FIRE-EARTH Presentation: Pump Up the Volume!!

The impact of climate change on nuclear and hydroelectric power production!

• Prepared by FIRE-EARTH Science and affiliated scientists..

Details available via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

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France’s Nuclear Nightmare Deepening

29 EDF nuclear reactors risk complete or partial loss of cooling systems –ASN

The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has issued an INES level 2 alert (scale of 0-7) due to the risk of loss of cooling systems for 20 of the reactors “of concern” operated by EDF.

The 29 reactors, with capacities ranging from 900 – 1300 MWe, are located at 12 nuclear power plants in the Belleville-sur-Loire, Cattenom, Chinon, Cruas, Dampierre-en-Burly, Golfech, Nogent-sur-Seine, Paluel, Saint-Alban and Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux NPPs, ASN reported.

The reactor heat sink could be lost owing to the unavailability of the pumps of the reactor essential service water system (SEC) as a result of internal flooding following an earthquake-induced rupture of the piping supplying water to the fire protection network (JPP system) and the raw water filtration network (SFI or CFI systems).

Vulnerability to Earthquakes

“The insufficient earthquake resistance of a JPP pipe was initially detected by EDF in the Belleville-sur-Loire NPP. Additional investigations requested by ASN and performed by EDF in early June 2017 revealed that several sections of these pipes were degraded, with thicknesses less than the minimum thickness required for earthquake resistance. This degradation is the result of corrosion which may have developed because of a lack of appropriate preventive maintenance. This event was provisionally rated level 1 on the INES scale on 2^nd August 2017,” ASN reported.

Risk of Total Loss of Heat Sink

“EDF then took thickness measurements on piping sections of other systems (SFI and CFI) situated in the same areas as the JPP pipes, from early July to the end of September 2017, on all the EDF NPP reactors potentially concerned. Following this measurement campaign and then the earthquake resistance analysis of the piping concerned, EDF declared on 10^th October 2017 that 20 reactors were concerned by a risk of total loss of heat sink (loss of both trains of the SEC system). This event is therefore rated level 2 on the INES…”

20 Reactors Subject to the INES Level 2 Alert (“Incident”)

• Belleville-sur-Loire NPP: reactors 1 and 2
• Cattenom NPP: reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4
• Chinon NPP: reactors B3 and B4
• Cruas NPP: reactors 1 and 4
• Dampierre-en Burly NPP: reactors 1, 2, 3 and 4
• Golfech NPP: reactors 1 and 2
• Nogent-sur-Seine NPP: reactors 1 and 2
• Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux NPP: reactors B1 and B2

9 Reactors subject to the INES Level 0 Alert (“Deviation”)

• Cruas NPP: reactors 2 and 3
• Paluel NPP: reactors 3 and 4
• Saint-Alban NPP: reactors 1 and 2
• Tricastin NPP: reactors 1, 3 and 4

EDF

Électricité de France (EDF) is the country’s main electricity generation and distribution company, managing 58 reactors. French Government owns about 85% of EDF shares.

Nuclear power forms 40% of France’s energy consumption, and is the largest source of electricity generation in the country, accounting for more than 76% of the total production of 546 TWh in 2015, the highest percentage in the world.

 

Japanese Courts ‘Play Chicken’ with Potential Nuclear Disaster

WHAT IF ANOTHER MAJOR EARTHQUAKE…?

The Ikata Nuclear Power Plant (Ikata NPP) is located in the town of Ikata in Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It’s owned and operated by the Shikoku Electric Power Company.

The plant was shut down along with all other nuclear plants in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Currently, it is one of two nuclear power stations operating in Japan.

Two reactors at Takahama plant are also operating currently after a high court overturned an earlier decision by a district court that had stopped the NPP operations since March 2016.

Japanese high courts are evidently among the most corrupt judiciary in the world.

 

Massive Radiation at Fukushima Reactor ‘Blinds’ Cleaner Robot

Decommissioning of Nuclear Reactors at Fukushima a Pipe Dream?

TEPCO sent a remote-controlled cleaning robot inside the crippled reactor no. 2 at Fukushima nuclear plant, but was forced to withdraw it on Thursday before it could complete its mission because of camera damage most likely caused by high radiation levels of about 650 Sieverts per hour, according to the operator.

