“Nuclear energy is incredibly
expensive as well as fantastically dangerous....One might ask why, if
nuclear power is the energy of the future, it has taken so long for
it to supply less than 6 percent of the world’s energy. Even this meager
achievement accounts only for commercial energy, excluding the requirements
of world total primary energy of all kinds. In that case, nuclear power’s
share drops even further, to about 2.5 percent.” - Martin Cohen and
Andrew McKillop, authors of The Doomsday Machine (1)
“To negotiate with the nuclear industry is like debating with the drug
cartels about the introduction of law and order” - Ralph T. Niemeyer,
editor and journalist (2)
“In space no one can hear you scream” - Alien (3)
“And when I die, I want to go to hell
And that's when goodbye should be farewell” - Morrissey (4)
Can we trust Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to tell the truth
about the status of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) or is Tepco
really “Tipco,” a company based on shaky practices that now claims their
radioactive storage building won’t tip over in another earthquake?
While imperfections are not uncommon in the history mankind, nuclear
power companies are substantively different given their blunders have
the potential to release massive and life destroying plumes of radiation
across the entire planet.
It is not surprising to learn that the International Nuclear Crime Syndicate
Of Satanists (INCSS) has adopted a sophisticated propaganda system in
order to dupe the public into believing that the benefits (ie., production
of a mere 2.5 percent of world energy production; weapons of mass destruction
supply) are worth the risk of radioactive waste and disasters. As Robert
Zimmerman writes in his book that dissects the “cult of nuclearists”
and their “fraudulent science”:
“The field of radiation protection has been heavily infiltrated and
compromised by those with a vested interest in ensuring the proliferation
of nuclear and radiological weapons and commercial nuclear reactors.
A politically motivated international system of standard setting agencies,
upholding antiquated models of the biological effects of ionizing radiation,
has asserted itself as the voice of authority in the field of radiation
protection. Governments, in turn, depend on the flaws within these models
to legitimize the safety of their nuclear programs and conceal the detrimental
biological effects these programs impart to unsuspecting populations”
(5).
It is important to not overly particularize the topic in the midst of
our frustration and anger with Japan for what we (correctly) perceive
as their incompetent and callous behavior in this nuclear tragedy. That
the “WHO’s Coverup Of Fukushima Radiation Is Unscientific Hogwash” is
another case that proves this is a problem of international scope (6).
It is now well known that in case of another major earthquake the Unit
4 and other fuel pools at the Fukushima no. 1 power station have the
potential of releasing 85 Chernobyl’s worth of radiation into the ocean
and atmosphere. The possibility of a worse case scenario, even if it
is only 1 percent probability (yet there is high probability of another
major earthquake in the region) is beyond mind boggling. A religious,
spiritual or other worldly explanation can only suffice and is elucidated
in this conceptually original and frightening essay by the Cosmic Convergence
group (7).
If you prefer a more conventional track: over past centuries humanity
went down a slippery slope. It compromised morality, integrity and order
in exchange for freedom, security, convenience and comfort. In the bargain
an economic system based on fraudulent accounting tricks emerged (8;
9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15) and created an unnecessarily overly built
infrastructure that is overburdened, and in the case of nuclear power
stations, appears to be in collapse.
The Sherlock Holmes Mystery of the Tilting Reactor Building
Shortly after the nuclear accident on March 11, 2011, one observer noted
that Japan’s “downplaying” of the disaster was leading to “informational
uncertainty.”
“It is absolutely imperative that Japanese officials become more transparent
in their crisis communication. It is equally imperative, as this present
crisis makes clear, that officials around the world realize the severe
harm that can be inflicted by the obfuscation and distortion of critical
information in the wake of catastrophe” (16).
And yet, well over a year later how little we have learned. After Japan
declared the nuclear crisis under control with “cold shutdown” earlier
this year they have since quit releasing “plant parameter data” in English
which is “one of the most important” sources for understanding the current
situation at the FNPP (17).
Grassroots and political pressure is having an effect on forcing Tepco
to become more transparent and pro-active in solving the Unit 4 fuel
pool crisis. Everyone from the alternative media on the internet to
Arnie Gunderson to former Japanese diplomat Murata to Senator Wyden
have made enough noise to force Tepco to attempt to speed up their operations.
Tepco recently announced they are beginning to remove fuel rods from
the Unit 4 reactor building ahead of their original schedule which was
to begin only in late 2013 (18; 19).
