福島に被ばく医療センター＝原子力政策懇が提言 via 時事ドットコム

Posted on 2015/05/11 by yukimiyamotodepaul

安倍晋三首相は１１日、有識者でつくる「エネルギー・原子力政策懇談会」会長の有馬朗人元東大学長らと首相官邸で会談した。懇談会は、東京電力福島第１原 発事故に伴う福島県民の健康対策として、低線量被ばくに関する国際医療センターの県内設置や、個人の線量の継続的なモニタリング実施などを求めた提言書を 提出した。

続きは福島に被ばく医療センター＝原子力政策懇が提言

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 福島に被ばく医療センター＝原子力政策懇が提言 via 時事ドットコム

被災者“卒業”再び福島へ　避難少女「その後」も絵本に via 中日新聞

Posted on 2015/05/11 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　絵本作家の松本春野さん（３１）の新作「ふくしまからきた子　そつぎょう」（岩崎書店）は、東京電力福島第一原発事故後、福島から広島に避難した 少女の、その後の物語だ。「福島の子どもたちの心や暮らしの変化を絵本で残したい」と描いた前作から三年。「被災者や被災地から『卒業』していく過程も表 現する必要があった」と語る。

　原発事故をきっかけに、福島から母の実家がある広島に引っ越してきた主人公の「まや」。隣の家に住む少年「だいじゅ」に、大好きなサッカーに誘われても「だって　みんな　まだ　そとで　あそべないから」と断ってしまう…。

　二〇一二年四月に出版した前作「ふくしまからきた子」は、二人の小学生の交流を描いた。松本さんの父、猛さん（６４）と、初めての共著でもある。

（略）

　「福島を訪れるたび、放射能について学び、測り、慎重な対策を重ね、暮らしを立て直してきた大人たちの姿に心を打たれた。その背中を見て成長した子どもたちは、とても良い笑顔を浮かべていた」

　続編になる「ふくしまからきた子　そつぎょう」では、母子避難した主人公「まや」が、かつて通っていた福島の小学校の卒業式に戻ってくる。絵本の表紙も、うつむく子どもの顔が中心だった前作に対し、今回は前を向いて明るい印象に仕上げた。

　「校庭を駆ける子どもたちを描くのは、やっぱりうれしかった。主人公の卒業だけでなく、私自身も含めて、放射能など分からなかったこと、不安だったことから『卒業』が必要だと思ったんです」

　松本さんはこの二つの作品を通じて、脱原発運動に関わるようになった。

全文は  被災者“卒業”再び福島へ　避難少女「その後」も絵本に

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 被災者“卒業”再び福島へ　避難少女「その後」も絵本に via 中日新聞

Engineers Assess Fire Damage at Indian Point Nuke Plant as DEC Monitors Oil in Hudson River via NBC

Posted on 2015/05/11 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Engineers and inspectors are examining damage caused by a transformer fire at the Indian Point nuclear power plant that forced a temporary shutdown of a reactor, officials said Sunday, as the Department of Environmental Conservation continued to monitor how much oil from the facility has leaked into the Hudson River.

The fire, which started at about 6 p.m. Saturday at the suburban New York facility, was quickly extinguished by the plant’s sprinkler system and utility managers declared the reactor safe and stable. No one at the plant was injured.

[…]

The spilled oil is from the ruptured transformer. Oil is used to cool down the transformer, but leaked out of it when the transformer ruptured. From there it went into a holding tank, which overflowed and spilled onto the ground, which empties into a drainage system that goes right into the Hudson River.

“There is no doubt that oil was discharged into the Hudson River,” Cuomo said at Indian Point on Sunday. “We have booms in the water now around the discharged pipe to collect any oil that may be in the river.”

Cuomo said that the New York state DEC is monitoring the oil in the Hudson.

The incident also raised concerns that foam used to extinguish the fire could pose an environmental hazard if it leaks into the nearby river, the governor said.

