SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Unlike a number of other nations including the U.S., Japan has never undergone a decommissioning process and currently has no experts at the regulatory level even devoted to decommissioning, said Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Juntaro Yamada.
The AP story follows a growing call from nuclear watchdog groups and experts, including Harvey Wasserman and veteran U.S. nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen, for a "global takeover" of the decommissioning process, saying: "Neither Tokyo Electric nor the government of Japan can go this alone. There is no excuse for deploying anything less than a coordinated team of the planet's best scientists and engineers."
Echoing that demand, nuclear engineering professor Akira Tokuhiro, told the AP that "even for the U.S. nuclear industry, such a cleanup and decommissioning would be a great challenge.''
Advocating for an international team of experts to help tackle increasingly dangerous situation in Fukushima, Tokuhiro added, ''It is clear that this very large undertaking requires an international effort.''
AP continues:
Decommissioning a nuclear power plant normally involves first bringing the reactor cores to stable shutdown, and then eventually removing them for long-term storage. It is a process that takes years. Throughout, radiation levels and worker exposure must be monitored.
At Fukushima, there is the daunting challenge of taking out cores that suffered meltdown, which is the most dangerous type of nuclear power accident. Their exact location within the reactor units isn't known and needs to be ascertained so their condition can be analyzed. That will require development of nimble robots capable of withstanding high radiation.
_____________________
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Unlike a number of other nations including the U.S., Japan has never undergone a decommissioning process and currently has no experts at the regulatory level even devoted to decommissioning, said Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Juntaro Yamada.
The AP story follows a growing call from nuclear watchdog groups and experts, including Harvey Wasserman and veteran U.S. nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen, for a "global takeover" of the decommissioning process, saying: "Neither Tokyo Electric nor the government of Japan can go this alone. There is no excuse for deploying anything less than a coordinated team of the planet's best scientists and engineers."
Echoing that demand, nuclear engineering professor Akira Tokuhiro, told the AP that "even for the U.S. nuclear industry, such a cleanup and decommissioning would be a great challenge.''
Advocating for an international team of experts to help tackle increasingly dangerous situation in Fukushima, Tokuhiro added, ''It is clear that this very large undertaking requires an international effort.''
AP continues:
Decommissioning a nuclear power plant normally involves first bringing the reactor cores to stable shutdown, and then eventually removing them for long-term storage. It is a process that takes years. Throughout, radiation levels and worker exposure must be monitored.
At Fukushima, there is the daunting challenge of taking out cores that suffered meltdown, which is the most dangerous type of nuclear power accident. Their exact location within the reactor units isn't known and needs to be ascertained so their condition can be analyzed. That will require development of nimble robots capable of withstanding high radiation.
_____________________
Unlike a number of other nations including the U.S., Japan has never undergone a decommissioning process and currently has no experts at the regulatory level even devoted to decommissioning, said Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Juntaro Yamada.
The AP story follows a growing call from nuclear watchdog groups and experts, including Harvey Wasserman and veteran U.S. nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen, for a "global takeover" of the decommissioning process, saying: "Neither Tokyo Electric nor the government of Japan can go this alone. There is no excuse for deploying anything less than a coordinated team of the planet's best scientists and engineers."
Echoing that demand, nuclear engineering professor Akira Tokuhiro, told the AP that "even for the U.S. nuclear industry, such a cleanup and decommissioning would be a great challenge.''
Advocating for an international team of experts to help tackle increasingly dangerous situation in Fukushima, Tokuhiro added, ''It is clear that this very large undertaking requires an international effort.''
AP continues:
Decommissioning a nuclear power plant normally involves first bringing the reactor cores to stable shutdown, and then eventually removing them for long-term storage. It is a process that takes years. Throughout, radiation levels and worker exposure must be monitored.
At Fukushima, there is the daunting challenge of taking out cores that suffered meltdown, which is the most dangerous type of nuclear power accident. Their exact location within the reactor units isn't known and needs to be ascertained so their condition can be analyzed. That will require development of nimble robots capable of withstanding high radiation.
_____________________