TEPCO managers insist that despite the dangerously high figures, radiation is contained inside the reactor unit and is not leaking out.

The operator has not yet established the exact location, condition and quantity of melted fuel and the nature of structural damage in the three stricken reactors.

Three reactors were critically damaged and suffered meltdown in March 2011, after a mega [KSFA] earthquake and tsunami hit the area.

• Additional details are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Related Links

• Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war: 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP

Nuclear Power: Explosion Rocks Flamanville NPP in France

Explosion and fire reported at Flamanville NPP, N. France

About a dozen people have been injured in an explosion that rocked Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant in Manche, Cotentin Peninsula, on France’s northern coast, according to local reports.

The power plant houses two pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that produce a total of 2.6 GWe. They came into service in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Their combined annual output of about 19 TWh is the equivalent of 4.5% of the fission-electricity production in France.

• Additional information is available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Nuclear fuel debris possibly found at Fukushima Daiichi NPP

• CJ Members
• EAC
• OC Teams

Decommissioning of crippled Fukushima NPP hits new snag

Workers have found a black mass, most likely Nuclear fuel debris, below the containment vessel at Fukushima Daiichi reactor No. 2  left over since the 2011 meltdown disaster, plant operator Tepco said today.

• Details are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

 

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!

Explosion Rocks Doel Nuclear Power Plant in Belgium

Fire reported at Doel nuclear power plant

An explosion occurred Saturday night at Reactor 1 of Doel nuclear power plant (NPP) located in northern Belgium, local media reported.

The 40-year-old unit, the oldest in the country, is one of 4 reactors at the plant and has a name-plate capacity of 454Mw.

Belgium’s other NPP, Tihange, houses 3 reactor units that began operating commercially between 1975 and 1985.

Following an incident at Doel in August 2012, cracks were discovered at the reactor pressure vessel of the No 3 reactor,  sparking international inspections of similar vessels manufactured by the now-bankrupt Dutch firm Rotterdam Drydock Company, said a report.

“The discovery of the cracks at Doel’s Unit 3 by the use of a new ultrasound measuring technique, sent a nervous ripple through the international nuclear industry.

“Rotterdam Drydock Company had sold 21 reactor vessels to nuclear power plants in the US, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK,” Associated Press belatedly reported.

At least 9 million people live within a 75 km radius of Doel, and 5.76 million others live within a similar distance from Tihange NPP.

There was no reliable details available concerning the latest incident at Doel, as of posting.

Record-high Radioactive Water Leaks at Fukushima NPP

NOTE: Many of the links posted below have previously been blocked or buried by Google, WordPress and others

SNAFU IN JAPAN
CRIMINAL INCOMPETENCE AT FUKUSHIMA
“COSMIC-LEVEL” RADIATION LEAK
CRIMES AGAINST NATURE
.

100 tons of highly radioactive water has leaked out of a tank: TEPCO

The criminally incompetent operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says 100 tons of contaminated water containing record high levels of radioactive substances have overflowed from a storage tank.

Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on Thursday workers had found the highly contaminated, massive leak in one of the tanks near the Number 4 reactor building Wednesday night.

The spill contained an extraordinarily high 230-million becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, which is about 7.6 million times the government’s standard for contaminated water that can be released into the sea.

Highly contaminated water leaked from a storage tank at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan.  Handout photo released by TEPCO on February 20, 2014. (via Reuters).

On October 18, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima

On November 7, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

• Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war.

On January 13, 2014 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

THE TEPCO REPORT, QUOTED BY JAPAN’S ASAHI SHIMBUN, MAY BE SERIOUSLY FLAWED.

ACCORDING TO http://new.atmc.jp/ THE RADIATION LEVEL AT OR NEAR FUKUSHIMA PLANT IS ≥ 40 MICROSIEVERT PER HOUR (OR ~ 350 mSv/yr)

NOTES:

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

2. Average background radiation in the US is about 3 mS/yr. [Ironically, the average background radiation in many parts of Japan is about 1mS/yr, or a third of that in the U.S.]

3. The average annual radiation dose per person in the U.S. is currently 620 millirem (6.2 mSv), according to EPA. “Half of our average dose comes from natural background sources: cosmic radiation from space, naturally occurring radioactive minerals in the ground and in your body, and from the radioactive gases radon and thoron, which are created when other naturally occurring elements undergo radioactive decay. Another 48 percent of our dose comes from medical diagnostics and treatments.”

