Photos Fwd: Protest against visit of South Korean President LEE in Berlin/Germany

* Photos and captions by Benjamin Hiller, forwarded on May 9, 2011

'Protest against visit of South Korean President LEE in Berlin/Germany (Demotix)
This is just in:

http://www.demotix.com/news/685110/protest-against-visit-president-lee-south-korea-germany '
----------
Benjamin Hiller
http://www.benjamin-hiller.com/
http://www.freelens.com/benjamin-hiller
http://www.lightstalkers.org/benjaminhiller



Protesters in front of the Palace Bellevue where President LEE Myung-Bak arrived.


A female protester holds a painting with the face of President LEE Myung-Bak and the slogan "He always lies". In the background is the Bellevue Palace where LEE Myung-Bak arrived.

Protesters hold signs with slogans against the nuclear power policy of South Korea as well as against the "Four River Dam" project.
A sign which shows the current (yellow) and planned (red) nuclear power plants in South Korea. Almost all are situated near the coast line.
Protesters hold a banner in front of the Palace Bellevue with slogans against the nuclear power policy of South Korea as well as against the "Four River Dam" project.

Text Fwd: [Editorial] Untrustworthy safety tests at aging nuclear plants

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/476830.html
[Hankyoreh Editorial] Untrustworthy safety tests at aging nuclear plants
Posted on : May.7,2011 15:34 KST

The government has approved the renewed operation of the Gori Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 reaction, which has encountered frequent accidents due to the prolonging of its lifespan. It produced examination findings stating that the 21 nuclear power plants currently in operation are designed and operated to be safe even in a worst-case natural disaster scenario.

Anxieties about nuclear power have been running high since the accident that struck Japan’s Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. In particular, the Gori No. 1 reactor was the subject of an injunction request by the Busan Bar Association to end its operation, and it has provoked many concerns from residents of the region. It is apparent that they will experience more worries, and issue more objections, thanks the government's slipshod safety checkup and hasty conclusion.

The government has stated that there will be no problem with the Gori No. 1 reactor if the coastal barrier is raised and yearly differentiated safety checkups are performed. It stated that a total of 56 specialists, including outside experts and Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety inspectors, conducted a focused examination between April 22 and May 3. In addition to lacking objectivity, however, the government's study failed to resolve the questions that have been raised.

It is difficult to comprehend how the government could announce that it would conduct a thorough examination of the reactor, no matter how long it took, and then produce a conclusion in just over ten days. Given that the Gori No. 1 reactor exhausted its thirty-year design lifespan in 2008, extension of it is uncharted territory. The failure to properly disclose the safety assessment report used as a basis for the decision to extend it has further bred apprehensions. For something like the Gori No. 1 reaction, a thorough and differentiated safety inspection should have been performed following the sufficient airing of resident opinions, and it is problematic that this did not occur.

The government is saying that the results of studies presuming a worst-case accident scenario from a natural disaster have shown all of South Korea’s nuclear power plants to be safe. It is staggering that such a pronouncement can be made even after seeing the Fukushima disaster, with things like emergency generators presented as “supplementary measures.”

Germany made the decision to immediately end operation on the seven of its seventeen power plants that have been in service for over 30 years, and to conduct careful inspections of the remainder. The European Union is conducting clear and rigorous nuclear power stress tests between June and December. The only conclusion one can draw is that the South Korean government, which should be conducting inspections from square one after hearing a variety of opinions, has instead embarked upon an effort of tailor-made safety PR presuming a continuation of its current nuclear power policy. This is why it is impossible for a South Korean population that has changed since Fukushima to trust a government that remains stuck in the pre-Fukushima era.

Residents of the area around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are currently enduring great suffering, with radioactive material detected at 100 thousand times typical levels and their milk, vegetables, and even underground water contaminated with radioactivity. If we are to take any lesson from this catastrophe, we must conduct new safety examinations with greater objectivity and transparency.
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Text Fwd: Kan's Hint at New Nuclear Plant Moratorium and the Choice Facing Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan holds an emergency meeting to cope with the unparalleled earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Kan said recently that "As long as the safety of nuclear plants remains uncertain, we cannot continue as before with plans to build more." His statement is interpreted to mean that he will freeze the existing plans to build more nuclear power plants. File photo by Yonhap News/ Caption by Seol Wontai


http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201104201441077&code=790101
Kan's Hint at New Nuclear Plant Moratorium and the Choice Facing Korea
2011-04-20 14:41

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has hinted that his country may freeze plans to build more nuclear power plants. At a budget committee meeting in the Diet's upper house, Kan stated: "As long as the safety (of nuclear plants) remains uncertain, we cannot continue as before with plans to build more."

Kan's statement was not an official declaration of abandonment of plans to build more nuclear plants. Coming at a time, however, when the myth of safe nuclear power is in a state of utter collapse, his comments have drawn attention by referring to a major revision to Japan's nuclear power policy.

In the case of Japan, this is the natural direction to adopt. Japan is a typical nuclear dependent nation. It had planned to build at least 14 new reactors, in addition to the 54 that it currently possesses, by 2030, thereby increasing nuclear's share of the country's total power generation from 30% to 40%.

Now, however, with a nuclear disaster of a level equivalent to that of Chernobyl still in progress, we think that withdrawing this plan in its entirety is the right thing to do.

Kan said on the same day that this issue had to be re-examined from square one, but we believe that Japan needs to be even more positive and produce a "nuclear exit strategy." Japanese public opinion, too, is rapidly turning in this direction.

Korea must carefully read the message sent by such movements in Japan. South Korea's level of dependency on nuclear power, like that of Japan, is high. It has 21 nuclear power plant reactors, the fifth highest number in the world after the USA, France, Japan and Russia.

Last year, the South Korean government confirmed its fifth basic plan for electric supply and demand (2010-2024), which involves increasing the number of reactors to 35, thus raising nuclear's share of electricity generation from the current 23% to 48.5%.

In a 2008 national basic plan for energy, the government also stated that this share would be increased to 59% by 2030. The Fukushima nuclear accident, however, has given a clear and ample reason for this plan to be fundamentally reconsidered.

President Lee Myung-bak emphasizes that "Korean-style nuclear plants are the best in terms of safety and efficiency," but such optimistic arguments do not equate to safety. Japan's example illustrates this.

The timely shutdown incident that occurred last week at the No. 1 reactor of Korea's Kori Nuclear Power Plant, despite Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)'s explanation that it was of negligible importance, exposed several problems.

KHNP is refusing opposition party demands to reveal data from safety inspections. The company says the incident was no more serious than a fuse box breakdown in a family home, but there is no way of knowing when things will be back to normal.

The Kyunghyang Daily News reporter visited Chernobyl recently on the 25th anniversary of the disaster. A technician in his 50s, who was deployed to sort out the situation at the time, told the reporter: "In view of Fukushima, scholars and governments must change their minds. Since Korea is an intelligent country, it will think of a wise way to do this."

