Monday, September 30, 2013

10.1,9,19 SoCAL #SanOnofre - CPUC & NRC Meetings begin | San Clemente Green


UPDATE: "Two public meetings next week in San Luis Obispo (Monday, 10.7) and Carlsbad (Wednesday, 10.9) have fallen victim to the federal shutdown. The meetings were meant to present the findings and receive public comments on NRC's proposed rules and environmental study on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel."

Last week was the start of a series of meetings and upcoming events that are important to those of us concerned about nuclear energy. The headline from last week was that the former head of the NRC is becoming more antinuclear than ever. Check out other related news below.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is meeting in San Diego tomorrow (10/1/13) to discuss who gets the bill for Edison's mistakes. Millions of ratepayer's dollars are at stake and we need to show up to be counted. If you can't make it be sure to ask for your rebate by phone: 866-849-8390 or by email: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov

Here are the details for this and other upcoming events: 

1. Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The CPUC 's first Public Participation Hearing in San Diego on how much ratepayers should be stuck with for the defective San Onofre Power Plant!

2 p.m.-5 p.m. AND/OR 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
NOTE that there are 2 sessions: 2-5p and 6:30-9:30p. You don't have to be there the entire time.

Press Conference & Rally at ~ 1p. and Overpass Light Brigade in the evening!

Al Bahr Shriners Building, 5440 Kearny Mesa Rd., San Diego, CA 92111
https://www.facebook.com/events/146585188884628/

2. Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Waste "Confidence" Public Meeting--Carlsbad

Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa
5480 Grand Pacific Drive, Carlsbad, California 92008

Open House 6-7 p.m.
Meeting 7-9 p.m.

The NRC has scheduled twelve public meetings to receive comments on the Waste Confidence Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) and proposed rule. The NRC had ruled previously that it was acceptable to allow nuclear waste to be stored at nuclear power plants for 200 years, until courts made them go back and justify such a claim. Come hear the rationale behind such a claim and let them know how you feel about it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/433756900073078/

3. Saturday, October 19, 2013
Community Symposium on the Decommissioning of San Onofre and the Ongoing Dangers of Nuclear Waste 

This one is brought to you by our own coalition and will be right here in San Clemente. Take this opportunity to ask questions of our independent nuclear waste experts.
Saturday, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Center for Spiritual Living Capistrano Valley, 1201 Puerta Del Sol, Suite 100, San Clemente, California 92673.



see also: whats up: Government shutdown undermines NRC's nuke waste con game | Beyond Nuclear - Radioactive Waste What's New



Sunday, September 29, 2013

11.10 GOODBYE NUKES! Kyushu Okinawa Rally | さよなら原発!11.10九州沖縄集会

October Agenda - Réseau Sortir du nucléaire

calendar as of 29 sept - check website for updates


Lieu : Louviers (27)
4 octobre 2013 de 20:00 à 22:30 : Projection-débat autour du film "High Power"
Lieu : Logelbach (68)
4 octobre 2013 de 20:00 à 22:30 : Réunion du groupe Sortir du nucléaire 38
Lieu : Grenoble (38)
5 octobre 2013 : Visite d’Electrobroc
Lieu : Broc (Près de Fribourg, Suisse)
Du 5 octobre 2013 au 6 octobre 2013 : Stand et table ronde par Stop Golfech
Lieu : Villeneuve-sur-Lot (47)
Du 5 octobre 2013 au 6 octobre 2013 : Alternatiba : village des alternatives
Lieu : Bayonne (64)
7 octobre 2013 de 19:30 à 23:30 : Projection-débat autour du film "High Power"
Lieu : Nancy (54)
9 octobre 2013 de 19:00 à 22:00 : Réunion du groupe Sortir du nucléaire Paris
Lieu : Paris (10e)
10 octobre 2013 de 19:30 à 22:30 : Réunion du CIREN
Lieu : Lieusaint (77)
Lieu : Bourges (18)
12 octobre 2013 de 15:00 à 17:30 : Journée Zéro nucléaire au Japon et dans le monde
Lieu : Paris (4e)
Du 25 octobre 2013 au 27 octobre 2013 : Rencontres pour un Monde Vivable
Lieu : Saintes (17)


Agenda - Réseau Sortir du nucléaire
    < Réseau "Sortir du nucléaire"


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Banks agree to give ¥80 billion in refinancing loans to TEPCO - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun


A group of banks agreed Sept. 27 to extend 80 billion yen ($800 million) in loans to Tokyo Electric Power Co. for refinancing after the struggling utility moved toward restarting two nuclear reactors, bank executives said.

