Tag: nuclear disaster

Tepco may face $23.6bn in claims, JP Morgan says (via BBC)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

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

Courtesy of KEZI

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.

Quake to force shutdown of all US Toyota plants (via CBS News)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

I think the ongoing nuclear crisis certainly contributed. But as time goes by, disastrous economic effects will be ascribed to the nuclear disaster. It’s just a matter of time.

James Pilant

Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday that it’s inevitable that the company will be forced to temporarily shut down all of its North American factories because of parts shortages due to the earthquake that hit Japan.

 The temporary shutdowns are likely to take place later this month, affecting 25,000 workers, but no layoffs are expected, spokesman Mike Goss said. Just how long the shutdowns last or whether all 13 of Toyota’s factories will be affected at the same is unknown and depends on when parts production can restart in Japan, he said.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster: 21 Years After in Photos (via Quintin Lake Photography Blog)

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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

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster: 21 Years After in Photos 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

Japan admits not enough safeguards to protect nuke plant (via Deanzer’s Blog – Sky Is The Limit)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

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

Japan admits not enough safeguards to protect nuke plant 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

Full meltdown in full swing? Japan maximum nuclear alert (via In These New Times)

On By southwerkIn business ethics

This is an interesting post. I’m torn between thinking “This is little too alarmist.” and “This is just about right.”

So, why don’t you read and watch, then let me know what you think. RT is a controversial network.

James Pilant

P.S. Thanks to These New Times.

… Read More

via In These New Times

I’ve added the same video to this posting.

Stranger and Stranger?

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Is there a point at which your public pronouncements are so far out of line with reality that not only does no one believe you but there is no remaining benchmark for truth left?

How do you get enough radiation to get hospitalized when you haven’t been near the Fukushima reactors?

Unless there’s a problem at another reactor?

I’ll keep watching.

James Pilant

From BBC –

In another development, two Japanese tourists who arrived in China on a flight from Tokyo are being treated in hospital for high radiation levels.

It remains unclear how the two may have become contaminated as neither traveller is reported to have been within 240km of the Fukushima plant, says our correspondent.

Meanwhile, Chinese news agency, Xinhua, has reported that abnormal radiation levels have been detected on a ship arriving from Japan to Xiamen port in Fujian province.

Graham uses tour to push nuke power (via The State)

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From The State –

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham was home Tuesday, talking about one of his favorite subjects: nuclear energy and why it’s the best way to power South Carolina and America.

Aware that events in Japan have increased concern about nuclear safety, Graham took the media on a tour of Duke Energy’s Oconee atomic power station to show why he thinks nuclear energy needs to be expanded.

Graham said the visit reinforces his belief that a nuclear disaster like that in Japan could not happen at Duke’s three reactors. Graham said the U.S. will learn some lessons from Japan but should not slow the push to develop new reactors.

A few weeks ago Congress just guaranteed all loans made to finance nuclear reactors and agreed to indemnify the owners if they have a meltdown.

Further down –
This nuclear plant, I live five miles away’’ from, said Graham, R-S.C. “I’ve lived in this area all of my life. A lot of the people I have grown up with and went to high school with work here. I have faith in the American nuclear power industry.’’

Graham said the plant “cannot explode like a nuclear bomb.”

It might be better if it did. A meltdown at a nuclear plant throws hundreds of times more radiation into the environment than a nuclear explosion.

Further down in the article –

“If you showed me a reactor site where there was never a safety concern, I’d be suspicious,’’ Graham said. “The fact that we’re identifying safety concerns independent from the company itself, and the company is getting on top of it, is reassuring.’’

We are “identifying safety concerns independent from the company?” He’s reassured that they don’t have a handle on all their safety concerns? What does he thinks these things are, Easy Bake Ovens?

The senator faced criticism Tuesday from anti-nuclear activist Tom Clements, who disputed that all of the problems were resolved. Clements also said the press event was little more than an attempt to advance an industry on which Graham relies for campaign funds.

Clements gave reporters data showing that Graham has received in the past two years about $40,000 in campaign contributions from those sympathetic to the nuclear industry, such as major power companies. Clements, who is with Friends of the Earth, raised those questions during a press briefing after the tour.

“The reason people in the nuclear power industry support me is because I believe in what they do,” Graham told Clements. “I don’t get any money from your organization because I disagree with you.”

And we close with the basic philosophy of American government. If you give me money you get what you want.

Nuclear energy should not be a major factor in the future of American energy production. Do you know why? It’s too expensive and it requires massive subsidies and insurance from the government. Did I surprise you?

Look at the dollar amounts. Look at the incredible amounts of federal money necessary to launch these giant white elephants. Notice how little discussion is taking place about disposing of nuclear fuel or taking care of shut down plants.

These things are a budgetary disaster of the first magnitude.

Why are we buildng them? The corporations building nuclear power are better organized and have given more money than their competitors. In our government, the decision is almost always determined by campaign contributions not rational analysis.

James Pilant

Americans Dig In Preparing for Disaster

On By southwerkIn business ethics3 Comments

Americans voting with their “shovels?” This is hardly a statement in favor of nuclear power or disaster preparedness in the United States. Of course, it is probably the American idea that if you throw enough money at a problem you can fix it. (We only believe that now about certain subjects.) It might be better to have a FEMA that we can trust but after the disaster in Louisiana, that kind of trust is never coming back.

James Pilant

Sales of deluxe doomsday bunkers up 1,000% from CNN

A devastating earthquake strikes Japan. A massive tsunami kills thousands. Fears of a nuclear meltdown run rampant. Bloodshed and violence escalate in Libya.

And U.S. companies selling doomsday bunkers are seeing sales skyrocket anywhere from 20% to 1,000%.

Northwest Shelter Systems, which offers shelters ranging in price from $200,000 to $20 million, has seen sales surge 70% since the uprisings in the Middle East, with the Japanese earthquake only spurring further interest. In hard numbers, that’s 12 shelters already booked when the company normally sells four shelters per year.

“Sales have gone through the roof, to the point where we are having trouble keeping up,” said Northwest Shelter Systems owner Kevin Thompson.

Radiation Release in Japan 20 to 50 Percent of Chernobyls

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From Reuters –

The release of two types of radioactive particles in the first 3-4 days of Japan‘s nuclear crisis is estimated to have reached 20-50 percent of the amounts from Chernobyl in 10 days, an Austrian expert said Wednesday.

That’s not encouraging. The numbers 20 and 50 percent are not as wide a variance as might be thought. They are referring to two different kinds of radiation.

Below–

The Austrian institute’s Dr Gerhard Wotawa stressed the two isotopes from Fukushima he had sought to estimate — iodine-131 and caesium-137 — normally make up only one tenth of total radiation.

Based on measurements made at monitoring stations in Japan and the United States, Wotawa said the iodine released from Fukushima in the first three-four days was about 20 percent of that released from Chernobyl during a ten-day period.

For Caesium-137, the figure could amount to some 50 percent.

Japanese Nuclear Plants Evacuated

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The crisis continues. As I said yesterday, the Japanese utility company and the government are unwilling to give an accurate view of the disaster. So, one day we hear encouraging news which will be partially or totally dispelled by the next day’s news.

From the Associated Press –

(AP) Tokyo’s utility company says black smoke has been seen emerging from Unit 3 of the crippled nuclear plant in northeastern Japan, prompting a new evacuation of the complex. Officials with Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that workers from the entire Fukushima Dai-ichi plant have been temporarily evacuated. Operators of the power station have been desperately trying to cool the reactors and spent fuel pools at the plant after it was damaged by this month’s tsunami, which knocked out power to the cooling systems.