The Telegraph's commentator also thinks,
along with many nuke proponents that inhabit the world, that "there has never been a verifiable
death" in the West from the nuclear power. (I suppose he doesn't include
Russia as part of the West.)Right.In his own words, from The Telegraph 3/20/2011 right before he
headed off to the Mayan Highlands:
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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: "Chinese Are Going for the Safe, Thorium Reactors, and They Ar... - 0 views
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Safe nuclear does exist, and China is leading the way with thoriumA few weeks before the tsunami struck Fukushima’s uranium reactors and shattered public faith in nuclear power, China revealed that it was launching a rival technology to build a safer, cleaner, and ultimately cheaper network of reactors based on thorium.
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This passed unnoticed –except by a small of band of thorium enthusiasts – but it may mark the passage of strategic leadership in energy policy from an inert and status-quo West to a rising technological power willing to break the mould.
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If China’s dash for thorium power succeeds, it will vastly alter the global energy landscape and may avert a calamitous conflict over resources as Asia’s industrial revolutions clash head-on with the West’s entrenched consumption
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China’s Academy of Sciences said it had chosen a “thorium-based molten salt reactor system”. The liquid fuel idea was pioneered by US physicists at Oak Ridge National Lab in the 1960s, but the US has long since dropped the ball. Further evidence of Barack `Obama’s “Sputnik moment”,
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“If it begins to overheat, a little plug melts and the salts drain into a pan. There is no need for computers, or the sort of electrical pumps that were crippled by the tsunami. The reactor saves itself,” he said.
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“The reactor has an amazing safety feature,” said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA engineer at Teledyne Brown and a thorium expert
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Chinese scientists claim that hazardous waste will be a thousand times less than with uranium. The system is inherently less prone to disaster.
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“They operate at atmospheric pressure so you don’t have the sort of hydrogen explosions we’ve seen in Japan. One of these reactors would have come through the tsunami just fine. There would have been no radiation release.”
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why aren't the nuke reactors in the world thorium-based, by now? Evans-Pritchard says it's because thorium cannot be made into weapons: US physicists in the late 1940s explored thorium fuel for power. It has a higher neutron yield than uranium, a better fission rating, longer fuel cycles, and does not require the extra cost of isotope separation.The plans were shelved because thorium does not produce plutonium for bombs.
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Evans-Pritchard further says western-lifestyle needs nuclear power, and no one has died from nuclear power: I write before knowing the outcome of the Fukushima drama, but as yet none of 15,000 deaths are linked to nuclear failure. Indeed, there has never been a verified death from nuclear power in the West in half a century. Perspective is in order.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency said the world currently has 442 nuclear reactors. They generate 372 gigawatts of power, providing 14pc of global electricity. Nuclear output must double over twenty years just to keep pace with the rise of the China and India.
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As the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident has made abundantly clear to many people (clearly Evans-Pritchard is not one of them), it is the human errors that make up the accident - from the design of the reactor and the plant, fitting the pipes that don't fit, hiding the condition of the degrading parts and equipments and structures and the regulatory agency who helps the operator to hide them, to name only a few.
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It doesn't quite matter how safe thorium is, when the most dangerous and unpredictable component of all is the humans
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Why You Should Ignore Germany's Nuclear U-Turn [02Jun11] - 0 views
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According to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, “We want the electricity of the future to be safe, reliable and economically viable.” And in her mind, nuclear power doesn’t fit the bill anymore. She’s wrong. The truth is, nuclear power is safe, reliable, clean and cheap. And that’s precisely why global nuclear capacity is going to keep increasing, by as much as 50% between now and 2020. It’s also the reason why the long-term investment thesis for uranium stocks remains compelling
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Don’t Let Recent Events Mislead You As humans, we have a tendency toward recency bias. In other words, we give recent events extra importance when making decisions. The recent radiation crisis in Japan is an example.
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believing that nuclear power is now suddenly unsafe is patently wrong. As the following chart shows, nuclear power is actually the safest form of energy production available. And if anything, the crisis at Japan’s 40-year-old Fukushima Daiichi plant is only going to increase the safety precautions at existing and new nuclear power plants
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Not only is nuclear power safest, it also happens to be extremely clean. Nuclear power generation produces virtually no greenhouse gases. It’s one of the most economical energy sources, too. It only costs about $0.04 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to produce electricity with nuclear power, compared to $0.08 per kWh for wind and more than $0.18 per kWh for solar.
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While Germany Pulls a U-ey, Follow China, India and America Instead While Germany’s nuclear decision has made headlines this week, the positive future for nuclear power was underlined a few weeks ago when two of the fastest-growing global economies gave the industry a big shot in the arm. ~ China: On May 12, China’s Nuclear Energy Association announced plans to boost the country’s nuclear power capacity as much as eight times by 2020. ~ India: A day later, India’s Atomic Energy Commission announced plans to increase production 13-fold by 2020. And they’re not alone. Although the United States didn’t announce any specific growth plans, it’s certainly not abandoning nuclear power production.
