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

Libya: Securing Stockpiles Promotes Security

[link to www.state.gov]

Greenpeace Sues U.K. for Ignoring Fukishima Nuclear Lessons


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

WikiLeaks: US questions China’s nuclear safety

[link to www.hindustantimes.com]

Iran Still Seeking to Acquire Advanced Air Defense System

The recent Russian-Iranian rapprochement makes Moscow’s supposed bewilderment at Tehran’s lawsuit even less credulous. This might be a coordinated effort. Don’t be surprised if Iran ultimately acquires the S-300. And if it does, expect Tehran to be even more bold in its pursuit of nuclear weapons

[link to blog.american.com]

I can't stop... information junkie.

Yes. China is starting to raise hell about the radiation in the ocean.

In Japan, new nuclear agency tests ability to reform

[link to www.washingtonpost.com]

Canada to Refurbish and Expand Argentinean Nuclear Power Plant

[link to oilprice.com]

Private interests no longer backing nuclear projects

[link to www.gainesvilletimes.com]

Kansai Reactor Glitch Caused By Scratched Valve Part -Kyodo


Kansai Electric Power Co. (9503.TO) said Friday that the No. 1 reactor at its Oi nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture malfunctioned in July apparently due to scratches on a safety valve to release the pressure inside an accumulator used for emergency core cooling, Kyodo News reported.



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

No quick way to remove radioactive substances from soil: experts

Experts say there is no technology or machinery available that can quickly remove radioactive substances from soil. Steady and repeated efforts are required to gradually reduce radioactive substances by removing the surface from soil, mowing down grass, or scraping the matter off with water.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

60% of survey respondents say gov't info on disasters least reliable

The tsunami overcomes a 10-meter-high embankment in front of the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on March 11. (Photo courtesy of TEPCO)TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nearly 60 percent of respondents to a survey about the credibility of information issued after a disaster said the government and ministries are the least reliable information source, the university professor who conducted the survey said Friday.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Hot-spot cleanups hampered by public resistance to local disposal sites
FUKUSHIMA -- Municipalities looking to clean up radiation "hot spots" caused by the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power plant are facing stiff local resident opposition as they search for temporary disposal sites for tainted materials.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Local leaders steamed at government's 'buck-passing' radiation decontamination plan
Local leaders in areas contaminated by the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant are angry and disappointed at the central government's decontamination plan, which dumps much of the responsibility for the clean-up on municipalities.

The central government's decontamination plan, finalized on Aug. 26, leaves clean-up of any sites emitting 20 millisieverts of radiation annually or less to municipal governments, while also calling on those same governments to create temporary storage areas for contaminated materials. Most of the sites with that level of radiation are in the emergency evacuation standby zone 20-30 kilometers from the stricken nuclear plant.

[link to mdn.mainichi.jp]

Tokyo Electric Seeks Minimum 10% Increase in Power Rates, Yomiuri Reports
[link to www.bloomberg.com]

good job WATERBUG!
thanx a bunch

Cheers.

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station shutdown complete

[link to www.app.com]

Vehicle crashes into barriers at Comanche Peak nuke plant

Officials at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant have confirmed that someone crashed a vehicle into security barriers around the facility near Glen Rose early Saturday morning.

[link to www.wfaa.com]

More than 120,000 lose power in Mid-Atlantic

Constellation Energy says its Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant is operating at 100 percent. The company says nuclear reactors are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, and it expects both reactors to remain online through the storm.

[link to www.canadianbusiness.com]

Last Edited by Waterbug on 08/27/2011 08:40 PM

Spent Fuel Pools Show Significant Damage

Fairewinds Associates nuclear engineer, Arnie Gundersen, discusses the most recent radiation data from Japan's distressed Fukishima plant.

[link to www.huntingtonnews.net]

High levels of cesium isotopes are cropping up in dust at 42 incineration plants in seven prefectures, including Chiba and Iwate, an Environment Ministry survey of the Kanto and Tohoku regions shows.

According to the report, released late Saturday, the highest cesium levels in the dust ranged from 95,300 becquerels in Fukushima Prefecture and 70,800 becquerels in Chiba Prefecture to 30,000 becquerels in Iwate Prefecture.

