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

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[link to fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com.au]

Good news...

Japan's nuclear plants unlikely to restart operations this year

None of Japan's nuclear power plants that have been halted since the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami are likely to restart operations within the year as safety checks under new standards are not expected to be completed, a Kyodo News survey of utilities showed Sunday.

Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi plant in Fukui Prefecture, currently the only operating nuclear plant in the country, is also likely to be suspended in September for routine checks, regardless of the new safety standards that are planned to enter into force in July, according to the survey of the 10 power companies that have nuclear plants.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Bad news...

High concentration of radioactive cesium found in land animals

A high concentration of radioactive cesium has been found in a range of land animals and insects in areas around the site of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident, providing a clue to a mechanism of radioactivity accumulation in the food chain, a study showed Saturday.

According to a survey by the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and Hokkaido University, over 6,700 becquerels per kilogram of cesium 137 was detected in a frog captured in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, some 40 kilometers west of the crippled nuclear plant.

The finding suggests animals positioned relatively high in the food chain tend to accumulate more radioactive materials, the research team said.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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thanks for that swede... i won't pay to subscribe to kyodo tho..... same info was translated by mochi at fuku diary....

:boilingfrog:

US May Face Inevitable Nuclear Power Exit
[link to www.sciencedaily.com]

[snip]

Mar. 1, 2013 — In a 2012 report, the Obama administration announced that it was "jumpstarting" the nuclear industry. Because of the industry's long history of permitting problems, cost overruns, and construction delays, financial markets have been wary of backing new nuclear construction for decades. The supposed "nuclear renaissance" ballyhooed in the first decade of this century never materialized. And then came Fukushima, a disaster that pushed countries around the world to ask: Should nuclear power be part of the energy future? In the third and final issue in a series focused on nuclear exits, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, turns its attention to the United States and looks at whether the country's business-as-usual approach may yet lead to a nuclear phase-out for economic reasons.

yay for the illegal president........

A look back at a nuclear facility with fresh leaks
[link to www.cbsnews.com]

[snip]

Last week, officials admitted that at least six Hanford tanks are currently leaking. "The government promised 10 years ago that it's under control. Now we realize it's not," CUNY physics professor Michio Kaku told CBS News this week.

But news of the latest leaks isn't surprising to the 60 Minutes team that reported in 2006 on Hanford's problems, including the many construction errors made at the facility. Watch Lesley Stahl's report in the above video player to learn about the mind-boggling mistakes made at the site, like the decision to build a pretreatment facility for radioactive waste that wasn't designed to withstand an earthquake.

And if you're wondering about an updated cleanup timeline of what amounts to 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools of the toxic brew, it's estimated that it will take at least 40 years at a cost of more than $100 billion.

Marshall Islanders closer to finding out more about effects of nuclear tests
[link to www.rnzi.com]

PROMETHEUS TRAP/ 'Shadow units' (1): Secret rescue mission at the Fukushima plant
[link to ajw.asahi.com]

[snip]

On that day, the Tokyo Fire Department’s Hyper Rescue team had been continuously spraying water on the overheating No. 3 reactor at the disaster-stricken nuclear power plant. Yamaguchi thought it must be something related to the ongoing nuclear crisis. Since water had started being poured into the crippled reactors, he assumed that his unit would be assigned to an even tougher mission.

As he called the Ground Staff Office, Yamaguchi found that he had guessed correctly.

“We are considering a plan to deal with the worst possible situation at the nuclear plant,” said the officer. “That would involve rescuing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. employees who would have been left behind (within the compound).”

The proposed mission to rescue TEPCO employees would probably force Yamaguchi’s team to head into the accident site amid high levels of radiation. “Would it be safe?” Yamaguchi asked despite himself. The answer was not quite reassuring. “I … would guess so.”

When the phone conversation was over, the Defense Ministry officer told Yamaguchi to keep the mission secret.

The reason for the secrecy was fear that disclosure of the mission would provoke anxiety and speculation among the public. Even now, information about the mission is still being kept from the public.

Fukushima Film Premiere — Tears from local official: “Not allowing the children to escape is murder” (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

Nuclear security panel talks convene

A new Japanese government study group on nuclear security has called on the need to keep an eye on anti-terror measures at nuclear power plants drawn up by other countries.

On Monday, 8 experts on nuclear power plants, anti-terror measures and national security, gathered for the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Regulation Authority panel.

