The Huffington Post has published a cultural history, by Kevin Lankes, of Godzilla’s atomic origins. The original Japanese film came out in 1954, shortly after the U.S. military’s “Operation Castle Bravo” H-bomb “test” at Bikini blanketed a Japanese …
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via RT.com / April 21, 2014 / Katsutaka Idogawa, former mayor of Futaba, a town near the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant, is warning his country that radiation contamination is affecting Japan’s greatest treasure – its children. Asked about government plans to relocate the people of Futaba to the city of Iwaki, inside the Fukushima prefecture, Idogawa criticized the move as a “violation of human rights.” Compared with Chernobyl, radiation levels … Continue reading →
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A newly published study has uncovered alarming indications of biological loss and ecological collapse in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that exploded in Ukraine on April 26, 1986.
Nuclear boosters have long claimed that the superficial appearance of teeming wildlife in the approximately 1,000 square mile Chernobyl exclusion zone indicates an Eden-like outcome. But the study observed a frightening halt to organic decay and the disappearance of important microbes that indicate the steady advance of a potential “silent spring.”
“The illusion that the absence of humanity can only benefit wildlife is trumped when humanity has inflicted man-made poisons on a fragile ecosystem whose inhabitants are now biologically compromised by radiation exposures that will continue indefinitely,” observed Linda Gunter, international specialist at Beyond Nuclear, of the study’s findings.
Highly reduced mass loss rates and increased litter layer in radioactively contaminated areas, published in Oecologia, March 4, 2014, by Mousseau (Dr. Tim Mousseau pictured), Milinevsky, Kenney‑Hunt and Møller, found that the natural cycle of decay of organic materials around Chernobyl is largely dependent on microbial communities which have been significantly reduced in these radioactively contaminated zones.
“We already know about plant and insect mutations and the shortened lifespans of birds in the zone, but this news is even more alarming,” said Paul Gunter, Director of Reactor Oversight at Beyond Nuclear. “The long-term consequences of the loss of this essential microbial community could be unprecedented ecologically, while the most immediate consequence is the build-up of undecayed leaf matter. This creates an increased risk of forest fires which could spread radioactivity to uncontaminated areas,” Gunter said.
by Yuka Obayashi / via Japan Times / April 20, 2014 / The manager of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant admits to embarrassment that repeated efforts have failed to bring under control the problem of radioactive water, eight months after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the world the matter had been resolved. Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant’s operator, has been fighting a daily battle against contaminated water … Continue reading →
Continue readingA photo showing a part of the ALPS system at Fukushima Daiichi, posted at Enformable.comAs reported by Reuters, although Japanese Prime Minister Abe said to International Olympic Committee dignitaries in Buenos Aires last September “Let me assu…
Continue readingvia Ria Novosti / April 18, 2014 / Radiation levels in the areas surrounding the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant have dropped, but still exceed the long-term target of the Japanese government, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday. The report, quoted by the Asahi Shumbun daily newspaper, says that Fukushima evacuees will receive radiation doses from 0.7 to 3 millisieverts per … Continue reading →
Continue readingBy Shinichi Sekine and Miki Aoki / Asahi Shimbun / April 16, 2014 / The Japanese government withheld findings on estimated radiation exposure for Fukushima returnees for six months, even though levels exceeded the long-term target of 1 millisievert a year at more than half of surveyed locations. Individual radiation doses were estimated to be beyond 1 millisievert per year, or 0.23 microsievert an hour, at 24 of all the … Continue reading →
Continue readingCharles Komanoff, is an article posted at the Carbon Tax Center (which he directs), has set the record straight with the “paper of record.”
The Carbon Tax Center is a clearinghouse for information, research and advocacy on behalf of revenue-neutral c…
Aileen Mioko Smith of Green Action, Japan, discusses what would happen during an evacuation caused by a nuclear emergency in Japan. But the plans are deeply flawed and inadequate.
