GreenWatch

B. McPherson Some disquieting information about Hanford's activities. Ask was it an earthquake or a small nuclear explosion. Hanford Nuclear Facility located in eastern Washington State has a leak in one of its large storage tanks(75 ft diameter). The double walled tanks are sunk into the ground. The inner shell of the tank has leaked radioactive sludge into the space between the shells. It has been reported that the leak was detected a year ago but authorities of the US Department of Energy(DOE) were prepared to wait until the problem worsened as they deemed the breach of the liner no danger to the public. This has prompted the State of Washington to remind them that they are required to take action within 24 hours of discovering that the tank was not sound. It contains liquid material as well as the sludge. Currently the DOE does not have the equipment or a plan to remedy the problem and estimates that it will be two years before any material is removed from th...

B. McPherson Fukushima cleanup workers exploited by contractors The sorry saga of Fukushima continues as the Japanese government continues to dither. Since the devastating earthquake and tsunami wrecked the nuclear power plant owned by TEPCO, the world has been subjected to radioactive poison spewing from the facility. For over two years the world has listened to excuses and tales of incompetence and outright cover ups. Now some workers hired to help in the clean-up have come forward to allege corruption. TEPCO does not hire workers directly, to help with the salvage and clean up at the Daiichi Fukushima plant, but relies on a network of contractors and sub-contractors to recruit workers from wherever they can. There have been rumblings of difficulties in attracting enough manpower to get the job done, in part due to the low wages being offered. A twist on that story was revealed, October 30 th , in Japan Today, in which a worker hired to do a relatively safe job monitoring ...

B. McPherson When will TEPCO get serious? The ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is trending hotter. Word has it that today’s readings of radioactivity have reached the highest level yet. The ongoing crisis at the Japanese power plant has the rest of the world watching their ad hoc attempts to confine the damage with growing impatience. Confidence in the willingness of TEPCO to put the resources and expertise onto the job has reaches an all time low. Last week it was revealed that the hastily built tanks that contain highly radioactive water leaked. The experts there have placed the metal tanks directly on the ground rather than onto concrete pads. Ground water moving below the Fukushima plant and tanks is also being irradiated and leaking into the Pacific Ocean. Last week’s radiation readings were high enough to ensure death with four hours exposure. Today the world is told that the radiation readings are higher still. TEPCO’s response is that more sensitive equipment i...