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

dear god... deregulate or go solar... buying it is cheap as chips from china.. i have the owner of exit-bags australia coming up when i buy to help me work out the maths on my power grid, and water tanking... god bless him...

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 08/13/2013 12:04 AM

Tepco’s data shows 600 tones of groundwater flows to the sea everyday
[link to fukushima-diary.com]

bug, i know it doesn't interest you fame wise, but i've included permalinks to your continued efforts from fuku thread #1, and also in my sig

eternal thanks to you and others....

No need... but, thank you.
Your efforts are much appreciated.

Now that the cat is out of the bag, we'll see what gets done about the crisis.
Who will step up to face the challenges of Fukushima..?
Who will remember and decry the detractors, shills and disinfo agents..?

TEPCO to become profitable in FY 2013 by restarting reactors in Jan.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. expects to log a pretax profit of about 34 billion yen in the current business year through March if it can restart its idled reactors in January, sources close to TEPCO and banks said Tuesday.

TEPCO, which is struggling due to heavy costs stemming from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, is trying hard to become profitable in fiscal 2013 because it is a condition for the utility to continue to receive bank loans.

According to an estimate TEPCO presented to its lenders, the condition will be satisfied if the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture resumes operation in January, because turning to atomic power will help the utility reduce growing fuel costs for boosting non-nuclear thermal power generation.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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Empire State reactor

A novel consortium has announced participation in the American funding contest for new small reactor designs. Proposing a high-temperature helium cooled reactor, the group features strong support from the state of New York.

Hoping to demonstrate new reactor concepts by 2022, the Department of Energy is running the second stage of a competition for cost-sharing support for new small modular reactor (SMR) development. On offer is access to up to $226 million, for which a range of companies have placed bids. Babcock & Wilcox's mPower reactor won the first round and was given access to $79 million in November 2012.

National Project Management Corporation (NPMC) is leading the latest bid to be announced. It includes a cluster of regional partners in the state of New York: the state government itself, the City of Oswego, the Port Authority of Oswego, Empire State Development and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
[link to www.world-nuclear-news.org]
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Nuclear weapons unit fails key security test

WASHINGTON (AP) - Air Force officials say a unit responsible for operating nuclear missiles has failed a safety and security inspection.

This is the second major setback this year for the Air Force's nuclear weapons force, which is responsible for 450 land-based nuclear missiles on 24/7 alert for potential launch at targets around the globe. Last spring a missile unit in North Dakota received weak grades on an inspection but did not fail it outright; that performance was so poor, however, that 17 officers temporarily lost their authority to operate missiles.

As described to The Associated Press on Tuesday by Air Force Lt. Gen. James M. Kowalski, the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., failed a nuclear safety and security inspection this week.
[link to www.wusa9.com]
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AP: ‘Time bomb’ in leaking Fukushima trenches — If Tepco removes extremely contaminated water as planned, it will only make more flow in since reactor buildings connect to trenches
[link to enenews.com]

NHK Special Report on Fukushima: “We are still in an emergency… Not much time left… We can’t afford to wait” — Asahi: Fear of contaminated water overflowing from well that’s nearby trench leaking 3 billion Bq/liter into ground (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

Radiation Expert: Enormous amount of contamination flowing from Fukushima will probably imperil entire Pacific Ocean — Threatens other countries, food chain — Absolutely can reach U.S. and Canadian shores (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

TV: They are turning ground into quicksand at Fukushima plant — Engineers warn reactor units may topple (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

MSN: Nuclear experts call for testing U.S. West Coast waters and Pacific seafood for Fukushima contamination — “I definitely recommend FDA and EPA increase their vigilance”
[link to enenews.com]

NHK: Groundwater levels continue rising at Fukushima plant — Gov’t warns Tepco about typhoons — “We can’t do anything” if rainfall overwhelms pump — Contaminated water could overflow and move “extremely fast” into Pacific (VIDEO)
[link to enenews.com]

Tokyo Professor on CBC: Latest Fukushima crisis is threatening public health — Gov’t response “totally abysmal” (AUDIO)
[link to enenews.com]

Japan Reporter: Engineers only have ‘vague idea’ where Fukushima nuclear fuel is after world’s first triple meltdown — “A vast experiment” — Problems are enormous (AUDIO)
[link to enenews.com]



McNeill: This is like a vast experiment. There’s never really been an accident like this is such a densly populated place. We’re reassured by the government all the time that it’s safe, but we’ve heard so many lies […] The problem is of such magnitude now, they can no longer deny it […]

Appeals Court Rules for Decision on Yucca Mountain
[link to www.8newsnow.com]


In a sharply worded opinion, the court said the nuclear agency was "simply flouting the law" when it allowed the Obama administration to continue plans to close the proposed waste site near Las Vegas. The action goes against a federal law designating Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository.

The court said the president can't ignore a congressional mandate simply because of policy objections.

oops... tepco live cam accidentally on purpose fell onto the right hand side of my page.... wow!... mysterious ;)
[link to fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com.au]

From the same link:

"The use of radiation and nuclear techniques in medicine, industry, agriculture, energy and other scientific and technological fields has brought tremendous benefits to society. The benefits in medicine for diagnosis and treatment in terms of human lives saved are enormous. Radiation is a key tool in the treatment of certain kinds of cancer. Three out of every four patients hospitalized in the industrial countries benefit from some form of nuclear medicine. The beneficial impacts in other fields are similar."

In fact, I believe in that "statement"... even if I can't prove it I think that kind of treatment prolonged my stepmothers life a couple of years... she had a bad type of cancer... wishful thinking?... I don't know...
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I've no doubt that radiation therapy is somewhat effective in dealing with certain forms of cancer.
No issue with the responsible medical apps.