There is no way of telling if his judgment was correct. What is clear is that nuclear power policies are matters of great national importance that go beyond the dimension of single governments. (Editorial, The Kyunghyang Daily News. April 20, 2011)

Video Fwd: NO NUKES IN INDIA

Organizing Notes
http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-nukes-in-india.html
NO NUKES IN INDIA
Wednesday, April 20, 2011




Japan's nuclear crisis seems to have given fresh impetus to protests against a proposed nuclear power complex in India.

While one person was killed and at least 20 others injured after police clash with protesters in Maharashtra state, critics say the Jaitapur site lies on an active fault-line increasing the risk to residents.

Prerna Suri reports from New Delhi.

Text Fwd: Kori Nuclear Power Plant Must Not Repeat the Mistakes of Fukushima

Gori Nuclear Power Plant. File photo taken March 16, 2011.


Kyunghyang
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201104141616397&code=790101
Kori Nuclear Power Plant Must Not Repeat the Mistakes of Fukushima April 10, 2011

Kori Nuclear Power Plant Must Not Repeat the Mistakes of Fukushima


A few days ago, there was an accidental shutdown at the No. 1 reactor at Kori Nuclear Power Plant, the subject of recent controversy over extended lifetime.

Authorities at the Kori plant explained that the incident was simply an automatic shutdown due to the breakdown of electricity supply equipment, and that there are no problems regarding the safety of the reactor. Such explanations, however, no longer provide us with the sense of trust that they once did.

It so happens that, a few hours before Kori 1 shut down, the Japanese government suddenly acknowledged that the danger level of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident was equivalent to that of Chernobyl, while the Busan Bar Association applied for a court injunction to have Kori 1 taken out of operation.

At a time when trust in nuclear power has collapsed, the accident at Kori 1 is not something that can merely be disregarded as inconsequential. Kori 1's planned lifetime expired in June 2007, but the government decided to extend it for a further 10 years, starting in 2008.

It is said that at the time, one of the grounds for claiming that Kori 1 should not be closed down and should be run for longer was the successful lifetime extension of Japan's Fukushima Plant.

No reports from safety inspections regarding the lifetime extension of Kori 1 have been made public, however, and it has never been made known which or how many of its components have been replaced.

This is what makes it difficult to believe that the recent shutdown accident was simply due to equipment failure. It is highly likely that this accident was related to overall decrepitude. Parts that have surpassed their planned lifetime but not been replaced can go wrong at any time.

Japan's nuclear accident provides two lessons. Firstly, when an accident does happen, its results go beyond the imaginable; and secondly, that there is no use in believing that nuclear power plants can be managed safely.

Japan, which excels in management, increased distrust by responding in a flustered manner to the nuclear accident. Only the other day did the Japanese government finally raise the danger level of the Fukushima accident by a whole two grades to level seven, a level that can have serious effects on neighboring countries too.

It is not only the people of Japan who are surprised and disappointed. Until that point, the government and nuclear experts had been saying that the Japanese accident would not correspond to the worst possible scenario, and that there would be no problems when it came to Korea's safety.

Some even went as far as to suggest conspiracy theories when it came to those expressing doubts about the safety of nuclear power. Confidence in nuclear power, however, has already collapsed due to what happened in Japan.

When it comes to Kori 1, this is not just a matter of fixing the electrical equipment and hurrying to restart the reactor. There is no questioning the danger of decrepit nuclear plants.

Kori 1 produces no more than one percent of the total electricity consumed in Korea, and it is said that total electricity generation exceeds total demand by around 10%.

In other words, Korea's electricity situation is not so critical that we must place ourselves in danger. The decision on whether to restart Kori 1 must be taken through public debate and consensus. (Editorial, The Kyunghyang Daily News. April 14, 2011)

Text Fwd: GLOBAL NETWORK STATEMENT ON JAPANESE NUCLEAR DISASTER

Organizing Notes
Friday, April 08, 2011
GLOBAL NETWORK STATEMENT ON JAPANESE NUCLEAR DISASTER

The Global Network mourns for the people of Japan following the recent disastrous chain of events that began with the earthquake, tsunami and then the nuclear power plant. Sadly Japan is now the victim of three gargantuan nuclear disasters: Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Fukushima.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan tragically demonstrates, again, the dangers of nuclear power, an energy source that must be abandoned--as a clear and present threat to life. Instead there must be full implementation of safe, clean energy technologies --- which are here today.

The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space has long challenged the use of atomic energy in space. The network has emphasized that there are safe alternatives to energize space devices. In recent times, NASA, at long last, has begun substituting solar energy for nuclear power in space. Indeed, in coming months NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft will be launched on a five-year mission to Jupiter. It was not long ago that NASA emphatically insisted that solar power could not substitute for nuclear beyond the orbit of Mars. Suddenly, it now can be done.

Likewise, as numerous studies have documented, safe, clean, renewable energy technologies now here can provide all the power we need on earth. Nuclear power and its deadly dangers are unnecessary. As the conservative scientific magazine, Scientific American, in its October 26, 2009 cover story, "A Plan for A Sustainable Future," declared, "Wind, water, solar technologies, [and conservation] can provide 100 percent of the world's energy needs."

The issue of switching to safe, clean energy is not technological -- it's political.

The problem involves vested interests: the government agencies which push nuclear power, notably in the United States the national nuclear laboratories and the entity that owns them, the Department of Energy (headed currently by a former national nuclear laboratory director), and the nuclear industry as it seeks to profit from selling nuclear technology despite the cost in people's lives.

These same entities are pushing nuclear power world-wide as evidenced by GE’s involvement in the construction of Japanese reactors and the recent U.S.-India Nuclear deal. China and other emerging nations are also expanding plans for nuclear power despite the horrific memories of Chernobyl and now Fukushima.

A disgrace in demanding nuclear power on earth and space has been President Barack Obama. As president, he has reversed the critical position he espoused as a candidate and now, even in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, is seeking to "revive" the nuclear industry with the building of new nuclear plants using billions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, his administration has been pushing to also "revive" the use of nuclear power in space by restarting U.S. production of Plutonium-238 for use on space devices.

The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space calls for:

* The end of nuclear power on earth. Although the nuclear establishment claims this is impractical, it is not. In the U.S. where nuclear power provides 20% of the electricity, there's a 20% reserve capacity in the electrical system. All 104 U.S. nuclear plants could -- and must -- be immediately shut down. The reserve capacity can deal with their absence.

And, meanwhile, a concentrated effort could -- and must -- be made to swiftly bring the safe, clean energy technologies on line. Instead of promoting nuclear power expansion globally the nuclear power industry should be dismantled or converted to a green technology industry.

