nuke.news

"A Japanese antinuclear group announced Wednesday it will convene the first of its annual meetings on nuclear weapons elimination this summer in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, on July 31. At the meeting in Fukushima city, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs, or Gensuikin, will also call for early containment of the nuclear crisis and a halt to all nuclear plants in Japan. The group has been calling for a nuclear-free world based on the country's experience of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) likely failed in its attempt to vent the No. 1 reactor of its tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant in mid-March shortly before a hydrogen explosion, despite its claim that it successfully vented the reactor, it has emerged. TEPCO insiders said the valves for venting the reactor did not sufficiently open, and TEPCO's headquarters admitted that it has not confirmed whether the valves opened. Experts have pointed out that data released by the utility suggests that one of the valves closed after it briefly opened. However, it still remains unclear whether the hydrogen explosion in the reactor building was caused by a venting failure, as experts say it is possible that hydrogen was accumulating even before the venting attempt."

"The governor of Shizuoka Prefecture, a major tea leaf production region in Japan, urged the health minister Thursday to revise the provisional limit of radioactive substances in the product. Shizuoka Gov. Heita Kawakatsu said the maximum level was unreasonable and a recent test showed tea leaves and processed tea in the area as being safe during a meeting with health minister Ritsuo Hosokawa, who promised to make public the results and check the limit's validity. The survey was conducted under an instruction from the ministry of health, labor and welfare. "The government applied the limit set for foods to tea, 95 percent of which is used for drinking. That was the cause of the confusion," Kawakatsu said. "Confusion and anger are swirling in the tea industry in our prefecture.""

"The government plans to establish a 100 billion yen fund to keep track of the health of all residents of Fukushima Prefecture for 30 years following radiation leaks at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, government sources said Thursday. The government plans to allocate 78 billion yen in a second supplementary budget for the current fiscal year and plans to ask the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to contribute 25 billion yen to the fund."

""Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind," Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera. Japan's 9.0 earthquake on March 11 caused a massive tsunami that crippled the cooling systems at the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. It also lead to hydrogen explosions and reactor meltdowns that forced evacuations of those living within a 20km radius of the plant. Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed. "Fukushima has three nuclear reactors exposed and four fuel cores exposed," he said, "You probably have the equivalent of 20 nuclear reactor cores because of the fuel cores, and they are all in desperate need of being cooled, and there is no means to cool them effectively."

"According to Japanese news sources, Japanese whalers tested 6 of 17 whales captured 650 kilometers north-east of the Fukushima nuclear reactor. Of the 6 whales tested 2 were found to contain cesium radiation which must have come from the Fukushima nuclear reactor. The first whale contained 31 becquerels per kilogram of cesium radiation and the second whale and the 24.3 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram. Japan Finds Nuclear Radiation In Whales Caught 650 KM From Fukushima Tokyo - Radioactive caesium was detected from two minke whales caught off a city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, 650 kilometres north-east of a damaged nuclear plant, a news report said on Tuesday. Researchers examined six of the 17 whales during so-called research whaling in Kushiro city, which started this year's season in late April, and they detected 31 becquerels and 24.3 becquerels of radioactive caesium per kilogram in the two whales out of the six, Kyodo News reported citing a whalers' association."

"FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The prospect their elected officials might endorse construction of two nuclear power plants had many county residents upset. Dallas Blanchard of Fresno was one of about 20 people who spoke out at Tuesdays Board of Supervisors meeting. "Anybody who is seriously considering voting for this should look at Japan, radiation is still leaking to this day." Fresno Social Activist Ellie Bluestein said; "It's hard to believe that supervisors who are seriously concerned about our safety and well being would consider a nuclear part of it." But Supervisor Judy Case countered that we shouldn't rule out nuclear because we need more power, and said she doesn't like windmills. "I'm concerned that all those wind generators will be on every hilltop in California. That environmentally is not very attractive to me, I don't like it." "