Related Links

• Radiation Levels at Fukushima Hugely Underestimated: TEPCO February 8, 2014
• Look for the Cracks!  January 21, 2014
• “Radioactive River” Flowing at Fukushima No. 3 Reactor January 20, 2014
• Fukushima Radiation Level 8 Times* Govt Standard: TEPCO January 13, 2014
• Record Radiation Detected at Fukushima [AGAIN] December 22, 2013
• Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense December 14, 2013
• Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant December 9, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013

For additional links to the never-ending nuclear disaster at Fukushima, search blog content, where they have not been hacked.

Radiation Levels at Fukushima Hugely Underestimated: TEPCO

NOTE: Many of the links posted below have previously been blocked or buried by Google, WordPress and others

“NEVER-ENDING” NUCLEAR DISASTER
.

TEPCO admits serious flaws in its Fukushima radiation readings

The operator of the nuked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant said it will review its radiation data because their initial readings may be seriously flawed.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says it detected radiation levels of 5 million becquerels per liter of radioactive strontium in groundwater samples collected last July from one of its wells near the ocean.

The radioactivity level is more than 160,000 times the regulatory maximum  for radioactive wastewater allowed to be released into the sea.

A team [of well-paid observers]  from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) holding hands singing kumbaya at Fukushima, December 2013. “The team has praised Japan for making progress in stabilizing the Fukushima nuclear plant,” reported BBC. Image IAEA handout via Reuters/BBC.

Based on the latest admission, TEPCO now estimates with that level of radioactive strontium present, the count for beta-emitting radioactive substances must be 10 million becquerels per liter, or 11 times their initial estimate of 900,000 becquerels per liter, reported NHK.

The plant operator attributes the error to incorrect measuring methods that were in place until last October.

TEPCO says it will review other data acquired using the old, improper method, including the radiation level of more than 300 tons of toxic waste water that leaked from a storage tank in August 2013.

The initial reading for the leaked radioactive water showed up to 80-million becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances, including strontium, said the report.

On October 18, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima

On November 7, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

• Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war.

On January 13, 2014 FIRE-EARTH said [but was censored by Google, WordPress and others]:

THE TEPCO REPORT, QUOTED BY JAPAN’S ASAHI SHIMBUN, MAY BE SERIOUSLY FLAWED.

ACCORDING TO http://new.atmc.jp/ THE RADIATION LEVEL AT OR NEAR FUKUSHIMA PLANT IS ≥ 40 MICROSIEVERT PER HOUR (OR ~ 350 mSv/yr)

NOTES:

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

2. Average background radiation in the US is about 3 mS/yr.]

3. The average annual radiation dose per person in the U.S. is currently 620 millirem (6.2 mSv), according to EPA. “Half of our average dose comes from natural background sources: cosmic radiation from space, naturally occurring radioactive minerals in the ground and in your body, and from the radioactive gases radon and thoron, which are created when other naturally occurring elements undergo radioactive decay. Another 48 percent of our dose comes from medical diagnostics and treatments.”

Related Links

• Look for the Cracks!  January 21, 2014
• “Radioactive River” Flowing at Fukushima No. 3 Reactor January 20, 2014
• Fukushima Radiation Level 8 Times* Govt Standard: TEPCO January 13, 2014
• Record Radiation Detected at Fukushima [AGAIN] December 22, 2013
• Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense December 14, 2013
• Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant December 9, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013

For additional links to the never-ending nuclear disaster at Fukushima, search blog content, where they have not been hacked.

Look for the Cracks!

NOTE: At least two of the links posted below have previously been censored by Google and WordPress

ONGOING NUCLEAR DISASTER
.

Fukushima Farce: Look for the cracks and ya shall find them at the and of the brook!

A day or so after FIRE-EARTH Editor suggested radioactive leaks inside the No. 3 reactor building most probably came from cracks in the containment vessel, the plant operator TEPCO says they suspect the leak originates from around an opening in the containment vessel which connects to a steam pipe.

TEPCO says the area around the opening had previously been sealed with resin, but the substance likely deteriorated after being exposed to the heat from the melted fuel and salt from sea water poured into the vessels immediately after the disaster to cool down the chamber.

