Tsumami Evacuation Routes

Evacuation routes established The Yomiuri Shimbun A man climbs some steps built on an evacuation route leading to higher ground in Hirono, Iwate Prefecture. A sign along the JR Hachinohe Line guides passengers to an evacuation site on higher ground in Hirono, Iwate Prefecture. The tsunami-damaged JR Hachinohe Line that skirts the Pacific coast of Aomori and Iwate prefectures has set up 72 evacuation routes along the line before it resumes full operations Saturday. East Japan Railway Co., the line's operator, said this is the first time the company has established evacuation routes along a railroad. The 64.9-kilometer line links Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, to Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. Operations between Taneichi Station and Kuji Station have been halted since the line was battered by the March 11, 2011, tsunami. The evacuation routes start from stations, or locations between stations, and lead to safe sites on higher ground. Thirty-two of the escape routes were set up at sites in Iwate Prefecture that were swamped by the tsunami, and the other 40 were created at places in Iwate and Aomori prefectures that could be at risk from tsunami in the future. Signs indicating the direction of the evacuation routes, distance to evacuation sites and the sites' height above sea level have been erected along the railroad. Stairways were built on steep slopes on some evacuation routes. The tsunami damaged several of the line's stations between Hashikami Station in Aomori Prefecture and Kuji Station, as well as the railroad itself. The 30.7-kilometer section between Taneichi and Kuji stations was hit hardest, and the tracks were severely damaged. JR East said establishing evacuation routes was intended to allow the line to resume operating in the heavily damaged section without changing the route.

Tsumami Evacuation Routes

Evacuation routes established The Yomiuri Shimbun A man climbs some steps built on an evacuation route leading to higher ground in Hirono, Iwate Prefecture. A sign along the JR Hachinohe Line guides passengers to an evacuation site on higher ground in Hirono, Iwate Prefecture. The tsunami-damaged JR Hachinohe Line that skirts the Pacific coast of Aomori and Iwate prefectures has set up 72 evacuation routes along the line before it resumes full operations Saturday. East Japan Railway Co., the line's operator, said this is the first time the company has established evacuation routes along a railroad. The 64.9-kilometer line links Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, to Kuji, Iwate Prefecture. Operations between Taneichi Station and Kuji Station have been halted since the line was battered by the March 11, 2011, tsunami. The evacuation routes start from stations, or locations between stations, and lead to safe sites on higher ground. Thirty-two of the escape routes were set up at sites in Iwate Prefecture that were swamped by the tsunami, and the other 40 were created at places in Iwate and Aomori prefectures that could be at risk from tsunami in the future. Signs indicating the direction of the evacuation routes, distance to evacuation sites and the sites' height above sea level have been erected along the railroad. Stairways were built on steep slopes on some evacuation routes. The tsunami damaged several of the line's stations between Hashikami Station in Aomori Prefecture and Kuji Station, as well as the railroad itself. The 30.7-kilometer section between Taneichi and Kuji stations was hit hardest, and the tracks were severely damaged. JR East said establishing evacuation routes was intended to allow the line to resume operating in the heavily damaged section without changing the route.

Japan at Crossroads on Nuclear Future

March 27, 2012

There are various kinds of retirement, but perhaps those who step down in a most manly style are sumo wrestlers. Some of the most admirable rikishi bow out even when a tournament is only halfway done. The announcement of retirement carries a lot of weight, not only in the world of competitive sports, but for anyone with heavy responsibility. It must be embarrassing for people in important posts to retract one.

What about Haruki Madarame, chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan, who is wavering on his announced retirement? He previously mentioned his intention to retire at the end of March on the grounds that he had “reached his mental limits.” But he later withdrew the comment, saying: “I impulsively spoke my true intention, but other members asked me to stay. Since the appointment (of a person to the post of NSC chairman) requires Diet consent ...”

Initially, a new nuclear regulatory agency was supposed to be set up on April 1 to replace the NSC. However, with the Diet yet to start deliberations on legislation for the establishment of the new agency, the timetable for organizational change remains undecided. Though Madarame was aware of this, he expressed his intention to resign. He must have been really exhausted.

Madarame was one of the “main players” in the prime minister’s office after the Great East Japan Earthquake. He firmly told Prime Minister Naoto Kan that hydrogen explosions would never occur at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. He was wrong.

The prime minister harshly criticized him, saying, “Isn’t there anyone else I can turn to for advice?” It must have been hard on Madarame.

With the commission soon to be abolished, the chairman expressed his intention to step down in advance. Still, last week, the commission approved the government’s evaluations of the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture to prepare for its restart. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which carried out the evaluations, is also set to be abolished. In short, the out-of-date organizations that built up the safety myth of nuclear power plants are turning the wheels to restart them.

