May 7, 2015

May 7, 2015 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • A beached whale in British Columbia contained no Fukushima contamination. On April 20th, a yearling grey whale was found upon a beach near Ucluelet, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Canada’s Fukushima InFORM had muscle and blubber samples analyzed at Health Canada’s Laboratories in Ottawa. The gamma radiation spectra was “dominated” by naturally-occurring Potassium-40, but no Cesium-134. Cs-134 is the unmistakable fingerprint of Fukushima contamination. InForm concludes, “The unfortunate demise of the grey whale is very unlikely to have been the result of acute or chronic radiation exposure owing to Fukushima-derived radionuclides in seawater and the whales food.” Canada is running full necroscopy to try and determine why the creature died. The body showed signs of possibly being struck by a ship.  http://fukushimainform.ca/2015/05/06/analysis-of-beached-grey-whale-in-british-columbia-for-fukushima-radioisotopes/#more-1208
  • Kagoshima residents appeal the court decision allowing Sendai #1 and #2 restarts. On April 22nd, Kagoshima District Court rejected a suit to stop restarts of the two nukes. The presiding judge said they could find no “irrationalities” in the new safety standards enforced by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Undaunted, the plaintiffs and their lawyers have filed an appeal with Fukuoka High Court, alleging that parts of the District Court decision are illogical. http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2015/05/350974.html — http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/06/national/crime-legal/kagoshima-residents-appeal-courts-go-ahead-to-restart-sendai-reactors/#.VUoQc6McQdU
  • Tepco says “no” to plaintiff’s demand for pre-Fukushima accident simulations. A suit is being pursued in Kobe District Court by 92 evacuees who now live in Hyogo Prefecture. The plaintiffs ask for more than $7 million in damages from Tepco and the government for uprooting their lives due to radioactive contamination of their communities. The desired simulations were run by Tepco in 2008 based on a Richter Scale 8 temblor of 1898. The plaintiff’s representatives requested the documents from Tepco, but the utility denied the request. Tepco is under no legal obligation to release the simulations. The plaintiff’s legal representatives said, “They are records vital to finding out if TEPCO could have actually predicted this terrible disaster,” and the utility is “obstructing the pursuit of the truth.” Tepco allegedly shared the documents with the Industry Ministry on March 7, 2011 – four days before the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck. Tepco’s reason for denying the request is that “the documents are neither related to nor necessary for the plaintiffs’ claims. The hearings of the trial should focus on whether there is a causal relationship between the (nuclear) accident and damage to the plaintiffs.” It should be mentioned that most, if not all of the plaintiffs, are voluntary evacuees. http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150505p2a00m0na016000c.html