7.3 earthquake strikes near Fukushima nuclear site

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday just off the coast of Japan where the already striken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants are located. Happening just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the deadly March 11, 2011 nuclear disaster -- precipitated by an earthquake and tsunami -- it was unclear what if any damage occurred at the site. The government issued the usual denials that there had been any mishaps -- or worse -- at the Fukushima site, but given the history of cover-ups about the true extent of the original 2011 accident, it is hard to trust official reports.

Of particular concern are the waste casks stacked on the site, holding radioactive water. For several years, Tepco and the Japanese government have been threatening to dump the excess radioactive water into the Pacific ocean, a move strongly opposed by fishermen, environmentalists and a large portion of the Japanese public. (A petition is currently in circulation to try to permanently close off this option. You can sign it here.)

Big money, nuclear subsidies, and systemic corruption

"Burning Money," graphic by Gene Case/Avenging Angels, which appeared on the cover of The Nation in 2003, accompanying an article about the nuclear power relapse.By Cassandra Jeffery, and M. V. Ramana, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

The article begins: "The “largest bribery, money-laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people and the state of Ohio” came to light during an unexpected press conference in July 2020 in Columbus. Speaking haltingly and carefully, US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers announced “the arrest of Larry Householder, Speaker of the House of the state of Ohio and four other defendants for racketeering. The conspiracy was to pass and maintain a $1.5 billion bailout in return for $61 million in dark money."

"Unravelling an intricate web of alleged illegal activities used to launder money, DeVillers broke down the complicated modus operandi of “Company A.” With a gentle smile on his face, he said, “everyone in this room knows who Company A is, but I will not be mentioning the name of Company A because of our regulations and rules. They have not, and no one from that company has as of yet, been charged”." Read the full article. 

BEYOND NUCLEAR V. NRC -- 'We'll See You in Court" on TX CISF!

Public commenters just say "NO!" at NRC environmental scoping meeting on the ISP CISF in Andrews, TX, Feb. 2017We've filed a federal court appeal against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, regarding its rubber stamps of Interim Storage Partners' highly radioactive waste consolidated interim storage facility (CISF), targeted at the Waste Control Specialists national "low" level rad. waste dump in Andrews County, West Texas. See our press release here, with links to relevant documents. NRC is violating multiple federal laws, which we intend to prove at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second highest court in the land, just under the U.S. Supreme Court. Last June, we also appealed against NRC's rubber stamps in Holtec's CISF case, targeting majority minority New Mexico. Both CISFs, just 40 miles apart, represent radioactive racism and environmental injustice.

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"THEY'RE BAAAAACK!" -- Mobile Chernobyl bill on Capitol Hill

Image compliments of NIRSThe anti-nuke movement has, by blocking proposed bad dumps, fended off Mobile Chernobyl legislation, session after session, for a quarter-century -- although sometimes by the narrowest of margins! Now, the Democratic U.S. House Environment Subcommittee is reportedly poised to push CISF-authorizing legislation (see related entry), which will likely also be pro-Yucca dump. What can you do? Please contact and urge your U.S. Representative, and both your U.S. Senators, to strongly oppose any bills -- whether authorizing or appropriations -- promoting environmentally unjust, and non-consent based siting, high-level radioactive waste dumps! You can also be patched through to your Members of Congress via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If any one of these Southwest dumps opens, in NM, NV, and/or TX, high-risk Mobile Chernobyls would be launched through most states!

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Conference videos now available

Programming from the full Beyond Nuclear (no relation, but a good choice of title) conference from Helensburgh, Scotland is now available on line.

Watch the morning session on nuclear power here: https://vimeo.com/507578948/73067caed5

Watch the afternoon session on renewable energy here:

https://vimeo.com/507621317/342984144d

Linda Pentz Gunter of Beyond Nuclear's presentation on how nuclear power pushed aside renewables in the 1950s is viewable at the close of the afternoon session.