With the shutdown of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s last running nuclear reactor on March 26, Japan now has only one reactor in operation--in Hokkaido. Is Japan going to suspend operations of all its nuclear reactors or restart them? We now stand at a crossroads that will affect our future. I hope that we can achieve the important milestone of having no running nuclear reactors. While concerned officials will retire, the future of children continues.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 27

 

Kesennuma Strawberry Farmer's Story

Disaster victim to throw MLB opening pitch

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Shinji Takai will throw the ceremonial first pitch at Major League Baseball's opening game in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Shinji Takai, a strawberry farmer whose fields in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, were badly damaged by the March 11 tsunami, is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday at U.S. Major League Baseball's official opening game at Tokyo Dome.

The Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics will play the MLB's season-opening games, the 2012 gloops MLB Opening Series Japan, at the dome on Wednesday and Thursday.

After quitting a computer company in Tokyo at the age of 31, Takai, now 38, trained to become a strawberry farmer for two years in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture. He eventually started his own farm in Kesennuma, but just as business was picking up, the March 11 disaster struck.

After the disaster, Takai stayed at an evacuation center with his wife Noriko, 34, and their daughter Miki, 1, for about two weeks. When he saw mud-covered photo albums of wedding ceremonies and family trips being collected from devastated sites, he began volunteer work to clean the photos, utilizing his computer skills from his previous job. He has so far managed to return about 500,000 photos to their owners.

Takai currently has no prospects of resuming strawberry cultivation, but he is looking forward to taking the mound. As Ichiro Suzuki, who is the same age as Takai, belongs to the Seattle Mariners, "I'd like to pitch against him at the opening ceremony," Takai said with a smile.

Takai said he wants to thank people around the world who have supported disaster victims by displaying a cheerful attitude on the mound.

Also scheduled to pitch in the opening ceremony were Andy Anderson, the father of Taylor Anderson, an assistant English teacher who died in the tsunami in Ishinomaki; and Naho Hozumi, a member of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Hands On Tokyo.

(Mar. 27, 2012)

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Kesennuma Strawberry Farmer's Story

Disaster victim to throw MLB opening pitch

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Shinji Takai will throw the ceremonial first pitch at Major League Baseball's opening game in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Shinji Takai, a strawberry farmer whose fields in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, were badly damaged by the March 11 tsunami, is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Wednesday at U.S. Major League Baseball's official opening game at Tokyo Dome.

The Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics will play the MLB's season-opening games, the 2012 gloops MLB Opening Series Japan, at the dome on Wednesday and Thursday.

After quitting a computer company in Tokyo at the age of 31, Takai, now 38, trained to become a strawberry farmer for two years in Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture. He eventually started his own farm in Kesennuma, but just as business was picking up, the March 11 disaster struck.

After the disaster, Takai stayed at an evacuation center with his wife Noriko, 34, and their daughter Miki, 1, for about two weeks. When he saw mud-covered photo albums of wedding ceremonies and family trips being collected from devastated sites, he began volunteer work to clean the photos, utilizing his computer skills from his previous job. He has so far managed to return about 500,000 photos to their owners.

Takai currently has no prospects of resuming strawberry cultivation, but he is looking forward to taking the mound. As Ichiro Suzuki, who is the same age as Takai, belongs to the Seattle Mariners, "I'd like to pitch against him at the opening ceremony," Takai said with a smile.

Takai said he wants to thank people around the world who have supported disaster victims by displaying a cheerful attitude on the mound.

Also scheduled to pitch in the opening ceremony were Andy Anderson, the father of Taylor Anderson, an assistant English teacher who died in the tsunami in Ishinomaki; and Naho Hozumi, a member of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Hands On Tokyo.

(Mar. 27, 2012)

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Japan in Uproar Over Censorship of Emperor's Anti-Nuclear Speech

 

Why did Japanese TV channels cut Emperor Akihito's address on the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima crisis?

Japan's Emperor Akihito speaks as Empress Michiko looks on at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo / AP

There is a particularly sensitive accusation reverberating through online discussion boards and social media in Japan: that Emperor Akihito's speech on the one year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami was censored on TV for his comments about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

The 78-year-old Emperor Akihito had insisted on attending the memorial service, though he had been released from the hospital for heart bypass surgery less than a week earlier. While the emperor is technically just a figurehead, he is still deeply revered here. Many Japanese see him a source of guidance in times of political difficulty, which have been many in the last 20 years. His speech was highly anticipated. Unlike Prime Minister Noda, who never mentioned the nuclear crisis in his speech on the anniversary, the Emperor addressed it directly.