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In the aftermath of the Japan crisis, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would scrutinize nuclear license renewals. But in April, the commission renewed the operating license for the largest nuclear power plant in the United States for another 20 years. And as Jeff Eerkens, an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri’s Nuclear Science and Energy Institute, estimates, the United States needs to quintuple its number of power plants to keep up with electricity demand.
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Power Demand is Rising… and We Need Nuclear to Meet It
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Nuclear Power is Not Dead--Not By a Long Shot [13Apr11] - 0 views
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Obviously, the last thing the nuclear power industry needed was another black eye. Yet even with ongoing disaster in Japan, the nuclear power revival is one that cannot be stopped — even by the combined power of an earthquake and a tsunami. Outside of the dramatic news coverage, the atomic beat goes on. Here's why... As desirable as it is to develop a safer alternative, nuclear power is still one of the bedrocks of the power generation that fuels the world economy.
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All told, 442 nuclear power plants across the globe provide roughly 14% of its electricity generation. That figure is going to be impossible to finesse or eliminate... even under the best-case scenarios for the development of wind, solar power, and/or other forms of alternative energy. According to the International Energy Association (IEA), world electricity demand is likely to grow 2.7 percent a year from now until 2015, and then at 2.4 percent annually until 2030 — making nuclear power even more of a necessary evil.
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Nuclear Revival Lives The result: The nuclear industry is experiencing a major global power surge. Worldwide, 65 reactors are already under construction with 344 more reactors planned. Add it all up and it makes for a 92% increase from today's levels for the global nuclear industry. Even through the lens of the Fukishima disaster, this trend will go on long after the current Japanese turmoil leaves the headlines
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Why?
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Because realistically, there is no other course
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One of the design developments for investors to keep an eye on is in construction of what are known as small modular reactors (SMRs). This new school category of plants is defined as reactors making less than 300 megawatts of electricity, or the amount needed to power 300,000 American homes. (That's about a quarter of the energy output of today's big reactors.)
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Factory-built and delivered on site, small modular reactors have the potential to change the nuclear landscape. In this case, it's as simple as time and money. Because unlike large reactors that cost as much as $10 billion and take five years to build, small modular reactors can be built in half the time and for as little as $5000 per kilowatt capacity. What's more, the modular units arrive on site ready to "plug and play", dramatically changing the old model of time and cost. But here's the real kicker: SMRs are designed for a high level of passive or inherent safety in the event of a malfunction.
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according to a 2010 report by the American Nuclear Society, many of the prudent safety provisions already built in large reactors are unnecessary in the smaller designs. And their smaller size also allows them to be built underground, making them considerably less vulnerable to the events that caused the Fukishima disaster
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“This is a reactor that is designed with safety first,” says Victor Reis, senior advisor in the Office of Undersecretary of Energy for Science, “not one that you do the physics first and then add the safety on.”
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These smaller designs also have the support of the current administration, whose 2012 budget request provides $67 million to help companies develop smaller plants and win regulatory approval for their designs. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department recently called SMRs a “tremendous new commercial opportunity for U.S. firms and workers” since, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the global demand for small modular reactors could reach 500 to 1,000 reactors by 2040.
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One of the early leaders in this new trend is a long-time nuclear player called Babcock and Wilcox (NYSE: BWC).
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Radiation at Thyroid Gland Found in 45% of 1,000 Children Tested in Fukushima [05Jul11] - 0 views
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The Nuclear Safety Commission headed by Haruki "Detarame" Madarame disclosed on July 4 that the test conducted in late March had found 45% of 1,080 children tested in Fukushima Prefecture had internal radiation exposure at thyroid gland, according to Tokyo Shinbun. 3 months, that seems to be the amount of time that these government people must feel safe to disclose what they had known all along. After 3 months, people may forget, and/or people will give up because the disclosure is too late.
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The NSC says the levels were low, and there was no need for more detailed evaluation. If you look at the numbers, though, you may wonder how they came to the conclusion. To them, 100 millisieverts per year body dose equivalent for 1 year old (or 0.2 microsievert/hour) was acceptable because the ICRP says so. Since the highest they found was 50 millisieverts per year body dose equivalent, they concluded there was no need for further testing.
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Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission disclosed on July 4 that the survey done in late March on 1,000 children living near Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant had revealed that 45% of the children were exposed to radiation at the thyroid gland. Commissioner Shigeharu Kato says "The radiation level was not the level that would require more detailed examination."
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The survey was conducted by the national government and the Fukushima prefectural government from March 26 to 30 in Iwaki City, Kawamata-machi, and Iitate-mura, where the authorities expected the high probability of internal radiation exposure at the thyroid gland. 1,080 children aged zero to 15 were tested, and 45% had the internal radiation exposure.
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According to the NSC, the highest dose was 0.1 microsievert/hour (body dose equivalent of 50 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old). For 99% of the children tested, the dose was 0.04 microsievert/hour or less, which is the dose equivalent of 20 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old. However, Commissioner Kato said in the press conference on July 4, "To consider body dose equivalent, the survey was too coarse. There was no child who need further detailed examination."
