Germans turn out en masse against nuclear energy
Alex Rosen of IPPNW-Germany reflects on the latest news from Fukushima and reports on a weekend of antinuclear protests throughout Germany:
The pictures coming to us from Fukushima do not look good. Our experts here in Germany agree that the nuclear meltdown is currently taking place. The sea is already highly contaminated, the radiation levels 50 km away from the plant are the same as in the irradiated regions around Chernobyl (400.000-900.000 Bq/m2), radiation is seeping into the drinking water of Northeast Japan and Tokyo, the first victims of acute radiation sickness are being treated in hospitals already. This is indeed a nuclear catastrophe comparable to Cherobyl and we’re witnessing a similar cover-up by IAEA and the nuclear industry.
Here in Germany, the debate around our own nuclear energy program has flared up again. Seven of our oldest nuclear plants were shut down last week in order to soothe public outrage. Still, today [March 26] we had demonstrations of 250,000 people in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg und Munich. I’ve attached a link to photos of our demonstration here in Cologne, which was quite large with about 50,000 people. Read more…
A report from the Peace Boat
Andi Nidecker of PSR/IPPNW-Switzerland, who participated on a Peace Boat cruise this month with Maria Sotiropoulu of IPPNW-Greece sends us the following “personal report”:
The “peaceboat” is a magnificent oceanliner, cruising 2-3 times around the world. It is basically a ship rented by the Japanese “peaceboat” NGO. It sells ordinary tickets to mostly Japanese citizen interested in making a cruise, but allows also students to make the same experience. It furthermore facilitates group sessions and learning experiences, or as in our case the Horizon 2012 strategy meeting to the topic “Nuclear weapon free zone Middle East” (“NWFZ ME”). Read more…
Nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima: extend the evacuation zone
IPPNW-Germany and the Society for Radiation Protection, Germany released the following statement to the press on March 24, 2011.
The physician’s organisation IPPNW Germany and the President of the German Society for Radiation Protection (GfS), Sebastian Pflugbeil, believe that an extension of the evacuation zone around the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is urgently needed. They call on the Japanese government to evacuate the population promptly from a much wider area, in particular to ensure the protection of children and pregnant women.
The recommendation of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency that the evacuation zone be extended to 80 kilometres could be a helpful first step, say the two organisations. Evacuation zones, however, are only a method of helping to roughly mark out a possible area of contamination and in reality the radioactive exposure depends on wind direction, strength and precipitation. Twenty-five years ago, when the Chernobyl disaster occurred, there was an irregular distribution of contamination and “hot spots” emerged, where the Soviet authorities found contamination of more than 555.000 becquerel per m2.
Reinhold Thiel, member of the German Board of IPPNW, is especially worried about the danger posed by unit 3: “This unit is run on MOX fuel which contains plutonium and black smoke is billowing out of it. I am concerned that large amoungts of plutonium are now being released into the air.” IPPNW calls on the German government to press for an immediate publication of all existing measurements of plutonium levels . “It could be, however, that Chancellor Merkel already has that information“ said Thiel.
Plutonium is a highly toxic emitter of alpha radiation which does approx. 20 times more biological damage than the same dose of gamma emitting radionuclides such as Cesium 137. Breathing in plutonium easily leads to bronchial and lung cancer. If plutonium is taken into the body via food and drink, it concentrates in the liver and bones and has a biological half-life of 40 years in the liver, 100 years in bones.
According to IAEA, high levels of beta-gamma radiation were found at distances between 15 and 58 km away from the nuclear power plant. The measured levels were between 200,000 und 900,000 becquerel per m2. This means, according to Prof. Edmund Lengfelder of the Otto Hug Institute on Radiation, that the Fukushima disaster has evidently reached the same dimensions seen in Chernobyl. After the Chernobyl disaster, contamination reached more than 555,000 bq/m2 (Cesium 137) in Ukraine, Russia und Belarus.
Japanese authorities have found up to 55,000 bq/kg iodine 131 in spinach from the Ibaraki prefecture. These levels are way above the acceptable levels for Japan for consumption (2,000 bq/kg).
IPPNW and GfS call on foreign minister Guido Westerwelle to actively pursue the publishing of the radiation measurement data that the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) has collated through its global network of monitoring stations. The CTBTO shares this information with the WHO and IAEA but has not yet made this data public.
by Tilman Ruff
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and complicating nuclear crisis throw into sharp focus concerns about exposure to ionising radiation. What is it, how is it harmful, how much is too much? Inside a nuclear reactor, the radioactivity is increased about a million times as some of the uranium or plutonium is converted to a cocktail of hundreds of different radioactive elements.
