New multi-category blog

We’re going to migrate all content from this blog to a new multi-category blog at http://ghsr.org/globalsecurity/index.php/multi-category-blog

This blog will no longer be updated.

We invite you to visit us there.

Be welcome!

Bangladesh: First genetically modified crop created

A biotechnology company in Bangladesh has created the country’s first genetically modified crop, which is designed to be resistant to certain pests. Protesters who oppose the genetically modified breed say that introducing this foreign element into the soil in the country will alter the ecological system and forever harm the local crop

China protests new chemical plant

Protesters have been clashing with riot police in the southern Chinese city of Maoming. People have been demonstrating in an attempt to stop the construction of a new chemical plant. The local government has been using social media to promote a plant that will make chemicals for plastics and synthetic fibres. Residents fear the plant will harm both the environment and their health.

People & Power : Under Northern Lights

First published on Nov 28, 2013

In northern Scandinavia, locals are taking on mining giants in a bid to save an ancient environment and way of life.

Drought takes toll on Australian farmers

The eastern Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales are in the grip of the most severe drought ever recorded. Some farmers in Australia are having to shoot their cattle because they cannot afford to feed them.The financial strain caused by the drought is starting to take a toll on farmers’ mental health.

Mongolia tackles pollution problem

Mongolia’s government is attempting to cut down on pollution caused by the burning of coal and wood by subsidising clean stoves. Mongolia is known as the “Land of Eternal Blue Sky”, but its capital of Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted, with 60-70 percent of that pollution coming from the burning of coal and wood.

Drought-plagued future predicted for Arizona

The American Southwest is being plagued by drought. Climate scientists warn drier-than-normal conditions may be here to stay. In fact, future droughts may be more severe than in the past in Arizona.

Long winter puts big freeze on US shipping

A record-breaking winter is refusing to loosen its grip in parts of the central and eastern United States, putting a big freeze on the country’s shipping industry. Almost 90 percent of the US Great Lakes area are completely frozen over, closing off lucrative trade routes with Canada. The shipping industry is, literally, at a standstill with thousands of dollars in profits lost every day.

China’s animal crusaders

In China, animal rights activism is flourishing with increasing numbers of people seeing animals as pets, not protein.

For centuries, China has raised dogs, cats and other animals for food and for use in traditional medicines. But as the country grows in affluence, social attitudes are changing.

Pet ownership, once condemned by the Communist Party as bourgeois, is flourishing.

And with no animal welfare laws except for wild animals, growing numbers of Chinese are using blogs, websites and the streets to protest against the mistreatment of animals.

On this edition of 101 East, we look at the growing fight for animal rights in China.

 

Fukushima operator may have to dump contaminated water into Pacific

Senior adviser to Tokyo Electric Power says controlled release into sea is much safer than keeping contaminated water on-site

A senior adviser to the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has told the firm that it may have no choice but to eventually dump hundreds of thousands of tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.

Speaking to reporters who were on a rare visit to the plant on the eve of the third anniversary of the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Dale Klein said Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco] had yet to reassure the public over the handling of water leaks that continue to frustrate efforts to clean up the site.

“The one issue that keeps me awake at night is Tepco’s long-term strategy for water management,” said Klein, a former chairman of the US nuclear regulatory commission who now leads Tepco’s nuclear reform committee.

“Storing massive amounts of water on-site is not sustainable. A controlled release is much safer than keeping the water on-site.

“Tepco is making progress on water management but I’m not satisfied yet. It’s frustrating that the company takes four or five steps forward, then two back. And every time you have a leakage it contributes to a lack of trust. There’s room for improvement on all fronts.”

Tepco’s failure to manage the buildup of contaminated water came to light last summer, when it admitted that at least 300 tonnes of tainted water were leaking into the sea every day.

That revelation was followed by a string of incidents involving spills from poorly assembled storage tanks, prompting the government to commit about $500m (£300m) into measures to contain the water.

They include the construction of an underground frozen wall to prevent groundwater mixing with contaminated coolant water, which becomes tainted after coming into contact with melted nuclear fuel deep inside the damaged reactors.

Tepco confirmed that it would activate an experimental wall at a test site at the plant on Tuesday. If the test is successful, the firm plans to build a similar structure almost 2km in length around four damaged reactors next year, although some experts have questioned its ability to use the technology on such a large scale.

Klein, too, voiced scepticism over the frozen wall solution, and suggested that the controlled release of treated water into the Pacific was preferable to storing huge quantities of it on site.

But Tepco, the government and nuclear regulators would have to win the support of local fishermen, and the release of even treated water would almost certainly draw a furious response from China and South Korea.

“It’s a very emotional issue,” Klein said. “But Tepco and the government will have to articulate their position to other people. For me, the water issue is more about policy than science.”

Tepco is pinning its hopes on technology that can remove dozens of dangerous radionuclides, apart from tritium, internal exposure to which has been linked to a greater risk of developing cancer.

Klein, however, said tritium does not pose the same threat to heath as bone-settling strontium and caesium, and can be diluted to safe levels before it is released into the sea.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant’s manager, Akira Ono, said the firm had no plans to release contaminated water into the Pacific, but agreed that decommissioning would remain on hold until the problem was solved.

“The most pressing issue for us is the contaminated water, rather than decommissioning,” he said.

“Unless we address this issue the public will not be assured and the evacuees will not be able to return home.

“We are in a positive frame of mind over decommissioning the plant over the next 30 to 40 years, But we have to take utmost care every step of the way because errors can cause a lot of trouble for a lot of people.”

Currently about 400 tonnes of groundwater are streaming into the reactor basements from the hills behind the plant each day. The plant has accumulated about 300,000 tonnes of contaminated water, which is being stored in 1,200 tanks occupying a large swath of the Fukushima Daiichi site.

Eventually Tepco hopes to have enough space to store 800,000 tonnes, but fears are rising that it will run out of space sometime next year because it can’t keep up with the flow of toxic water.

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OUR COMMENT

Tepco will be held responsible if other countries become effected as their fishing waters will be massively visited by Japanese fishing boats.