As this earthquake and tsunami caused the nuclear power plant accident, those living in areas designated as the danger zone lost their homes and livelihoods and had to leave the places they used to live. In order for them to live there again safely, we have to overcome the problem of radioactive contamination, which is a formidable task.

While this statement may seem more obvious than radical to outsiders, underneath the Imperial-grade Japanese understatement were two ideas that have become quietly explosive. First, he seemed to suggest that the nuclear crisis is not over, a "formidable task" yet to be overcome. This noticeably contradicts the government's official stance that Fukushima has achieved a cold shutdown and, for all practical purposes, the crisis is over.  Second, it implies that it is not yet safe for people to return to areas stricken with high levels of radiation, at least not before the "formidable task" is "overcome." This, again, contradicts the government's position that it is now safe for people to return to almost all areas and that neither Tokyo Electric Power Company nor the national government are obliged to assist in long term evacuations.

It's impossible to say for sure whether the emperor intended to weigh in on two of the country's most sensitive policy debates. Either way, his words have struck Japan's national conversation with a weight that could only be delivered by the emperor himself.

"The emperor's words were like a knife to my heart." tweeted @shun1sta, in a string of comments typical of the public reaction. "He seemed in such pain as well... I can only imagine the determination he felt to say what he did." "It seems to me that the Emperor was doing the most he could do, despite the constraints of his position, to communicate his opinion on the nuclear matter." "Surely the government asked him not to mention the nuclear crisis. He must have fought hard to tell the truth."

It is rare for Emperor Akihito, an accomplished biologist and the world's leading authority on certain species of Gobi Fish, to publicly take sides on any subject other than biology. It is said that his love for the sciences is partly due to the ease in which his colleagues can disagree with him. The reverence he commands in other spheres is so strong that, when it comes to politics, his opinion is considered a constitutionally guarded state secret. His normal silence only adds to the weight of his rare public statements on such matters.

So many Japanese were shocked when TV media began cutting out the emperor's dramatic statement. Live daytime broadcasts of the event contained the whole speech and newspapers printed it in its entirety. But, by that evening, all of the major news programs aired edited versions of the speech without his nuclear comments, which also went unmentioned and undiscussed on the heavily watches news shows. The vast majority of Japanese, who don't watch TV news during the day, missed the comments entirely.

Blogs and chat-rooms quickly filled with angry accusations that TV networks were censoring an important communication by the Emperor to his people at a time when his guidance is most sought.

"Seriously?! They're even going to whack the Emperor's Words? "

"It's so disrespectful for the media to cut the most important part of His Majesty's speech, especially as he delivered it under such physical strain."

"Asahi News cut the Emperor's words just like NHK did!  This must be the Government's work... This is the height of censorship!"

By March 20, nine days after the emperor's speech, outraged Japanese held a demonstration in front of NHK, the State sponsored TV network, protesting the apparent censorship.

In fairness, news programs can't please everyone with their edits, and it would be unfair to accuse censorship at every disappointing broadcast decision. Still, it's hard to imagine why the TV networks would neither air nor even mention the emperor's obviously weighty opinion. Many skeptics in Japan suspect that the country's enormous nuclear energy industry, which is famous for its influence over Japan's politics and which has seen its business come to a near-standstill over public fears, may have played a role. After all, Tokyo Electric is one of Japanese TV's largest sources of revenue, and is tightly linked to the Japanese government, which sponsors some media here.

The incident has also played off Japanese fears, sometimes edging into paranoia, that powerful interests in Japan are withholding important information about the risks of nuclear power. When the Fukushima crisis began last March, the government was aware of both the risks of meltdown and the spread of radiation. Yet it waited days or weeks to make that information public, it says for fear of sparking a mass panic. Because radiation is totally invisible, large numbers of Japanese were unwittingly soaked in it. This reliance on the authorities to tell them when they're a danger, and a lingering fear that maybe the powerful aren't telling them everything, were both raises again by the odd cutting of the emperor's nuclear speech. Whether the skeptics are right or not about censorship, it was a clear reminder that Japan has a serious, and possibly worsening, problem with public trust. As if the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown hadn't brought enough problems already.

 

 

 

Japan in Uproar Over Censorship of Emperor's Anti-Nuclear Speech

 

 

MAR 26 2012, 8:46 AM ET 32 

 

Why did Japanese TV channels cut Emperor Akihito's address on the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima crisis?

Japan's Emperor Akihito speaks as Empress Michiko looks on at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo / AP

There is a particularly sensitive accusation reverberating through online discussion boards and social media in Japan: that Emperor Akihito's speech on the one year anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami was censored on TV for his comments about the nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

The 78-year-old Emperor Akihito had insisted on attending the memorial service, though he had been released from the hospital for heart bypass surgery less than a week earlier. While the emperor is technically just a figurehead, he is still deeply revered here. Many Japanese see him a source of guidance in times of political difficulty, which have been many in the last 20 years. His speech was highly anticipated. Unlike Prime Minister Noda, who never mentioned the nuclear crisis in his speech on the anniversary, the Emperor addressed it directly.

