The heroism of Japanese nuclear workers
Disaster officials could face a grim choice: Scale back their containment efforts or allow workers to face radiation levels that could significantly increase their risk of cancer…….The actions of the power plant workers in Japan have already been described as heroic,
Japan nuclear accident poses crisis for worker safety, latimes.com, 17 march 11, Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could rapidly reach their annual radiation exposure limit and may have to be rotated out soon. Continue reading
Fukushima: the danger of “spent” nuclear fuel rods
despite its name, “spent” nuclear fuel still has something of a kick. It is made up of old fuel rods that have become sufficiently depleted of uranium-235, the isotope that drives a reactor’s main chain reaction, to be no longer useful. These rods, which will have become laced with radioactive by-products of the main reaction, including plutonium and radioactive isotopes of strontium, iodine and other elements, are taken out of reactors and put in pools of water for storage
The Fukushima crisis: A new danger at Fukushima | The Economist, 18 March 11, “…….the Japanese Atomic Industrial Forum, a trade body, acknowledged that there were worries about the water levels in the ponds at units 3 and 4. Continue reading
Nuclear technology can never be really safe
I used to be a believer in “safe” nuclear technology. I saw the renaissance of nuclear plants as a means to combat global warming (please restrain the hysterical giggling at this point). After Fukushima, and in reflection on the history of nuclear power plants, I have changed my mind…….it seems clear that this area of Japan may be off-limits to human habitation for a very, very long time……
Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare; Is any Nuclear Plant Safe? : SF Gate, Michael Yaki , 18 March 11, “…….The potential catastrophe at the nuclear plant is now being blamed, in part, on a combination of poor planning, judgment, response, and information from the plant owner, TEPCO, and the seemingly clueless Japanese government. Continue reading
Nuclear power “clean, inexpensive” says Northern Territory News
Any move from nuclear power …..would harm the NT’s uranium mining industry
Nuclear still power option NT News 18 March 11 Hopefully, there will not be a loss of faith in nuclear energy following the Japanese disaster. It is a clean, inexpensive form of power Continue reading
Western Australian Premier promoting nuclear power
“The Premier has said that nuclear should not be an option on fault lines. That should rule out Western Australia given that Perth is adjacent to a fault line.”
BARNETT PUSHING NUCLEAR FANTASY IN NIGHTMARE SITUATION, Robin Chapple, Thursday, 17 March 2011 Premier Colin Barnett’s continuing pursuit of nuclear power for Western Australia even as radiation leaks from the Fukushima facility are appalling and out of step with his own party, Greens MLC Robin Chapple said today. Continue reading
Cameco’s managing director enthusiastic about race to mine uranium in Western Australia
Reilly said. “There will be lessons learned from the events in Japan, and the market may take a breather. But the long-term fundamentals, we believe, are very strong.”…Kintyre’s approvals timeline pits Cameco against several other companies – including BHP Billiton – aiming to develop Western Australia’s first uranium mine.
Cameco pushes on with Australian uranium plans The Australian, Stephen Bell March 17, 2011 CAMECO Corp will push ahead with plans to gain approvals for its Kintyre uranium project in Western Australia by 2013, despite doubts over long-term demand for the nuclear fuel following radiation leaks at reactors in eartquake-hit Japan. Continue reading
Looks like Australia’s uranium industry is finished
Nuclear power has suddenly gone from being part of the solution for future green energy to a dangerous relic of the cold-war era…..Australia’s refusal to build nuclear reactors looked irrational at the time, and might now end up looking prescient.
Fugitives of Japan’s climate fallout, Business Spectator, Alan Kohler, 18 Mar 2011 Japan’s nuclear crisis is a dramatic complication to Australia’s – and the world’s – already complicated and fraught climate change policy debate. Continue reading
Australia’s Radiation Protection Agency warns people to move 80 km away from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
….ARPANSA [the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency] recommended that Australians within 80 kilometres of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant move out of the area as a precautionary measure.
Australian Government to Japan travellers: Leave now, Tokyo unsafe – Australian Business Traveller, 18 March 11, Australia’s DFAT Smartraveller safety warning level against travel to Japan has been raised even further, urging Australians to avoid much of Japan (including Tokyo and its airports) entirely, Continue reading
The high risk of nuclear industry makes secrecy necessary
the nuclear industry is high risk at very large scales; when something goes wrong it affects millions of people. The industry has to mask the huge risk and to do so needs to control information.
Masking the high risk of nuclear energy, Mail & Guardian Online, ESTIENNE RODARY AND DAVID FIG: ENERGY Mar 18 2011 “……….Virtually all the main nuclear countries have experienced accidents that differ in degree and cause, but they indicate the high risks associated with the nuclear industry…… Continue reading
Insurance doesn’t cover nuclear accidents, radioactivity
Policies exclude nuclear accidents, The Age, 18 March 11, AS THOUSANDS of Australians cancel travel plans to avoid or flee the escalating nuclear disaster in Japan, they could be in for a rude shock from their travel insurers.A sample of six policies from leading travel insurance companies all refuse travellers’ claims arising fromnuclear accident, contamination and radioactivity…… Policies exclude nuclear accidents
Nuclear energy future, Fukushima safe, says Borshoff of Paladin uranium company
Mr Borshoff has also defended the safety of nuclear power and, in particular, the plant at Fukushima
Uranium miner slams nuclear ‘media frenzy’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Elysse Morgan Mar 17, 2011 The chief executive of one of Australia’s biggest uranium miners, Paladin, has slammed the media and share traders for their treatment of nuclear focused businesses in the wake of the Japanese earthquake.
Shares in the company plunged 33 per cent in trade over Monday and Tuesday, recovered a little on Wednesday and are now on the slide again, down 6.8 per cent to $3.45 by 3:25pm (AEDT)…….. Continue reading
Russia gets out of investment in Australian uranium company
Russia drops Mantra uranium deal after Japan quake, Google news, (AFP) – 18 March 11 MOSCOW — A subsidiary of Russia’s atomic energy agency said Thursday it was withdrawing its $1.16 billion offer for Australia’s Mantra Resources because of the nuclear power plant problems in Japan.The Australian company’s shares lost about a third of their value on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday in line with other massive losses suffered by the world’s big nuclear energy firms.The Russian Federal Atomic Agency’s ARMZ uranium producer said in a statement that the Japanese nuclear crisis fundamentally altered the Australian company’s long-term value…..AFP: Russia drops Mantra uranium deal after Japan quake
World likely to shift away from nuclear power, towards natural gas
If we do see nuclear power decline, the most likely replacement in the short term won’t be millions of wind turbines or vast solar arrays, but lots and lots of natural gas.Vast new shale gas deposits in the U.S. and other countries, plus the possibility of liquified natural gas from places like Australia means that natural gas is ready to step up as a steady source of electricity—even if it comes with its own environmental uncertainties………there’s no doubt that the memory of Fukushima will weigh heavily the next time a country debates over building an atomic plant….
What’s the Cost of Shifting Away from Nuclear Power? TIME, by Bryan Walsh , March 16, 2011, he news from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan just keeps getting worse. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that at least a “partial meltdown” seemed to be happening, and today the U.S. government advised its citizens to stay at least 50 miles away from the Fukushima plant. The worst-case scenario—a release of a large amount of radiation across a wide geographic area—could still be avoided, but there’s little evidence that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) or the Japanese government are up to the challenge. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 