Greg Palast: "Fukushima: They Knew"

From Shoreham nuclear power plant on Long Island, NY in 1986, to Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, in 2011, investigative reporter Greg Palast (photo left) documents that "they knew" that atomic reactor seismic qualifications were not up to real world risks. See Palast's article, "Fukushima: They Knew," here.

Hibakusa doctor who survived Hiroshima sees health similarities from Fukushima

Shuntaro Hida, a 95-year old retired doctor who was serving as an army doctor in Hiroshima when the American atomic bomb was dropped on that city, is observing health symptoms in residents around Fukushima Daiichi that are similar to those of bomb survivors. Hida has been giving lectures and interviews to make the public aware of the danger of inhaling, drinking or eating radioactive substances. But now he is receiving calls from people around Fukushima complaining of fatigue, diarrhea and hair loss. "I am worried because I received such calls much earlier than I expected," Hida said. More.

Protesters demonstrate against nuclear power plants at Japan's parliament

Tens of thousands of people protested against nuclear power plants outside Japan's parliament on Sunday.

The protesters, including pensioners, were pressed up against a wall of steel thrown around the parliament building. Some broke through the barriers and spilled onto the streets, forcing the police to bring in reinforcements and deploy armoured buses to buttress the main parliament gate.

Energy policy has become a major headache for prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda. Weekly protests outside the PM's office have grown in size in recent months, with ordinary workers and mothers with children joining the crowds. The Guardian

The protest was the latest in a series of peaceful demonstrations on a scale not seen in the nation for decades since the Fukushima crisis gave rise to fears of another nuclear disaster. Associated Press

TEPCO subcontractor used lead to fake dosimeter readings at Fukushima plant

Workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant were ordered to cover their dosimeters with lead plates to keep radiation doses low enough to continue working under dangerous conditions, the Asahi Shimbun has learned.

Some refused the orders. Others raised questions about their safety and the legality of the practice. But the man in charge, a senior official of a subcontractor of Tokyo Electric Power Co., warned them that they would lose their jobs--and any chance of employment at other nuclear plants--if they failed to comply. Asahi Shimbun

See also Ministry to search for dosimeter shields at Fukushima plant

Officials of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will search for lead plates that workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant used to shield their dosimeters and later discarded on the plant grounds.

"there are alternatives...but even with blackouts, we CAN survive without nuclear power"

A Japanese government report Monday heaped fresh criticism on the operator of the nuclear power plant where a disastrous accident was set off last year by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country.

The measures taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant operator, and the Japanese nuclear regulator to prepare for disasters were "insufficient," the report by a government-formed panel of investigators said, and the response to the crisis was "inadequate."

Even now, more than one year after the disaster began, TEPCO does not seem aggressive enough in examining the causes of the accident at the plant to prevent a recurrence, the 10-member panel, led by Tokyo University engineering professor Yotaro Hatamura, said in the report Monday.

TEPCO also found itself under further scrutiny over the weekend when the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said it was investigating a report that subcontracted workers at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant were told to use lead covers in order to hide unsafe radiation levels.

This amid growing protests to switch Japan to safer energy sources.

Last Friday was the seventh protest that Nagisa Saito has attended."What impresses me most is... people never gave up and the crowd is getting bigger and bigger," she said. "Even on a bad rainy day like today, we see this many people gathered, it's amazing."

But one anti-nuclear protester, who gave his name only as Ozaki, said it was not a simple choice between nuclear and blackouts. "If there is a power shortage, there are alternatives," he said. "What about coal-fired power stations, hydro-electric power stations, or we can just survive with what we have. We have to be patient, but even with blackouts, we can survive without nuclear power." CNN