#tepcolies — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #tepcolies, aggregated by home.social.
-
From my friend in Japan...
Two years after the release of treated water at the #FukushimaDaiichi #nuclear power plant began, more than a hundred thousand tons were washed into the sea, but new #contaminated water is occurring every day
August 24, 2025 at 06:00
"It has been two years since the ocean release of treated water accumulated at the #TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began. The radioactive substance #tritium remains in the water even after the purification process. In June, China, which completely stopped importing Japanese seafood, resumed production in 37 prefectures, but Fukushima and other ten prefectures are still not eligible. There is no end to the ocean release, and the impact of the nuclear accident on the fishing industry continues.
"Tank treated water and contaminated water have been reduced by only fifty-six thousand tons.
"The ocean release was first released on August 24th, and the 14th time was launched on August 7th this month. Up to the 13th time, a total of one hundred and eighty-seven tons of treated water were released.
"The treated water and contaminated water stored in a tank on the site of the nuclear power plant before it was released into the ocean. So far, it has decreased to about fifty-six thousand tons, and it has not decreased by much the amount of release. The reason is that the contaminated water is generated about seventy tons every day, and the number of groundwater and rainwater increases due to the contact of molten nuclear fuel (debris) in the reactor building. Without the absence of contaminated water, we cannot stop releasing it into the ocean.
"As of July 30th, TEPCO paid about JPY790 billion in compensation in response to the slump in fish prices associated with ocean release. There is a possibility that some of China's resumption of imports will also change the price of fish, but Fukushima Prefecture continues to be stopped.
"37 Export application procedures for fishery products produced in Hokkaido Prefecture have begun. A person in charge of the processing and distribution section of the Fisheries Agency said, 'There are many applications, and the desire to resume is strong. We will continue to work with China to reopen the ten prefectures.' Riki Arai)
"The place where the 'sludge' due to the treatment of contaminated water is about to be full.
"Two years have passed since the release of treated water into the ocean due to the TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. The treated water stored in the nuclear power plant is gradually reduced by ocean release, while the storage and disposal of sludge contaminated with high concentrations that continue to occur in the process of treatment of contaminated water is becoming an issue.
"In the process of removing radioactive substances from contaminated water, sludge is produced by precipitating impurities with chemicals. Liquids and solids are mixed... " [Unfortunately, the rest is behind paywall]
Source:
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/430612#FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLied #TEPCOLies #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #WaterContamination #Radiation #Bioaccumulation #NoRadioactiveDumping #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukes #NoMoreFukushimas #NuclearWasteIsForever
-
#Japan's #Fukushima #nuclear wastewater 'pose major #environmental, #HumanRights risks' - UN experts
20 May 2025
"The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the #PacificOcean.
"In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.
"In the formal communication, available publicly, UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean.
"They said 'we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond.'
" 'We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence,' the special rappoteurs write.
" 'Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan.
" 'Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood.'
"The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (#PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond.
"In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for #OceanJustice and #HumanRights'.
"The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear #contamination through #NuclearTesting is still strongly felt across the region.
"It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on.
" 'As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release,' PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said.
" 'Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations,' he added.
"Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe.
"The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence.
"This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment.
"#OceanVisionLegal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone.
" 'It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean,' she said.
" 'Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity.' "
#OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #Radiation #TEPCOLies #NoFukushimaDumping #FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #NoDumping #Tritium #PacificOcean #WaterIsLife #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #FukushimaDaiichi #Fukushima #ALPS #RadioactiveContamination #HormesisIsBullShit #Bioaccumulation #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies
-
#Jellyfish Keep Attacking #NuclearPowerPlants
By Gabriel Geiger
November 2, 2021"Jellyfish are continuing to clog the cooling intake pipes of a nuclear power plant in Scotland, which has previously prompted a temporary shutdowns of the plant.
"The #TornessNuclearPowerPlant has reported concerns regarding jellyfish as far back as 2011, when it was forced to shut down for nearly a week—at an estimated cost of $1.5 million a day—because of the free-swimming marine animals.
