| Greek Pensioner Hangs Himself In Protest That "Greece Will Be Wiped Off The Map" Posted: 30 May 2012 11:57 PM PDT From Zero Hedge (5/30/2012): Two months ago, an elderly Greek took his life in broad daylight in Athens' central square while decrying the country's traitors in government, and who preferred to take his own life than to defer his debts to his children or "fishing through garbage cans for his sustenance." Hours ago, another tragedy struck. From Athens News: A 61-year old pensioner was found hanging from a tree on Wednesday, in the Agios Filipos park of the Nikaia area. The lifeless body of the pensioner was discovered by a park attendant, who also found his suicide note which read as follows:
"The police does not know me. I have never touched a drink in my life. Of women and drugs I have never even dreamed of. I have never been to a kafenio (coffee house), I just worked all day! But I commited one horrendous crime: I became a professional at age 40 and I plunged myself in debt. Now, I'm an idiot of 61 years and I have to pay. I hope my grandchildren are not born in Greece, seeing as there will be no Greeks here from now on. Let them at least know another language, because Greek will be wiped off the map! Unless of course there was a politician with Thatcher's balls so as to put us and our state in line.
Signed, Alexandros 29/5/2012"
His neighbours described the pensioner – a father of two- as a hard working man. He had been employed in ship repairs and construction sites and up until recently, he had been working as an electrician on a merchant ship.
He was facing sizeable financial problems and it was these that pushed him over the edge.
According to neighbours, prior to taking his own life, he was seen wearing his work overalls, carrying his tools and sitting on a bench in the park.
Tragic.
===================================
The Maastricht Treaty was signed in February 1992, around the time when this pensioner took on debt.
|
| #Radioactive Japan: Buddhist Monk and Author in #Fukushima Says "Children Withstand Radiation Much Better than Adults" Posted: 30 May 2012 11:17 PM PDT The column by Sokyu Genyu, a Zen Buddhist monk (Rinzai-shu) and a published author who lives in Miharu-machi in Fukushima Prefecture, appears on the Sunday paper of Fukushima Minpo. In the most recent column, Genyu says that children are able to withstand radioactive cesium much better than adults, and the traditional thinking that children are more affected by radiation has proven false by numerous examples in Fukushima Prefecture. Quick translation (not literal; link added):  Prayer on the Children's Day
by Sokyu Genyu
I feel that we cannot talk frankly about radiation in Fukushima right now. Everyone has formed his/her opinion already based on a certain level of knowledge and won't listen to the new information that may be contradictory. It is the same with the media such as newspapers and TV stations. They have been disseminating various information, and it may be that they cannot write about it at this late stage. They are extremely timid about upsetting the widely-held knowledge.
What is this widely-held knowledge? It is the thinking that children are more affected by radiation exposure than adults. It derives from the experiment whereby the rat cells were irradiated with the massive dose of gamma-ray. The result was that the more immature (undifferentiated) the cells were the more damage were sustained (Bergonié-Tribondeau law). So they reasoned, "it should be the same" with adults and children or low radiation exposure.
It was too coarse an analogy to be called scientific. But recently there are various empirical data that refute this analogy.
For example, Dr. Ryohei Takahashi, OB/GYN doctor in Minami Soma wrote in late November last year, after having observed children who were born after the March 11 disaster: "I know it is considered a taboo, but I have found out that children have more resistance to cesium than adults. They have the capability several times higher than that of adults to repair damaged chromosomes, excrete [radioactive materials in the body] in urine, and in terms of half life at various organs in the body."
Dr. Tsubokura at Minami Soma General Hospital, who has been conducting the WBC (whole body counter) measurement, says that the biological half life of cesium in adults are 100 to 120 days, whereas it is about a month in 6 year olds and 10 days in one year olds.
To begin with, children seldom get cancer. It should be quite easy to see that children has much higher ability to nullify the free radicals and higher immune functions than adults. However, some people have been saying that children are affected by radiation exposure by "manyfold", based on the mere fact that cell divisions are more active in children and on the Bergonié-Tribondeau law.
It is true that if this widely-held knowledge is overturned, there may be a big confusion.
People who have evacuated from Fukushima have done so "for the sake of their children", and they have endured hardship. The very basis of their decision to evacuate would disappear. Calculations for compensations are based on the premise that children are more affected. [The bottom of the next sentence is cut off, but I think it is something like] It would take a great amount of time to redo the calculations.
But what's important right now is not to be obstinate and possessed with the idea that things may go bad for children. Rather we should be amazed by the strength of children and accept a new way of looking at the situation. In order to revive the community, we must study this issue intensively.
