Fukushima

On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began in Japan.  Three nuclear reactors melted down and the situation is still out of control, causing permanent evacuations of communities and devastation for the people of Japan. This preventable event was caused by the nuclear industry and a poor safety culture by both the Japanese government and the nuclear industry.  Warnings were ignored about tsunami and earthquake risks.  Engineering was compromised for profits, resulting in insufficient cooling to the three nuclear reactors. This was followed by a hydrogen-air explosion that the nuclear “experts” said could never happen,  Release of radioactive material from Units 1, 2, and 3 continues to pour into the Pacific Ocean and continues to contaminate the land.  The “experts” have no clue how to stop this.  Bluefin Tuna caught in San Diego, CA were found to have Cesium-134 from Fukushima. Also, kelp along the California Coast was found to have radioactive iodine.

The US is at risk of becoming Fukushima USA.   San Onofre and Diablo Canyon have much in common with the American made Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.* 

  No safe emergency plan.

  Poor U.S. nuclear power plant safety complaint record.

  Toxic radiation in our ground, air and ocean

  Not ready for 8.0+ earthquake or tsunami

  Tons of toxic radioactive waste at our coastline.

  Lower safety standards

  Poor plant management

* Source: CA Energy Commission (www.energy.ca.gov/nuclear/california.html), Nuclear Information & Resource Service (www.nirs.org), US Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (www.nrc.gov), CA Public Utilities Commission (www.cpuc.ca.gov)

 

Dale Klein, former NRC Chairman appointed by Bush,  reveals his unsubstantiated optimism about Fukushima, nuclear power safety, and downplays the risks of radiation (both external and internal). Currently at University of Texas at Austin.  Paid by TEPCO for this March 31, 2015 Foreign Correspondents of Japan event. Chairperson of TEPCO’s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee.  President Obama replaced Dale Klein with NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko. Jaczko was pressured out because he wanted to learn the lessons of Fukushima before considering new reactors, and wanted existing reactors evaluated.  The President appoints NRC Commissioners and the Chairman, but all Commissioners must be confirmed by the Senate.  This has made it a challenge for the NRC to meet its mission of “protecting people and the environment”.  Learn more about NRC Problems here.

 

Fukushima: Beyond Urgent

For more Fukushima videos and text for this video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiBVBdM77s4&feature=youtu.be

Fukushima farmers selling radioactive food

News: Japan’s on-going nuclear disaster

• • Fukushima Updates from Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer, Fairewinds Associates (video and text)
    • Fukushima Daiichi: The Truth and the Future
    • It Could Have Been Worse
    • More Fukushima updates
  • The Highest Risk: Problems of Radiation at Reactor Unit 4, Fukushima Daiichi, Shaun Burnie, Matsumura Akio and Murata Mitsuhei, The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol 10, Issue 17, No. 4, April 2012

Top spent-fuel pools expert Mr. Robert Alvarez, former Senior Policy Adviser to the Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Security and the Environment at the U.S. Department of Energy, explains the potential impact of the 11,421 fuel rods at Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Unit 4  (4/5/12):

It is my understanding that of the 1,532 spent fuel assemblies in reactor No. 4, 304 assemblies are fresh and unirradiated. This then leaves 1,231 irradiated spent fuel rods in pool No. 4, which contain roughly 37 million curies (~1.4E+18 Becquerel) of long-lived radioactivity. The No. 4 pool is about 100 feet above ground, is structurally damaged and is exposed to the open elements. If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire involving nearly 10 times the amount of [Cesium 137] Cs-137 released by the Chernobyl accident.

• • NRC Response to FOIA/PA-2012-0150 Request
  • False hope: radiation monitoring in the Fukushima area 10/23/2012
  • Social Fallout: Marginalization After the Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown, Robert Jacobs, The Asia-Pacific Journal Vol 9, Issue 28 No 4, July 11, 2011
  • Public health fallout from Japanese quake (CMAJ 12/21/2011)
  • The Mainichi Daily News – current stories
  • FDA Import Alert 99-33 Detention Without Physical Examination of Products from Japan Due to Radionuclide Contamination
  • Mothers of Fukushima

Hear from mothers of Fukushima as they share their compelling stories of living in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

On June 7, 2012, about 70 women including ten women from Fukushima protested in front of the Prime Minister’s official residence against the restart of the Ooi Nuclear Power Plant. Before the protest, ten Fukushima women visited the Cabinet Office and met with officials to share their experiences and plea to stop the planned restart of Ooi. They submitted a letter of request addressed to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, pleading for him not to authorize the restart the Ooi nuclear power plant. The Prime Minister was “not available” to meet with them. On the very next day, June 8, 2012, Prime Minister Noda held a press conference and declared he would restart Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.  The plant was restarted July 2012.

60 Minutes exposes realities of the Japanese catastrophe

Exposing the “unspeakable” realities of the Japanese catastrophe in this 60 Minutes program which leading nuclear scientist Dr. Michio Kaku said radiation from Fukushima will impact all of humanity. The nuclear energy power industry violation of the right to health is apparent throughout the new Australian report. “In fact, the whole world will be exposed from the radiation from Fukushima,” Dr. Kaku told reporter Liz Hayes.

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Fukushima Parks: One-hour Time Limit for Playing

Below right is a Fukushima City park sign, taken by Akemi, a single mother who had voluntarily evacuated from Fukushima City to Kyoto, over 500 km (310 miles) away, when she visited her parents’ home in Fukushima City in March 2013.  English translation on left.