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

New record again...

Record cesium level detected in fish caught near Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it detected a record 740,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium in a fish caught in waters near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, equivalent to 7,400 times the state-set limit deemed safe for human consumption.

The greenling measuring 38 centimeters in length and weighing 564 grams was caught near a water intake of the four reactor units in the power station's port on Feb. 21 during the utility's operation to remove fish from the port.

TEPCO has installed a net on the sea floor of the port exit in Fukushima Prefecture to make it hard for fish living near the sediments of contaminated soil to go elsewhere.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Fukushima kids find comfort at school in Saitama

With little prospect of their being able to return home due to radiation from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, children from Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, are cherishing budding friendships with students at school in Saitama Prefecture where they have taken refuge for two years.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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They already have founded a company...

[link to www.transatomicpower.com]
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Podcast.

Redacted Report Released:
Southern California Edison Made Major blank to Their blank Despite Warnings From blank
[link to www.fairewinds.com]

500 billion..


The Nukes of Hazard: Two Years After $500 Billion Fukushima Disaster, Nuclear Power Remains Staggeringly Expensive
[link to thinkprogress.org]

[snip]

Japan faces combined clean up and compensation costs at Fukushima estimated to reach $500 billion. The timeline for decommissioning the ruined plant is 30-40 years. There is a $6 million robot deployed to inspect the damaged hallways that got lost in the plant and has not been seen for 17 months. And the cost estimates are just guesswork:

Cleaning up the mess will mean total demolition of the four damaged reactor facilities and disposal of the nuclear waste in a yet-to-be determined site, an end-game likely to face opposition from potential host communities.

Japan has rejected the “sarcophagus” option used at Chernobyl, where the damaged reactor was encased in a massive concrete envelope. This is partly because of the difficulty of monitoring an entombed facility to ensure safety, said Kentaro Funaki, director of the industry ministry’s office in charge of decommissioning.

Estimates for total costs are mostly guesswork. “Only God knows,” said Chuo University’s Annen.

Whatever the final bill, Japanese consumers are likely to end up paying much of it, either through taxes, higher electricity rates or both, even as Japan’s government struggles with massive public debt and the costs of an ageing population.

[link to www.youtube.com]

PROMETHEUS TRAP/ 'Shadow units' (6): SDF members exposed to high radiation levels in reactor explosion
[link to ajw.asahi.com]

[snip]

Although the decontamination facility had been prepared to decontaminate workers at the Fukushima plant, the first actual users would be members of the unit Hishinuma belonged to.

Before the decontamination work began, NIRS specialists checked the radiation exposure levels of Iwakuma and his men.

"These are very high," one specialist said. "It will be dangerous if all six of you are together in one place. Move away from each other."

If people who have been exposed to high levels of radiation stand in close proximity to each other, they will only further heighten the levels, just by being close to one another.

Iwakuma realized then the grave severity of the dangerous situation he had experienced.

Shane Fast, former business owner in Pasco, pleads guilty to kickbacks at Hanford
[link to www.tri-cityherald.com]

[snip]

Shane Fast pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a single felony count of violating the anti-kickback law after giving $40,000 worth of gifts to purchasers at the Hanford nuclear reservation.

Fast, a former congressional candidate, owned Fast Pipe and Supply in Pasco and gave gifts that federal attorneys said were intended to influence buyers to do business with him for almost three years.

During that time, the 14 Hanford purchasers who federal attorneys believe accepted gifts ordered $3.9 million in goods from Fast Pipe, according to court documents.

US NRC cites TVA for flooding violations at two nuclear plants
[link to www.platts.com]

[snip]

The Tennessee Valley Authority failed to adequately protect two nuclear plant sites from the potential for the failure of earthen dams upstream, a failing that may have had substantial safety significance, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in letters made public Friday.

NRC cited TVA for six apparent violations of its regulations, four at its 1,210-MW Watts Bar plant and two at the two-unit 2,367-MW Sequoyah station.

Nuke customers get soaked
Report: Consumers will ‘eat’ billions from capital risks
[link to www.chronicleonline.com]

[snip]

Duke Energy’s defunct nuclear plant north of Crystal River serves as an example of what happens when customers bear the capital risks that should be carried by investors or lenders, according to a report released Thursday. Those customers get soaked when investors and lenders would have been paid dividends and interest.

“Pursuant to Florida’s law compelling customer investment, Crystal River (power plant) customers advanced tens of millions of dollars to buy equipment and pay for construction,” Bradford said. “But the utility bungled the job so badly that the plant is now closed for good.”


