A German law has recently come into effect ordering the cleanup of 126,000 barrels of radioactive waste at the Asse nuclear dump site. But it seems the process could take a lot longer than locals initially hoped for.
[...]
Wiegel, the wife of a farmer, says she doesn’t have any concerns about drinking the water here.
“Obviously you can’t worry about it all the time,” she says. “Most people living here tend to push it out of their minds, to be honest.”
Wiegel is not just a resident here, she’s also a member of the citizen group ‘aufpASSEn’ – meaning ‘watch out’ in German – which helps raise awareness about issues from the Asse nuclear waste site.
[...]
The Asse site used to be one Germany’s most productive salt mines until it was closed down in 1964. Shortly thereafter it was bought by the German government and used as a storage site for the country’s low to medium-level radioactive waste for more than a decade. The barrels, most of which came directly as nuclear waste from power plants, were stored in empty chambers already dug out by the salt miners.
[...]
But, while there is no nuclear waste now being brought in, there are still thousands of drums down in the salt chambers. Emrich says the condition of many of the barrels is unknown and that’s why exploratory drilling is now taking place. In the 50 years since they were dropped in, many barrels are believed to have rusted and may be leaking.
And, he says that the mine itself is also unstable. Water has been seeping into the mine from groundwater runoff for years. That’s why new, more stable, access shafts are now being designed for the planned waste removal.
The barrels of low to medium radioactive waste were stored in Asse between 1967 and 1978
“Since 1988 water has been coming into the mine,” Emrich explains. “People have realized that this site isn’t safe. After all, if more and more water comes in, there is always the chance that the mine floods completely.”
The fear is that, through the pressure created by a flooded mine, nuclear waste could be pushed back up to the surface, contaminating local water supplies.
[...]
However, once the waste removal work begins, one big question remains: where will the radioactive material be stored once it’s brought up? Locals are worried that authorities will decide on an aboveground storage facility, right next to the mine site.
Read more.
Posted in *English.
Tagged with Asse, cleanup, Germany, nuclear waste, salt mine.
By norma field
– 2013/05/21
More than two years into the triple-meltdown crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, workers continue to wage a desperate battle to keep the stricken reactors cool while trying to contain the 400 tons of radioactive water produced by the process each day.
[...]
As of May 7, Tepco had routed 290,000 tons of radioactive water into some 940 huge tanks at the complex, but 94,500 tons remain inside the basement floors of the reactor buildings and other facilities.
Tepco must perpetually pour water over the melted cores of reactors 1, 2, and 3 via makeshift systems to prevent the fuel from melting and burning again.
But the cores’ containment vessels were damaged by the meltdowns, allowing the highly radioactive coolant water to leak and flow into the basements. The dangerous radiation levels have prevented workers from getting close enough to fully assess the damage, let alone start the decommissioning process.
Compounding the problem is some 400 tons of groundwater that is also entering the basements of the tsunami- and explosion-damaged buildings, mixing with the leaking coolant water.
Tepco has been operating a water-recycling system to drain the basements that is supposed to extract cesium before recirculating the water back to the reactors. But the added inflow of the groundwater is exacerbating the threat.
In response, all Tepco has been able to do is build more storage tanks.
[...]
Tepco is proposing some of the water be dumped into the sea after processing it to remove most, but not all, radioactive isotopes. Local fishermen strongly oppose the plan as it will taint the image of their produce.
Previous discharges into the Pacific have effectively contaminated the sea. Failure to store it means it will probably flood the whole compound and end up in the ocean anyway.
Neither Tepco nor government experts have come up with any other viable solutions.
Read more.
Posted in *English.
Tagged with ground water, leaks, TEPCO, water-recycling system.
By norma field
– 2013/05/21
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal regulators have indefinitely delayed a decision on the proposed restart of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant in California, raising new questions Monday about whether the twin reactors will produce electricity again.
The seaside plant between San Diego and Los Angeles has been dark since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water.