"In a short comment to Motherboard, #EDFEnergy, which runs the Torness plant, said that 'jellyfish blooms are an occasional issue for our power stations,' but also said that media reports claiming the plant had recently been taken offline because of jellyfish are 'inaccurate.' '[There were] no emergency procedures this or last week related to jellyfish or otherwise,' a spokesperson said. [Um, did they previously work for #TEPCOLies?]
" 'Like many other seaside power plants, the Torness plant uses seawater to prevent overheating. While there are measures in place to prevent aquatic life from entering the intake pipes, according to the #BulletinOfTheAtomicScientists, they are no match for the sheer number of jellyfish that come during so-called 'jellyfish blooms.'
" 'Usually, screens prevent aquatic life and similar debris from being drawn into the power plants’ cooling system,' the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists wrote in a 2015 blog post. 'But when sufficiently large volumes of jellyfish or other aquatic life are pulled in, they block the screens, reducing the volume of water coming in and forcing the reactor to shut down.'
"While the case in Scotland has once again spotlighted concerns regarding the jellyfish and potential power plant shutdowns, these concerns are far from new. In 2008, a swarm of jellyfish shut down a nuclear power plant [#DiabloCanyon -- which had another incident in 2024] in #California, and three years later the same occurred at a plant in Japan [#Shimane]. In 2017, jellyfish clogged a power plant in Israel [#Hadera]."
Source:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/jellyfish-keep-attacking-nuclear-power-plants/#GlobalWarming #WarmingOceans
#ChangingOceans #OceansAreLife #OceanTemperatures #ClimateCrisis #Overfishing #NoDeepSeaMining #NoNewNukes #NoNukes #NoNukesForAI #Oskarshamn #Torness #RethinkNotRestart -
Blog: Voices of #Decolonization
#FirstNations chiefs shouldn’t be duped by the ‘#nuclear-is-green' deception
by William Eric Altvater, February 6, 2025
"Some First Nation Chiefs are victims of shenanigans, not unlike the swindle behind the purchase of Manhattan. The federal government needs the support of #Indigenous peoples to expand nuclear power generation capacity in #Canada.
"For millennia, the cornerstones of the Indigenous people that inhabit Turtle Island, now known as North America, held all that is essential to life, in reverence. Every decision considered the next 7 generations. These cornerstones are crumbling.
"Newcomers, armed with the #Colonizing tool, 'The #DoctrineOfDiscovery' and their mentality of superiority, invaded the land of those they called 'Savages,' almost totally exterminating #Skicinuwok, People of The Earth.
"Determined to bestow Christianity and civility to this wild untamed population, old growth forests were cut, rivers and streams were dammed to power sawmills, roads and railroads were built, bridges erected. All to create an infrastructure for #capitalism, a system to make a #profit, that morphed into #greed, a word of foreign root. This unbridled desire for progress has ruined what was once called Paradise.
"Now most water is not fit to drink, clean air is scarce, #deforestation is rampant, #biodiversity loss out of control, plants genetically modified, food manufactured with unpronounceable chemicals, caged fish starved of oxygen while being fed chicken feathers and pig parts, cancer cases in the millions, the list goes on.
"As the population increased over this continent the available sources for power generation have not been able to satisfy the insatiable desires of the 'bigger, better, faster, more is never enough' mentality. Some have finally acknowledged the fact that #FossilFuels are not the golden egg they were once deemed to be.
"So-called '#GreenEnergy' is required to slow the blind drive to extinction of man; man, who is considered by some to be the most intelligent creature to ever roam Earth. Unfortunately, the lure of riches and the corruption of self-serving purposes have led man to stray from practices that nurture everything required to sustain life on this tiny blue marble floating through the universe.