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According to the ICRP recommendation, 100 millisieverts per year will increase the risk of cancer by 0.5%, and that amount is set as the maximum annual exposure limit in a nuclear emergency. In the survey this time, the standard was set at 100 millisieverts, and the detailed examination was to be done if 0.2 microsievert/hour dose was found, which would be the dose equivalent of 100 millisieverts per year at thyroid gland for 1 year old.
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The Japanese government submitted the report to the IAEA which mentioned the survey done on 1,080 children for radiation at the thyroid gland, but the government did not disclose what percentage of the children were actually affected.
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So the Japanese government was secretly testing the children in Iitate-mura, as it scoffed at the suggestion by IAEA that the radiation level in the village was very high and evacuation should be considered. All back in late March when it could have made a difference. According to Tokyo Brown Tabby who read the Japanese post and called up the NSC, the NSC says the data was uploaded in May to the NSC website. So far I haven't managed to locate it. The NSC also says they informed the parents. I hope so.
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From Tokyo Shinbun (7/5/2011
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From Tokyo Shinbun (7/5/2011
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From Tokyo Shinbun
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The Death of Nuclear Power: The Five Global Energy Moves to Make Now [07Jun11] - 0 views
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out
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Nuclear power was gaining a lot of momentum prior to the terrible disaster at Japan's Fukushima powerplant in March.
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But since then, atomic energy has come under increased scrutiny and once again drawn the ire of environmentalists who were just warming up to its carbon-free emissions.
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The German government's decision to close all of its existing nuclear reactors by 2022 shows that this shift in sentiment is gaining traction. And it increases the likelihood that the nuclear-powerplant building boom that had seemed at hand will be set back. Without a doubt, this new reality will lead to global energy shortages and much-higher energy costs.But for us as investors, the real issue is this: Which sectors will step up to alleviate the shortfall resulting from the inevitable disappearance of nuclear power?
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As the recent development in Germany so clearly illustrates, one key difficulty about major energy decisions is that far too many are political in nature.
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Too often, rational scientific analysis and cost-benefit analyses are ignored as hard-line environmentalists push their own agendas. Many of the environmentalists' objections are valid - at least as far as they go. But more and more, those objections seem to include every source of energy that actually works.
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Windmills are objectionable because they look ugly and kill birds. Geothermal energy is objectionable because it causes earthquakes. Even solar energy is objectionable because of the vast acreages of land required to house the solar panels
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Replacing Nuclear Power Figuring out which energy sources will offset the decline in nuclear power output requires three calculations:
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First, a calculation of the cost of an energy source - as it now exists - in its economically most practicable uses. However, much as we may like solar power, we are not about to get solar-powered automobiles; likewise, oil-fueled power stations are inefficient on many grounds.
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Second, a calculation that demonstrates whether the cost of that energy source is likely to increase or decline. With oil and hydro-electric power, for instance, the cost is likely to increase: The richest oil wells have been tapped and the best rivers have been dammed. With solar, on the other hand, the cost could decline, given how quickly the technology is advancing.
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And third, an estimate that includes our best guess as to whether hard-line environmentalists will win or lose in their attempt to prevent its use.
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On nuclear energy, the environmentalists appear to have won - at least for the time being. Their victory probably extends to fusion power, if that ever becomes economical. Conversely, their battles against wind and solar power are futile, as there are no scary disaster scenarios involved.
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I regard the German decision to abandon nuclear power as foolish, and it should make us very cautious when investing in large-scale German manufacturers, which may be made uncompetitive by excessive power costs. But as an investor, I think it opens up a number of profit opportunities.
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Actions To Take: Environmental concerns have chased investment away from nuclear energy - at least for the time being. For that reason the nuclear build-out that was just starting to gain momentum now is likely to stumble. As investors, we must look for energy sources that will most likely replace lost nuclear power output. They include:
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Shale Gas: Potential damage to the environment caused by "fracking," which is the process by which shale gas is extracted, has not impeded this industry's growth. Natural gas has grown increasingly popular, as it is relatively cheap and clean, and readily abundant in the United States. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggests that natural gas will provide 40% of U.S. energy needs in the future, up from 20% today. You might look at Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE:CHK), the largest leaseholder in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale, which is trading at a reasonable 9.5 times projected 2012 earnings.
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Shale gas. Tar sands. And solar energy. Let's look at each of the three - and identify the best ways to play them
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Tar Sands: The Athabasca tar sands in Canada contain more oil than the Middle East. And at an oil price of $100 per barrel, it is highly profitable to extract. Of course, extraction makes a huge mess of the local environment, but environmentalists seem to have lost that battle - reasonably enough, in view of the "energy security" implications of dependence on the Middle East. A play I like here is Cenovus Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVE). It's a purer Athabasca play than Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU), but it's currently pricey at 16.5 times projected 2012 earnings. Suncor's cheaper at only 11 times projected 2012 earnings - so take your pick
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Solar Energy: Of the many new energy sources that have received so much taxpayer money in the last five years, solar is the one with real potential. Unlike with wind farms, where there is almost no opportunity for massive technological improvement or cost reduction, there is great potential upside with solar power: The technology and economics of solar panels and their manufacture is improving steadily. Indeed, solar power seems likely to be competitive as a source of electricity without subsidy sometime around 2016-2020, if energy prices stay high.
