MPs and groups oppose hearings to license Canada’s first permanent radioactive waste dump via Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area

OTTAWA, February 16, 2022 – Members of Parliament and 50 environmental and citizen groups are opposed to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC)’s forthcoming hearings to license Canada’s first permanent “disposal” facility for radioactive waste.

statement calling for suspension of the hearings is signed by three MPs: Laurel Collins, NDP environment critic; Elizabeth May, Parliamentary Leader of the Green Party of Canada; and Monique Pauzé, environment spokesperson for the Bloc Québécois. 

[…]

On January 31, the Kebaowek First Nation asked that the hearings be halted until a consultation framework between them and the CNSC is in place. The hearings are for authorization to build a “Near Surface Disposal Facility” for nuclear waste at Chalk River, Ontario, on unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg lands alongside the Ottawa River.

The CNSC staff report recommends licensing the construction of the mound for 1 million cubic metres of radioactive and toxic wastes accumulated by the federal government since 1945. The CNSC has scheduled licensing hearings on February 22 and May 31. No separate environmental assessment hearing is scheduled.

The proposed facility would be an aboveground mound a kilometre from the Ottawa River, upstream from Ottawa and Montréal. 140 municipalities have opposed the project and fear contamination of drinking water and the watershed.

Read more at MPs and groups oppose hearings to license Canada’s first permanent radioactive waste dump

Posted in *English | Tagged , | Comments Off on MPs and groups oppose hearings to license Canada’s first permanent radioactive waste dump via Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area

Daily Inspiration: Meet Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman via Voyage STL

[…]

Hi Karen and Dawn, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Just Moms STL was formed after learning we were living less than 2 miles from an underground burning landfill containing radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project known as West Lake Landfill. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t start there. Karen and so many more we were exposed to these same materials as a child growing up in North County.

This radioactive waste was moved around St. Louis like a nuclear hot potato. It was left out two and three stories high to blow all over North County, as well as seep into Coldwater creek for decades. Coldwater Creek floods into people’s yards and homes, kids have used the creek as recreation for years. Karen has several auto-immune diseases, and other illnesses that have affected her and her family and thousands and thousands of others she feels have been a result of exposure to the radioactive materials year after year. The goal of Just Moms STL is to provide education and outreach to alert others of their potential exposures, so they can take early precautions as it pertains to symptoms impacting their health.

While the federal government is cleaning up radioactive materials in Coldwater Creek, and surrounding areas… The materials have sat out on the surface of West Lake for 40 plus years with no clean-up plan. We have fought very hard for the last 8 years to get the Environmental Protection Agency to come forward with a Record of Decision for a clean-up for the materials at West Lake Landfill as they have and do pose a potential risk to our communities health and safety.

[…]

The clean-up process at Coldwater Creek has been very slow, and the decision to clean up West Lake had been moving slower than a snail’s pace. Our community has been physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially abused for years. The landfill owner funded a fake coalition of moms to fight against Just Moms STL, producing hit pieces full of lies over the years.

[…]

That being said, we would do it all over again, because it is the right thing to be doing. We couldn’t unlearn what we learned about St. Louis and the role it played in processing the very first teaspoon of Uranium that went into the Atomic Bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

We couldn’t stand by like so many others over the years and NOT say something… We are proud of our integrity, and the excruciating work we have done in order to obtain a small level of trust with EPA and this community. We are proud of the relationships we have made with our allies. We specialize in education and outreach. We aren’t afraid to have the HARD conversations.

Read more at Daily Inspiration: Meet Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Daily Inspiration: Meet Karen Nickel and Dawn Chapman via Voyage STL

今の福島を知る=復興事業の現実 ―福島イノベーション・コースト構想とはなにかー via さようなら原発1000万人アクション

和田 央子さん 放射能ゴミ焼却を考えるふくしま連絡会

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 今の福島を知る=復興事業の現実 ―福島イノベーション・コースト構想とはなにかー via さようなら原発1000万人アクション

IAEA reviews water release from damaged Japan nuclear plant via AP

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

TOKYO (AP) — A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday began its review of Japan’s plan to begin releasing more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant — a review that Japan hopes will instill confidence in the plan. 

The 15-member team is to visit the Fukushima plant on Tuesday and meet with government and utility officials during its five-day mission.

[…]

The release of the water into the sea has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, local residents and Japan’s neighbors, including China and South Korea. Fukushima residents worry the reputation of their agricultural and fishing products will be further damaged.

Japan sought IAEA’s assistance to ensure the release meets international safety standards and to gain the understanding of other countries. 

Gustavo Caruso, director of the IAEA’s Office of Safety and Security Coordination, said on Monday that the mission “in an objective, credible and science-based manner will help send messages of transparency and confidence for the people in Japan and beyond.”

The team will review details of the water, safety of the discharge, sampling methods and the environmental impact, he said. The team includes experts from several countries, including South Korea and China.

Officials say all isotopes selected for treatment in the contaminated water can be reduced to low levels except for tritium, which is inseparable from the water but is harmless in small amounts. They say a gradual release of the water, diluted with seawater, into the ocean over decades is safe.

[…]

Japan and the IAEA have agreed to compile an interim report on the review later this year.

Read more at IAEA reviews water release from damaged Japan nuclear plant

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | Comments Off on IAEA reviews water release from damaged Japan nuclear plant via AP

処理水の海洋放出「ほかの方法検討を」 日弁連が岸田首相に意見書 via 朝日新聞

福地慶太郎

日本弁護士連合会は、東京電力福島第一原発の処理水の海洋放出について、社会的な合意を得る手続きが不十分などとして反対する意見書を岸田文雄首相らに提出した。海に流すのではなく、ほかの方法を検討するよう求めている。

 意見書は、技術者や研究者らでつくる「原子力市民委員会」が、処理水をセメントや砂と混ぜて固めて保管する手法などを提案した点を重視。市民委員会へのヒアリングをしないまま海洋放出が決まったとして、「ほかの方法を検討するべきだ」と訴えた。

「儀式的な会合だった」

国は一昨年、農林水産団体や県内外の首長から意見を聞く場を7回開き、関係各省の副大臣が出席した。だが、質疑がほとんどなかったことから、意見書は「儀式的な会合だった」と批判。

(略)

 日弁連は、経済産業相や環境相、原子力規制委員長にも意見書を送った。

全文は処理水の海洋放出「ほかの方法検討を」 日弁連が岸田首相に意見書

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , | Comments Off on 処理水の海洋放出「ほかの方法検討を」 日弁連が岸田首相に意見書 via 朝日新聞

「被曝で小児甲状腺がん」東電を提訴へ〜原告が涙の訴え via Our Planet-TV

東京電力福島第1原発事故で放出された放射性物質により小児甲状腺がんを発症したとして、事故当時、福島県内に住んでいた6~16歳の男女6人が27日、東電に計6億1600万円の損害賠償を求める裁判を東京地裁に起こした。原告弁護団によると、住民が被曝による健康影響を理由に損害賠償を訴える集団訴訟は初という。

「差別を受けるのではないかと恐怖を感じ誰にも言えずこの10年を過ごしてきました。」

提訴後、20代の原告が匿名で記者会見の登壇。バリバリ働くキャリアウーマンを目指していたものの、病気になってから体調が悪化し転職したと、時折り、声をつまらせながら語った。そして、同じように苦しんでいるほかの甲状腺がん患者のためにも、「6人が声を上げることでこの状況を少しでも変えたい」と裁判にかける思いを訴えた。

会見では、原告の母親も登壇。「原発事故と病気との因果関係について、決着させたい」と提訴した理由を述べた。母親は、息子が経過観察を経て手術をした経過をみても「過剰診断」はありえないとし、県や国の主張に疑問を呈した。

原告がボイスメッセージで支援呼びかけ

会見後、同じ会場で、支援集会が開かれ、100人ほどの市民が駆けつけた。集会では、原告がボイスメッセージを寄せ、自らの治療の経験や思いを語り、支援を呼び掛けた。

もっと見て読む

Posted in *English | Tagged , , | Comments Off on 「被曝で小児甲状腺がん」東電を提訴へ〜原告が涙の訴え via Our Planet-TV

Sweden takes a chance on Forsmark via Beyond Nuclear International

Nuclear waste repository site will be near nuclear plant

By Linda Pentz Gunter

“Who is going to take care of it if we’re not going to do it?” asks a Swedish official during the 2013 Swiss documentaryJourney to the Safest Place on Earth.