* The end of nuclear power in space. Accidents such as the 1964 SNAP-9A disaster in which a plutonium-powered satellite fell from orbit, disintegrating and spreading the plutonium widely -- a plutonium release long seen as causing an increase in lung cancer on earth -- have demonstrated the folly of using nuclear power overhead.

* The closure of all national nuclear laboratories. They have been breeding grounds for developing lethal atomic energy -- on earth and in space. There's an effort now underway in Washington to cut back on the federal government spending. Here is a federal government activity that must be cut back -- a string of national nuclear laboratories, including Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Livermore, Idaho, Sandia, Brookhaven, Lawrence Berkeley, Argonne, spending billions upon billions in taxpayer money annually while developing deadly nuclear technology.

Unless the nuclear juggernaut is stopped, we all live in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima.


Global Network Board of Directors & Advisors:

Bob Anderson (Stop the War Machine, New Mexico)
Dr. Helen Caldicott (Pediatrician/Anti-nuclear activist, Australia)
Sung-Hee Choi (Artist/teacher/activist, South Korea)
MacGregor Eddy (Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, California)
Stacey Fritz (No Nukes North, Alaska)
Atsushi Fujioka (Professor of Economics Ritsumeikan University, Japan)
Bruce Gagnon (Global Network Coordinator, Maine)
Holly Gwinn Graham (Singer/songwriter/activist, Washington)
Karl Grossman (Professor of Journalism SUNY/College of Old Westbury, New York)
Regina Hagen (Darmstadter Friedensform, Germany)
Matthew Hoey (Military Space Transparency Project, Massachusetts)
Filip Ilkowski (Lecturer Political Science/History Warsaw University, Poland)
Helen John (Peace activist, England)
Dr. Michio Kaku (Professor Theoretical Physics CUNY, New York)
Tamara Lorincz (Halifax Peace Coalition, Canada)
Dr. Hannah Middleton (Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, Australia)
Agneta Norberg (Swedish Peace Council, Sweden)
Lindis Percy (Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, England)
J. Sri Raman (Movement Against Nuclear Weapons, India)
J. Narayana Rao (All India Peace & Solidarity Organization, India)
Tim Rinne (Nebraskans for Peace, Nebraska)
Makiko Sato (Anti-nuclear activist, Japan)
Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck (Friedenswerkstatt Mutlangen, Germany)
Alice Slater (Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York)
Koji Sugihara (No to Nukes & Missile Defense Campaign, Japan)
Bill Sulzman (Citizens for Peace in Space, Colorado)
Jan Tamas (Humanist Party, Czech Republic)
Dr. Dave Webb (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, United Kingdom)
Carol Urner (Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom, Oregon)
Loring Wirbel (Citizens for Peace in Space, Colorado)
Lynda Williams (Physics teacher/activist, California)
Wooksik Cheong (Peace Network, South Korea)
Hibiki Yamaguchi (People’s Plan Study Group, Japan)

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011
(207) 443-9502
globalnet@mindspring.com
www.space4peace.org

Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

Video Fwd: PLEA FROM LOCAL MAYOR NEAR FUKUSHIMA

Organizing Notes Sunday, April 03, 2011 PLEA FROM LOCAL MAYOR NEAR FUKUSHIMA
Message from the Mayor of Minami-Soma City; filmed on March 24, 2011. The mayor talks about how the city lacks supplies and that there is no means to deliver supplies to the citizens stranded at home. See a news article with more info here

Petition Fwd: Sign Petition to Support Japanese People, Expand Evacuation Zone

* Text fwd from Martha Duenas on April 3, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


April 1, 2011
2:00 PM

CONTACT: Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS)Email: nirsnet@nirs.org

Sign Petition to Support Japanese People, Expand Evacuation Zone
WASHINGTON - April 1 - More than 168 citizens organizations in Japan submitted a petition to their government March 28 calling for an expanded evacuation zone near the Fukushima nuclear disaster site and other urgent measures to protect the public health and safety.

The official evacuation zone remains only 20 kilometers (12 miles), while the government has encouraged people within 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) to evacuate. Yet levels of cesium-137 in the village of Iitate, for example, have been measured at more than twice the levels that prompted the Soviet Union to evacuate people near Chernobyl. Iitate is 40 kilometers (24 miles) northwest of Fukushima. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended a 50-mile evacuation zone for U.S. citizens in Japan.

The people of Japan are now asking for international support for their petition. NIRS supports this effort wholeheartedly: these are our colleagues and friends. We hope you'll sign by going to the Green Action site here: http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.org/petition/

Sign the Petition!

This petition is from concerned Japanese citizens, who would appreciate an international show of support.

Radiological Impact of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

On March 11th, Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunamis. A nuclear disaster followed.

Please support this petition by Japanese citizens. It was submitted to the Japanese government on March 28th at a meeting backed by 168 citizen organizations. It addresses the radiological impact of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster and the need to extend the exclusion zone around the plant.

Your voices will be delivered to the Japanese government.

What the petition says:
1. Immediately issue a directive to evacuate and enlarge the evacuation zone.
2. Calculate and publicize regularly the total cumulative radiation dose local residents receive collectively.
3. Repeal the upward revision of the maximum permissible radiation dose (250 milliSieverts) for emergency-response workers at the Fukushima plant.
4. Expand the scope of radiation monitoring and publicize the results.
5. Undertake immediately a comprehensive survey of the radiation exposure and current state of health of local residents and provide for their long-term health care.
6. Do not relax the provisional standards governing the maximum permissible levels of radionuclides in food.
7. Provide compensation for damages to farm and dairy producers and to people who are forced to relocate.
8. Generally, take all measures necessary to ensure that members of the public do not receive radiation doses greater than 1 milliSievert per annum.

_____________________________________________

Please fill out the form below - with your name, email address, and in the box "Please enter an optional comment" - add your organization, city, and country.


When done, click the button "Sign the petition". You will receive an email from Green Action (Japan) info@greenaction-japan.org. Please check your email and click the link in your signature confirmation message. If you don't see the email, check your spam or junk folder.

Thank you for your interest!

Text Fwd: Radioactive Substances Detected Throughout Korea, Lee Government's Response 'Belated'

* Image source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, March 30, 2011 경향 신문(클릭)
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?code=710100&artid=20110330154834A&medid=AP
South Korean environmentalists stage a rally demanding halt of expansion of nuclear power plants by the government in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, March 29, 2011.
Fears over possible radiation contamination are growing in South Korea, the country closest to Japan, after the latter's nuclear power plants were damaged by the March 11 tsunami. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)


* Image source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, March 30, 2011 경향 신문(클릭)
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?code=710100&artid=20110328173354A&medid=AP
South Korean environmentalists stage a rally to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in the United States, in front of the Myungdong Catholic Church in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 28, 2011

______________________________________________


Marking 32nd anniversary of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident---"Stop nuclear power plant." Environmentalists such as activists at the Coalition of the Environmental Movement stage a performance in front of Myungdong Cathedral, downtown Seoul demanding the Lee government to repeal the nuclear power - centered energy policy on March 28, 2011. The nuclear accident in Japan seems to have raised the level of sense of unease around the world.
Photo by Seo Sung-il/ Caption by Seol Wontai

Kyunghyang Shinmun
http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201103301648577&code=710100
Radioactive Substances Detected Throughout Korea, Lee Government's Response 'Belated'
March 30, 2011


It has emerged that radioactive iodine and cesium released from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant have traveled on the wind and been spread all over Korea.