"#NuclearPower is now being touted as being 'Green.' It is not. Big money corporations are lobbying legislators to convince them and the public that it is. They are also lobbying to convince the public that they should foot the bill in the form of taxes and rate hikes, for a process that pollutes from the day it starts. Water is life. As soon as #uranium is mined from the earth it begins to contaminate the water in surrounding aquifers.
"When the uranium is processed sufficiently, it is used as fuel for reactors where it generates heat while delivering electricity, not just for essential needs, but also for many things once considered luxuries. This fission generated heat is then dumped into nearby waters where it kills thousands, if not millions of small beings that form the basis of life itself.
"After this radioactive fuel is depleted, it is stored in various containers where it will stay radioactive for eons. Indigenous #Grandmothers have labelled it 'Forever Dangerous.'
"The power generated during the fission process benefits only those who exist today as the process occurs, not those born tomorrow or next week or next month. All the #RadioactiveWaste and the inherent danger it creates is left to future generations, kicking the can down the road.
"What better place to dump this waste than in an area with a population that has witnessed Newcomers enrich themselves for hundreds of years? Yes, what better place than a population that has been targeted for assimilation, suffered theft of lands, witnessed the taking of naturally bestowed rights? A population that has been subjected to racial Indian Act legislation essentially stripping away all that sustained this population for thousands of years.
"Yes, let us give the Indians some more shiny beads and trinkets so that they willingly agree to care for our radioactive garbage. How do we do this? Let’s talk to the Chief and Council. Let’s wine and dine them. Let’s give them some money, take them to dinner, buy some drinks and make them feel all festive and most of all make them think we are looking out for their best interests. Some Chiefs have taken the bait.
"Egregious as it may be, this is exactly what is happening in some Indigenous communities contrary to the will of the majority. Elected Chiefs are continuing the deception as they are blinded and professing the 'Nuclear is Green' mantra. They have lost connection with the Spirit of Ancestors and traditional values. They need to have a serious introspection and realize that looking forward, we need only look back at what has sustained us to this point in time. We need not do any more than that."
Eric lives in #PeskotomuhkatiNation territory in Maine and stands shoulder to shoulder with his Peskotomuhkati relations in #NewBrunswick in the struggle to achieve Canadian Government recognition.
https://www.wabanakireach.org/first_nations_chiefs_shouldn_t_be_duped_by_the_nuclear_is_green_deception_by_william_altvater
#NoNukes #NoNewNukes #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #LeaveItInTheGround #Greenwashing #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree #NuclearIsNotGreen #CanadaPol #NuclearWaste #NuclearIndustry #TEPCOLies #HoltecLies #NuclearColonialism -
GOOD! Japanese #Nuclear Reactor Disqualified Under Post-#Fukushima Safety Standards
Published Nov 13, 2024
"#Japan's nuclear regulator has disqualified the country's #Tsuruga No. 2 reactor from restarting for the first time under post-Fukushima safety standards.
"The #NuclearRegulationAuthority (NRA) announced Wednesday that #JapanAtomicPower Co. had failed to adequately address potential #SeismicRisks from active fault lines near the reactor, located in #FukuiPrefecture.
"The decision is a setback for Japan's energy policy, which aims to expand nuclear power to bolster energy stability and meet carbon neutral goals.
"'We reached our conclusion based on a very strict examination,' said NRA Chairperson Shinsuke Yamanaka. He called the eight-year review process 'abnormal' due to frequent disruptions from data inaccuracies and errors by Japan Atomic Power Co."
#NoNukes #NoNukesJapan #RethinkNotRestart #FukushimaIsntOver #RenewablesNow #ThermalEnergy #HotSprings #TidalEnergy #TEPCOLies #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies
-
From 2007:
"Not Again": Yet Another #TEPCO Scandal
Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
"Over the years there have been all sorts of cases of data fabrication and falsification at #nuclear, thermal and hydroelectric power plants. Each time the power companies and plant makers apologize and say that they will lance the wound, but then they go and repeat the same behavior over and over again. When Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported yet another case of data falsification to the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (#METI) the headline in the Fukushima local newspaper the following day (1 February 2007) was 'Not Again!', sigh the local people and the Prefectural government '.
