Monthly Archives: January 2012

青森 再処理工場再開めど立たず via NHK

青森県にある使用済み核燃料の再処理工場について、事業者の日本原燃は、今月下旬にも試運転をおよそ3年ぶりに再開する計画でしたが、工場の一部の工程でトラブルが解消しないとして、再開のめどが立っていないことを明らかにしました。 青森県六ヶ所村にある再処理工場は、原発の使用済み核燃料を再処理して燃料に使うプルトニウムや高い濃度の放射性物質などを取り出す施設で、装置のトラブルや東京電力福島第一原発の事故の影響で、平成20年12月から試運転が中断しています。日本原燃は、地元青森県の了解を得たことから、今月下旬にもおよそ3年ぶりに試運転を再開する計画でした。ところが、再処理工場では、高濃度の放射性物質を含む廃液を溶かしたガラスと混ぜて廃棄物にする工程で、ガラスが装置内をスムーズに流れないトラブルが解消しないとして、日本原燃は試運転の再開のめどが立っていないことを明らかにしました。 続きは青森 再処理工場再開めど立たず

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Niigata nursery school workers set up space for Fukushima parents and children via The Mainichi Daily News

KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata — Nursery school workers have set up a child welfare facility here for parents displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. “I want people to come any time of the year, like a fir tree is green all year … Continue reading

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Wind power station planned in place of nuclear plant in Wakayama town via The Mainichi Daily News

WAKAYAMA — A company partially financed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) is planning to build a wind power station in the Wakayama Prefecture town of Hidaka, which has abandoned plans to host a nuclear power plant, it has been … Continue reading

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Furnace malfunction hobbles Aomori spent nuke fuel reprocessing plant via The Mainichi Daily News

AOMORI — A furnace malfunction at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant here has stalled a planned trial run of the facility, throwing the future of Japan’s nuclear cycle policy into doubt. Yoshihiko Kawai, president of plant operator Japan Nuclear Fuel … Continue reading

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Decontamination schedule sheds no light on when evacuees can return via The Mainichi Daily News

The Ministry of the Environment on Jan. 26 announced a schedule for decontamination work covering 26,700 hectares of “special decontamination areas” tainted with radioactive materials from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The schedule eyes completion of decontamination work … Continue reading

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‘Shadow meals’ employed to keep families safe from radiation via The Mainichi Daily News

The practice of kagezen — literally “shadow meal” — entails setting out meals at home for a family member who is absent, in hopes that they will be safe while traveling. Meals were commonly prepared by family members waiting at … Continue reading

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Second life: The questionable safety of life extensions for Russian nuclear power plants via The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

In response to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, countries such as Germany and Switzerland are preparing to phase out aging nuclear power plants. The Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), however, is taking a very different … Continue reading

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International humanitarian law and nuclear weapons: Irreconcilable differences via The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

Article Highlights In 1996, the International Court of Justice issued an opinion that the use of nuclear weapons is “scarcely reconcilable” with international humanitarian law and concluded that nations have an obligation to pursue good-faith negotiations leading to disarmament. The … Continue reading

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French Report Faults Indecision on Nuclear Industry via The New York Times

PARIS — France’s failure to make a definite decision about its energy future has left it with little choice but to extend the life of its existing nuclear power plants, an independent government agency said Tuesday. The French Court of … Continue reading

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被ばく基準緩和 NHK番組 原発推進団体が抗議 via 東京新聞

NHKが昨年末、国際的な低線量被ばくのリスク基準が政治的な判断で低く設定されたという内容の番組を放映したことに対し、原子力発電推進を訴え る複数団体のメンバーらが「(番組内容には)誤りや論拠が不明な点、不都合な事実の隠蔽(いんぺい)がある」として、NHKに抗議文を送っていたことが分 かった。 団体側はNHKに先月末までの回答を求めていた。NHKの広報担当は「番組内容に問題はないと考えているが、(抗議には)誠実に対応させていただく」としている。 抗議文は外務省の初代原子力課長、金子熊夫氏が会長を務める「エネルギー戦略研究会」、東京電力出身の宅間正夫氏が会長の「日本原子力学会シニア・ネットワーク連絡会」、元日立製作所社員の林勉氏が代表幹事の「エネルギー問題に発言する会」の三団体が作成、提出した。 続きは被ばく基準緩和 NHK番組 原発推進団体が抗議

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