I kept scratching my head as I translated. The laws of nature may indeed be different in Fukushima. I've seen a bizarre presentation material prepared by someone in Koriyama City that claims that if there are 10 cesium-137 atoms, 5 atoms will decay in 30 years; if there are 10 plutonium-239 atoms, 5 plutonium atoms will decay in 24,000 years, therefore it's nothing to worry about in our lifetime. I may write about this presentation later, but it just boggles my mind that people are persuaded by this kind of talk, particularly in a country that has supposedly risen from the ashes after the World War II because of its technological strength. (I guess it was a nice, overrated myth...) 
|
| 4 More Thermocouples May Be Going Bad in Reactor 2 at #Fukushima I Nuke Plant Posted: 30 May 2012 04:49 PM PDT It looks like four more thermocouples inside the Reactor 2 Containment Vessel are failing: return air drywell cooler(TE-16-114A) return air drywell cooler(TE-16-114D) supply air D/W cooler(TE-16-114F#1) supply air D/W cooler(TE-16-114H#1)
The locations of these thermocouples can be (sort of) figured out with this TEPCO document, as of April 25, 2012 (I put the red rectangles around the failing thermocouples):
TEPCO's handout for press, 5/29/2012 lists "Thermometers which indicated large fluctuation". Temperatures have been fluctuating in a meaningful way (increase or decrease in large steps) since May 28 (red rectangles added to indicate the large fluctuations; click on the table for a better image):
 But do not worry. TEPCO has a plan to send human workers inside the Reactor 2 building again to somehow install new thermocouples. According to the reference document for the Working Group meeting on May 28, 2012 (pages 10 to 17), the installation work should start sometime in August, after the decontamination of the 1st floor of the Reactor 2 building is complete by mid July. The trial decontamination has already been done by the workers to compare different methods (strippable paint is most effective, so is the radiation shield), and they have just stated the actual decontamination in the environment where the highest radiation level is 4,400 millisieverts/hour (on the surface of the penetration X-34, near the location that TEPCO wants to insert a new thermocouple).
I don't know why there is no robot by now that can do such a work.
Unlike Reactor 4, where carbon-based human workers routinely enter and work in the radiation levels measured in microsievert/hour, Reactors 1, 2 and 3 have much higher radiation levels measured in millisievert or even sievert/hour. Upper floors of Reactors 1, 2 and 3 are too radioactive for human workers, and even the robot (Quince) was left stranded in Reactor 2's 3rd floor because of high radiation that precluded the rescue mission. 
|
| Japanese Government to Make "Political" Decision to Restart Ooi Nuclear Power Plant in June Posted: 30 May 2012 12:22 PM PDT Politicians, from the prime minister down to heads of municipalities, simply do whatever they want, and say they will take responsibility for their political decisions as if they would remain in office for life. In this case, the decision involves the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant in Ooi-machi in Fukui Prefecture. The town is very much eager to restart the plant. It is not just the town's politicians but the residents who are all for it because their jobs depend on the plant in direct and indirect ways. Yomiuri Shinbun reports that Ooi Nuke Plant may be restarted in June, now that the conditional agreement from the Union of Kansai Governments, a political alliance of 7 prefectures in Kansai Region set up in 2010 whose aim is to create a semi-autonomous political and administrative block limiting the power of the central government. In this case, the Union seems like a convenient cover to override the dissent within the Union and to let the central government restart the plant operated by Kansai Electric (KEPCO) in one of the member prefectures. From Yomiuri Shinbun (5/30/2012): 大飯再稼働、６月上旬にも決定…関西首長容認で
Restart of Ooi Nuke Plant to be decided in first half of June, after the Kansai governors agreed
政府は３０日、関西電力大飯原子力発電所３、４号機（福井県おおい町）の再稼働を巡り、野田首相らによる関係閣僚会合を開き、関西地域の自治体から安全性に一定の理解を得られつつあると判断した。
The government held a ministerial meeting headed by Prime Minister Noda on May 30 over the restart of Reactors 3 and 4 at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (located in Ooi-cho in Fukui Prefecture). The ministers came to a conclusion that there was a certain understanding of the safety of the plant among the municipalities in Kansai Region.
野田首相は福井県とおおい町に改めて再稼働への同意を求め、同意を得られれば、６月上旬にも再度、関係閣僚会合を開いて再稼働を決定する。
Prime Minister Noda is to ask Fukui Prefecture and Ooi-cho for consent to restart the plant. If the consent is obtained, the ministerial meeting will be held sometime in the first half of June to formally decide to restart the plant.