Although the amounts of the substances detected have been minute, their combination with the Korean government's belated response is increasing the Korean people's sense of unease.

At a briefing on March 29, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) president Yun Choul-ho stated that "the result of analyses of air samples gathered at all of Korea's 12 radioactivity measuring stations on March 28 showed minute amounts of radioactive iodine to be present at each station."

Levels of radioactive iodine detected ranged from 0.049mBq/m3 (millibecquerels) to 0.356 mBq/m3. In terms of exposure of the human body to radioactivity, this is equivalent to between 1/200,000th and 1/30,000th of the annual maximum dose of 1mSv (millisievert).

At one of Korea's measuring stations, in Chuncheon, cesium was detected in addition to radioactive iodine. The radioactive exposure represented by this amount of cesium, too, was equivalent to around 1/80,000th of the annual maximum dose of 1mSv.

"There is no need to link these discoveries to any possible risk to human health, in as much as they are minute quantities," said Yun.

KINS, however, has incurred distrust for its "belated response," including only starting nationwide radioactivity measurements two weeks after the Fukushima accident, despite the anticipated influx of radioactive substances, and delaying announcement of the fact that such substances had been detected.

The Korea Meteorological Association has also changed its stance, having previously just repeated that "westerly winds mean Korea is the safest country [from Japanese radiation] in the world."

President Lee Myung-bak said at a cabinet meeting on the same day that "Examination results must be made public swiftly and transparently in order to bring the people peace of mind. When it comes to amounts [of radioactivity] detected, experts must explain them to the people in an easily comprehensible manner and use specific illustrations."

Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan, meanwhile, at an upper house budget committee meeting on the same day, said that "the unpredictable emergency situation at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant continues. We will respond to it with the greatest urgency." (General News, Major story on the front page. The Kyunghyang Daily News. March 30, 2011)

Story by Jung Yu-jin and Tokyo correspondent Seo Eu-dong

____________________________________________

See also

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/470621.html
No More Fukushima: a poem for Yuko TsushimaMarch 30, 2011

[Hankyoreh Editorial] Radioactive risks in Northeast Asia

Hankyoreh
[Editorial] Radioactive risks in Northeast Asia
Posted on : Mar.28,2011 13:00 KST

Radioactive material apparently leaked from Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant has been detected in South Korea. According to the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a minute quantity of xenon was detected by a radioactivity measurement site in Gangwon Province a few days ago, and it is surmised that some of the radioactive material from the Fukushima plant traveled to the Kamchatka Peninsula, rounded the polar regions, and returned south by way of Siberia.

While it was only an exceedingly small quantity incapable of having any negative effects on South Koreans’ health or environment, it still raises grave concerns. Contrary to government’s statements that the country is safe because of the westerlies, it has now been proven that radioactive material can arrive anywhere on the branches formed in the different regions.

With the detection of material in other areas affected by westerlies, including not only the United States and Europe but also neighboring China, the sense of alarm is heightening all over the world. Depending on how the analysis results turn out, there is a possibility that other radioactive materials besides xenon will be discovered. While xenon is relatively harmless to the human body, prolonged exposure is said to lead to lung ailments.

The Lee Myung-back administration must abandon its laid-back assessment of the situation and prepare far-ranging measures in consideration of a potential worst-case scenario. While the possibility of other radioactive materials besides xenon being detected is slight, infants and pregnant women can suffer harm from even small quantities, a fact that is prompting growing concerns.

Above all else, it needs to conduct thorough monitoring and notify the public in advance about the quantities and routes of any material that could enter the country. Nuclear power authorities reportedly discovered xenon in a sample collected on Mar. 23 but delayed the announcement for four days because the quantities were small and they were attempting to determine a connection with a possible North Korean nuclear test. This is untrustworthy behavior in light of concerns and anxieties among the South Korean public.

It is fortunate, at least, that the administration made the belated decision at an Atomic Energy Commission meeting presided over by the prime minister yesterday to examine the safety of all nuclear power plants in South Korea and confirm their security under worst-case scenario conditions. However, it also needs to set up thorough measures to prepare for the eventuality of radioactive material entering the Korean Peninsula from one of the surrounding countries.

China, which has thirteen nuclear power plants in operation, is planning to build 77 more in the future, which will make East Asia a high-density region for such plants. Should radioactive material leak from central China, it is said that it will enter the West Sea area two days later, and that all of South Korea will fall in a high-concentration impact zone after four days. If we imagine a situation like the Fukushima disaster occurring in China, the northwest and southeast winds would place the peninsula smack in the middle of a danger zone the likes of which are too terrible to contemplate. We hope to see the administration holding close discussions with China and Japan over the nuclear power plant safety issue.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Text Fwd: [Korean civic organizations] Joint declaration for recovering Japanese earthquake·nuclear accident, and for society safe from Nuclear

* Image source: Click HERE

On March 28, the Hankyoreh and civic organizations in Korea had an evening event for condolence and solidarity for Japan being in the crisis of nuclear plant explosion in Fukushima, at the Boshingak, Seoul (7pm)

* Image source: Korea Times No to nuclear power plant: Members of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements call for the government to stop expanding nuclear power plants in front of Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral, Seoul, Monday, the 32nd anniversary of the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in the U.S. 03-28-2011 ___________________________________________________ Peace Network

Joint declaration for recovering Japanese earthquake·nuclear accident, and for society safe from Nuclear