My issue is with the nuclear philosophy that decides my possible fate without my input..

Am I surprised?... nope...

Kan denies criminal liability for Fukushima crisis

Former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has denied criminal responsibility in the government's response to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Kan gave a written statement to Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday. He denied he was negligent in dealing with the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Prosecutors have been investigating the case for more than a year following complaints from residents of Fukushima Prefecture and others.

The residents accused Kan of professional negligence that resulted in injuries to workers at the plant and radiation exposure among local residents.

Some workers were injured in a hydrogen explosion at the plant's No.1 reactor building at 3 PM on March 12th.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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FWIW...

Decontamination outside Fukushima shifts to houses

Work to reduce radioactive residue caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011 has now shifted from educational facilities to individual houses.

The Environment Ministry surveyed the progress of government-sponsored decontamination work as of the end of June in 58 municipalities from 7 prefectures, not including Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear power station is. The 7 are Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures.

The survey showed that decontamination of schools and kindergartens is now almost 96 percent -- or 1,531 out of 1,596 -- complete, because municipalities placed priority on such facilities.

It also showed that the work has now shifted to individual houses.

Orders for decontamination have been issued for 90,639 units of the 140,972 houses scheduled to be worked on. That's more than 1.8 times the number surveyed at the end of March.

But work has been completed on only 42,789 houses, about 30 percent the total.
[link to www3.nhk.or.jp]
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Routine checks on Japan's sole operating reactor to start Sept. 15

Kansai Electric Power Co. reported to the Nuclear Regulation Authority on Wednesday that it plans to start routine checkups on the No. 4 reactor at its Oi plant from Sept. 15, a move that will see Japan's nuclear power supply to fall to zero.

The Nos. 3 and 4 reactors in Fukui Prefecture are currently the only reactors operating in Japan. Kansai Electric has already reported to the NRA that checks on the No. 3 unit will commence Sept. 2.

With the halt of the two reactors, all 50 of Japan's commercial reactors will be offline for the second time since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster heightened public concern about the safety of nuclear power.
[link to english.kyodonews.jp]
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I'm not surprised, either.

It seems that the major players will always get a walk.

It is frustrating.

Reuters: Corrosion is weakening Unit No. 4 at Fukushima — Concern quake to ‘topple’ bulging structure — “May have tilted” — Holds 14,000 Hiroshima bombs worth of cesium-137
[link to enenews.com]


Tepco has shored up the building, which may have tilted and was bulging after the explosion, a source of global concern that has been raised in the U.S. Congress.

The utility says the building can withstand shaking similar to the quake in 2011 [...] but the company has a credibility problem. [...]

Corrosion from the salt water will have also weakened the building and equipment, [Murray Jennex, an associate professor at San Diego State University who is an expert on nuclear containment and worked at the San Onofre nuclear plant in California] said.

Court orders work to continue on Yucca Mountain

The US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to resume its review of a construction license application for a used nuclear fuel disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
[link to www.neimagazine.com]
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Sometimes I need to brag a little... lol...

All the tube in China

Quality, not price, is the determining factor for pipe in the biggest nuclear construction market in the world

A recent Chinese nuclear-grade import certification (HAF 604) allows Sandvik Materials Technology to now sell tube and pipe for nuclear applications made at its Sandviken, Sweden factory, alongside the steam generator and fuel cladding tube it has sold for years in China. Recent contracts include alloy 690 steam generator tubing to Taishan 2 EPR project suppliers, and alloy 690 steam generator tubing for contractors on AP1000 reactors Sanmen 2 and Xianning.

Not that this is small potatoes, exactly; Blazquez estimates up to 1000 tons of pipe and tube per new reactor. There are 28 such reactors under construction in China, and another 17 to start construction in the next few years to meet targets of 58 GW installed nuclear generation capacity by 2020, according to market research firm UxC.
[link to www.neimagazine.com]
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Yeah, I know it's FauxNews but anyway...

Mystery memos fuel battle between Nevada, DOE over nuclear waste

WASHINGTON – U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz plans to meet with Nevada’s governor on Tuesday to discuss an escalating dispute between the state and the federal government over where to dump hundreds of canisters of radioactive waste, FoxNews.com has learned.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks over who should be forced to keep the nuclear material. The federal government says Nevada signed off on a series of memos agreeing to take it, but Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval says those talks never happened -- and says his state shouldn’t have to shoulder the burden of burying toxic waste in its backyard.

“The state of Nevada is not aware of any signed memos between the state and DOE regarding the approval of the material in question,” Mac Bybee, the governor’s communication director, told FoxNews.com. "
[link to www.foxnews.com]
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SMRs Won't Revive Failed 'Nuclear Renaissance'

A shift to "small modular reactors" (SMRs) is unlikely to breathe new life into the increasingly moribund U.S. nuclear power industry, since SMRs will likely require tens of billions of dollars in federal subsidies or government purchase orders, create new reliability vulnerabilities, as well as serious concerns in relation to both safety and proliferation, according a report issued today by the nonprofit Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) think tank .

The IEER report has implications for SMR companies headquartered or with planned test sites in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee."
[link to www.nuclearpowerdaily.com]
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Fishermen furious as TEPCO pumps up radioactive water at Fukushima plant
[link to mainichi.jp]



It has been more than two years and five months since the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power station. But fishery workers, who have devoted their efforts to resuming their operations, became even more irate about TEPCO's belated acknowledgement that contaminated water has been flowing into the ocean, with some of them saying, "Harmful rumors will be aggravated," and "All our efforts will be for nothing." So, how long will they have to wait before being able to fish without concerns?