The money will go to repayments due at the end of October on loans of the same amount that were extended to TEPCO before the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami triggered the accident at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
In the coming days, about 30 banks of the group will decide how much of the 80 billion yen each will contribute. They will convey their decision to TEPCO and the government’s Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund by mid-October.
Some of the 30 financial institutions, especially local banks based in areas affected by the March 2011 disaster, remain cautious about lending to TEPCO. If those local banks balk during the discussions, some major banks said they will make up the difference, several bank executives told The Asahi Shimbun.
The decision to grant the new loans came the same day TEPCO applied to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for safety screenings of the No. 6 and No. 7 reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. The screening process is required before the reactors can be restarted...


more: Banks agree to give ¥80 billion in refinancing loans to TEPCO - AJW by The Asahi Shimbun


Citizen ALERT! Nuke Waste Con Game 1st public meeting on Oct. 1 | facebook event


Submit public comments to NRC re: its "Nuke Waste Con Game"


Public comments will be accepted by NRC through various means.
Comments can be submitted online at www.regulations.gov, using Docket ID No. NRC-2012-0246.
Comments can be submitted via e-mail to Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov, citing Docket ID No. NRC-2012-0246.
Comments can be snail-mailed to: Secretary; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; ATTN: Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff (cite Docket ID No. NRC-2012-0246 at the top of your comments).
Comments can be faxed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, at (301) 415-1101, citing Docket ID No. NRC-2012-0246.
Comments can also be hand-delivered to 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 AM and 4:15 PM Eastern Time on Federal workdays; telephone (301) 415-1677.
Comments can also be made by way of oral testimony presented at  a dozen public comment meetings to be held around the country from October 1st to mid-November. We need to pack these meetings, so please spread the word!

UPDATE: "(Two) public meetings [next week in San Luis Obispo (Monday, 10.7) and Carlsbad (Wednesday, 10.9)] have fallen victim to the federal shutdown. The meetings were meant to present the findings and receive public comments on NRC's proposed rules and environmental study on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel."
UPDATE 2: Due to the lack of an appropriation and the government shutdown, the Waste Confidence Directorate regrets to inform you that we are postponing our two public meetings scheduled for next week:  Tuesday, October 15, in Perrysburg, Ohio; and Thursday, October 17, in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  


The first and last public comment meetings, on October 1st and November 14th, will be held at NRC HQ in Rockville, MD. At these two public comment meetings only, members of the public can take part remotely, online via webcast and/or by telephone conference, and provide oral comments that way. (All other public comment meetings around the country must be attended in person only, in order to submit public comments.)
NRC has requested that participants in the public comment meetings register ahead of time. You can pre-register by phone at (301) 287-9392, or by filling out the webform at:
http://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/wcd/wcd-public-mtg-reg.html
If there is a large number of persons at a meeting seeking to make public comments, NRC will limit each speaker to 3 minutes. Although one can register on the day of, at the event, those who have pre-registered will be given priority at the microphone.
NRC has provided the following point of contact for any questions about the material in the GEIS:
Sarah Lopas; Mail Stop: 3WFN; 14C64; U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Washington, D.C. 20555-0001; Phone: (301) 287-0675; E-mail: sarah.lopas@nrc.gov.

Beyond Nuclear - Radioactive Waste What's New - How to submit public comments to NRC re: its "Nuke Waste Con Game" draft GEIS


facebook event page: Nuclear waste storage legislation ~ Citizen ALERT! 1st national public meeting Oct 1, 2013


see also: whats up: Pack the meetings; Speak Out! | Waste Confidence - NIRS


10.5 TOKYO: 反原発ライブ NO NUKE COUNTDOWN LIVE in front of Shinjuku Station





『10.13 NO NUKES DAY原発ゼロ☆統一行動』は 

「さようなら原発1000万人アクション実行委員会」 
「原発をなくす全国連絡会」「首都圏反原発連合」

 が合同で決行する大規模アクション。



 ★「1013 NO NUKES DAY原発ゼロ☆統一行動」LINK★ 




反原発ライブ



Friday, September 27, 2013

NRC TO CONSIDER SAN ONOFRE CITIZENS PANEL


Public meeting Thursday focused on safety during decommissioning of nuclear plant


 — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider a request to form a citizens oversight panel to help make sure the San Onofre nuclear power plant is dismantled safely and cost-effectively, a commission official said at a public meeting in Carlsbad on Thursday evening.
The request came from Gene Stone, a San Clemente resident who represented a coalition of citizen and environmental groups who want to monitor the nuclear plant’s decontamination and removal, an elaborate process called “decommissioning” that could take up to 60 years to complete and cost at least $4.1 billion.
Involving a citizens panel would require approval from the federal agency’s appointed commissioners, but staff members would “take it under consideration,” said Larry W. Camper, director of the agency’s division of waste management and environmental protection.
Utility officials decided in June to keep San Onofre shut down permanently, after a leak of radioactive steam last year exposed problems with generators that were upgraded in 2010 and 2011.
At Thursday’s briefing, NRC officials walked through their oversight procedures and took questions from the public.
Safety occupied much of the discussion. Officials said that used nuclear fuel will be stored in a refrigerated pool for five to seven years until it has cooled sufficiently.
Then radioactive material will be moved to steel-reinforced, concrete casks with 5-foot-thick roof caps and 4-foot walls that are designed to withstand an earthquake or other disasters. Such casks have been in use at San Onofre since 2003.
Officials also said the casks can be immersed without problems in up to 50 feet of water during a flood. They estimated the biggest potential tsunami wave at 27 feet, and there’s a 28-foot-high sea wall between the Pacific Ocean and the fuel storage area, which is situated about 20 feet above sea level.
Flooding from a 2011 tsunami caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors in Fukushima, Japan, when pumps failed to keep cooling water flowing.
Local residents and activists have been skeptical of such safety assurances regarding San Onofre.
Stone said the plant’s decommissioning was an important milestone for the “old and dangerous nuclear fleet” in the U.S.
“We’d like to be an active part of the safety of this process,” he said.
In response to a question posed by the coalition, NRC officials said that San Onofre has used a highly radioactive fuel known as “high burn-up” that will take longer to cool before removal to dry casks. Officials also acknowledged that there is no way to monitor the behavior of spent fuel inside the casks, but the agency is studying the issue.
Tearing down the plant and restoring the site will be supervised by Southern California Edison, the plant’s operator and 80 percent owner. San Diego Gas & Electric owns 20 percent.
Edison’s lease with the Navy calls for San Onofre’s site along Interstate 5 in Camp Pendleton to be restored to pristine, “green-field” condition.
Costs are estimated at roughly $4.1 billion. As of Dec. 31, 2012, the utilities had collected $3.85 billion in a trust account from a charge on customer bills, officials said at the meeting.
Edison has until June 2015 to present an initial decommissioning plan to the NRC.


NRC TO CONSIDER SAN ONOFRE CITIZENS PANEL | UTSanDiego.com


#petition: The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima


At Fukushima Unit 4, the impending removal of hugely radioactive spent fuel rods from a pool 100 feet in the air presents unparalleled scientific and engineering challenges. With the potential for 15,000 times more fallout than was released at Hiroshima, we ask the world community, through the United Nations, to take control of this uniquely perilous task.


MoveOn Petitions - The World Community Must Take Charge at Fukushima

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Nuclear Hotseat #119: Joseph Mangano Shreds IAEA's Straitjacket on WHO's Radiation Reports | Nuclear Hotseat


Nuclear Hotseat #119: Joseph Mangano Shreds IAEA's Straitjacket on WHO's Radiation Reports | Nuclear Hotseat



INTERVIEW:  Special feature interview with Joseph Mangano of Radiation and Public Health Project (www.radiation.org) on how the International Atomic Energy Agency’s straitjacketed and muzzled “epidemiology” makes it impossible for the World Health Organization to ever present honest information on the dangers of nuclear radiation.  Based on an analysis of the IAEA’s fatally flawed “science” by the late Dr. Rosalie Bertell.  Infuriating, jaw-dropping — and the underlying reason why the nuclear-industrial complex continues to get away with putting the future of all planetary life at risk. 



PLUS:
  • Activists rise up against NRC waste “confidence,” proposed nuclear waste dump on Lake Huronand the EPA’s dramatically weakened radiation guides – the New (Gina) McCarthyism?
  • Japanese PM Shinzo Abe-Baby has ongoing “Mission Accomplished” complications from his “The situation is under control!” claims to the International Olympic Committee;
    • And isn’t it odd that Russia, China and Korea are doing a better job of protecting their citizens than the US?



