【栃木】「福島集約」に否定的　福島県知事、知事に回答via 東京新聞

Posted on 2014/12/07 by

高濃度の放射性物質を含む「指定廃棄物」の最終処分場問題をめぐり、福田富一知事は五日、指定廃棄物を福島県で集約処分する案について、福島県の内堀雅雄知事に考えを聴いたところ、前向きな回答は得られなかったことを明らかにした。
　福田知事は十一月の定例会見で、塩谷町の見形（みかた）和久町長が主張している指定廃棄物の「福島集約論」を受け、十月に初当選した福島県の内堀知事に意見を聴く意向を示していた。内堀知事は福島県の担当者を通じ、四日までに回答した。
　回答で内堀知事は、福島県は二〇一三年、指定廃棄物について、放射性物質汚染対処特措法や基本方針に基づき、国の責任で確実に処分すべきだと国に回答しており、県の考えは確定していると説明。指定廃棄物を各県で処分する方針は国が決めた事項であり、自治体間でやりとりすることではないとの考えも示した。
　内堀知事は四日、栃木県と同じく最終処分場の候補地を示された宮城県の村井嘉浩知事を訪問した際にも、同様の見解を伝えたという。

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

原発事故現場・大熊町民の複雑な心境と声を丹念に拾ったルポ via NEWSポストセブン

Posted on 2014/12/07 by yukimiyamotodepaul

【書籍紹介】『さまよえる町　フクシマ曝心地の「心の声」を追って』三山喬／東海大学出版部／1800円＋税

福島の原発事故で「全町避難」となった“曝心地”大熊町。かつては「原発の町」として県で最も裕福な地として栄えたが、事故後生活は激変。1万人余の住民は異境の町に散り、今もさまよい続けている。

〈大熊被災者のことばの見えにくさ。そこには、「原発の町」ならではの入り組んだ諸事情と、彼ら自身の寡黙さがあった〉

続きは原発事故現場・大熊町民の複雑な心境と声を丹念に拾ったルポ

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 原発事故現場・大熊町民の複雑な心境と声を丹念に拾ったルポ via NEWSポストセブン

Leaked Playbook Shows How Big Oil Fights Clean Energy via Discovery News

Posted on 2014/12/07 by

hen it comes to curtailing carbon emissions, California leads the way. Its policies promoting clean energy and zero-emission vehicles are the most comprehensive of any state, and have strong public support.

Of course, there’s one group that’s not very happy about these developments: the oil industry.

A leaked Powerpoint deck now circulating among climate activists–a copy of which was sent to Bloomberg Businessweek — details a plan by the oil lobby to derail California’s clean-energy legislation.

Created by the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) — a powerful lobbying group for the oil and gas industries — it comes from a November 11 presentation to the Washington Research Council.

The presentation details plans to raise opposition to environmental measures in California, as well as Oregon and Washington states.

The slides reveal what is reportedly an “Astroturf campaign”: the creation and funding of groups that appear to represent grassroots opposition to the policies, while supporting the oil industry’s point of view. The plan targets clean-energy policies both enacted and under development in California. Those include AB 32 — a major piece of clean-energy legislation — and low-carbon fuel standards in all three states.

The organizations carry names like Oregon Climate-Change Campaign and AB32 Implementation Group, making them sound like unaffiliated environmental groups. In reality, they’re actually working to promote the interests of Big Oil.

Lobbyists also seized on a line from a California Air Resources Board memo on the state cap-and-trade program for gasoline and diesel, which goes into effect January 1.

The memo noted that the program might affect gas prices, so the WSPA created an ad campaign that warns of a “hidden” gas tax.

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Leaked Playbook Shows How Big Oil Fights Clean Energy via Discovery News

State levies $54M in fines over nuke repository mishaps via the Santa Fe New Mexican

Posted on 2014/12/07 by

In a sharp rebuke of the U.S. Department of Energy, the state of New Mexico on Saturday levied $54 million in penalties against the federal agency and private contractors for a series of mistakes and violations that led to a radiation leak that indefinitely shut down the nation’s only underground repository for nuclear waste.
They were the largest penalties ever imposed by the state on the federal agency. Gov. Susana Martinez and her Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn hand-delivered two major compliance orders outlining the violations to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz during a meeting Saturday morning in Las Vegas, Nev.
“New Mexico is proud of our national labs and cutting-edge scientific facilities, and we have important rules in place to protect those facilities, the people who work there, and all New Mexicans,” Gov. Martinez said in a statement. “The health and safety of New Mexicans will always be our priority and we have to hold federal agencies accountable for safe operations in the state of New Mexico.”
The orders detailed more than 30 violations of state permits surrounding the Feb. 14 leak of a drum of nuclear waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad. At least 20 workers were contaminated in the accident, and the underground facility was forced to close for what could be several years. Federal officials have estimated it will cost $550 million in repairs before the plant can be reopened.
[…]
Emails between the lab, contractors and WIPP gathered during a six-month investigation by The New Mexican revealed that the lab in 2013 took shortcuts in treating at least one particular drum of highly acidic waste, violating its own internal procedures by using acid neutralizers and organic absorbents that created a volatile combination of ingredients that one lab analyst later described as akin to plastic explosives. The lab failed to note the highly acidic nature of the waste or the use of neutralizers in documents accompanying the drum sent to WIPP, and the lab said in those documents that it had used clay-based absorbents rather than the organic variety, which can act as a fuel in the event of a chemical reaction.
[…]
Still unanswered in Saturday’s orders is why the lab switched to organic kitty litter in the first place. Speculation inside the lab and at WIPP is that the change came as a result of a typographical error made during a 2012 revision of a LANL manual on handling waste. According to one of the orders, a waste team at WIPP told waste handlers at the lab in 2012 to stop using the organic kitty litter, but that didn’t happen.
[…]
Greg Mello of the watchdog group Los Alamos Study Group, said there are a variety of ways the penalties won’t actually be assessed against the Energy Department or the contractors. “The state could accept corrective action in lieu of a fine, which means the contractor will get more work and money to make up for work they didn’t do correctly in the first place,” Mello said. “The contractor could pass on all the fines to the taxpayer. Typically, the contractor is indemnified against everything. Contractors not having to pay for their mistakes is one reason they have so many mistakes.”

