tagged w/ No Nukes
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January 17, 2012
FRONTLINE travels to three continents to explore the debate about nuclear power: Is it safe? What are the alternatives? And could a Fukushima-style disaster happen in the U.S.?January 17, 2012
FRONTLINE travels to three continents to explore the debate about... more
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MIT engineer warns of nuclear Armageddon, urges preventative measures?
There are nearly 450 nuclear reactors in the world, with hundreds more either under construction or in the planning stages. Imagine what havoc it would wreak on our civilization, and the planet's ecosystems, if we were to suddenly experience not just one or two nuclear meltdowns, but 400. In this article, you will come to understand that unless we take significant preventative measures, this Apocalyptic scenario is not only possible, but probable.MIT engineer warns of nuclear Armageddon, urges preventative measures?
There are... more
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Noise from wind turbine blades, inadvertent bat and bird kills and even the way wind turbines look have made installing them anything but a breeze. New York design firm Atelier DNA has an alternative concept that ditches blades in favor of stalks. Resembling thin cattails, the Windstalks generate electricity when the wind sets them waving. The designers came up with the idea for the planned city Masdar, a 2.3-square-mile, automobile-free area being built outside of Abu Dhabi. Atelier DNA’s "Windstalk"project came in second in the Land Art Generator competition a contest sponsored by Madsar to identify the best work of art that generates renewable energy from a pool of international submissions.Noise from wind turbine blades, inadvertent bat and bird kills and even the way wind... more
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By HIROKO TABUCHI and MARTIN FACKLER
Published: December 4, 2011
TOKYO — At least 45 tons of highly radioactive water have leaked from a purification facility at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, and some of it may have reached the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator said Sunday.
Nearly nine months after Fukushima Daiichi was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami, the plant continues to pose a major environmental threat. Before the latest leak, the Fukushima accident had been responsible for the largest single release of radioactivity into the ocean, threatening wildlife and fisheries in the region, experts have said.
The new radioactive water leak called into question the progress that the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, appeared to have made in bringing its reactors under control. The company, known as Tepco, has said that it hopes to bring the plant to a stable state known as a cold shutdown by the end of the year.
The trouble on Sunday came in two stages, a Tepco statement said. In the morning, utility workers found that radioactive water was pooling in a catchment next to a purification device; the system was switched off, and the leak appeared to stop. But the company said it later discovered that leaked water was escaping, possibly through cracks in the catchment’s concrete wall, and was reaching an external gutter.
In all, as much as 220 tons of water may now have leaked from the facility, according to a report in the newspaper Asahi Shimbun that cited Tepco officials.
The company said that the water had about one million times as much radioactive strontium as the maximum safe level set by the government, but appeared to have already been cleaned of radioactive cesium before leaking out. Both elements are readily absorbed by living tissue and can greatly increase the risk of developing cancer.
Tepco said a check on Saturday had found no sign of the leak, suggesting that it began Saturday night or early Sunday morning. The company said it was exploring ways to stop any more water from escaping.
Since the disaster in March, workers have been struggling to cool the stricken plant’s reactors by flooding them with water, which is contaminated with radioactivity in the process and becomes a problem of its own.
Tepco installed a new circulatory cooling system in September with filters that decontaminate and recycle the cooling water. But the company acknowledges that some water has already leaked into the ocean, and thousands of tons of water remain in the flooded basements of the plant’s reactor buildings.
The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety in France estimates that between March and mid-July, the amount of radioactive cesium 137 that had leaked into the Pacific from the Fukushima Daiichi plant amounted to 27.1 petabecquerels, the greatest amount known to have been released from a single episode. (A becquerel is a frequently used measure of radiation, and a petabecquerel is a million billion becquerels.)
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00856/JAPAN_INSIDE_FUKUSH_856341f.jpgBy HIROKO TABUCHI and MARTIN FACKLER
Published: December 4, 2011
TOKYO — At... more
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Molten fuel rods at the Fukushima nuclear plant may have eaten two-thirds of the way through a concrete containment base, the plant's operator says.
