*** Fukushima *** and other nuclear-----updates and links

One seriously fracked-up summer trip

Like all long-distance driving efforts, summer vacation journeys prove Steinbeck right in saying that “... we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” But this particular one, visiting family across the states of New York, Ohio and West Virginia, illustrated to me that Maine is on the receiving end of the hottest environmental issue of our time: Hydrofracking, or fracking, or fracked, or any of the 200 pun-variations on campaign-style signs adorning the nation’s lawns.

So, here's what the frackers do: They pump millions of gallons of special fluids — mostly water but also special sands and a toxic mix that helps the process — deep underground into a seam of shell where natural gas is trapped. That breaks up the rock, freeing the gas.

So, what’s in the fracking fluid?
Well, about that: The companies don’t have to say; trade secret.

What about the resulting water pollution? Well, about that: We know little because the process is, in effect, exempt from the federal Clean Water Act under a thing called (and I’m not making this up) the “Halliburton loophole.”

My friend Stuart Smith, an attorney turned environmental blogger who knows way more about radiation than nearly anyone alive, writes that “... currently there is no way to effectively remove radioactive contaminants like radium from fracking wastewater, so in time those toxins will make their way into drinking water supplies. Here’s to a radioactive twist in every tall cool glass.”

[link to portlanddailysun.me]

At Last, a Negative Feedback to GW

NASA’s Terra satellite reveals radiation data that indicate Global Warming produces an apparently more efficient release of energy to space than has been hypothesized in the models (Ref: Jn: Spencer & Braswell; Remote Sensing).

[link to blog.seattlepi.com]

The Credibility Of Japan's Nuclear Regulators Is "Shot To Pieces" After Yet Another Corruption Scandal


The latest scandal was the revelation that NISA paid people to attend and ask questions at a 2007 press conference regarding a controversial plutonium-thermal power generation project, according to Japan Times.

Likewise it was revealed that 10 of 15 people who spoke at a 2006 symposium where asked to do so by Shikoku Electric Power Co.

Read more: [link to www.businessinsider.com]

- I wasn't wrong to deny their credibility.

Utility says NISA sought 'plants' to talk up MOX bid

Chubu Electric Power Co. said Friday it was asked by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency to set up supportive or neutral questions from the audience at a 2007 symposium about a plan to use a controversial fuel mix at the Hamaoka nuclear plant.

According to Chubu Electric, NISA orally requested that it draft such questions and give them to people who would attend the symposium to make sure not all the questions would be against the use of plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel.

[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

Guest Column: Hospitals should be prepared to respond during disasters

After the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan erupted with radiation spewing into the atmosphere, soldiers found 128 people deserted by medical staff at a hospital six miles away in Iwaki.

Iwaki Hospital was not the only medical facility affected by the tsunami and the ensuing nuclear power plant meltdowns. More than 10 other hospitals were either closed or too ill-prepared for the disaster to care for patients effectively.

While the incidents that occurred in Japan are undoubtedly tragic, they offer an opportunity to reflect on the current emergency preparedness of American hospitals and medical facilities.

[link to www.knoxnews.com]

Taiwan watchdog official wants nuclear plant construction halted

A senior official of Taiwan's supervisory body for nuclear power called Friday for suspending construction of the problem-plagued No. 4 nuclear power station, saying the constructor and operator of the facility is not capable of building the plant.

Chen Yi-bin, director of the Department of Nuclear Regulation of the Atomic Energy Council, said he was not optimistic the nuclear plant under construction in Lungmen, New Taipei City, can become operational by 2014 as President Ma Ying-jeou had promised and questioned the state-owned Taiwan Power Co.'s ability to build the facility.

"What can you expect -- an old monkey to perform new tricks?" he said. "It is time to lay the cards on the table."

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Local govts demand burglary compensation

Prefectural and municipal governments in Fukushima Prefecture are demanding compensation for victims of burglaries committed in the no-entry zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The local governments insist that without the nuclear accident, there would not have been so many burglaries in the no-entry zone, sources said. However, the central government has been reluctant to accept the demand, saying the perpetrators should be held responsible.

