Fukushima: Tokyo was on the brink of nuclear catastrophe, admits former prime minister via The Telegraph

Posted on 2016/03/05 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Five years on from the tsunami, the former Japanese prime minister says the country came within a “paper-thin margin” of a nuclear disaster

Japan’s prime minister at the time of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami has revealed that the country came within a “paper-thin margin” of a nuclear disaster requiring the evacuation of 50 million people.

In an interview with The Telegraph to mark the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, Naoto Kan described the panic and disarray at the highest levels of the Japanese government as it fought to control multiple meltdowns at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

He said he considered evacuating the capital, Tokyo, along with all other areas within 160 miles of the plant, and declaring martial law. “The future existence of Japan as a whole was at stake,” he said. “Something on that scale, an evacuation of 50 million, it would have been like a losing a huge war.”

[…]

Mr Terasaka, the director of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, was later sacked. Another member of Mr Kan’s crisis working group, the then Tepco chairman, Tsunehisa Katsumata, was last week indicted on charges of criminal negligence for his role in the disaster.

The 9.0 magnitude quake, the largest ever recorded in Japan, triggered a gigantic tsunami which broke through the plant’s flood defences, cutting off power to its control room and the coolant systems of its nuclear reactors.

Deprived of cooling, radioactive fuel, in three of the plant’s six reactors melted down. Explosive hydrogen gas built up, blowing holes in the reactor containment building and allowing radioactivity to escape.

[…]

Mr Kan said that the nuclear accident is “still going on” today. He said: “In reactors 2 and 3, the radioactive fuel rods are still there and small amounts of [radioactive] water are leaking out of the reactor every day, despite what Tepco says.”

He said the experience had turned him from a supporter of nuclear power into a convinced opponent. “I have changed my views 180 degrees. You have to look at the balance between the risks and the benefits,” he said. “One reactor meltdown could destroy the whole plant and, however unlikely, that is too great a risk.”

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Inside Indonesia’s nuclear dream via Channel News Asia

Posted on 2016/03/05 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Nuclear energy is on the cards for energy-hungry Indonesia. Channel NewsAsia gets a look inside the country’s nuclear research reactor and asks the experts if the country is ready for its own atomic power plant.

JAKARTA: Indonesia is on track for the construction of its first experimental nuclear power reactor in Serpong, Banten, near Jakarta, putting the country one step closer to building a fully operational nuclear power plant.

The people behind the reactor are aiming to meet President Joko Widodo’s goal of building new power stations to supply 35 gigawatts worth of power to meet the archipelago’s energy needs, but many in the country remain divided.

“In our opinion, like or dislike, nuclear must be included for the demand of electricity by 2025,” said Dr Taswanda Taryo, deputy chairman of Nuclear Energy Technology at the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN).

[…]

Dr Dohee Hahn, a director at IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Power said the IAEA does not certify any country as being fit or unfit for nuclear power, nor does it ascertain whether a nuclear power plant is being operated safely. Both are responsibilities of national regulators.

What the IAEA does prescribe for countries with nuclear ambitions is a Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation (NEPIO) to lead and manage efforts in developing nuclear power plant programmes.

Indonesia does not have an entity such as NEPIO, but BATAN is optimistic that it is well-equipped to build a nuclear power plant.

[…]

Said Dr Djarot Wisnubroto, the chairman at the nuclear agency: “Well, we say we live in the Ring of Fire. The fact is that some parts of Indonesia are not on the Ring of Fire. In Kalimantan, in Bangka and even near Singapore on Batam island. That side is a good and appropriate site for the nuclear power plant.”

Other proposed sites include West and East Kalimantan. However, Mr Fiyanto believes places like Kalimantan are not immune to earthquakes.

“They use the argument that Kalimantan is safe from earthquakes and that it is not vulnerable to natural disasters. They keep using that argument, but a big earthquake hit East Kalimantan right on the proposed site of the nuclear power plant”, said Mr Fiyanto, referring to a 6.1-magnitude earthquake on Dec 21 last year.

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米の原発の一時停止、鳥の「フン」原因か　電線に痕跡 via CNN.co.jp

Posted on 2016/03/05 by yukimiyamotodepaul

（ＣＮＮ） 米ニューヨーク州北部でインディアンポイント原子力発電所を運営する企業エンタジーは５日までに、同原発で昨年１２月に発生した稼働の一時停止について鳥の「フン」が原因の可能性があると報告した。

米原子力規制委員会（ＮＲＣ）への報告書の中で指摘したもので、大型の鳥類が止まり木などから飛び立つ際にしばしば出す排泄（はいせつ）物の痕跡があったという。原子炉の一時停止は３日間続いていた。

放射能漏れはなく、周辺地域に危険が及ぶ事態も一切起きなかったとしている。

報告書によると、ふんが堆積して硬化したものが電線上に形成されれば運転効率を阻害する事例は再三起きているが、１２月の一時停止の場合は送電塔の 電線の間に電弧（でんこ）放電と呼ばれる状態が生じる結果になっていたという。これを受け原子炉の安全装置が作動し、稼働停止となっていた。

続きは米の原発の一時停止、鳥の「フン」原因か　電線に痕跡

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Bird poop on the lines causes nuclear power shutdown via CNN

Posted on 2016/03/05 by yukimiyamotodepaul

(CNN)An errant bird dropping appears to have caused the temporary shutdown of part of the Indian Point nuclear plant in upstate New York.

