Japan “suspends” nuclear power project in the UK via Beyond Nuclear

Posted on 2019/01/18 by nfield

The Hitachi board has pulled the plug on a proposed two-reactor nuclear project in Wales after mounting costs proved the ultimate deterrent to the unwelcome nuclear plan. Technically, the Wylfa B nuclear power plant on the island of Anglesey is “frozen,” but newspaper headlines are proclaiming that the Japanese company has scrapped the project. The death knell of Wylfa B will likely put an end to a second Hitachi nuclear power project in the UK at Oldbury.

The news was welcomed by People Against Wylfa B (PAWB) who have been campaigning for years to stop the project which would have torn up land and habitat, contaminated the local environment, and brought a huge influx of workers from elsewhere, despite the promise of “local jobs.” Horizon, Hitachi’s UK subsidiary, was likely hoping the UK government would further sweeten the deal financially, but the May government is embroiled in Brexit chaos and unlikely to address the Wylfa issue any time soon.

In a press release, PAWB said: “The news is a relief for all of us who worry about the future of our Island, our country, our language, our environment and indeed renewable energy. 

“PAWB has warned for years that the costs associated with the Wylfa project would be likely to prove fatal to the project, but we were ignored.  Consequently millions of taxpayers’ money from the Island, Wales and the UK was invested to back Wylfa B.  In addition huge political capital has been invested, and there has been a failure to have a mature public discussion about the project other than in terms of cash and jobs.

“The legacy of this is that over a decade has been wasted on Wylfa, with very little alternative economic planning in evidence.  Our young people have been promised jobs on very shaky foundations. Good land has been destroyed to create infrastructure to back the project.

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Nuclear energy can’t meet challenge of addressing climate change, says former regulator via The Hill

Posted on 2019/01/18 by nfield

A former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Thursday cast doubt about whether nuclear technology can be used to combat climate change.

“The greatest threat we face right now is climate change, and nuclear power is tossed around as a solution to that problem, but I don’t think it can meet that challenge,” Gregory Jaczko, who served as chairman of the NRC from 2009 to 2012, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball.

Nuclear energy has been seen as a potential emissions-free energy alternative that can be used to help combat climate change.

[…]

But Jaczko said nuclear energy is “old technology” and cast doubt about its growth potential.

“Nuclear is an old technology and at the end of the day there’s not going to be a lot of growth there worldwide, despite people talking about it as a solution to climate change,” he said.

The former regulator argued the U.S. should instead invest in newer technologies like solar and wind power.

“The emerging technologies, whether it’s solar, whether it’s wind, whether it’s clean technology, whether it’s storage — this is the area for us to be a leader because these are the technologies of the future,” Jaczko told Hill.TV.

Jaczko is currently on a book tour promoting his new book, “Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator,” which gives a first-hand account of nuclear regulation in the U.S. 

The former regulator also expressed concern over whether the U.S. will ever “really deal with climate change.”

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Fukushima Residents Return Despite Radiation via Scientific American

Posted on 2019/01/18 by nfield

Eight years after the nuclear meltdown, wary citizens are moving back to contaminated homesteads—some not by choice

Radiation from the fuming plant spread over tile-roofed towns and rice paddies across an area the size of Connecticut. The meltdown 150 miles north of Tokyo drove more than 200,000 people out of the region. Most believed they were fleeing for their lives. Now, almost eight years after the accident, the government has lifted most evacuation orders. Nearly 122,000 people have been allowed to return to communities where weeds have overtaken parking lots. Most are elderly, relieved to be resuming their lives. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is determined to end all evacuations by 2020, when Japan will host the Olympic Summer Games. The events will include baseball and softball competitions in Fukushima City, a mere 55 miles from the ruined reactors.

Around 35,000 other citizens still wait to return, but they and many others throughout northeastern Japan worry all of this is too soon. Radiation, which is generally linked to cancer, in some places continues to measure at least 5 millisieverts (mSv) a year beyond natural background radiation, five times the added level Japan had recommended for the general public prior to the incident. In certain spots radioactivity is as high as 20 mSv, the maximum exposure recommended by international safety experts for nuclear power workers.

