Fukushima: What you thought you knew might not be true

The triple disaster that hit Japan on March 11th 2011 can’t be distilled into a single article or video documentary. If you get anything out of this presentation, it should be clear that the earthquake, tsunami and the impacts from the nuclear catastrophe (Black Swan event) is still unfolding a year later.

Commentary

During the two week period before and after the first anniversary of Fukushima, there were at 410 stories in released in English around the world. They are all listed here, broken down by major subject and available to read. Only a small fraction of the actual news stories came from the United States or other countries other than Japan. Of the major stories not originating in Japan, most of them had to do with promoting the status of the nuclear industry. There was also a very large number of stories in Japan discussing the impacts to Japan’s nuclear industry as well, but not just limited to this particular subject.

Spare me the details!

As the former head of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev stated in his memoirs, the Chernobyl disaster played a primary role in the collapse of that country. That disaster, called the largest industrial disaster in world history is still having major impacts around the world. In fact one area in the UK finally delisted their 25 year monitoring program after radiation levels finally dropped to reasonably safe levels. The nuclear industry has long been manipulating public’s awareness of the scale of the Chernobyl disaster by reducing the accident to the number of deaths, and doing so in one of the most deceitful manners possible. Claiming that the health impacts of those most impacted were mostly a matter of nuclear phobia.

Even the attempt to reduce either Chernobyl or Fukushima down to economic impacts is an act of immorality, which for Chernobyl is all but been occluded from all but the most obscure coverage, or details. Note the lack of even a single mention of economic costs in either of these two (article one – article two )major Wikipedia pieces on Chernobyl.
The 2nd actually does say that the disaster cost 18 billion Rubles. However, this number is so outlandish ($600 million) as to demonstrate the kind of overt manipulation of English reading public. As early as 1990 the Wall Street Journal was predicting cost to reach into the hundred’s of billion of dollars. A far better discussion on the economic impacts that include the claim by Byelorussia alone at $235 billion can be found here.

Fukushima: What Happened

Special Note: Japan’s NHK public TV station Anniversary piece is not available online

PBS Frontline – Inside Japan’s Nuclear Meltdown (video documentary)
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – Fukushima in review: A complex disaster, a disastrous response – Yoichi Funabashi, Kay Kitazawa
Enformable – TEPCO analysis shows Fukushima Reactor 1 suffered core damage hours earlier than estimated – Lucas W Hixson
Japan Times – Chronology of major events related to the nuclear crisis

Japan Times – Angry Kan to Tepco: Contain crisis at all costs
Mainichi Daily News – Meltdown judgment was difficult at early stage: ex-TEPCO vice pres.
Fukushima Diary – Corium may have been penetrated completely 15 hours after meltdown

