SF Japan Consulate Speak-out to Stop Massive Release Of Radioactive Water From Fukushima

8/11 SF Japan Consulate Speak-out to Stop Massive Release Of Radioactive Water From Fukushima & Continued Start-up of Nuclear Plants
Friday August 11, 2017 3:00 PM
San Francisco Japanese Consulate
275 Battery St./California St.
San Francisco

The dangers and crisis of Fukushima continue to grow. Hundreds of thousands of tons of radioactive water remains in thousands of tanks surrounding the Fukushima plant in Japan. The government is now seeking to dump this dangerous water into the Pacific ocean threatening the health and safety of not only other parts of Japan but the Pacific rim.

The Japanese government is also pushing to suppress democratic rights with a “secrecy law” and “conspiracy law” that will be used to prevent journalists and public interest investigators from releasing information about Fukushima and the continued dangers. This bill was opposed by the UN Rapporteur who has challenged the increasing repression and intimidation of journalists and the democratic rights of the people of Japan. Already anti-nulcear activists like Professor Shimoji and others in Osaka and other areas have been harassed and arrested for handing out flyers about the efforts to burn nuclear waste and to stop the start-up of additional nuclear plants.

The Abe government is also demanding the children and families return to Fukushima or they will lose their housing subsidies. This is creating a traumatic conditions for the mothers and parents who do not want their children to be subjected to more contamination and increased dangers of cancer. Already they’re has been an escalation of thyroid cancers throughout the region.


We call for the right of the families from Fukushima to live outside this contaminated area and be compensated by TEPCO and the government. . This bill was opposed by the UN Rapporteur who has challenged the increasing repression and intimidation of journalists and the democratic rights of the people of Japan.

We also oppose the efforts of the Abe government to remove Article 9 of the constitution which prohibits offensive war. The majority of the people of Japan are against militarization and in addition there is a growing corruption scandal of Abe’s cabinet who have lied to the public and covered up corrupt deals with private schools.

The No Nukes Action Committee calls for all people to join this speak-out on Friday August 11, 2017 for the people of Fukushima and opposition to nuclear power plants and militarization of Japan.

We all on to people to join us this coming August 11, 2017 at 3:00 PM at 275 Battery St. near California at the Japanese Consulate. Make your voice heard.

Speak Out and Rally initiated by
No Nukes Action Committee
http://nonukesaction.wordpress.com/

Fukushima’s radioactive water to be released into ocean under new plan
https://www.rt.com/news/396358-fukushimas-radioactive-water-released-ocean/
Published time: 14 Jul, 2017 16:24
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The plan will have to be approved by the Japanese government.© Toru Hanai / Reuters
The “decision has already been made” to release radioactive material from the Fukushima plant into the ocean, according to its owners. Fishermen have reacted with fury to the decision, claiming it will devastate their already struggling industry.
Under the plan the radioactive material tritium, which is being used to cool reactors whose cooling systems were damaged in the 2011 tsunami, will be released into the Pacific Ocean.
"I'm very sorry that Tepco has been prolonging making a decision," the new chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) Takashi Kawamura told reporters on Thursday, reported Reuters. "We could have decided much earlier, and that is Tepco's responsibility."
The plan still requires the approval of the Japanese government before TEPCO can proceed.
Some 770,000 tons (metric) of tritium-containing water is currently stored in 580 tanks at the plant, reported the Japan Times. Toxic water at the plant is currently being treated through a processing system that can remove 62 different types of radioactive material, except tritium.
The local fishermen cooperative has hit out at the plan, saying it had not been discussed with local residents.
“Releasing (tritium) into the sea will create a new wave of unfounded rumors, making our efforts all for naught,” Kanji Tachiya, head of a local fishermen cooperative, told the Japan Times.

Situated 10 meters above sea-level, three of the nuclear power plant’s six reactors’ cooling systems were crippled by flooding caused by the tsunami, making the disaster the worst since the Chernobyl catastrophe in the USSR in 1986.
The plan still requires the approval of the Japanese government before TEPCO can proceed.
Some 770,000 tons (metric) of tritium-containing water is currently stored in 580 tanks at the plant, reported the Japan Times. Toxic water at the plant is currently being treated through a processing system that can remove 62 different types of radioactive material, except tritium.
The local fishermen cooperative has hit out at the plan, saying it had not been discussed with local residents.
“Releasing (tritium) into the sea will create a new wave of unfounded rumors, making our efforts all for naught,” Kanji Tachiya, head of a local fishermen cooperative, told the Japan Times..
Situated 10 meters above sea-level, three of the nuclear power plant’s six reactors’ cooling systems were crippled by flooding caused by the tsunami, making the disaster the worst since the Chernobyl catastrophe in the USSR in 1986.

So Much For Abe Government's Claim The Fukushima Has Been "Decontaminated"

Japan Government Run TEPCO chair: Fukushima Nuclear plant must release contaminated water-CLEANUP REQUIRES RELEASE OF TREATED CONTAMINATED WATER

http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20170714/p2g/00m/0dm/005000c
July 14, 2017 (Mainichi Japan)

Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s new Chairman Takashi Kawamura speaks during an interview at the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo on July 13, 2017. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
TOKYO (AP) -- The new chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. says the utility needs to stop dragging its feet on plans to dump massive amounts of treated but contaminated water into the sea and make more money if it's ever going to succeed in cleaning up the mess left by meltdowns more than six years ago at the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Takashi Kawamura, an engineer-turned-business leader who previously headed Hitachi's transformation into a global conglomerate, is in charge of reviving TEPCO and leading the cleanup at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. In an interview Thursday with selected media including The Associated Press, Kawamura said despite the massive costs of the cleanup and meeting tighter safety requirements, nuclear power is still vital for Japan's national security.

Below are highlights from the interview, where Kawamura spoke in Japanese:

CLEANUP REQUIRES RELEASE OF TREATED CONTAMINATED WATER:

Massive amounts of radiation-contaminated water that has been processed and stored in hundreds of tanks at the plant are hindering decommissioning work and pose a safety risk in case another massive quake or tsunami strikes. TEPCO needs to release the water -- which contains radioactive tritium that is not removable but considered not harmful in small amounts -- into the Pacific Ocean, Kawamura said. The method is favored by experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency and Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority as the only realistic option. Earlier, TEPCO had balked at calls by NRA chairman Shunichi Tanaka for controlled release of the water, now exceeding 770,000 metric tons, into the sea, fearing a public backlash. "Technically, we fully support the chairman's proposal," he said, adding that there is still strong resistance from local residents, especially fishermen. "I think we should have acted sooner. ... We should start moving faster."

PROFITS NEEDED TO COVER CRUSHING COSTS:

Kawamura says TEPCO must become more profitable to manage to cover the gargantuan costs of cleaning up Fukushima Dai-Ichi after it suffered multiple meltdowns due to the massive March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO'S longtime status as a regional monopoly undermined its profit-making incentive, hobbling its ability to cover most of the 21.5 trillion yen (about $190 billion) price tag for decommissioning the plant and compensating dislocated residents. "To reconstruct Fukushima, we must make more profit, and I know we should not be taking about just money, but I think that is important," he said.

DECOMMISSIONING IS THE FUTURE:

TEPCO's main mission now is decommissioning Fukushima Dai-Ichi, an unprecedented challenge that experts say could take decades and will take still more research and development. "That's our main activity and gaining new expertise in the decommissioning is far more important. But I believe there will be a time when decommissioning becomes an important business," Kawamura said. "Decommissioning is a process which takes time, not only for accident-hit reactors but ordinary retired reactors," he said. "I plan to coordinate with those who are studying the possibility of properly turning decommissioning of ordinary reactors into a viable business."

JAPAN NEEDS NUCLEAR POWER:

Kawamura says he believes nuclear power is still a viable business and one that will continue to be vital for Japan's energy security, despite the extra costs from stricter post-Fukushima safety requirements and the cost of processing spent fuel and waste. TEPCO is reviewing its business strategy, but based on rough estimates, "I still believe that nuclear is still superior for Japan, which is really a resource- poor country," he said. "Even if we take severe accident measures and factor in spent fuel processing and other costs, I think there are some reactors that can still be profitable." He said nuclear power includes a wide range of technologies that Japan should not abandon, for national security reasons, as China continues to build nuclear plants.

TEPCO'S OTHER REACTORS:

Kawamura said TEPCO hopes to restart the utility's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in northern Japan, even while the decommissioning at Fukushima Dai-Ichi is underway, so the operable plant can be a major source of revenue for the company. He said a decision on whether to resume operation of the Fukushima Dai-Ni plant, near Fukushima Dai-Ichi, will depend on a financial review. He said he regrets TEPCO's slowness in making a decision and acknowledged calls from local authorities and residents to decommission the second Fukushima plant, which was also hit by the tsunami but avoided a meltdown.

Japan Government Owned Tepco backpedals after disaster reconstruction chief knocks plan to dump tritiated water into sea
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/07/15/national/tepco-backpedals-disaster-reconstruction-chief-knocks-plan-dump-tritiated-water-sea/#.WWsBnBQrC-Q
KYODO
JUL 15, 2017
ARTICLE HISTORY
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Tokyo Electric backed off its tritium-dumping decision Friday after disaster reconstruction minister Masayoshi Yoshino said it would cause problems for struggling fishermen trying to recover in Fukushima Prefecture.
The remarks made Friday by the Fukushima native came shortly after the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. was quoted as saying that the decision to discharge tritium-tainted water from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant into the sea had “already been made.”
After Tepco Chairman Takashi Kawamura’s remarks were widely reported, the utility scrambled to make a clarification the same day.
According to Tepco’s clarification, Kawamura meant to say that there was “no problem” with the dumping plan, based on government guidelines and “scientific and technological standards.” The statement also said that no final decision had been made.
A government panel is still debating how to deal with the massive amount of tainted water stored in tanks at the atomic plant, where three reactor cores melted after a huge earthquake in March 2011 spawned tsunami that devastated the region and knocked out all power at the plant.
Tritium typically poses little risk to human health unless ingested in high amounts. It remains in filtered water as it is difficult to extract on an industrial basis. Ocean discharges of diluted volumes of tritium-tainted water are a routine part of nuclear power plant operations.
At a news conference, Yoshino said there would “certainly be damage due to unfounded rumors” if the tainted water were dumped into the sea. He urged those pushing for the release “not to create fresh concerns for fishermen and those running fishing operations in Fukushima Prefecture.” He also asked them to take care not to drive fishermen “further toward the edge.”
Yoshino, who is not directly involved in the decision-making process for handling the water, was alluding to local concerns about how people’s livelihoods will be affected if people think marine products from Fukushima are contaminated with radiation. He added that while he is aware that many in the scientific community say the diluted water can be safely released, he remains opposed.
“As I am also a native of Fukushima Prefecture, I fully understand the sentiment of the people,” the minister said.
Water injected to perpetually cool the damaged reactors becomes tainted in the process. A high-tech filtering apparatus set up at the plant can remove 62 types of radioactive material but not tritium. As a result, tritiated water is building up continuously at the plant. As of July 6, about 777,000 tons were stored in about 580 tanks on the premises.
On March 11, 2011, tsunami inundated the six-reactor plant, which is situated 10 meters above sea level, and crippled its power supply, causing a station-wide blackout. The failure of the cooling systems in reactors 1, 2 and 3 then led to a triple core meltdown that became the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.