Politiktoons No. 159: Sumo

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.com and also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Radioactive cloud [from Japan] to disperse over Southeast Asia

31/03/2011
VOVNews/VNA

The Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology said on March 31 that a radioactive cloud from the quake-damaged Fukushima reactor explosions in Japan is forecast to disperse over Southeast Asian region.

The ministry said that the main part of the cloud is forecast to be divided into small parts, dispersed and fly sparsely over the Philippines, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In the next few days, small clouds are forecast to arrive in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. However, as the radioactive trace level is small it is difficult to discover their impacts on the radioactive background in Vietnam.

The ministry, citing discoveries from observation stations of the Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology and the Da Lat Nuclear Institute, affirmed that radioactive iodine-131 trace level found in Vietnam’s air is low and does not pose a threat to the environment and human health.

Asean: rethinking nuclear energy use

A protester holds a placard during an antinuclear rally in Tokyo Sunday, March 27, 2011. (AP)

March 28, 2011
By Kavi Chongkittavorn

Nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan, has prompted Asean members to rethink their nuclear energy policies. Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam have said that they would reassess the future construction of nuclear plants. Be that as it may, these countries, albeit the potential nuclear risk, have very little choice because of their industrialization plans and energy demands. Worse of all, Asean citizens have not yet taken up the low-carbon conscience in their everyday life.

Before the current crisis in Japan, there is a growing consensus, in particular Asean, that the nuclear power is the way to go for the cleaner and greener energy option. To use fossil fuels, renewable energy resources and other alternatives can be costly and greatly impact on climate changes. At this juncture, so the conventional wisdom goes, it is important that Asean needs to devise a policy with diverse energy portfolio but with a nuclear energy option. Other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia including Cambodia have followed this path.

Caution Nuclear Power ...

Experts divided on radiation risk [in Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant]

Blowing off ... fire erupts from the stricken nuclear plant at Fukushima, 250 kilometres north of Toyko. Photo: Digital Globe

Anatomy of a nuclear reactor. 

March 16, 2011
Glenda Kwek
The Sydney Morning Herald

An Australian scientist has dismissed fears of radiation risk from the spread of dangerous materials at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, saying the particles being released are short-lived ones that die within seconds.

Professor Barry Brook, the director of Climate Science at the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute, told ABC Radio's AM program this morning that "the worst is probably over" and that the temperature of the plants had dropped to 1 per cent of their original temperature.

The Japanese government yesterday urged people to observe a 20-kilometre exclusion zone around the plant, and told those living within a further 10-kilometre radius to stay indoors after a spike in radiation readings to 400 millisieverts an hour.

Fourth blast hits Japan - 15 March 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6MMIlqvRx4

Fourth Japanese Nuclear Reactor Explodes and Catches Fire

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks at a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on March 15. Kan advised people living between 12 and 19 miles of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to stay indoors. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Mar 15, 2011
By Helena Zhu
Epoch Times Staff

The tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s No. 4 reactor caught fire and exploded on Tuesday morning, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s office tweeted.

The fire and the hydrogen explosion have added to the already high radiation level at the Daiichi plant. The plant’s No. 1 reactor exploded on Saturday afternoon, No. 3 exploded on Monday morning, and No. 2 blasted early Tuesday morning.

An official at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), which runs the nuclear plant, speculated that the explosion probably led to the fire. The explosion itself was most likely caused by hydrogen seeping from a pool storing spent nuclear fuel on the reactor’s fifth floor, Japanese media Nikkei reported.

TEPCO said that the fire, which broke out at 9:38 a.m. local time, appears to have been extinguished, according to Kyoto News.

Japan nuclear plant rocked by another explosion

A buildup of hydrogen gas causes another explosion, destroying the outer shell of a reactor at the quake-damaged Fukushima No. 1 plant. The blast comes after the pumping of seawater stalled, exposing the fuel rods to air and increasing the risk of radiation being released. Death toll continues to rise as 2,000 bodies are found in a single province.

March 14, 2011

By Laura King and Mark Magnier

Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Tokyo and Natori, Japan

A hydrogen explosion Tuesday morning destroyed the outer building of a quake-damaged Unit 2 nuclear reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. Engineers had been struggling overnight to cool the nuclear core and stave off a meltdown that could release radioactivity over a wide area. It was the third reactor at the site whose external structure had been damaged by such an explosion.

