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

LDP boots anti-nuke advocates from environment panel
[link to ajw.asahi.com] people of G-d0071

[snip]

Japan's ruling party, while hardly a champion of environmental issues, is apparently rather touchy about any criticism of its policies in that area.

That may explain the decision by the Liberal Democratic Party to drop three anti-nuclear activists from the government's Central Environment Council.

The three individuals were approached about becoming or staying on as panel members last December, before the Lower House election that brought the LDP back into power, but have subsequently been told their services are no longer required.

80 percent of evacuees from 3 prefectures won't return to hometowns: survey
[link to mainichi.jp]

[snip]


Eighty percent of those who have evacuated from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, which were hit hard by the March 2011 disasters, will unlikely return to their hometowns, a survey has shown.

The Mainichi Shimbun recently conducted a survey on 118 evacuees -- 25 new respondents and 93 others who were covered by at least one previous Mainichi survey. Five of the 118 have evacuated from Iwate, 20 from Miyagi and 93 from Fukushima.

Of the respondents, 58 percent said they are considering settling down in prefectures other than their domiciles, and 22 percent said they have already done so. Only 20 percent said they have no intention of permanently living in other prefectures. The survey was the fourth of its kind carried out by the Mainichi.

Radiation in Fukushima 80km zone falls by 40%

Government officials say radiation levels within 80 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant decreased by 40 percent in the 12 months leading up to November, 2012.

Officials from the Science Ministry measured radiation one meter above ground in the area. They also used a helicopter to take readings in the air.

They said the radiation one meter above ground dropped by 40 percent on average at more than 140,000 locations.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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NHK reporters visit Fukushima nuclear plant

NHK reporters have visited the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant nearly 2 years after the nuclear accident.

They walked near the plant's No. 1 reactor building for 10 minutes on Tuesday. They were the first news media members to be allowed to enter the area, on condition that their radiation exposure be monitored strictly.

The building, now covered by screens, was heavily damaged by a hydrogen explosion. Nearby hoses used to pour water into the reactor and huge tanks swept by tsunami waves have been abandoned at the site.

Radiation measured 100 microsieverts per hour, at which level the annual exposure limit would be reached in 10 hours.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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IAEA demands access to Iran nuclear site

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has again urged Iran to let inspectors visit a military facility suspected of being used for nuclear arms development.

Yukiya Amano spoke at the IAEA's regular board meeting in Vienna on Monday. He criticized Iran for not providing necessary cooperation, and demanded access to the Parchin military site on the outskirts of Tehran.

Amano noted that Iran has recently begun installing a set of centrifuges with an advanced capacity to enrich uranium. He said negotiations with Iran must proceed with a sense of urgency.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Grim reminder

Kindergarten children play near a geiger counter, measuring a radiation level of 0.160 microsievert per hour, about 50 kilometers from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.
[link to www.japantoday.com]

Photo at link...
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Areva plans 1st nuclear fuel shipment to Japan since Fukushima

PARIS/TOKYO — French energy group Areva said Monday it was preparing to send nuclear fuel to Japan for the first time since the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, a sign of possible restarts of idled Japanese reactors.

The shipment of mixed oxide fuel (MOX) is likely to be controversial in Japan, where public opposition to nuclear power and reactor restarts remains strong in the run-up to the second anniversary of the March 11, 2011 catastrophe.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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TEPCO resumes robot survey at crippled Fukushima No. 2 unit

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex said Tuesday it has resumed checking the exterior of the No. 2 reactor with a tetrapod robot, although it could not determine areas where water leaks are occurring.

The investigation had stalled because the remote-controlled robot, developed by Toshiba Corp., lost balance while climbing steps and faced other problems during the previous survey in December.

On Tuesday, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. sent the robot near the doughnut-shaped suppression pool at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor's primary containment vessel. It looked at areas near some of the huge pipes that connect the pool and the containment vessel.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Study published in American Journal may link occupational radiation exposure to brain tumors

A new study published in the American Journal of Cardiology may point out a link between occupational radiation exposure and brain tumors, after results showed disproportionate reports of left-sided brain tumors among interventional physicians who often conducted exams involving ionizing radiation.  This study followed up a report which previously covered nine recent cases of brain cancer among interventional cardiologists, after researchers received 22 additional cases from around the world after publication.
[link to enformable.com]
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[snip]

Although the paper in itself does not prove anything other than identifying a cluster of cases, when you put it together with many other studies on occupational hazards, they tell a very startling story. So, not only is this study telling you there is a clustering and there is a hypothesis to suggest why, but the sidedness strongly supports that hypothesis. So I think this is a very scary, concerning and troubling paper that everyone in health care should be talking about it.

