GreenWatch

B. McPherson When the nuclear power plant at Fukushima Daiichi failed during the earthquake and tsunami in April of 2011, it was thought at first, that a sincere effort on the part of TEPCO and the Japanese government would be made to clean up the mess as best they could. Unfortunately that has not been the case. From the very beginning of the crisis, it looks as if company executives were emphasizing saving face more than reacting to the crisis. As radiation leaked over the nearby residents, the true extent of the danger was minimized.  A series of accidents at the wrecked plant might have been laughable if not for their dire consequences. Huge amounts of radioactive water leaked into the Pacific Ocean. Fuel rods remain in danger of ignition   when power to cooling fails. Rats electrocuted themselves shutting off electricity. Evacuees have been moved out of the worst contaminated areas now, but are awaiting compensation for the loss of their farms and homes...

B. McPherson This report is very worrisome.  A leaked report on the state of Europe’s nuclear power stations has pointed out the urgent need for upgrades that could cost the countries up to $32 billion to complete. The report also pointed out widely varying standards of safety among the 14 member states that participated in the stress tests which are designed to highlight weaknesses in the safety of the electrical plants. A worrisome aspect of the leaked report is they revealed that enforcement of current safety standards was needed. Currently 12 of the member states have failed to meet safety standards. Four reactors were found to have less than one hour of before catastrophic damage if their electrical power were interrupted. The report also cited plants in Spain, France and the Czech Republic that lacked adequate earthquake detectors. France is heavily dependent on nuclear generated electricity, producing 80% of their needs this way. Of the 58 power stations in ...