Neither of the reactor containment vessels of Units 1 and 3 had been damaged in the earlier explosion and there is no evidence so far to suggest the vessel of no. 2 had been damaged either.

Officials had feared the possibility of such an explosion because the fuel core had been exposed to air for more than two hours, allowing it to overheat. When the zirconium cladding on the fuel rods was subsequently exposed to seawater used for cooling, it released hydrogen gas, which built up to dangerous levels in the plant and was most likely ignited by a spark.

Explosion (of 2nd reactor building) at Japan nuclear plant

A screen grab taken from live news footage by Japanese public broadcaster NHK on March 14, 2011 shows a collasped building (CR) at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station number three reactor after a hydrogen explosion. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

A second reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant has exploded but officials say there is a "low possibility" of a dangerous radiation leak

Monday 14 March 2011

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

guardian.co.uk

Japan's nuclear crisis has deepened after a second reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant exploded on Monday morning. Officials said there was a low possibility that the blast had released radioactive material into the air.

The wall of the building housing the No. 3 reactor collapsed in the explosion, which occurred at 11:01am local time.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said three workers have been injured and seven are missing. Television footage showed a brief red flash followed by a large plume of white smoke.

Japanese Government Urges Calm Following Explosion at Nuclear Plant

The Fukushima nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture in northeastern Japan (2008 file photo)

Photo: Reuters

Officials are monitoring radiation levels following massive earthquake

VOA News
March 12, 2011

A Japanese government spokesman has urged for calm following an explosion at one of two nuclear plants damaged in Friday's massive earthquake.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano says authorities are monitoring radiation levels at Fukushima, where smoke could be seen billowing out of the nuclear plant complex. Japanese media say radiation levels are more than eight times normal outside the plant.

He urged people to follow earlier orders to evacuate the area 10 kilometers around the plant.

Before the explosion occurred, authorities said radioactive material had been found outside one of the plant's reactors, which had lost power and cooling abilities following the magnitude 8.9 quake and tsunami.

Cambodia has no plan to build nuclear power plant: MP

PHNOM PENH, Sep. 14, 2010 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia assured Tuesday that it has had no plan to build a nuclear power plant fearing it is harmful to environment and the shortfall of budget and human resource.

Cheam Yeap, chairman of committee for economy, finance, banking and auditing of the National Assembly told local reporters on Tuesday that Cambodia has had no plan to build a nuclear power plant, saying the plant might be harmful to environment while at the same time the plant might need huge budget and human resource.

He said, as of now, no plan of signing any agreement with any foreign countries to build such nuclear power plant.

It is the second time that Cambodia has assured that such plan will not be exercised in the country.

Late last month, Koy Kuong, spokesman of foreign ministry said Cambodia had not made any deal with Iran on anything related to nuclear power plant.

Koy Kuong made the statement following media report that suggested during the visit to Iran early August, Hor Namhong, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs might have discussed any issue on nuclear power plant.

Koy Kuong said, during the visit, there were only three documents were signed: cooperation in petroleum, economic cooperation and visa exemption.

According to the government statistic, Cambodia increased 16 percent of its power supply per year; however, the price is still higher compared to its neighboring countries of Vietnam and Thailand.

Chinese nuke plant for Cambodia?

CHINA NATIONAL NUCLEAR CORPORATION ANNOUNCES BUILDING OF "NUCLEAR CITY"

Saturday, September 11, 2010
NJ Voices Public Blog

Share China's nuclear agency announced that by 2014 they will have completed a total of total of nine nuclear reactors with a combined output of 6,300 MW in a location 70 miles southwest of Shanghai. Five have already been completed with four more to be completed by 2014. This is to be the location of a planned city and series of integrated industrial complexes. This combined with the Three Rivers Dam Project and building of 4,000 Km of high speed rail, shows China continues to expand it's long range outlook on water/flood management and distribution to enhance agricultural output, and hydro-electric and nuclear. They along with Japan, Russia and particularly South Korea have within the last year, sped up the pace of nuclear plant building as well as signed agreements with Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and countries in Africa to build nuclear plants and train scientists, engineers, and plant operators. Not quite the "Pothole Plan" that Obama has in mind.

Myanmar says nuclear ambitions are peaceful: Japan

Katsuya Okada (L) and U Nyan Win (R) (Photo: Xinhua)

Sat Oct 3, 2009
By Ek Madra

SIEM REAP, Cambodia (Reuters) - Japan said on Saturday it had been assured by military-ruled Myanmar that it was not developing nuclear weapons even though it was working with Russia on a nuclear energy program.