Technicians are now planning to locate the racks in the containment vessel and seal them, TEPCO said. [DO NOT use the same type of resin!!! Editor.]

Once they have sealed the cracks, they can refill the vessel with water and remove the melted fuel, at least in theory.

However, they cannot enter the reactor building without being exposed to cosmic levels of radiation.

On October 18, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [and Google/Wordpress censored]: Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima

On November 7, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [and Google/Wordpress censored]: Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war.

Related Links

• “Radioactive River” Flowing at Fukushima No. 3 Reactor January 20, 2014

• Fukushima Radiation Level 8 Times* Govt Standard: TEPCO January 13, 2014
• Record Radiation Detected at Fukushima [AGAIN] December 22, 2013
• Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense December 14, 2013
• Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant December 9, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013

For additional links to the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, search blog content.

“Radioactive River” Flowing at Fukushima No. 3 Reactor

NOTE: At least two of the links posted below have previously been censored by Google/WordPress

ONGOING NUCLEAR DISASTER
.

Stream of radioactive water 30-cm wide continuously flowing at Reactor No.3

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), says the radioactive water leaking from the number 3 reactor building is most probably coming from the containment vessel.

A camera installed on a robot took a video of the radioactive stream on the first floor of the reactor building on Saturday. The stream, 30cm wide, is continuously flowing into a drain, said TEPCO.

“Radiactive River” at Fukushima Reactor No. 3. Source: Screenshot from TEPCO video broadcast by NHK.

Technicians have detected 24 million becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, including strontium, as well as 1.7 million becquerels per liter of Cesium 137, TEPCO said in a statement.

That level of contamination is almost as high as the radioactive materials in the water that has been accumulating in the basement of reactor building.

The water temperature is about 20ºC, which matches the temperature of the water at the bottom of the reactor [containment vessel,] said TEPCO.

TEPCO officials believe the water for cooling melted fuel in the containment vessel is leaking for reason that are unknown to them. [Try cracks in the containment vessel. Editor]

The company said they will continue with their investigation until they get to the bottom of it (!)

On November 7, 2013 FIRE-EARTH said [and Google/Wordpress censored]:

Scale of potential catastrophe at Fukushima could dwarf a limited nuclear war.

Related Links

• Fukushima Radiation Level 8 Times* Govt Standard: TEPCO January 13, 2014
• Record Radiation Detected at Fukushima [AGAIN] December 22, 2013
• Japan Renews Nuke Ambitions Despite Fukushima, Common Sense December 14, 2013
• Record Outdoor Radiation Level Detected at Nuked Fukushima Plant December 9, 2013
• TEPCO Continues to Contaminate the World October 3, 2013
• 80 Percent Chance of Major Catastrophe at Fukushima NPP November 7, 2013
• Crimes Against Nature: Water Overflows from 12 Fukushima Barriers October 21, 2013
• Fukushima Potentially More Disastrous Than Hiroshima October 18, 2013
• Fukushima Fatal Farce Turns Deadlier September 1, 2013

For additional links to ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima, search blog content.

Chernobyl Disaster: Ukraine Marks 27th Anniversary

Radioactive cloud from Chernobyl explosion traveled half way around the world

The explosion at Chernobyl nuclear power plant 27 years ago has so far claimed at least a million lives, and counting. The core meltdown, which occurred on Saturday, April 26, 1986 at reactor No. 4 of the V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station, as it was then called, left entire regions in three countries—Ukraine, Russia and Belarus—unlivable.

The radionuclide levels still exceed the normal background in 60 Ukrainian towns and villages.

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant underwent a core meltdown [center] in 1986 with disastrous consequences. The radionuclide levels still exceed the normal background in 60 Ukrainian towns and villages. This image was taken by authorities in the former Soviet Union.

Ongoing Health Issues

“The nation’s health is deteriorating,” Mykhailo Kurik, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Ecology, told Xinhua, asserting that the damage to nature and environment was severe and long-lasting.

“Just after the accident, a huge quantity of radionuclides, including the burning particles, which are extremely dangerous for the environment, were released. These isotopes have very long half-lives, so Ukraine will feel the devastating effects of the catastrophe for decades,” Kurik said.

Radioactive emissions from Chernobyl explosion were more than 100 times higher than the combined contamination caused by the atomic bombs dropped on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, experts have said.