"A fiefdom of nuclear experts at Tokyo Electric Power Co. has survived past crises and appears likely to withstand fallout from the controversy at the embattled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The "nuclear village," as it is known, has maintained its independence for decades, virtually shielded from other parts of the company by the specialized nature of its operations. The "village" is headed by Executive Vice President Sakae Muto, 60, general manager of the Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division. His predecessor, Ichiro Takekuro, 65, holds the title of "fellow," who assists the president as the top nuclear expert. Muto, Takekuro and others attended a meeting on April 17 of the combined government-TEPCO headquarters in regards to the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Earlier the same day, TEPCO announced a road map to bring reactors crippled by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake to cold shutdown. "

"The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will lead the first international, multidisciplinary assessment of the levels and dispersion of radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima nuclear power plant-a research effort funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "This project will address fundamental questions about the impact of this release of radiation to the ocean, and in the process enhance international collaboration and sharing of scientific data," said Vicki Chandler, Chief Program Officer, Science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. "It is our hope that through this adverse event, we can increase our current knowledge about various natural and man-made sources of radioactivity in the ocean, and how they might ultimately impact ocean life and health around the world." The shipboard research team includes scientists from WHOI, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Univ. of Hawaii, Univ. Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain), and the Univ. of Tokyo (Japan). They will collect water and biological samples and take ocean current measurements in an area 200 km x 200 km offshore of the plant and further offshore along the Kuroshio Current. Their work will build on efforts by Japanese scientists and lay the foundation for expanded international collaboration and long-term research of questions related to releases from the Fukushima plant."

"Japan faces the possibility of having to pay huge compensation to overseas victims of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant because it has yet to sign any international convention that defines procedures for filing lawsuits for damages from a nuclear accident that extend beyond a nation's borders. While the Kan administration has compiled a framework to provide support to Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, as it makes compensation payments, if lawsuits were filed overseas the total compensation could go much higher than current estimates of several trillions of yen. There are three conventions which establish the standards for having the nation where a nuclear accident has occurred handle compensation lawsuits. "

"MORE than three quarters of French people believe the country should follow Germany and withdraw from nuclear energy, a new survey has found. The Ifop poll of 1,005 adults commissioned by the Journal du Dimanche found 77% supported a gradual shut-down of France's nuclear power plants within 30 years. A fifth of those in favour said it should happen sooner. Germany announced last month that it would shut down its nuclear plants by 2022 following safety concerns as a result of the Japanese earthquake and the Fukushima radiation leak. Nuclear represents only 22% of German electricity production, whereas France has 58 reactors that produce 73% of the country's electricity supply, making it the world's second-biggest nuclear power behind the United States. Green party Europe Ecologie-Les Verts is campaigning for a complete withdrawal and wants the Socialists to do the same before it considers a potential partnership in next year's elections. "

"The cost of scrapping the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami as well as compensating evacuees could total up to 20 trillion yen over the next decade, according to an estimate by a research institute presented to a government meeting Tuesday. The Japan Center for Economic Research, a private think tank, estimated that scrapping all six reactors at the Fukushima complex could cost up to 15 trillion yen, while compensating people who have been evacuated from areas located within 20 kilometers from the plant could reach around 630 billion yen. The government may also be forced to buy up land contaminated with radioactive substances located within a 20-kilometer radius of the power station, costing an additional 4.3 trillion yen, Kazumasa Iwata, president of the institute, said at the meeting of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission. © 2011 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. admitted Wednesday that one of the critical cooling pipes at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's reactor unit 3 may have been damaged in the March 11 megaquake. Tepco suggested earlier that no major damage, including ruptures in the facility's main steam pipes, had occurred at the reactor until the massive tsunami hit after the magnitude 9.0 quake. But if the temblor had actually damaged the High-Pressure Core Flooder system - which is used to supply coolant water to a reactor core in emergencies to keep nuclear fuel from overheating - power suppliers across the country might be forced to reconsider the quake resistance designs for their reactors."