Continue readingvia Press TV / April 15, 2014 / Authorities at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant say the facility’s basements have been mistakenly filled with highly contaminated water. The basements were flooded with about 200 tons of cooling-tank radioactive water after pumps were turned on by mistake. The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), says the water didn’t have a pathway to reach the ocean or leak out to … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia Japan Times / April 12, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that toxic water found to have leaked last August at one of the huge tanks at the accident-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was far more contaminated than initially announced. After recalculating the radiation level, Tepco said the water contained 280 million becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive materials such as strontium-90, instead of … Continue reading →
Continue readingBy Kevin Griffin / Vancouver Sun / April 12, 2014 / All along the Pacific coast of North America and as far south as Costa Rica, people with little or no scientific background have volunteered to raise money for the program and collect the sea water samples needed to test for radiation. The crowdsourcing, citizen-scientist program is the idea of Ken Buesseler, a research scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, … Continue reading →
Continue readingBy Maan Pamintuan-Lamorena / via Japan Daily Press / April 11, 2014 / Teaching the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident to elementary school students proved to be difficult as what some textbook publishers found out. Especially if the words “atom” and “radiation” are not yet included in the curriculum guidelines for elementary students. As such, only one out of the six approved science textbooks for primary school use tackled the … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe UN IAEA’s official radioactivity hazard warning signDave Kraft, Director of Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) based in Chicago, wrote the following introduction as he forwarded the NIRS press release entitled “NRC Fails the American People:…
Continue readingvia Enformable.com / April 8, 2014 / Engineers from Tokyo Electric held discussions with officials from the Japanese government on Monday where they communicated that they are running out of room to store contaminated debris at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. According to estimates provided by the engineers, more than 560,000 cubic meters of debris will be produced from decommissioning activities over the next 13 years. Tokyo Electric … Continue reading →
Continue readingfrom NHK World / April 8, 2014 / The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company will begin pumping up groundwater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Wednesday. The water is expected to be released into the sea next month. This will mark the start of one of several key measures to reduce the increasing volume of radiation-contaminated water at the facility. According to the plan, clean groundwater that … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia Enformable.com / April 7, 2014 / A paper published by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum focuses on why Fukushima Daiichi experienced a severe accident and other nuclear power facilities like Fukushima Daiini, Onagawa, and Tokai nuclear power plants were not as severely affected by the earthquake and tsunami. One of the findings was that the earthquake damaged all seven of the offsite power systems providing external power to the … Continue reading →
Continue readingBy Andrew DeWit / Asia-Pacific Journal / April 7, 2014 / 60% of Japan’s 48 viable nuclear reactors, are not as yet being considered for application to the Nuclear Regulation Agency (NRA) for restart. All of Japan’s 48 viable nuclear reactors are at present offline, and have been since September of 2013. The Abe cabinet is keen to restart as many of these as possible. But regulatory rules, public opinion … Continue reading →
Continue readingKyle Cleveland Temple University Japan Abstract The nuclear disaster in Fukushima which followed in the wake of the 3/11 Tohoku earthquake and Tsunami has been one of the most significant public health crises in modern history, with profound implications for how nuclear energy is perceived. This paper analyzes the nature of risk assessment in the nuclear crisis, examining how the Japanese government and its constituent institutions in the nuclear industry, foreign governments … Continue reading →
Continue readingby Jeff Kingston / Japan Times / April 5, 2014 / Kyle Cleveland, my colleague at Temple University Japan, recently published a report in the online Asia-Pacific Journal, “Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty” that has drawn widespread media attention. Based on numerous interviews with government officials, military officers and nuclear energy experts, along with documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests to U.S. … Continue reading →
Continue readingNRC file photo of Nine Mile PointNRC file photo of FitzPatrickAs documented in the Federal Register, the French Areva EPR (“Evolutionary Power Reactor”) targeted at the Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant site in Upstate New York, on the Lake Ontario s…
Continue readingBy Patrick J. Kiger / National Geographic / April 2, 2014 / For the first time since Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power disaster three years ago, residents of a small portion of the surrounding restricted area are being allowed to return home, even though radiation levels remain elevated At midnight on March 31, the Japanese government officially lifted an evacuation order for a portion of the Miyakoji district of Tamura, … Continue reading →
Continue readingThis radiation warning sign is posted on the perimeter fence of the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Mo. Photo credit: Sarah Skiold-Hanlin, St. Louis Public Radio)As reported by St. Louis Public Radio, “[a] new analysis by scientists at the U.S. Enviro…
Continue readingvia Enformable.com / March 27, 2014 / Tokyo Electric announced today that the “Warrior” robot, designed and engineered in the United States, tipped over during an inspection of the Unit 2 reactor building two weeks ago and could not be retrieved due a dead battery. On March 13th, the “Warrior” robot was one of several robots collecting samples of the concrete floor on the fifth floor of the reactor building … Continue reading →
Continue readingKimiko Koyama, 69, who evacuated from the Miyakoji area of Tamura three years ago, dusts off her house after she returned to her home with her husband Toshio, 76, in Tamura, Fukushima prefecture April 1, 2014. Although reported by Reuters on April 1st,…
Continue readingSample image from an ESRI nuclear power plant proximity calculationThis online mapping program by ESRI can tell you your proximity to the nearest atomic reactors. Just allow the program to utilize your current location, or type in any address in the Lo…
Continue readingVermont Yankee is a GE BWR Mark I, identical in design to Fukushima Daiichi Units 1-4.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement by The Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance regarding the PSB’s decision to grant a Certificate of Public Good to Vermont Yankee…
via Zero Hedge / March 31, 2014 / As reported last night, Japan’s economy may once again be relapsing into a slowing phase, perversely well in advance of the dreaded sales-tax hike which many expect will catalyze Japan’s collapse into another recession as happened the last time Japan had a tax hike, but that doesn’t mean its population should be prevented from enjoying the heavily energized local atmosphere buzzing with … Continue reading →
Continue readingIt is with great sadness that we learned of the death of author, Jonathan Schell, on March 25th. Most noted for authoring “The Fate of the Earth,” a study of the devastation that the use of nuclear weapons would cause, Schell was also a …
Continue readingvia NHK World / March 30, 2014 / The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it has resumed the process of removing spent fuel from one of the crippled reactors. On Wednesday, an alarm suddenly activated and stopped a large crane, as workers were preparing to hoist a cask containing fuel assemblies from the pool at the No. 4 reactor building. Tokyo Electric Power Company found that a … Continue reading →
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| Get SCE Out of San Onofre |
Background: NRC Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Requirements:
“Each licensee shall develop and implement guidance and strategies intended to maintain or restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling capabilities under the circumstances associated with loss of large areas of the plant due to explosions or fire ….”