Today, we are here, feeling miserable and tragic. The massive earthquake which hit Japan on the last 11th totally changed the lives of Japanese citizens. Official casualties and missing people have reached as many as 20,000 and approximately 400,000 people evacuated their home and are suffering from anxiety in the temporary shelter. We would like to express our condolence to those Japanese who have passed away and are still suffering from the natural disaster. Apart from the problems regarding the past history, we feel sincerely sorry for our neighboring country Japan with which we have a lot of economic and cultural exchanges. Not only the enormous damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, the explosion accident of Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is also another disaster indeed. As radiation-contaminated materials are spreading even currently, the fear that this accident might develop into an huge nuclear disaster is increasing. We wish this Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant explosions come to settlement as soon as possible so this accident does not have any negative influence on the entire humanity and the nature as well as Japanese citizens. Therefore, Korean civil social groups and parties are planning an aid program for the Japanese earthquake and the nuclear accident. Though our help might be minute, in comparison to the huge scale of the damage, we believe that it would be of a great help if all nations including us cooperate in order to help Japan to overcome the tragic accident. In addition to this, we have also realized the importance of constructing a safety net from the nuclear power. This is because even though natural disasters such as earth quakes are unpredictable and unavoidable, we are able to prevent following explosion of nuclear facilities. Japan has more than twice as many nuclear plants as Korea. However, the number of nuclear plants per unit area is larger in Korea. Moreover, we cannot rule out the possibility that similar disaster recurs in Korea and thus, a shift of the nuclear-oriented energy policy is urgently required. Today, we, civil social groups and parties, declare that we will take wide and diverse joint actions in order to build safe society from nuclear power and to support Japanese people suffering from the earthquake and the nuclear plant explosion. Furthermore, we encourage all Korean citizens to share Japanese people’s sorrow and call upon the shift of a nuclear development policy so this disaster is not to be repeated. Beginning from this declaration, we, civil society, religion groups, and parties, proclaim Joint Action Period for supporting victims of Japanese earthquake and the nuclear accident and for the shift of nuclear development policy, from 28th March, the day of Three Mile Island Nuclear accident to 46th April, the day of Chernobyl accident. As a first action, a memorial event for commemorating the victims and supporting rapid restoration will be held at 7pm, 28th March, the first day of Joint Action Period with the citizens. During this period, joint civil social groups and the press is going to organize a charity fund-raising campaign. Secondly, we will take actions promoting a shift of nuclear plant-expanding policy and security inspection on nuclear generating stations. Though current government is conducting security scrutiny over nuclear plants with civilians, the examination and inspection is highly likely to be unfair since it only includes personnel who would like to maintain or expand nuclear generating stations. Only can this be impartial when civil social groups are included. We call for Joint Civil Inspections. As seen from the disaster in Japan, there is no such a thing as completely safe nuclear plants. Thus, in order to build society free from nuclear disaster, we will lead activities urging government to reexamine nuclear-expanding policy with other parties. Not only this, we will take actions against nuclear-development and -expansion policy with those who are living in the area where nuclear plants are under operation and in candidate areas for new nuclear plants. Civil society of Korean and Japan will cooperate and implement various measures in order to stop the competition of the nuclear power development, and carry out activities to march toward a society without nuclear power. Thirdly, we will organize campaign alerting citizens to notify how dangerous nuclear power is and how closely intertwined it is with our daily lives. In addition to this, we will also implement programs informing emergency behavioral instructions for possible nuclear disaster. Through these actions, we will, with our citizens, make society safe from nuclear power. March 22, 2011. Joint action for supporting victims of Japanese earthquake·nuclear accident, and for shift of nuclear development policy (사)에너지나눔과평화, YWCA, 경주핵안전연대, 기독교환경운동연대, 나눔문화, 녹색교육센터, 녹색교통운동, 녹색연합, 다함께, 문화연대, 민주노동당, 민주당, 민주사회를위한변호사모임, 민주언론시민연합, 보건의료단체연합, 부안시민발전소, 사회당, 사회진보연대, 삼척핵발전소유치백지화위원회, 생명살림연구소, 생태지평, 시민사회단체연대회의, 시민평화포럼, 에너지기후정책연구소, 에너지전환, 에너지정의행동, 여성민우회, 여성환경연대, 영광군농민회, 영덕핵발전소반대 500인결사, 전국민주노동조합총연맹, 전국철거민연합중앙협의회, 진보신당, 참교육학부모회, 참여연대, 초록교육연대, 카톨릭환경연대, 평화네트워크, 한국노동조합총연맹, 한국미래연대, 한국진보연대, 한국YMCA전국연맹, 핵으로부터안전하게살고싶은 울진사람들(핵안사), 환경과공해연구회, 환경을 생각하는 교사모임, 환경재단, 환경운동연합, 환경정의. KYC

_______________________________________

See also Hankyoreh

S.Korea to rank 1st in nuclear plant density by 2024

:Some say the Lee administration’s plans for 34 plants by 2024 are without public consensus

Posted on : Mar.28,2011 14:49 KST

Yonhap News

Seoul to shut problematic nuclear reactors after month-long tests

2011/03/28 17:33 KST

Kyunghyang Shinmun

Nuclear Power: A Turning Point Arrives; The Safety Myth Collapses and Fantasy Turns to Horror

Posted on : 2011-03-28

Video and Text Fwd: GERMANS PROTEST NUCLEAR POWER

Organizing Notes
Sunday, March 27, 2011
GERMANS PROTEST NUCLEAR POWER




Tens of thousands of Germans took to the streets Saturday to protest against nuclear power. Under the banner "Fukushima means: no more nuclear power stations," marches took place in Hamburg, Cologne, Munich and capital Berlin, ahead of the vote in wealthy Baden-Wuerttemberg Sunday, where the nuclear issue was set to play a key role. In Berlin alone, police said the "organisers' aim of getting 50,000 would be basically achieved."

On Sunday the Associated Press reported:

German chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have suffered a historic defeat in a state ballot after almost six decades in power there, preliminary results showed Sunday, in an election that amounted to a referendum on the party's stance on nuclear power.

The opposition anti-nuclear Greens doubled their voter share in Baden-Wuerttemberg state and seemed poised to win their first-ever state governorship, according to preliminary results released by the state electoral commission.

"We have secured what amounts to a historic electoral victory," the Greens' leader Winfried Kretschmann told party members in Stuttgart.

The Greens secured 24.2 percent of the vote, with the center-left Social Democrats down 2 percentage points at 23.1 percent. That secures them a narrow lead to form a coalition government with a combined 71 seats in the state legislature, the results showed.

See more video from Germany here

Text Fwd: Data from S.N.: radioactive composition of No.3 water that injured 3workers, and Nuclear Safety Commission of radiation exposure simulation

__________________________________

See also Peace Philosophy Center
IEER Press Release: "This accident has long since passed the level of Three Mile Island"
March 27, 2011
__________________________________

* Text fwd from Makiko Sato on March 27, 2011

Friends, Please share critial information from Satoko Norimatsu . If you haven't look at this, please look at the map in the URL below, which shows the radiation dispersion into the Pacific and the US mainland.

http://www.irsn.fr/EN/news/Documents/irsn-simulation-dispersion-en.pdf

p2/3pages 4- Modelling the dispersion of radioactive releases into the atmosphere on a global scale The lower one is a bird-eye picture of Fukushima Daiichi facilities.

http://www.irsn.fr/EN/news/Documents/IRSN_Fukushima-plant_situation-24032011.pdf

State of the buildings Present contamination is terrible in the sea near the plant, 1850 times more radioactive iodine than the legal limitation, with releases from the plant to the sea still going on, probably.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ocean_surface_currents.jpg

ocean surface currents

Makiko Sato ___________________________________________________________________________ Original Message from Satoko Norimatsu on March 27, 2011

Data from Satoko Norimatsu - radioactive composition of No.3 water that injured three workers, and Nuclear Safety Commission of radiation exposure simulation

Colleagues, Sharing an email I just sent to Arjun Makhijani, head of IEER. You might benefit from the information here. Satoko

Forwarded by Satoko Norimatsu: Original Message on March 26, 2011
from: Satoko Norimatsu to: "Arjun Makhijani"
---- ----------------------

Thank you Arjun.