As this earthquake and tsunami caused the nuclear power plant accident, those living in areas designated as the danger zone lost their homes and livelihoods and had to leave the places they used to live. In order for them to live there again safely, we have to overcome the problem of radioactive contamination, which is a formidable task.

While this statement may seem more obvious than radical to outsiders, underneath the Imperial-grade Japanese understatement were two ideas that have become quietly explosive. First, he seemed to suggest that the nuclear crisis is not over, a "formidable task" yet to be overcome. This noticeably contradicts the government's official stance that Fukushima has achieved a cold shutdown and, for all practical purposes, the crisis is over.  Second, it implies that it is not yet safe for people to return to areas stricken with high levels of radiation, at least not before the "formidable task" is "overcome." This, again, contradicts the government's position that it is now safe for people to return to almost all areas and that neither Tokyo Electric Power Company nor the national government are obliged to assist in long term evacuations.

It's impossible to say for sure whether the emperor intended to weigh in on two of the country's most sensitive policy debates. Either way, his words have struck Japan's national conversation with a weight that could only be delivered by the emperor himself.

"The emperor's words were like a knife to my heart." tweeted @shun1sta, in a string of comments typical of the public reaction. "He seemed in such pain as well... I can only imagine the determination he felt to say what he did." "It seems to me that the Emperor was doing the most he could do, despite the constraints of his position, to communicate his opinion on the nuclear matter." "Surely the government asked him not to mention the nuclear crisis. He must have fought hard to tell the truth."

It is rare for Emperor Akihito, an accomplished biologist and the world's leading authority on certain species of Gobi Fish, to publicly take sides on any subject other than biology. It is said that his love for the sciences is partly due to the ease in which his colleagues can disagree with him. The reverence he commands in other spheres is so strong that, when it comes to politics, his opinion is considered a constitutionally guarded state secret. His normal silence only adds to the weight of his rare public statements on such matters.

So many Japanese were shocked when TV media began cutting out the emperor's dramatic statement. Live daytime broadcasts of the event contained the whole speech and newspapers printed it in its entirety. But, by that evening, all of the major news programs aired edited versions of the speech without his nuclear comments, which also went unmentioned and undiscussed on the heavily watches news shows. The vast majority of Japanese, who don't watch TV news during the day, missed the comments entirely.

Blogs and chat-rooms quickly filled with angry accusations that TV networks were censoring an important communication by the Emperor to his people at a time when his guidance is most sought.

"Seriously?! They're even going to whack the Emperor's Words? "

"It's so disrespectful for the media to cut the most important part of His Majesty's speech, especially as he delivered it under such physical strain."

"Asahi News cut the Emperor's words just like NHK did!  This must be the Government's work... This is the height of censorship!"

By March 20, nine days after the emperor's speech, outraged Japanese held a demonstration in front of NHK, the State sponsored TV network, protesting the apparent censorship.

In fairness, news programs can't please everyone with their edits, and it would be unfair to accuse censorship at every disappointing broadcast decision. Still, it's hard to imagine why the TV networks would neither air nor even mention the emperor's obviously weighty opinion. Many skeptics in Japan suspect that the country's enormous nuclear energy industry, which is famous for its influence over Japan's politics and which has seen its business come to a near-standstill over public fears, may have played a role. After all, Tokyo Electric is one of Japanese TV's largest sources of revenue, and is tightly linked to the Japanese government, which sponsors some media here.

The incident has also played off Japanese fears, sometimes edging into paranoia, that powerful interests in Japan are withholding important information about the risks of nuclear power. When the Fukushima crisis began last March, the government was aware of both the risks of meltdown and the spread of radiation. Yet it waited days or weeks to make that information public, it says for fear of sparking a mass panic. Because radiation is totally invisible, large numbers of Japanese were unwittingly soaked in it. This reliance on the authorities to tell them when they're a danger, and a lingering fear that maybe the powerful aren't telling them everything, were both raises again by the odd cutting of the emperor's nuclear speech. Whether the skeptics are right or not about censorship, it was a clear reminder that Japan has a serious, and possibly worsening, problem with public trust. As if the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown hadn't brought enough problems already.

 

 

Nuclear Industry Says... Fukushima `Speed Bump’

 

Nuclear Industry Says Back on Track After Fukushima `Speed Bump’

 

Within months of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the worst in 25 years, Germany, Belgium and Italy vowed to quit atomic energy. Twelve months on, the nuclear industry says it’s almost back to business as usual.

