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The West’s Aim in Libya: Interview with Aijaz Ahmad
Prabir Purkayastha: If you really look at what is happening, what we have is a historical split between the east and the west, which could be the outline of what could emerge at least in the near future, unless Gaddafi has the strength to push his troops right up to Benghazi. Aijaz Ahmad The real […]
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TEPCO: Profits of Death
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. “Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center, a Japanese environmental group, has documented previous safety problems and cover-ups by Tepco at the Fukushima reactor complex: cnic.jp/english/newsletter/nit92/nit92articles/nit92coverupdata.html” (Nuclear Information and Resource Service, “Fact Sheet on Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant,” 11 March 2011). | Print
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Prime Minister Naoto Kan: “In the Worst Case, Eastern Japan Will Be Ruined”
At last, the prime minister of Japan faced up to the inconvenient truth. Had he done so from Day 1, and based his evacuation plan on the possibility of this worst case scenario, it would have been possible to evacuate tens of millions more people, in orderly fashion, than we can now. The criminal government […]
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Monday Update on Fukushima Reactors
As of 11:30 pm EDT Monday 3/14/11 Three of the six reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear facility were operating at the time of the earthquake — Units 1, 2, and 3. The reactors shut down when the earthquake hit, but even after they stopped producing power, the reactor cores were very hot and […]
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Turning Japan into the Land of the Burning Sun
“Economic and Financial Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano, at a post-cabinet-meeting press conference on the 15th of March, said this about Japan’s nuclear power policy: ‘There is no alternative energy source if we want to secure a lot of energy. To support the Japanese economy, we have no choice but to use nuclear power. The people […]
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Japan Raises Radiation Dose Safety Limit for Nuclear Emergency Workers
Even in the best case scenario available at this point, all workers at Fukushima 1 and 2 battling to save the lives of others must have already suffered great harm to their health, and the harm is about to become greater. — Ed. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has determined that the existing […]
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The disasters threatening the world
IF the speed of light didn’t exist, if the closest star to our sun weren’t four light years away from Earth, the only inhabited planet in our solar system, if UFOs truly existed, imaginary visitors to the planet would continue their journey without understanding much of anything about our long-suffering human race. Just a few […]
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Japan: Race against Time to Avert Complete Meltdown
“Pray for Japan.” — Carlos Latuff Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian cartoonist. Cf. Nuclear Information and Resource Service, “Fact Sheet on Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant” (11 March 2011); Union of Concerned Scientists, “Nuclear Crisis in Japan: What We Know” (11 March 2011); Philip White, “On the Nuclear and Earthquake Disaster Unfolding in Japan” (12 March […]
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Fukushima 1: Unit 2 Fuel Rods Again Fully Exposed
15 March 2011, 01:05 Tokyo Electric Power announced that, at around 11 PM on the 14th, it became impossible to inject cooling water into the Unit 2 reactor of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in a precipitous decline of the water level, so Unit 2’s fuel rods probably became fully exposed again. Also, […]
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Nuclear Accident ABCs
In reporting on the nuclear situation in Japan, terms describing the possible state of the reactors have been used by Japanese officials and international experts. Unfortunately, these terms are not always used consistently. We discuss some of them below. The reactor core containing nuclear fuel is the “engine” of a nuclear power reactor. The reactor […]
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Fukushima 1: Water Level Failing to Rise, Unit 2 Fuel Rods Remain Exposed
15 March 2011, 04:59 Around 11 PM on the 14th, Unit 2 of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant had suffered a breakdown of its cooling water injection system, and its fuel rods became fully exposed. At 1 AM on the 15th, Tokyo Electric Power recovered its ability to inject seawater into the Unit 2 […]