"The latest scandal began when Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on 31 October 2006 that #Chugoku Electric Power Company had falsified data for #DoyoDam on the #MatanoRiver. People might assume that the reason for #ChugokuElectric's admission was simply that it had made a judgment that the problem could no longer be concealed once it was leaked to the newspaper. However, there was more behind the admission than meets the eye. Even before this, anti-dam activists had been pursuing TEPCO over suspicious data related to its dams. For example, it had recorded flow measurements that could not possibly have been taken, because the locations were inaccessible due to heavy snow falls. Chugoku Electric's admission should be seen against this background.
"METI and the Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport responded by demanding that all electric power companies check their records. The upshot was that it was discovered that Chugoku Electric was not alone. In fact, it became apparent that all power companies had falsified and fabricated data in relation to such things as subsidence of dam embankments, and alterations to facilities without prior approval.
"The next major development came on November 15th, when it was revealed that Chugoku Electric had falsified data in relation to releases of hot wastewater at its #Shimonoseki thermal power plant. This led to similar revelations for nuclear power plants owned by TEPCO, #Kansai Electric Power Company (#KEPCO), Tohoku Electric Power Company and Japan Atomic Power Company (#JAPCO). On 10 January 2007 TEPCO submitted a report to METI entitled 'Causes of and measures to prevent a repetition of falsification of sea temperature data at the condenser outlets of #KashiwazakiKariwa Nuclear Power Plant, Reactors 1 and 4'.
"The report said, 'An investigation of power plants was instigated, because the Shimonoseki thermal power plant case reminded a worker that corrections had been made to sea temperature data.' As a result, falsification (referred to by TEPCO as "corrections") was discovered at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors 1 & 4 and #Fukushima I reactors 1, 4 & 5.
"The hot wastewater referred to here is seawater, which has been used to cool and condense the steam used to drive the turbines of thermal and nuclear power plants. When the steam from the turbine condenses, its heat is transferred to the coolant, which in this case is seawater. The temperature of the seawater is raised in the process. If the seawater released is too hot, it can affect the ecosystem. Therefore, the temperature at both the intake and outlet points is measured and monitored to ensure that the temperature difference is not too great. At some power plants computers were programmed to record a higher than actual intake temperature, while at others they were programmed to record a lower outlet temperature. The readings were thus falsified to show a lower temperature difference than was really the case.
"On 31 January 2007 TEPCO released details of data falsification at its nuclear power plants. It admitted to a total of about 200 irregularities. A few examples are discussed below.
1. During a periodic inspection in May 1992 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactor number 1 (K-K-1), the day before it was to be tested it was discovered that, due to a fault with the electric motor, the residual heat removal pump (part of the Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS)) was not working. TEPCO staff made some adjustments to make it appear from the central control room that the pump was working. In this way, they were able to trick the METI inspector into awarding a pass for the inspection.
2. Again at K-K (the reactors are not specified), from around 1995 to 1997, measurements of the concentration of radioactive iodine released from the exhaust stack were made to appear lower than they really were by taking the measurements on the reverse side of the filter. In May 1995 the concentration of radioactivity from rare gases emitted from the exhaust stack of reactor 4 was also falsified.
3. From 1979 to 1998, in order to pass inspections, internal pressure readings for steam pipes connecting the reactor to the turbines at Fukushima I reactor 1 were falsified to match the specifications in the inspection guidelines. It was said that the specifications were inappropriate and that they were later amended so that falsification ceased to be necessary.
"There were many instances of malpractice besides these, in relation to periodic inspections and also in other areas. Fabrication and falsification had indeed become standard practice. Investigations are still proceeding and one cannot help feeling that the most serious and dangerous cases are still to come."