Read more, including ongoing investigation, “From LANL to Leak.”

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on State levies $54M in fines over nuke repository mishaps via the Santa Fe New Mexican

政局混乱の裏で……　難航する汚染水問題の現状 via Economic News

Posted on 2014/12/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul

GDPの2期連続マイナス、衆議院解散、消費税増税先送りなど、政局をめぐり混乱が続いているが、その裏で福島第1原発の汚染水に関しても重大な ニュースが飛び込んできた。福島第1原発2号機原子炉建屋・タービン建屋と、トレンチと呼ばれる配管などを通す地下トンネルの間が止水できていないことが 分かり、このままでは凍土壁の建設が進まない状態となっているのだ。

東京五輪決定時までは、汚染水問題は大きく取り上げられてきたが、安倍首相が「完全にブロックできている」と発言して以降は、報道でも取り上げられることが少なくなっている。しかし、多くの国民が懸念するように、汚染水対策はいまだ困難な状況にある。

2014年6月から、東電＜9501＞は原子炉建屋をぐるりと囲む凍土遮水壁の建設作業に取り掛かった。凍土壁の目的は汚染水の海洋流出を防ぐこ とと、そして地下水を外から流入させ、新たな汚染水が増え続ける現状をストップさせることだ。計画としては、まず建屋と海の間に配管などを通すトンネルで あるトレンチの接合部を凍らせて止水し、トレンチ内を流れている汚染水を抜いた上で、凍土壁を建設する予定だった。しかし、いきなり接合部の止水でつまず いた格好だ。

（略）

作業が杜撰だ、東電の不手際だ、と責めたい訳ではない。現場で作業に当たっておられる方々は、危険を顧みず、知識も体力も総動員して計画を進められている と思う。しかし、それでも想定外のトラブルが連続して起こるような、大変な状態に今もあるということを伝えたい。安倍首相の「完全にブロックできている」 発言や東京五輪決定以降も、汚染水問題は確実に存在し、やっと今取り掛かり始めたところなのだ。こうした問題を見て見ぬ振りしたままで、大義の見えない解 散選挙に向かう政治家たち。この国はどこへ行くのだろうか。（編集担当：久保田雄城）

全文は政局混乱の裏で……　難航する汚染水問題の現状

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on 政局混乱の裏で……　難航する汚染水問題の現状 via Economic News

　原発賛否　知りたいのに via 中日新聞

Posted on 2014/12/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul

◆浜岡地元　野党共闘も影？

静岡県内で唯一、民主党と維新の党が候補者を一本化し、自民前職に民主元職と共産新人が挑む３区は、中部電力 浜岡原発（御前崎市）を抱え、原発から半径三十一キロ圏の緊急防護措置区域（ＵＰＺ）に含まれる。二年前の前回選では、原発の賛否が大きな争点となった が、今回は選挙戦中盤になっても、論戦は盛り上がりに欠ける。争点化を避けたいという思惑も見え隠れし、せっかく実現した野党共闘も影を落とす形になって いる。

　「原発のお膝元だけに、有権者の関心は高いはずなのに」－。浜岡原発の近くに住む菊川市民らでつくる「浜岡原発はいらない・命を守る菊川市民の会」共同代表の北原勤さん（７０）は、公示日の出陣式で原発再稼働の問題に言及しなかった二大政党の候補者にあきれ顔だ。

　「原発のお膝元だけに、有権者の関心は高いはずなのに」－。浜岡原発の近くに住む菊川市民らでつくる「浜岡原発はいらない・命を守る菊川市民の会」共同代表の北原勤さん（７０）は、公示日の出陣式で原発再稼働の問題に言及しなかった二大政党の候補者にあきれ顔だ。

　菊川市が初めて今年実施した市民アンケートで、浜岡原発は「停止しておいた方が良い」の回答が全体の５６％を占めたにもかかわらずだ。北原さんは「候補者は原発に対する率直な持論を訴え、有権者の審判を仰ぐべきだ」と批判する。

