入閣の河野太郎氏「脱原発」どうする　ブログの公開中断 via 朝日新聞

Posted on 2015/10/08 by yukimiyamotodepaul

自民党内きっての脱原発派として知られる、河野太郎衆院議員（麻生派）が初入閣した。河野氏はこれまで安倍政権の原発推進の方針に異議を唱えてきたが、７日の初閣議後の記者会見では持論を封印。

（略）

河野氏は自身のブログ「ごまめの歯ぎしり」で、安倍政権の川内原発（鹿児島県薩摩川内市）再稼働について「核のゴミには目をつぶり、やみくもに再稼働しようというのは無責任です」と批判してきた。

７日の記者会見で持論と政権方針との整合性を問われると「２０１２年の総裁選の時に、当時の安倍晋三候補は長期的には原子力への依存度を下げるとはっきりおっしゃっていた。ベクトルとしては同じ方向を向いている」と説明した。

またブログを閲覧できなくしたことに関しては「今までは外から言っているだけだった。今度は政府内の議論でしっかりと言うべきところは言っていく」と述べ、言葉を濁した。河野氏の姿勢は今後、野党から追及の的となりそうだ。（関根慎一）

全文は入閣の河野太郎氏「脱原発」どうする　ブログの公開中断

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子どもの内部被ばくなしと発表　福島など２７００人 via 47 News

Posted on 2015/10/08 by yukimiyamotodepaul

福島県平田村のひらた中央病院などのグループは８日、東京電力福島第１原発事故を受け、福島県を中心に子ども２７０７人の内部被ばくを調べた結果、体内から放射性セシウムが検出されたケースはなかったと発表した。事故後、子どもが対象の大規模な内部被ばく調査は初めて。

検査は、同病院と南相馬市立総合病院、いわき泌尿器科（いわき市）の３カ所で実施。２０１３年１２月～今年３月、

(略）

０～１１歳の内部被ばくを調べた。多くは福島県在住で、宮城県や茨城県の子どももいた。

全文は子どもの内部被ばくなしと発表　福島など２７００人

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Researcher: Children’s cancer linked to Fukushima radiation via AP

Posted on 2015/10/08 by yukimiyamotodepaul

TOKYO (AP) — A new study says children living near the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer at a rate 20 to 50 times that of children elsewhere, a difference the authors contend undermines the government’s position that more cases have been discovered in the area only because of stringent monitoring.

Most of the 370,000 children in Fukushima prefecture (state) have been given ultrasound checkups since the March 2011 meltdowns at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. The most recent statistics, released in August, show that thyroid cancer is suspected or confirmed in 137 of those children, a number that rose by 25 from a year earlier. Elsewhere, the disease occurs in only about one or two of every million children per year by some estimates.

“This is more than expected and emerging faster than expected,” lead author Toshihide Tsuda told The Associated Press during a visit to Tokyo. “This is 20 times to 50 times what would be normally expected.”

The study was released online this week and is being published in the November issue of Epidemiology, produced by the Herndon, Virginia-based International Society for Environmental Epidemiology. The data comes from tests overseen by Fukushima Medical University.

Making sense of the relationship between radiation and cancer is precarious: It’s scientifically impossible to link an individual cancer case to radiation. Looking harder with routine check-ups, like the one in Fukushima, leads to quicker discovery of tumors, inflating the tallies in a so-called “screening effect.”

[…]

Conclusions about any connection between Fukushima radiation and cancer will help determine compensation and other policies. Many people who live in areas deemed safe by the government have fled fearing sickness, especially for their children.

An area extending about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the nuclear plant has been declared an exclusion zone. The borders are constantly being remapped as cleanup of radiated debris and soil continues in an effort to bring as many people back as possible. Decommissioning the plant is expected to take decades.

Noriko Matsumoto, 53, who used to work as a nurse in Koriyama, Fukushima, outside the no-go zone, fled to Tokyo with her then-11-year-old daughter a few months after the disaster. She had initially shrugged off the fears but got worried when her daughter started getting nosebleeds and rashes.

“My daughter has the right to live free of radiation,” she said. “We can never be sure about blaming radiation. But I personally feel radiation is behind sicknesses.”

Read more at Researcher: Children’s cancer linked to Fukushima radiation

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Thyroid Cancer Detection by Ultrasound Among Residents Ages 18 Years and Younger in Fukushima, Japan: 2011 to 2014. via Epidemiology

Posted on 2015/10/07 by kojimaaiko
Epidemiology:
Post Author Corrections: October 5, 2015
doi: 10.1097/EDE.0000000000000385
Original Article: PDF Only

Thyroid Cancer Detection by Ultrasound Among Residents Ages 18 Years and Younger in Fukushima, Japan: 2011 to 2014.