Remembering Chernobyl Victims

The sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is seen behind a building decorated with a graffiti in the abandoned city of Prypiat April 4, 2011. Belarus, Ukraine and Russia will mark the 25th anniversary of the nuclear reactor explosion in Chernobyl, the place where the world’s worst civil nuclear accident took place, on April 26. Engineers are still struggling to regain control of damaged reactors at the Fuskushima plant after last month’s earthquake and tsunami, in the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986, with the government urging the operator of the plant to act faster to stop radiation spreading. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich. Image may be subject to copyright. Reuters images …

Never Ending Nightmare at

“In mid-February, a 600-square-meter section of the roof at the Chernobyl site collapsed, sparking fears of another disaster. The collapse occurred 70 meters above the sarcophagus that contains the radiation from the damaged No. 4 reactor.” Said a report.

Experts estimate that 190 tons of reactor fuel remain under the existing sarcophagus that covers the disaster stricken power plant.

Birth defects and cancer were the norm for many years following the Chernobyl disaster.  By the time  residents of Pripyat, a town located near the plant, were ordered to evacuate, about two days after the Chernobyl core meltdown had occurred, many had already been exposed to varying doses of radiation poisoning.

1 Million Killed in Chernobyl Disaster

“A report by Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko which appeared in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science showed that by 2004, there were 985,000 additional deaths worldwide caused by the nuclear disaster, including 212,000 of them within Western Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.”

Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere

Consequences of the Catastrophe. Authors  Alexey Yablokov (Center for Russian Environmental Policy in Moscow), Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko ( Institute of Radiation Safety, Minsk, Belarus) studies about 5,000 reports and scientific  papers mostly published in Slavic languages and compiled their finding in the  book “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” which was published last year on the 24th anniversary of the Chernobyl reactor core meltdown.

“For the past 23 years, it has been clear that there is a danger greater than nuclear weapons concealed within nuclear power. Emissions from this one reactor exceeded a hundred-fold the radioactive contamination of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” They wrote.

“No citizen of any country can be assured that he or she can be protected from radioactive contamination. One nuclear reactor can pollute half the globe,” the authors said. “Chernobyl fallout covers the entire Northern Hemisphere.”

According to the book, a total of about 830,000 people, referred to as the “liquidators,” were responsible for various emergency works at the Chernobyl site including fire extinguishing, decontamination and cleanup.

The authors say between 112,000 and 125,000 of the  liquidators had died by 2005.  The authors also estimate that between 1986 and 2004 some 985,000 people died as a result of Chernobyl fallout {2011 estimates are well over a million deaths.]

“Official discussions from the International Atomic Energy Agency and associated United Nations’ agencies (e.g. the Chernobyl Forum reports) have largely downplayed or ignored many of the findings reported in the Eastern European scientific literature and consequently have erred by not including these assessments.” The authors said last year.

Chernobyl and Other Nuclear Stats

• More than 95% of the radioactive material (180 metric tons with a radioactivity of about 18 million curies) still remains inside the Chernobyl reactor.
• The  core meltdown at Chernobyl was said to have released radiation estimated at 50 million curies. Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations said in 1995 that the meltdown had released about 140 million curies. [Researchers Alexey Yablokov, Vassily Nesterenko and Alexey Nesterenko say the radiation released from Chernobyl may have been up to 10 billion curies. In comparison, the Hiroshima bomb released about 3 million curies.]
• Immediately after the accident, 237 people suffered from acute radiation sickness, and 31 died within the first 90 days of the disaster.
• About 135,000 people were evacuated from the area surrounding the plant, including 50,000 from the town of Pripyat.
• The Academy’s  estimate for the number of casualties  are more than 90,000 deaths and more than a quarter of a million cancer cases.
• The Ukrainian National Commission for Radiation Protection calculates the number of radiation casualties at half a million  deaths so far.
• In a book published by the New York Academy of Sciences last year on the 24th anniversary of the reactor core meltdown, the researchers maintain that about one million people have died from exposure to radiation released by the Chernobyl reactor so far [as of 2010.]
• “In the former Soviet Union at least 9 million people have been effected by the accident; 2.5 million in Belarus; 3.5 million in Ukraine; and 3 million in Russia. In total over 160 000 Km2 are contaminated in the three republics.” source
• Some 441 commercial nuclear power reactors are  operating in 31 countries ( total capacity of 376 gigawatts) each of which is potentially as lethal as Chernobyl, if not worse. [This item, updated here, was written before the Fukushima nuclear disaster began unfolding.]
• An estimated 56 countries operate more than 250 research reactors.
• At least 220 nuclear reactors power military ships and submarines.

