We’re just about a month out from the one-year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that precipitated nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.
It bears mentioning again that, while any effort to apply lessons learned to current nuclear operations seems to be advancing without appreciable urgency, there is plenty of evidence that industry and government agents in Japan and here at home hastily circled the wagons even before the affected population had been warned to evacuate.
The grisly truth is that, in the aftermath of one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, protecting economic interests has been given a far higher priority than human health and safety.
In a February 2 interview conducted by CCTV host Margaret Harrington, Maggie Gundersen of Fairewinds Assoc. points out that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission…that’s our guys…knew how serious the situation at Fukushima was, fully nine days before residents were ordered to evacuate!
So effective has the effort been to deflect negative messaging from Fukushima that, if one does not go well out of one’s way to find information about radiation impacts, or even the progress of stabilization efforts at the devastated facility, one is unlikely to know anything at all.
We are dependent on the efforts of independent investigators, like Fairewinds Associates, who, facing a desperate information void, have seized the initiative to do the thankless work of analysis and public education that so-called “regulatory” agencies and governments have completely abdicated.
Shining the Light on the Triple Meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi from Fairewinds Energy Education on Vimeo.
Those in the capacity of decision makers would much rather present a benign picture in the short term so that as much economic “hay” can be made on the nuclear nickel as possible. They will leave it to a later brain-trust to confront whatever legacy of disease and devastation lies ahead, once it is no longer deniable.
On January 7, none other than the Economist carried this observation about the first government commissioned report concerning Fukushima, and how unlikely it is that the nuclear energy cabal will embrace any of its lessons:
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While we’re on the subject, I wanted to share an interesting website that a friend passed along to me. Together with a roster of articles on current technical issues at nuclear plants all over the world, it includes this live, rather chilling video window on the wreckage of Fukushima Daiichi. Notice how the only sound is the whistling wind and the whitecaps breaking against the nuclear shoreline. Brrr!
Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012
Boric acid to prevent recriticality-Reactor No. 2 heats up, gets more water
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/te…
First new US nuke since 1978
As they slow walk the Fukushima lessons learned safety report through their maze the NRC will approve construction of two new nuke power plants for Southern Georgia today.
This sets up $8.3 billion in federal taxpayer loan guarantees issued by the Energy Dept. in 2010.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wi…