Thursday, April 20, 2017

"Recycling" Nuclear Waste



TruNews is reporting that Japan is considering using radioactive Fukushima soil for public parks: http://www.trunews.com/article/japan-considering-using-fukushima-soil-for-public-parks-green-areas


The Japanese government may buy using soil from the Fukushima prefecture as landfill for “green areas” and parks, potentially subjecting citizens to dangerous radiation.
The advisory panel of the Environment Ministry on Monday proposed reusing soil that was contaminated during the Fukushima nuclear meltdown of 2011 as part of future landfills designated for public use, Kyodo news reported.
In its proposal, the environmental panel avoided openly using the word “park” and instead said “green space,” apparently to avoid a premature public outcry, Mainichi Shimbun reported.
- See more at: http://www.trunews.com/article/japan-considering-using-fukushima-soil-for-public-parks-green-areas#sthash.xIp4eMMn.dpuf
I am reminded by this story of the "black soil" that was found around Fukushima and even as far south as Tokyo in the immediate years after the disaster:

In June of 2012, reports of highly radioactive black soil began appearing in Japan. On June 14 the Asahi Shimbun ran a story addressing the soil:
 S. Nomura (14 June 2012) ‘Radioactive “Black Soil” Patches’, The Asahi Shimbun Weekly Area, http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201206140067, date accessed 16 June 2012.
The highest level of radioactivity detected--about 5.57 million becquerels per kilogram--came from black soil collected in the Kanaya neighborhood of the Odaka district of southern Minami-Soma. In 36 out of 41 locations in Fukushima Prefecture where black soil was collected, the radioactivity level exceeded 100,000 becquerels per kilogram. If that level was found in incinerator ash, it would have to be handled very carefully and buried in a facility that had a concrete exterior separating it from its surroundings.
Citizens concerned about the highly radioactive soil brought samples to Tomoya Yamauchi, an academic specializing in radiation measurement. Yamauchi found that the soil contained radioactive cesium at levels of 1.08 million becquerels per kilogram.

Other samples of soil brought in from Minami-Soma contained plutonium and strontium. Tokyo also yielded samples of highly radioactive soil. Despite the high levels of radiation, the article reported that no action was being taken to remove the soil:
But for now, nothing is being done about the black soil with high levels of radiation. "Because it normally is found on the ground, we believe it is not something that will have immediate effects on human health," a Minami-Soma municipal government official said.
No “immediate effects on human health” had become an often chanted mantra.  Now it seems that soil with "no immediate effects on human health" will be used in public works.

Japan is not alone in this ill-advised plan to recycle nuclear waste. Scientific American reports that US nuclear waste sometimes ends up in consumer products:
What Does the U.S. Do with Nuclear Waste? What are the future plans for U.S. nuclear waste storage? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-does-the-us-do-with-nuclear-waste/
Currently, without any central repository, nuclear waste generated in the U.S. is stored at or near one of the 121 facilities across the country where it is generated. Nevadans like Democratic Senator Harry Reid, who has doggedly opposed the Yucca Mountain repository, say it makes more sense to leave such waste where it is than to risk transporting it across the nation’s public highways and rail system, during which accidents or even terrorist attacks could expose untold numbers of Americans to radioactivity.

But others say that the current system, or lack thereof, leaves Americans at great risk of radioactive exposure. The non-profit Nuclear Information and Resource Service concluded in a 2007 report that tons of radioactive waste were ending up in landfills and in some cases in consumer products, thanks to loopholes in a 2000 federal ban on recycling metal that had been exposed to radioactivity

The Nuclear Information and Resource Center argues that this re-purposing of nuclear waste is deliberate and systematic, with high risks for consumers: https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/radwaste/outofcontrol/outofcontrolreport.pdf





4 comments:

  1. I couldn`t open that last link yesterday,
    as I can`t open it today. The whole site is unreachable ?
    I just wanted 2 write that a superior way
    of recycling uranium is making ammunition out
    of it, which you spread over the world,
    for peace, of Course.
    Then sometimes things just get lost...
    or buried
    -
    And mankind doesn`t stop on earth,
    as we polluted the space as well
    quiet heavy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DU weapons illustrate just about everything stupid about humanity

      Delete
    2. DU weapons is a superb way of
      "recycling",
      poison out, money in.
      Yugoslawia, Irak, Syria (?),...
      But have you heard about the drill
      4 today ?
      FEMA Nuclear EMP Strike Drill NYC
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSXZE7T23c

      greetz smnt

      Delete
  2. What about REAL ENERGY Drinks ?
    https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/when-energy-drinks-actually-contained-radioactive-energy/

    ReplyDelete

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