Government (Edano) announced radioactivity exceeding standard in milk from Fukushima and spinach from Ibaraki, on March 19th. Then government put a ban on shipping those produce on March 22. In my understanding, nobody knew about milk and food contamination until March 19th. It was already a week after the quake.

I just spoke to somebody at Nuclear Safety Commission. He did not sound like an expert on the issue, but he said from the reading of the document (which you have), this calculation did not consider radiation intake through food, milk, and water.

It sounds like this SPEEDI system is administered by MEXT, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. NSC staff I spoke to said that all they do is to receive information from MEXT and interpret it. This is the reality of the function of the government that is responsible for nuclear safety.

Now, I will present different data sets and analyses. Prepared by different organizations and individuals, but all based on data provided by TEPCO and the government.

The MEXT website does provide good amount of information in English. http://www.mext.go.jp/english/

This site has prefecture-by-prefecture radiation level update. This is Fukushima, areas surrounding Fukushima Daiichi.
http://www.mext.go.jp/component/english/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/03/27/1304318_2710.pdf

Also, University of Tokyo's Hayano Ryugo does a lot of analysis with the government data. Does this mean anything to you? This is an analysis of contaminated water at the turbine building of No.3, which injured three workers.

http://plixi.com/photos/original/87213302

Hayano says "this analysis is only for people in field." This one is more straightforward, by NISA. This is the analysis of water at the bottom of turbine buildings of reactors No.1, No.2, No.3, and No.4.
http://www.meti.go.jp/press/20110327001/20110327001-4.pdf
Where you see lots of Chinese characters just means "under detectable amount." The rest are numbers and alphabets, which should make sense to you without translation.

This was made by MIT's Kotaro Kawajiri. It is a relationship between CS-137 contamination in spinach and the distance from Fukushima Daiichi. Based on data provided by Ministry of Health.
http://plixi.com/p/87149538 This one is in English. Radiation in Kanto area (South of Fukushima, including Tokyo) http://plixi.com/p/87011386

See how how those were around the time when lots of fire, smoke, explosion incidents were happening... I don't remember if governments were producing those data at that time. At least I don't remember seeing reports. They typically report something only when the situation gets better.

Radiation level change in Tohoku/Hokkaido area (except Fukushima and much of Miyagi ) in English too. http://plixi.com/p/87011613

Now, this is ISEP (Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies) analysis of the data of radiation at different monitoring posts inside Fukushima Daiichi. The English version is only available up to 20th.

http://hmatsuba.air-nifty.com/Fukushima1F20110320Eng.pdf

But once you see the English version, you can make more sense out of this latest Japanese version (up to 26th).

http://hmatsuba.air-nifty.com/fukushima1F20110326.pdf

Citizens and press have been complaining how inconsistent TEPCO (probably deliberately) has been in monitoring radiation at Fukushima Daiichi - especially since around March 17, they frequently change monitoring points and produce incomparable data. But again, see how strikingly high radiation levels there were from the onset of quake until March 16/17...

I am sure I have given you way more than you want. I hope this gives you an overview of what is going on. Some latest news. (don't worry about links.. they are in Japanese. I am only placing them for my own record.)

http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0326/TKY201103260412.html

From 1 kilogram of soil in Iidate Village, 40 km away from Fukushima Daiichi, 163,000 Bq Cs-137 and 1,170,000 Bq of Iodine 131 were detected. Devastating news for farmers. Prefecture advised farmers to postpone agricultural activities.

http://www.j-cast.com/2011/03/25091382.html

Asahi newspaper on March 25 reported in the top news "Fukushima reached Level 6." This is based on NSC's calculation of I-131. Asked about the possibility of raising the level, METI spokesperson said they were considering it. According to the Asahi article, NSC's calculation has it that from March 12 to 24, radioactive iodine was released 30,000 to 110,000 "terra-Bq" per hour.

Arjun, I have no idea how this number compares to the French estimate. Is it close?


This article indicates that NSC has no power over Japanese government's decision on the level of accidents. It is METI, which overseas NISA, which seems to have that power. Ridiculous. Arjun, please bear with me on one more important latest news.

http://www.47news.jp/CN/201103/CN2011032701000084.html

NSC's Nishiyama said from the water at No.2, radioactive iodine that has a half life of 53 minutes was detected... 2,900,000,000 Bq/cubic centimetre. Most likely to come from the reactor, through the piping. NISA's Nishiyama said, "this is a terrible number that I can't bear to see." I have never heard him making such a strong statement.

Seawater contamination is rising too. On 25th, iodine 1,250 times of standard was detected at seawater near reactors. On 26th, it was 1,850 times. Please only use what you find useful.

Thanks so much,

Satoko

................................................................

I saw the English map first and responded before reading this.

The thyroid is affected also when food and water are contaminated. If milk is consumed from the area that was produced after the accident started, then this would give the greatest dose to children. The authorities did prohibit milk after a certain time, but I wonder whether contaminated food, especially milk was consumed before. What was the date when the government announced that milk should not be consumed?

Best wishes

Arjun

Poster Fwd: An evening event for condolence and solidarity for Japan

* Poster image source: Peace Network

On March 28, the Hankyoreh and civic organizations in Korea will hold an evening event for condolence and solidarity for Japan, hoping prompt settlement of the problems caused from the Fukushima nuclear plants and non-nuclear safe world in the Boshingak, Seoul (7pm)

Video Fwd: "Chernobyl: A Million Casualties" Fukushima Deja Vu

___________________________________________________
* Video informed from FC Farkle and Frank Cordaro with the below words on March 26, 2011:
"Just listen to this 29 min. Youtube interview. If you need to get a perspective on where we are at in the whole nuclear power debate, mindful of what is happening in Japan take the time and listen to this
Youtube...." __________________________________



A million people have died so far as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant accident, explains Janette Sherman, M.D., toxicologist and contributing editor of the book Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment. Published by the New York
Academy of Sciences, the book, authored by Dr. Alexey Yablokov, Dr. Vassily Nesterenko and Dr. Alexey Nesterenko, examined medical records now available--which expose as a lie the claim of the International Atomic Energy Commission that perhaps 4,000 people may die as a result
of Chernobyl. (Enviro Close-Up # 610 (29 min))

Text Fwd: Steven Leeper: "We need to be working together, trying to help each other

Ten Thousand Things
Steven Leeper: "We need to be working together, trying to help each other, trying to find the truth & sharing it honestly & openly with each other."
March 25, 2011

Leeper, the director of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, which manages the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, told Democracy Now! on March 17, “In Hiroshima, we are pretty sensitive to radiation issues, and we’re very sensitive to disaster issues. We are known as a place that knows about radiation. We have a team of doctors. They left yesterday to go up into that area with their equipment to try to figure out what kind of radiation is up there."