　前回選は、民主と自民、共産の三候補に加え、脱原発の急先鋒（せんぽう）として維新から鈴木望さん（６５）が立ち、原発政策をめぐり舌戦を繰り広げた。

　今回聞こえてくるのは安倍政権の経済政策「アベノミクス」の是非ばかり。

　さらに、野党共闘で３区での立候補を譲り、比例代表東海ブロックから立つ予定だった維新前職の鈴木さんが、公示直前、九州ブロックに転出したのだ。

続きは<総選挙>　原発賛否　知りたいのに

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 　原発賛否　知りたいのに via 中日新聞

原発再稼働　争点にならず不満募るvia　新潟日報

Posted on 2014/12/05 by

福島から本県への避難者たち

　衆院選で原発再稼働の問題が大きな争点にはなっていないことに対し、福島県から本県に避難している人たちに不満が広がっている。３日、新潟地裁で開かれた東京電力福島第１原発事故の損害賠償訴訟の傍聴に訪れた原告は「事故は収束していないのに勝手に再稼働の話を進めないでほしい」と憤りの声を上げた。

　自民党は公約で、新規制基準に適合すると認められれば「再稼働を進める」と明記。一方、野党側は原発重視の政権の姿勢を批判するが、当面の再稼働への是非には立ち位置の違いもみられ、選挙戦の大きな争点になっていない。

もっと読む。

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 原発再稼働　争点にならず不満募るvia　新潟日報

GOP Kills Florida Solar, Takes the Sun out of Sunshine State via People’s World

Posted on 2014/12/05 by

lorida right-wing state regulators launched an attack against solar energy on Nov. 25, when they approved proposals to slash the state’s energy efficiency goals by over 90 percent and terminate solar rebate programs by the end of 2015. This was done in order to appease investor-owned utilities that contribute to climate change, including Duke Energy, Tampa Electric, and Florida Power & Light (FPL) – the three companies that submitted the proposal.

The decision came after two hours of debate, with members of the state Public Service Commission (PSC) voting 3-2 in favor of the plan. The two commissioners who gave a “No” vote were Lisa Edgar and Julie Brown, who said that they would not agree with a plan that altered state energy policy so severely. “It’s not the direction I would go in,” Edgar remarked.

Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), which stood in opposition to the utility proposals, said this was “completely inconsistent with what the other states are doing. We believe there may have been laws broken today by not setting goals.” In other words, he underscored the need for utilities, under law, to have some policy for meeting energy efficiency requirements. “It’s a very sad day for the state of Florida,” he concluded.

What this means is that the Sunshine State, which has been called “ground zero for climate change” by some environmental experts, will see less clean energy projects and further development of utilities that promote the use of fossil fuels. The state PSC approved Duke Energy for a $1.5 billion natural gas plant that will replace a disused nuclear plant in Crystal River, Florida. Duke, along with the other two companies, insisted during their proposals that solar rebate programs are not cost-effective, and argued that they would furthermore reduce rates for customers starting Jan. 1. That “reduction” is a meager 16 cents for Duke ratepayers, $1.14 for Tampa Electric, and $1.94 for FPL. And most of those savings, reported the Tampa Bay Times, are the result of lower fuel prices, which are beyond the utilities’ control anyway.

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Boxer: Nuclear regulators haven’t learned from Fukushima via The Hill

Posted on 2014/12/05 by

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) accused the body responsible for nuclear energy safety of ignoring recommendations that sprung from 2011’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear meltdown.

In the 10th hearing she has held on the disaster caused by an earthquake and tsunami, Boxer, chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said regulators have not acted on any of the recommendations made after the disaster.

“The reality is that not a single one of the 12 key safety recommendations made by the Fukushima Near-Term Task Force has been implemented,” Boxer told the five members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
“There isn’t one of these that’s in place, not a single one,” she said as an aide held a chart of the recommendations behind her.

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Boxer: Nuclear regulators haven’t learned from Fukushima via The Hill

Missouri Nuclear Plant Shuts Down; No Public Risk via ABC News

Posted on 2014/12/05 by

An Ameren Corp. nuclear plant in central Missouri shut down Wednesday due to an electrical equipment failure, but the company and federal regulators say there is no risk to the public.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said an “unexpected main turbine trip” caused the shutdown at 12:22 a.m. at Ameren’s Callaway nuclear power plant near Fulton.

Mark McLachlan, Ameren’s senior director of engineering at the plant, said the issue was strictly electrical.

“Some of the monitoring equipment detected an issue and automatically shut the plant down,” McLachlan said.

The electrical workings of the plant are separate from the nuclear reactor. McLachlan said no radiation was released and there was never a threat to employees or the public.

NRC spokeswoman Lara Uselding said inspectors work at each nuclear plant in the U.S., and an inspector was at the Callaway plant by 2 a.m. She said the cause of the shutdown is still being determined and it isn’t clear when the plant will start generating electricity again.

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Missouri Nuclear Plant Shuts Down; No Public Risk via ABC News