[…]

If the government is going to fully restore lives and livelihoods, it needs to regain their trust, says nuclear engineer Tatsujiro Suzuki, a professor at Nagasaki University and former vice chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission. That, he says, should include respecting international safety standards for radiation and lowering the allowable level at least to 5 mSv, although he acknowledges “even 5 mSv is too high for children.”

[…]

In spite of these concerns, Japan has continued to showcase repatriation as a barometer of progress toward recovery. By April 2017, the government had lifted all evacuations except for the most contaminated places closest to Daiichi. That decision also ended rent-free housing provided to people who were forced to leave as well as to some 26,600 people like Ueki who vacated voluntarily. Left without the $1,000 monthly subsidy provided by Tokyo Electric Company, some people have been forced to return home despite their safety concerns.* They have no other economic options, says Hajime Matsukubo, general manager of the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center. Some 16,000 people who refuse to return have been financially abandoned, according to the center.

Read more.

Posted in *English | 2 Comments

＜社会編＞福島に原発事故伝える資料館 via 東京新聞

Posted on 2019/01/18 by yukimiyamotodepaul

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所（原発）の事故（じこ）や、原発を解体（かいたい）する「廃炉（はいろ）」などについて伝える「東京電力廃炉資料（しりょう）館」が、福島県富岡町（とみおかまち）にオープンしました。２階建てで、展示（てんじ）面積は約１９００平方メートルです。

　「わたしたちが思いこんでいた安全とは、東京電力のおごりと過信（かしん）にすぎなかったとまざまざと思い知らされました」。展示は、こうしたナレーションが流れ、２０１１年３月１１日の東日本大震災（だいしんさい）の発生から事故が起きる経過（けいか）などを伝える映像（えいぞう）が始まります。

　核燃料（かくねんりょう）が高温になって溶（と）け落ちるメルトダウンが起きて建物が爆発（ばくはつ）したことを伝え、事故直後の緊迫（きんぱく）した様子を再現（さいげん）したドラマも上映（じょうえい）されます。

続きは＜社会編＞福島に原発事故伝える資料館 

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on ＜社会編＞福島に原発事故伝える資料館 via 東京新聞

‘We made atomic bombs’: Nuclear Care Partners helps with aftermath of workplace radiation via KVAL

Posted on 2019/01/18 by yukimiyamotodepaul

COBURG, Ore. – In the 1960s, Jim Lewis worked at Colorado’s Rocky Flats nuclear power plant.

“At that plant,” Lewis said, “we made atomic bombs.”

After three months working as a janitor, he ended up on the assembly line.

That’s where Lewis said he was exposed to radiation.

“Sometimes they have a problem and you have a blow back,” he said. “What that means is all of the air comes out of there and then you got it all over you.”

Workers wore protective gear, but Lewis said blow backs happened at least 6 times in the 5 years he worked at the plant.

“The time from the 60s into the 90s,” he said, “is when I started getting the cancers.”

[…]

The call was about Nuclear Care Partners which started operating in Oregon last summer.

The company works with former Department of Energy Workers who have been diagnosed with work-related illnesses.

“Our mission is just to find these people, let them know that they have a friend, they have somebody that will guide them through this process,” said Mary Hansen, a nurse with Nuclear Care Partners.

Read more at ‘We made atomic bombs’: Nuclear Care Partners helps with aftermath of workplace radiation

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

福島に新しく「農学部」を作る via Web Ronza

Posted on 2019/01/18 by yukimiyamotodepaul

誰も取り残さず、食と農の発展に取り組むために

福島大学は2019年4月に農学群食農学類という新しい教育研究組織を開設する。「学類」は正確には学部ではないが、教員38名、学生100名と規模は小さいものの、ほぼ学部に相当する組織である。

2011年3月の東日本大震災にともなう東京電力福島第一原子力発電所事故により放出された放射性物質で、広大な環境が汚染された。汚染は町や村ごと住民が長期に避難を強いられるというこれまで経験のない事態を引き起こすとともに、1次産業にも重大な影響を与えた。そこで、事故以降、原発が立地した福島県を中心に、農林水産業における汚染対策、すなわち生産資源・環境の除染、農作物の試験栽培や水産物の試験操業が積み重ねられてきた。