Tsuda, Toshihide; Tokinobu, Akiko; Yamamoto, Eiji; Suzuki, Etsuji

Abstract

Background: After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, radioactive elements were released from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Based on prior knowledge, concern emerged about whether an increased incidence of thyroid cancer among exposed residents would occur as a result.

Methods: After the release, Fukushima Prefecture performed ultrasound thyroid screening on all residents ages <=18 years. The first round of screening included 298,577 examinees, and a second round began in April 2014. We analyzed the prefecture results from the first and second round up to December 31, 2014, in comparison with the Japanese annual incidence and the incidence within a reference area in Fukushima Prefecture.

Results: The highest incidence rate ratio, using a latency period of 4 years, was observed in the central middle district of the prefecture compared with the Japanese annual incidence (incidence rate ratio = 50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 25, 90). The prevalence of thyroid cancer was 605 per million examinees (95% CI = 302, 1,082) and the prevalence odds ratio compared with the reference district in Fukushima Prefecture was 2.6 (95% CI = 0.99, 7.0). In the second screening round, even under the assumption that the rest of examinees were disease free, an incidence rate ratio of 12 has already been observed (95% CI = 5.1, 23).

Conclusions: An excess of thyroid cancer has been detected by ultrasound among children and adolescents in Fukushima Prefecture within 4 years of the release, and is unlikely to be explained by a screening surge.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially.

Copyright (C) 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thyroid Cancer Detection by Ultrasound Among Residents Ages 18 Years and Younger in Fukushima, Japan: 2011 to 2014.

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福島の小児甲状腺がん「被曝による発生」〜医学誌に論文 via OurPlanet-TV

Posted on 2015/10/07 by kojimaaiko

福島県で実施されている小児甲状腺検査の結果データを分析した論文が、国際環境疫学会の発行する「医学雑誌「エピデミオロジー（疫学）」での掲載が決まり、オンライン上で先行公開された。福島で起きている小児甲状腺がんの多発は「スクリーニング効果」や「過剰診断」ではなく、「被ばくによる過剰発生」であること結論づけている。
http://journals.lww.com/epidem/Abstract/publishahead/Thyroid_Cancer_Dete…

論文のタイトルは「2011年から2014年の間に福島県の18歳以下の県民から超音波エコーにより検出された甲状腺がん」。著者は岡山大学の津田敏秀教授らのチームが、福島県が実施している小児甲状腺検査の結果データのうち、昨年１２月３１日までに判明した結果を疫学的な手法で解析した。

福島県の甲状腺検査は、原発事故当時、１８才未満だった約３８万人を対象に実施しているもので、２０１１年度から１３年度を１巡目、２０１４年度〜１５年度を２巡目と位置づけている。論文ではまず１巡目で、甲状腺の超音波スクリーニング検査を受診した子ども約３０万人の検査結果を分析。潜伏期間を４年と仮定して日本全国の年間罹患率と比較した場合、最も高い発生率比（IRR）を示したのは、福島県中通りの中部（福島市と郡山市の間）で５０倍、全体としても約３０倍程度の多発が起きていることを明らかにした。また、地域によって多発の割合が異なっていると指摘している。

さらに論文では、２巡目で甲状腺がんが８例出ていることについても検討。この時点で診断が確定していない残りの受診者から一例も甲状腺がんが検出されないという仮定しても、すでに１２倍の発生率比が観察されていると分析した。２巡目で甲状腺がんと診断された子どもたちのほとんどは、１巡目の検査では２次検査を必要とするしこりなどは観察されていなかった。

研究チームはこれらの分析により、福島の子どもの甲状腺がんは、事故後３年目以内に数十倍のオーダーで多発しており、スクリーニング効果や過剰診療など、放射線被ばく以外の原因で説明するのは不可能であると結論づけている。

国際環境疫学会の発行する医学雑誌「エピデミオロジー（Epidemiology）は、疫学分野のトップジャーナルの一つとして知られており、環境曝露の人体影響や疫学理論の分野で影響力がある。福島県の小児甲状腺検査結果を疫学的に分析した論文が、査読つきの国際的な医学雑誌に掲載されるのは初めてとなる。