A report by Entergy, the site operator, pointed the finger at a bird “streamer” — colorfully explained in the document as “long streams of excrement from large birds that are often expelled as a bird takes off from a perch” — as the cause of the shutdown, which tripped a safety breaker and took a reactor at the site out of commission for three days in December.

There was no leak of radiation as a result of the accident, and at no time was public health and safety in jeopardy, the report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission noted.

While, more commonly, the buildup of guano on the lines hampers operating efficiency, in this case the report said that it had caused an electrical arc between wires at a transmission tower.

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5 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, disaster areas seek ‘recovery tourism’ via The Chicago Tribune

Posted on 2016/03/04 by

TOKYO – It has been almost five years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. In the three Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima, which suffered severely from the tsunami, local governments and companies are planning “recovery tourism” tours in which visitors travel through areas that were affected by the disaster.

The tours are intended to prevent memories of the disaster from fading and raise interest about the steps to recovery the region has taken. Tourists may learn a lot from seeing the area as it rebuilds.

The Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 seriously damaged social infrastructure in Tohoku, including tourist attractions, facilities and roads.

In the coastal regions, where the scars remain deep, the number of tourists has yet to recover.

Along the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, for example, the number is still down by about 40 percent compared to before the earthquake.

Many people are believed to hesitate to visit disaster-stricken areas on vacation, but the Miyagi Prefecture tourism division is working to promote recovery tourism.

“Tourism not only increases consumption in the areas, it also aids recovery by having people visit the region and raising interest,” one official said.

Since the population is decreasing in the disaster-stricken regions, reviving the tourism industry is critical for maintaining employment there.

The prefecture has allocated about ¥40 million in its initial fiscal 2016 budget to attracting school trips and other groups of visitors.

Private companies are also active in the movement.

[…]
H.I.S. Co. hosts a two-day, one-night tour at a farm that is working to overcome harmful rumors regarding nuclear contamination in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture.

The tour leaves from Tokyo and costs 31,000 yen ($273) for adults.

Participants learn about the measures farmers are taking to ensure the safety of their produce, and also visit Iitate in the prefecture to hear from local residents about what people have done to recover from the nuclear accident.

Tours going around regions affected by the disaster are often used for school trips and as part of natural disaster training for local governments and corporations, but they also could be an opportunity for individuals to learn more and raise awareness about preparing for natural disasters with family.

Visitors may also make discoveries or meet people that prompt them to become more supportive of recovery efforts.

However, it is important to show respect and moderation toward residents and not shout, drink alcohol or take group photographs as at other tourist attractions.

Read more.

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Radioactive chemicals in Great Lakes need special designation, groups say via CBC News

Posted on 2016/03/04 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Uranium or plutonium can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic mutations in people and animals

The tracking of dangerous radioactive substances in the Great Lakes basin is woefully inadequate given the intensive nuclear activity in the area, environmental and health groups say.

In a letter to the Canadian and U.S. governments on Wednesday, more than 100 organizations called for such substances to be designated as “chemicals of mutual concern.”

Such a designation — recognition that radionuclides are potentially harmful to human health or the environment — would require governments to develop a strategy for dealing with them with a view to keeping them out of the lakes.

“Radionuclides can have very serious immediate, long-term and intergenerational effects on human and non-human health,” the letter states. “There is no level of radionuclides below which exposure can be defined as ‘safe’.”

Chemicals such as uranium or plutonium — which can remain toxic for eons — can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic mutations in both people and animals. Yet despite a surprising amount of activity involving the substances on or near the Great Lakes, a report commissioned by the Canadian Environmental Law Association in support of the designation finds monitoring of the radioactivity is patchy at best.

Study author John Jackson, who notes the lakes are a source of drinking water for millions of Canadians and Americans, said it’s high time for the long-standing deficiency to be rectified given that the basin is a “hotbed” for nuclear-related activity.

[…]

The issue is taking on increased urgency with a plan by Ontario Power Generation to bury tonnes of contaminated materials deep underground near the shore of Lake Huron — a proposal currently before the federal environment minister — as well as an ongoing search for a permanent storage site for highly radioactive spent fuel rods.