There are many different pathways through which people can be exposed to radiation: inhalation of gases or particles in the air, deposits in soil or water, ingestion of food, water or dust. Some radioisotopes mimic normal chemical elements in living systems and therefore make their way up the food chain and onto our plates. Read more…
Stop the killing in Libya
The following statement has been issued by the IPPNW Executive Committee on behalf of the 1985 Nobel Peace Laureate organization.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) calls on all parties for an immediate cease fire in Libya. Having established a no fly zone, we call on the governments responsible for the international forces for an immediate halt in all military actions, and on the Libyan government and the Libyan rebels to end the fighting and to seek a peaceful conflict solution, if necessary facilitated by UN negotiators.
With continued hostilities and foreign military intervention, a humanitarian crisis is emerging in Libya. IPPNW demands that health care and medical facilities at all times must be accessible for all parties and that health care workers must be allowed to perform their duties according to humanitarian and ethical principles.
IPPNW, the recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, is a non-partisan federation of national medical organizations in 63 countries, representing tens of thousands of doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned citizens who share the common goal of creating a more peaceful and secure world freed from the threat of nuclear annihilation.
The Nuclear Chain – Splitting Atoms, Hairs and Personalities
It is no coincidence that one speaks of the civilian and military use of nuclear energy. There is nuclear energy on the one hand and on the other there is the way it is used. It can create a nuclear explosion or it can be harnessed to make electricity, but intrinsically, it is the same thing.
After the earthquake and tsunami hit Fukushima, many people around the world asked the question: after what the Japanese had suffered from the military use of nuclear energy on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, why did they invest so greatly in the civilian use? Indeed, it is surprising that the original distaste for all things nuclear was lost in the sixties, when Japan began building nuclear power plants to beat the band. More than just about any other country, except perhaps France, the Japanese seemed to think nuclear energy was the best thing since sliced bread. And while just about everyone else (except the Russians) was shifting away from the plutonium economy, saying that it was too dangerous and too expensive, Japan began using MOX and expanding its reprocessing facilities. Read more…
Sent: Sat 3/19/2011 1:47 AM
[IPPNWFORUM] one week has passed…..still in a difficult situation
Dear all,
I am sorry but I do not have time to update the things now.
Many things are happening here. I myself have to deal with the things what I can do here, in addition to my own routine work and activities.
You may see some of the updates on the following site, at least the “official” information.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nhk-world-tv
We are still in a critical situation at the nuclear power plant site. Many people, many young skilled workers, fire fighters , engineers and SD staff, at the site have been making great effort to try to stop the situation getting worse. They themselves are already exposed to radiation……it is really sad, but we know that we cannot get rid of this crisis without their hard work…..
We, anti-nuclear-power-plants activists are starting to discuss concretely the evacuation of children and pregnant women, from the 20-30 km zone. We are afraid of the possibility of the worse situation. (We really hope [evacuation] would happen.) It might be too late if we decide after having such a situation. We never want to make people in panic. However, we have to prepare even for the worst scenario. We know that we should carry on such a measurement with an official initiative. The crisis situation makes the government too busy to work on this. They have to focus on the crisis of the plants to avoid the further disaster. It is reality.
Another important thing for us is to request government and companies to release real time and precise information and data of environmental radiation, including the data of isotopes, and the situation of the plants.
We heard that already some or many of them, who have a chance to do so, have already left the areas. However, it is not easy to do so without gas and before preparing proper place to accept them outside of the zone.
I also know that some people even in Tokyo has already left the city and been in a kind of “panic” situation. I really understand their feeling and we cannot blame none of them.
However, we have to focus on the people right now who have been facing to the most “possible” or “realistic” danger to radiation exposure and also the shortage of food, water, medicine, fuel and everything.
The local governments are already starting to accept more than a thousand people from a town which is within 2km, (they evacuated already from their hometown to 20-30 km zone some days ago). Many people, including local authorities, are now trying to do their best.
I am not sure whether or not you who are living away from Japan could understand my complex feeling, sadness and realistic thinking.
Another additional thing is that NHK in Japan has stopped the continuous live news on the affected areas and the nuclear plants today. They might decide to do so as a week has already passed since the earthquake. (Of course, we can get a live image at the site from time to time, when something new happens.) It makes me strange feeing watching sports game, cultural program and other things which do not have any relation to the present disaster. I myself may be in an “usual” mental a situation…..
