IAEA ineffective, or corrupt to the core?

Sent by a reader… edited by FEWW-JMC

“Atoms for Peace”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was set up in 1957 supposedly to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to prevent its use for military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It’s based in Vienna, and has “Regional Safeguards Offices,” one in Toronto and the other in Tokyo. The IAEA also has liaison offices both in New York City,  and in Geneva. Additionally, it has three laboratories in Vienna, Seibersdorf, and Monaco.

Despite being established independently of the United Nations through a separate international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the “Atoms for Peace” reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.

The organization describes itself as follows:

The IAEA is widely known as the world’s “Atoms for Peace” organization within the United Nations family. Set up in 1957 as the world’s center for cooperation in the nuclear field, the Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

How Safe are the Nuclear Power Plants in Japan?

Japan sits near major tectonic plate boundaries, in a volcanic zone situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has had a long history of seismic activity, with powerful, destructive earthquakes that often result in tsunamis.

If there were a 101 on where not to build your nuclear power plants, Japan would fill all criteria as the experts’ top choice for the most dangerous example.

Yet the crowded country of 130 million has 54 nuclear reactors.

On 11 March 2011, Japan experienced the strongest and most destructive earthquake in its history, followed by a deadly tsunami. The magnitude 9.0 Tōhoku earthquake generated a tsunami about 14 meters high. The quake and tsunami, followed by hundreds of aftershocks, including some measuring 7.0Mw or larger, killed thousands of people, razing entire towns and villages, destroying or damaging more than 120,000 buildings. The giant tsunami also crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi I nuclear power plant, resulting in a nuclear disaster with multiple core meltdowns and large scale radioactive fallout.

• If the IAEA was effective, it would have shut down all nuclear power plants in Japan, long before the Fukushima meltdowns, to prevent such disasters.

• If the IAEA was NOT corrupt, it would have permanently shut down all nuclear power plants in Japan after Fukushima meltdowns, to prevent repeat disasters.

Meanwhile, back in Japan…

IAEA Begins Evaluating Japan’s Alleged Efforts on making Nuclear Power Plants Safe (!)

On Monday, IAEA began evaluating Japanese government’s alleged improvement work on ensuring “safety” of nuclear power plants, according to a report.

“A group of experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began on Monday its planned assessment of the Japanese government’s efforts to ensure safe use of nuclear power plants.”

“This mission will assess the new regulatory framework established in Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi [disaster,]” Philippe Jamet, the IAEA delegation’s head, told reporters.

“The IAEA mission to Japan includes representatives from 24 countries, according to the organization’s website. They are expected to visit nuclear facilities to inspect the infrastructure, to meet with representatives of the Japanese nuclear power industry. The mission will end on January 22. Based on the results, the IAEA will produce a report on the country’s nuclear safety,” the report said.

WE WILL SEE!

Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant

Record 25 sieverts per hour detected at Fukushima No. 1 reactor: TEPCO

Radiation was detected in an area near a steel pipe that connects reactor buildings and could kill a person in 20 minutes, if exposed, local media reported.

The highest radiation level [so far] was detected at an outdoor location at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor on Dec. 6, said Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant’s operator and the utility responsible for the clean-up of the crippled nuclear plant.

The reading of 25 sieverts per hour was taken on steel piping near an exhaust stack for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, TEPCO reported.

An exhaust stack sits between the No. 1 and No. 2 reactor buildings at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, March 15, 2011. Source:  TEPCO handout.

In an earlier report, the utility announced high radiation levels of at least 10 sieverts per hour were found on the piping outside the reactor.

“TEPCO measured airborne radiation at eight locations around the piping to calculate surface radiation on two spots with particularly high readings, and found about 25 sieverts per hour and about 15 sieverts per hour, the company said,” local media reported.

Radioactive materials separated from melted fuel may have entered the pipes during venting shortly after the plant was “nuked” in March 2011 and remained there, said a TEPCO official.

The catastrophic mega earthquake that struck the Tōhoku region on March 11, 2011 triggered a major tsunami that inflicted massive damage along Japan’s east coast, paralyzing the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear plant and causing triple meltdown with large-scale radioactive fallout.

More than 400 tons of contaminated water is being produced and stored in hastily prepared, unsuitable containers at the site each day.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposed last week to consider dumping toxic water into the ocean.

“Regarding the growing amounts of contaminated water at the site, TEPCO should… examine all options for its further management, including the possibility of resuming controlled discharges (into the ocean) in compliance with authorized (!) limits,” said the IAEA in a statement.