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An Appeal to All Foreign Embassy Personnel and International Media Present in Japan, regarding the Nuclear Disaster
You have seen the Japanese government’s response to the nuclear disaster unfolding in Japan. Top officials have been slow to expand the exclusion zone around the Fukushima 1 and 2 Nuclear Power Plants. They have been less than forthcoming in providing information about exactly in what state the reactors in trouble are. By failing in […]
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Sunday Update on Fukushima Reactors
As of 7 pm EDT Sunday 3/13/11 We reported earlier about the situation at Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor Unit 1. The nuclear crisis in Japan took a turn for the worse as serious problems developed in reactor Unit 3. Officials from Tokyo Electric reported that after multiple cooling system failures, the water level in the Unit […]
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米科学者:子供たちに被曝防止のヨウ素剤を今すぐに
日本はこの原子力事故の重大さに直面して今すぐ最弱者を放射線被爆の被害から保護せねばならない。特に子供を放射性ヨウ素から守るべきだ。そう米国のトップ科学者が言っている。 「これが最悪のケースではないと言い張る見せかけは無謀です」と科学者団体UCSの上級研究員エドウィン・ライマン氏は摘発する。 米国とフランスには、致命的な放射線放出の際には原発の近くに住んでいる子供たちにヨウ素酸カリウムを配布し投与するプランがある。 もし炉心が融解し鋼製格納容器が破壊されると、日本が直面するリスクは、何十キロも何百キロにも分散する放射性雲だとライマン氏は説明する。「 救済策を必要とする領域は大規模になりかねます。多くの被曝者の中では、癌になる可能性が増加します。」 チェルノブイリ原発事故の後、ライマン氏によると、6000例以上の小児甲状腺癌が発見された。放射線にさらされる数時間前にヨウ素剤を子供に与えると放射性物質の甲状腺摂取量をブロックできることが後に判明した。「投与によって大幅にリスクを軽減できることは確かだ」とライマン氏は言う。 この記事は 抜粋翻訳。原文:<abcnews.go.com/International/japan-fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-explosion-workers-injured-radiation/story?id=13120888>. 翻訳:古橋芳恵。
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Fukushima 1: Evacuation Incomplete
12 March 2011, 13:26 According to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy and Industry (MITI), regarding the evacuation of residents within the 10 km radius of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, as of 11:30 AM, about 30% of 2,000-2,100 residents of Okuma-machi in Fukushima Province, which is located […]
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Explosion at Fukushima 1: Several Workers Injured
12 March 2011, 16:52 According to the Fukushima office of Tokyo Electric Power, a sound of explosion was heard at Unit 1 of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant around 3:30 PM. A plume of smoke was seen ten minutes later. Several workers have been reportedly injured. The Fukushima office says that the smoke appeared […]
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Fukushima 1: Fuel Meltdown Begins
12 March 2011, 14:00 The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) of the Ministry of Economy and Industry (MITI) has just announced that near Unit 1 of the Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, a radioactive element called “cesium,” which results from nuclear fission, has been detected, so it believes that a part of the nuclear […]
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福島原発: チェルノブイリなら、20キロ圏では不十分
日本政府は「10キロ圏出れば大丈夫」だと今日まで言いはっていた。日本のマスコミもそう報道していた。政府とマスコミは、今になってやっと「20キロ圏」と言いはじめている。国際メディアでは、科学者たちは福島原発の安全策不発の報道後直ちにスリーマイルや チェルノブイリのような事故の可能性を指摘していた。日本国民はどっちを信じるべきか? 世界の科学者? それとも金権主義の政治家と官僚と彼らの言いなりになる日本のマスコミ? チェルノブイリなら、20キロ圏では不十分。ソ連は30キロ圏の住人を避難させたが、それでも不十分だったのだ。 「ソビエトの科学者の報告によると、28,000km2が185kBq/m2を超えるセシウム-137に汚染した。約83万人がこの区域に住んでいた。約10,500km2が555kBq/m2を越えるセシウム-137に汚染した。このうち、ベラルーシに7,000km2、ロシア連邦に2,000km2、ウクライナに1,500km2が属する。約25万人がこの区域に住んでいた。これらの報告データは国際チェルノブイリプロジェクトにより裏付けられた。」 福島はチェルノブイリよりも危険だろうという声もある。 日本政府と日本のマスコミが言ってることを丸呑みにしないで。チェルノブイリを考えて、市民で助け合って、避難したほうがいい。 古橋芳恵はMRZineの編集長。 Cf. Nuclear Information and Resource Service, “Fact Sheet on Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant” (11 March 2011); Union of Concerned Scientists, “Nuclear Crisis in Japan: What We Know” (11 March 2011); Philip White, “On the Nuclear and Earthquake Disaster Unfolding in Japan” (12 March 2011); Edwin […]
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On the Blast at the Fukushima Plant Seen on YouTube
Corrected Comments on Fukushima Please note that my comments on 3/12, yesterday, were significantly in error as noted below: 1. The gases released in the YouTube video are steam. 2. This steam is not from a secondary water loop because these plants are not designed as pressurized water but are the boiling water type. […]
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On the Nuclear and Earthquake Disaster Unfolding in Japan
The Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (CNIC) is deeply concerned for the health and safety of the people affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis that have struck Japan over the last two days. We are particularly concerned for the people in the vicinity of nuclear power plants, including workers who are trying to minimize the […]