Generals In Charge of America’s Nuclear Arsenal Relieved Of Command

The Associated Press reports that there has been a shake up in the top echelons of U.S. military leadership.

Two-star Maj. Gen. Michael Carey is to be relieved of his command over the 20th Air Force. The unit is responsible for the Air Force’s entire nuclear arsenal.

The decision was made by Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. Kowalski is in charge of all Air Force nuclear weapons, including bombers.

The Syrian Crisis as an Opening to Global Disarmament

Let’s Up the Ante by Demanding that the World’s Most Powerful Polities Hand Over Their Arsenals of Chemical Weapons Too

If little Syria is going to be made to hand over its government’s chemical weapons, why should not the aroused superpower of global public opinion demand the same of USA, Israel, Russia, France, UK, China, etc.?

As polities that have made ample use of chemical weapons, including Agent Orange, white phosphorous and depleted uranium, the US and Israeli governments are in especially duplicitous positions in making demands that the Assad regime rise to standards that the world’s most militarized polities do not themselves meet.

2 Nuclear incidents in the US last 4 days

Dyess Air Force Base Secret Nuke Transfer & radioactive material stolen

1st case: 
The Virginia Department of Health is looking for a stolen device containing radioactive material taken from Dinwiddie County.

The theft happened between 1 and 2 p.m. Wednesday   9/11/2013  at a jobsite near 4007 Chesdin Boulevard.

Update: Fort Bliss radioactive leakage

This an update on the yesterday's report : Radioactive material found on Fort Bliss, army personel exposed decades long:

Public Urged Not To Panic As Army Battle Radiation Leak

30 people are undergoing testing for radiation poisoning after a leak was discovered at Fort Bliss Texas. an above ground bunker used to store weaponry has been found to contain both alpha and beta particles and there is concern that solidiers using the weapons may have been exposed to low level radiation.

It has also emerged that when the area was controlled by the Airforce that contaminated material was buried around the site. A retired worker raised concerns that a new housing development currently under construction could unearth contaminated material.

The bunker in question was at one point coated in epoxy paint to contain the radiation but it has been admitted that over the years the coating has chipped off the building and this has potentially allowed the radiation to seep through the brickwork. Contact with the epoxy chippings could also be dangerous according to experts at Fort Bliss.

“It has come to our attention that the Air Force stored radioactive material during the 1950s and 1960s at a remote limited access building,” Maj. Joe Buccino, the public affairs officer at Fort Bloss, told KFOX TV.

An assessment conducted by post experts showed that “there is some low level of contamination that could be transferred to personnel.”(source)

With thousands of military personnel living and working at Fort Bliss and with the town of El Paso just a mile or so up the road isolating the  bunker and finding the buried material is a matter of urgency.

“We don’t know the scope of the issue, we don’t know, again, if it’s nothing or fairly substantial,”Mark Cauthers, Fort Bliss deputy garrison commander said…”it is important that we be guided by facts and not fear,” he added. (source)

Fort Bliss has a population of over 40,000 military and civilian employees. Rep.Pete Gallego of the House Armed Services Commission is urging the public to remain calm saying:
“It is important that we be guided by facts and not fear,” he said. “The safety and well-being of our servicemen and women is the top priority.”


Related:
Radioactive material found on Fort Bliss, army personel exposed decades long

2 years after nuclear disaster, Japan spawns freaky fruits and veggies

It might be wise to steer clear of vegetables from Japan's Fukushima area for, oh, say a few hundred years. 

A Korean website assembled this image collection of produce from towns and villages surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. And they are NOT pretty pictures. From Siamese-twinned corn cobs to what can only be called peaches with elephantiasis, the region's agriculture appears to have taken a heavy radiation hit from the nuclear disaster in 2011.

It's not clear yet what effect eating the produce might have on the population, but you never know. It could be pretty dangerous, but you never know — in an ideal world, maybe it could give you superpowers.

Radioactive material found on Fort Bliss, army personel exposed decades long

EL PASO, TX (KTSM) — At a press conference Tuesday morning, officials from Fort Bliss announced the Army Environmental Command found traces of radioactive material on post. [updated]

While it sounds alarming, officials say the general public is not in any immediate danger.

"At this time, we do not assess any risk to the general public, but it is early in the investigation," said Major Joe Buccino, spokesperson for Fort Bliss.