Bradford and Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis with the Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School, and author of “Policy Challenges of Nuclear Reactor Construction, Cost Escalation and Crowding Out Alternatives” (2009), spoke during a Thursday teleconference about reactor projects in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, where state legislation has enacted advanced-cost-recovery financing in construction to shift the risk to customers, now amounting to $6 billion they will have to “eat.”

Wind power is poised to kick nuclear’s ass
[link to grist.org]

[snip]

In 2012, wind energy became the fastest-growing source of new electricity generation in the U.S., providing 42 percent of new generation capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Yay..?


NASA Resumes Production Of Plutonium-238 Space Fuel After 25 Years
[link to www.popsci.com]

[snip]

Plutonium-238 is an important fuel source for the radioisotope power systems that are used in spacecraft like the Mars Curiosity Rover and the New Horizon spacecraft that's on its way to Pluto. As plutonium-238 decays, it gives off enough heat to generate electricity and keep all the expensive parts of a spacecraft warm in the cold, dark nether regions of deep space.

Until 1988, the U.S. produced its plutonium-238 (not to be confused with plutonium-239, the isotope in nuclear weapons) as part of its Cold War nuclear shenanigans. After the Savannah River Site, a major contributor of plutonium-238, shut down because of environmental issues, we turned to Russia for our plutonium needs, but that supply has run out as well.

Documentary is in French.



Documentary shows simulation of Fukushima melt-through — Footage of molten nuclear fuel (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]




[link to www.youtube.com]

Tokyo University of Marine Science,”8,000,000,000 ~ 93,000,000,000 Bq of Cs-137 can leak to the sea every single day”
[link to fukushima-diary.com]

[snip]

According to Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tepco was possibly having 16,100,000,000,000 Bq of Cs-137 leak to the sea from 6. 2011 to 5. 2012.

This is 73 times much as the regulated amount to discharge, but if it includes Cs-134, the total amount to have leaked would be way more than the estimate.

Anti-nuclear members removed from Japan’s energy board
[link to japandailypress.com]

[snip]

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dropped six of eight members who voted to completely phase out the use of nuclear power from the all-new post-Fukushima energy policy advisory board to the government. In turn, ten members had been reappointed, with Akio Mimura, an adviser for Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., as chairman. He was also head of the energy advisory board under a previous LDP administration that all supported nuclear power.

Experts: Cesium leak may be continuing

Researchers say contaminated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant could still be leaking into the port. They are calling for a thorough investigation.

A team from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology has been studying data on seawater directly in front of the plant. Tests of the port water show levels of radioactive cesium of up to 100 becquerels per liter. That level exceeds the government's safety standard.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]

REPORT: Groundwater contamination widespread
[link to www.pe.com]

[snip]

The report by the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program found 680 community water systems in the state relied on contaminated groundwater sources from 2002 to 2010. Most agencies treated or blended the raw water with cleaner sources to meet health standards before serving it to customers, said John Borkovich, the program manager.

However, 265 systems statewide delivered unsafe water to taps during the eight-year period, according to the report. Ten of those were in San Bernardino County, including East Valley Water District in Highland; nine were in Riverside County, including the cities of Corona and Norco and Elsinore Valley Municipal Water Department. Operators of the affected systems have secured funding to remedy the problems, the report says.

METI wants tent city to move on
[link to www.japantimes.co.jp]

[snip]

The antinuclear activists set up the tents in September 2011, half a year after the start of the triple meltdown calamity at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant following the March 11, 2011, megaquake-tsunami disaster.

The tents are seen as a symbol of the activists seeking to end Japan’s reliance on nuclear power.

One of the leaders of the tent movement, Taro Fuchigami, 70, said his group would consult with lawyers to deal with the government’s legal action, adding there is nothing illegal about the tents.

Govt. to release effective decontamination methods

Japan's government plans to have experts choose effective radiation decontamination methods and make them public online.

The environment ministry has been working with affected municipalities to remove radioactive substances released by the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

But some experts say decontamination has not been carried out properly due to the lack of information on effective methods.

Under the plan, an expert panel will choose effective decontamination techniques employed by private firms. The selected methods will then be posted on the ministry's website.

Ministry officials say they hope the plan will facilitate the selection of techniques that suit each municipality.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Japan faces higher fuel bill as nuclear shutdown enters 3rd year

TOKYO — The restart of Japan’s nuclear power industry is proving pivotal to the economic vision of the country’s prime minister as soaring fuel bills after the Fukushima disaster threaten to keep the country’s trade in a deeper deficit for longer.

As Japan marks the second anniversary this week of a crisis that scarred the nation, the fuel bills to pay for lost atomic output are leaving their own scars on the economy, partly owing to Abe’s own making.

His mix of economic policies - dubbed Abenomics by the media - has driven the yen down sharply, thus raising the cost of imports that will weigh on the revival of a nation that has traditionally relied on exports to drive growth.