The no-entry zone was designated by the prefectural government on April 22, at the request of the central government. The zone includes municipalities within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant, such as Futabamachi, Okumamachi and Tomiokamachi.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

US thinktank raises concerns over Pak nuke threat to India

[link to timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

Transfer spent fuel at Trojan closed nuclear plant to interim site, commission says

Putting fuel from decommissioned plants first would require changes in federal agreements with utilities that operate 104 commercial U.S. nuclear plants. As it stands, the oldest spent fuel -- whether or not it's stored at decommissioned plants -- gets top priority.

But 30 plants could be offline by 2035, the report says, and 70 by 2050, giving utilities an incentive to reorder priorities.

The added security and monitoring expenses of keeping spent fuel at 70 shuttered reactor sites could range from $350 million to $500 million a year in today's dollars, the report estimated. PGE says it spends $3.3 million a year on Trojan's storage.

Costs could rise under upgrades being considered by the NRC.

[link to www.oregonlive.com]

No worries, nice thread you have going here.

I keep meaning to check in "elsewhere" but I forget, and am GLP-addicted, so it's nice to have this thread going here.

Japan experiences Black Rain: Fukushima's radiation contamination spreads globally

Japan's nuclear accident has now resulted in black rain. As the U.S. Obama administration focuses on bombing often innocent civilians in Libya, Iraq, Pakistan and Afganistan, Japan's radioactive particles are spreading globally through jet streams, and is mixing with clouds.

[link to www.agoracosmopolitan.com]

Radioactive waste worries local governments / Officials seek guidance from central authorities on how to permanently dispose of sludge, ash
[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

The international regime for civil nuclear liability channels responsibility on the operator. Therefore, in case of a nuclear accident, it is asserted in the law and you’ll find it in every international convention. On the other hand, the operator has the right of recourse through any supplier.
[link to www.indianexpress.com]

- Somebody tried to tell me other countries wouldn't have to pay for fuku. Wrong.

- this article has the nilo US/Can dispersal models for April.



Fukushima: Dr. Leuren Moret accuse Stephen Harper and Barack Obama of genocide

[link to www.agoracosmopolitan.com]

Japan PM criticizes nuclear safety agency


Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was siding with the industry rather than acting as a regular. He said it underscored a cozy relationship and the deep-rooted problem that must be corrected in the wake of the March 11 tsunami and the nuclear crisis.

"NISA, which is supposed to check nuclear safety to represent the interest of the general public, provided support for the promoters. It was more than just a help, if true," Kan said at an energy symposium.



Read more: [link to www.ctpost.com]

[link to ex-skf.blogspot.com]


Japanese Military Analyst: Chinese Nuclear Submarine Accident in Dalian, China??



and radiation is leaking, the analyst says. He also mentions the high-speed train accident, and says there are 259 people dead so far.

Obama’s hollow claim of commitment to Israel’s security

For a year, Obama prohibited any new US sanctions to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons – a looming existential threat to both Israel and the US.
[link to www.jpost.com]

New lawsuit against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The suit is a major development in the state’s longstanding fight to ensure timely cleanup of 56 million gallons of nuclear waste stored in Hanford’s leaky underground tanks, and continuation of the process to license Yucca Mountain as a deep geologic disposal site.

[link to www.kapsradio.com]

Thanks WR. Had a dead link for the nuke sub. story. Tried to find it elsewhere.

Special report: Fukushima long ranked most hazardous plant

[link to www.rooters.com]

You will need to change the spelling of "rooters" for link to work

Guess we know why. Been really hazardous, lately.

The Truth About Nuclear Power: Japanese Nuclear Engineer Calls for Abolition

Koide Hiroaki began his career as a nuclear engineer forty years ago drawn to the promise of nuclear power. Quickly, however, he recognized the flaws in Japan’s nuclear power program and emerged as among the best informed of Japan’s nuclear power critic. His cogent public critique of the nuclear village earned him an honourable form of purgatory as a permanent assistant professor at Kyoto University. Koide would pay a price in career terms, continuing his painstaking research on radio nuclide measurement at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute (KURRI) in the shadows. Until 3.11.