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There are a number of ways to play this. You can select a solar-panel manufacturer like the Chinese JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq ADR: JASO), or a rectifier producer like Power-One Inc. (Nasdaq: PWER). JA Solar is trading at a startling forward Price/Earnings (P/E) ratio of less than 5.0, mostly likely because of the Chinese accounting scandals, whereas Power-One is also cheap at less than seven times forward earnings and is U.S.-domiciled. Again, take your pick, depending on which risks you are comfortable with.
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Des Moines Register: "Nuclear plants need scrutiny, not hysteria" [02Jul11] - 0 views
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this is a June 29 Des Moines Register editorial, telling readers "Don't be irrational, don't be hysterical, and don't you dare be anti-nuke". And don't listen to those "baseless rumors": Nuclear plants need scrutiny, not hysteria "Right now the plants are safe."That's what the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said of the two nuclear power plants along the Missouri River in Nebraska after recent flooding. There have been no "nuclear releases." Vital systems to ensure safety are protected. Flood waters are not expected to become unmanageable
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Gov. Terry Branstad said that state officials are monitoring the plants and that the public should not worry.Yet some people worry
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A healthy dose of concern about nuclear energy is necessary to help keep this country's power plants are safe. The United States must remain dedicated to rigorous scrutiny of plant safety regulations and emergency measures
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This country has 104 nuclear power plants in 31 states, including Iowa. What's going on in Nebraska is a reminder of the need to ensure they are safe and there are plans in place to respond in the event of a natural or man-made disaster
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They are also a reminder of the importance this country must place on protecting key areas -- including those with nuclear plants -- from flooding. While the U.S. must continue to focus on conservation and cultivating alternative sources of energy like wind, the reality is nuclear energy provides 20 percent of the nation's electricity. Along with coal, petroleum, natural gas and wind, it is an important part of this country's energy portfolio.
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That portfolio must be more, not less, diverse. As the world has seen in Japan, a disrupted energy supply can lead to an economic crisis.Americans use a lot of energy. It has to come from somewhere, and providing it comes with risks. Yet we do not stop drilling for oil because there is an oil spill. We do not stop mining for coal because of a cave-in. We cannot allow fears about nuclear energy -- unfounded fears, as of now in Nebraska -- scare us away from this important power source
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I particularly like the last three paragraphs
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A disrupted energy supply in Japan is not because of nuclear power plant shutdowns, but because too many thermal and hydro power generating plants had been shut down. Rolling blackouts were intentional, to teach the Japanese the lesson - "nuclear power is necessary". Besides, an economic crisis is the last thing that ordinary people in Japan care about right now. (I don't know about the politicians and big power company execs.)
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Fukushima workers brave radiation and heat for 80 pounds a day [13Jul11] - 0 views
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Fukushima workers brave radiation and heat for £80 a day --Fears grow for inexperienced contractors working in Japanese heatwave to bring stricken nuclear reactors under control 13 Jul 2011 Hundreds of inexperienced contractors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are working in searing heat and high radiation levels for as little as 10,000 yen (£80) a day. As Japan succumbs to a heatwave, the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), has moved to address rising concerns over the health of almost 3,000 workers battling to bring its stricken reactors under control. Nine people, all employees of Tepco, have been exposed to radiation levels exceeding the maximum annual limit of 250 millisieverts. But the longer the crisis drags on, the more the firm will have to depend on hundreds of small subcontractors who hire inexperienced labourers to perform the dirtiest jobs on one of the most hazardous industrial sites on earth.
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Fukushima Cover Up Unravels [04Jul11] - 0 views
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Asia Pacific Journal reports:
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Japan’s leading business journal Toyo Keizai has published an article by Hokkaido Cancer Center director Nishio Masamichi, a radiation treatment specialist.
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Nishio originally called for “calm” in the days after the accident. Now, he argues, that as the gravity of the situation at the plant has become more clear, the specter of long-term radiation exposure must be reckoned with.
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Former Minister for Internal Affairs Haraguchi Kazuhiro has alleged that radiation monitoring station data was actually three decimal places greater than the numbers released to the public. If this is true, it constitutes a “national crime”, in Nishio’s words
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The Atlantic points out:
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The reason for official reluctance to admit that the earthquake did direct structural damage to reactor one is obvious. Katsunobu Onda, author of TEPCO: The Dark Empire … who sounded the alarm about the firm in his 2007 book explains it this way: “If TEPCO and the government of Japan admit an earthquake can do direct damage to the reactor, this raises suspicions about the safety of every reactor they run. They are using a number of antiquated reactors that have the same systematic problems, the same wear and tear on the piping.”
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Oddly enough, while TEPCO later insisted that the cause of the meltdown was the tsunami knocking out emergency power systems, at the 7:47 p.m. TEPCO press conference the same day, the spokesman in response to questions from the press about the cooling systems stated that the emergency water circulation equipment and reactor core isolation time cooling systems would work even without electricity
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On May 15, TEPCO went some way toward admitting at least some of these claims in a report called “Reactor Core Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit One.” The report said there might have been pre-tsunami damage to key facilities including pipes. “This means that assurances from the industry in Japan and overseas that the reactors were robust is now blown apart,” said Shaun Burnie, an independent nuclear waste consultant. “It raises fundamental questions on all reactors in high seismic risk areas.”
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Eyewitness testimony and TEPCO’S own data indicates that the damage [done to the plant by the quake] was significant. All of this despite the fact that shaking experienced at the plant during the quake was within it’s approved design specifications
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The Wall Street Journal writes:
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A former nuclear adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan blasted the government’s continuing handling of the crisis, and predicted further revelations of radiation threats to the public in the coming months. In his first media interview since resigning his post in protest in April, Toshiso Kosako, one of the country’s leading experts on radiation safety, said Mr. Kan’s government has been slow to test for possible dangers in the sea and to fish and has understated certain radiation dangers to minimize what it will have to spend to clean up contamination.
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And while there have been scattered reports already of food contamination—of tea leaves and spinach, for example—Mr. Kosako said there will be broader, more disturbing discoveries later this year, especially as rice, Japan’s staple, is harvested. “Come the harvest season in the fall, there will be a chaos,” Mr. Kosako said. “Among the rice harvested, there will certainly be some radiation contamination—though I don’t know at what levels—setting off a scandal. If people stop buying rice from Tohoku, . . . we’ll have a tricky problem.”
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British Shenanigans
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It’s not just the Japanese. As the Guardian notes:
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The Guardian reports in a second article
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British government officials approached nuclear companies to draw up a co-ordinated public relations strategy to play down the Fukushima nuclear accident just two days after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and before the extent of the radiation leak was known. Internal emails seen by the Guardian show how the business and energy departments worked closely behind the scenes with the multinational companies EDF Energy, Areva and Westinghouse… Officials stressed the importance of preventing the incident from undermining public support for nuclear power.
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The Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, who sits on the Commons environmental audit committee, condemned the extent of co-ordination between the government and nuclear companies that the emails appear to reveal.
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The official suggested that if companies sent in their comments, they could be incorporated into briefs to ministers and government statements. “We need to all be working from the same material to get the message through to the media and the public
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The office for nuclear development invited companies to attend a meeting at the NIA’s headquarters in London. The aim was “to discuss a joint communications and engagement strategy aimed at ensuring we maintain confidence among the British public on the safety of nuclear power stations and nuclear new-build policy in light of recent events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant”. Other documents released by the government’s safety watchdog, the office for nuclear regulation, reveal that the text of an announcement on 5 April about the impact of Fukushima on the new nuclear programme was privately cleared with nuclear industry representatives at a meeting the previous week. According to one former regulator, who preferred not to be named, the degree of collusion was “truly shocking”.
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The release of 80 emails showing that in the days after the Fukushima accident not one but two government departments were working with nuclear companies to spin one of the biggest industrial catastrophes of the last 50 years, even as people were dying and a vast area was being made uninhabitable, is shocking
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What the emails shows is a weak government, captured by a powerful industry colluding to at least misinform and very probably lie to the public and the media.
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To argue that the radiation was being released deliberately and was “all part of the safety systems to control and manage a situation” is Orwellian.
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And – as the Guardian notes in a third article – the collusion between the British government and nuclear companies is leading to political fallout:
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“This deliberate and (sadly) very effective attempt to ‘calm’ the reporting of the true story of Fukushima is a terrible betrayal of liberal values. In my view it is not acceptable that a Liberal Democrat cabinet minister presides over a department deeply involved in a blatant conspiracy designed to manipulate the truth in order to protect corporate interests”. -Andy Myles, Liberal Democrat party’s former chief executive in Scotland “These emails corroborate my own impression that there has been a strange silence in the UK following the Fukushima disaster … in the UK, new nuclear sites have been announced before the results of the Europe-wide review of nuclear safety has been completed. Today’s news strengthens the case for the government to halt new nuclear plans until an independent and transparent review has been conducted.” -Fiona Hall, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European parliament
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#Radiation in Japan: As It Is Being Spread Almost Willfully, The Country Is Getting Unh... - 0 views
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I have a distinct feeling that Japan is getting totally unhinged
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Consider these news summaries. Consider them together. Do they make sense to you? Yes they do, don't they? The combined message is this: Let's all rejoice in the radiation, it's good for you and your children. If we all have it everywhere, millions of becquerels of it, that's only fair and equitable
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4,320 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium found from the beef from Minami Soma City, Fukushima: the cattle farm that shipped cows found with radioactive cesium far exceeding the already loose provisional safety limit of 500 becquerels/kg is located in the "emergency evacuation-ready zone" - not even "the planned evacuation zone" or plain "evacuation zone", both of which do exist in Minami Soma City. (Various posts at this blog)
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The PM assistant and the current Minister in charge of the nuclear accident at Fukushima I Nuke Plant Goshi Hosono is going to announce the abolition of the "emergency evacuation-ready zone", because "the 1st step in TEPCO's "roadmap" has been mostly successfully implemented".