[And indeed it would come, 4 years later!]
http://www.cnic.jp/english/newsletter/nit117/nit117articles/nit117tepco.html
#CitizensNuclearInformatioNcenter #NoNukes #WaterIsLife #OceansAreLife #IAEAHides #TEPCOLies #FukushimaIsntOver #NoDumping #NuclearPowerPlants #RadioactiveWater #RethinkNotRestart #PacificOcean #DataFalsification
-
My comments in brackets.
A small drone flies into a damaged #Fukushima #nuclear reactor for the first time to study melted fuel
by MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated Wed, February 28, 2024 at 8:20 AM EST
"A drone small enough to fit in one's hand flew inside one of the damaged reactors at #Japan's #FukushimaDaiichi #NuclearPowerPlant Wednesday in hopes it can examine some of the molten fuel debris in areas where earlier robots failed to reach [the radiation fried some of them].
"Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings also began releasing the fourth batch of the plant’s treated and diluted #radioactive #wastewater into the [#PacificOean] Wednesday. The government and TEPCO, the plant's operator, say the water is safe [BULLSHIT] and the process is being monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but the discharges have faced strong opposition by fishing groups and a Chinese ban on Japanese seafood.
"A magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed the plant's power supply and cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt down. The government and TEPCO plan to remove the massive amount of fatally radioactive melted nuclear fuel that remains inside each reactor — a daunting decommissioning process that's been delayed for years and mired by technical hurdles and a lack of data.
"To help on data, a fleet of four drones were set to fly one at a time into the hardest-hit No. 1 reactor’s primary containment vessel. TEPCO plans to probe a new area Thursday.
"TEPCO has sent a number of probes — including a crawling robot and an underwater vehicle — inside each reactor but was hindered by debris, #HighRadiation and the inability to navigate through the rubble, though they were able to gather some data. In 2015, the first robot to go inside got stuck on a grate.
"Wednesday’s drone flight comes after months of preparations that began in July at a nearby mock facility.
"The drones, each weighing 185 grams (6.5 ounces), are highly maneuverable and their blades hardly stir up dust, making them a popular model for factory safety checks. Each carries a front-loaded high-definition camera to send live video and higher-quality images to an operating room.
"In part due to battery life, the drone investigation inside a reactor is limited to a 5-minute flight.
"TEPCO officials said they plan to use the new data to develop technology for future probes as well as a process to remove the melted fuel from the reactor. The data will also be used in the investigation of how the 2011 meltdown occurred.
"On Wednesday, two drones inspected the area around the exterior of the main structural support in the vessel, called the #pedestal. Based on the images they transmitted, TEPCO officials decided to send the other two in Thursday.
"The pedestal is directly under the reactor’s core. Officials hope to film the core’s bottom to find out how overheated fuel dripped there in 2011.
"About 880 tons of highly radioactive melted #NuclearFuel remain inside the three damaged reactors. Critics say the 30- to 40-year cleanup target set by the government and TEPCO is overly optimistic. The damage in each reactor is different, and plans need to accommodate their conditions.
"TEPCO's goal is to remove a small amount of melted debris from the least-damaged No. 2 reactor as a test case by the end of March by using a giant robotic arm. It was forced to delay due to difficulty removing a deposit blocking its entry.
"As in the past three rounds of wastewater discharges which started in August, TEPCO plans to release 7,800 metric tons of the treated water through mid-March after diluting it with massive amounts of seawater and sampling it to make sure radioactivity is far below international standards [by using faulty dosimeters].
"China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Wednesday accused Japan of risking the whole world with '#NuclearContaminated water' and demanded it stop 'this wrongdoing.' Mao urged #Japan to cooperate in an independent monitoring system with neighboring countries and other stakeholders [rather than bribing the #IAEA]."
Source:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/small-drone-flies-damaged-fukushima-051008732.html#WaterIsLife #FukushimaIsntOver #TEPCOLies #RethinkNotRestart #NoNewNukes #RenewablesNow #ThermalSprings #TidalEnergy
-
#Nuclear corporations often under-report radiation amounts, or take their time about reporting incidents (sometimes only after there's a whistleblower involved). After all, it's all about image and money, not public or environmental safety.