NRA senior official Kenzo Oshima said Japan should not tolerate acts of terror at nuclear power plants.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Google begins Street View photo shoot in Fukushima

Google has started taking photos for its Street View service in a Japanese town where all residents have been evacuated since the Fukushima nuclear accident.

The Internet giant began the photo shoot on Monday in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, by request of its mayor. The town was hit by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011, that also disabled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The photography is expected to continue for several weeks. Google plans to release the images several months from now.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Governor again puts off OK for new nuclear plant

A prefectural governor in western Japan has suspended his decision to permit or reject a land reclamation project to build a nuclear power plant.

Yamaguchi Governor Shigetaro Yamamoto spoke to assembly members on Monday. He said he has decided to ask Chugoku Electric Power Company for a more detailed explanation of why the plant should play a major role in the state's energy policy.

The reclamation project, in the coastal town of Kaminoseki, was halted following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011.

Chugoku Electric last October filed for an extension of the project, which the governor rejected.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Canada approves shale gas exports to Japan

Mitsubishi Corporation, a major Japanese trading firm, has obtained the Canadian government's permission to export shale gas produced in western Canada.

Mitsubishi and 3 other companies jointly won the export rights last month. The others are Royal Dutch Shell, China National Petroleum Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation.

They are planning to export shale gas extracted from the ground in the province of British Columbia.

The companies expect to ship a combined 24 million tons of liquefied shale gas annually for 25 years.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Propaganda or not?... hard to tell.

Nuclear chief: Iran has produced 3,000 centrifuges

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization says Iran has built 3,000 advanced centrifuges to boost uranium enrichment activities. The move is seen as a show of defiance against Western nations.

Fereydoun Abbasi delivered a speech in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Sunday.

He said Iran has produced 3,000 high-grade centrifuges and will soon decommission those currently in use. Abbasi did not specify the type of the new centrifuges, but they appear to be the so-called IR-2M.

Iran announced in February that 180 IR-2M centrifuges had been installed at a nuclear facility in Natanz in central Iran. Their production capacity of uranium is several times higher than conventional centrifuges.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Monju fast-breeder reactor undergoes safety inspection

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority began a regular safety inspection Monday of the prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactor Monju following a series of discoveries of sloppy equipment checks by the operator.

The regulator will mainly seek to verify during the quarterly inspection through March 22 whether the Japan Atomic Energy Agency has taken measures to correct its failure to check a raft of equipment last year, officials said.

The authority will also investigate whether the operator of the plant in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, has been appropriately managing its fuel replacement unit inside the reactor, which was repaired last August following an accident in 2010.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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NOAA to use Japanese funds to partially cover disposal costs of docks washed ashore after tsunami

Ever since tsunami debris first began washing up along the coastline of the Pacific Northwest, people have been asking two questions, “who is going to clean it up?”, and “who is going to pay for removal?”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that it would use funds from the Japanese government to cover nearly 80% of the costs for the removal and disposal of a dock which washed ashore in the state of Washington after the March 11th tsunami.
[link to enformable.com]
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Some leaders souring on nuclear power costs

ATLANTA (AP) - As the cost of building a new nuclear plant soars, there are signs of buyer's remorse.

The second-guessing from officials in Georgia and Florida is a sign that maybe the nation is not quite ready for a nuclear renaissance. On top of construction costs running much higher than expected, the price of natural gas has plummeted, making it tough for nuclear plants to compete in the energy market.

In Georgia last week, Southern Co. told regulators it needed to raise its construction budget for Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia by $737 million to $6.85 billion. At about the same time, a Georgia lawmaker sought to penalize the company for going over budget, announcing a proposal to cut into Southern Co.'s profits by trimming some of the money its subsidiary Georgia Power makes.
[link to www.nbcnews.com]
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nice... are the crew all dressed in lead bubble-wrap?

thanks again rad-chick (or Christina... lol)..... i'm sending you an email request for an interview of you for a change.... :)

it is so true, that life is so fast now, that this emergency is forgotten by the masses... +5

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 03/05/2013 02:19 AM

Nuclear waste problem could have been resolved long ago

[link to www.theolympian.com]

[snip]


The search for safe storage began 56 years ago. That we are still storing nuclear waste in metal containers whose useful life died about the time The Beatles invaded America, speaks volumes about the ineptitude of the U.S. government.