The San Onofre spent fuel cooling fire protection plan in the event of a large fire and/or explosion hinges on the expertise and staffing of the on-sight San Onofre Fire Department.
Since the San Onofre Fire Department and Emergency Planning Personnel Staffing was reduced to a skeleton crew without prior approval from the NRC after a full and proper evaluation, the existing fire plan is now outdated and unrealistic in event of a large fire or explosion.
A Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Accident, in case of a large fire or explosion without adequate and demonstrated mitigation measures is a MAJOR Nuclear Safety Concern for all the millions of Southern Californians living within the 10 Mile Emergency Protection Zone. Remember Fukushima‘s triple meltdowns occurred because of a failure to keep their reactors cool after the big earth quake and tsunami which occurred on 03/11/11.
Last Friday, the NRC cited SCE, the operator of San Onofre’s nuclear power plant for violating NRC rules by failing to get approval before eliminating 39 emergency-response jobs after the plant closed last year.
Historically, NRC Region IV has had the habit of citing Southern California Edison with only low level violations, even if the violations were actually severe violations. This cozy relationship was a contributing factor in the radioactive leak that resulted in the early decommissioning of San Onofre Units 2 & 3 and the loss of billions of dollars to SoCal ratepayers that could have been prevented, if the NRC had enforced the Federal Regulations as written. This type of safety enforcement is not good for Californians or the NRC. Now a serious review/investigation and proper action/fines are required by the NRC and its Commissioners, to assure Nuclear Safety is maintained at San Onofre and all the other US Nuclear Power Plants.
The question the NRC should ask is, “Knowing that the SPENT FUEL POOLS MUST STILL BE KEPT COOL 24/7 no matter what, if a major earth quake occurred tonight, would San Onofre Fire Dept.’s skeleton crew be able to guarantee US that they could prevent a nuclear accident from occurring, especially since the 39 emergency-response positions that were illegally eliminated, probably cost ratepayers much less than even one still employed highly paid nuclear manager who would be home sleeping?
The question that the CPUC should ask is, “If SEC is really interested in safety as they keep telling us, what is the reasonableness of continually cutting corners on those that actually insure our safety, while at the same time retaining other highly paid nuclear Staff?