LISTEN NOW / DOWNLOAD > Nuclear Hotseat #119: Joseph Mangano Shreds IAEA's Straitjacket on WHO's Radiation Reports | Nuclear Hotseat


VIDEO EXTRAS:



Beyond Nuclear’s Kevin Kamps in Toronto on Fukushima and proposed nuclear waste dump in Ontario, on the shore of Lake Huron:





Former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Gregory Jaczko in Japan speaking out on Fukushima dangers re: Spent Fuel Pool 4 at Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club.




THANK YOU LIBBE HALEVY!







Nuclear Hotseat Podcast

The Activist Voice of the Anti-Nuclear Movement
Produced and Hosted by Libbe HaLevy
THIS WEEK’S NUCLEAR HOTSEAT: www.NuclearHotseat.com/Blog
(CLICK TO ACCESS): 
Nuclear Hotseat is the weekly international news magazine keeping you up to date on all things anti-nuclear.  Produced and Hosted by Three Mile Island survivor Libbe HaLevy, each podcast contains the week’s international nuclear news, at least one expert interview, ways to protect physical health of yourself and your loved ones from the dangers of radiation exposure, and activist opportunities.
Among the nuclear experts interviewed by Nuclear Hotseat in its first two years:
  • Arnie Gundersen, nuclear engineer, head of Fairewinds Energy Education
  • Dr. Helen Caldicott, founding President, Physicians for Social Responsibility
  • Dr. Janette Sherman and Joseph Mangano, authors of “An Unexpected Mortality Increase in the United States Follows Arrival of the Radioactive Plume from Fukushima:  Is There a Correlation?”
  • Karl Grossman, Journalist, host of “Enviro Close-Up”
  • Daniel Hirsch, Nuclear Policy Lecturer, UC Santa Cruz
  • Alice Slater, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
  • Mochizuki Iori, blogger, Fukushima Diary
  • Nuclear Whistleblowers
  • …and many more.

Nuclear Hotseat Podcast | Nuclear Hotseat

10.1-11.14 Pack the meetings; Speak Out! | Waste Confidence - NIRS




Public meetings on NRC's "Waste Confidence" policy--October 1--November 14, 2013.



UPDATE: "Two public meetings next week in San Luis Obispo (Monday, 10.7) and Carlsbad (Wednesday, 10.9) have fallen victim to the federal shutdown. The meetings were meant to present the findings and receive public comments on NRC's proposed rules and environmental study on the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel."


Pack the meetings; Speak Out!

Since the summer of 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been unable to issue licenses for new reactors, nor renewals for existing licenses. A federal court threw out the underpinning of the agency's radioactive waste policy--its "waste confidence" rule. That rule had stated that the NRC was confident that high-level radioactive waste always would be stored or disposed safely, and thus could continue to be generated.

But the court found that with the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site effectively cancelled and no alternative in place, the NRC could not be "confident" of permanent disposal. Moreover, the court ruled that the NRC had no technical basis for asserting that current on-site storage practices in fuel pools and dry casks would be safe for the indefinite future. This ruling forced the current moratorium on licensing.

The NRC has now prepared a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) as part of the process of replacing its "waste confidence" rule and it hopes to finalize this document and resume licensing during 2014. In the Fall of 2013, the agency will hold 12 public meetings around the country to explain and receive comment on this document.

These meetings are our opportunity to point out the technical shortcomings in this new document, and to call for making the licensing moratorium permanent. There will be protests and public involvement at each one of these meetings. We hope you will join us.

Note: In the event of a government shutdown due to Congressional failure and intransigence, the NRC meetings likely will be postponed. We will keep you informed of any postponements and developments that may affect the schedule meetings.

Here is a list of all locations and schedules of meetings < click for NRC page

Rockville, MD. Oct. 1 and Nov. 14
Denver, CO. Oct. 3
San Luis Obispo, CA, Oct. 7
Carlsbad, CA, Oct. 9
Perrysburg, OH, Oct. 15
Minnetonka, MN, Oct. 17
Oak Brook, IL, Oct. 24
Chelmsford, MA, Oct. 28
Tarrytown, NY, Oct. 30
Charlotte, NC, Nov. 4
Orlando, FL, Nov. 6


Here is a Facebook page some people are using
to organize for the meetings.


Logos you can download and save to add to your materials:

Nuclear Waste: Stop Making It (circular logo above). (jpg)
Don't Waste America (at bottom of this page) (jpg)


GO TO THE NIRS PAGE FOR THESE LINKS ----

• Download sample press releases, Alerts, and more for each meeting for use by grassroots groups. Note: these are in Word format so you can edit, add your group's information and customize how you wish.