Legacy: More than 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed among children and adolescents between 1992 to 2002 in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Victims under 14 years were most severely affected by the elevated concentrations of radioiodine found in milk.

• Incidents of skin lesions, respiratory ailments, infertility and birth defects were readily found among the more than five million people who inhabit the affected areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine for many years following the accident.

The Poisoned land. Up to 5 million people continue to live on radioactive contaminated land. About 85% of the children who live in contaminated areas of Belarus today are ill, a near 6-fold increase compared to the time before the explosion (15%), according to The Belarusian National Academy of Sciences.

Fukushima NPP

Fukushima NPP is said to contain about 4,277 tons of nuclear fuel, about 24 times as much as Chernobyl (~ 180 tons).

“The Fukushima Dai-ichi site has a considerable number of fuel rods on hand, according to information provided Thursday by Toyko Electric Power Co., which owns the atomic complex: There are 3,400 tons of fuel in seven spent fuel pools within the six-reactor plant, including one joint pool storing very old fuel from units 3 and 4. There are 877 tons in five of the reactor cores. Officials have said that the fuel in Unit 4′s reactor vessel was transferred to its spent fuel pool when the unit was temporarily shut in November.” AP reported.

On April 12, Japanese authorities raised the measure of severity of the Fukushima NPP disaster to the maximum level of 7 on INES. (See below for details.)

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.]

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

Related Links

• Chernobyl nuclear disaster: 25th anniversary Posted by feww on April 26, 2011

• Chernobyl legacy to linger long after most humans have gone
• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country
• Chernobyl: A Night to Remember!
• All is NOT Well at Chernobyl
• World’s Worst Polluted Places
• Chernobyl: The Day After

Related Links:

• Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment
• 1 Million Killed in Chernobyl Disaster

Hongyanhe: Another Nuclear Ticking Time Bomb?

Hongyanhe NPP began operation

Hongyanhe nuclear power plant’s  first 1,000 megawatt (MW) unit started operation Sunday, according to the plant’s operator, Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. 

• Hongyanhe NPP, located in Liaoning Province, is the first nuclear power plant and largest energy project in northeast China.

• The plant is said to be also the first in China to use desalinated seawater for cooling its pressurized water reactors (PWRs).

• It is located near the city of Wafangdian, some 104 km from Dalian, Liaoning Province (registered population: ~ 45 million).

• Dalian is a major city and seaport located south of Liaoning province, surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the east and the Bohai Sea to the west and south.

Original caption: Photo taken on July 12, 2012 shows the Hongyanhe nuclear power station near Wafangdian, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. The Hongyanhe nuclear power station, the first nuclear power plant and largest energy project in northeast China, started operation on Sunday afternoon. Construction on the first phase of the project, which features four power generation units [1,000 MW CPR-1000 PWRs, which are based on Areva design] to be built at a cost of 50 billion yuan (7.96 billion U.S. dollars), began in 2007 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2015. The four units will generate 30 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity annually by then. Construction on the second phase of the project, which features two power generation units to be built with an investment of 25 billion yuan, started in May 2010 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. The power plant will generate 45 billion kwh of electricity after it is fully completed in 2016. (Xinhua). – Image may be subject to copyright.

Related Links

• Nuclear Power

.

February 18, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,118 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,118 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Disaster Calendar – 16 June 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,369 Days Left

[June 16, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,369 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

• Japan. No one is quite capable of taking pride in ignorance than the wanting in self-esteem, self-serving and ultimately corrupt Japanese politicians.
  • The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, and the country’s Industry Minister, Yukio Edano, have announced the resumption of nuclear power operations at two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Co at Ohi Nuclear Power Plant (Ōi NPP), in Fukui Prefecture, western Japan.
  • The reactors are the first to resume operation after they were shut down following the Fukushima meltdown, world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.
  • More reactors elsewhere in the country are expected to follow suit.
  • There are uncorroborated reports that the incidents of birth defects in Fukui Prefecture are higher than in most of the rest of Japan.
  • It’s believed that a number of nuclear incidents have occurred at Oi NPP, but the reports were not made public.
  • It can be argued that the Japanese deserve their government. Unfortunately, nuclear disasters have global repercussions.
  • See also:
    • Japan Earthquakes, Disasters: Recent History and FIRE-EARTH Forecasts
    • Chernobyl legacy to linger long after most humans have gone