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PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre
PLEASE Turn off a light for Fukushima USA / San Onofre
Karl GrossmanThe March 25, 2014 issue of The Independent, Antioch College’s alumni publication, features Beyond Nuclear board member Karl Grossman (Antioch class of 1964). The interview gives a good overview of Karl’s distinguished career of investigat…
Continue readingvia Mainichi.jp / March 25, 2014 / A Cabinet Office team has delayed the release of radiation measurements from three Fukushima Prefecture municipalities, and plans to release them later with lower, recalculated results, the Mainichi learned on March 24. The three municipalities are currently covered by evacuation orders imposed after the March 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant meltdowns — evacuation orders the government plans to lift in the near … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia Reuters / March 28, 2014 / A worker at Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant died on Friday after being buried under gravel while digging a ditch, prompting the operator to suspend cleanup work for safety checks. Tokyo Electric Power Co said it was the first time a laborer had died as a direct result of an accident inside the plant since the nuclear disaster in March 2011, the world’s … Continue reading →
Continue readingOn March 27, 2014 — the eve of the 35-year mark on TMI’s meltdown — NRC issued “G20130229 – 2206 Petition Closure Letter Re Revoke Operating License for General Electric Mark I and Mark II Boiling Water Reactors.” The closure letter is stored on NR…
Continue readingvia RT.com / March 27, 2014 / Tokyo Electric Power Co. underestimated internal radiation exposure of 142 workers involved in immediate emergency operations at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011, according to Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. After reexamining exposure records provided by TEPCO, the Ministry said Tuesday it had increased the 142 workers’ radiation data by an average of 5.86 millisieverts, The Asahi … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia NHK World / March 26, 2014 / Work has been suspended to remove spent nuclear fuel from a storage pool at a reactor building in the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Tokyo Electric Power Company said an accident occurred at around 9:30 AM on Wednesday when workers started removing fuel units at the No. 4 reactor building. The utility explained a large crane used to hoist a cask containing … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia TEPCO / March 25, 2014 / We have been preparing for establishing a new company on April 1, 2014, which will be a new internal entity of the function dealing with decommissioning and contaminated water within TEPCO, for the purpose of clarifying the responsibilities allocation and focusing solely on handling of decommissioning and contaminated water at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Now the company outline is decided, and … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia couriermail.com.au / March 25, 2014 / First off, no one who works at Japan’s wrecked nuclear power plant calls it Fukushima Dai-ichi, comic-book artist Kazuto Tatsuta says in his book about his time on the job. It’s ichi efu, or 1F. It’s not “hell on earth,’’ but a life filled with a careful routine to protect against radiation. A good part of the day is spent putting on and … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia Press TV / March 25, 2014 / Officials at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant say they have switched off a key decontamination system used to clean radiation-tainted water after workers discovered leaks. This comes as the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) spotted the defect just hours after the system came back online. The firm has repeatedly switched off the system over a series of glitches since trial … Continue reading →
Continue readingThe Nuclear Genie, as depicted in Walt Disney’s 1950s pro-nuclear propaganda book “Our Friend the Atom”The New York Times editorial board has cited “Measured Progress on Nuclear Security,” given Japan’s pledge to turn over a small fraction of its poten…
Continue readingEnvironmental coalition attorney Terry Lodge of ToledoThe environmental coalition opposing the 20-year license extension sought by FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company (FENOC) at its problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor on the Lake Erie shore ea…
Continue readingvia The Asahi Shimbun / March 25, 2014 / Fishermen here have given the go-ahead for Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s bypass plan to release uncontaminated groundwater into the sea by diverting it before it reaches the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations confirmed its approval when the heads of its member associations met in the city of Iwaki on March 25. … Continue reading →
Continue readingWould you give 3 hours of your time on Tuesday to lower cancer rates in San Clemente and adjacent communities?Studies show that communities who are actively involved in the decommissioning of their power plants result in lower radiation readi…
Continue readingvia Times of Oman / The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Monday it has switched on a key decontamination system that cleans radiation-tainted water used to cool the site’s damaged reactors. Last week, Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said it had discovered a defect in its Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and switched it off for repairs. The embattled firm said two of three lines that clean the … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia NHK World / March 24, 2014 / The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company — the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, are considering releasing groundwater into the sea, bypassing the facility, as a main measure to reduce the volume of contaminated wastewater. About 400 tons of groundwater flow into the reactor buildings every day. The groundwater becomes contaminated when it mixes with water used to cool … Continue reading →
Continue readingvia sewardcitynews.com / March 23, 2014 / Thank you everyone in Seward who has taken an interest and generously helped out with the Fukushima Project. The project has received a lot of attention and interest about the well being of Resurrection Bay. So far, over half of the funding necessary has been raised for the proposed water sampling analysis. In addition, several new Alaska communities have decided to also register … Continue reading →
Continue readingBy Neenah Payne / via activistpost.com / The Fukushima Solutions World Conference will take place on March 22-23 at the University of Texas at Austin. The goal is to come up with a solution to counter the unprecedented Fukushima disaster. The first day will feature experts in nuclear issues discussing remediation solutions for the Fukushima disaster. The focus on the second day will be health issues and providing solutions for … Continue reading →
Continue readingTo all who will help make California safe for our children’s future,Public meeting of the new SCE CEP (Community Engagement Panel) about the decommissioning of SONGS will be Tuesday, March 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. . The meeting will be held a…
Continue readingvia RT.com / March 20, 2014 / Treatment of radioactive water at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant might be indefinitely suspended after malfunctions crippled the water purification process and recontaminated thousands of tons of partially purified water, Japanese media reported. The failure in the system, known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), is the latest setback in Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (TEPCO) uphill battle to stockpile radioactive water, which … Continue reading →
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