“Fukushima put a speed bump on the road to the nuclear renaissance,” Ganpat Mani, president of Converdyn, a company that processes mined uranium, said at a nuclear industry summit in Seoul last week. “It’s not going to delay the programs around the world.”

As Japan mourned this month for the 19,000 people killed or presumed dead from the earthquake and tsunami that also wrecked the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station, India last week overrode six months of local protests to approve the start of its Kudankulam plant. In February, the U.S. gave the green light to build the nation’s first reactor in 30 years. China is “very likely” to resume approval of new nuclear projects this year, said Sun Qin, president of China National Nuclear Corp.

With 650 million people in China and India living without access to electricity, the nations are looking to the atom to provide power without raising emissions and fossil fuel costs. Nuclear is not the only alternative to fossil fuels, but the use of renewable energy for now is restricted by technology and costs, according to South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Hwang Sik.

Fifty Years

“It would be a more practical and viable solution, at least, for the next forty to fifty years, to make commitments to the safe use of nuclear energy,” Kim told the industry summit before welcoming counterparts including U.S. President Barack Obama for a nuclear security meeting that starts today.

Indonesia, Egypt, and Chile are among more than a dozen nations planning to build their first nuclear station to join the 30 countries operating atomic plants. Sixty one reactors are currently under construction and a further 162 units are planned, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The planned reactors alone have a greater capacity than all of the 435 reactors that supply 13.8 percent of the world’s electricity today. By 2030 at least 60 units will need to be retired, the WNA estimates. Still, global nuclear capacity may grow by about 50 percent to 600,000 megawatts by 2030, Areva SA (AREVA) Chief Executive Officer Luc Oursel told reporters in Seoul.

The nuclear industry has faced three major accidents in the last 32 years, with the first two delaying construction of atomic plants for decades in the countries where the disasters happened. The 1979 Three Mile Island core meltdown in the U.S. and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in the former Soviet Union. And now Fukushima.

Waiting on Fukushima

After the quake and tsunami engulfed Japan’s northeast coast the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) lost mains and battery power to cool its reactors, resulting in three core meltdowns and radiation leakage. About 160,000 people, or 8 percent of the Fukushima prefecture population, evacuated and about 132 square kilometers remain as a no-go zone around the station.

A unified report on Fukushima with an estimate of the total radiation fallout and the levels of food contamination will not be ready for at least another 14 months when the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation issues its first global and independent assessment.

The industry has already learned lessons from Fukushima and they are incorporated into the safety systems of today’s power plants and the new models, said John Welch, chief executive officer of USEC Inc. (USU), the U.S. uranium enricher.

Amazed

“One thing that never ceases to amaze me about the industry, especially in the U.S., is that they take their job of running those plants safely and continuing to self-evaluate” very seriously, Welch said in an interview in Seoul.

France’s state-controlled nuclear company Areva will spend 2 billion euros ($2.65 billion) or a quarter of its investments over the next five years on safety improvements, Oursel said. U.S. utilities have installed an additional 300 piece of major equipment to boost safety since Fukushima, according to the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute.

The NEI, which represents companies including Exelon Corp. and Southern Co. (NSC), is also doubling its advertising spending to roll out a campaign from this month to promote atomic power. The campaign is due to feature in media including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” the Emmy-award winning Comedy Central show, the Economist and Facebook.

'Different This Time'

“Different from past experiences in the U.S. nuclear industry we’ve spent a lot more time in the last year out in front of our stakeholders, the communities in which we operate, our elected officials, the citizens who work in our plants,” Charles Pardee, chief operating officer ofExelon Corp. (EXC), the biggest U.S. utility, told the Seoul forum.

“We’ve done this to make sure we’re as transparent as we can possibly be about what we’ve learned from these experiences and what we’ll do better going forward,” he said.

Still, safety improvements and mass campaigns will not be the clincher for whether nuclear power succeeds or loses out to a glut of natural gas from shale rock deposits or renewables, said Helmut Engelbrecht, chief executive officer of Urenco Ltd., the uranium enrichment company owned by the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.

“In the long run our industry will only be successful if we prove that we are a competitive alternative to other forms of electricity,” Engelbrecht said in an interview in Seoul. That means competing on cost as much as proving its safety credentials. The industry is 10 years away from achieving this competitiveness, he said.

New Markets

Areva’s market outlook is more positive. There are many tenders for new reactors and other contracts out there, Oursel said. “When we now look at the global situation, we think it’s going to pick up very soon,” he said.

The future of nuclear demand lies in expansion to new countries as well as ongoing construction in India, China and Russia, Converdyn’s Mani said. India, which gets 3 percent of its power from nuclear energy, had targeted a 13-fold increase in capacity to 60,000 megawatts by 2030 prior to Fukushima.