Operator Southern California Edison wants permission to restart the Unit 2 reactor and run it at reduced power in hopes of stopping vibration and friction that was blamed for damaging tubing.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission delayed several earlier target dates for a ruling, with officials recently projecting a June announcement. But its website on Monday listed no date for a restart decision — only “to be determined.”
[...]
Meanwhile, anti-nuclear activists and some lawmakers have said restarting the plant would lead to a disaster.
Friends of the Earth, an advocacy group challenging the restart, believes no decision can be made “until all the safety issues raised by the board are addressed,” spokesman Shaun Burnie said in an email.
Even with San Onofre sidelined, state power officials predict that there should be adequate power supplies in California this summer, but heat waves or wildfires that damage transmission lines could lead to potential shortages.
The problems at San Onofre center on steam generators that were installed during a $670 million overhaul in 2009 and 2010. After the plant was shut down, tests found some generator tubes were so badly eroded that they could fail and possibly release radiation, a stunning finding inside the nearly new equipment.
Posted in *English.
Tagged with energy policy, restart, Safety, San Onofre.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/21
Japan and India are set to agree on the restart of talks on bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy development during a summit meeting of the two countries’ leaders scheduled for later this month, Japanese government sources said Monday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters earlier in the day, “We have judged it sensible to negotiate an accord with India on nuclear cooperation.”
Bilateral talks on civilian nuclear cooperation, launched in 2010, have been suspended since the Fukushima nuclear crisis triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to promote Japanese exports of nuclear power plants to India under such an accord, when he meets with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on May 29 in Tokyo, the sources said.
The move comes despite widespread concerns over the safety of nuclear power generation following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi complex.
The Indian side has “expressed strong hope for a nuclear agreement with Japan even after the nuclear accident,” Suga said. “As a country having experienced a disaster, (Japan) is responsible for contributing to the improved safety of atomic energy by sharing knowledge and lessons with the world.”
Continue reading at Japan, India to resume talks on nuclear cooperation pact
Posted in *English.
Tagged with energy policy, India, nuclear cooperation pact.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/21
菅義偉官房長官は２０日の記者会見で、福島第１原発事故を機に中断していたインドとの原子力協定交渉の再開を検討していると明らかにした。「政府と して、インドとの原子力協力を行う意義があると判断した」と述べた。安倍晋三首相は、２９日に予定されるインドのシン首相との首脳会談で、原発輸出を加速 するトップセールスを展開し、協定の早期締結にこぎ着けたい意向とみられる。 菅氏は「原発事故以降も、インド側からハイレベルで日本との 原子力協定に強い希望が表明されていた」と指摘。「原発事故を経験した国として、事故の知見と教訓を世界と共有し、原子力の安全向上に貢献していくことは 責務だ」と強調。原子力協定が締結されると日本からの原発輸出が可能となる。
続きは日本とインドが原子力協定検討 原発輸出を加速
Posted in *日本語.
Tagged with インド, エネルギー政策, 公正・共生, 原子力協定, 資本主義.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/21
東京電力福島第１原発事故で流れ出た放射性セシウムは、海の表層に比べ深いところで濃度が高かったとの分析結果を、海洋研究開発機構などの研究チームが20日までにまとめた。チームは「第１原発から流出した汚染水が暖かい黒潮の下に沈み込んだのではないか」としている。
チームは事故後の昨年１～２月、北海道沖からグアム島周辺にあたる北緯15度付近までの約３千キロにわたり、計10カ所で海水を採取。セシウム134と137の濃度を調べた。
その結果、第１原発の南東約900キロで黒潮の南側にあたる地点では表層付近の濃度は低かったが、水深200～400メートル付近で１立方メートル当たり約21ベクレルのセシウム134が検出された。
第１原発の沖合約500キロの親潮と黒潮がぶつかる地点では、水深150メートル付近で濃度が最も高く、同約19ベクレルのセシウム134を検出した。
Posted in *日本語.