#Xcel fined $14K over unpermitted storage of #radioactive water at #Minnesota #nuclear plant
After a leak of #tritium at the #MonticelloNuclear Generating Station was revealed in March, Xcel faced repeated challenges in collecting and storing the tainted water.
By Chloe Johnson Star Tribune
December 14, 2023"#XcelEnergy has been fined $14,000 for storing radioactive water without a permit in the aftermath of a spill last year at its Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant.
"Meanwhile, Xcel revealed Thursday that the original spill started a few weeks earlier than the company originally reported, and may have released more than twice as much radioactive water as it originally estimated.
"The plant, about a 30-minute drive northwest of the Twin Cities, sprung a leak of tritium-tainted water in late 2022. The utility and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) didn't reveal the leak to the public until the following March, drawing public criticism and a promise from state officials to be more transparent.
"Xcel originally reported that some 400,000 gallons of water had seeped from a broken pipe in a narrow space between two buildings. But on Thursday, it reported that the real amount was more likely between 750,000 and 900,000 gallons — an updated guess based on research the company has done and 'signs that the leak may have started a few weeks earlier than previously estimated.'"
#WaterIsLife #MississippiRiver #TEPCOLies #XcelLies #NoNukes #MoreOversight #RethinkNotRestart
-
Application Filed to Extend Life of #DiabloCanyon Power Plant Another 20 Years
PG&E Submits Application with #NRC to Renew Plant’s License
By Jean Yamamura
Wed Nov 08, 2023"Renewal of Diablo Canyon Power Plant’s license was formally filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by owner #PacificGasAndElectric Company on November 7, more than a month ahead of the end of 2023 deadline. The 2,200 megawatts of carbon-free power generated by the nuclear plant can provide electricity for as many as three million of #California’s 39 million residents, fully 17 percent of the state’s supply of zero-carbon electricity, according to PG&E. But is it still needed?
"A number of groups fighting the nuclear power plant contend a potential for disaster exists from the aging facility, finished in 1973. Nonprofits like the #MothersForPeace in San Luis Obispo, where the plant is located, and the #AllianceForNuclearResponsibility argue that questions about brittle welds and nearby earthquake faults remain unanswered. Friends of the Earth is seeking to overturn the NRC’s licensing procedure for Diablo in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The NRC agreed to shorten the five-year window for the license renewal, causing #FriendsOfTheEarth’s legal director, Hallie Templeton, to say: “PG&E’s reckless push to extend the life of Diablo Canyon, while unsurprising, should set off alarm bells for everyone living near this high-risk facility. Diablo Canyon’s operations are extremely dangerous, harmful to the climate and put all of California at risk of a catastrophic accident.”
"In answer to the question of safety at a nuclear facility located 90 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, PG&E’s chief nuclear officer, Paula Gefen, said, 'We have a dedicated workforce that is committed to operating DCPP with integrity and safety at the forefront.' [PG&E is known for greed and poor safety record keeping -- see link in comments]
"During this shortened window, PG&E has a number of state agencies to persuade in addition to the NRC: It received a lease extension from the State Lands Commission in June for the strip of beach it uses, but the California Energy Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission are assessing actual costs and outage costs against renewed operations and market revenues. Their documents are underway or in a comment period and are supposed to be final before the end of 2023.
"If PG&E’s license renewal application passes muster, Diablo would be allowed to operate beyond its current end dates of 2024 and 2025, while the application is further reviewed, said PG&E spokesperson Suzanne Hosn. The process takes longer than a year, after which PG&E would submit for #CoastalZoneManagement ct recertification with the California Coastal Commission.
"Bruce Severance, a regulatory compliance engineer, has argued that certain welds, known to be #faulty from Reactor One’s inception, are so #brittle that replacement of the #ReactorVessel was a considerable cost the CPUC must consider. Severance and Digby MacDonald, a nuclear engineering and materials science professor at UC Berkeley, submitted a paper to the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee outlining the #fracture toughness problem with the welds, but that committee won’t be meeting to discuss their conclusions until February 2024.