China has 26 units under construction in addition to 15 operating reactors, according to the WNA. A further 51 units are planned and 120 proposed, meaning that China may account for a third of all the new construction, WNA data show.

The so-called nuclear renaissance isn’t limited to Asia’s economic growth. Countries including Poland and Turkey say that the risks and costs of rising fossil fuel prices and security of supply make nuclear generation a must for them.

Saving Money

Turkey’s disagreement with Russia’s OAO Gazprom (GAZP) over discounts led to the cancellation of a contract for as much as 6 billion cubic meters of annual gas purchases last year. By building two nuclear plants the country can cut its dependence on gas imports from Russia, its biggest fuel provider, and save as much as $7 billion over four years, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Dec. 15.

For companies like Kazatomprom, the state nuclear company of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium exporter, that bodes good profits. The company is a shareholder in Toshiba Corp. (6502)’s Westinghouse Electric, which is due to build the first new U.S. reactor in 30 years in Georgia State. Kazatomprom also has ventures with Russia’s Rosatom Corp., which is due to build and run Turkey’s first nuclear plant.

“If our plans come off then the partnerships will be very profitable,” Kazatomprom president Vladimir Shkolnik said in an interview in Seoul. Both Rosatom and Westinghouse are going into new markets, which opens export avenues for the Kazakh company, he said.

The disaster at Fukushima has provided “many lessons, especially on how important nuclear safety is,” Kim Jong Shin, chairman of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. told reporters at the Seoul summit.

Still, the technology has no alternative that can provide “clean and sustainable energy,” Kim said. Given its role in medicine and national security, nuclear is “indispensable.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Yuriy Humber in Seoul at yhumber@bloomberg.net; Sangim Han in Seoul at sihan@bloomberg.net; Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@bloomberg.net

 

Nuclear Industry Says... Fukushima `Speed Bump’

Nuclear Industry Says Back on Track After Fukushima `Speed Bump’

Within months of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the worst in 25 years, Germany, Belgium and Italy vowed to quit atomic energy. Twelve months on, the nuclear industry says it’s almost back to business as usual.

“Fukushima put a speed bump on the road to the nuclear renaissance,” Ganpat Mani, president of Converdyn, a company that processes mined uranium, said at a nuclear industry summit in Seoul last week. “It’s not going to delay the programs around the world.”

As Japan mourned this month for the 19,000 people killed or presumed dead from the earthquake and tsunami that also wrecked the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station, India last week overrode six months of local protests to approve the start of its Kudankulam plant. In February, the U.S. gave the green light to build the nation’s first reactor in 30 years. China is “very likely” to resume approval of new nuclear projects this year, said Sun Qin, president of China National Nuclear Corp.

With 650 million people in China and India living without access to electricity, the nations are looking to the atom to provide power without raising emissions and fossil fuel costs. Nuclear is not the only alternative to fossil fuels, but the use of renewable energy for now is restricted by technology and costs, according to South Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Hwang Sik.

Fifty Years

“It would be a more practical and viable solution, at least, for the next forty to fifty years, to make commitments to the safe use of nuclear energy,” Kim told the industry summit before welcoming counterparts including U.S. President Barack Obama for a nuclear security meeting that starts today.

Indonesia, Egypt, and Chile are among more than a dozen nations planning to build their first nuclear station to join the 30 countries operating atomic plants. Sixty one reactors are currently under construction and a further 162 units are planned, according to the World Nuclear Association.

The planned reactors alone have a greater capacity than all of the 435 reactors that supply 13.8 percent of the world’s electricity today. By 2030 at least 60 units will need to be retired, the WNA estimates. Still, global nuclear capacity may grow by about 50 percent to 600,000 megawatts by 2030, Areva SA (AREVA) Chief Executive Officer Luc Oursel told reporters in Seoul.

The nuclear industry has faced three major accidents in the last 32 years, with the first two delaying construction of atomic plants for decades in the countries where the disasters happened. The 1979 Three Mile Island core meltdown in the U.S. and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant explosion in the former Soviet Union. And now Fukushima.

Waiting on Fukushima

After the quake and tsunami engulfed Japan’s northeast coast the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) lost mains and battery power to cool its reactors, resulting in three core meltdowns and radiation leakage. About 160,000 people, or 8 percent of the Fukushima prefecture population, evacuated and about 132 square kilometers remain as a no-go zone around the station.

A unified report on Fukushima with an estimate of the total radiation fallout and the levels of food contamination will not be ready for at least another 14 months when the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation issues its first global and independent assessment.

The industry has already learned lessons from Fukushima and they are incorporated into the safety systems of today’s power plants and the new models, said John Welch, chief executive officer of USEC Inc. (USU), the U.S. uranium enricher.

