Enformable: “Elementary school in Japan using water bottles to shield students from radiation” plus 1 more |
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Posted: 04 Nov 2013 08:54 AM
PST
An elementary school in
Koriyama City, which is located in Fukushima Prefecture some 34 miles west of
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, is using water bottles to shield
radiation coming from the courtyard and other areas around the school
buildings. The bottles are filled with water and placed inside of
square boxes which are stacked around the classrooms.
According to the school it
seems to have reduced the radiation levels inside by one-third.
Residents of Koriyama City have
been concerned about the high amounts of radioactive materials which have
been found around their town. While school lunches are tested for
radiation, parents are concerned because they are largely unable to find out
where the items were originally produced. Because Koriyama City is
outside of the evacuation zone, the government has barely conducted any
decontamination activities.
H/T: Yuri Hiranuma
Source: Koriyama City Elementary School
Source: Human Rights Now
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school in Japan using water bottles to shield students from radiation
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Posted: 04 Nov 2013 05:59 AM
PST
As reported last week, United States
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz requested that Japan join a treaty called the
Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damages. This
treaty collects funds from participating nations to assist with payments for
damages resulting from nuclear disasters.
What most mainstream media
sources failed to relate, was that the treaty also assigns accident liability
to the operators of the nuclear power plant, rather than the vendors which
develop the technology or construct the equipment.
To receive help, the United
States essentially told Japan that they would have to incur the losses and
sign a treaty which would prevent them from seeking compensation from
contracted companies, like those which built and constructed the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant, and instead must satisfy itself only with
seeking repayment from the operator, Tokyo Electric – who is facing
bankruptcy and relies largely upon the Japanese government for funds to
prevent a financial meltdown. In the wording of the treaty, “the
operator’s liability for nuclear damage shall be absolute”, and “the right to
compensation for nuclear damage may be exercised only against the operator
liable.”
Currently, the situation
surrounding the utility reminds one of an operation to remove a leg to
prevent further damage to the host body. TEPCO is facing the end of
life as they know it, as being forced to cover the full brunt of the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster would put the entire organization into a
financial pit they would likely never find a way out of.
Instead, TEPCO is working on
new reorganization plans, in order to prevent the more drastic options
proposed by the Japanese government, like breaking up the company or the
equivalent of a Chapter 11-style bankruptcy. Sources have told the
Reuters that TEPCO may reorganize itself into a holding company, which would
separate the electricity generation and transmission businesses from the
Fukushima Daiichi cleanup operations.
Seeing as Tokyo Electric will
be unable to pay back the money they owe in the near future, this means Japan
must accept to largely handle the financial costs themselves, aside from the
amount that they would receive from the international funds.
Readers may ask why Japan would
accept this deal that obviously appears to be the short end of the
stick. Even if Japan were to attempt to seek compensation from the
American companies that designed and constructed the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear power plant, like General Electric, they are not guaranteed to get
judgment in their favor. By signing the treaty, Japan will receive some
monetary compensation, and while it will likely be far less then they could
seek as damages – it is more certain of a process then the legal system.
Source: Bloomberg
Source: CNBC
The post US: Japan
should accept liability to receive international help at Fukushima Daiichi
appeared first on Enformable.
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