＜論文情報等＞

原著論文：”Thyroid Cancer Detection by Ultrasound among Residents Aged 18 Years and Younger in Fukushima, Japan: 2011 to 2014″ 2011年から2014年の間に福島県の18歳以下の県民から超音波エコーにより検出された甲状腺がん 全文PDF著者
津田敏秀（岡山大学大学院環境生命科学研究科・人間生態学講座）、
時信亜希子（岡山大学大学院医歯薬学総合研究科・疫学衛生学講座）
山本英二（岡山理科大学情報学部・情報科学講座）
鈴木越治（岡山大学大学院医歯薬学総合研究科・疫学衛生学講座）

続きは　福島の小児甲状腺がん「被曝による発生」〜医学誌に論文

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Nuclear smugglers shopped radioactive material to Islamic State, other terrorists: AP report via The Chicago Tribune

Posted on 2015/10/07 by

Over the pulsating beat at an exclusive nightclub, the arms smuggler made his pitch to a client: 2.5 million euros for enough radioactive cesium to contaminate several city blocks.

It was earlier this year, and the two men were plotting their deal at an unlikely spot: the terrace of Cocos Prive, a dance club and sushi bar in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.

“You can make a dirty bomb, which would be perfect for the Islamic State,” the smuggler said. “If you have a connection with them, the business will go smoothly.”

But the smuggler, Valentin Grossu, wasn’t sure the client was for real — and he was right to worry. The client was an informant, and it took some 20 meetings to persuade Grossu that he was an authentic Islamic State representative. Eventually, the two men exchanged cash for a sample in a sting operation that landed Grossu in jail.

The previously unpublicized case is one of at least four attempts in five years in which criminal networks with suspected Russian ties sought to sell radioactive material to extremists through Moldova, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. One investigation uncovered an attempt to sell bomb-grade uranium to a real buyer from the Middle East, the first known case of its kind.
In wiretaps, videotaped arrests, photographs of bomb-grade material, documents and interviews, AP found that smugglers are explicitly targeting buyers who are enemies of the West. The developments represent the fulfillment of a long-feared scenario in which organized crime gangs are trying to link up with groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida — both of which have made clear their ambition to use weapons of mass destruction.

The sting operations involved a partnership between the FBI and a small group of Moldovan investigators, who over five years went from near total ignorance of the black market to wrapping up four sting operations. Informants and police posing as connected gangsters penetrated the smuggling networks, using old-fashioned undercover tactics as well as high-tech gear from radiation detectors to clothing threaded with recording devices.

But their successes were undercut by striking shortcomings: Kingpins got away, and those arrested evaded long prison sentences, sometimes quickly returning to nuclear smuggling, AP found.
[…]

Read more.

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Wildlife thriving around Chernobyl nuclear plant despite radiation via The Guardian

Posted on 2015/10/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul

High numbers of elk, deer, boar and wolves show long-term effect of world’s worst nuclear accident is less damaging than everyday human activity, say scientists

[…]

The explosion of reactor four on 26 April 1986 killed dozens of plant staff and rescue workers, and led to high radiation doses in the first weeks and months that had significant effects on animal health and reproduction around Chernobyl.

But after analysing previously unpublished animal track records and aerial surveys from Belarusian authorities and scientists, the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Current Biology, found no long-term impact to population numbers from the radiation released by the accident.

“Chernobyl caused a lot of human damage. The social and economical problems were huge. If you set that aside – if you can set that aside – it’s hard to argue that it’s really damaged the ecosystem as a whole,” said Smith.

The number of animals was probably lower before the nuclear accident than now, because the area was relatively developed, with industry, agriculture and hunting. While it was possible that radiation still had some negative effects on animals it was not enough to affect their populations, Smith said.

But Anders Pape Møller of the University of Paris-Sud questioned why the data had gone unpublished for decades and argued the rebound in populations was simply a sign of wildlife doing better across Europe.

[…]

Møller, who has researched the region since 1991 and published papers on the negative impact of radiation on insects and birds at Chernobyl, said there was no reason to expect differences between different types of animals.

The researchers analysed a 2,165 sq km (836 sq miles) area of the exclusion zone in Belarus, known as Polesie State Radioecological Reserve (PSRER), looking at data since 1986 on the abundance of elk, roe deer, red deer and wild boar. Species that have been sighted or reintroduced to the area since the accident but were not found there previously, such as European bison and lynx, were not included.