The sooner that pro-nuclear Abe can restart atomic power stations, the sooner he will return the country’s record trade deficit to its long-term standing of a trade surplus and so mark a milestone in the recovery of the economy.
[link to www.japantoday.com]
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Japan mulled possessing "defensive" nuke weapons in 1958

Japanese officials in 1958 discussed an option for the country to possess "defensive" nuclear weapons to protect against the Soviet Union amid the Cold War and conveyed the talks to the United States, declassified U.S. archives showed Saturday.

That year, the U.S. ambassador to Japan told a meeting with U.S. defense and state department officials that then Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi had said the nation's Constitution "did not prohibit Japan from having any kind of weapons" and Kishi believed it was "essential" for Japan to have nuclear arsenals.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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hence the henhouses for the eggs...............

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 03/17/2013 04:58 AM

First nuclear concrete placed at Plant Vogtle expansion

Significant milestone for project vital to Georgia's energy future

ATLANTA, March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power has completed the placement of basemat structural concrete for the nuclear island at its Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear expansion site, a significant achievement in the building of the first new nuclear units in the United States in 30 years.

"This historic moment marks yet another important milestone of the Vogtle expansion project and reflects the tremendous progress we've made at the site," said Georgia Power Nuclear Development Executive Vice President Buzz Miller. "We are very proud of this accomplishment, and of all the hard work and collaboration that went into making it happen. This was a team effort that included Georgia Power, Southern Nuclear, CB&I, Westinghouse Electric Company and our co-owners - Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities."
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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Vogtle reactor foundation concrete pour completed

A major step toward building Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3 nuclear reactor was completed this week after workers spent 41 consecutive hours pouring concrete to form the unit’s 6-foot-thick foundation.

The pouring of specially designed “nuclear concrete” was scheduled to occur last fall but was postponed to allow the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rule on license amendments for the project’s design.

The concrete, known as basemat, will serve as the foundation for all of the nuclear island structures, including the containment vessel and the shield building. It covered an area about 250 feet long and 160 feet wide at its widest point.

A similar pour was completed Monday at South Carolina Electric & Gas Company’s V.C. Summer Plant, which – like Vogtle – is undergoing an expansion involving two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors.
[link to chronicle.augusta.com]
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Japan’s post-Fukushima energy policy advisory board resumes discussions after purging members

In September 2012, after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japan elected to support an energy policy which was designed to phase out nuclear power, after government polls in August had found nearly half of the citizens of Japan had favored a policy with zero nuclear power plants providing future energy supply.  After Prime Minister Abe was elected, he announced that Japan would revisit the future energy policy, and advocated the restart of Japan’s nuclear reactors which are currently shut down.
[link to enformable.com]
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Britain’s Plans for New Nuclear Plant Approach a Decisive Point, 4 Years Late

LONDON — If all goes according to plan, the British energy minister on Tuesday will formally approve construction of the country’s first new nuclear power plant in nearly two decades.

But little has gone according to plan in this ambitious project, which is already more than four years behind schedule. Although envisioned as a big bet on Britain’s clean-energy future, the project has been bogged down in months of dickering between the British government and EDF Energy, the French state-controlled power company that is supposed to oversee construction and eventually operate the plant.
[link to www.nytimes.com]
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Worker gets 17 years for nuclear sub fire

Portland, Maine -- A shipyard worker who set fire to rags aboard a nuclear submarine because he wanted to go home was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison Friday for the blaze that transformed the vessel into a fiery furnace, injured seven people and caused about $450 million in damage.

Casey James Fury also was ordered to pay $400 million in restitution by a judge who weighed his lack of criminal record and the severity of the fire before imposing a 205-month sentence.
[link to www.sfgate.com]
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CBS: Those Fukushima reactors are still releasing radioactive material into ocean -Expert (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

video

[link to www.cbsnews.com]

Activists fault WHO report on Fukushima radiation
[link to www.globalpost.com]

[snip]

Activist physicians on Monday accused the World Health Organization of downplaying the health impact of nuclear fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In a New York symposium marking the two-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan, the physicians took issue with WHO's conclusion in a recent report that it did not expect a significant surge in cancer in Japan or elsewhere due to radiation leaks.

"It's a report that was meant to reassure people who, almost certainly, many will develop leukemia and cancer," said Helen Caldicott, a prominent anti-nuclear activist whose foundation, the Helen Caldicott Foundation, co-sponsored the symposium, along with Physicians for Social Responsibility.

"What is going to happen is there will be a high incidence of cancer and leukemia and genetic disease," due to the leaks, she said.

Video: Black radioactive material being reported 100 kilometers south of Fukushima Daiichi
[link to enenews.com]