Japan Earthquake

Japan Earthquake | Page 2450

the limiting of outdoor activities reminds me of science fiction films about postnuclear societies. makes me shiver. brave new world. it's reality and they try to pretend normality.
by Edano 10/4/2011 10:05:14 AM

Kano: Japan to resume research whaling

Fisheries minister Michihiko Kano says Japan will resume research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean this year with strengthened defenses against anti-whaling campaigners.

Speaking at a news conference after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Kano said a patrol boat of the Fisheries Agency will this time join the whaling vessels. He said research whaling will be conducted with increased protection against obstructions.

In February, Japan suspended whaling in the Antarctic Ocean after repeated disruptions by the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd. 4 whalers had been operating in the Antarctic since December 2010 and were due to continue until April this year.

Kano said Japan aims to resume commercial whaling and that it needs to continue research whaling for that purpose.

He said Japan would appeal for a restart of commercial operations at the International Whaling Commission by continuing accurate monitoring of whale stocks through scientific whaling.

Sea Shepherd has criticized the ministry's decision and says it will risk death to stop the whaling. It accused Japan of ignoring international opinion by resuming whaling despite donations extended from abroad following the March disaster.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011 13:01 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/4/2011 10:09:05 AM

Rengo supports less reliance on nuclear power

The head of Japan's largest labor federation wants the country to aim for a society that does not rely on nuclear power.

Rengo, or the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, opened a 2-day regular convention in Tokyo on Tuesday.

In a speech, Rengo President Nobuaki Koga said the organization will review its energy policy following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He said it is necessary for Japan to reduce its medium- to long-term reliance on nuclear power and eventually aim to become a society that does not rely on nuclear power.

But Koga suggested that the government should consider temporarily resuming operations at nuclear power plants to provide a stable supply of energy. He said this is on the condition that local residents agree and that the government confirms the plants' safety.

Koga also indicated that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet holds the last chance for the Democrats to govern the country. Koga said he hopes the Noda government will provide a chance for progress in Japan's revitalization by overcoming a national crisis. He was referring to the post-disaster reconstruction and stabilization of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011 16:11 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/4/2011 10:10:30 AM

IAEA chief asks Vietnam to ensure nuclear safety

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has asked Vietnam to ensure safety at its planned nuclear facilities, in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano was briefed on Vietnam's nuclear policy by the country's Science and Technology Minister Nguyen Quan in Hanoi on Tuesday.

The country plans to build 2 nuclear power plants in the southern province of Ninh Thuan, one with Russian assistance and the other with help from Japan. Construction is set to begin in 2014.

Quan said Vietnam's government has 65 issues on its agenda, including drawing up plant safety guidelines and standards, and has been training personnel with nuclear expertise.

Amano told NHK after the meeting that Vietnam could be a role model for Asia in nuclear plant development, and stressed the importance of the country's cooperation with the agency.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011 18:16 +0900 (JST)
www3.nhk.or.jp
by Edano 10/4/2011 10:12:59 AM

Hi @elainekirk!
by bo 10/4/2011 10:15:40 AM

@bo good morning
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:26:29 AM

@Edano people cannot live like that it is unsustainable
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:27:14 AM

@bo good morning and welcome back!
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:29:06 AM

@hudebnik thanks! Good to be virtual again.
by bo 10/4/2011 10:30:17 AM

@bo hope you had a good world tour
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:31:01 AM

Very productive and very exhaustive. So glad to be back home. Even though I have to go back to the US in two weeks!
by bo 10/4/2011 10:33:05 AM

We not only did the exhibition at Cornell, but we were able to make extensive contacts among nuclear veterans organizations, and also with people working with victims of radiation from French testing in Algeria in the 60s, and the South Pacific later.
by bo 10/4/2011 10:34:02 AM

@Edano @hudebnik @bo it is good to see the board alive again in the mornings
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:34:26 AM

@elaine sorry to be so quiet lately, just snowed under with stuff to do (after a month away)
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:35:30 AM

@hudebnik it catches up with us doesn't it
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:36:03 AM