Read more at Wildlife thriving around Chernobyl nuclear plant despite radiation

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東電、１６年度で賠償打ち切りへ　福島ＪＡグループに via 47 News

Posted on 2015/10/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul

　東京電力福島第１原発事故の避難区域の事業者への営業損害賠償をめぐり、東電は６日までに、福島県のＪＡグループなどでつくる賠償の協議会に対し、一般の商工業者と同様に２０１６年度末で支払いを事実上打ち切るとあらためて伝えた。

協議会のメンバーは同日、東電や関係省庁を訪問。１７年度以降も、営農再開の支援など復興の過程で新たに発生する費用を賠償するよう要請した。

続きは東電、１６年度で賠償打ち切りへ　福島ＪＡグループに

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韓国が４４０兆ウォンの世界原発解体市場に参入 via 中央日報

Posted on 2015/10/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul
  韓国政府が２０１７年から始まる古里原発１号機解体事業を控え、４４０兆ウォン（約４５兆５７５６億円）に達する世界の原発解体市場に参入することにした。６１６３億ウォンの予算を投じ特殊ロボット開発と専門家養成課程を行うことにした。韓国政府は５日、黄教安（ファン・ギョアン）首相主宰で開いた第５回原子力振興委員会でこうした内容を盛り込んだ「原発解体産業育成 政策方向」を審議し確定した。黄教安首相は、「韓国が原発建設と運営面では世界水準に到達しただけに、これからは解体と使用済み核燃料の管理に政策能力を 集中しなければならない」と話した。

産業通商資源部によると昨年基準で世界的な原発解体費用は４４０兆ウォンと推定される。解体対象である世界の原発は２０１５年までは １１３基だったが２０２０年代には１８３基に増える。産業通商資源部のパク・ドンイル原発環境課長は、「１９６０～８０年代に建設した原発の使用期限が 迫っており解体対象が増加する」と話した。

韓国政府は１５００億ウォンを投じて核心基盤技術３８件のうち放射能汚染を減らす方法などまだ確保されていない技術１７件を開発する 計画だ。３８件の技術をすべて持つ国は米国、ドイツ、日本しかない。また、１５００億ウォンをかけて解体技術と装備テストのための「原子力施設解体総合研 究センター」を作る。５００億ウォンは放射能汚染物質を除去するロボットなど特殊装備を開発するのに使われる。大学と国際機関を活用した専門人材養成教育 課程も運営される。原発解体には専門人材３００人が必要だが現在は６０人にすぎない。

使用済み核燃料を管理するための後続措置も進められる。民間諮問機関である使用済み核燃料公論化委員会は６月に使用済み核燃料管理勧告案をまとめ、２０２０年までに地下処分研究所用地を選定し、２０５１年までに永久処分施設を運営するよう勧告した。

続きは韓国が４４０兆ウォンの世界原発解体市場に参入
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Flooding at the Nuclear Plant: Disaster by Design/Safety by Intent #1 via All Things Nuclear

Posted on 2015/10/06 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Disaster by Design

The March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan did not reveal flooding to be a nuclear safety hazard; it reminded us of this well-known threat. Flooding from internal sources (e.g., broken pipes and failed storage tanks) and from external sources (e.g., heavy rainfall and swollen rivers) had long been recognized as a risk to be managed with an array of flood protection measures. As the following summaries—an abridged sampling among many such events—indicate, there were numerous reminders before Fukushima.

[…]

LaSalle (Illinois): Fission Stories #113 described the May 13, 1985, event where one of the circulating water pumps that sent cooling water from the lake through the plant stopped running. A worker dispatched to the pump house to investigate the problem discovered the building filling with water through a broken rubber expansion joint. The pump house flooded to a depth of 15 feet, disabling all the circulating water and service water pumps for both reactors.

[…]

The summaries indicate that adequate flood protection relies on (1) preventing water from entering areas housing vital equipment, (2) locating vital equipment in diverse locations to lessen the chances for a flood to disable it all, (3) draining areas containing vital equipment faster than then can flood, and (4) detecting a flooding condition as soon as possible to maximize the time available to successfully intervene.

Flooding is but one of many risks to be managed at a nuclear plant. Properly managing a single risk factor would be relatively simple. Properly managing multiple risk factors, often at odds with one another, complicates the task quite a bit. For example, installing fire headers and fire sprinklers within a nuclear power plant decreases the fire risk. But it increases the flooding risk. It’s not a matter of choosing which risk to manage and which to neglect; it’s a matter of understanding all the risks and developing designs and procedures that effectively manage them.

Read more at Flooding at the Nuclear Plant: Disaster by Design/Safety by Intent #1

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