According to Fort Bliss, in the 1950s, when the U.S. Air Force had control of Biggs Army Airfield, personnel used the facility for building and maintaining nuclear weapons.

But what officials may not have expected back then is for radioactive residue to remain in the area more than half a century later.

Two months ago, a retired airman, now said to be living in Florida, saw a story on the news about Fort Bliss expanding its post.

The airman, who once worked at Biggs Airfield between 1953 to 1956, was concerned that Fort Bliss would build housing for families on land he believed may have been contaminated by radioactive material.

He called the Air Force, to report that one of the bunkers, storage building #11507, was once used to store and handle nuclear weapons.

After an initial inspection of the building, the Army Environmental Command discovered residue of what appears to be uranium, on equipment, like rifles and machine guns, used by soldiers for training. Alpha and beta rays were found in and near the bunker. Gamma rays, which are the most harmful, were not found.

Health experts say unless the chemicals are ingested in large amounts for a long period of time, they're not going to pose serious health risks.

"The levels are so low that they do not present a health risk to anyone that has been handling those weapons," said Major Buccino.

Fort Bliss says the Airforce had painted the bunker with an epoxy paint in order to trap the chemicals from coming into contact with people.

But, over the years, the paint chipped, and the radioactive material has since left residue on some 100 weapons in that building.

Officials say personnel enters that bunker about once a month to pick up and drop off equipment.

"We are, quite frankly, unable to assess the level of risk," said Major Buccino.

The retired airman, whose identity is unknown, also reported that radioactive material was buried about 12 to 18 inches underground, in sealed containers somewhere near the contaminated bunker.

As of now, Fort Bliss has not found these alleged containers.

"Of course, it's concerning because we don't know the scope of the issue. We don't know, again, if it's nothing or fairly substantial. We don't know that," said Mr. Mark Cauthers, Fort Bliss' Deputy to the Garrison Commander.

Officials say they don't know how many people have come into contact with the weapons in the bunker over the years, or whether or not the level of chemicals is enough to cause any harm.

The U.S. Air Force Safety Center, the Public Health Command, and the Army Environmental Command, among other military organizations, are investigating the case.

Activity in and around the bunker complex believed to be contaminated has been suspended, and the area has been closed off.

Fort Bliss says as far as they know, there are no records of the hazardous materials handled and stored on post.

Fort Bliss officials have set up a 24-hour call center for those who think they might have been exposed to contaminated materials.

The hotline numbers are (915) 744-1255, (915) 744-1962, (915) 744-8263, (915) 744-8264.


KTSM
RSOE

Update:  Fort Bliss radioactive leakage

Nuclear Plant in Switzerland leaking

Scientists have discovered a radioactive substance in sediment under a Swiss lake used for drinking water and situated near a nuclear plant, the Le Matin Dimanche weekly reported Sunday 14th july 2013. 

While scientists cited in the report stressed there was no danger to human health, the discovery raises concerns about safety practices and a lack of transparency at the Muehleberg nuclear plant in northwestern Switzerland. The plant is believed to have caused a spike in cesium 137 found in the sediment of Lake Biel and dating back to 2000 through the discharge of contaminated waste water into the Aar river that feeds into the lake, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) downstream, the weekly reported.

Geologists from Geneva University happened upon the spike while working on an unrelated research project in 2010, and chemists in the northern canton of Basel recently verified the findings, it said. The Muehleberg plant is permitted to discharge water with very low levels of radioactivity subject to strict controls several times a year, according to Le Matin Dimanche.

Politicians and environmentalists however expressed outrage Sunday that the plant and nuclear inspectors had provided no information about the higher levels of cesium 137 released more than a decade ago into a lake that provides 68 percent of the drinking water to the nearby town of Biel. "No one ever told me that there were abnormally high concentrations in the lake," Hans Stoekli, who served as Biel mayor from 1990 to 2010, told the paper, insisting that in light of the use of the lake for drinking water "the plant should have alerted us even in the case of minimal risk."

Environmental group Greenpeace voiced dismay at the news, urging the public prosecutor in the canton of Bern, where Biel and the Muehleberg plant are located, to investigate. The group, which has long called for the plant's closure, also questioned in a statement how the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate could have either missed the higher radioactive levels or decided not to inform decision makers or the public about them. The Muehleberg plant, which came online in 1972, is 17 kilometres (11 miles) west of the Swiss capital Bern.