Two-thirds of evacuees from Fukushima towns won’t be returning home

A survey conducted in October by  Reconstruction Agency showed that 67.1 percent of respondents from Okuma and 64.7 percent from Futaba  had decided not to return home. The latest figures were up from 42.3 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively from a January survey, which used slightly different wording, said Asahi-Shimbun.

The towns of Okuma and Futaba were turned into ghost town following the mass evacuations that ensued the Fukushima reactor  meltdowns.

At least 73  percent of respondents from Okuma said radiation levelshad   not fallen, while 68 percent of Futaba evacuees said it would take too long before they could return to their hometown.

“The survey covered the heads of 5,043 households in Okuma and of 3,394 households in Futaba,” said the report.

Related Links

• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers Posted on October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• Overflow of Water from the Dike of H8-South Area at Fukushima Daiichi NPS  Oct 2, 2013

• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013
• Disaster Deepens at “Nuked” Fukushima Plant August 21, 2013
• Fukushima SNAFU August 20, 2013

For earlier links, where they have not been hacked, search blog content.

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – September 21, 2013

The Collapse Countdown Continues…

Powerful Typhoon USAGI Slams into N. Philippines

Packing sustained winds of 185km/h gusting up to 230 km/h, USAGI made landfall on Itbayat, the Philippine island closest to Taiwan on Batanes island group.

The typhoon has triggered severe flooding and landslides destroying homes, uprooting trees and power lines, and inundating croplands.

“A flash flood occurred and trees were uprooted from the mountain and swept by roiling waters to the town. Many houses lost their roofs or were destroyed. Damage to crops is heavy and landslides were reported all around.” A senior official and a former congressman for Batanes told Reuters

USAGI has already affected thousands of people, and portends more damage and destruction along its path.

The typhoon is moving slowly WNW at about 17 km/h toward southern China, according to several models.

Typhoon USAGI as it passed through the Luzon Strait. Image recorded at 07:30UTC on September 20, 2013. Credit: NOAA

-oOo-

Flooding in Mexico Become the Country’s Costliest Disasters

Devastation caused by flooding and mudslides triggered by twin storms INGRID and MANUEL have affected hundreds of towns and villages in Mexico, leaving at least 100 people dead and many dozens missing.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, including at least 50,000 residents in the resort town of Acapulco.

All the dams in the country are practically at 100 percent. This is very serious,” according to Evaluacion de Riesgos Naturales, a Mexican natural disaster risk assessment company.

Scores of highways, bridges and other public infrastructure have been completely destroyed by the flooding and mudslides.

-oOo-

US Air Force nearly detonated hydrogen bomb over North Carolina

The US Air Force nearly detonated an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atom bomb, said a report.

Two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs, each with a payload of 4 megatons, were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina on 23 January 1961, after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air.

“The MK Mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne alert role in the B-52,” wrote Parker F. Jones, supervisor of the nuclear weapons safety department at Sandia National Laboratories in his 1969 assessment.

One of the two bombs that fell to earth, “behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.”

“One simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe…It would have been bad news – in spades.” Jones said.

Nuclear fallout from a 4-megaton detonation would have put millions of lives at risk in large portion of eastern United States encompassing major cities like Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

The document detailing the incident was obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act.

The US government had previously denied that any such incident ever took place.

“The US government has consistently tried to withhold information from the American people in order to prevent questions being asked about our nuclear weapons policy,” Schlosser told the UK Guardian. “We were told there was no possibility of these weapons accidentally detonating, yet here’s one that very nearly did.”

Schlosser says he discovered at least 700 “significant” incidents involving nuclear weapons between 1950 and 1968 at the height of nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union.

-oOo-

IAEA Members Vote Down Resolution on Israeli Nukes

A resolution sponsored by Arab countries calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has been voted down by 51 countries including the U.S., Japan and dozens of Israel-first European countries.

Some 43 other nations voted in favor of the resolution, which was put to vote in Vienna on Friday.

-oOo-

Two dozen killed, 55 wounded in Nairobi shopping mall shooting

A group of 5 to 10 gunmen, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades, attacked the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi midday Saturday, killing at least two dozen people and leaving 55 others wounded.

“We are treating this as a terrorist attack,” said police chief Benson Kibue, adding that there are likely no more than 10 attackers involved.

The Westgate Mall is situated in Nairobi’s affluent Westlands area and is frequented by wealthy Kenyans and expatriates, reports said.

-oOo-

Disaster Deepens at “Nuked” Fukushima Plant

More tanks may be leaking contaminated water: NRA

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) has raised the severity of the Fukushima crisis from a level 1 “anomaly” to a level 3 “serious incident” on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES), an international scale for radiological releases.

[NOTE: Each step increase on INES represents a 10-fold jump in severity.]