Not surprisingly, Tepco and the Japanese government have resisted outside
help in the matter, in the same way that Obama let BP take over damage
control after the BP oil catastrophe in the spring of 2010 in the Gulf
of Mexico. It is a case of the Arsonists putting out the fire. Yet Israel-US
insist that Iran must have endless nuclear inspections despite the fact
that Iran has already complied with every IAEA rule under the sun. This
is an astonishing double standard of international norms.
Why is Japan not being more cooperative? After all, Japan is a society
built on cooperation and consensus (if a bit coercive).
1. They don't want a precedent to be set by letting independent teams
of scientists “nose around” their operations;
2. Arnie Gunderson notes the reason for lack of international effort
to fix Fukushima is that if the fatal flaws in the Japan nuke system
are exposed, that also indicts the US nuke industry in one fell swoop
(20).
Journalist Yoichi Shimatsu has claimed in his conversations with radio
host Jeff Rense that something fishy is going on in Japan with a possible
secret nuclear weapons program (21; 22).
Cohen and McKillop make the case that the nuclear arms race is one of
the most important reasons the otherwise nearly useless nuclear power
industry is able to muddle along: as a cover for weapons programs and
a global nuke arms race (Op. cit.).
Washington DC reporter, Joseph Trento, has documented the empirical
and circumstantial evidence of Japan’s nuclear power/weapons program.
Here are a few stunning revelations:
* “The United States deliberately allowed Japan access to the United
States’ most secret nuclear weapons facilities; while it transferred
tens of billions of dollars worth of American tax paid research that
has allowed Japan to amass 70 tons of weapons grade plutonium since
the 1980s.”
* “While Japan has refrained from deploying nuclear weapons and remains
under an umbrella of U.S. nuclear protection...the country has used
its electrical utility companies as a cover to allow the country to
amass enough nuclear weapons materials to build a nuclear arsenal larger
than China, India and Pakistan combined.”
* “This deliberate proliferation by the United States fuels arguments
by countries like Iran that the original nuclear powers engage in proliferation
despite treaty and internal legal obligations. Russia, France, Great
Britain as well as the United States created civilian nuclear power
industries around the world from their weapons complexes that amount
to government-owned or subsidized industries. Israel, like Japan, has
been a major beneficiary and, like Japan, has had nuclear weapons capabilities
since the 1960s.”
* “ [The] Reagan administration....ceded virtually all control of U.S.-origin
nuclear materials shipped to Japan....The Japanese government exploited
the Japanese public’s well-known abhorrence of nuclear weapons to discourage
the media and historians from delving into its nuclear weapons activities.”
* “International corporations and officials sacrificed the safety and
security of the public to carry out the deception. Under the guise of
a peaceful nuclear power program, they made huge profits” (23).
Tip Tip Tepco-- Oops A Daisy
It is well documented and even admitted by Japanese nuclear whistle
blowers themselves, that the Nuclear Village has a long history of corruption
and cover-ups, with foxes guarding hen houses and arsonists investigating
the fire (24). Professor Jeff Kingston of Temple University in Tokyo,
offers a thorough chronology of the Fukushima nuclear crisis from the
political perspective (25). The Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
has documented the Japanese nuclear industry’s malfeasance in scrupulous
detail since 1987 (26), and Kingston
supports their 25 years of work exposing the fraud of nuclear power
by stating that the Fukushima disaster “was preceded by a series of
mishaps, cover-ups, irresponsible practices, close calls and ignored
warnings....it was an accident waiting to happen.” Which raises the
question: how can we trust now the same people who have zero credibility?
The obvious answer is that we cannot, thereby, Japan is in a precarious
situation if another earthquake strikes the FNPP.
Kingston shows how Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who was in office at the
time of the Tohoku Disaster, was attacked and removed from office by
the Nuclear Village specifically because of Kan’s strong anti-nuclear/pro-renewable
energy stance (27). Kan who was trained as an engineer now firmly believes
that the use of nuclear power in Japan is discredited and dangerous,
whereas other officials typically in key positions of power are lawyers
(28; 29).
As Kingston explains in “Mismanaging Risk”:
“So who is to blame for the three meltdowns at Fukushima? The nuclear
village tried to shift blame onto PM Kan, spreading erroneous information
about his visit to Fukushima Daiichi to the effect that he forced TEPCO
to stop venting and subsequently alleging that he ordered the halt of
pumping of seawater to cool the reactors and spent fuel rods stored
in adjacent pools...but this was TEPCO’s responsibility and had nothing
to do with Kan’s visit on March 12....TEPCO retracted its allegations
against Kan, but not before damaging Kan’s reputation....Scapegoating
Kan served many purposes, especially diverting attention away from TEPCO’s,
NISA’s and METI’s responsibility for the accident and woeful crisis
response....
