Tag Archives: u.s.

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.

 

International, U.S.

U.K. & U.S. to announce new joint National Security policy, the Beast evolves

“The co-operation that I see every day in intelligence matters is without parallel in the world.  So is our nuclear co-operation. Our armed forces are working together with intimate closeness”-William Hague, British Foreign Secretary

According to British media, President Obama will make a joint announcement, with Prime Minister David Cameron, concerning a new U.S./U.K. national security policy.

The new “National Security Strategy Board” will meet several times per year, to discuss issues such as terrorism, and the so called Arab Spring revolution.

More details will be given on the May 24 announcement.

International, U.S.

Irish bank bombed as English Queen leaves, Obama greeted by protesters as he arrives

May 22, the day after the Queen of England left Ireland, a Northern Ireland bank was hit by a small bomb.  Three masked men burst into the bank, warning customers they had one hour to leave before the bomb went off. Police say people could have been killed if they were still in the bank when the bomb exploded.

May 23, President Barack Obama arrived in Ireland, where he was greeted by at least one hundred protesters.

“Barack Obama came to power promising change, but in reality he has continued the policies of the Bush era.”-John Molynuex, protester

He is scheduled to visit United Kingdom next, where he will have dinner with the Queen of England (a sure sign that the U.S. is under control of the British Empire).  Thousands of protesters plan to demonstrate outside Buckingham palace while he dines with the Queen.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

Korea investigates U.S. Army base for Agent Orange dumping

Korean media reporting the three U.S. Army veterans have testified that they were ordered to dump 250 55-gallon barrels of Agent Orange on a U.S. base in South Korea.

“They just told us it was going to be used for disposal.”-Steve House, veteran

South Korea’s environment ministry will take soil samples at Camp Carroll in Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang.  The local government wants the United States to pay: “If the news report is true, the U.S. military must take responsibility, pay compensation and conduct regular Korea-U.S. joint inspections.”

International, U.S.

Japanese to pay for part of BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster

While British Petroleum fights to pin blame on others for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, they somehow have convinced one of its Japanese business partners to pay for part of it.

MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading firm Mitsui and Company, will pay just over $1 billion to cover damages and clean up.  MOEX is a 10% shareholder of BP.

British Petroleum is struggling to come up with an estimated $40 billion to pay for damages and clean up.

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, U.S.

Flooding along Mississippi adds to Global Food Crisis, and threatens U.S. economy

Voice of America reporting that farms along the Mississippi flood zones are destroyed.  Some farmers were able to harvest some of their crops before the flooding.

Many farmers did not have crops to harvest, but were about to plant, and now that’s not going to happen: “…this is unprecedented because of the amount of water that is backed up and out over areas that normally do not flood.”–Randy Ouzts, Horizon Ag

One of the biggest U.S. exports are crops.  The harvest is shipped to New Orleans, on barges that sail the Mississippi river.  Ouzts says getting the harvested crops out could be a problem: “The issue we are having at the moment is wheat delivery, and also fertilizer and fuel deliveries, and the problem is loading.  The facilities were not built to accommodate this much water.”

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.