The nation’s first nuclear reactor to generate electricity began operation in 1951 at Arco, Idaho. In 1957, the National Academy of Sciences recommended disposing of the spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in geologically stable rock formations deep underground.

It took the Department of Energy until 1978 to identify Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the best place to bury nuclear waste – more than 70,000 metric tons had accumulated at 121 sites around the nation by the end of 2009.

But when Nevada Sen. Harry Reid ascended to Senate Majority Leader after the 2006 midterm elections, he promised to kill the project. President Barack Obama shamefully obliged Reid by shutting Yucca Mountain down in 2010, just when it was on the verge of accepting waste from sites such as Hanford.

That left 56 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste spread among 177 single-wall steel tanks, some of which were built in 1943 when the Hanford site was originally established to produce plutonium for weapons during the Cold War.

Video: I know this sounds incredible… but there’s 40 miles of unlined trenches used for dumping radioactive waste at leaking U.S. nuclear site #Hanford
[link to enenews.com]

Tokyo Professor: Radionuclides are being released continuously into ocean from Fukushima plant — Coming from somewhere around reactor housings (CHART)
[link to enenews.com]

Vermont Yankee granted inspection exemption
[link to www.wcax.com]



Probably be better to require and apply the highest standards and deepest inspections possible to these older reactors.
VY reactor made by Rotterdam Dry Docks.
Same company that made the Belgian reactor.. which is shut down indefinitely due to cracks.

Maybe it's just me.




Reactor vessel cracks revealed in Belgium earlier this month spark international inspections
[link to www.bellona.org]

[snip]

The reactor was shut down for further inspections to determine whether the reactor vessel could be salvaged.

Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) said in a statement that: "Numerous flaw indications in the basic steel material of the reactor vessel were detected in late June, in particular in the bottom-most ring," adding that, "these are 'laminar' flaws parallel with the surface of the walls and, as such, theoretically not dangerous, as they are normally not subject to stress."

Scientist uses Fukushima radiation to reveal swimming secrets of Pacific bluefin tuna
[link to phys.org]

[snip]


Pacific bluefin tuna are born several miles off the shores of Japan and surrounding countries.
They spend their first year foraging in those waters, and then either remain in the western Pacific or migrate eastward to California.

Because the fish are born near Japan, the smallest fish were certain to have swum in Japanese waters only in the year following the Fukushima accident.
The presence of cesium in these fish would support the claim that they are still carrying radiation from Fukushima eastward, and that this measure can be used to trace bluefin migrations.
Analyses performed at Nicholas Fisher's lab at Stony Brook University in New York revealed that every one of the smallest fish contained low but detectable cesium-134 levels, making it clear which fish had recently spent time swimming near Japan.

(Madigan stressed that the Fukushima radiation found in bluefin tuna is significantly lower than naturally occurring radioactive isotopes normally found in the fish.)


- people should realize that this is only the beginning of bio-accumulation.
- tuna is a major food source
- stressing that lower radiation is found means little in the long run. The background levels aren't from radionuclides and the contamination continues...

The contamination is probably a moot point because bluefin are being fished to extinction.. high demand and high revenues.
And, I'd have to disagree with the article and say, a 96 per cent drop makes them pretty much endangered.



[link to phys.org]
[snip]

Pacific bluefin tuna are a valuable part of the global commercial fishing industry, and particularly in the world of sushi: In January, a buyer at a Tokyo auction paid a record $1.76 million for a 500-pound tuna, to be sliced into fine sushi. And although the species isn't endangered, its worldwide numbers are down 96 percent from unfished levels, according to a December report.

Google Begins Mapping Japan's Nuclear Exclusion Zone
[link to abcnews.go.com]

[snip]

The desolation has largely been hidden from public view, behind checkpoints set up to cordon off the government mandated nuclear exclusion zone.
But Google is hoping to bring the displaced residents back home – at least virtually – using its street view technology.

Namie Mayor Tamotsu Baba said his town has yet to begin the process of decontamination.
Recovery has not begun. He hoped the Google images would show the world the reality.

"We still have to wear hazmat suits and get government approval, just to go home," he said.
"How can we even begin to rebuild under circumstances such as that."

"It's absolutely frustrating," he said.
"That 'smell' of life, the smell of the kitchen, the smell of gasoline in the streets, all of that is gone now.

There is just silence."

"This is not over. This is not even the beginning," said Kawai.