Yet the silence will be deafening. “

MONTICELLO NRC NOTIFICATION: OFFSITE NOTIFICATION DUE TO A FISH KILL

At 0927 CST on March 4, 2012, XCEL Energy Environmental Services made a report to the State of Minnesota regarding 475 fish killed from the discharge canal temperature transient following reactor shutdown on March 2, 2013."

Monticello was in the process of performing a planned shutdown in preparation for a refueling outage.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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Minister insists leak in reactor of nuclear submarine was 'very small'

A MINISTER has insisted a leak in the reactor compartment of Devonport-based nuclear-powered submarine HMS Tireless was "very small".

MP Philip Dunne made the statement as campaigners accused the Royal Navy of a "cover-up", suggesting the leak was more serious than first indicated.

Ian Avent, chairman of the Plymouth residents' group Community Awareness Nuclear Storage and Radiation, has called on Plymouth Moor View Labour MP Alison Seabeck to press the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for answers about safety concerns.

As previously reported in The Herald, HMS Tireless is undergoing repair in Devonport Dockyard after returning to Faslane Naval Base at the beginning February with the leak.
[link to www.thisisplymouth.co.uk]
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TV: “In Fukushima, mothers with young children pray everyday for an escape” — Black cloud is concealing truth (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

[snip]

Instead of starting the day with a warm cup of coffee, residents in Fukushima, Japan, wake up to another day measuring the amount of radioactive materials they’re being exposed to. Mothers with young children pray everyday for an escape from the ill-fated town, if only financial circumstances would allow it.

Reuters interviews Fukushima worker: “I get stomach aches… They should give us a medal” — NHK: Thick steel plates cover ground due to radioactive substances
[link to enenews.com]

[snip]

They were the first news media members to be allowed to enter the area, on condition that their radiation exposure be monitored strictly. [...] Four-centimeter-thick steel plates had been put on the ground to protect staff from radioactive substances.

Experimental lifeboat for tsunami shown in Tokyo

An experimental lifeboat for use as a shelter following a tsunami was shown to the media in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The lifeboat was developed by Japan's transport ministry.

The boat is made of reinforced plastic and measures 8.4 meters long and 3 meters wide.

It is designed to easily return upright after capsizing.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Fukushima lags in recovery from disaster

TOKYO — Recovery in nuclear disaster-hit Fukushima is lagging behind other parts of Japan that suffered during the tsunami, an official said Tuesday, adding mental health provision there was insufficient.

“What I’m concerned about most is that there is a disparity in the pace of reconstruction and in support” among disaster-hit areas, Hiroshi Suzuki, head of the reconstruction advisory panel for Fukushima prefecture, told reporters.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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NRA says no to Japan’s nuclear reactor restart

This week on Monday, the head of AREVA, a French supplier of nuclear technology and fuel to Japan said that Japan would restart 6 reactors before the end of the year, and that most of Japan’s nuclear power plants would be brought back online.

“We think that there could be half a dozen reactors that will restart by the end of the year,” AREVA’s Luc Oursel told reporters Monday.  “I think two-thirds of reactors will restart” within several years, said Oursel.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority however, firmly denied these claims. “Nothing has been decided as it’s impossible for us to predict how many reactors can reopen this year before new safety measures are announced,” an official with Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority told AFP.
[link to enformable.com]
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Fukushima 50 Special: Unit 4 pool “had boiled dry, raising the spectre of a nuclear fission chain reaction” — Feared nearby nuclear plant would be evacuated
[link to enenews.com]

[snip]

A series of hydrogen explosions had left much of the complex a tangled mess of radioactive concrete and steel. Unit three had exploded, three reactors were in meltdown and over 1000 fuel rods [assemblies] in the reactor four building, normally covered under 16 feet of water, had boiled dry, raising the spectre of a nuclear fission chain reaction. In his darkest moments, Mr Yoshizawa admits he shared the same fear as other experts – that the crisis could also trigger the evacuation of the Fukushima Daini plant 10 km away. [...]

video of exposed racks..
[link to www.ustream.tv]

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And this for the Rod Adams fans... what a POS.

from comments..