“The large number of facilities around the Great Lakes Basin, usually near the shoreline, result in ongoing regular discharges into the lakes as well as a high probability of accidents that release higher amounts of radionuclides,” the letter states.

Even though some levels of radioactivity occur naturally, Jackson said every effort needs to be made to minimize any increase.

Signatories to the letter include groups such as the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Greenpeace, the Council of Canadians and Sierra Club.

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＜福島第１＞防護服なき構内再び　女性も増加 via 河北新報

Posted on 2016/03/04 by yukimiyamotodepaul

東京電力福島第１原発事故から５年を前に、原発構内に入った。防護服を着用しなくても歩けるエリアが広がり、女性社員を以前より多く見掛ける。空間放射線 量の低下を実感する一方、原子炉建屋に水素爆発の痕跡がそのまま残るなど、廃炉作業が道半ばであることをあらためて思い知らされた。（福島総局・桐生薫 子、写真部・川村公俊）

構内の出入り口「入退域管理棟」に向かう途中、防護服を着ない作業員が歩いていた。作業着に布手袋、医療用のマスクという簡易的な装備。取材で原発に初めて入った２年半前には見られなかった光景だ。

（略）

一時、退避命令が出ていた女性社員も見掛けた。大型休憩所の食堂などで働く人や防護服姿の作業員を含め、取材途中で少なくとも１５人の女性とすれ違った。構内で働く東電の女性社員は現在、事故前の半数の約５０人にまで増えたという

全文は ＜福島第１＞防護服なき構内再び　女性も増加

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Radiation Reloaded via GreenPeace

Posted on 2016/03/04 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Ecological Impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident 5years Later

[…]

The environmental impacts of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster will last decades to centuries, due to man-made, long-lived radioactive elements are absorbed into the living tissues of plants and animals and being recycled through food webs, and carried downstream to the Pacific Ocean by typhoons, snowmelt, and flooding.

Greenpeace has conducted 25 radiological investigations in Fukushima since March 2011. In 2015, it focused on the contamination of forested mountains in Iitate district, northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Both Greenpeace and independent research have shown the movement of radioactivity from contaminated mountain watersheds, which can then enter coastal ecosystems. The Abukuma, one of Japan’s largest rivers which flows largely through Fukushima prefecture, is projected to discharge 111 TBq of 137Cs and 44 TBq of 134Cs, in the 100 years after the accident.

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Emptying to start on Hanford tank with interior leak via Tri-City Herald

Posted on 2016/03/04 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Work to empty Hanford’s oldest double-shell tank is expected to start anytime as a March 4 deadline looms.

The underground tank, AY-102, is leaking radioactive waste between its shells, and the state of Washington requires the approximately 800,000 gallons of waste it holds be removed. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program.

DOE has made the work a top priority over the past 18 months, said Dieter Bohrmann, spokesman for the Washington State Department of Ecology, the regulator for Hanford tanks.

[…]

The liquid was left in place to help keep the radioactive sludge beneath it from overheating until the infrastructure was in place for the much more difficult job of retrieving the sludge.

Sludge retrieval is expected to start later this month after contractor Washington River Protection Solutions samples the sludge and positions the sluicers installed in the tank. The sluicers spray a jet of recycled liquid on the waste to dissolve it and move it toward a central pump.

The sludge will be transferred through above-ground transfer lines to a double-shell tank closer to the Hanford vitrification plant, which is planned to eventually glassify the waste for permanent disposal.

[…]

About 60 gallons of waste was believed to have leaked in three places into the 2.5-foot-wide space between the tank’s shells, as of the end of 2015. The waste is not believed to have breached the outer shell of the tank to contaminate the environment.

Emptying the tank, which has held waste since about 1970, will allow it to be inspected to learn what caused the leak. That could provide helpful information regarding Hanford’s other double-shell tanks, according to DOE.

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「責任問われず、日本は不思議」＝福島原発で元国会事故調委員長－東京 via 時事ドットコム

Posted on 2016/03/04 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　東京電力福島第１原発事故で国会が設置した事故調査委員会の委員長を務めた黒川清・政策研究大学院大客員教授が４日、東京都千代田区の日本記者クラブで講演した。黒川氏は原発事故について「責任を誰も問われない。日本は不思議だ」と語った。

国会事故調は関係者のヒアリングやアンケートなどの調査を行い、原発事故を「人災」と位置付ける報告書を２０１２年にまとめた。

黒川氏は講演で、事故前の日本では原発の過酷事故が起きないことになっていたと指摘。

続きは「責任問われず、日本は不思議」＝福島原発で元国会事故調委員長－東京

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