Japan to shut down crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by end of 2011

[News_Editor]

Japan to shut down crippled Fukushima nuclear plant by end of 2011

2011-09-24 08:31:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- Japenese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told the United Nations' (UN) General Assembly on Friday that the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will be fully shut down by the end of the year.

Noda said Japan was making steady progress in stabilizing the nuclear power plant damaged by the massive earthquake and catastrophic tsunami which hit the country in March, but a number of challenges remain, including the removal of debris and restoring the livelihoods of people in the affected region.

At the Assembly's general debate in New York, Noda said the country was currently focusing on efforts to move up the existing target period to achieve a cold shutdown of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by the end of the year.

"Although some countries, regrettably, are still imposing undue restrictions on imports from Japan, our Government will continue to provide prompt and accurate information on this matter, with transparency," Noda stated, requesting that all countries "make sound judgements based upon scientific evidence."

In addition, the Japanese Prime Minister announced that the country would hold an international conference next year in the Tohoku region that was struck by the earthquake and tsunami in an effort to boost international cooperation on responding to natural disasters.

The country will also co-host with the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a second international conference next year to share the results of the overall assessment of the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, as a contribution to the various measures taken by the international community to raise the standards of nuclear energy safety.

Noda also stated that Japan is pursuing a growth path that promotes low-carbon technologies and a transition to a greener economy. "The key to achieving these goals is technological innovation in the areas of renewable energy, energy saving and clean use of fossil fuels," Noda said, also stating that the first lesson from Japan's recent tragedy is the importance of international cooperation in disaster risk reduction.

On the UN's peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Noda said Japan was ready to support the mission and announced that his country is preparing to send military officers to serve in it, as well as a Japanese military engineering unit.

On the drought-induced humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa, Noda said that Japan had already disbursed about $100 million in assistance. He also announced that Japan will support reforms and democratization efforts in North Africa and the Middle East, saying Tokyo will provide the equivalent of $1 billion in loans to fund infrastructure and industrial development projects as a way of boosting employment and human resource development.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-24

[Scott]

For more information on this topic, please check this thread:

[JetsetBkk]

"Noda said, also stating that the first lesson from Japan's recent tragedy is the importance of international cooperation in disaster risk reduction."

Is that almost an admission that they didn't know what to do?

[pacovl46]

"Noda said, also stating that the first lesson from Japan's recent tragedy is the importance of international cooperation in disaster risk reduction."

Is that almost an admission that they didn't know what to do?

I think the proper term would more be like completely OVERWHELMED rather than not knowing what to do. Anyway I give the Japanese props for doing it transparently. In a lot of other countries this would've been swept under the rug. Just imagine North Korea of China.

[ronz28]

Shut down by year end is way too late and is not enough. Too much of the country is already contaminated and it continues to contaminate the oceans and earth's atmosphere. They want you to focus on Japan, but everyone on earth is affected by the radiation contamination of ocean fish (tuna fish live 21 years and swim all over the ocean like from Japan to California and back yearly), the air we breathe and wherever it rains contaminating agriculture products and the water we drink. Maps like this mislead the public into thinking its only a Japanese problem and it will go away when if ever they actually "shut down" the nuclear plants. "Shutting down" or abandoning the nuclear plants without stopping the nuclear reactions and containing the radiation contamination is no solution.

http://enenews.com/n...e-dismayed-maps

.

Edited September 28, 2011 by ronz28

[JetsetBkk]

Shut down by year end is way too late and is not enough.

<snip>

"Shutting down" or abandoning the nuclear plants without stopping the nuclear reactions and containing the radiation contamination is no solution.

[cloudhopper]

Anyway I give the Japanese props for doing it transparently.

That's a laugh.

[Organicpete]

US PBS TV just had item saying Fukushima exclusion zone to be reduced !

sorry can't find any link to confirmation.

They had a nice circular graphic of the new smaller zone.

A circle that was half in the ocean, lucky the radiation will be safe beyond that line...

My thoughts are with Japan and anyone down wind or down tide...

Pete

[ronz28]

GE admits to design problem in its boiling water reactors that could cause 35 nuclear reactors in the US to fail during earthquakes at those nukes.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_759421.html

and

http://enenews.com/ge-hitachi-35-u-s-reactors-could-fail-during-quake-problem-with-control-rods

GE says there is a low probability of failure due to the design problem, however, we know that the GE failure record is a destruction rate at Fukushima of 100%. Its time for GE to step up and take responsibility for the cost of its failed design.