Read more at Engineers Assess Fire Damage at Indian Point Nuke Plant as DEC Monitors Oil in Hudson River

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Engineers Assess Fire Damage at Indian Point Nuke Plant as DEC Monitors Oil in Hudson River via NBC

原発火災で河川に石油が流出、環境への影響懸念　米ＮＹ via CNN.co.jp

Posted on 2015/05/11 by yukimiyamotodepaul

ニューヨーク（ＣＮＮ） 米ニューヨーク州のインディアンポイント原子力発電所で９日に起きた火災で、隣接するハドソン川に大量の石油が流出し、環境への影響が懸念されている。同州のクオモ知事が１０日に記者会見して明らかにした。

火災は現地時間の９日午後６時ごろ、ニューヨーク市中心部から約５６キロ北部にあるインディアンポイント原発の変圧器で発生した。この火災で変圧器が破裂して石油が地面に流れ出し、保水タンクからあふれてハドソン川に面した排水施設に流れ込んだという。

(略）

米原子力規制委員会（ＮＲＣ）は、流出した石油の量を数千ガロンと推定している。

火災が起きた変圧器は原子炉の建屋から１８０メートルほど離れた場所にある。原発を保有するエンタジー社によれば、この火災で原子炉のうち１基が自動停止したが、公衆の安全を脅かすような事態にはならなず、負傷者も出なかったという。

しかしハドソン川の野生生物に及ぼす影響について、クオモ知事は「明らかに良くない」との見方を示し、生態系への影響についてさらに詳しく調査すると表明した。

全文は原発火災で河川に石油が流出、環境への影響懸念　米ＮＹ

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 原発火災で河川に石油が流出、環境への影響懸念　米ＮＹ via CNN.co.jp

Fukushima No. 1 workers exposed to high radiation surged 1.5-fold in 2014 via The Japan Times

Posted on 2015/05/10 by

The number of workers exposed to high radiation at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant in fiscal 2014 has grown 1.5-fold from the year before, data from Tokyo Electric said Saturday.

A total of 992 workers, mostly those employed by subcontractors, saw their doses top 20 millisieverts in the year ended in March. The previous year, the number of workers with such high exposure levels stood at 660, according to the data.

Since the five-year radiation limit for Fukushima No. 1 workers is 100 millisieverts per person, many could be barred from working at the plant.

The yearly limit for decontamination workers stands at 50 millisieverts, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Of those who topped the 20-millisievert level in 2014, only 11 are from Tepco, with 981 from subcontractors. The highest doses logged were 29.5 millisieverts among Tepco’s staff and 39.85 millisieverts among the subcontractors.
[…]
A public relations official at Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the meltdown-hit plant, said the amount of decontamination and debris-removal work in high-radiation zones there is also rising.

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Fukushima No. 1 workers exposed to high radiation surged 1.5-fold in 2014 via The Japan Times

Kudankulam nuclear-plant reactor trips, stops generation via The Times of India

Posted on 2015/05/10 by

CHENNAI: The first 1,000-MW unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) stopped generation on Saturday evening after the reactor tripped, the Power System Operation Corporation Ltd. (PSOCO) said on Sunday.

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged | Comments Off on Kudankulam nuclear-plant reactor trips, stops generation via The Times of India

Long-delayed nuclear plant in Tennessee nears completion decades after start via US News & World Report

Posted on 2015/05/10 by

SPRING CITY, Tenn. (AP) — Tom Wallace started working at the Watts Bar nuclear plant as a young man in 1979, hoping he could eventually become a reactor operator.

It remains a work-in-progress for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Wallace, 55, is still finishing that plant 36 years later, one of the longest building projects in U.S. history. In a bizarre turn, what could soon become the newest U.S. nuclear plant is a piece of 1970s-era technology.

In the time it took to build it, Wallace raised two daughters and now has grandchildren. Meanwhile, the nuclear industry has designed a generation of entirely new plants now being built in Georgia and South Carolina.
[…]
TVA vastly overestimated the demand for electricity decades ago. In 1966, it announced plans to build 17 nuclear reactors in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. By 1985, TVA canceled plans for almost half those reactors because of a slumping economy and spiraling construction costs.

The construction of Watts Bar 1 proved a big mess. Regulators approved construction in 1973. A dozen years later, TVA officials requested permission to load the plant’s radioactive fuel. However, whistleblowers raised concerns about construction, prompting lengthy delays and inspections. In a 1995 summary, NRC inspectors reported they found poorly welded metal, electrical cables that were damaged during installation, and quality assurance records with missing or incorrect information.

It took until 1996 to get the first reactor running.

[…]
Federal safety regulators will decide in the coming weeks whether to grant the plant an operating license. Johnson said the facility expects to load its nuclear fuel toward the end of the summer and gradually start operations.

