James Corbett
Japan Gov’t on Containing Radiation: “We don’t have experience in this field” / ENEnews.com / October 31, 2011 /
KORIYAMA, Oct. 31 — “Japan still is struggling to figure out how to clean up the mess, exacerbating fears about health risks and fanning mistrust of the government,” reports Yumiko Ono in today’s Wall Street Journal.
In fact, government policies may be increasing the spread of radioactive particles: According to the article, “Some experts say some ad hoc cleanup efforts risk spreading radiation further.”
For example, Ono says schools “are temporarily storing contaminated soil in holes dug within the school compounds and lined with plastic sheets.”
Of this ‘storage’ method, Kimberlee Kearfott, a University of Michigan nuclear-engineering professor who has served on U.S. government panels for nuclear cleanups, says:
Plastic isn’t a long-lasting seal against radioactive substances leaking.
If radioactive materials get into the ground water and are concentrated there that could be worse than soil contamination because it could spread rapidly.
“This type of shallow-pit burial has not been used in the U.S. since the 1960s.”
“This is definitely not a good idea.”
Officials at Japan’s environment ministry “concede the task is daunting,” according to the Journal article.
During an interview, Vice Minister Hideki Minamikawa said:
“We don’t have experience in this field.”
“We’re talking about such a vast area.”
“Currently, there are no clear signs yet on what needs to be done to make decontamination a success.”
Read More: Cleanup of Fukushima Radiation Confounds Japan
Other headlines from ENEnews.com:
Report: Yellow powder recorded during video of Reactor No. 4
Radiation from gamma rays alone at almost 4 µSv/h in front of elementary school in Kashiwa
Recriticality? Iodine-131 detected in rice samples from late October
Lead Radiation Doctor: We were wrong
Japan Gov’t on Containing Radiation: “We don’t have experience in this field”
Headlines from ex-SKF:
OurPlanet TV: What’s Happening to Children Now?
#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Hydrogen Gas Level Increased in Reactor 2
Setagaya, Tokyo’s 170 Microsieverts/Hr Supermarket: Europium-152??
Farmer in Evacuation-Ready Zone in Fukushima Insists He Will Sell His Rice
Headlines from Japanese Media:
No summer ’12 power-saving order, just peak-time rate hike – Japan Times
Fukushima shiitake cesium spikes – Japan Times
Local Fukushima residents seek compensation for decontamination gear, costs – Mainichi Daily
Fukushima officials leave for Chernobyl – NHK
Many people uneasy about soil disposal plan – Daily Yomiuri
Headlines from around the web:
Fukushima nuclear plant could take 30 years to clean up – The Guardian
Japan Closer to Exporting Nuclear Technology to India, Vietnam – WSJ
Japan to store radioactive soil at temporary storage facilities in Fukushima – Tokyo Reporter
Czechs bet on nuclear power for future – Ninemsn
Source With Links HERE
Monday, October 31, 2011
UN Warns Of Sharp Increase In Social Unrest
World ‘On Verge Of New Recession’
Steve Watson
A prominent UN agency has issued a warning that the globe is hurtling toward a long recession, a 40 million worldwide job shortage and an increase in large scale social unrest.
In a report published today, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warns that the world faces an imminent “dramatic downturn” in employment and urges the G20 to act to “soften the impact”.
Outlining that the globe faces a “new and deeper jobs recession”, the report, titled World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs, warns that job creation is slowing and worldwide unemployment stands at a record of more than 200m.
“We estimate that for the next two years, the world economy would need 80 million jobs to bring the unemployment rate down to what it was before the crisis” in 2007, said Raymond Torres, who heads the ILO’s research institute.
Adding that the “world economy would create just 40 million jobs,” in that time, the report estimates that at current trend levels it will take at least five years to return employment in advanced economies to pre-crisis levels.
Of those 40 million newly created jobs, the ILO states that just 2.5 million will be created in advanced economies, leaving a shortage of 24.7 million jobs in industrialised states during 2012 and 2013.
The ILO also warned that the number of people out of work in the euro zone rose to 16.2 million in September, the highest level since records began in 1998.
The upshot of such massive shortages in employment will, according to the ILO, result in greater social unrest in 45 different countries.
“This is especially the case in advanced economies, notably the EU, the Arab region and to a lesser extent, Asia,” it said.
The report pinpoints the greatest risk of social unrest to Greece, Portugal, Spain, Estonia, France, Slovenia and Ireland.
Without counter-measures, the crisis will likely unleash a recession that could last a decade or more, the report adds.
Increasing labour market spending by half a% of gross domestic product would increase employment by between 0.4% and 0.8%, depending on the country, the ILO said.
“We have reached the moment of truth. We have a brief window of opportunity to avoid a major double-dip in employment,” said Torres.
Source With Links: Infowars
Steve Watson
A prominent UN agency has issued a warning that the globe is hurtling toward a long recession, a 40 million worldwide job shortage and an increase in large scale social unrest.
In a report published today, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) warns that the world faces an imminent “dramatic downturn” in employment and urges the G20 to act to “soften the impact”.
Outlining that the globe faces a “new and deeper jobs recession”, the report, titled World of Work Report 2011: Making Markets Work for Jobs, warns that job creation is slowing and worldwide unemployment stands at a record of more than 200m.
“We estimate that for the next two years, the world economy would need 80 million jobs to bring the unemployment rate down to what it was before the crisis” in 2007, said Raymond Torres, who heads the ILO’s research institute.
Adding that the “world economy would create just 40 million jobs,” in that time, the report estimates that at current trend levels it will take at least five years to return employment in advanced economies to pre-crisis levels.
Of those 40 million newly created jobs, the ILO states that just 2.5 million will be created in advanced economies, leaving a shortage of 24.7 million jobs in industrialised states during 2012 and 2013.
The ILO also warned that the number of people out of work in the euro zone rose to 16.2 million in September, the highest level since records began in 1998.
The upshot of such massive shortages in employment will, according to the ILO, result in greater social unrest in 45 different countries.
“This is especially the case in advanced economies, notably the EU, the Arab region and to a lesser extent, Asia,” it said.
The report pinpoints the greatest risk of social unrest to Greece, Portugal, Spain, Estonia, France, Slovenia and Ireland.
Without counter-measures, the crisis will likely unleash a recession that could last a decade or more, the report adds.
Increasing labour market spending by half a% of gross domestic product would increase employment by between 0.4% and 0.8%, depending on the country, the ILO said.
“We have reached the moment of truth. We have a brief window of opportunity to avoid a major double-dip in employment,” said Torres.
Source With Links: Infowars
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