[ronz28]

Frank E. Daulton, Ph.D. — Professor of Economics and Linguistics at Ryukoku University in Kyoto was interviewed by Linda Moulton Howe and says Japanese are fleeing Japan as refugees because the contamination is far beyond what is reported in the media by the government. The Government follows a policy of denial to give peace of mind to the Japanese. It is impossible to evacuate everyone from Japan and culturally taboo to talk about the extent of the radiation so as not to trouble everyone about the problem. Japanese in the know don't eat salmon or tuna anymore as they are contaminated and the rest of Japan's food supply is also becoming contaminated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH8Xfv9KiO0&feature=player_embedded#!

[cloudhopper]

Very informative Ron thanks.

[JetsetBkk]

Very informative Ron thanks.

Very worrying if it's true.

Big 'if'.

[ronz28]

New report that radiation levels were higher in central Tokyo's Setagaya ward than in the evacuation area around the badly damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, according to shocked Mayor Nobuto Hosaka.

http://www.cnn.com/2...apan-radiation/

Edited October 13, 2011 by ronz28

[ronz28]

Helen Caldicott - Lessons from Fukushima

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9jzFrn0_-g

[katana]

Just look what a brief surge of water did to the Fukushima plant in Japan.

If Thailand decides to go ahead with its plans to go nuclear, with all the flooding in Thailand this year, with up to a third of the country affected, you have to wonder about the safety of locating nuclear power stations there.

Edited October 16, 2011 by katana

[JetsetBkk]

Just look what a brief surge of water did to the Fukushima plant in Japan.

If Thailand decides to go ahead with its plans to go nuclear, with all the flooding in Thailand this year, with up to a third of the country affected, you have to wonder about the safety of locating nuclear power stations there.

Perhaps Thailand will build them on high ground?

Flooding?................. ☑ Check.

Earthquakes?.......... ☑ Check.

Incompetence?........ ☐ Have to think about that one.

[ronz28]

“I actually think it's going to blow up in their face,” he said. “In the eyes of the Japanese public, the last thing they need to do is exaggerate. And this is an exaggeration.” -said Arnie Gunderson, U.S. nuclear expert regarding Japan's announcement of a cold shutdown.

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LVTDCN6S972B01-2H4F0FT6S8AABG0QH7TGEIAVU9

[Scott]

Sadly, whale meat will likely be quite popular since it's less likely to be contaminated.

[ronz28]

Cooling water at the plant’s No. 2 reactor is just two feet from the bottom of the reactor’s containment vessel, far below the 33 ft level estimated in December when Japanese Government declared the plant stable and casts doubt that the Nukes are under control.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/30/world/asia/inquiry-suggests-worse-damage-at-japan-nuclear-plant.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&utm_medium=twitter

[Organicpete]

The linkk in the above post finishes with....“The plant is still in a precarious state,” said Kazuhiko Kudo, a professor of nuclear engineering at Kyushu University in southwestern Japan. “Unfortunately, all we can do is to keep pumping water inside the reactors,” he said, “and hope we don’t have another big earthquake."

So is that open ended pumping, not circulated ?

shudder

Pete

[ronz28]

The Worst Yet to Come? Why Nuclear Experts Are Calling Fukushima a Ticking Time-Bomb It's a scenario that would literally threaten Japan's annihilation and civilization at large, with widespread worldwide environmental radioactive contamination.

http://www.alternet.org/health/155283/the_worst_yet_to_come_why_nuclear_experts_are_calling_fukushima_a_ticking_time-bomb?page=entire

[ronz28]

Fukushima Chief Yoshida: We must bring foreign experts in to help — Reactors NOT stabilized

But your Government says they are in cold shut down, how can they not be stabilized? Oh, I see cover-up failure, now that you have nuked the Pacific Ocean and all the countries eating fish from the Pacific and growing crops downwind from the radiation contamination like Canadians, Americans, etc. are really getting angry with you...

http://enenews.com/fukushima-chief-yoshida-we-must-bring-in-foreign-experts-to-help-reactors-not-stabilized