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Nebraska Nuke Plant Remains Shut After Missouri River Flooding

The Fort Calhoun NPP in Nebraska still in shutdown following Missouri River flooding  

The federal government insists the plant has not flooded and is NOT expected to pose any danger.

Original caption: The Fort Calhoun nuclear power station in Fort Calhoun, Neb., currently shut down for refueling, is surrounded by flood waters from the Missouri River, Tuesday, June 14, 2011. On Tuesday, the releases at Gavins Point Dam in South Dakota hit the maximum planned amount of 150,000 cubic feet of water per second, which are expected to raise the Missouri River 5 to 7 feet above flood stage in most of Nebraska and Iowa. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik). Image may be subject to copyright.

The 480-megawatt plant which is located north of Omaha shut down about 10 weeks ago to refuel, but has remained shut since due to flooding, according to Omaha Public Power District (OPPD).

The Fort Calhoun NPP has a single CE pressurized water reactor generating about 480 megawatts of electricity, the smallest commercial power reactor in North America.

OPPD is “a customer-owned utility,” which provides electricity to about 346,000 customers in all or parts of 13 counties in east and southeast Nebraska.

“Floodwaters are already surrounding the Fort Calhoun plant. The river has risen 1.5 feet higher than Fort Calhoun’s 1,004-foot elevation above sea level, but the water is being held back by an 8-foot-tall flood barrier,” a report said on Friday.

“When the river reaches 1,004 feet above mean sea level, we shut down,” said OPPD spokesman Jeff Hanson. “We don’t have any idea when we’ll be able to start again.”

OPPD has not issued any updates since June 16, 2011.

Map of the flight restricted areas. Click image to enlarge.

News Links:

• Nebraska Nuclear Plant Lost Cooling System After Fire
• NRC Notification of Unusual Event 
• Temporary flight restrictions

Related Links

• Japan’s Nuclear Industry: Mega Disaster in the Making
• Fukushima NPP: “There must be a large leak”

• Unreported News: Motion to Dump Japan’s Nuclear Power Plants
• Shut Nuclear Plants: Electric Power Co Stockholders
• Storm Shuts Down 3  TVA Nuclear Reactors at Browns Ferry in Alabama

• Chernobyl nuclear disaster: 25th anniversary
• Tornado Damage Forces Virginia Nuclear Plant Shutdown
• Probability of a Nuclear Disaster – by Country

Atomkraft? Nein Danke!

German Democracy in Action

Most people in Germany OPPOSE nuclear power

17,000 riot police mobilized to suppress anti-nuclear protesters

Anti-nuclear protesters block the main road to Germany’s interim nuclear waste storage facility in the northern German village of Gorleben November 7, 2010. ‘Atomkraft? Nein Danke’ means ‘Nuclear power? No thanks.’ Credit: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch.

“German police used truncheons and teargas [and water cannons] Sunday to clear rail lines as they clashed with anti-nuclear activists trying to disrupt a shipment of nuclear waste heading to a storage dump.” More…

Wind Energy in Norway, Nuclear in F*nland

Are the Norwegians More Intelligent Than the Finns?

Top 10 Reasons why the Norwegians May Be More Intelligent that the Finns [then again …]:

10. Finland with an estimated population of 5.32million, most of whom are intoxicated most of the time [no offense intended, just citing a matter of fact relayed to us by a Finnish colleague,] wants more nuclear energy despite the fact … well read it for yourself: More nuclear power and How Do You Say ‘Duck-n-Cover’ in Finnish?

As for our Norwegian [distant] cousins, the North Sea gas pipeline operator Gassco has just awarded [Aug 20, 2008] Sweden’s Marine Matteknikk AB “a contract to survey 636 km of seabed for potential pipelines to carry carbon dioxide to offshore burial sites.” (Source)

Let’s hope there’ll never be an earthquake on the Norwegian Continental shelf.

Continued …