Amazed

“One thing that never ceases to amaze me about the industry, especially in the U.S., is that they take their job of running those plants safely and continuing to self-evaluate” very seriously, Welch said in an interview in Seoul.

France’s state-controlled nuclear company Areva will spend 2 billion euros ($2.65 billion) or a quarter of its investments over the next five years on safety improvements, Oursel said. U.S. utilities have installed an additional 300 piece of major equipment to boost safety since Fukushima, according to the Washington-based Nuclear Energy Institute.

The NEI, which represents companies including Exelon Corp. and Southern Co. (NSC), is also doubling its advertising spending to roll out a campaign from this month to promote atomic power. The campaign is due to feature in media including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” the Emmy-award winning Comedy Central show, the Economist and Facebook.

'Different This Time'

“Different from past experiences in the U.S. nuclear industry we’ve spent a lot more time in the last year out in front of our stakeholders, the communities in which we operate, our elected officials, the citizens who work in our plants,” Charles Pardee, chief operating officer ofExelon Corp. (EXC), the biggest U.S. utility, told the Seoul forum.

“We’ve done this to make sure we’re as transparent as we can possibly be about what we’ve learned from these experiences and what we’ll do better going forward,” he said.

Still, safety improvements and mass campaigns will not be the clincher for whether nuclear power succeeds or loses out to a glut of natural gas from shale rock deposits or renewables, said Helmut Engelbrecht, chief executive officer of Urenco Ltd., the uranium enrichment company owned by the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.

“In the long run our industry will only be successful if we prove that we are a competitive alternative to other forms of electricity,” Engelbrecht said in an interview in Seoul. That means competing on cost as much as proving its safety credentials. The industry is 10 years away from achieving this competitiveness, he said.

New Markets

Areva’s market outlook is more positive. There are many tenders for new reactors and other contracts out there, Oursel said. “When we now look at the global situation, we think it’s going to pick up very soon,” he said.

The future of nuclear demand lies in expansion to new countries as well as ongoing construction in India, China and Russia, Converdyn’s Mani said. India, which gets 3 percent of its power from nuclear energy, had targeted a 13-fold increase in capacity to 60,000 megawatts by 2030 prior to Fukushima.

China has 26 units under construction in addition to 15 operating reactors, according to the WNA. A further 51 units are planned and 120 proposed, meaning that China may account for a third of all the new construction, WNA data show.

The so-called nuclear renaissance isn’t limited to Asia’s economic growth. Countries including Poland and Turkey say that the risks and costs of rising fossil fuel prices and security of supply make nuclear generation a must for them.

Saving Money

Turkey’s disagreement with Russia’s OAO Gazprom (GAZP) over discounts led to the cancellation of a contract for as much as 6 billion cubic meters of annual gas purchases last year. By building two nuclear plants the country can cut its dependence on gas imports from Russia, its biggest fuel provider, and save as much as $7 billion over four years, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Dec. 15.

For companies like Kazatomprom, the state nuclear company of Kazakhstan, the world’s largest uranium exporter, that bodes good profits. The company is a shareholder in Toshiba Corp. (6502)’s Westinghouse Electric, which is due to build the first new U.S. reactor in 30 years in Georgia State. Kazatomprom also has ventures with Russia’s Rosatom Corp., which is due to build and run Turkey’s first nuclear plant.

“If our plans come off then the partnerships will be very profitable,” Kazatomprom president Vladimir Shkolnik said in an interview in Seoul. Both Rosatom and Westinghouse are going into new markets, which opens export avenues for the Kazakh company, he said.

The disaster at Fukushima has provided “many lessons, especially on how important nuclear safety is,” Kim Jong Shin, chairman of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. told reporters at the Seoul summit.

Still, the technology has no alternative that can provide “clean and sustainable energy,” Kim said. Given its role in medicine and national security, nuclear is “indispensable.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Yuriy Humber in Seoul at yhumber@bloomberg.net; Sangim Han in Seoul at sihan@bloomberg.net; Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@bloomberg.net

Japan's Nuclear Evacuees

Japan's nuclear evacuees

 

Photographer Phyllis B. Dooney is documenting the plight of Japan's evacuees who fled the nuclear disaster in Fukushima prefecture after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. She writes,"In Fukushima Prefecture, the third and most permanent disaster in the series followed; a nuclear meltdown occurred at Tokyo Electric’s Fukushima Daiichi plant. Radiation poured into the atmosphere and environment. First it was a suggestion, but by mid-April the government was enforcing the mandate that the residents of Tomioka and Kawauchi, who hadn’t already left because of the earthquake and/or tsunami damage, leave indefinitely.  Nearly one year later an estimated 80,000 nuclear refugees are living in government-issued temporary housing or elsewhere. In the temporary housing, often just outside the evacuation zone, it is the elderly and mentally or physically disabled who comprise a large percentage of the residents." Collected here are images of those evacuees made by Dooney in August of last year and in the last few days. -- Lane Turner (25 photos total)