The third party panel that investigated the nuclear crisis...was harshly
critical of TEPCO and the government, pointing out that the utility
was ill-prepared for a crisis and that its’ workers made critical errors....workers
and their managers were inadequately trained to cope with an emergency
situation....Their mishandling of emergency procedures contributed to
the crisis.
The investigations also pilloried TEPCO and the government’s mishandling
of the evacuation of residents living near the plant, in many instances
evacuating people to places where levels of radiation were higher than
those where they had left....The panel confirmed that data generated
by the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information
(SPEEDI) on radiation dispersal was available and could have been used
to evacuate residents at greatest risk to safer areas, but this information
was not provided to the Prime Minister’s crisis management center until
March 23....[O]ne month after the original evacuation, the government
used this SPEEDI data to move evacuees out of harms way, meaning that
many had been subjected to substantial doses of avoidable radiation
exposure.
TEPCO and its regulators...failed to act on fresh and compelling evidence
about tsunami risk, a blind spot that left the plant needlessly vulnerable....Telltale
warnings began accumulating over the decade prior to 3/11....Clearly,
there is no basis to TEPCO’s claim that the scale of the 3/11 tsunami
was inconceivable; the utility chose to ignore centuries of geological
evidence and repeated 21st century warnings from modern scientists,
including in-house researchers....Inexcusably, TEPCO did not make safety
its ethos while lax oversight by the government allowed this culture
of complacency to persist long after it was obvious that TEPCO was cutting
corners to cut costs” (Op. cit.).
Due to outside pressure Tepco has had to confront the situation more
forthrightly. The corporate controlled media has also begun to take
notice, with the Wall Street Journal, New York Times (30) and the Asahi
Newspaper and TV News finally doing some decent reporting. On the other
hand, the lapdog presstitutes continue to make excuses for Tepco without
strongly challenging the assumption that “all is OK, you can trust us.”
This story from MSNBC fails to point out that Mr. Hosono, who recently
inspected the nuclear site, is a lawyer and not a technician. Not much
credence is given to “environmental critics” and it does not go into
any details of their analyses. The media omits and marginalizes interpretations
of events that are outside the acceptable boundaries of elitist discourse
(31).
Nevertheless, Tepco has been forced to dust off documents purporting
to show that Unit 4 is safe and will not collapse. Fukushima nuclear
disaster blog hero, “Ex-SKF” points out after translating this information
to her readers that “there is no independent confirmation of the data”
(32). Information uncertainty and lack of trust lead round and round
in circles.
Another example of Tepco’s arrogant and dissembling nature is when a
Wall Street Journal reporter kept pressing the question of what Tepco
would do if Unit 4 was damaged in an earthquake (33). The video is transcribed
into English but I listened to it and speak Japanese well enough to
understand the PR person’s evasiveness. The question is direct, honest
and fair enough, but the Tepco guy immediately changes the topic by
wondering, in a snide tone, “what kind of influence” could cause such
a disturbance? As if worrying about rogue asteroids bombarding the nuclear
site might be far fetched. Finally he makes the point that if a magnitude
“10, 11 or 12” occurred they have really not considered what would happen.
But the question was about an intensity 6 earthquake, not a magnitude
12 quake. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency Seismic Intensity
rating, on 3/11 for Fukushima the SI was 6+. The magnitude at the plant
was 7 and magnitude 7 is what experts have been warning about, saying
that may be enough to damage the Unit 4 fuel pool.
Despite the dire situation, Tepco executive, Akio Komori, “rejected
growing calls to let outside experts...inspect the plant” and stated
that "[a]s the party with direct responsibility, it's our job to carry
out the necessary checks." At the same time Japanese government representative
for the Fukushima nuclear crisis, Mr. Hosono, toured the plant and gave
the go-ahead and thumbs-up for Tepco to keep up their good work. Hosono
graduated from the Faculty of Law at Kyoto University in 1995 and only
became the Environment minister recently. He is neither a technician,
engineer nor an architect, let’s see what his assessment is:
“Hosono said he wasn't able to see the reported 3-cm wall bulge with
his own eyes but urged Tepco ‘not to take an optimistic view and instead
deal with it carefully in order to ensure safety.’ Hosono later told
reporters that he could see the pool had been sufficiently reinforced.