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Fukushima Prefecture has announced it will shut down the official shelters within Fukushima, which will force the evacuees to go back to their own homes.
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Minami-Soma City has issued a notice to all 32,000 city residents who have been living in the shelters, temporary housing outside Fukushima Prefecture that they must return to Minami-Soma, high radiation or not. (Mainichi Yamagata version, 7/12/2011)
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The national government will spend 100 billion yen (US$1.26 billion) to observe the health of 2 million Fukushima residents for 30 years, instead of evacuating them ASAP. About 1600 yen (US$20) per year per resident. Life is cheap. Since the national government is utterly broke, it will be ultimately paid for by the taxpayers of Japan.Remember, Dr. Shunichi Yamashita will be the vice president of the Fukushima Medical University who will do the observation and research.
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Matsudo City in Chiba Prefecture found 47,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in the ashes from the city's garbage incinerator, but the city simply mixed with other ashes with low radiation to bring the final number to 5,660 becquerels/kg. Since the final mixed ashes measured LOWER than the provisional limit for burying the ashes (8,000 becquerels/kg), the city already buried the ashes and will continue to do so. (Mainichi Chiba version, 7/13/2011)
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On the other hand, Nagareyama City in Chiba Prefecture simply sent 30 tonnes of its radioactive ashes (27,000 becquerels/kg) from its incinerator by cargo train to Odate City in Akita Prefecture in Tohoku. Nagareyama City has a contract with a private waste disposal company in Odate City in Akita. This waste disposal company is not a nuclear waste disposal company; as far as I could tell from the description of the company, it is just a regular waste disposal company. (Sponichi, 7/12/2011)
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By the way, Matsudo City in Chiba is simply doing what the Ministry of the Environment has decided - mix and match. If the garbage or debris is likely to exceed the 8,000 becquerels/kg limit, burn with other stuff and lower the number. If it's already in ashes, mix them up with lower radiation ashes. When the Ministry of the Environment decided this policy, the Minister was Ryu Matsumoto, who's now in hospital after resigning from his post as the Minister of Recovery and Reconstruction.
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If Indian Point Nuclear Closes, Plenty of Profits (for natural gas suppliers) [13Jul11] - 0 views
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(Diigo won't highlight this correctly, putting it in description!) "Matt Wald of the New York Times has finally figured out why there is such a strong push from well connected political types to close the Indian Point Nuclear Power Station. Unfortunately, he and his editor have chosen to put that answer at the very bottom of his recent article titled If Indian Point Closes, Plenty of Challenges . When the demand for natural gas increases, the balance between supply and demand shifts in favor of the sellers, so price inexorably increases. Here is the closing paragraph of that article. It should raise alarm bells for anyone who is a power purchaser instead of a power seller. That description applies to the vast majority of us; part of the challenge is that it only costs each of us a little while concentrating the spoils in the hands of a few victors. Closing the Indian Point reactors would, however, hardly be gloom and doom for everyone. Any company that runs a generator in downstate New York ends up selling its output at a higher price, and would share in the $1.4 billion a year that Con Edison says its customers will pay if the nuclear plant closes."
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Beef Tainted by Radiation Raises Safety Concerns in Japan [14Jul11] - 0 views
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Beef contaminated by radiation from Fukushima prefecture has been eaten by consumers in Japan, intensifying food-safety concerns and stoking criticism against a government testing program that checks only selected products.
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About 437 kilograms (963 pounds) of beef from a farm in Minami-Soma city, 30 kilometers from the stricken Fukushima Dai- Ichi nuclear station, was consumed in eight prefectures, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government, which detected the first case of tainted beef from the farm earlier this month.
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Products including spinach, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tea, milk, plums and fish have been found to be contaminated with cesium and iodine as far as 360 kilometers from Dai-Ichi. Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken station, said June 14 it found cesium in milk tested near another nuclear reactor site about 210 kilometers from the damaged plant.
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“The government’s mishandling of the issue is deepening food-safety concerns,” Susumu Harada, senior director at the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Tokyo office, said in an interview.
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Four months after a record earthquake and tsunami crippled the power plant in Fukushima, site of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, local government offices are struggling to check every farm product due to a shortage of testing equipment, staff and budget. Prolonged exposure to radiation in the air, ground and food can cause leukemia and other cancers, according to the London-based World Nuclear Association.