~

Rod Adams weighed in on the tarring and feathering:

[link to atomicinsights.com]

Excerpts: "Oak Ridge researchers prove Fukushima Unit 4 spent fuel pool NEVER a danger

Rod Adams · October 16, 2012
The temperature in the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent fuel pool never exceeded 90 degrees C and the level in the pool never fell below the top of the used fuel that was stored there. The Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the people who supported his testimony to Congress on the afternoon of March 16, 2011 were dead wrong.

He swore to the world that the pool was dry and the fuel was burning."

SP: We find out nearly 2 years that SFP 4 burned repeatedly because it was either very low on water, or completely dry. Who were the liars?

Cattleman: “Condition I’ve never seen before” near Fukushima plant — “More than a skin disease, they have nasty spots” — I believe it’s caused by the explosion (PHOTO & VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]


Aussie video report..
[link to www.sbs.com.au]




And then there is this little bit of fantasy..




Meltdown: Despite the Fear, the Health Risks from the Fukushima Accident Are Minimal
[link to science.time.com]

Southern Company Photos of Vogtle 3 & 4 Construction

[link to southerncompany.com]
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Fast Reactors Provide Sustainable Nuclear Power for "Thousands of Years"

Using currently known uranium resources, "fast reactors operating in a closed fuel cycle would be able to provide energy for thousands of years as well as easing concerns about waste," says Stefano Monti, Team Leader for the IAEA's Fast Reactor Technology Development Section in the Department of Nuclear Energy. Fast reactors are a versatile and flexible technology that promises to create or "breed" more fuel by converting nuclear "waste" into "fissile" material. "Fissile" material is nuclear fuel, usually uranium or plutonium that can sustain a fission chain. The heat generated by that fission chain reaction, contained within a nuclear power reactor, is used to produce steam, which then spins turbines to produce electricity. Since fast reactors "burn up" or consume material that would otherwise be considered "spent fuel", the total volume of nuclear material that needs to be handled as waste is reduced.
[link to www.iaea.org]
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Bill Would Provide Full Funding for NNSA Nuke Work

WASHINGTON – A House spending bill introduced on Monday would meet the fiscal 2013 funding request for sustaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal even while restricting spending across most of the federal government.

Even if approved, the appropriations amounts would remain vulnerable to reductions due to the federal budget sequester that took effect on Friday, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) acknowledged. The measure requires $85 billion in across-the-board funding reductions through the end of this fiscal year on Sept. 30.
[link to www.nti.org]
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Clean up Fukushima????.... They've lost their Robot....

[link to fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com.au]

The People who donated Money to all the big Organisations like
the American Red Cross should demand that they use a part of this Money
to help this People to move on,
a Human Soul get sick by a permanent feeling of fear!

Until now all this big Organisation used less than 5% of the donated Money and this is a shame!

Only Oxfam is acting different.
[link to www.oxfam.jp]

This was and is a bogus Bs-Story
(... and over 1000 fuel rods [assemblies] in the reactor four building, normally covered under 16 feet of water, had boiled dry,...)
we all are able to look and we all can see that Nr. 4
never "boiled Dry", they lost a lot of Water
and the Water Temperature was by far to high
but the Fuel Rods are unharmed, like the inside of the Pool!

I did not see the Documentary but i think that there is a wrong and dishonest Translation,
all People feared in the first Week after 3/11 that this happened but it was not the case according to the Reports
from 4 huge Organisations like the WHO and IAEA!

I think if you look i reported the same in the chronology....

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 03/07/2013 08:10 AM

it's from 19-2-13 but a eye opener to the locals.

Mmm... No.



[link to www.fairewinds.com]

[snip]

If you look, there’s a green, a long, green device. That’s the refueling bridge. Normally that glides along on rails above the pool, and the pool is that crystal-clear water that you’re used to seeing. Well, after the explosion it has collapsed and is lying in the pool. Between seconds thirty-three and thirty-seven on this video you can see little boxes. The little boxes are just to the left of that green bridge. The boxes are in air. Those boxes are the top of nuclear fuel racks. They’re supposed to be under thirty feet of water. They’re not.

original ustream..

[link to www.ustream.tv]

I do not know how much you know but unprotected Rods,
without cooling water will
create Temperatures of more than 2.500 Grad which is so hot that you would be unable to see anything left like the bridge, the colour or any thing else, even the pool would be molten, gone!

You cant extinguish molten Fuel rods and the process would be ongoing for weeks, months or even years but this was not the case in Japan!

The pools lost a lot of water but what the reports are saying is that it was still enough water to exclude a self running process.

Your english has gotten a lot better, Atom-ant..

The fact that you endorse WHO and IAEA speaks volumes.