‘I could see steady progress being made toward removal of the spent
fuel, which is the next major goal,’ he said” (34).
Tepco may be making progress but is it fast enough to beat the next
big earthquake? One worker at the plant anonymously reported that if
an accident were to occur, emergency measures would not occur as smoothly
as Tepco claims. For example, it would be difficult to get trucks to
the site quickly enough to act. Another experienced worker also said
that spraying a special form of concrete on exposed fuel rods may not
be as easy as it sounds! (35; 36).
When the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was quizzed by a diligent
reporter about earthquake-caused ground subsidence at the FNPP, NISA
claims to have conducted the seismic evaluation of Unit 4 building according
to “the most severe standard.” Later in the interview they admitted
it was merely done “visually” (37). Similarly, computer models are used
by Tepco to show that earthquakes over a certain size will not damage
the plant even though the intensity they admit could happen could indeed
damage the plant-- and such level of earthquake has been predicted by
a number of experts (38). Tepco chutzpah is further rebutted by a recent
independent scientific report from the US that regulatory “non-solutions”
inevitably lead to problems with nuclear reactors (39).
The potentially catastrophic situation at Fukushima prompted one outside
expert, who for 20 years ran a consulting business in Japan for some
of their largest companies, to call for a “Manhattan Project approach.”
He warns that an “accident, involving nuclear fuel rods, is virtually
inevitable, most likely preventable, and the fact that it won’t be prevented
comes down solely to Japanese government and TEPCO incompetence and
stupidity. Japanese citizens will probably die unnecessarily because
the way things are done at the top in Japan is completely screwed up”
(40). We can’t wait three or four years let alone thirty of forty years
to remove the fuel rods and clean up the mess (41). Kyoto University
professor of nuclear engineering Hajimu Yamana has chimed in that “[i]t’s
a race against time” (42).
Arnie Gunderson admitted for the first time that he would not be surprised
if after ten years Tepco did not decide to pour concrete into the reactors
and call it a day once they have been cooled enough. The technical problems
of removing the melted fuel are formidable and the reactors are already
leaking contaminated water downward while the ground water seeps upward
and becomes contaminated. The soil structure at Fukushima is soft and
penetrable and different from Chernobyl where it is continental hard
pack and better suited for catastrophic nuclear accidents (Op. cit.)
References
1. Martin Cohen and Andrew McKillop, The Doomsday Machine: The High
Price of Nuclear Energy, The World’s Most Dangerous Fuel (Palgrave,
2012, 242 pgs.)
2. Journalist in Japan
http://enenews.com/journalist-in-japan-to-negotiate-with-the-nuclear-industry-is-like-debating-with-the-drug-cartels-about-the-reduction-of-law-and-order-video
3. Alien (movie poster) (1979).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)
4. Morrissey -"One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRpGp1orJNA&feature=related
5. A Primer In The Art Of Deception
http://femalefaust.blogspot.jp/2012/05/this-pdf-on-radiation-and-nuclear.html
Free PDF Excerpts from the book
http://www.du-deceptions.com/excerpts.html
6. WHO Coverup Of Fukushima Radiation Is Unscientific Hogwash
http://www.rense.com/general95/whocoverup.html
7. Why does the World Shadow Government destroy its own home (planet)?
http://cosmicconvergence.org/?p=900
8. The Money Masters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXt1cayx0hs
9. Ellen Brown, The Web of Debt (Third Millennium Press, 2007, 524 pgs.)
10. Roy Madron and John Jopling, Gaian Democracies (Green Books, 2003,
154 pgs.)
11. Steve Keen, Debunking Economics (Pluto Press, 2001, 335 pgs.)
12. Stuart McBurney, Ecology Into Economics Won’t Go (Green Books, 1998,
190 pgs.)
13. Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith, The Case Against The Global Economy
And For A Turn Toward The Local (Sierra Club Books, 1996, 549 pgs.)
14. Herman Daly, Beyond Growth (Beacon Press, 1996, 253 pgs.)
15. Douglas Reed, The Controversy of Zion (Veritas Publishing, 1985,
587 pgs.)