Tagged with セシウム, 健康, 東日本大震災・福島原発, 汚染水, 海洋研究開発機構.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/21
In a 97-0 vote Thursday, the Senate confirmed Moniz, an MIT nuclear physicist, as energy secretary. No cabinet honcho outside of newly confirmed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will play a more determinative role in the economic and environmental future of the Pacific Northwest.
Priority one for Moniz is a clear-eyed briefing on Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The most contaminated nuclear site in North America has been throwing off clues that cleanup must be accelerated. Or else.
[...]
“I am encouraged that Dr. Moniz has a deep background in energy issues vital to the Pacific Northwest: From accelerating hydropower and other clean energy solutions, to maintaining cost-based power at the Bonneville Power Administration, to ensuring that Hanford cleanup is based on good science and existing timelines,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said.
During his April 9 confirmation hearing, Moniz committed to Cantwell that he would visit Hanford. It’s not too early to get it on the calendar (say, the Independence Day recess.)
Federal sequestration compounds the resources scramble. As Moniz triages the Energy budget, Hanford needs to rise to the top. It’s a crisis-in-waiting that demands a proactive plan.
Read more.
Posted in *English.
Tagged with Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz, Hanford.
By norma field
– 2013/05/20
For the first time since the March 2011 nuclear accident in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, farmers in the Miyakojimachi district of Tamura have begun planting rice in what was once a no-go zone. It’s also the first time that any kind of farming has been tried out in any former hot zone that’s within 20 km of the now inactive plant. Miyakojimachi is the only district that has completed decontamination according to the Fukushima prefecture.
Three farms are planning to seed 6 hectares in the area, with the rice intended for sale. The rice paddies have already been cleaned up from any radioactive fallout from the plant and the farmers are using fertilizers with potassium to help reduce the cesium that will be absorbed by the rice plants. The rice will also undergo thorough radiation checks before they are shipped off for selling. One of the farmers, 62 year old Hisao Tsuboi, said that he plans to plant Hitomebore plus two more rice varieties in his 2.5 hectare farm. However, he is worried about whether the farm will survive or whether he can continue working on it, since residents are still not allowed to stay overnight in the area. He has to leave his temporary house at 4AM to go to the paddies then return late at night, and travel time takes an hour one way.
Continue reading at Farmers plant rice in former no-go zone in Fukushima for the first time
Posted in *English.
Tagged with East Japan Earthquake + Fukushima, food, health, rice.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/20
東北電力は２０日、女川原発２、３号機（宮城県）で昨年見つかった燃料集合体を覆う金属製カバーの一部欠損は、溶接不良が原因だったと発表した。「安全性に問題はない」としているが、溶接方法を変更する。
カバー上部に溶接した三角形の部品の一部が最大で約２・６センチ欠けた。２、３号機の計３１９３体のうち計３１体で欠損が見つかり、うち３０体は神戸製鋼製だった。
調査の結果、溶接方法などによって合金に含まれる鉄の比率が変わり、腐食しやすくなることが判明した。
続きは女川原発の燃料カバー欠損 溶接不良が原因
Posted in *日本語.
Tagged with エネルギー政策, 労働における公正・平等, 女川原発.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/20
行政に任せきりにせず、住民が主体的に地域の放射性物質除去に取り組もうと、福島市の中心部で１９日、市民やボランティアら約４００人が一斉に除染作業をした。
繁華街の道路脇で側溝や植え込みの放射線量を測り、毎時２マイクロシーベルト以上の土や雑草をシャベルや工具を使って取り除いた。参加した福島市上町の飲食業長島豊さん（６６）は「今までは、やり方がよくわからなかった。線量が下がるとうれしいね」と笑顔を見せた。
平成２３年６月から自主的な除染活動を進めてきた福島市の市民グループ「花に願いを」が、参加者にやり方を指導した。
続きは福島市民ら４００人、自主的に一斉除染
Posted in *日本語.
Tagged with 健康, 労働における公正・平等, 東日本大震災・福島原発, 花に願いを, 被ばく, 除染.
By yukimiyamotodepaul
– 2013/05/20
Discussion / 最新の議論