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Tainted Straw
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The cattle ate tainted straw amid a feed-supply shortage after the March disaster, which damaged feed plants in the nation’s northeast. The local government detected 75,000 becquerels of cesium a kilogram in straw stored in the farmer’s rice field, exceeding the official standard of 300 becquerels
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Beef from the farm contained 2,300 becquerels of cesium a kilogram, according to the July 8 statement from the government office of Tokyo, which operates Japan’s largest meat market. The government set the limit at 500 becquerels of cesium a kilogram
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Fukushima is the 10th biggest cattle-producing region in Japan, representing 2.7 percent of the total. The nation exported 541,045 metric tons of beef worth 3.4 billion yen ($42.8 million) last year, including premium wagyu meat.
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Earthquake, not tsunami, caused first Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown? [09jul11] - 0 views
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the most interesting single thing on the table in today’s update is the revelation that at least one of Fukushima’s reactors suffered sufficient damage from the earthquake that hit the region … prior to the tsunami … to have likely gone out of control or melted down.
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we can assume at this point that the untrustworthy TEPCO will cover up whatever it can, and it is in their interest to ignore any evidence that the earthquake itself resulted in significant damage.
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It would turn out that not only was this tsunami not unexpected at all (this has been covered before) but that the earthquake did enough damage that whatever other expectations Japanese nuclear regulators have regarding earthquakes may have are in serious question.
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The plant is essentially full of water … injecting more water into the plant can only happen if some of it boils off, which releases radioactive steam into the air (which is, essentially, what has been happening for weeks). The current plan is to decontaminate the water and use the decontaminated water to cool the plant.
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There is no evidence that water is no longer leaking into the sea or steam into the air.
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rate of escape is only somewhat slowed down, and the prospect of additional catastrophic events such as the collapse of a structure or an explosion is still very real.
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possibility of a hydrogen explosion
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There is still a distinct
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Gov't panel: Changes needed at U.S. nuclear plants [13Jul11] - 0 views
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An expert task force convened by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called Japan's nuclear disaster "unacceptable" and concluded that nuclear power plants in the U.S. need better protections for rare, catastrophic events.
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The series of recommendations, included in portions of a 90-page report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, will reset the level of protection at the nation's 104 nuclear reactors after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl by making them better prepared for incidents that they were not initially designed to handle.
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The three-month investigation was triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that cut off all electrical power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant
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In a news release issued late Tuesday, the NRC said that the 12 steps recommended in the report would "increase safety and redefine what level of protection to public health is regarded as adequate." The full report will be released on Wednesday, the NRC said.
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The panel will tell the commission that nuclear plant operators should be ordered to re-evaluate their earthquake and flood risk, add equipment to address simultaneous damage to multiple reactors and make sure electrical power and instruments are in place to monitor and cool spent fuel pools after a disaster.
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members admit that the current patchwork of regulations is not given equal consideration or treatment by power plant operators or by the NRC, during its technical reviews and inspections
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But Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, ranking member of the Senate environment committee, said such sweeping changes were premature. "Changes in our system may be necessary," Inhofe said, but "a nuclear accident in Japan should not automatically be viewed as an indictment of U.S. institutional structures and nuclear safety requirements."
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"A 90-day review does not permit a complete picture of the still-emerging situation," said Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute. "Therefore, we strongly recommend that the NRC seek additional information from Japan that would help establish the basis for actions."
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Fukushima crisis won't slow Virginia reactor plan: Dominion CEO [13Jul11] - 0 views
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WASHINGTON — The radiation crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant won't affect Dominion Resources Inc.'s plan for a new reactor in Virginia, Chief Executive Officer Thomas Farrell said Monday. Dominion of Richmond, Virginia, is considering adding a third reactor to its North Anna power plant, about 64 km northwest of the city. A final decision may not be made until 2013, after design work is completed and U.S. regulators have reviewed the company's application to build and operate the unit, Farrell, CEO and chairman, said at a Washington news conference
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"We will be proceeding to make the decision regardless of what happened at Fukushima," he said. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said an agency task force is due to report to commissioners Tuesday after a 90-day review of safety procedures at U.S. reactors. U.S. nuclear plants implemented additional safety precautions after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Farrell
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Shock? Cow meat with high levels of radiation now circulating all over Japan [12Jul11] - 0 views
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Radioactive Beef Distributed Nationwide in Japan, Arirang, July 12, 2011: Various Japanese media outlets reported Tuesday that beef containing radioactive cesium was found to have been distributed nationwide, including major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. Media reports say that some 190 kilograms of meat has already been distributed and a good amount has gone into the hands of Japanese consumers, leaving them, as well as the government, in shock. [...]
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Radioactive meat circulating on Japanese market, CNN, July 12, 2011: A Japanese health official downplayed the dangers Tuesday after cesium contaminated meat from six Fukushima cows was delivered to Japanese markets and probably ingested. [...] Up until now, cattle in Fukushima were only subject to a screening test, to inspect for radioactive particles adhering to the skin, and farmers were ordered to self-report how it the cattle feed was being stocked. [...] On Saturday, the health and welfare office at Tokyo Metropolitan government found that meat from 11 cows from a Fukushima farm, which was about to be delivered, contained high levels of radiation. As a precaution, the office was ordered to trace meat from six cows from the same farm and realized that the meat is now circulating not only in Tokyo, but all over Japan.