野田首相は、枝野経済産業相、細野原発相、藤村官房長官との閣僚会合で「関係自治体の一定の理解を得られつつある。立地自治体の判断を得られれば、閣僚会合でしっかり議論し、最終的には私の責任で判断したい」と述べた。
In the meeting with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Edano, Minister in charge of nuclear accident Hosono, and Chief Cabinet Minister Fujimura, Prime Minister Noda said, "We are getting a certain understanding from the related municipalities. If the decision by the municipality where the nuclear power plant is located is obtained, we will discuss the matter thoroughly in the ministerial meeting. Eventually, I would like to make the decision [to restart] under my responsibility."
昨年３月の東京電力福島第一原発事故を受け、全国５０基の原発は全て停止している。大飯原発が再稼働すれば事故後初の事例となる。
All 50 nuclear reactors have been stopped after the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. If the reactors at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant restart, they will be the first to do so after the accident.
関西広域連合（連合長・井戸敏三兵庫県知事）は３０日、「安全判断は暫定的であり、再稼働は限定的なものとして（政府に）適切な判断を強く求める」との声明を発表した。夏場などに限った稼働を念頭に、事実上、再稼働を容認する内容だ。政府は再稼働の条件とする「電力消費地の一定の理解」を得られたと判断した。声明発表後、井戸兵庫県知事は記者団に「国に判断はお任せする。これ以上のアクションを起こす状況ではない」と述べ、政府に判断を一任したことを強調した。
The Union of Kansai Government (headed by Governor of Hyogo Prefecture)released the statement on May 30 that said, "[Our] evaluation of safety is provisional, and we strongly urge (the national government) to decide appropriately that the scope of the restart is limited". With the statement, the Union has effectively agreed to the restart, provided that the plant operates only during the summer. The national government has determined [from the statement] that a "certain understanding from the consumer of electricity" has been obtained, which is one of the government's conditions for a restart of a nuclear power plant. After the release of the statement, Governor of Hyogo Prefecture Ido told reporters, "We will leave the final decision to the national government. We are in no position to take further action at this time", emphasizing that it would be up to the national government.
So these 4 ministers, dexterously maneuvered by Mr. Sengoku from beyond the scenes, make a political decision to restart a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power generation still is the "national policy" where all decisions therefore are made politically (as if politics can ensure safety). And the Union of Kansai Governments, despite the stated objective to be more "independent" of the central government, simply tosses the ball back to the central government.
Noda asking for "consent" is a mere formality, just like those town hall meetings to "discuss" whether to accept a nuclear power plant, a restart of a nuclear power plant, or disaster debris. As to his "responsibility", he is not likely to remain a prime minister of Japan for long (although he could surprise people on that).
But what's most notable was the remark by Goshi Hosono, which is not in the above Yomiuri Shinbun news but was reported by Fukui Broadcasting Co (Nippon Television Network) in Fukui Prefecture (5/30/2012). The Fukui Broadcasting Co. piece demands the strong national government policy decision, and quotes Goshi Hosono as saying:
「安全への取り組みには限りがなく、新しい知見を反映する事を怠らず、ワンランク上の安全を目指したい」
"There is no limit to assuring safety. We will aim for a higher safety as we make sure to incorporate new knowledge."
NHK has a bit more details:
「原発に、もはや万全ということはありえない。常に新しい知見に基づいて高いレベルの対策を満たしていくというのが政府の考え方だ」
"It's not possible to take all the necessary measures [to ensure safety] of nuclear power plants. The government thinking is to take ever-higher levels of measures based on new knowledge."
「原子力規制庁の下で新たな安全基準を作り、大飯原発も再評価する。その再評価の結果、おかしいということなら、使用停止も含めた厳格な措置を取る」
"We will establish a new set of safety standards under the Nuclear Regulatory Agency [to be created], and will re-evaluate Ooi Nuclear Power plant. If the re-evaluation reveals something wrong, we will take strict measures including stopping the use of the plant."
(Hosono really doesn't know what he's talking about...)
Many Japanese have interpreted his remark as: "It is not possible to achieve 100% safety, therefore we will simply restart the plant and see what happens. If something bad happens, then we will stop the plant."
Mr. Hosono also promised that one of the two Senior Vice Ministers of Economy, Trade and Industry will be stationed in Ooi-cho supposedly to keep an eye on the plant and make sure it's "safe". Isn't that reassuring.
If the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident taught us anything, it is that you cannot necessarily stop the plant when something bad does happen. All these politicians must be hoping that won't happen during their tenures.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment