I originally was very cautious about Arnie Gunderson and his once every two days video posting discussing the developments at the Fukushima nuclear plants. But as time has gone by, I have been pleased with his reporting. I have seen nothing that has contradicted any factual assertions on his posts. So, I’m pleased to recommend his latest report.

James Pilant

It seems every couple of days I get to write about some new problem at the Fukushima plants. It’s like a Keystone Kops movie without the laughs. I can’t help but believe that the nuclear industry is suffering a massive public relations failure not just due to the initial disaster but more because of the constant pounding repetition of disaster after disaster, problem after problem. It is a richlydeserved pain. We were assured by the industry that these things could not happen. Those statements were lies.

It is obvious we have some outrage here. It is also obvious that is entirely merited by the utilities and government of Japan.

The author makes good points and as you are probably aware I am a great fan of outrage.

James Pilant

Evacuees demand better/more from Japanese nuclear plant operator Everyday nuclear reactors inch closer to total meltdown. Now rated as being equal to the 1986 Russian, Chernobyl reactor melt down. Rated as a 7 the highest level on an international scale overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency after new assessments of radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant plant reactor. Operator of the stricken facility appears to be … Read More

via Pobept’s World View

I’ve got several newscasts up on this. But this is a different take on the raised level of alert because it features some interviews with local Japanese.

James Pilant

The situation at the Fukushima plant continues to deteriorate. I do not believe that this situation is going to improve in the near future. At first, there were new catastrophes almost daily. Now, they are weekly but no less severe. Most reports of these disasters have disappeared from the newscasts. The 24 hour news cycle demands new material, fresh scandal. Kirstie Alley falls down while dancing. American Idol may have trouble with its voting system. Yet, international catastrophe and the dangers of nuclear meltdown are still important and still a matter of history. These scandals, these one day news stories, these departures from good taste and sound judgment, plague our public discourse and turn our population into thrill seeking drones. This is neither conducive to democracy or to our hopes of a developing civilization.

James Pilant

This is one of the saddest videos I have ever seen. There is film here of a community inside the mandatory evacuation zone. Probably no human beings will ever live there again.

Will any arguments of low death tolls and exposures equivalent to chest x-rays prevail against this vision of land deadly to human life.

What is the cost of thousands of square miles of land that can no longer produce – no factories, no farms, no homes, – nothing.

James Pilant

(This clip is originally from CNN)

Would the Japanese government allow TEPCO to face billions in claims? No. The government has in its power the decision as to whether or not this is a natural disaster (no lawsuit) or a human disaster (negligence – lawsuit).

The Japanese government will decide that this was a natural disaster. Count on it. The government despite TEPCO’s incredible record of poor judgment has little choice. Letting the company go bankrupt would put the Japanese government on the hook for billions in cleanup costs. It also would remove a valuable layer of blame.

The government and the utility company were Siamese twins of disaster. Each facilitated the other’s incompetence. This disaster would not have been possible if either one had acted with competence and judgment. But the intertwined nature of industry and government not only made disaster inevitable but had produced serious incidents in the past that should have been a warning.

Stay tuned for more poor judgment on the part of the Japanese government.

James Pilant

Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) may face as much as 2 trillion yen ($23.6bn; £14.5bn) in compensation claims, according to JP Morgan.

From further down in the article –

Tepco shares have lost more than 75% of their value since 11 March, in the process hitting all-time lows.

From further down in the article –

Under Japanese law, operators of a nuclear facility can be waived of any liability if the accident is deemed to have been triggered by a natural disaster of an exceptional character.

Whether the current crisis fits that classification will determine the course for Tepco, analysts say.

“A key issue concerning damage compensation is whether the Fukushima nuclear plant accident is considered an unavoidable natural disaster,” said Tomohiro Jikihara of JP Morgan.

These are amazing. The top three I have seen in previous posts but there are thirty one pictures here, so you’re definitely going to see things you’ve never seen before.

James Pilant

In response to  the renewed interest in the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear disaster due to the unfolding events at the Fukushima Reactor, Japan and a global re-evaluation of nuclear power as a viable power source I have re-edited my photoshoot from Pripyat (Pripiat) & Chernobyl in 2007 adding a further ten previously unseen images along with captions, maps and satellites images which follow below. [caption id=”attachment_5704″ align=”alignnone” width … Read More

via Quintin Lake Photography Blog

This is a very good essay about the crisis. It focuses on the failures of the Japanese government and the nuclear industry in that country. It’s a good read.

James Pilant

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, activists hold a candlelight vigil, to call attention to nuclear dangers and express solidarity with the Japanese people, outside the White House in Washington DC yesterday. Japan’s government admitted yesterday that its safeguards were insufficient to protect a nuclear plant against the earthquake and tsunami that crippled the facility and caused it to spew radiation, and it vowed to overhaul … Read More

via Deanzer’s Blog – Sky Is The Limit