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Los Alamos lab begins removing radioactive soil from canyons to prevent contamination f... - 0 views
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Contaminated soil a concern at Los Alamos lab, Reuters, July 11, 2011: [...] crews at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have begun removing contaminated soil from nearby canyons out of a concern that flash flooding could wash toxins into the Rio Grande [that supplies drinking water for Santa Fe and many other communities] officials said on Monday. [...] The soil in the canyons above Los Alamos National Laboratory, the linchpin of American’s nuclear weapons industry, contains materials with trace amounts of radiation [...] Over the weekend, about 1,200 cubic yards of contaminated soil was removed primarily from two canyons — Los Alamos and Pajarito — that run through lab property, [ Fred deSousa, spokesman for the lab's environmental control division] said.
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An Assessment of Los Alamos National Laboratory Waste Disposal Inventory, Radioactive Waste Management Associates, November 2009:
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Since the beginning of its operations LANL has disposed of millions of gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste throughout the laboratory grounds and in the canyons that surround the laboratory. [...]
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Hundreds of stacks throughout the laboratory released unfiltered gaseous waste directly from plutonium-processing hoods. The LAHDRA Project Team has developed a system of priority indices and determined that between 1944 and 1966, plutonium was the most significant contaminant released. LAHDRA estimated that the total amount of plutonium released by LANL throughout its history, even with the improved filtering systems in later years, exceeded 170 curies. [...]
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The waste discharge at LANL began in 1944 during the development of the atomic bomb. Due to time pressures, secrecy of the project, and general lack of knowledge at the time about the dangers of radioactive materials, the laboratory took poor precautions in its disposal of radioactive and other hazardous wastes during its early years of operations. Initially, the waste, in the form of liquids, drums and cardboard boxes, was released into the canyons or deposited into unlined pits completely untreated; poor records were maintained about the volumes and activities of these releases. By the 1960s, the waste disposal practices significantly improved and better records were kept. [...]
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This report compiles the available information about the waste disposed of at each Material Disposal Area and into the three canyons, including any recent soil and water sampling results. Some of the sites with the highest deposits of radioactive contaminants include MDA’s C, G, and H with respective inventories of up to 49,679 curies, 1,383,700 curies, and 391 curies. Routine sampling of soil and water is regularly performed and radionuclide contamination above background levels is often found at the burial sites (e.g. TA-21). [...]
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The potential for LANL-origin contaminants to reach the Rio Grande River may vary, depending on the underground formations and the types of waste disposed of at each disposal site. The potential may be quite large, as the 2006 Santa Fe Water Quality Report stated a “qualified detection of plutonium-238”was detected in Santa Fe drinking water supplies4. The US DOE has also reported the detection of LANL radionuclides in Santa Fe drinking water since the late 1990s5. Plutonium is the main ingredient in the core or trigger of the nuclear weapons that were developed and produced at LANL, and approximately 423,776 cubic feet (ft3) (12,000 cubic meters (m3)) of plutonium contaminated waste is buried in unlined disposal pits, trenches, and shafts at the LANL site. This early detection of plutonium in Santa Fe drinking water may be an indicator of an approaching plutonium contamination plume in Santa Fe groundwater. And of course, plutonium is only one of many LANL-origin contaminants. [...]
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As previously discussed, information pertaining to the wastes disposed of by LANL is not always complete or fully available and so many of the types and quantities of waste disposed of at various LANL technical areas remain unknown. [...]
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Includes report about methods used by Los Alamos to store nuclear waste and risks
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Radioactive leak at South Carolina nuke plant - Found July 7, repairs still underway [1... - 0 views
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Radioactive waste leaks at nuclear plant, The State, July 12, 2011: Officials say no threat posed, but federal safety team continues to investigate Federal nuclear safety inspectors are investigating a radioactive waste leak at SCE&G’s atomic power plant in Fairfield County. An estimated 100 gallons of liquid waste spilled at the utility’s V.C. Summer plant, apparently from a pipe that leaked, according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The discovery was made late last week. [...]
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Officials Investigate Leak at V.C. Summer Nuclear Station, WTLX, July 12, 2011: Employees of South Carolina Electric & Gas say they found the leak on July 7, contained it and isolated the problem. They say repairs are underway. [...] Mary Nguyen Bright with the Department of Health and Environmental Control said the leak began in piping inside the facility and caused water to land on a concrete pad, posing no immediate concern. [...]
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Another blaze starts at nuclear test site near Las Vegas - Fire located at Area 19 [12J... - 0 views
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La Madre fire now at 45 acres and still burning, Las Vegas Review Journal, July 12, 2011: [... A]nother blaze began at the Nevada National Security Site, the former nuclear test site 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. Last week, fires consumed more than 6,000 acres near the site. Officials at the test site monitored radiation levels [...] The fire was located at the north-central portion of the site, commonly known as Area 19. [...]
Report: 50,000+ Bq/kg of radioactive cesium found in soil near Tokyo - "Terrifying" tha... - 0 views