Nuclear Industry Impacts: USA

St. Paul Pioneer Press – New post-Fukushima nuclear regs could cost Xcel millions
New Scientist – Don’t compare Fukushima to Chernobyl – Don Higson
Newburyport Daily News – Keeping safe from another Fukushima
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works – Statement of Chairman Boxer “Lessons from Fukushima One Year Later: NRC’s Implementation of Recommendations for Enhancing Nuclear Reactor Safety in the 21st Century”
Salem News – Our View: Japan’s nuclear disaster unlikely here
Open Salon – Jill Stein Asks: ‘Has Obama Learned Nothing from Fukushima?’
Lower Hudson Journal – Editorial: Lessons from Fukushima
Nuclear Engineering – NRC issues post-Fukushima orders
Daily Camera – Dan Frazier: What have we learned from Fukushima?
Fox 31 KDVR – Rocky Flats remembered on anniversary of Japan disaster
CBS Local – Hundreds Gather At Indian Point To Remember Fukushima Nuclear Plant Disaster
Brattleboro Reformer – Protesters march on one year anniversary of Japanese nuclear disaster – Josh Stilts
Cutting Edge – U.S. Nuclear Regulators Tighten Up, One Year after Fukushima Disaster – Ben Geman
MIT Technology Review – Despite Fukushima, Nuclear Keeps Powering Ahead
Power Engineering Magazine – Fukushima still affecting U.S. nuclear industry
Press Action blog – U.S. Nuclear Industry Operates as if Fukushima Never Happened
eNews Park Forest – Nuclear Energy Institute Report on Japan’s Nuclear Reactors
Orange County Register blog – ‘Danger Zone: Aging nuclear reactors’ – March 11th, 2012, 12:00 am · · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
San Diego Union-Tribune – Rally at San Onofre nuclear power plant draws hundreds – Caroline Dipping
San Diego Union-Tribune – Fire Hazard could be State’s Tsunami – David Lochbaum
San Diego Union-Tribune – Technology Can solve America’s Energy Crisis
San Diego Union-Tribune – Lessons Not Learned by The U.S. Government – Rochelle Becker & John Geesman
Capital Times – One year after Fukushima, nuclear business as usual in Wisconsin
Hudson Reporter – No more Fukushimas–Anti-nuclear power peace walkers rest in Weehawken on 250-mile journey – Gennarose Pope
Santa Barbara Independent – In the Shadow of Diablo, Remembering Fukushima – Jane Swanson
San Diego Union-Tribune – San Onofre studies wait for answers – Morgan Lee
San Luis Obispo Tribune – Diablo Canyon digs into the details to ensure safety – David Sneed
Mid-Hudson News – Riverkeeper predicts IP could be first nuke plant to have license renewal rejected
CNET News – Nuclear renaissance? More like nuclear standstill – Martin LaMonica
New York Times – Nuclear Fallout – Kristen Iversen
San Jose Mercury News – Ben Davis Jr.: California doesn’t know if Fukushima can happen here – Ben Davis Jr.
Sustainable Plant – Sixty Years in the Shadow of Critical Mass – Paul Studebaker
TIME blog – Nuked: A Year After Fukushima, Nuclear Power Is Down — and Carbon Is Up – Bryan Walsh
U.S. News & World Report – Experts on Fukushima: It Can’t Happen Here – Jason Koebler
NRC – NRC to Issue Orders, Information Request as Part of Implementing Fukushima-Related Recommendations
CNBC blog – Hamilton: One Year Later – Fukushima’s Wider Lessons – Daniel Hamilton
Reuters – CERAWEEK-Japan quake anniversary puts focus on nuclear safety – Eileen O’Grady
Washington Post – Nuclear Regulatory Commission orders changes at US nuke plants in response to Japan crisis
Daily Caller – Fukushima disaster halts progress of nuclear power in the US – Michael Bastasch
Bloomberg – Nuclear Industry Must Speed Seismic Reviews, NRC’s Chairman Says – Brian Wingfield
Civil Society Institute – Survey: Americans Not Warming Up to Nuclear Power One Year After Fukushima
The Guardian – Big Nuclear’s cosy relationship with the Obama administration – Amy Goodman
The Guardian – US nuclear regulator chided for slow safety reforms after Fukushima – Maureen Nandini Mitra
Scientific American blog – 1 Year after Fukushima: Could It Happen in the U.S.? – John Matson
Truthdig – The Bipartisan Nuclear Bailout – Amy Goodman
Wall Street Journal – Nuclear Pushes On Despite Fukushima – Chester Dawson, Brian Spegele and Selina Williams
Salt Lake Tribune – New nationwide poll shows wariness about nuclear power – Judy Fahys
MSNBC – Japan disaster dims hopes for US nuclear rebirth – John W. Schoen
MIT Technology Review – What We Learned About Nuclear Safety from Fukushima – Peter Fairley
The Hill – Jaczko: NRC might not meet deadline to impose nuke safety reforms – Andrew Restuccia
New London Day – Fukushima nuclear tragedy leaves lasting mark at Millstone – Judy Benson
Union of Concerned Scientists – NRC Needs a More Comprehensive Approach to Post-Fukushima Nuclear Safety, Report Finds
IPS – No Nuclear Nirvana on the Horizon – Robert Alvarez
Knoxville News Sentinel blog – UCS to release 1-yr Fukushima report – Frank Munger
Pottstown.patch – Exelon: ‘Upgrades Built On Lessons From Japan’ – Teresa McMinn
Wall Street Journal – Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power?
Orange County Register – Remember Fukushima by closing San Onofre – Gary Headrick
Bloomberg – California Nuclear Backlash Mounts After Japan Meltdown: Energy

