Japanese Citizens Celebrate Shutting Down a Nuclear Power Plant

Commonly referred to as the pluthermal program, Japan has plans to commercially burn MOX (mixed plutonium uranium oxide) fuel in 16 to 18 nuclear power plants by 2010. The program, however, is way behind schedule and yet to begin. MOX utilization was initially to take place in Fukui, Fukushima, and Niigata Prefectures. However, at this time, all plans to load MOX fuel in these regions have been temporarily suspended, and opposition to implementation of the pluthermal program remains strong. NIIGATA PREFECTURE: Kariwa’s ‘No to MOX’ Referendum Result Remains Unchanged May 27, 2002 marked the first anniversary of a referendum in Kariwa village, Niigata Prefecture, in which a majority of residents…

Dr. Edwin S. LymanSenior Staff ScientistUnion of Concerned ScientistsMarch 3, 2006 1. MOX Fuel Relocation During LOCAs The planned use of MOX (pluthermal) fuel in the Genkai-3 reactor in Saga Prefecture will be well outside the existing commercial experience base for MOX fuel with regard to plutonium concentration and fuel burnup. Saga Prefecture acknowledges this, but asserts that even in the absence of commercial data for the regime to which the fuel will be exposed, sufficient experimental data exists and analytical tools are reliable enough to make accurate safety assessments. This assertion is not justified. While there is a very small quantity of experimental data on the performance of MOX…

23 January 2011 Statement by Minamata Victims and Supporter Groups Addressing the Government of Japan’s Proposal to Call the Mercury Treaty the “Minamata Convention” ta disease is an ongoing tragedy. As the global community negotiates the mercury treaty, the Japanese government must first confront the Minamata disease issue at home. After fifty-five years of struggling with the disaster, we are opposed to naming the mercury treaty the “Minamata Convention” until the tragedy is faced head on and a road map created for its genuine resolution. The Government of Japan must make clear what was learned from Minamata, implement the lessons learned and, before the diplomatic conference in 2013, reexamine its…

WE ALL SHARE OCEANS! Please help stop the radioactive contamination of the Pacific Hello, this is an urgent message from Japan. It was revealed that, as the result of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, 300 tons of radioactive waste water containing highly toxic substance such as cesium, strontium, tritium has been leaking in the sea every day. It is of absolute necessity to prevent the discharge of this contaminated water. The Japanese government says it will assign a prevention budget but it’s not until the next fiscal year. Plus the plan fails to stop groundwater from flowing into the power plant buildings and lacks fundamental preventative measures….

Three Mile Island: The People’s Testament Article by Aileen M. Smith, written in March 1989 for the 10th anniversary of the TMI accident. Download PDF (200KB) Interviews of people’s experiences during and after the Three Mile Island accident of March 28, 1979. The TMI accident was the most significant accident in the history of US commercial nuclear power, a partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania (USA) near Harrisburg.

Is Japan headed for another Fukushima? Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority Capitulates to Electric Utility on Earthquake Assessment For immediate release Contact: Aileen Mioko Smith +81-90-3620-9251 10 June 2013, Kyoto, Japan—-Today, Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA), in a complete about-face, yielded to Kansai Electric, the second largest utility in Japan at an NRA hearing assessing whether or not the only two nuclear power plants operating in Japan today, Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 would be allowed to operate after new regulatory standards come into force 17 July. NRA’s “Ohi Nuclear Power Plant Status Assessment Hearing” (Ohi Genpatsu no Genjo ni Kansuru Hyohka Kaigo) began on 19 April with…