Construction got off to a rough start, with an audit by TVA’s Office of the Inspector General accusing program managers of being ineffective, failing to provide enough oversight and not disclosing budget problems. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission fined the utility $70,000 in 2013 for failing to verify all parts purchased for the plant met quality rules. TVA officials said they tracked down every single part, and none of them proved defective. After a management shakeup, construction appears to have improved.

The Union of Concerned Scientists wants the commission to make the utility monitor the plant for aging since the facility is not brand new.

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Long-delayed nuclear plant in Tennessee nears completion decades after start via US News & World Report

米の原発、変圧器火災で原子炉緊急停止 via Yomiuri Online

Posted on 2015/05/10 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　【ワシントン＝中島達雄】米電力大手エンタジー社は９日、米ニューヨーク州にある同社のインディアン・ポイント原子力発電所３号機で変圧器の火災が発生し、原子炉が緊急停止したと発表した。

　同社によると、原子炉は安全に停止し、周辺住民らに影響はない。米原子力規制委員会（ＮＲＣ）の緊急事態の４段階の分類のうち、最も低い「放射性物質の漏えいを伴わない異常」に該当するという。

同原発はニューヨーク市中心部の北約５５キロにある。

続きは米の原発、変圧器火災で原子炉緊急停止

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 米の原発、変圧器火災で原子炉緊急停止 via Yomiuri Online

US nuclear plant explosion: transformer failure caused fire but no injuries via The Guardian

Posted on 2015/05/10 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Indian Point nuclear facility 40 miles from New York city shuts down after a transformer failure, but owner says public and employees not in danger

A transformer failed at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in suburban New York, causing a fire that forced an automatic shutdown of a reactor. The fire was quickly extinguished and the reactor was deemed safe and stable, said a spokesman for owner Entergy Corp.

The transformer at Indian Point 3 takes energy created by the plant and changes the voltage for the grid supplying power to the state. The blaze, which sent black smoke billowing into the sky Saturday, was extinguished by a sprinkler system and on-site personnel, Entergy spokesman Jerry Nappi said. Westchester County police and fire were on site as a precaution.

It was not immediately clear what caused the failure, or whether the transformer would be repaired or replaced. Nappi said there were no health or safety risks. It’s unclear how long the 1,000-megawatt reactor will be down. Entergy is investigating the failure.

The plant’s adjacent Unit 2 reactor was not affected.

The Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, 35 miles up the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan, supplies electricity for millions of homes, businesses and public facilities in New York City and Westchester County.

[…]

Cuomo said the fire had caused oil to leak and could possibly spill into the Hudson River, but crews were working containing it.

“These situations we take very seriously. Luckily this was not a major situation. But the emergency protocols are very important,” he said. “I take nothing lightly when it comes to this plant specifically.”

But he said there had been too many emergencies of late. Unit 3 had been shut down Thursday morning for an unrelated issue, a water leak on the non-nuclear side of the plant. It was repaired and there was no radioactive release, Nappi said. In March, Unit 3 was shut down for a planned refueling that took about a month.

A spokeswoman for the NRC said an agency inspector assigned to the plant was headed there, and the agency would follow up as Indian Point troubleshoots.

Continue reading at US nuclear plant explosion: transformer failure caused fire but no injuries

Related article:

Transformer Failure At Indian Point Nuclear Plant In New York Sends Smoke Into The Air via Huffington Post

 

 

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on US nuclear plant explosion: transformer failure caused fire but no injuries via The Guardian

原発比率２０～２２％に反対　自治体首長らが緊急決議 via 東京新聞

Posted on 2015/05/10 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　３８都道府県の市区町村長や経験者１０８人でつくる「脱原発をめざす首長会議」は１０日、兵庫県宝塚市で第４回年次総会を開き、２０３０年の電源 構成比率で原発を２０～２２％とする政府案に反対する緊急決議を採択した。同内容の申し入れ書を今月中にも安倍晋三首相らに提出する。

緊急決議では、政府案が自民党の政権公約と食い違っていることや、原則４０年の運転期間を超えた稼働を前提としていることを批判した。

続きは 原発比率２０～２２％に反対　自治体首長らが緊急決議

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 原発比率２０～２２％に反対　自治体首長らが緊急決議 via 東京新聞