Myanmar has remained tight-lipped about its nuclear plans, despite speculation it has been receiving help from North Korea to build nuclear facilities near its remote capital with the intent of developing a weapon.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win told his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada that his country was seeking Russia's expertise, but only in developing a peaceful energy program for its people.

"(Nyan Win) told Japan's foreign minister that Myanmar has no intention to have a nuclear weapon," Japan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama told reporters on the sidelines of a Mekong-Japan ministerial meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

"Myanmar has conducted a consultation to have assistance from Russia for a peaceful use of nuclear energy."

Kazuo did not say if the issue of any nuclear links with North Korea was discussed.

Academic researchers said in August Myanmar was building a secret nuclear reactor and plutonium facility in caves tunneled into a mountain, citing intelligence from two defectors.

The defectors also said Myanmar, which has known reserves of uranium ore, had provided refined "yellowcake" processed uranium that can be used as nuclear fuel to Iran and North Korea.

The isolated country has been under Western sanctions for two decades and analysts say a nuclearized Myanmar could trigger an arms race in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a security forum in Thailand in July that she was concerned about the possible transfer of nuclear technology to Myanmar from North Korea.

In reference to ties between North Korea and Myanmar, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia, said there were "some signs that that cooperation has extended into areas that would be prohibited.

However, many analysts have said evidence of attempts to develop nuclear weapons is scant and have questioned the reliability of the defectors' information.

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alison Williams)

Cambodia, the next nuclear rogue country in SE Asia?

India Seeks to Sell Reactors to Malaysia, Indonesia

By Archana Chaudhary

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. said it's in talks to sell small nuclear reactors to Malaysia and other Asian nations once an international embargo on India's technology ends.

Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are also potential customers for the 220-megawatt pressurized heavy water reactor, state-run Nuclear Power Corp.'s Chairman S.K. Jain said in a phone interview yesterday from Goa in western India. The model is one-quarter of the typical 1,000-megawatt units deployed in industrialized nations.

The United Nations is negotiating to end sanctions that bar nuclear trade with India because of its atomic bomb tests in 1974 and 1998. That would free Nuclear Power Corp. to target developing countries that may deploy the smaller reactors developed by India to gain nuclear power at a lower cost.

``We are trying to showcase our ability to supply this technology to a number of countries that want to benefit from nuclear power,'' Jain said. ``It's a matter of how long it will take before the U.S. deal is finalized.''

India can't sell reactors before a final agreement on its nuclear accord with the U.S. and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear regulator. That accord would primarily be aimed at allowing India to purchase light-water nuclear power reactors of more than 1,000 megawatts from overseas companies. The Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 45-nation forum dedicated to limiting the spread of atomic weapons, must approve the agreement.

`Grabbing Export Market'

``We are very serious about grabbing the export market,'' Jain said. The company yesterday announced that its third unit of 220 megawatts at Kaiga in the southern Indian state of Karnataka has gone ``critical,'' or is ready to produce power for consumers.

Nuclear Power Corp. will commission a fourth reactor at Kaiga in six months, Jain said. The 220-megawatt third unit, which began producing power yesterday, will sell power to four provinces in southern India, he said. India has 14 220-megawatt reactors.

India is one of the few countries with expertise in smaller reactors, said Sudhinder Thakur, an executive director at Nuclear Power Corp. South Korea and Canada stopped manufacturing the small reactors two decades ago as they were uneconomical for large power grids, Thakur said in an interview today.

Once India gets larger 1,000 megawatt reactors, the 220- megawatt units will be uneconomical for domestic use as well, Thakur said.

Power Shortages

Electricity shortages erode almost a 10th of India's gross domestic product, according to the finance ministry. The country turned to overseas nuclear-reactor builders after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh doubled the nation's 2020 capacity target from an initial 20,000 megawatts.

Sanctions were imposed on India after it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974. The test conducted in a desert in western India prompted the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, of which the U.S. is also a member. Another round of tests by India in 1998 led to the U.S. choking trade with India by disallowing the Export-Import Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corp. to guarantee loans for projects in India.

The U.S. removed economic sanctions in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks to bolster support for its campaign against terrorism.

To contact the reporter on this story: Archana Chaudhary in Mumbai at
achaudhary2@bloomberg.net.