The doctors have returned to Hiroshima, but haven't yet released their report. Today, he shared this follow-up:

In your Democracy Now! interview, you said that we need to know exactly what kind of radiation is out there, which kinds of isotopes are being emitted. What have your doctors found?

This information is not available. If the doctors know, they are not saying anything right now. We do know that iodine and cesium are out there at high levels. The TV is saying all you have to do is wash your vegetables. But the government is making a lot of farmers throw away a lot of product.

Do the risks lessen the further away one is from the Fukushima plant? What are the risks for people in Fukushima; the adjacent prefectures, and beyond?

The risk lessens rapidly with distance from Fukushima. The people within 20km have been evacuated, within 30km people are being asked to stay indoors as much as possible and to wear masks etc when they go out.

How should we read the measurements published by the Japanese government? The top priority for the government and even the scientists right now is to prevent panic. You should read the measurements as extremely conservative.

People are concerned about the use of MOX fuel. ?Would you speak to this?

Reactor 3 runs on MOX, which means it has a lot of plutonium in it. Plutonium is one of the most toxic substances on Earth. A tiny bit inside you will cause cancer. That is why it is very important to know if this plutonium is in the air. At this moment, most people do not think it is.

Should we be concerned about the smoke arising from the plant?

Yes, for two reasons. One is, it is surely radioactive to some extent. The second is that it indicates some sort of fundamental instability that they have yet to control.

Will Fukushima prefecture be able to "come back" eventually like Hiroshima did? Is a a nuclear plant disaster different from an atomic bombing disaster?

There is still an area 30km in radius around Chernobyl where no one can live.

At this moment, my understanding is that the radiation in Fukushima is fairly superficial and will be washed clean by a few big storms (except for right around the plant).

However, it is still possible that we will have a Chernobyl type meltdown, or even four such meltdowns. If we do, we will lose a big chunk of Fukushima Prefecture for a very long time.

A nuclear power plant is tens of thousands of times dirtier (more radiation) than any bomb. The main thing to know is, this is not over, not at all. We are still in terrible danger of a major nuclear disaster.

Do the HPF physicians recommend iodide supplementation for people throughout and outside Japan?

The people I have talked to do not recommend potassium iodide at this point. They don’t think it’s good for you and they don’t think it is necessary. Also, from what I have heard, no one can buy it anyway because the government has bought it all up and is planning to distribute it in the event of a real emergency. This has not been confirmed, but I heard it from a reliable source.

Conflicting information in the media is creating cognitive dissonance. At the Kyoto Journal Facebook page, there was a long discussion about which sources to trust. How do you advise lay people on how to obtain and evaluate information?

In general, the government is trying to prevent panic. The power company and the nuclear industry is trying to minimize the danger and maximize the appearance of control.

The anti-nuclear folks are maximizing the danger and lack of control.

In Kyoto, you have a guy name Koide-sensei. I trust him. Here we have Kamata-sensei. I trust him. However, neither of them have access to the real raw data from the site.

The doctors I was hoping would tell us the truth around here seem to be taking the position that they do not want to cause panic, which causes me to panic.

Hoshi-sensei, who has been on TV, says that right now we are not in great danger, but that the situation is extremely serious and could turn very very bad. He is deeply worried, but not about what’s happened so far, only about what might happen.

I think we all need to listen very carefully to all the information coming to us, then do what our own intuition tells us to do. No one really knows what is happening. No one knows what will happen.

Besides which, the situation is so extremely complex that no one, even with the best of neutral intentions, can possibly know what is happening. What is in the air? Where is it going? Where is it falling? What will it do to you if you breathe it or eat it? All of this is complex beyond any scientific ability to say anything.

We all need to listen and use every reference point we can, be we all need to understand that our guesses are as good as anyone else’s.

What do you advise us on how to deal with the collective psychological trauma we are experiencing?

I think I answered that in the previous question, but in addition, I would say that the key is in the word "collective." We are all in this together.

We need to be working together, trying to help each other, trying to find the truth and sharing it honestly and openly with each other.

We have to avoid taking our stress out on each other and turning this into a blame game filled with anger and hatred and fear. That will only make the situation worse and keep people from being able to make their best contributions. We need to keep calm, at least until the situation with the reactors is resolved.

Then we can start investigating the causes and who to blame and all that accountability stuff, but right now, we need TEPCO people going in there risking their lives to save us, and we need to be grateful that they are doing so.

Love will help us more than anger. Courage will help more than panic.

- Posted by Jean Downey

Photo Fwd: Wolsung, the 2nd Fukushima!

* Image source: News Cham
Korean environment activists nationwide did a maritime protest to stop the nuclear plants in Wolsung and Busan on March 23, 2011

Text Fwd: LATEST ON CONTAMINATION IN JAPAN

________________________
See also Ten Thousand Things
"Rise like Tsunamis after the Earthquakes" — An open letter speaking to grief, hope and sharing resources for healing, March 23, 2011

Peace Philosophy Center
Fukushima - As of March 25 AM (Japna Time)

DMZ Hawai'i
“When nuclear reactors blow, the first thing that melts down is the truth”; What They’re Covering Up at Fukushima, March 24, 2011
________________________
Organizing Notes
LATEST ON CONTAMINATION IN JAPAN
March 24, 2011



The Japanese and U.S. governments continue to lie about contamination levels released by the Fukushima power station. Why do the people have to suffer at the hands of these corporate fools? Is it because they don't want the people to demand the closer of all existing nuclear power plants throughout Japan and the rest of the world?

Aileen Mioko Smith of Kyoto-based Green Action, one of Japan’s leading voices challenging the production, commerce and transport of nuclear material, and calling for sustainable energy policies is interviewed by Democracy Now.

Let the truth be known about the Fukushima Nuclear Plants
-- An urgent demand to the mass media and the Government of Japan

People's Plan Study Group
17 March, 2011

Developments at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant could cause a catastrophic situation, aggravating damage brought by the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami which hit Japan on March 11. This is a serious emergency which is equivalent to what happened in Chernobyl, but should also be regarded as the first-ever incident of its kind since multiple nuclear reactors malfunctioned simultaneously. The released radioactivity could spread out beyond a 20 or 30 kilometres radius and cause an irreparable damage to human health, the environment and society.