Masayoshi Katakura stands on the steps of his temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 16, 2011. Masayoshi, like many others, is frightened and displaced by the earthquake and tsunami but his destitution and hopelessness are a result of the nuclear disaster. (© Phyllis B. Dooney)

 

2

Masayoshi Katakura sits idly while his wife, Akiko, lies in her bed watching baseball in their temporary housing, Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 17, 2011. Katakura, 85 years old, is a Tenrikyo minister. In Tomioka he had a parish and a church where he lived and served the community.  Now he lives with his infirm wife, Akiko, in the temporary housing for a contracted period of two years, after which the government and Tokyo Electric will announce subsequent support, if any. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

3

Masayoshi Katakura hangs his laundry outside of his temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 16, 2011. His belongings that he managed to save– a radio, glasses, his hanko ID stamp, and some medical records – fit into a case that is roughly the size of your average shaving kit. (© Phyllis B. Dooney)#

4

Akiko Katakura lies in her medical bed in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 16, 2011. The residents in Koriyama’s temporary housing pass the time waiting to be reunited with their animals, knitting and watching baseball. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

5

Endo Chiyoko receives her daily rations in Big Palette, Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 19, 2011. Big Palette is a stadium and was the original evacuee center for those from Kawauchi and Tomioka, areas now put under government control due to extreme radiation levels. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

6

Shigeko Hashimoto sits in her temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 18, 2011. Shigeko and her husband have been waiting for 5 months to hear news of their cat and dog who are mysteriously being held in a rescue center and they wonder if, due to radiation levels, the animals will not be returned to them. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

7

Donated housewares arrive in a truck and the temporary housing residents gather to collect things like plates and mugs in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 19, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

8

The temporary housing complex in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 20, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

9

The Sakuma family has dinner and sake in their temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 17, 2011. Fumio Sakuma worked at the Nuclear Plant when the meltdown occurred and has a conservative 7 month compensation before he no longer has an income or job. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

10

Shigeko Hashimoto knits to pass the time in her temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 18, 2011. The stress of life since '311' has caused her to lose 10 kilos off her already small frame. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

11

Atsushi Shida and wife, Kimiko, have breakfast in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefeccture, August 20, 2011. In order to rescue their cat and dog after their home was placed under government control they covered themselves in aluminum foil and snuck in under the cover of night. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

12

Endo Chiyoko is still living in Big Palette in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 16, 2011. Most evacuees have been relocated to temporary housing from Big Palette, which is the original evacuee center for those from Kawauchi and Tomioka. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

13

A mother and daughter are two of the last evacuees still living in Big Palette in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 16, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

14

Shigeko Hashimoto's shrine sits atop cardboard boxes in her temporary housing in Koriyama, Miyagi Prefecture, August 18, 2011. These are the only items she took with her, believing she would return soon to her house when she evacuated. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

15

Toshisuke Hashimoto takes a break from crowd that is receiving handouts from the community in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 19, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

16

Ayaka Ando plays with her favorite dog in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, August 19, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

17

An evacuee peers out of the sliding door of his temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukishima Prefecture, August 17, 2011. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

18

Masayoshi Katakura in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 4, 2012. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

19

Masayoshi Katakura visits his wife, Akiko, in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 6, 2012. Masayoshi was forced to put his wife in an assisted living home rather than the temporary housing. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

20

Ikuko Sakuma in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 5, 2012. Ikuko's husband, Fumio Sakuma, worked at the Nuclear Plant when the meltdown occurred and he fled. His mother was killed in their house during the Earthquake and they believe her spirit is protecting their house while they stay in the temporary housing, hoping to return home. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

21

Kimiko and husband, Atsushi, in the temporary housing Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 5, 2012. They used to live in a large house in the mountains where they grew their own vegetables and cooked a lot. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

22

Atsushi Shida in the Pachinko game parlor in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 6, 2012. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

23

Kasetsu Jutaku, or "temporay housing," for the nuclear evacuees of Tomioka and Kawauchi in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on March 7, 2012. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

24

Shigeko and husband, Toshitsuke, in the temporary housing in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, March 7, 2012. Although their home did endure some earthquake damage, with a little work it is habitable except for the radiation levels in the area which keep them from returning home. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #

25

Ladies gather to get some fresh air and chat outside of the Kasetsu Jutaku, or "temporary housing," for the nuclear evacuees of Tomioka and Kawauchi in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan on March 6, 2012. (© Phyllis B. Dooney) #