The statement from TEPCO is based on a new simulation of the March meltdowns.
It says its latest calculations suggest the nuclear fuel inside the number one reactor has melted entirely.
Simulations predict the molten fuel has eaten through 65 centimetres of concrete in a containment base below, stopping just 37 centimetres short of an outer steel casing.
It is also believed that the molten core has eaten part of the way through the concrete bases of the number two and three reactors.
The findings indicate the facility came much closer to a cataclysmic meltdown than previously thought.
The operator's assessment comes about six months after international nuclear experts warned that molten fuel could eat through containment vessels below the reactors.Molten fuel rods at the Fukushima nuclear plant may have eaten two-thirds of the way... more
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The March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that decimated Japan and its Fukushima nuclear reactors with a monster tsunami altered the seafloor off the country’s eastern coast much more than scientists had thought. Analysis released today in the journal Science indicates the ocean bed moved as much as 50 meters laterally and 16 meters vertically. The magnitude 9.0 quake occurred close to the nearby Japan Trench that runs north to south in the Pacific Ocean.The March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake that decimated Japan and its Fukushima nuclear... more
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Radioactive cesium from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant probably reached as far as Hokkaido, Shikoku and the Chugoku region in the west, according to a recent simulation by an international research team based on data after March 20, a week after the hydrogen explosions.
Large areas of eastern and northeastern Japan were probably contaminated, with concentrations of cesium-137 exceeding 1,000 becquerels per kilogram of soil in some places, says the study, which was posted Monday on the website of the National Academy of Sciences.
Researchers for the U.S.-based organization said the study, based on the partial data readings, is the first to estimate potential cesium contamination across the country. But the scientists also played down the impact of the fallout on the three distant regions.Radioactive cesium from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant probably reached as... more
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The Japanese government has banned rice shipments from an area of Fukushima prefecture after tests revealed they contained levels of radioactive caesium that exceed safe limits.
It is the first time the government has banned shipments of rice since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 11 March, sending three of its six reactors into meltdown in the worst accident of its kind since Chernobyl.
The rice, from the Onami district in the prefecture's north-east, was being prepared for sale but none had found its way on to the market, reports said.
Tests conducted this week showed that a batch of Onami rice harvested in the autumn contained up to 630 becquerels of caesium per kg, compared with the government's safe limit of 500 becquerels per kg.
The finding prompted the government to order the governor of Fukushima prefecture, Yuhei Sato, to halt all rice shipments from the area's 154 farms.The Japanese government has banned rice shipments from an area of Fukushima prefecture... more
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TOKYO — In a direct act of rebellion against Tokyo Electric Power Company, which owns the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the local government in Tokyo is moving swiftly to build a huge natural gas facility that would generate as much electricity as a nuclear reactor.
The plant would ensure a stable supply of electricity for the capital in the aftermath of the nuclear meltdowns in March at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But more important, the city government says, it could spur desperately needed change in Japan. By weakening Tokyo Electric, or Tepco, reformers hope to finally break the linchpin of the collusion between business and government that once drove Japan’s rapid postwar rise, but that now keeps it mired in stagnation.
“Now’s our chance,” said Naoki Inose, Tokyo’s vice governor, invoking an ancient proverb about attacking a wild dog only after it has fallen into a river: “On March 11, Tepco became the dog that fell into the river. Only then can you fight against such a formidable foe.”
So formidable a foe, in fact, that just eight months after Japanese leaders vowed the nuclear disaster — like the end of World War II — would lead to a kind of rebirth, the chances for fundamental change are rapidly slipping away.
Already, the reformers have lost a crucial ally: Naoto Kan, who as prime minister had called for an end to nuclear power and major changes to the power industry. He was eased out of office with the help of Japan’s most powerful corporate lobby, a faithful Tepco supporter that, like many members of Japan’s establishment, has benefited from the company’s largess.
And Mr. Kan’s successor, Yoshihiko Noda, whose party came to power promising to build a new Japan, instead joined the old guard to rally around nuclear power, and Tepco.