福島県は震災前の農業生産額が全国4位、林業生産額が7位の全国有数の農林業県であった。農地や林地の汚染の影響は大きく、米、野菜、果樹、山菜やきのこ類などに出荷制限が行われた。特に、水稲は2011年秋の基準値超えによって安全性が大きく揺らぎ、翌年から栽培制限、放射性セシウムの移行抑制対策、農地の除染、そして、すべての米を出荷前に測定するという全量全袋検査態勢の確立へと動いた。

一方、林業では、原発周辺を除いて素材生産は継続しているものの、全国トップの生産を誇ったしいたけ原木生産がほぼ停止するという事態に至った。

(略）

農林業が盛んな地域であるにもかかわらず、福島県には農学系の大学機関がなく，長らく地域から福島大学に要請が寄せられていた。震災以後は、それまで以上に「農学部」設置の機運が高まり、福島市にある金谷川キャンパスに「食農学類」を設置することとなった。そして、「食農学類」が2018年8月に文部科学省大学設置・学校法人審議会から認可され、2019年4月の開設となった。

（略）

食品科学、農業生産学、生産環境学、そして農業経営学の4コースからなる。教育方針として、実践性、学際性、国際性、そして貢献性を掲げている。1年生は全員が同じ「農場基礎実習」を履修し、農作物の育つ環境、栽培法、食品加工、そして、販売までを一連のものとして学ぶ。さらに、2年次後期から1年半をかけて、「農学実践型教育」を受ける。これは、15名ほどの学生が、4コースの教員とともにチームを組み、県内9市町村をフィールドに、地域課題に向き合うものである。学生は2年次後期には各コースに分属するが、チームには自分とは異なるコースの学生、教員もいるので、自分の専門分野を深めつつ他の分野の考え方と交流することで、総合的に問題解決を行う能力を磨く。

（略）

福島大学農学系人材養成組織設置期成同盟会（県内7市町村、商工会議所、農業協同組合等で構成）などの支援を受け、研究棟を建設している。また、「農学実践型教育」は、受け入れ先自治体を公募し、実習経費を自治体が負担する。地域への貢献を重視する地方大学は多いが、福島大学でも震災以降、全学的に原子力災害と津波被害の両方を受けた福島県内の地域に多くの研究者、学生が入り、地域の復興に協力してきた。この流れを、創造的な復興につなげるために、農学分野を強化した。

全文は福島に新しく「農学部」を作る 

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Filmmakers seek Yokota airmen to serve as extras in ‘Fukushima 50,’ starring Ken Watanabe via Stars and Stripes

Posted on 2019/01/18 by yukimiyamotodepaul

By SETH ROBSON

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The Air Force has authorized its servicemembers to appear in a Japanese movie about the response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster that will include scenes shot at the home of U.S. Forces Japan later this month.

“Fukushima 50,” which stars Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe (“Inception,” “Letters from Iwo Jima”) and Koichi Sato, tells the story of powerplant workers who mounted a heroic effort to bring the damaged reactors under control after they were struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

[…]

The film, due for release next year, is based on the 2012 nonfiction book “On The Brink: The Inside Story Of Fukushima Daiichi,” by Ryusho Kadota.

The Yokota scenes relate to a fictional subplot that focuses on the relationship between one of the powerplant workers and a childhood American friend. The American character takes part in Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. disaster response that involved 24,000 U.S. servicemembers, 189 aircraft and 24 ships.

About 70 filmmakers will be at Yokota during the shoot along with the movie’s stars.

Illustrations showing the scenes to be shot at Yokota include airmen standing in formation in a hangar, a command center meeting of military officers and helicopters swarming in the sky.

Filming will involve only two helicopters with special effects used to make the scene more exciting, Kajikawa said.