Tho I have been keeping up to date with the board from time to time
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:36:05 AM

Well I have been woefully out of touch. I had much less access to internet than I expected. Can someone give me the short version of what has been up since August?
by bo 10/4/2011 10:37:06 AM

@bo it seems to me in brief not very much, Tepco seems to achieved a cold news shutdown even if they haven't yet achieved that with the reactors.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:39:22 AM

@bo tepco were asked to hand manuals over but they redacted then so much that there were less than half a dozen words visible
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:42:12 AM

Touche
by bo 10/4/2011 10:42:15 AM

@elaine and @edano are much more up to date than I am. Recently I thought the latest maps a couple of days ago showing radiation contamination as far as Tokyo were significant
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:42:19 AM

I did see that there was some concern about rice, but I know the harvest is not all in yet.
by bo 10/4/2011 10:43:39 AM

@elaine I can understand why - it the manuals were deficient they would provide great evidence for negligence lawsuits.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:44:08 AM

Japan Panel Says Tepco Needs Restarts online.wsj.com
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:45:40 AM

@bo general opinion is that rice is being mixed to pass tests
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:46:17 AM

@elaine just like the tea
by bo 10/4/2011 10:47:02 AM

I think @edano has pretty well proved that the radiation bursts in #1 are related to earthquakes.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:47:24 AM

Wow.
by bo 10/4/2011 10:48:17 AM

Any more info on the suspected cracks in the ground and the movement of the corium?
by bo 10/4/2011 10:48:41 AM

by bo 10/4/2011 10:49:30 AM

@bo @edano is the one to answer that question
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:49:36 AM

And onwards they go...
For his part, IAEA Director General Amano affirmed that not only developed countries but also developing countries could apply atomic energy in developing their economies, expressing his belief that Viet Nam would soon succeed in this field. vietnamnews.vnanet.vn
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:52:32 AM

I think for the first time ever I might be almost agreeing with Tepco that things are heading toward some sort of stasis, assuming no big surprises like mag 8 aftershocks (still possible) tho I'd expect radiation to keep leaking out for a long while yet.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:53:00 AM

As for 'spot the corium' I guess nobody will really know until they get remote cameras into the basements under the reactor basemats...
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:55:17 AM

@hudebnik methinks that the fact corium is free-wheeling it's way around and quakes are still occurring that nothing is certain
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 10:55:54 AM

@elaine - agreed!
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:56:57 AM

Arnie Gundersen has been posting
some interesting stuff too
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 10:58:26 AM

the sudden withdrawal of the pretence of keeping the world informed worries me most
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 11:00:57 AM

and this is farcical english.kyodonews.jp
from @edano's earlier post shouldnt the iaea actually be in the plant assessing the situation or is it just a pr stunt and they assume people will not read further than the headline?
Japan decides to accept IAEA team on radiation decontamination
Japan has decided to accept an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency later this month to step up efforts to decontaminate areas near the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday.

The team, composed of 12 experts, will visit Japan from Friday through Oct. 15 to support the country's activities to remove radioactive substances in the vicinity of the power station, Fujimura, the top government spokesman, said at a press conference.

The experts will also exchange views with Japanese officials engaged in decontamination work, he added.
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 11:04:50 AM

@elaine tho that suggests that at least the GoJ accepts that radiation is still leaking.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 11:11:33 AM

@hudebnik yup thats true
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 11:20:13 AM

OK I'm off now chaps, see you around.
by hudebnik 10/4/2011 11:35:47 AM

@hudebnik hope to see you later
by elainekirk 10/4/2011 11:42:01 AM

Morning! (afternoon - evening)
by lillymunster 10/4/2011 11:44:17 AM

Bo, if your still around. The govt did an early rice test on a farm in the far corner of Fukushima prefecture and declared rice in the prefecture to be safe. Of course weeks later word starts coming out about contaminated rice being found at various locations. There was also a researcher that planted rice in Iwaki to study it and found high levels.
by lillymunster 10/4/2011 11:46:25 AM