Nuclear Industry Impacts: International

Green Left Weekly – Australia’s role in the Fukushima disaster – Jim Green
Reuters – IAEA: “significant” nuclear growth despite Fukushima
Huffington Post – A Post-Fukushima World: Truths and Confusion About Global Energy – Vivian Norris
Facing South – A year after Fukushima, the South remains at unnecessary risk of nuclear disaster – Sue Sturgis
UN: IAEA – Remembering Fukushima, Looking Ahead
UN: Reuters – Older nuclear plants pose safety challenge: IAEA – Fredrik Dahl
BBC News – Statement on Fukushima
Asahi Shimbun – Anti-nuclear demonstrations held in Japan, elsewhere
Xinhua News – China rethinks nuclear power one year after crisis in Japan
South America: MercoPress – One year after Fukushima, time for a more mature debate on nuclear
Japan Times – Germans, French slam atomic power
Taipei Times – Thousands march against nuclear power – Lee I-chia
Philippine Daily Inquirer – Editorial: Lessons of 3/11
Times of India – Anti-Jaitapur activists call for boycott – Sandeep AsharSandeep Ashar
RFI – Anti-nuclear human chain to link 200 kms between Lyon and Avignon
Taipei Times – Anti-nuclear protesters plan nationwide marches
Bangkok Post – Nuclear power on the ropes
The Hindu – Is Helen Caldicott’s Nuclear Madness still relevant? – John Vergis Vilanilam
News International – PPC calls for halt to pursuit of nuclear energy – Shahid Husain
Bloomberg – EDF U.K. Hinkley Point Nuclear Site Attracts Protests, BBC Says – Sarah Jones
Deutsche Local – Merkel defends nuclear phase out
Der Spiegel – Nuclear Lobby Pushes Ahead with New Reactors
Platts – Outside of Japan and Europe, no major post-Fukushima nuclear retraction: WEC – Elaine Hiruo, Ann MacLachlan
Xinhua News – Nuclear energy not likely to stop but can be safer after Japan disaster, experts say
Asia Times – Nuclear power back from the grave – Victor Kotsev
Asia Times – Downfall of nuclear nationalism – Matthew Penney
BBC News – Global fallout: Did Fukushima scupper nuclear power? – Richard Black
Swissinfo – Swiss at odds over roadmap to nuclear-free future – Olivier Pauchard
The Economist – Nuclear power: The dream that failed
The Guardian – Nuclear power plants around the world – map
Bloomberg – IAEA Needs Greater Nuclear Reactor Safety Powers Post-Fukushima – Tara Patel
Der Spiegel – German Nuclear Inspectors Remember Fukushima – Interview by Takis Würger
The Guardian – Dramatic fall in new nuclear power stations after Fukushima – Fiona Harvey in Brussels, John Vidal and Damian Carrington
Focus Taiwan – Religious groups declare united stance against nuclear power
The Hindu – How Fukushima is relevant to Kudankulam
Reuters – S.Africa goes big on nuclear a year on from Fukushima – Agnieszka Flak and Jon Herskovitz
Mainichi Daily News – Japan to contribute 4 mil. euros to IAEA for nuclear safety
Reuters – EDF to carry out post-Fukushima works in next 10 yrs – Muriel Boselli and Benjamin Mallet
IEER – Post-Fukushima Nuclear Safety in France – Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. (pdf-252K)

Nuclear Industry Impacts: Japan

Fukushima Cleanup

Environmental Impacts

Japan Times – Lucky Dragon’s lethal catch – Mark Schreiber – E.A.S. Sarma
Scoop – Fukushima One Year Later : The Poisoning of Planet Earth – Dr. Ilya Sandra Perlingieri
Xinhua News – Japan’s nuke disaster as bad as or worse than Chernobyl: expert – Al Campbell
CNN – What Fukushima accident did to the ocean – Ken Buesseler
JIJI Press – Japan Govt Eyes Several Nuclear Waste Depots near Fukushima Plant
Mainichi Daily News – One year on, Chiba Prefecture faces mountain of problems including incinerated ash
Xinhua News – More Japanese fishery imports found to contain radioactive materials: report
Fukushima Diary – Minamisoma city gov flows contaminated water to the public street – Iori Mochizuki
Fukushima Diary – 130 million Bq of cesium has leaked to Tokyo bay in Yokohama – Iori Mochizuki
Fukushima Diary – Highly contaminated water still keeps leaking to the sea – Iori Mochizuki
Tokyo Times – Fukushima toxic water could still be leaking into sea
Fukushima Diary – Japanese debris has already arrived at west coast of United States – Iori Mochizuki
Japan Times – Fukushima farmers in two-front war – Mizuho Aoki
Xinhua News – Greenpeace marks 1st anniversary of Fukushima nuclear disaster
Mainichi Daily News – Noda vows to accelerate disposal of debris generated in March disaster