Read more at Filmmakers seek Yokota airmen to serve as extras in ‘Fukushima 50,’ starring Ken Watanabe

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

東北ツアーに福島県含まれず　安全確証ないとマレーシア旅行会社 via 福島民友

Posted on 2019/01/17 by yukimiyamotodepaul

東北観光推進機構（仙台市）がマレーシアの大手旅行会社「アップルバケーション」と連携して２０～２４日に実施する東北ツアーの訪問先に福島県が含まれていないことが１６日、同機構への取材で分かった。

同機構によると、同社が安全への確証が得られるまで本県への送客を行わないとの方針を示したため、本県を除く５県でのツアーになったという。

（略）

県は同機構に負担金を支払い、海外の旅行会社の招聘（しょうへい）事業やプロモーション事業を展開、本県を含む東北の認知度向上と誘客拡大を図っている。

今野一宏県観光交流課長は「（本県を訪れないことについて）機構から連絡があった」と説明。マレーシアが本県のインバウンド（訪日外国人旅行）の重点地域ではないとした上で「風評が根強く残っており、機構と一緒になって本県の安全を発信していきたい」と話している。

全文は東北ツアーに福島県含まれず　安全確証ないとマレーシア旅行会社

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Disney Attraction Powered By Nuclear Weapons Tech via Popular Mechanics

Posted on 2019/01/17 by yukimiyamotodepaul

In the form of a 14-channel tape recorder using one-inch magnetic tape.

On June 23, 1963, Walt Disney opened his famous Tiki Room on the grounds of Disneyland. Featuring animatronic animals, a Polynesian atmosphere and non-alcoholic tiki drinks, the Tiki Room quickly became a hit with visitors to the California theme park. What visitors did not know was that the Tiki Room’s beating heart was derived from nuclear weapons technology, missiles that could devastate the Soviet Union in a nuclear war.

As Los Angeles’ KCET explains, Disney’s Tiki Room was an enormously complex enterprise. The room operated at the cutting edge of audio-visual technology, complete with lights, sounds, and “Audio-Animatronic” performers. The room had four animatronic macaws that acted as masters of ceremonies for their human guests, as well as 225 animatronic birds, flowers, and tikis that moved, talked, and sang.

[…]

The tape recorder is commonly thought to have come from the Navy’s Polaris missile, the first submarine launched ballistic missile. First operational in the 1960s, Polaris carried a single 200 kiloton nuclear warhead. However, Von Braun never worked on Polaris, working instead on the Army/Navy Jupiter missile, so the German scientist either provided Disney with components of the Jupiter’s guidance system—which was probably very similar to Polaris’ guidance system—or some other arrangement was made for the transfer of Polaris technology.

Today, KCET notes, the Tiki Room is controlled by the equivalent of an Apple Macbook. For a time however one of the star attractions at the Happiest Place on Earth was in part controlled by a device designed for nuclear destruction.

Read more at The Disney Attraction Powered By Nuclear Weapons Tech

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Disney Attraction Powered By Nuclear Weapons Tech via Popular Mechanics

Former NRC head disagrees with Bill Gates, says nuclear not a safe bet for combating climate change via

Posted on 2019/01/17 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Molly Brown 

How much do you think about nuclear power?
If you’re like most Americans, the answer is likely “not often.” Unless you work in the industry, you don’t hear too much about nuclear power these days, as Big Oil and coal face off against solar and wind.

The former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants to change that. In his latest book, Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator, Dr. Gregory Jaczko says that we not only should be thinking more about the consequences of nuclear power, we should be way more concerned about it than we are.

Jaczko headed the NRC from 2009 to 2012 under former President Barack Obama. During his tenure, he oversaw several of nuclear’s worst battles and disasters, including Yucca Mountain, the proposed nuclear waste depository, and the Fukushima meltdown in Japan. He writes that what he witnessed was an agency overpowered by the agenda of the nuclear industry. Decisions were based on politics, not safety or the public’s best interests. After witnessing several close calls with plants and the aftermath of Fukushima, he’s come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as safe nuclear power.

Why did you decide to write a book?

I’d had a unique experience. I learned a lot in the job about the process of how nuclear power plants are regulated. I think it’s important for people to understand the influence that the industry has, that Congress has, and these are lessons that are true in any safety-sensitive industry.

The more pressing issue for me right now has developed the last couple years, and it’s the recognition that a lot of people are turning to nuclear as the savior of climate change. I have two kids and I’m extremely worried about climate change, but I’m even more worried that nuclear is a solution that people are pushing.

[…]

Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator by Gregory B. Jaczko is out now.

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | 2 Comments