Demystifying nuclear power is taking a critical look at nuclear power generation, a manipulative industry with seedy ties to government entities such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the United States and the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) in Japan. By uncovering nuclear industry lies, demystifying nuclear power reveals the danger of nuclear waste and radiation from atomic energy to people’s health and the environment worldwide. Growing solar and renewable energy technology is a cost effective, carbon-free solution for our energy future that provides safer and cleaner power production than nuclear energy.
There’s nothing I enjoy more than a good documentary: one that makes its case in a compelling way without resorting to crude propaganda techniques or insulting the intelligence of its audience. A good documentary treats opposing views with respect but then demolishes them with iron-clad arguments and well-supported evidence. And in addition, it should be a piece of engaging filmmaking.
Read MoreMore than 19,000 Japanese drowned, their bodies scattered on Japan’s eastern shores whena tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011. Kevin Wang wanted to help, and his Anaheim, Califonia-based company, PowerPlus, had the cleaning know-how to handle almost anything. Wang has spent decades developing equipment to clean up almost every sort of nasty gunk in existence, from massive oil spills, to radiological contamination, to dead bodies in quantity.
Read MoreTwo nights ago, an electrical component at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants in Japan lost power, affecting the plants’ ability to cool their radioactive fuel rods. Since the earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011 causing three meltdowns, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says it has been working on repairs and maintenance at the severely damaged and non-operational plants. More than 100,000 people are still not allowed back in their homes due to significant radiation contamination, the entirety of which may never be cleaned up. This latest incident of power loss at the Fukushima Daiichi plants comes a week after the two year anniversary of the tsunami and ensuing meltdowns.
Read MoreThe latest nuclear power industry proposals focus on smaller reactors and the possibility of thorium fueled reactors. As the nuclear industry explores other fission products, Fairewinds Energy Education has been peppered with hundreds of questions regarding the feasibility and safety of thorium reactors that the nuclear industry is touting as a newer safer form of nuclear power. The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) is being sold as a “market based environmental solution” and advertised by the nuclear industry as cheaper than coal. Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) use a molten salt mixture as the primary coolant, and sometimes the molten salt is even mixed directly with thorium in the reactor fuel.
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Subject: Fw: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS Subject: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS To: All SONGS Employees and Contractors
Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) posted additional data on its website regarding our steam generator tubes for Units 2 and 3. This has generated an additional news cycle regarding our plant's status. Specifically, the data reflects the type and amount of tube wear we have found on the steam generator tubes. The request for more information about the tube wear came from the public at our June 18 Augmented Inspection Team exit meeting with the NRC. The data includes various types of wear, and shows that most of the wear was less than 20 percent, which is far below the required plugging limit of 35 percent, and the majority of the wear is related to support structures.
While this is the first time this data has been released to the general public, it is the exact same data we have been providing to the NRC and our industry experts all along as we have conducted our inspections, analyses and our root cause evaluations. It provides the basis for our conservative decision-making and our approach moving forward for the repair plans.
Also yesterday, Friends of the Earth (FOE) released another study by Fairewinds Associates regarding issues with our steam generator tubes as compared to the industry. It is disheartening to see they are using "a leaked Southern California Edison document" as part of their source data, which is our first root cause evaluation for the Unit 3 steam generators. It is unfortunate, as this document is a critical piece of our return-to-service plans that are still being evaluated and challenged. As a reminder, it is against our company policy to release company documents to the media or other third-party stakeholders.
The station is in the middle of performing some additional inspections in the Unit 2 and 3 steam generators, and we will be conducting some equipment tests in Unit 2 soon. Each of us has an important role to play every day as nuclear professionals and must maintain our focus on our work. My congratulations to the station for a successful auxiliary boiler test and for the excellent work in maneuvering Unit 2 down through mid-loop. Safety always will be the first guiding principle behind all the work we do. With this in mind, we will always be successful. I'm proud to be a part of this team.
Pete
The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, the first independent investigation commission in the 66 years of Japan’s constitutional government, released a 630-page report July 5, 2012. This special report, that was delivered to the Japanese Diet (Legislative body), analyzes the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi and is highly critical of Japan’s governmental organizations and Tokyo Electric in the events that led up to the catastrophe. The report said,
“[the] accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster. It was a profoundly manmade disaster – that could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response.”
If you are a viewer of the Fairewinds’ website, this admission by Japan’s Diet should come as no surprise to you. In October 2011, Fairewinds released a video entitled Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide (See Video Below). Later in February 2012, under contract with Greenpeace, Fairewinds wrote The Echo Chamber: Regulatory Capture and the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster.
Fairewinds applauds the Independent Investigation Commission for their honesty is assessing the real root cause of the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe. This catastrophic triple meltdown can no longer be called an accident because it was manmade and completely preventable. Fairewinds notes that these same manmade nuclear safety issues and engineering flaws are worldwide in the nuclear power industry, and are not limited to nuclear power generation in Japan.
Fairewinds Energy Education is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to furthering public understanding of nuclear power and nuclear safety related issues.