As for the need for Diablo to continue generating electricity, David Weisman of the #AllianceForNuclearResponsibility pointed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s statement in October that California’s #battery storage capacity reached more than 6,600 megawatts: 'More than equivalent to the power Diablo generates,' Weisman said.
"The turmoil surrounding the nuclear power plant began after PG&E decided to abandon its application for a license renewal in 2016. That would have shuttered the power plant’s two reactors in 2024 and 2025. However, Governor Newsom deemed the power was needed in the face of air-conditioning use during California’s increasingly hot summers. The State Legislature passed Senate Bill 846 last fall to loan PG&E $1.4 billion and extend Diablo’s operations to 2030.
"The CPUC held a hearing on Tuesday, at which Linda Seeley of #MothersForPeace addressed the commissioners. She told them California was on track to add another 6,000MW in #renewable power by 2026, three times Diablo’s output. Regarding safety, she said, 'while the Legislature and the CPUC have been relying on the NRC to ensure the safe operation of Diablo Canyon past the reactors’ 2024/2025 license expiration dates, the NRC itself appears to be bending to the State requests — rather than protecting the public.'
"Seeley emphasized the decision to prolong Diablo’s life could not be a political one. 'Put it together,' she urged the commissioners. 'No inspection of the Unit 1 pressure vessel since 2002; active #earthquake faults under the plant — couple those conditions with the fact that we don’t even need the power from Diablo Canyon, and you can easily reach a decision that your grandchildren will thank you for.'"
#TEPCOLies #Fukushima #RethinkNotRestart #Japan #PG&E #NRC #IAEA #NoNukes #NoNewNukes #PriceAndersonAct
-
#Fukushima Up Close, 13 Years Later
by Robert Hunziker
October 13, 2023"The world is turning to #NuclearPower as a solution to #GlobalWarming, but it is postulated herein that it is a huge mistake that endangers society. One #nuclear #meltdown causes as much damage over the long-term as a major #war. Moreover, according to Dr. #PaulDorfman, chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, former secretary to the UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Internal Radiation: 'It’s important to understand that nuclear is very likely to be a significant climate casualty.'
"#BeyondNuclearInternational recently published an article about the status of Fukushima as well as an exposé of how the nuclear industry gets away with responsibility for #radiation-caused (1) deaths (2) chronic conditions like #cancer (3) #genetic deformities: A Strategy of Concealment, September 24, 2023, by #KolinKobayashi, who is a Tokyo-born France-based anti-nuclear #activist journalist also serving as president of Echo-Exchange. Kobayashi’s work was posted by CounterPunch under the title: How Agencies That Promote Nuclear Power Are Quietly Managing Its Disaster Narrative.
"The following synopsis, including editorial license that adds important death details which defy the nuclear industry’s bogus claims about nuclear safety, opens closed pathways to what’s really going on.
"After thirteen years, the declaration of a State of Emergency for #FukushimaDaiichi Nuclear Power Plant still cannot be lifted because of many unknowns, as well as ubiquitous deadly radiation levels. The destroyed reactors are tinderboxes of highly radioactive spent fuel rods that contain more cesium-137 than eighty-five (85) #Chernobyls. Cesium-137 in or near a human body erupts into a series of maladies, one after another in short order, depending upon level of exposure: (1) nausea (2) vomiting (3) diarrhea (4) bleeding (5) coma leading to death.
"The spent fuel rods at the Fukushima nuclear reactor site are stored in pools of water on the top floor of compromised reactor buildings 100 feet above ground level, except for Unit 3 which completed removal of its spent fuel rods in 2019, an extremely slow, laborious process that’s highly dangerous.