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said on Tuesday that highly contaminated water was leaking from a storage tank; however, the NRA fears that more of the storage tanks may be leaking.

NRA Chairman has likened the nuked Fukushima plant to a house of horrors at an amusement park. “I don’t know if describing it this way is appropriate, but it’s like a haunted house and, as I’ve said, mishaps keep happening one after the other,” he told reporters. “We have to look into how we can reduce the risks and how to prevent it from becoming a fatal or serious incident.”

Meantime, the deadly farce continues…

Japan’s Nuclear Facilities. Copyright © Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA, Japan). All Rights Reserved.

TEPCO: Press Release (Aug 21,2013) Water Leak at a Tank in the H4 area in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (Follow-up Information 6)

This is follow-up information on the “water leak at a tank in the H4 area in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station” found on August 19.

We would like to announce analysis results on seawater near the exit of the side ditch of the south water outlet and water in the side ditch in front of the core warehouse, sampled yesterday (on August 20), as follows.

As a result of the analysis this time, the densities in seawater near the exit of the side ditch of the south water outlet were found to fall within the fluctuation ranges of the past densities measured on a regular basis in seawater near the exit of the side ditch of the south water outlet. The densities in water of the side ditch in front of the core warehouse were found almost unchanged from the results obtained yesterday.

<Seawater of the south water outlet (near the exit of the side ditch) (sampling performed at 2:20 PM on August 20)>
Cesium-134:Below the detection limit value [the detection limit value: 1.1Bq/L (1×10^-3Bq/cm³)]
Cesium-137:1.8Bq/L (1.8×10^-3Bq/cm³)
All β:Below the detection limit value [the detection limit value: 19Bq/L (1.9×10^-2Bq/cm³)]

<Water of the side ditch in front of the core warehouse (sampling performed at 11:40 AM on August 20)>
Cesium-134:Below the detection limit value [the detection limit value: 19Bq/L (1.9×10^-2Bq/cm³)]
Cesium-137:Below the detection limit value [the detection limit value: 27Bq/L (2.7×10^-2Bq/cm³)]
All β:93Bq/L (9.3×10^-2Bq/cm³)

We are to continuously conduct analysis today on seawater of the south water outlet (near the exit of the side ditch) and water of the side ditch in front of the core warehouse.

For the past sampling results, please refer to the following page on our website:  http:// www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/index-e.html

The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)

The INES, a logarithmic scale, which was introduced in 1990 by the IAEA to enable prompt communication, classifies the intensity of nuclear incidents as follows:

[NOTE: Each step increase on INES represents a 10-fold jump in severity.]

7 – Major Accident [Chernobyl disaster, criticality accident, April 1986]

6 – Serious Accident [e.g., Kyshtym incident, Mayak, former Soviet Union, steam explosion released up to 80 tons of highly radioactive material into the atmosphere, September 1957. ]

5 – Accident With Wider Consequences [e.g., Three Mile Island accident  Pen State, U.S., partial meltdown release radioactive gases  into the environment, March 1979.]

4 – Accident With Local Consequences [e.g., Sellafield, UK, at least 5 incidents reported between 1955 to 1979]

3 – Serious Incident [e.g., Vandellos NPP, Spain, fire destroyed control systems; the reactor was shut down, July1989]

2 – Incident [e.g., Forsmark NPP, Sweden, a backup generator failed, July 2006]

1 – Anomaly [e.g., TNPC, France, 1,600 gallons of water containing 75 kilograms (170 lb) of uranium leaked into the environment,  July 2008]

0 – Deviation (No Safety Significance) [e.g., Atucha, Argentina – Reactor shutdown caused by tritium increase in reactor encasement, December 2006.]

Related Links

• Fukushima SNAFU August 20, 2013
• Radioactive Water at Fukushima an ‘Emergency’: Watchdog August 5, 2013
• Nuke Disasters
• Japan Quakes
• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country
• Record High Radiation Found in Fukushima Fish March 1, 2013
• Radiation Record Broken by Fukushima Fish March 18, 2013
• Fukushima Pre-Harvested Rice Contaminated by Radiation September 24, 2011\
• Japan’s Nuclear Industry: Mega Disaster in the Making  June 11, 2011
• Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts

Also search the blog for dozens of additional entries on “Fukushima.”

What is a lethal dose of radiation from a single Exposure?

Studies of the 1945 atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki show that 100 percent of victims whose bodies were exposed to 600,000 millirems (6,000 mSv) died from radiation. About 50 percent of victims who received  450,000 millirems (4,500 mSv) of radiation also died.

(Note: Rem is a unit of ionizing radiation equal to the amount that produces the same damage to humans as one roentgen of high-voltage x-rays.  Source: MIT)

1 rem = 10 mSv  (1 Sv = 100 rem)

Background Radiation in millirems per year (mrem/yr)

• Average background radiation (US):  300
• Higher altitudes (e.g, Denver): 400

“Safe Levels” of Radiation (U.S.)

Limits above natural background radiation levels (average 300 millirems per year) and medical radiation:

• Occupation Limit: Maximum of 5,000  (the limit for a worker using radiation)
• Average Natural Background: 300

[Note: Lifetime cumulative exposure should be limited to a person’s age multiplied by 1,000 millirems, e.g., a 70-year-old person, 70,000 millirems.]

Adults

• Max single dose for an adult: 3,000
• Annual total dose: 5,000

Under 18

• Max single dose for a person aged under 18 years: 300 millirems (whole body equivalent)
• Annual total exposure: 500

Fetal Exposure

• Maximum limit for fetal exposure during gestation period:  50 millirems per month above background levels

Medical

• Single Chest X-ray (the whole body equivalent): 2 millirem

Air Travel

• Coast-to-coast US round trip flight: 12 millirems

*Note:  Radiation dose of about 2,000 millisieverts (200,000 millirems) cause serious illness.

Half-life of some radioactive elements

[NOTE: Half-life is the time taken for a radioactive substance to decay by half.]

• Cesium-134 ~ 2  years
• Cesium-137 ~ 30 years
• Iodine-131 ~ 8 days
• Plutonium-239 ~ 24,200 years

• Ruthenium-103 ~ 39 days [Ruthenium is a fission product of uranium-235.]
• Ruthenium-106 ~ 374 days
• Strontium-90 ~ 28.85 years  [Strontium-90 is a product of nuclear fission and is found in large amounts in spent nuclear fuel and in radioactive waste from nuclear reactors.]

• Uranium-234 ~  246,000 years
• Uranium-235 ~ 703.8  million years
• Uranium-238  ~ 4.468 billion years

Probability of a nuclear disaster striking near you

Places Most at Risk of Nuclear Disasters

Global

Nuclear power is harmful to the planet and all its lifeforms. Any nuclear disaster striking anywhere on the planet has global implications.

Currently 32 countries operate nuclear power plants, 27 of which are building even more reactor units. Fifteen other countries that are currently without nuclear power  plan to build one or more plants.

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster by Country

THIS SECTION HAS BEEN REVISED AND POSTED AT

Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country

on April 18, 2011

United States

Coming soon …

Notes:

1. The list represents a snapshot of events at the time of calculating the probabilities. Any forecast posted  here is subject to numerous variable factors.
2. Figures in the bracket represent the probability of an incident occurring out of 1,000; the forecast duration is valid for the next 50  months.
3. Probability includes a significant worsening of Fukushima nuclear disaster, and future quakes forecast for Japan.
4. A nuclear incident is defined as a level 5 (Accident With Wider Consequences), or worse, on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). See below.
5. Safety issues considered in compiling these lists include the age, number of units and capacity of nuclear reactors in each country/state, previous incidents, probability of damage from human-enhanced natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, wildfires, flooding… ]
6. The  Blog’s knowledge concerning the extent to which the factors described in (3) might worsen during the forecast period greatly influences the forecast.

The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES)

The INES, a logarithmic scale, which was introduced in 1990 by the IAEA to enable prompt communication, classifies the intensity of nuclear incidents as follows:

7 – Major Accident [Chernobyl disaster, criticality accident, April 1986]

6 – Serious Accident [e.g., Kyshtym incident, Mayak, former Soviet Union, steam explosion released up to 80 tons of highly radioactive material into the atmosphere, September 1957. ]

5 – Accident With Wider Consequences [e.g., Three Mile Island accident  Pen State, U.S., partial meltdown release radioactive gases  into the environment, March 1979.]

4 – Accident With Local Consequences [e.g., Sellafield, UK, at least 5 incidents reported between 1955 to 1979]

3 – Serious Incident [e.g., Vandellos NPP, Spain, fire destroyed control systems; the reactor was shut down, July1989]

2 – Incident [e.g., Forsmark NPP, Sweden, a backup generator failed, July 2006]

1 – Anomaly [e.g., TNPC, France, 1,600 gallons of water containing 75 kilograms (170 lb) of uranium leaked into the environment,  July 2008]

0 – Deviation (No Safety Significance) [e.g., Atucha, Argentina – Reactor shutdown caused by tritium increase in reactor encasement, December 2006.]

To our readers whose comments were inadvertently omitted while revising and reposing  this list:  Please resubmit your comment.