermen catch fish in Aomori Prefecture and trade them in Hokkaido, that means Korea could import fish from Aomori through Hokkaido.”
Kim Ik-joong, a microbiology professor at Dongguk University, said current measures are not enough.
“The government needs to ban all fish imports from all regions of Japan,” Kim said.
See also: Expert: “Ban all fish from Japan”
Fukushima: entire core of nuclear reactor 4 remains perched in a damaged fuel pool 100 feet in the air,
Five Ways a Wider Syrian War Could Go Nuclear Truth Dig, By Harvey Wasserman, 13 Sept 13,
“……….Millions of tons of heavily contaminated water continuously flow through the site in central Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. Millions more accumulate in flimsy tanks already breaking apart, all within the specter of the next earthquake.
The three melted cores at Fukushima Daiichi have yet to be found. The common radioactive waste pool near Unit Four is surrounded by buildings whose foundations are being undermined by the continuous flow of radioactive water.
Most terrifying, the entire core of Unit Four remains perched in a damaged fuel pool 100 feet in the air, atop a structure that’s sinking. Should it crash to the ground, that core could potentially spew into the ocean and atmosphere more than 20,000 times the radiation released at Hiroshima.
A sane species would be pouring all its resources into somehow healing the open apocalyptic wound that still festers at Fukushima.
Yet we are tied up in Syria. We can be deeply grateful that the situation there today seems at least slightly less dangerous than it did yesterday.
But atomic danger lurks without warning in every facet of this crisis.
Harvey Wasserman edits Nukefree.org. He is the author of “Solartopia! Our Green-Powered Earth” and hosts the “Green Power & Wellness” radio show. http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/five_ways_a_wider_syrian_war_could_go_nuclear_20130913/
Japan at risk of losing Olympic Games if Fukushima radiation crisis persists
Japan Times: Talk of Olympics being taken away from Tokyo if problems at Fukushima worsen over next couple of years http://enenews.com/japan-times-talk-of-olympics-being-taken-away-from-tokyo-if-problems-at-fukushima-worsen-over-next-couple-of-years
Title: Kansai not overly enthusiastic about Tokyo landing Olympics
Source: The Japan Times
Author: Eric Johnston
Date: Sept. 11, 2013
While pleased the Olympics are returning to Japan, the level of public and media enthusiasm in Osaka and the rest of Kansai is far less than what has been seen in Tokyo.
Like critics elsewhere, there is much concern in Kansai over the water leaks plaguing the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. There has even been local speculation that the International Olympic Committee might be forced to consider taking the games away from Tokyo if the problems at Fukushima worsen over the next couple of years. […]
See also: Tepco plan claims Fukushima molten fuel to be removed at same time as 2020 Olympics in Tokyo
Dishonesty of Japan’s Prime Minister’s pretense that the Fukushima nuclear plant is under control
Japan Nuclear Expert: I was “flabbergasted” by Olympic speech — Fukushima reactors are actually destroyed and constantly leaking in ocean — Contamination dumping into sea — PM: “It’s contained in 0.3 km² area of harbor”http://enenews.com/japan-nuclear-expert-i-was-flabbergasted-by-olympic-speech-fukushima-reactors-are-destroyed-and-constantly-leaking-in-ocean-contamination-being-dumped-into-sea-via-groundwater-pm-it
Title: Fukushima far from solved, say Abe’s Games critics
Date: September 10, 2013
[…] “Contaminated water has been contained in a 0.3 square-kilometre area of the harbour,” [Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe] added in a question-and-answer session. […]
Critics at home and abroad say Abe’s gloss on the disaster at Fukushima, where a tsunami swamped cooling systems and sent reactors into meltdown, is bordering on the dishonest.
“I was flabbergasted by Abe’s speech,” said Hiroaki Koide, an associate professor at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute.
“The problem of contaminated water is far from being solved. This problem has been going on all the time since the reactors were destroyed. Contaminated water has been leaking into the ocean ever since.” […]
Groundwater flows out to sea, taking along anything it has picked up and dumping it in the ocean. […]
Can Japan contain Fukushima radiation before the Tokyo Olympic Games?
2020 Tokyo Olympics: With Fukushima Radiation Scare Looming Large in the Background, How Capable is Japan to Contain It Before the Global Games? IB Times, 10 Sept 13“……While the country’s hosting the global games will help boost and regain its self-confidence after the much negative impact brought by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami as well as the resulting nuclear disaster, bringing the games there is touted to be already parallel to a global suicide for everyone concerned….. “Japan Needs the Power of This Dream Now!” banners splashed around Tokyo city screamed in the lead-up to Sunday’s big winning pronouncement by the International Olympic Committee, which chose radiation stricken Japan over rivals Istanbul and Madrid……. http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/504600/20130909/tokyo-olympics-fukushima-radiation-japan.htm#.Ui9xytJwonE
Tokyo’s bid for 2020 Olympic Games, clouded by Fukushima fears
Fukushima, Syria concerns hang over Tokyo and Istanbul bids to win 2020 Olympics ahead of Madrid ABC News, 6 Sep 2013, Fears over radiation from the tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant and fall-out from the bloody civil war in Syria are hanging over Tokyo and Istanbul’s attempts to host the 2020 Olympics, amid suggestions that third candidate city Madrid could benefit.
Tokyo’s bid leaders were forced to assuage lingering doubts over safety in the Japanese capital, with radioactive water leaking into the ocean, two-and-a-half years after the nuclear disaster.
Bid president Tsunekazu Takeda even revealed that he had written to every member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to try to allay fears…….