"Stored spent fuel rods in open pools of water are the epitome of high-risk. 'If the 440 tonne vessel collapses, it could hit the storage pool next to it. If this pool is damaged, even partially, another major disaster could occur.' (Kobayashi) In that regard, there’s significant risk of collapse in the event of a strong #earthquake. And #Japan is one of the most earthquake prone countries in the world. 'The city (Tokyo) government’s experts reckon there is a 70% chance of a magnitude 7, or higher, quake hitting the capital within the next 30 years.' (Source: Japan is Preparing for a Massive Earthquake, The Economist, August 31, 2023)
"If exposed to open air, #SpentFuel rods erupt into a sizzling zirconium fire followed by massive radiation bursts of the most toxic material on the planet. It can upend an entire countryside and force evacuation of major cities. According to the widely recognized nuclear expert Paul Blanch: 'Continual storage in spent fuel pools is the most unsafe thing you could do.' Paul Blanch, registered professional engineer, US Navy Reactor Operator & Instructor with 55 years of experience with nuclear engineering and regulatory agencies, is widely recognized as one of America’s leading experts on nuclear power.
"#FukushimaDaichi Nuclear Power Plant will remain a high-risk explosive scenario for decades ahead. After all, a program for future decommissioning is unclear and overall radiation guesstimates are formidable. All the structures where decommissioning will take place are highly radioactive and as such nearly impossible for the dangers to worker exposure."
Read more:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/10/13/fukushima-up-close-13-years-later/#FukushimaWater #WaterIsLife #TEPCOLies
#NuclearPlants #NoNewNukes #ClimateChange #PacificOcean #Pollution
#Bioaccumulation #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart -
New #Fukushima #nuclear #wastewater leak heightens international concerns
August 18, 2023
"The latest reported leak of nuclear-contaminated water from the #FukushimaDaiichi nuclear power plant has again heightened international concerns over the competence of Tokyo Electric Power Company (#TEPCO) and the lack of effective regulation from the Japanese government, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
"Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on media reports that TEPCO recently confirmed a leak of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as a result of a crack in the hose used to transport the wastewater.
"The legitimacy and safety of #Japan's ocean discharge plan have long been questioned by the international community, and people in Fukushima have pointed out many times that since the nuclear plant accident, TEPCO's handling of the aftermath has been highly problematic, Wang said.
"People are questioning TEPCO's ability to properly handle the nuclear-contaminated water, Wang added.
"'Can TEPCO handle the wastewater in a safe and responsible way throughout the process? Can it manage the 30-year-long discharge without mistakes and errors? Can it ensure the long-term effectiveness and reliability of the treatment facility? Can it conduct wastewater sampling and monitoring activities in strict compliance with the rules? The international community is very doubtful about that,' Wang said.
"Wang reiterated that the Japanese side should take seriously the legitimate concerns of the international community and the people in Japan, stop pushing through the ocean discharge plan, have full and sincere communication with neighboring countries, dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a truly responsible way, and accept rigorous international oversight."
http://en.ce.cn/main/latest/202308/18/t20230818_38678174.shtml
#WaterIsLife #NoNukes #NoMoreNukes #RethinkNotRestart #Nucleare #SaveThePlanet #FukushimaDaiichi #FukushimaWater #NoDumping #NuclearWaste #TEPCOLies #Biden #Kishida #PacificOcean
-
Hey @frederick, did you read this? I can't believe you're pro-#nuclear now. After all, you were there with me at the #Seabrook protest in 1977, and you wrote this in 2018: "When the nuclear industry demonstrates it can build safe and economic power stations and manage the #ToxicWaste they produce, there will be a role for nuclear energy. Until then, we should base our future energy policy on existing #renewable options."
Do you have some inside information on how the nuclear industry has figured out what to do with the waste? I guess just dump it into the ocean, like #TEPCO? Or bury it in geologically unstable areas, preferably on #NativeAmerican lands (like #YuccaMountain)? Please, enlighten us!
#NoNukes #TEPCOLies #EnvironmentalRacism #UraniumMining #WaterIsLife