16. Downplaying Disaster, Informational Uncertainty in the Wake of Japan’s
Nuclear Crisis
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/03/22/informational-uncertainty-in-the-wake-of-japan-s-nuclear-crisis/
17.Tepco stopped releasing plant parameters in English
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/05/tepco-stopped-releasing-plant-parameters-in-english/
18. TEPCO to Attempt Removing 2 New Fuel Assemblies from Reactor 4 SFP
at Fukushima I Nuke Plant
http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2012/05/tepco-to-attempt-removing-2-new-fuel.html
19. Asahi TV: “Unbelievable” — If Unit 4 pool gets a crack from quake
and leaks, it would be end for Tokyo
http://enenews.com/important-video-year-asahi-tv-unbelievable-unit-4-pool-crack-leaks-during-quake-be-tokyo-japan-expert-doesnt-be-large-quake-already-shaken-many-times-serious-problem
20. Audio, May 18, 2012, Gundersen and Helen Caldicott Discuss the Fukushima
Daiichi Meltdowns and Their Worldwide Implications
http://www.fairewinds.com/radio
21. Rense Radio Network
http://www.rense.com
22. Secret Weapons Program Inside Fukushima Nuclear Plant?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24275
23. United States Circumvented Laws To Help Japan Accumulate Tons of
Plutonium
http://www.dcbureau.org/201204097128/national-security-news-service/united-states-circumvented-laws-to-help-japan-accumulate-tons-of-plutonium.html
24. Japan's Nuclear Cartel
Atomic Industry Too Close to Government for Comfort
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/japan-s-nuclear-cartel-atomic-industry-too-close-to-government-for-comfort-a-764907.html
25. Mismanaging Risk and the Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
http://japanfocus.org/-Jeff-Kingston/3724
26. Nuke Info Tokyo
http://www.cnic.jp/english/newsletter/index.html
27. Ousting Kan Naoto: The Politics of Nuclear Crisis and Renewable
Energy in Japan
http://www.japanfocus.org/-Jeff-Kingston/3610
28. Goshi Hosono
http://www.dpj.or.jp/english/member/217
29. Yukio Edano, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry
http://www.fccj.or.jp/node/7302
30. Spent Nuclear Fuel Drives Growing Fear Over Plant in Japan
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/world/asia/concerns-grow-about-spent-fuel-rods-at-damaged-nuclear-plant-in-japan.html
31. Weakened Fukushima nuclear pool is not unstable, Japan insists
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/26/11896155-weakened-fukushima-nuclear-pool-is-not-unstable-japan-insists?lite
32. Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 4 Bldg Is Not Tilting, Says TEPCO
with Data
http://ex-skf.blogspot.jp/2012/05/fukushima-i-nuke-plant-reactor-4-bldg.html
33. Tepco has no clue for the worst senario of SFP4
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/05/tepco-has-no-clue-for-the-worst-senario-of-sfp4/
34. Hosono visits Fukushima plant to quell fears over No. 4's pool
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120527x2.html
35. Actual Fukushima worker “In case of the major aftershock, all the
reactors will be in crisis”
http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/05/actual-fukushima-worker-in-case-of-the-major-aftershock-all-the-reactors-will-be-in-crisis/
36. Former Fukushima Daiichi Worker: TEPCO screwed up by admitting it’s
preparared to spray concrete on spent fuel
http://enenews.com/former-fukushima-daiichi-worker-tepco-screwed-up-by-admitting-its-preparared-to-spray-concrete-on-fuel-pool-they-are-really-admitting-they-know-that-it-might-collapse
37. NISA: “Earthquake may have caused ground subsidence in the area
of Fukushima plants”
http://enenews.com/nisa-earthquake-may-have-caused-ground-subsidence-in-the-area-of-fukushima-plants-safety-of-reactor-no-4-building-was-visually-confirmed-video
38. Doomsday scenarios spread about No. 4 reactor at Fukushima plant
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201205100051
39. New report: San Onofre nuclear plant failures could have been prevented
http://endthelie.com/2012/05/16/new-report-san-onofre-nuclear-plant-failures-could-have-been-prevented-larger-disasters-could-still-occur/#axzz1wCisgZQn
40. Fukushima Daiichi requires a Manhattan Project approach to avoid
another nuclear accident
http://betanews.com/2012/05/25/fukushima-daiichi-requires-a-manhattan-project-approach-to-avoid-another-nuclear-accident/
41. Humanity At The Height Of Folly
http://www.rense.com/general95/humanity.html
42. Japan Plant Gets Close Exam
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304065704577426032193869586.html
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