Save the dates: "A Mountain of Radioactive Waste 70 Years High: Ending the Nuclear Age," Chicago, December 1-3, 2012

Please save the dates, on the first weekend in December, for a gathering in Chicago, Illinois, to mark the 70th year since Enrico Fermi first split the atom -- in a squash court, under the football stadium at the University of Chicago -- as part of the top secret Manhattan Project, on December 2, 1942. Since then, no permanent, safe location or technology has ever been found to isolate even the first cupful of radioactive waste from the biosphere. And yet we continue to generate more and more -- a mountain of waste 70 years high.

The goal of the Friday evening to Sunday afternoon conference is to educate, inspire, and activate. Diverse expert speakers will be featured, on a range of subject matter, including: radioactive waste; the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe; the inextricable link between nuclear weapons and nuclear power; degraded old and proposed new atomic reactor risks; the Atomic Age's impacts on human beings, and resistance to it; and the way forward without nuclear power and nuclear weapons.

The event will also feature: film screenings/discussions; real-time linkage to, and interaction with, remote participants in Hiroshima, Japan and Takoma Park, Maryland; a commemoration ceremony at the Henry Moore Sculpture (the very spot where Fermi first split the atom); and a possible field trip to Red Gate Woods (a suburban forest preserve, where Fermi's radioactive wastes are buried, next to a bicycle path, under a mound of dirt).

In addition to an excellent networking opportunity, the event will help participants get up to speed on various nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and radioactive waste issues, so we can better fend off the nuclear establishment's expansion plans next year, after the presidential and congressional elections.

For more information, contact David Kraft at Nuclear Energy Information Service in Chicago (neis@neis.org; 773-342-7650), or Kevin Kamps at Beyond Nuclear (kevin@beyondnuclear.org; 301-270-2209x1).

For more background on the radioactive waste issue, see Beyond Nuclear's pamphlet, "A Mountain of Waste Seventy Years High" (see its cover, at left), and visit the Radioactive Waste section of the Beyond Nuclear website.

Japan seriously considering the nuclear-free option

In the face of strident anti-nuclear public sentiment, the Japanese government will consider abandoning nuclear power generation, sources said, a turnaround from its previous stance of continued reliance, writes Ken Sakakibara in the Asahi Shimbun. The government had been looking to scale back the contribution of nuclear energy to 15% but is now seriously considering a zero option. Huge popular opposition to nuclear power has been building in Japan since the March 11, 2011 triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi. A government panel has been examining public opinion on nuclear power and is set to conclude that a 15% option will be unpopular. Political expediency may eventually force Japan to follow the German example and phase out nuclear altogether. However, current indications are that Prime Minister Noda, despite meeting with anti-nuclear activists (pictured), prefers to cling at least partially to the nuclear path.

Record radiation levels in fish near Fukushima

The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant says it has detected radiation up to 380 times the government safety limit in fish caught near the crippled facility.

It is the highest contamination recorded in marine life so far.

The operator TEPCO recently measured radiation in 20 kinds of fish and shellfish caught along the coast.

It says it detected 38,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive caesium in a rock trout caught about a kilometre from Minamisoma City, north of the shattered plant.

TEPCO says it also found high levels of caesium in nine other fish species.

In March 2011 an earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns in reactors at the plant. ABC

Also see CNN

Bluefin tuna contaminated from the nuclear catastrophe have been found off the California coast.

Octopus and snail fished from waters near Fukushima showed little cesium contamination and was put out for public sale, but the samples were boiled before testing, potentially compromising the data. Cesium is volatile and boiling could have removed it from the fish flesh. Reports vary on whether all fish was boiled before being put out for sale or whether just the samples were boiled. Of course, the cesium would have to go somewhere, like the boiling water or the steam. Because the samples were boiled, it is unclear how contaminated the fish might have been right out of the ocean. Cesium is only one radionuclide of concern in fish. Strontium-90, which can concentrate in fish bones, is a danger in the waters off Fukushima particularly because a lot if washed into the ocean during the ongoing catastrophe.

Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Associates: "Can Spent Fuel Pools Catch Fire?"

Fairewinds Associates Chief Engineer Arnie GundersenReproduced verbatim from the Fairewinds Associates website: "In this Fairewinds’ feature, Fairewinds Associates Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen [pictured, left] analyzes a US government national laboratory simulation video that shows nuclear spent fuel rods do catch fire when exposed to air. This simulation video proves Fairewinds’ assertions that nuclear fuel rods can catch fire when exposed to air, and Arnie discusses the ramifications of this phenomena if the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent fuel pool were to lose cooling water. 

The Sandia National Laboratories video in its entirety can be seen here."

Tepco liable for contract workers' safety in Fukushima

Less than 10 percent of the work at this nuclear power plant is conducted by those directly employed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco). Over 90 percent is done by employees of subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and contractors several times removed. These workers come from a wide range of backgrounds, including some who gave up jobs in local agriculture or fishing, farmers and fishermen who work at the plants during the off-season, day laborers and former coal miners. Some have complicated stories to tell, or not to tell.

Few other workplaces require no experience or skill, and fewer still guarantee anonymity to those hoping to hide their background. Nuclear power firms also benefit from the weak position of such individuals since they are largely spared the obligations of most employers to protect the health and safety of each worker on-site. Japan Times

See also the related story posted here.