Since the earthquake tsunami and nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, he has emerged as a powerful voice and a central figure in charting Japan’s future energy course in the wake of disaster: in scores of well attended public lectures, in daily media consultations and interviews, in his widely read posts and in three books that have helped to redefine public consciousness and official debate.

[link to japanfocus.org]

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said Monday it had monitored record high radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

TEPCO said radiation levels reached at least 10 sieverts per hour near the debris left between the number one and number two reactors of the plant at the centre of the ongoing nuclear crisis.

The previous record was three to four sieverts per hour monitored inside the number one reactor on June 3.

[link to www.google.com]

Japanese Find Radioactivity on Their Own

So starting in April, Mrs. Okoshi began using her dosimeter to check nearby forest roads and rice paddies. What she found was startling. Near one sewage ditch, the meter beeped wildly, and the screen read 67 microsieverts per hour, a potentially harmful level. Mrs. Okoshi and a cousin who lives nearby worked up the courage to confront elected officials, who did not respond, confirming their worry that the government was not doing its job.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

Strong Aftershock Rattles Japan as Heavy Rains Flood Parts of the Country

Damage potential from this quake had potential to be extremely dangerous when the severe weather in the area is factored in. Currently, heavy rain and overflowing rivers in the Fukushima and Niigata prefectures are creating hazards -- add in a sizable earthquake and you have a recipe for disaster.

More than 200,000 people had already been evacuated into shelters in several municipalities and two prefectures as of Saturday evening before this quake occurred. At least 3,000 homes have already been flooded and at least six people are dead or missing due to flooding. Parts of Japan have received more than twice the amount of rain in a three-day time period as is normally received during the entire month of July. A damaging earthquake right now would add to the already dangerous conditions.

[link to www.associatedcontent.com]

Kakrapar nuclear power plant confirms radiation leak

Following reports in the media on Monday, officials of the Kakrapar atomic power station (KAPS) confirmed on Monday that four contract workers were exposed to nuclear radiation in the plant on May 30, 2011 due to human error of the control room staff. However, they said that the radiation was of a very minor level and that it had no effect on the health of the workers.

[link to timesofindia.indiatimes.com]

Colo. Wildlife Refuge With Nuclear Past Faces New Problems -- IG

Rocky Flats has been mired in controversy, with local activists claiming that left-over plutonium poses a risk for nearby residents.

A recent report from the Interior Department's inspector general adds another mark against the site: An invasive weed is quickly spreading through the refuge, displacing native species but also risking the migration of nuclear contaminants to surface water.

Moore believes either project could endanger the public by potentially kicking up plutonium-laced soil. Winds in the area can reach 100 miles per hour, he said, blowing dust long distances.

Plutonium is "too small to see but not too small to do harm," he said. "People driving in the area or people who live nearby are likely to inhale particles of plutonium, and that's the worst way to take it into the body."

[link to www.nytimes.com]

Highly Radiated Section of Japanese Nuclear Plant Closed Off

The company said it had placed off-limits a section of the facility -- located near a conduit linked to an air release shaft neighboring two reactors -- where radioactivity in two spots was greater than 10 sieverts, or 10,000 millisieverts, per hour (Associated Press/USA Today, Aug. 2). The quantity is more than 40 times greater than what plant personnel are permitted to receive in one year, and it could disable or kill with only moments of exposure, Reuters reported (Shinichi Saoshiro, Reuters I, Aug. 2).

[link to www.globalsecuritynewswire.org]

Peak radiation spots found at Fukushima plant


Radiation levels at least 5 sieverts per hour were detected on the second floor of the No. 1 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, the highest detected indoors at the plant since the quake and tsunami, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said this week.



Read more: [link to news.cnet.com]