Economic Impacts

Mainichi Daily News – No. of visitors to Japan shrinks 19% in Feb.
Mainichi Daily News – Fukushima evacuees upset over gov’t plan for set compensation amounts
Mainichi Daily News – Long-term nuclear evacuees should get 6 mil. yen each: gov’t panel
Reuters Africa – TEPCO to request 700 bln yen additional funding – Nikkei
Utility Products – Japanese Cost Estimate for Nuclear Power set to Rise
Platts – Japan Quake a Year On: Petrochemical sector wrestles with high costs, uncertain demand
PBS NewsHour – After 500 Years in Family, Rice Farmers Forced Off Land by Fukushima
Mainichi Daily News – Few signs abroad of lifting of import restrictions on Japanese food products
Zimbabwe Mail – Zimbabwe to ban Japanese car imports over Nukes contamination
Mainichi Daily News – Fukushima town seeks 19 billion yen from TEPCO for real estate damage
The Diplomat – What Japan Must Do Now – Jeffrey W. Hornung
Reuters – World nuclear powers on after Fukushima, costs rise – Nina Chestney and Karolin Schaps
New Straits Times – Japanese fishery products found to contain radioactive materials?
New York Times – Japan Looks Beyond Its Borders for Investors – Hiroko Tabuchi
Reuters – Japan lenders ready to back Fukushima operator Tepco, but wary – Taiga Uranaka
Fukushima Diary – JP Gov distributes money for the local governments to accept radioactive debris – Iori Mochizuki
Bloomberg – Japan Nuclear Shutdowns Boost Current Account Deficit to Record $5 Billion – Andy Sharp and Mayumi Otsuma
Mainichi Daily News – Saving sake: 300-year-old brewery battling against impact of Fukushima nuclear crisis
BBC News – Shareholders sue Tepco executives for nuclear disaster besides $100 billion in compensation claims
Japan Times – Fukushima farmers in two-front war – Mizuho Aoki
AFP Google – Shareholders sue TEPCO for $67 bn: reports
Wall Street Journal – New Tariff, Nuclear Halt May Fuel Japan Solar Demand? – Mari Iwata
Japan Times – NGO: 320 banks bankrolling nukes
Mainichi Daily News – H.K. to resume some food imports from Japan
Mainichi Daily News – Saving sake: Struggling to restore confidence in Fukushima’s liquor-destined rice

Cultural Impacts

New York Times – The End of Japanese Illusions – Yoichi Funabashi
Mainichi Daily News – Evacuee who wants to return to hometown says he can only wait a few more years
Mainichi Daily News – Evacuees visit no-entry zone to mourn disaster victims
BBC News – Japan quake: Loss and recovery in numbers
BBC News – One year after Japan’s huge earthquake and tsunami
Financial Times – My findings in Japan’s existential fallout – Yoichi Funabashi
Financial Times – Fukushima: a strange kind of homecoming – Mure Dickie
The Independent – Japan one year on: A journey through a world shaken to the core – David McNeil
Der Spiegel – Cancer Fears and Depression Plague Japanese Refugees – Cinthia Briseño and Heike Sonnberger
Mainichi Daily News – Life getting worse for many Fukushima residents: Mainichi poll
Mainichi Daily News – Over half of Fukushima residents ‘greatly worried’ about health after nuclear crisis
Mainichi Daily News – Number of suicides jumped shortly after March quake in 2011
Bloomberg – Japan’s 3/11 Triple Catastrophe Endures in Broken Families, Divided Towns
Bloomberg – Tokyo Seen Vunerable to Quake a Year on From Disaster – Chris Cooper and Kiyotaka Matsuda
Nature – Japan’s nuclear crisis: Fukushima’s legacy of fear – Geoff Brumfiel & Ichiko Fuyuno
Reuters – A year on, Japan nuclear film shows lives in limbo – Chris Gallagher
Daily Yomiuri – One Year After The Disaster / Schools with fewer students struggle to reopen / High number of families with children displaced by Fukushima disaster yet to return to municipalitie
Japan Times – Are we pointing at the right guy? – Edan Corkill
Mainichi Daily News – Evacuees from March 11 disasters losing hope of going home
Tokyo Times – Fukushima officials “too slow”, says U.S. rights group
Xinhua News – Going home not option for over one third of evacuees from Fukushima: poll
Mainichi Daily News – In the eyes of a child: 3-year-old’s life turned upside down by Fukushima crisis

Radiation Impacts

Fukushima Multimedia Presentations

PBS Frontline – Inside Japan’s Nuclear Meltdown (video documentary)YouTube – Global Fukushima Action Day 2012
Mainichi Daily News – First anniversary of 3.11 disasters in photos
Mainichi Daily News – Almost one year on: Aerial photos from near Fukushima nuclear plant
Huffington Post – Japan Earthquake: Radiation Concerns In The U.S. Remembered After Fukushima (PHOTOS)
Huffington Post – 100 Miles From Fukushima (PHOTOS) – Kathleen Massara
Huffington Post – Landing In Tokyo On The Heels of The 2011 Earthquake (PHOTOS) – Mia Aquino
HNN Huntingtonnews – “Pray for Japan” Documentary Marks Anniversary of Disaster – Tony Rutherford
MSNBC blog – Fukushima: Before, during and after – Alan Boyle photos
Salon – “None of you are getting out of here” – Carl Pillitteri
PBS NewsHour – Fukushima Survivor: I Want ‘To Breathe Freely Again’ – David Pelcyger video

Nature blog – Fukushima reports redux – Geoffrey Brumfiel – list of recent Fukushima Reports
Enformable – Nuclear Terms and Acronyms

The Energy Net