Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Mayor Orders Nuke Plant Closed, Company President Apologizes

The Mayor of KASHIWAZAKI, Japan has ordered Tokyo Electric Powers seven reactors shut down until they can prove they are SAFE! The NRC would have a shit fit if Andrew Spano ordered Indian Point shut down...after all, God Forbid Entergy's profits be impinged upon because of SAFETY ISSUES such as tritium and strontium 90 leaking into the Hudson River. Tokyo Electric Power's stock took a one percent hit yesterday, and sure the Mayor's announcement will see said stock tumble further. If the NRC actually starts enforcing its regulations at Entergy and Exelon nuclear reactors here in America, we could see similar stock plummets here as well. If there was ever a risky time to own Entergy stocks, right now seems to be it.

Indian Point represents almost 20 percent of Entergy's nuclear arsenal, and the aging brittled reactors have some serious problems...far more serious than those of the currently closed Tokyo Electric Power reactors that could remain closed for months, if not years. After all, the ground under the reactors WENT LIQUID for God's sake. Indian Point failed five of the six siting criteria back when they were originally licensed, and the fact said reactors sit on top of a earth quake fault line should seriously jeopardize their bid for relicense...SAY TUNED folks, as this fight is far from over, and when the dust settles, Westchester might yet rid themselves of these monsters.

Mayor Closes Quake-Hit Japan Nuke Plant

By ERIC TALMADGE,
AP
Posted: 2007-07-17 23:13:30
KASHIWAZAKI, Japan (AP) - The mayor ordered that a nuclear power plant hit by a strong earthquake be shut down Wednesday until its safety could be confirmed after a long list of problems - including radiation leaks, burst pipes and fires - came to light.

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the world's largest nuclear plant in power output capacity.

Signs of problems after Monday's quake came first not from the officials, but in a plume of smoke that rose up when the quake triggered a small fire at an electrical transformer.

It was announced only 12 hours later that the magnitude 6.8 temblor also caused a leak of about 315 gallons of water containing radioactive material. Officials said the water leak was well within safety standards. The water was flushed into the sea.

Later Tuesday, it said 50 cases of "malfunctioning and trouble" had been found. Four of the plant's seven reactors were running at the time of the quake, and they were all shut down automatically by a safety mechanism.

Officials said there was no harm to the environment, but acknowledged it took a day to discover about 100 drums of low-level nuclear waste that were overturned, some with the lids open.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
07/17/07 23:12 EDT

Utility chief apologizes for problems at quake-hit nuke plant

By ERIC TALMADGE,
AP
Posted: 2007-07-17 23:15:01
KASHIWAZAKI, Japan (AP) - A top power official apologized for radioactive leaks and several other malfunctions that occurred at a Japanese nuclear plant after a deadly earthquake, but said the company's basic safety measures still worked.

The comments came just moments after the mayor of the local city hosting the power plant ordered the facility shut down until its safety can be confirmed.

Tsunehisa Katsumata, president of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., toured the site Wednesday morning, declaring it "a mess." The previous evening, his company released a list of dozens of problems triggered by Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake.

"It is hard to make everything go perfectly," Katsumata said.

"We will conduct an investigation from the ground up. But I think fundamentally we have confirmed that our safety measures worked," he said.

While TEPCO says the quake was stronger than planned for, it has said none of the problems posed serious threats to people or the environment.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
07/17/07 23:13 EDT

No comments: