These pictures show how cozy fallout shelters were perfect for the 1950s nuclear family via Timeline

Posted on 2017/02/02 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Is it time to break out our geiger counters again?

Last week, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists made it known we are officially “30 seconds closer to midnight.” Their warning, a reference to the 70-year-old Doomsday Clock, which was adjusted Thursday to reflect statements made by freshly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump, places “doomsday” at 2 1/2 minutes away. It’s the closest the clock has been to midnight since the government started testing thermonuclear bombs in 1953, when bomb shelters were commonplace.

In fact, commercially produced family-size fallout shelters were a feature of many suburban backyards. These apocalypse-ready rooms were engineered to fit cozily beneath lawns and patio furniture, and their sales fueled a cottage industry catering to the midcentury Boy Scout mentality. The Federal Civil Defense Administration (later the Office of Civil Defense), which was formed in 1950 to prepare civilians for nuclear attack, dispersed information for a mostly suburban audience (it was assumed cities would be toast), initially emphasizing evacuation before settling on fallout shelters as a viable recourse for survival.

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Fukushima nuclear disaster: Worker sues Tepco over cancer via BBC

Posted on 2017/02/02 by yukimiyamotodepaul

A Japanese court has begun hearing the case of a man who developed leukaemia after working as a welder at the damaged Fukushima nuclear site.

The plaintiff, 42, is the first person to be recognised by labour authorities as having an illness linked to clean-up work at the plant.

He is suing Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the complex.

The nuclear site was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, causing a triple meltdown.

[…]

‘Expendable labourer’

The man, from Japan’s Fukuoka prefecture, was a welder for a sub-contractor.

He spent six months working at Genkai and Fukushima No 2 nuclear plants before moving to the quake-hit Fukushima No 1 plant, where he build scaffolding for repair work at the No 4 reactor building. His cumulative radiation exposure was 19.78 millisieverts.

This is lower than official limits – Japan currently allows workers at the damaged plant to accumulate a maximum of 100 millisieverts over five years. A dose of 100 millisieverts over a year is seen as enough to raise the risk of cancer.

But in October 2015, a health ministry panel ruled that the man’s illness was workplace-related and that he was eligible for compensation.

[…]

The man is now suing Tepco and the Kyushu Electric Power Company (Kepco), which operated the Genkai plant, for JPY59m ($526,000, £417,000).

“I worked there [Fukushima No 1 plant] because of my ardent desire to help bring the disaster under control but I was treated as if I was a mere expendable labourer,” Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying.

“I want Tokyo Electric to thoroughly face up to its responsibility.”

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停止中の浜岡原発配管に微小な穴 中部電、放射性物質の漏えいなしvia 京都新聞

Posted on 2017/02/01 by nfield

中部電力は１日、運転停止中の浜岡原発５号機（静岡県御前崎市）のタービン建屋地下１階で、放射性物質を含む水を流す配管に微小な穴が開いていたと発表した。水が染み出ていたが、外部への放射性物質の漏えいはないとしている。

５号機は２０１１年５月、停止作業中に原子炉に海水が流入する事故があった。事故後全ての水を抜き、現在は代わりに放射性物質を含まない水で満たしてあるという。

[…]

 

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日立、７００億円の営業外損失見通し　米国の原発事業でvia朝日新聞

Posted on 2017/02/01 by nfield

[…]

ＧＥが６０％、日立が４０％を出資する「ＧＥ日立ニュークリア・エナジー」が、グループ会社で手がけていた燃料の新しい濃縮法の開発から撤退し、見込んでいた収益が得られなくなったという。損失の計上後、合弁会社の株式のうち、日立の持ち分の価値は約１１０億円しか残らないといい、「これ以上の大きな損失リスクはない」（西山氏）と説明している。

英国で２０年代に４～６基の原発を新設する計画について、西山氏は「海外で初めての建設で、もともとリスクはある。英国政府やプラントメーカーと協議し、リスク管理を徹底する」と話した。（清井聡）

 

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China to overtake US as nation with biggest nuclear power capacity by 2026: research via South China Morning Post

Posted on 2017/02/01 by nfield

China’s rapid nuclear expansion will result in it overtaking the United States as the nation with the largest atomic power capacity by 2026, according to BMI Research.

The world’s second biggest economy would almost triple its nuclear capacity to nearly 100 gigawatts by 2026, making it the biggest market globally, analysts said in a note dated on January 27.

[…]

China has committed to boosting nuclear power, which accounted for about 1.7 per cent of its total generation in 2015, to help reduce its reliance on coal, which accounts for about two-thirds of the country’s primary energy.

The nation has 20 reactors currently under construction, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Another 176 were either planned or proposed, far more than any other nation, the World Nuclear Association has reported.

[…]

“Furthermore, by expanding its own domestic nuclear sector, the country will develop the expertise to export nuclear capabilities and nuclear technology abroad.”

[…]

 

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Swiss to vote on government’s anti-nuclear energy strategy via The Local

Posted on 2017/02/01 by yukimiyamotodepaul
The Swiss people will go to the polls on May 21st to decide whether the government’s ‘energy strategy 2050’ should go ahead.
 
The policy, which will instigate a gradual withdrawal from nuclear power in favour of renewable resources, is opposed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) which in October launched a campaign to gather enough signatures to force a referendum on the matter. 
On Tuesday the government confirmed that the SVP had gathered 68,390 valid signatures, well over the necessary threshold of 50,000, reported news agencies. 
Consequently, in May the Swiss people will get the chance to have their say on the government’s energy plans.
The Energy Strategy 2050 was devised following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and is spearheaded by energy minister and current Swiss President Doris Leuthard.
Under the plans no new nuclear power plants will be built in Switzerland and the five that do exist – including the world’s oldest operating reactor, Beznau I – will be decommissioned at the end of their technically safe operating life. 
 
[…]
 
Last November the Swiss voted against a more extreme plan, backed by the Green Party but opposed by the government, which would have seen some of Switzerland’s nuclear power plants shut down as soon as this year. 
 
[…]
 
Currently around 39 percent of Switzerland’s electricity needs are met by nuclear power, while 56 percent is generated through hydropower – the country’s most important domestic source of energy. 
 
Historically that figure has been far higher; in the 1970s almost 90 percent of Swiss electricity was produced through hydropower, prior to the construction of most of the country’s nuclear power plants.
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「健康不安」は4.2ポイント減　原発事故の福島県政世論調査 via 福島民友

Posted on 2017/02/01 by yukimiyamotodepaul

原発事故の発生で長期にわたる健康不安を感じている県民の割合が昨年度より減少していることが３１日、県の県政世論調査で分かった。健康不安を感じるかとの質問に「はい」「どちらかと言えば『はい』」と答えた割合は４３．６％で、昨年度の４７．８％より４．２ポイント減少した。

県は、今後、詳しく分析するとした上で「除染が進み、放射線量が低減していることなどが考えられる」としている。「いいえ」「どちらかと言えば『いいえ』」と回答し、健康不安を抱えていない県民は３２．０％で昨年度の３１．９％から０．１ポイント増加した。

震災や原発事故、復興で知りたい情報については「食品や農産物の安全性確保の取り組みなど」が６４．３％（昨年度６２．４％）で最も多かった。「放射線の健康への影響」５９．５％（同６１．６％）、「安心して子育てできる環境づくりへの取り組み」４２．６％（同４２．４％）、「復興へ向けた取り組み」４１．４％（同４５．６％）と続いた。

復興が進んでいると感じる情報については「避難指示解除など区域の見直しに関する情報」が３６．４％（同２７．８％）で最も多かった。農林水産物の購入や食生活で実践または実践したいことについては、「県産食材を積極的に購入する」が５６．２％で、昨年度より３．２ポイント増加。

続きは「健康不安」は4.2ポイント減　原発事故の福島県政世論調査

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福島県産モモ、輸出量『全国一』　東南アジア販路開拓で震災前超 via 福島民友

Posted on 2017/02/01 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　県は３１日、２０１６（平成２８）年県産モモのタイ、マレーシア、インドネシア３カ国に対する輸出量が都道府県別で全国一となったと発表した。全体の輸出量は３０．６トンとなり、東日本大震災前の１０年の２３．９トンを超えた。県は東南アジアの市場への販路開拓やトップセールスによる働き掛け強化が要因とみている。

日本全体輸出量に占める本県輸出量の割合（市場占有率）はタイが７３．９％、マレーシアが７６．８％、インドネシアが６６．７％、シンガポールが１２．１％だった。東京電力福島第１原発事故による各国の輸入規制で一時は輸出ゼロに落ち込んだが、いち早く規制を緩和したタイやマレーシアなどへの輸出を促進した。タイは１５年と比べ輸出量が約１６倍となった。ただ、震災前の主要輸出先だった香港と台湾には、現在も規制があるため輸出できない。

続きは福島県産モモ、輸出量『全国一』　東南アジア販路開拓で震災前超

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$200 Million More Invested Into Right-Sized Advanced Nuclear Power via Forbes

Posted on 2017/02/01 by yukimiyamotodepaul

LeadCold and Essex Group ME have announced an agreement for a $200 million (USD) investment to build uranium-fueled power sources. Their systems, trademarked SEALER, are designed to compete with diesel generators to supply dependable power to communities and industries in remote areas of the world.

SEALER (Swedish Advanced Lead Reactor) is a fast spectrum nuclear reactor that uses low enriched uranium nitride fuel (19.5%) cooled by molten lead.

[…]

LeadCold is a Swedish-Canadian company spun out of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. VINNOVA (The Swedish Innovation Agency) has been supporting applied science, materials research and systems engineering at KTH for lead-cooled systems since 1996.

That long term effort resulted in a materials breakthrough that now supports a commercial product development effort. Lead has been an intriguing nuclear plant coolant option since the beginning of the Atomic Age, but it has a few characteristics that have – up to now – limited its utility.

[…]

Canada is shaping up to be a popular early adopter target for small nuclear power systems because they have both a capable regulator and communities or mining operations that need a new power option. The target areas have two options for electricity – high priced diesel generators burning fuel with an expensive logistics challenge or doing without power.

Solar systems are laughably inadequate in areas that often don’t see the sun for months at a time. Wind turbines don’t function with bitterly cold winds. Natural gas pipelines are non existent and coal has all kind of issues that has always limited its use in Arctic regions. Even long transmission lines are not an option because of cost, environmental impacts and weather vulnerability.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has a reputation as a capable regulator with many decades of experience in safe nuclear plant design review and operations oversight. It also has a process that is amenable to technologies that use non traditional fuels and coolants.

[…]

If there is a loss of electrical power that stops the flow of water into the steam generators, the primary lead-cooled system will gradually heat up, but it will not exceed any thermal limits on the reactor fuel or cladding for several weeks.

If restoration of cooling is delayed past that coping time, designers claim that the lead will retain 99.9% of any fission products that are released from the fuel rods.

The system design criteria is that fission product retention must be sufficient so that there is no need to consider evacuation as a means of protecting people. The places where SEALERs will operate are remote; large scale evacuation is virtually impossible.

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規制委の田中俊一委員長も「苦し紛れの方策」と酷評…それでもやるのか、玄海原発のリラッキングvia産経新聞

Posted on 2017/01/31 by nfield

　１月１８日に新規制基準に合格した九州電力玄海原発３、４号機（佐賀県）で、今後、再稼働した場合、使用済み燃料の置き場が不足する懸念が浮上している。対策として九電が検討しているのがリラッキングという工事だ。保管する燃料の間隔を狭め、より多くの燃料が置けるようにする対策だが、原子力規制委員会からは「苦し紛れの方策」といった指摘も出ている。（社会部　蕎麦谷里志）

[…]

玄海原発には１～４号機のプールで計３２７８体の燃料が保管できるが、すでに２０７５体が入っており、「４～５サイクル（１サイクルは１３カ月）の運転で保管容量を超える状況」（九電）なのだ。

プールが満杯になれば運転ができなくなるため、その前に保管容量を増やす必要があるが、乾式貯蔵施設は九電にとって初の取り組みとなるため、建設に何年程度かかるか見通しが立てにくい。

「。。。」

 

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