But the 2011 meltdown at the plant 220 kilometres from Tokyo, which followed a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 18,000, could still be a deciding factor in the vote, according to one analyst…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/fukushima2c-syria2c-voting-leaks-hurt-olympic-cities27-bids/4940298
Call for compensation for Marshall Islanders, victims of USA atomic bomb testing
AUDIO: Nuclear test survivors call for compensation 6 September 2013, Survivors of the American nuclear tests in the 1950s on Rongelap Atoll in Marshall Islands still want to go home. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/pacific-beat/nuclear-test-survivors-calls-for-compensation/118676 They want the United States to clean up the radiation on their atoll and provide compensation too.
The group describes themselves as living in exile. They want the Forum Leaders and the Marshalls government to raise the issue with the US Secretary for Interior Affairs, Sally Jewell, who is in Majuro for the Forum.
The Marshalls’ senator for Ronelap Atoll, Kenneth Kedi, says that Rongelap wasn’t bombed directly but suffers from the nuclear fallout and there there have been several failed attemps to clean it up. Presenter: Geraldine Coutts Speaker: Senator for Ronelap Atoll on Marshall Islands, Kenneth Kedi
Economics – nuclear industry’s fatal flaw
The answer from the nuclear industry to all these criticisms is always the same: it will be different next time. But the rolling farce in Fukushima proves yet again the opposite. The only reliability the industry can offer is consistently breaking promises and busting budgets.
As the false nuclear dawn fades, a new brighter horizon may be revealed, where the intrinsically safe and therefore ultimately cheaper technologies of energy efficiency and renewable energy can used to build a power system fit for the 21st century, not one harking back to the 20th.
Fukushima farce reveals nuclear industry’s fatal flaw http://www.theguardian.com/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2013/sep/04/fukushima-farce-nuclear-industry-flaw, 4 Sept 13, 
Keeping the lid on costs when the task is to keep the lid on a slow motion atomic explosion is an impossible challenge Once upon a time, when the nuclear industry was shiny and new, it simply burned uranium. Now, old and tarnished, it burns money. From the promise of nuclear electricity being too cheap to meter, we now have costs that are too great to count.
At the site of the Fukushima meltdown in Japan, the government is being forced to spend over £200m on a fanciful-sounding underground ice wallin the latest desperate attempt to halt the radiation-contaminated waterthat is leaking into the sea.
When mere stopgaps cost this much, it is clear any real solution will cost the earth. Japanese taxpayers have already had to bail out the operator Tepco to the tune of £6.5bn. The final clean up will cost tens of billions and take 40 years.
Yet supporters maintain that nuclear power offers affordable low-carbon electricity and is a vital tool in the fight to curb climate change. The UK government, already spending most of its energy budget on nuclear clean up, has crashed through deadline after deadline in a fruitless search to find anybody willing to build new nuclear power stations at reasonable cost.
The only serious players left in the game are those backed by the French, Chinese and Russian states, whose interest in power is as much political as electrical. Commercial companies have fled the scene. Continue reading
Japanese government keen for Olympic Games, no radiation worries about Tokyo
Brushing aside radiation worry, Tokyo says it’s as safe as NYC http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/09/05/brushing-aside-radiation-worry-tokyo-says-its-safe-nyc BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Ossian Shine- Tokyo’s Olympic bid chief on Wednesday played down fears the Fukushima water crisis could dent the city’s gambit to host the 2020 Summer Games, saying the Japanese capital is as safe as London, New York City and Paris. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on Saturday in Buenos Aires to decide whether Istanbul, Madrid or Tokyo will be awarded the world’s biggest and most expensive multi-event sporting extravaganza.
Japanese officials have been eager to show the spread of irradiated water is under control, even as radiation levels at parts of the Fukushima nuclear plant have spiked to record highs.
“Right now Tokyo’s radiation level is comparable to London, Paris and New York and here as well,” said bid leader Tsunekazu Takeda in Buenos Aires, making the case for the city alongside the honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., Fujio Cho.
“It’s absolutely safe,” said Takeda, adding he had written a letter to IOC members to stress radiation wasn’t a threat to Tokyo, located some 230 km (140 miles) from the stricken plant.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has helped lead the campaign to host the Games, is due to fly in to the Argentine capital ahead of the high-stakes vote.
Japan’s government is in touch with experts in the United States and elsewhere on ways to control the Fukushima crisis, trade and economics minister Toshimitsu Motegi told Reuters earlier on Wednesday.
Fukushima’s radiation leaks may stop Japan’s hopes for a nuclear economy
The leaks threaten to delay [Prime Minister Shinzo] Abe’s plans to restart nuclear reactors, a move he says is necessary to support Japan’s economic recovery and improve Tepco’s tattered finances.
Radiation leaks reported at Fukushima barely hint at scope of problems there MINN Post, By Ron Meador 3 Sept 13, Thirty months after the meltdowns at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. may have fumbled and fibbed one time too many.
Japan’s prime minister has announced that the national government will move to take control of radiation containment and decommissioning of the crippled reactors, where leaks of highly radioactive water have now been confirmed, out of Tepco’s hands.
And that’s good news, in the sense that government teams could hardly do worse than Tepco in managing the situation. But the enormity of Fukushima’s problems is such that it’s fair to wonder how much difference — apart from perhaps greater transparency — this management change can make.
Here is a waste-disposal problem that is growing larger, not smaller, with the passage of time, and is now revealed to be plagued by leaks that have yet to be located or counted, let alone repaired.
Running out of room for tanks
Tepco’s mid-August acknowledgement that 300 tons of contaminated water had leaked into the Pacific Ocean from a storage tank at the plant site may not have seemed terribly alarming, at least initially. Continue reading
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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