Fukiushima anniversary message from Yvonne Margarula, Mirrar people, Australia

Excerpts from a letter from Yvonne Margarula, Mirarr Senior Traditional Owner, Australia, to UN Secretary-General Ban ki Moon, April 6^th, 2011.

 "Given the long history between Japanese nuclear companies and Australian uranium miners, it is likely that the radiation problems at Fukushima are, at least in part, fuelled by uranium derived from our traditional lands. This makes us feel very sad.

I am writing to you to convey our solidarity and support with all those people across the world who see in the events at Fukushima a dire warning of the risks posed by the nuclear industry. This is an industry that we have never supported in the past and that we want no part of into the future. We all are diminished by the awful events now unfolding at Fukushima. "

Remembering Fukushima: Will you be marching against nuclear madness?

Beyond Nuclear is compiling a global calendar of events, with additional details found on our March Against Nuclear Madness Facebook page. Search our listings for an event near you. Or post yours to our Facebook page or email them to linda@beyondnuclear.org. Whether you are in Brazil or Brattleboro, there is an event for you! We will be speaking at some of these events and can provide literature to those who need additional support materials.

Independent investigation documents that "demonic chain reaction" of atomic reactor meltdowns could have forced Tokyo's evacuation

Martin Fackler of the New York Times has reported that an imminent, high-level independent investigation into the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Catastrophe has documented that the worst-case scenarios were intentionally concealed from the Japanese people and world community. Led by Yoichi Funabashi (pictured, left), former editor in chief of the daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun, regarded as one of Japan’s foremost intellectuals, an investigative team "of 30 university professors, lawyers and journalists" came together to form the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation. Over the course of six months, it interviewed more than 300 people, including top government and nuclear officials involved in the response, to compile a 400 page report due out within days, described as "one of the most vivid accounts yet of how Japan teetered on the edge of an even larger nuclear crisis than the one that engulfed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant."

The article describes what might have happened if Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) had been allowed to abandon emergency efforts at Fukushima Daiichi, as it considered doing in the first days:

'The report quotes the chief cabinet secretary at the time, Yukio Edano, as having warned that such a “demonic chain reaction” of plant meltdowns could result in the evacuation of Tokyo, 150 miles to the south.

“We would lose Fukushima Daini, then we would lose Tokai,” Mr. Edano is quoted as saying, naming two other nuclear plants. “If that happened, it was only logical to conclude that we would also lose Tokyo itself.”

The Foundation 'credited Mr. Kan [the former Japanese Prime Minister who was serving when the catastrophe began, and resigned in August, 2011] with making the right decision in forcing Tepco not to abandon the plant.

“Prime Minister Kan had his minuses and he had his lapses,” Mr. Funabashi said, “but his decision to storm into Tepco and demand that it not give up saved Japan.” '

Environmental coalition supplements Davis-Besse cracked containment contention: Rep. Kucinich reveals outer rebar no longer functional

U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is a long-time watchdog on the Davis-Besse atomic reactor near ToledoThe environmental coalition opposing the Davis-Besse atomic reactor's 20 year license extension (Beyond Nuclear, Citizens Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, Don't Waste Michigan, and the Green Party of Ohio) has filed a supplement to its cracked containment contention. In a motion filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and License Board (ASLB) today, the coalition cited a Feb. 8th revelation by the office of U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH, pictured at left), which broke the news to the public that the NRC considers the outer rebar steel reinforcement layer in the Davis-Besse atomic reactor to have lost its functional effectiveness due to the extensive cracking. Despite this, NRC approved Davis-Besse's restart in early December 2011. The ASLB plans oral pre-hearings near Davis-Besse in the weeks ahead on the cracked containment contention. A copy of today's filing, with the Kucinich Feb. 8th media release, as well as an NRC inspection report dated Jan. 31st, is posted here. The NRC inspection report provides further detail on structural cracking in the upper 20 feet of the containment building. The coalition published a media release on today's filing, posted here.

NRC inspection report reveals more problems at Davis-Besse in aftermath of cracked containment

A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) inspection report dated Jan. 31, 2012, reveals numerous problems at FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Corpoation's (FENOC) problem-plagued Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo, Ohio on the Lake Erie shoreline. Incredibly, despite its infamy for having to replace its reactor vessel head twice in one decade, FENOC still resisted inspecting its third, newest lid for potential defects, until NRC forced it to. No defects were found, but had there been any, FENOC would have not known prior to installation. (FENOC had previously installed a new lid at its Beaver Valley nuclear power plant suspected of being potentially defective.)

In addition, despite the controversy over its recently revealed concrete containment building cracks, FENOC nearly installed corroded and brittle rebar into its patch on the shield building after the vessel head swap. NRC inspectors prevented FENOC from cementing the bad rebar in place.

A number of other problems came to light in the inspetion report, including: significant deterioration of the intake/discharge canal into Lake Erie, essential for reactor cooling during routine operations but especially during accident conditions; an un-licensed operator manipulating control rods in the operating reactor core; and a worker who damaged safety-significant equipment by climbing up it, rather than using a ladder, to inspect an elevated valve.