Tag Archives: economy

Fukushima

TEPCo criticized for lying about meltdown data, reactor 2 & 3 melted down!

Tokyo Electric Power Company now confirm reactors 2 and 3 at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, melted down within days after the 11 March tsunami.

Reactor 3 began meltdown on 13 March, Reactor 2 on 15 March.

Previously TEPCo officials said their inability to access the reactor buildings kept them from the knowledge of any meltdowns, but a Japanese expert says that’s BS.

According to NHK, Naito Masanori of the Institute of Applied Energy, says data from the reactors should have been easy to get.  In fact TEPCo sould have realized meltdowns were taking place within a day, not several months.

The latest admission from TEPCo means that three nuclear reactors melted down within days of the 11 March disasters, again proving that this is worse than Chernobyl.  It also proves that TEPCo literally fiddled while Fukushima burned.  In a previous posting I wrote how TEPCo spent most of their time in the first weeks of the nuke disaster trying to come up with plans to build new reactors.

 

Fukushima

TEPCo president resigns, TEPCo losses big money

Tokyo Electric Power Company president, Shimizu Masataka, has resigned, and will step down in June.

TEPCo has lost $15 billion.  $12 billion of that is directly due to dealing with the ongoing nuclear disaster at their Fukushima Daiichi plant.

In order to pay compensation to people affected by the radiation disaster, TEPCo will sell off $7 billion in property, and cut $6 billion in operating expenses by laying employees off, and ending research & development.

Fukushima

Reactor 2 & 3 risk of more hydrogen explosions!

20 May 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company says they will resume nitrogen injection in Fukushima Daiichi’s reactors 2 and 3.  There is a fear that hydrogen gas is building to explosive levels.

The explosions of the reactor buildings, back in March, is blamed on hydrogen gas build up.  TEPCo also said they were installing lead shields in Reactor 3, because of extremely high radiation levels.

Business/Economics, International

Control of Oil rights behind Scotland’s latest push for Independence

Scotland has oil, lots of it.  And the Scottish people say they’re tired of the English controlling it.  After all they were told they would benefit, but they haven’t.  Scottish rebels point to Norway as an example:  “Scotland and Norway discovered oil at the same time. Some years ago, Scotland was turned into an industrial desert and Norway has transformed its society and its economy, they have billions in the bank, whereas we have seen ours wasted on missiles and weapons of mass destruction and illegal wars.”-Kenny MacAskill, Scottish Justice Minister

The recent Scottish elections saw the Scottish National Party dominate.  The SNP ran on a promise to make Scotland independent: “We have been elected with two mandates: one is to pursue our claim for an independent Scotland in the right for a referendum. Equally, we have been elected as a government to make Scotland a better place and we seek to do that by driving our economy forward and making our country a fairer, greener, safer, wealthier and healthier.”-Kenny MacAskill

Fukushima, International

All nuclear reactors in Germany fail safety tests!

“It remains the case that a way must be found for us to leave nuclear power behind as soon as possible.”-Norbert Rottgen, Environment Minister

Because of the ongoing nuke disaster reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant, Germany ordered ‘worst case scenario’ testing of all its nuclear plants.  They all FAILED!

The report was published by Der Spiegel.  It was discovered that all of Germany’s nuke plants lack the “required safety features” to withstand a level three disaster.   Not only that, but four of the plants failed simulations involving small aircraft crashing into them.

The highest safety standard rating for nuclear plants in Germany, is a level three rating.  The report says most of the plants can’t even meet level two safety standards.

Fukushima

City in southern Japan hit with radiation!

For the first time since the nuclear disaster started in Japan, the city of Osaka has detected cesium contamination.

Osaka is about 560 km (348 miles) from the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant.

City officials say that between 01 April and 02 May, low levels of cesium 134 & 137 were detected in rain water, and dust.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Tens of thousands of U.S. teachers laid off

Around the country, tens of thousands of teachers in the United States have been laid off.

New York City needs to lay off 6,000 teachers, to balance their education budget.

California has notified at least 20,000 teachers that they will be unemployed.

Dozens of teachers were fired in Ohio this week.

Broward County Florida School District will lay off 1,400 teachers.

And many layoffs took place in the past year.

In some cities pro-teacher groups are pointing out that their school districts actually have budget surpluses, yet teachers are being laid off in large numbers.

Teachers unions are on board with the layoffs, saying it’s time for the bad teachers to go.  I’m all for getting rid of the bad teachers, there are plenty (from my own experience as a student, and as a parent putting four kids through school), but when you realize the number of teachers being laid off across the country it makes you wonder: Are there that many bad teachers?