I will stop now.
I wish you all have a nice week end. We have no idea about our weekend, though.
Please also continue to work hard to stop nuclear power plants in your own country…….
Peace,
Katsumi
P.S. I saw a video of WHO staff who is commenting on the evacuation. I personally thing it very sorry. They are not in a stance of “preventing” possible health impacts on the people who are staying within 20-30km or just out side of the 30km zone. We are not discussing the immediate danger of the people who are living in Tokyo! I hope he will come to Japan and stay with the people in the 20-30 km zone…….. I will not say anything further now. We may discuss after we finish this crisis. Sorry in a hurry…..
Fukushima updates from Dr. Furitsu (March 18)
Date: March 17, 2011 9:45:11 PM EDT
Subject: [IPPNWFORUM] 30 fire engine has joined the DF
#The 30 fire engine have just arrived at the place (probably 20km from the plant) and joined the DF.
The cars are:
– rudder truck with folding radder of 22m
– large special (chemical?) fire engine which can spray water 5 ton/ min, even while driving
– fire engine which can pump water from 2km distance water source
– fire engine for special disaster which have equipments to clean up radioactive contamination
I do not know what actually they are, though.
I would say that they are really to do their best to avoid the worst case.
Of course, they will be measuring the radiation dose rate at the site and within the “exposure limit”….
I only hope that they could work with minimum exposure, as smaller as possible….
Katsumi
_____
Date: March 17, 2011 8:09:35 PM EDT
[IPPNWFORUM] some information/ they are ready to go also today…..
# The defense force (DF) personnel who worked for injecting water into reactor No. 3 yesterday:
Dropping water from helicopters:
17 personel were involved in the operation worked around 90 m above the reactor
The exposure dose was officially reported: all of them are under 1mSv
They used a plate of tungsten (not lead, reporter revised the information) for shielding.
Injecting water from cars:
13 personel
The chief of the DF reported: exposure dose of personnel was up to 60 mSv (maximum)
[FOLLOWUP NOTE: I wrote the message above with my quick memo, though.
According to their report today, “all of the exposure dose of the DF personnel was several mSv.”
I am not sure whether or not my memo was only a mistake. I am sorry.]
#The company made comments on the effectiveness of the operation yesterday, on March 17:
There was not so much change of radiation dose rate by the operation of helicopters: changed from 3782 to 3752 micros Sv/h (somewhere inside the plant site).
However, they think a spout of steam from the building which can be seen just after dropping water might be an evidence that the operation could reduce the temperature at the fuel pond to some extent. (I also want to believe so……..)
As for the injection of water from cars on ground 50m from the reactor building:
The radiation level at the gate of the plant site:
3:30 pm (before the operation): 309 micro Sv/h
11:00 pm(after the operation): 289 micro Sv/h
#The data radiation level measured by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on March 17:
Max: 170 mico Sv/h (14:00, 30 km northwest from the plant)
They measured at 28 places in 20-60 km zone, 9:20-15:00 : 18.3-1.1 micro Sv/h
The data depends on the direction of the wind.
#Today (March 18), the DF is ready to work for the same operation both from sky and ground.
In addition to the DF, a fire brigade with special type of cars (usually used for a fire of airplane) from Tokyo has already headed to Fukushima at the midnight. They will also join the operation.
Four helicopter will work.
More cars of DF will work.
#More sad stories are reported:
More than 20 patients (old people) passed away who were left in a hospital in the 20 km zone or on the way of evacuation from the 20 zone.
I cannot write all of these stories now, but they must be recorded.
…………………………….
We should not / cannot estimate the number of people who might be exposed to more radiation in the case of larger amount of radioactive materials from the nuclear fuel, though. I would say, at least “hundreds of thousands” people…..
…….
We, who know the danger of radiation, are thinking about those personnel, fire fighter and workers of the company & associate companies and their families. I believe the government and the company also know that the task is really dangerous because of the high level of radiation. However, we also know: without their work, at least several hundreds of thousands people including children, pregnant women…… might be exposed to more radiation……
It is really sad and complicated situation………..
Katsumi
Bimal Khadka
Bjorn Hilt
Charles K. Johnson
Gunnar Westberg
IPPNW
John Loretz
Lawrence Wittner
Maria Valenti
mollymcgint
Sue Wareham
Tilman Ruff
Tim Wright
Xanthe Hall
IPPNW peace and health blog 