The councilman was attempting to justify and rationalize his municipality’s willingness to host a deep geologic repository (DGR) for Sweden’s high-level radioactive reactor waste. It was all about a sense of collective responsibility, he said.

Last week, the Swedish government approved a nuclear DGR for the Forsmark community in the municipality of Östhammar, one of two previously identified volunteer communities. 

Forsmark is already home to one of Sweden’s three nuclear power plants, as well as a low-level radioactive waste repository. Sweden has accumulated more than 8,000 tons of highly radioactive waste since its six reactors first began operating in the 1970s.

Echoing the earlier sentiment, Sweden’s environment minister, Annika Strandhall, said in a press conference announcing the selection of the repository site: “Our generation must take responsibility for nuclear waste.” But there may be more to the story.

The Forsmark announcement comes on the heels of considerable political pressure to maintain or even expand Sweden’s nuclear power program. A recent story by Bloomberg — Sweden Approves Nuclear Waste Site to Keep Its Reactors Running — gives away right in the headline the likely agenda behind the repository announcement.

Currently, Swedish operators are “only allowed to build a new unit to directly replace an old one”. Meanwhile, operators had warned that they were running out of nuclear waste storage space, forcing closures.

But if a “solution” to the waste problem should suddenly manifest, such as a DGR, the argument for nuclear maintenance and expansion is considerably, if wrongly, strengthened.

Sweden’s decision is based on the same premise, in principle, that Hagen’s film takes; that a DGR is the preferable option for storing the world’s most dangerous and long-lived nuclear waste. But the journey Hagen takes only serves to highlight the near-impossibility, almost everywhere, of finding a technically, ethically and politically acceptable site.

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , | Comments Off on Sweden takes a chance on Forsmark via Beyond Nuclear International

US nuclear power plants contain dangerous counterfeit parts, report finds via The Verge

The findings come as countries weigh turning to nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels

By Justine Calma


At least some nuclear power plants in the US contain counterfeit parts that could pose significant risks, an investigation by the inspector general’s office of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found. Those parts “present nuclear safety and security concerns that could have serious consequences,” says the resulting report published on February 9th.

[…]

The investigation was conducted after unnamed individuals alleged that “most, if not all,” nuclear plants in the US have fake or faulty parts. The inspector general’s office uncovered problems with counterfeit parts at a few different plants as part of its investigation. The report also says that the DOE had separately flagged 100 “incidents” involving counterfeit parts just last year. It’s a problem that the US will have to crack down on if it moves forward with plans to include nuclear power in its transition to clean energy. Without greater oversight at the NRC, the report warns, the risk of counterfeit parts going unnoticed in the nation’s nuclear power plants could rise.

[…]

The NRC might be underestimating the prevalence of counterfeit parts, the report warns, because the regulatory agency doesn’t have a robust system in place for tracking problematic parts. It only requires plants to report counterfeits in extraordinary circumstances, like if they lead to an emergency shutdown of a reactor. The report also notes that the NRC hasn’t thoroughly investigated all counterfeit allegations. There were 55nuclear power plants operating in the US as of September 2021, and the inspector general’s office sampled just four for its report.

[…]

Other groups, including the Electric Power Research Institute and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have also identified counterfeit valves, bearings, circuit breakers, pipe fittings, and structural steel in nuclear power plants in the US and abroad in recent years. They’re a growing problem across the nuclear power sector and other industries worldwide, notes a 2019 IAEA report.

Read more at US nuclear power plants contain dangerous counterfeit parts, report finds

Posted in *日本語 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on US nuclear power plants contain dangerous counterfeit parts, report finds via The Verge

プレス・リリース福島県知事への抗議&質問書 via 原発ゼロ・自然エネルギー推進連盟(原自連)

プレス・リリース福島県知事への抗議&質問書doc

福島県知事 内堀 雅雄 殿

抗議兼質問書

原発ゼロ・自然エネルギー推進連盟(原自連) 会長吉原 毅 幹事長 河合 弘之

           幹 事 近江屋 信広
           事務局次長 木村 結

本年 1 月 27 日、欧州委員会議長に宛てた 5 人の元首相の書簡「脱炭素・脱原発は可能で すーEU タクソノミーから原発の除外をー」に対して、福島県知事たる貴殿から異議ある旨 の書面(以下「貴信」といいます。)が届きましたので、5 人の元首相の意見をとりまとめ、 事務局を務める原自連から反論し、かつ、質問いたします。

貴信は、「2022 年 1 月 27 日付け欧州委員会委員長宛ての書簡の中で、福島第一原子力発 電所の事故において、『多くの子供たちが甲状腺がんに苦しみ』とする記述がなされており ます。

福島県では、チェルノブイリ原発事故後に明らかになった放射線による健康被害として、 放射性ヨウ素の内部被ばくによる小児の甲状腺がんが報告されたことから、福島県の放射 性ヨウ素の被ばく線量はチェルノブイリに比べて低いとされるものの、子どもたちの甲状 腺の状態を把握し、健康を長期に見守ることを目的として、県民健康調査甲状腺検査を実 施しております。」と述べております。

そこで質問します。この県民健康調査甲状腺検査の結果、約 10 年間で 266 人の甲状腺が んが発見され、そのうち 222 人が摘出手術を受けているのではないのですか。それを県と して認めますか(質問1)。

この 266 人という数字は、福島原発事故前の年間発生率 100 万人に 1~2 人と比べると 35~70 倍となりますが、県としてはこの数字をもってしても「多く」ないと言いますか。 県としては福島原発事故前と後では発生率が何倍だと認識していますか。その数字と算出 根拠をお答えください(質問2)。

福島原発事故後の約 10 年間で 266 人に甲状腺がんが発生しているにも拘らず、福島原発 事故との因果関係がない、もしくは認めがたいとするならば、その 266 人の甲状腺がんの 原因は何だと考えますか(質問3)。

プレス・リリース福島県知事への抗議&質問書doc

県民の健康を預かる県としては 266 人もの大量疾病が発生しているのに、その原因の調 査をしないのは間違いです。福島原発事故後、県と政府はこの 11 年間、甲状腺がんの大量 発生と福島原発事故との因果関係を否認することにのみ急で、それをもってこと足れりと し、「それならば真の原因は何なのか」を全く究明しようとしません。県民の健康に責任を もつ県としては誠に無責任です。

このように当方が言うと、県は「いや、大量発生はしていない。266 人というのは過剰 診断によって発見された数字に過ぎないのだ。」と反論するかもしれません。

しかし、266 人中 222 人が実際に甲状腺の片摘または全摘手術を受けている(そのほと んど全部が福島県立医大の鈴木眞一教授執刀)事実をどう説明するのですか。

そこで質問します。県としては 222 人の手術は過剰診断もしくは過剰手術であった、不 要・有害な手術であったと考えますか。その結論と理由を明確にお答えください(質問4)。

222 人の手術が過剰診療であったか否かを判断するにはそれに関する医療情報開示(個 人情報保護のうえ)とそれに基づく科学的かつ公正、公平な討議(鈴木眞一教授の参加も 得て)が不可欠です。

県にはその用意がありますか。結論と理由をお答えください(質問5)。

プレス・リリース福島県知事への抗議&質問書doc

 最後に当方の意見を述べます。
 国は原発の再稼働確保のため、福島原発事故由来の放射能被ばくと小児甲状腺がん発生
には因果関係はない→よって放射能は恐くない→よって原発事故はたいしたことはない→
原発を再稼働しても大丈夫だ、という論理を貫徹しようとしています。
 しかし、福島県は県内の原発を全て無くすという方針を決定しているのですから、その
ような国の企図に忖度する必要はないはずです。県民本位に県民の健康を守れば良いので
す。そのためには、県民健康調査をより拡充し、学校での検査も網羅的にして完全な実態
把握をし、体系的かつ有機的な健康対策を構築すべきであります。

以上のとおり、反論かつ質問を致します。2022 年 2 月 15 日までに明確にお答えくださ い。回答の有無及び内容は公開します。

以上

(問い合わせ先:原自連 木村結 090-6183-3061 03-6883-3498)

2022年2月4日

福島県.pdf

小泉 純一郎 様 細川護熙様 菅直人様 鳩山 由紀夫 様 村山富市様

2022年1月27日付け欧州委員会委員長宛ての書簡の中で、福島第一原子力発電 所の事故において、「多くの子供たちが甲状腺がんに苦しみ」とする記述がなされてお ります。

福島県では、チェルノブイリ原発事故後に明らかになった放射線による健康被害とし て、放射性ヨウ素の内部被ばくによる小児の甲状腺がんが報告されたことから、福島県 の放射性ヨウ素の被ばく線量はチェルノブイリに比べて低いとされるものの、子どもた ちの甲状腺の状態を把握し、健康を長期に見守ることを目的として、県民健康調査甲状 腺検査を実施しております。

専門家からなる「県民健康調査」検討委員会及び甲状腺検査評価部会において、放 射線被ばくと甲状腺がんの発生の関連性の評価を行い、平成28年3月に先行検査に 関し「総合的に判断して、放射線の影響とは考えにくい」と評価され、また、令和元 年7月には「現時点において、甲状腺検査本格検査(検査2回目)に発見された甲状 腺がんと放射線被ばくの間の関連は認められない」とする見解が示されているところ ですが、現在も検査を継続するとともに、検査3回目までの結果の解析・評価を行っ ております。

福島県.pdf

原発事故から間もなく十一年が経過しようとする中、放射線による健康影響などに 対する理解は進んでいるものの、県民の中には潜在的な不安が依然として残っており、 福島復興のためには、科学的知見に基づいた正確な情報発信が極めて重要であると考 えております。

つきましては、福島県の現状について述べられる際は、本県の見解を含めて、国、 放射線医学を専門とする医療機関や大学等高等教育機関、国連をはじめとする国際的 な科学機関などによる科学的知見に基づき、客観的な発信をお願い申し上げます。

令和4年2月2日

福島県知事 内堀 雅雄

Posted in *English | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on プレス・リリース福島県知事への抗議&質問書 via 原発ゼロ・自然エネルギー推進連盟(原自連)

Counterfeit parts found in U.S. nuclear plants -inspector general via Reuters

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Counterfeit parts have been discovered in U.S. nuclear plants, potentially increasing the risk of a safety failure, the inspector general of the federal nuclear industry regulator said in a report released on Thursday.

The report is a blow to a U.S nuclear industry that has shrunk in recent years due to competition from renewable power and plants that burn natural gas and lingering public concerns following high-profile mishaps including a 2011 tsunami at Japan’s Fukushima plant.

[…]

In addition, it said a “well placed NRC principal” told the inspector general about two component failures at plants in the U.S. Northeast that plant operators determined involved fake parts. And a recent inspector general audit report revealed that the parts are present at nuclear operating plants, it said without further details.

U.S. Department of Energy staff had identified more than 100 incidents involving counterfeit, fraudulent or suspect items (CFSI) in agency reactors in fiscal year 2021 alone, the report said.

The Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An advocacy group said the report shows the NRC needs to work harder to counter the problem.

“This troubling report shows that the NRC needs to do much more to ensure that counterfeit or fraudulent parts with potentially dangerous defects are kept out of US nuclear power plants — including strengthening requirements for plant owners to report and correct such problems as soon as they are discovered,” said Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, nonprofit group.

The administration of President Joe Biden has said it believes nuclear reactors will play an important role in decarbonizing the nation’s economy to fight climate change, because they do not emit significant amount of greenhouse gases.

[…]

Read more.

Posted in *English | Tagged , | Comments Off on Counterfeit parts found in U.S. nuclear plants -inspector general via Reuters