It is difficult to overstate the influence of Tepco, which rivals the American defense industry in its domestic reach.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the rest of the world holds it's breath.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/11/18/world/jp-tepco/jp-tepco-popup.jpgTOKYO — In a direct act of rebellion against Tokyo Electric Power Company, which... more
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Reporters touring the Japanese nuclear facility damaged by a March earthquake and tsunami see the damage and the extensive work performed over the past eight months.
Entering the disaster center was a time-consuming process because of the radioactivity precautions. In the first room, we took off the booties. The room is lined with pink plastic sheets. In the next room, teams of workers cut off our protective suits with scissors, removed our gloves and our masks.Reporters touring the Japanese nuclear facility damaged by a March earthquake and... more
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Belgium is a small European country with political parties that don’t usually agree. But one thing they do agree on is their country’s energy future–and it doesn’t lie in nuclear power.Belgium is a small European country with political parties that don’t usually... more
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http://newmoderate.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/mt-fuji-in-red.jpg
KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. — Among the 47 prefectures, the March disasters and ensuing nuclear crisis have apparently hit foreign tourism hardest in Yamanashi Prefecture, which traditionally attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Mount Fuji on its southern border.
Tourism officials, who have touted Mount Fuji as the symbol of Japan, believe foreign guests stayed away because of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, even though the country's highest peak is around 300 km away and hardly anyone in Japan believes the accident had a serious impact on Yamanashi Prefecture.
Seen from abroad, the nuclear disaster appeared to affect a much larger area than it really did, the officials said.
"It's impossible to do business with foreigners unless it is perceived to be a safe area. I really wish the government would soon issue a safety declaration."
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Japan, welcome to your new nuclear future, remodeled Chernobyl style!
It's going to take more than a governmental safety declaration to convince tourists to return to Japan. How about actually making it safe, wouldn't that be just a little more important?
Hey we could always look at the glass as half full and say that a 91% drop in tourism actually means that 9% of the tourists bravely decided to return.
Nuclear power: unsafe, unnecessary and unwanted.
Oh yeah AND bad for tourism.http://newmoderate.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/mt-fuji-in-red.jpg
KOFU, Yamanashi... more
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(NaturalNews) Virtually all the numbers you're seeing about the radioactivity coming out of Fukushima are based on iodine-131 which only has a half-life of 8 days, not the far more dangerous cesium-137 which has a half-life of 30 years. So while the mainstream media reports that "radiation levels are falling rapidly" from the 7.5 million times reading taken a few days ago, what they're not telling you is that the cesium-137 radioactivity will take 30 years just to fall by 50 percent.(NaturalNews) Virtually all the numbers you're seeing about the radioactivity... more
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http://www.corbettreport.com/sunday-update-20110703/
A series of disasters, potential disasters, bad news and worrying studies over the course of the past week have brought public attention back to the issue of radiation and its attendant health risks, and further exposed how governmental agencies that are supposed to protect the public have in fact knowingly put the public at risk and even colluded with the very industries they are supposed to be “regulating.”http://www.corbettreport.com/sunday-update-20110703/
A series of disasters, potential... more
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Radioactive cesium leaking from the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is estimated to reach the West Coast of the United States in five years after its density declines considerably, according to a semi-governmental research institute.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has compiled a map predicting how cesium-137 will spread throughout the Pacific Ocean in the long term. Cesium-137, whose half life is 30 years, is one of the radioactive substances leaking from the crippled nuclear power station.
It estimates that cesium-137 from the plant will spread in the shape of an ellipse -- as far as about 4,000 kilometers off the coast of Japan -- in one year. It then predicts the substance will reach Hawaii three years later and the U.S. West Coast five years from now. However, the agency says that by that time, its density will have declined significantly.Radioactive cesium leaking from the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is... more
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In the future solar power plants will be as plentiful as personal computers or cell phones are today and they will generate energy on demand. Today I have witnessed the future of energy: a solar power plant capable of generating solar electricity around the clockIn the future solar power plants will be as plentiful as personal computers or cell... more
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