• Talking points for activists and commenters:

Waste Confidence Policy.
Dry casks vs fuel pools.
Waste confidence and climate.
Risks of fire in fuel pools.

• You can pre-register with the NRC to speak at one of the meetings [here]. Note: pre-registration is not required, but may be useful to assure you have a speaking slot in case the meetings are as packed as we expect them to be.

• September 13, 2013 Federal Register notice announcing meetings and written public comment period. Written comments are due by November 27, 2013.

• Download the full Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement here. (pdf)

• [Here] is the June 8, 2012 federal court ruling that voided the NRC's "waste confidence" rule and forced the agency to institute a moratorium on reactor licensing and relicensing until it established a technical basis for its belief that high-level radioactive waste will always be safely stored.






Waste Confidence - NIRS

see also: whats up: Citizen ALERT! Nuke Waste Con Game 1st public meeting on Oct. 1 | facebook event


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

14 U.S. Nuclear Plants Closing or at Risk—in Photographs and Text

9.28 NYC: INDIAN POINT RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE





9:30am 42nd Street & ParkAve | info@jfissures.org

We are organizing a press conference in front of the Grand Central station. Come out and help make noise, stretch banners and hand out fliers!

Nuclear is not clean! We don't need nuclear.


facebook event page: INDIAN POINT LICENSE EXPIRES!

see also: whats up: 9.28 RUN FOR YOUR LIFE :: Bike Walk Run Kayak to Indian Point


9.28 RUN FOR YOUR LIFE :: Run Walk Bike Paddle to Indian Point




Save the Date: September 28th, 2013.

At 12:00 am on 9/28/13, Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 (IP2) becomes the first and only nuclear reactor in the United States to operate with an expired license. We, the Stony Point Convergence on Indian Point, are organizing a joint-paddling, biking and walking/running convergence on the Peekskill Riverfront Green on Saturday, September 28th to call public attention to the continued operation of IP2 despite its current license expiring on that same day. In addition, we will be vigiling at 6 locations within 10 miles of the Power Plant. We need you to hop on your bike, stretch your legs, grab your paddles or dig your boots into the concrete and join us!

Roughly our start times are:

Bikers: gather at Indian Point Old Gate at 10:30am, bike 7 mile route to Peekskill Riverfront Green (PRG).

Walkers/Runners: gather at Indian Point Old Gate at 11:00am, walk/run 2.3 miles to PRG.

Kayakers: gather at Annesville Circle at 10:30am and paddle out to Indian Point before landing at PRG at 12:30pm

Vigilers: meet at one of six locations (Cold Spring @ Little Stony Point, Annesville Circle in Cortlandt, Peekskill Gazebo - Division Street and South Street, Yorktown Heights Rt. 202 and 35, Croton-Harmon Trainstation and Ossining Farmers' Market - see maps below) at 10:30am, vigil until noon and drive/walk/take train to PRG to arrive there at 12:30pm.

Peekskill Riverfront Green: convergence of vigilers, bikers, walkers/runners and paddlers at 12:30pm with music, food (most-likely potluck and bbq), and a megaphone for people to speak.

This is all in process, so give us recommendations, too!

facebook event page: September 28th: Run For Your Life

see also: whats up: 9.28 NYC: INDIAN POINT RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE


55 or 60 km from #Fukushima: 22.97 microSv/h, Koriyama city, Sakabuta Park, housing area, Sep. 2013



▶ 22.97 microSv/h, Koriyama city, Sakabuta Park, housing area, Sep. 2013 via Birdhairjp - YouTube

On 7th of Sept 2013 , I measured radiation around Sakabuta Park, Koriyama city, Fukushima pref. Japan

I monitored 0.47 to 0.65 micro Sv/h at my chest height in air.

22.97 on road side sand, on gurter cover on a foot of a slope road.

The monitorinig place is 55 or 60 km from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear power plant.

Housing area of Koriyama city. Koriyama city: popolation approx 330,000.

Measuring instrument ECOTEST MKS-05, Ukraine made and Air counter of ST Corp., Japan.

Kids have been endangered with external & internal radiation exposure risk

----------------------
A map shown in the video is "Radiation counter map of the FUKUSHIMA Daiich nuclear accident" by frofessor Yukio HAYAKAWA of GUNMA university.

群馬大学の早川由紀夫教授による『福島第一原発事故の放射能汚染地図・7訂版』をビデ­オの中で使用しました。
22.97μSv/h 郡山市酒蓋公園近く 側溝の蓋の上に溜まった砂 2013年9月