But even the lower levels in the dust exceeded 8,000 becquerels per kilogram in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Tokyo.

[link to search.japantimes.co.jp]

After Nuclear Disaster, Japanese Scientists Try to Engineer Radiation-Resistant Rice


Read more: After Nuclear Disaster, Japanese Scientists Try to Engineer Radiation-Resistant Rice | MedIndia [link to www.medindia.net]

Japan’s 3.11 Earthquake, Tsunami, Atomic Meltdown:
A Guide to Asia-Pacific Journal Resources

This is a guide to the approximately one hundred articles published by The Asia-Pacific Journal on the 3.11 earthquake, tsunami, atomic meltdown and their aftermath including the debate over Japan’s energy policy, the future of nuclear power, the devastation of the Northeast, plans for resettlement and reconstruction, and the resurgence of social movements. Articles are arranged within the following categories with the most recent ones first:

[link to japanfocus.org]

Kazakhstan reels from impact of nuclear tests, 20 years on

Ahead of nuclear tests, the Soviet military warned the public to shut windows and stay at home or remain inside buildings, witnesses recall.

But one of those who decided to peep out of curiosity was Suakysh Iskakova, 77, a resident at the same home as Matushkina, who says she paid for it with her eye-sight.

"When I was blinded from the blast, my uncle took me to see the doctor and the doctor said it was my own fault that I looked at the bright light from the explosion," Iskakova said.

[link to www.google.com]

E-book brings stories of A-bomb survivors to world


[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]

Probe of toxic waste dumping in bay sought

[link to newsinfo.inquirer.net]

State and federal officials continue to inspect Oyster Creek after hurricane

[link to www.app.com]

Why the Fukushima disaster is worse than Chernobyl

Japan has been slow to admit the scale of the meltdown. But now the truth is coming out. David McNeill reports from Soma City

Some scientists say Fukushima is worse than the 1986 Chernobyl accident, with which it shares a maximum level-7 rating on the sliding scale of nuclear disasters. One of the most prominent of them is Dr Helen Caldicott, an Australian physician and long time anti-nuclear activist who warns of "horrors to come" in Fukushima.

Chris Busby, a professor at the University of Ulster known for his alarmist views, generated controversy during a Japan visit last month when he said the disaster would result in more than 1 million deaths. "Fukushima is still boiling its radionuclides all over Japan," he said. "Chernobyl went up in one go. So Fukushima is worse."

On the other side of the nuclear fence are the industry friendly scientists who insist that the crisis is under control and radiation levels are mostly safe. "I believe the government and Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco, the plant's operator] are doing their best," said Naoto Sekimura, vice-dean of the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo. Mr Sekimura initially advised residents near the plant that a radioactive disaster was "unlikely" and that they should stay "calm", an assessment he has since had to reverse.

The official line is that the accident at the plant is winding down and radiation levels outside of the exclusion zone and designated "hot spots" are safe.

But many experts warn that the crisis is just beginning. Professor Tim Mousseau, a biological scientist who has spent more than a decade researching the genetic impact of radiation around Chernobyl, says he worries that many people in Fukushima are "burying their heads in the sand." His Chernobyl research concluded that biodiversity and the numbers of insects and spiders had shrunk inside the irradiated zone, and the bird population showed evidence of genetic defects, including smaller brain sizes.

"The truth is that we don't have sufficient data to provide accurate information on the long-term impact," he says. "What we can say, though, is that there are very likely to be very significant long-term health impact from prolonged exposure."

[link to www.independent.co.uk]

Last Edited by Waterbug on 08/28/2011 07:22 PM

Fukushima residents decry Kan's comment

During a meeting with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato on Saturday, Kan said, "There is a possibility that residents of some areas will not be able to [return and] live there for a long time."

Kan's comment offended residents of Futabamachi and Okumamachi in Fukushima Prefecture, where the power plant is located.

"The government hasn't even tried to decontaminate the areas. We're appalled," a local resident said.

"The areas with high radiation levels are scattered. I want to ask him what grounds he has for saying 'areas that will remain uninhabitable,'" Tomoe Unuma, 36, said.

[link to www.yomiuri.co.jp]