"Not only the pressure vessels, but the containment vessels of the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were probably damaged within 24 hours of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s analysis of the nuclear crisis. In a report on the analysis, the utility said it carried out minute calculations on internal pressure and other measurements in the nuclear reactors after the earthquake. The report was submitted to the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Monday night. TEPCO said it found that an isolation condenser, a type of emergency cooling device, did not work properly at the No. 1 reactor. This caused the core meltdown to progress until it damaged the bottom of the pressure vessel about 15 hours after the earthquake. Along with the meltdown, the temperature inside the steel containment vessel, which contains the pressure vessel, rose until it reached 300 C in 18 hours after the quake, much higher than 138 C the vessel was designed for. It is believed the internal temperature continued to rise after that. Containment vessels are designed for a much lower temperature and pressure than pressure vessels, which can be exposed to temperatures close to 300 C and pressure reaching 70 bars when a reactor is in operation."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. did not fully disclose radiation monitoring data after its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the government revealed Friday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, after being informed by Goshi Hosono, a special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, told reporters that he instructed Tepco to sort out the data, make it public and make doubly sure no more information-withholding occurs. Coming a day after he blasted Tepco's flip-flop over the injection of seawater into the plant's reactor 1, Edano said the government "cannot respond to this matter on the premise" that no more undisclosed information will emerge."

"Nuclear regulators trusted that the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 complex were safe from the worst waves an earthquake could muster based on a single-page memo from Tokyo Electric Power Co. nearly a decade ago. In the Dec. 19, 2001, document - one double-sized page obtained by The Associated Press under the public records law - Tepco rules out the possibility of a tsunami large enough to knock the plant offline and gives scant details to justify this conclusion, which proved to be wildly optimistic. Regulators at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency had asked plant operators for assessments of their earthquake and tsunami preparedness. They didn't mind the brevity of the utility's response, and apparently made no moves to verify its calculations or ask for supporting documents."

"Diablo Canyon, home to Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s lone nuclear power plant, is thousands of kilometers away from Japan's Fukushima disaster, but the vast Pacific isn't vast enough to prevent technology critics from insisting that these two sites share ominous traits. The Diablo Canyon Power Plant sits on a bluff just above the Pacific Ocean, not far from San Luis Obispo in central California, a few miles from the offshore Hosgri Fault and only a mile from the recently discovered Shoreline Fault. Operational since 1985 and contributing 20 percent of PG&E's total electricity output, the Diablo plant seemed a sure bet to gain a license renewal from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-until Fukushima. In the wake of an unprecedented and unimagined tsunami on 11 March, which sent waves above Fukushima's seawall, Diablo Canyon has received its fiercest criticism since 1981, when opponents of nuclear power and the plant's peculiar location nearly succeeded in closing it down."

"Switzerland latest country to shelve nuclear plant plans - but many states still lack an alternative low-carbon energy supply guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 May 2011 22.00 Moves to cut carbon emissions in line with international targets have come under renewed strain since the nuclear crisis in Japan led some countries to shelve plans to use the technology. Switzerland became the latest country to decide to phase out nuclear power last week, citing concerns over the accident at the Fukushima plant that was left stricken by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March. The Swiss deci"

"As the world's attention remains focused on the nuclear calamity unfolding in Japan, American nuclear regulators and industry lobbyists have been offering assurances that plants in the United States are designed to withstand major earthquakes. But the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which sits less than a mile from an offshore fault line, was not required to include earthquakes in its emergency response plan as a condition of being granted its license more than a quarter of a century ago. Though experts warned from the beginning that the plant would be vulnerable to an earthquake, asserting 25 years ago that it required an emergency plan as a condition of its license, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission fought against making such a provision mandatory as it allowed the facility to be built. Officials at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the utility that operates Diablo Canyon, did not respond to calls seeking comment before the story was published. After publication, a spokesman for the company said the plant does have an earthquake procedure that had been implemented during a 2003 earthquake near the facility, and that staff are trained to respond. The company did not provide further details upon request. As Americans absorb the spectacle of a potential nuclear meltdown in Japan -- one of the world's most proficient engineering powers -- the regulatory review that ultimately enabled Diablo Canyon to be built without an earthquake response plan amplifies a gnawing question: Could the tragedy in Japan happen at home?"