The Government of Japan has met this crisis only with stop-gap measures and tried to abdicate its responsibility, thereby letting the situation to take an even more serious turn. But at this moment we are not taking the government to task on the whole range of its neglect because the situation is too urgent.

At this critical moment, we demand that the Japanese Government and the mass media tell us the whole truth about what is happening at the Fukushima reactors. The Government of Japan has only released a fraction of the necessary information and has refused to let people know what the worst case scenario is, leaving us completely unprotected. The Government of Japan has not taken any measures to minimize possible damage caused in this scenario. Instead of giving us the truth, the Government, the mass media which follow it blindly, and self-proclaimed “experts” are trting to play down the severity of this situation by, for example, suggesting comparisons with exposure to medical X-rays or radioactivity during an international flight, making the entire situation appear close to what normally happens in daily life. Data about the measured level of radiation is disclosed at random, but it does not contain information about what kind of nuclear materials are being released. Reporters attending the Government's press conferences don't dare to ask questions about this. There is also a lack of systematic warnings about internal exposure to radiation. Meanwhile, most foreign organisations, experts and media have already classed the Fukushima accident close to level seven in the International and Radiological Nuclear Event Scale, and foreign governments have accordingly asked their nationals to evacuate Japan. Where does this huge gap in their acknowledgment of the situation come from?

A favourable interpretation is that the Japanese Government have tried not to cause social panic. But the best way to avoid panic is to give people access to a correct understanding of ongoing events, let them know how to minimize the damage and allow them a variety of methods to do so. Panic occurs when a patient who has been told by their physician that they only have a stomach ache suddenly discovers that they actually have a severe tumour.

The accident at the Fukushima facility requires urgent and coordinated action. We demand that the Government of Japan acknowledge the severity of this situation, make people aware of it, and clarify how this emergency is to be dealt with without delay.

Text Fwd: 3 nuke workers hospitalized in Japan

Japan's critical situation stays alarming as a number of around 26,000 people have lost their lives or are presumed dead.
_______________________
* Informed at the CLG news

Press TV
3 nuke workers hospitalized in Japan
March 24, 2011

Three workers at reactor 3 of Japan's Fukushima Prefecture have been taken to hospital for radiation, while the nuclear crisis keeps high the life-threatening concerns of the disaster.

Japan's nuclear safety agency said the workers of the Fukushima Daiichi plant were hospitalized after being exposed to radiation, AFP reported Thursday.

March 11 witnessed an extremely fatal earthquake followed by a gigantic tsunami in northeastern Japan, while so far at least 26,000 people have died or are presumed dead according to the National Police Agency.

The National Police Agency said on Thursday that 9,700 people have so far been killed and over 16,500 more are presumably dead.

There are fears of a much higher death toll from the disaster that has displaced hundreds of thousands of Japanese.

The mega-quake has also affected the presumably quake-proof Fukushima nuclear plant. Efforts are underway to cool down overheating reactors at the plant.

The Japanese government has ordered the evacuation of about 200,000 people living in a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) area around the nuclear power plant, and told people living between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the plant to remain indoors.

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake, off the northeast coast of Japan's main island, unleashed a 30-foot (10-meter) tsunami wave and was followed by more than 50 aftershocks for hours.

The quake is now considered Japan's deadliest natural disaster since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 142,000 people.

Text Fwd: Nuclear disaster: a bitter pill for humankind

Hankyoreh
[Column] Nuclear disaster: a bitter pill for humankind
By Kim Sun-woo, poet and novelist
Posted on : Mar.22,2011
　
My first response to news of the Japanese earthquake was fear and horror. This was followed by pity and distress. There was an old woman who, the moment she was rescued from the scene of the disaster, said, “I’m sorry, I have caused you trouble.” Those words struck against my heart, which had been blocked with such an intense fear, and it was at that point that my tears began to flow. I saw my image reflected back in that old woman. Composure, consideration for others, kindness - all at once she awakened me to all the things I wanted to learn.

It seems that what makes a person cry is another person. In good times and bad, people cry and laugh through people. As individuals who come into this world with nothing and leave with nothing, the greatest asset we could be said to possess is our capacity for love, compassion, and sympathy. I believe this may be the most unyielding strength that has allowed human history to continue on this planet even amid a never-ending stream of disasters both natural and made by humans.

Now we need to take another step forward from this disaster. However unpleasant an experience this enormous disaster has been for all of humankind, I believe now that it could also serve as truly good medicine, depending where we go united in this pain, and how. The time has come for us to put a powerful check on a world environment and human avarice that take us closer to crisis every day. The pain Japan is enduring right now may be the cross that prompts an awakening in humankind. An earthquake, a tsunami, and then a nuclear disaster. This is something that could happen anywhere on Earth. Had it happened in South Korea, we would have suffered even greater devastation, given how ridiculously underprepared we are.
I recall the words of Franz Alt, the ecological economist who asked, “Does there need to be another major nuclear accident for us to change our atomic energy policy?”

Today, in the 21st century, we find ourselves in the midst of tremendous environmental catastrophes, racing toward the crisis of codestruction. Within this troubling ecological crisis, there are places on this planet where people are living next to potential atomic bombs. Yet because they are cheap and convenient right now, we go on about “developing nuclear energy that is absolutely safe no matter what happens,” even going so far as to attach the deceptive descriptor of “green energy.”

It was Japan, in the early spring of 2011, that stripped away all of this fanciful myth amid tremendous suffering. As the scales fell away from our eyes, discussions toward the halting of nuclear development began to ferment in every corner of the world. In point of fact, these discussions should have taken place a long time ago, and nuclear development should have long ago disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Essentially, Fukushima happened because we failed to take any lesson from Chernobyl. If we cannot learn anything from the situation today in Japan, a country that created and fostered the myth of “the world’s best nuclear power plant safety,” where will the next catastrophe strike? Will there be any future left for humankind afterward?

Embarrassingly, the Korean government, amid all of this, has been focused on loudly proclaiming that there is no problem with any of the country’s nuclear power plants and that they are utterly safe. It has announced its intent to spur on the exportation of constructing more nuclear power plants. All around us we see an ignorance that fails to grasp any of the inner meaning for the future in this disaster.

The reason people all of the world are eager to help Japan right now is probably because they sense that the catastrophe is not Japan’s alone. We must turn it into an important turning point. The decision is ours: codestruction or coexistence. One also gets the sense that amid the order of the universe, there are some tormented individuals who are pondering how to awaken an ignorant humankind suffering the profound illness of technology worship and digging its own grave.

It is not about Korea helping Japan, but about humankind helping humankind, and about helping our future selves and other children. One thing exists because of the presence of another - if the latter is annihilated, so too is the former. We are neighbors living right up against one another, linked together on the pale blue dot that is the Earth. We must show our strength. I can see the pure face of hope that comes after a great sadness. Do not forget. Together we can.
　　
The views presented in this column are the writer’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Hankyoreh.