 Le Matin

People power: Сhina shelves plans for $6bn nuclear plant after wave of protest

Qinshan nuclear power plant in Haiyan, in eastern China's Zhejiang province (China out / AFP Photo)

The Chinese government says it will ‘respect public opinion’ and scrap a planned $6 billion nuclear processing plant in the southern province of Guandong after hundreds of protesters took to the streets to voice opposition to the project.

A statement released by the Chinese authorities reads, “The people’s government of the City of Heshan has decided to respect public opinion and will not consider the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC’s) Longwan industrial park project.”

The proposed nuclear complex was meant to have been a uranium processing facility, but the plans caused considerable unease in the neighboring financial district of Hong Kong and in nearby Macau, as well as among local residents. The project was designed to produce 1,000 tonnes of nuclear fuel by 2020.

The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English language newspaper, reported that the authorities in Macau had formally raised the issue with officials in Guandong.

Saturday’s announcement came after hundreds of protesters paraded through the streets of Jiangmen on Friday holding banners and wearing phrases opposing the project and chanting slogans like “give us back our rural homes. We are against nuclear radiation.”

The protest sprang up after a risk evaluation report, which was released on July 4 with a 10-day public comments period. Observers say those reports are only usually released as a formality once permission to begin construction has already been granted.

More protests in Guandong had been expected on Sunday, while the original 10-day public consultation period was only extended on Saturday after demonstrators had marched to the city offices. Soon after its extension, officials said the project was scrapped.

A Beijing nuclear expert, who did not wish to give his name as he is not authorized to speak to the press, told the Independent that he was surprised the project had been canceled.

“Compared to a nuclear power plant, a uranium processing facility is way safer, as there is no fusion or reaction taking place in the production process.”

The sudden dropping of the project reflects a change in Chinese government policy on environmental issues. The authorities have recently canceled, postponed or relocated several metal and petrochemical plants following strong public opposition.

There have been a number of reports in the Chinese and international media about the extent of pollution from Chinese rapid economic growth, including ‘cancer towns’, which are blighted by heavy metals polluting the ground water, rivers and top soil.

China is expanding its nuclear capacity from 12.6 GW at present to 60-70 GW by the end of the decade.

Guandong is already one of the country’s largest centers of nuclear power generation. It operates five nuclear reactors and plans to build another dozen. The CNNC plans are part of a concerted national effort to reduce China’s dependence on coal and boost the use of other forms of cleaner energy production.


RT


Related:
Holy Fukushima – Radiation From Japan Is Already Killing North Americans
Cracks in Iran’s nuclear reactor facility following quakes – diplomats


 

Radioactive cesium level soars 90-fold at Fukushima in just 3 days

Levels of radioactive cesium-134 in a well at Fukushima nuclear power plant are up to 90 times higher than just three days ago, and may spread into the Pacific Ocean. 

Meanwhile, 10 applications to restart reactors under stricter rules have been received.

TEPCO, the company that operated the plant and is now in charge of the cleanup and decommissioning, said that cesium-134 levels in the well water were at 9,000 becquerels per liter, 150 times the legal level. While cesium-137 measured 18,000 becquerels, 200 times the permitted level.

Cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years and the readings were some 85 times higher than they had been three days earlier.

These are the highest cesium levels found since the March 2011 disaster.

“It is unclear whether the radioactive water is leaking into the sea. After gathering needed data, we will conduct analyses,” a TEPCO official told the Japanese media.

Although the total levels of cesium collected on July 8 were far higher than those collected just three days earlier on July 5, levels of other radioactive materials, such as strontium, remained the same as three days ago.

“We do not know why only cesium levels have risen,” a TEPCO spokesman said.

The latest findings, just 25 meters from the Pacific Ocean, were made just a month after TEPCO detected cesium in the groundwater flowing from high ground fairly far from the sea into its destroyed plant.

The spike, along with discoveries of other radioactive elements like Tritium and Strontium, suggest that contaminated water is spreading towards the sea from the reactors, which are on higher ground.

It was reported in June that very high levels of strontium 90 were found in groundwater near the stricken plant, but TEPCO officials insisted that it had not leaked into the nearby ocean.

Engineers have been flushing water over the reactors for more than two years to keep them cool, but contaminated water has been building up at the rate of an Olympic sized swimming pool every week and TEPCO is running out of space to store it.

It has applied to channel groundwater, which it says has low levels of radioactive contamination, around the plant and into the sea. Local fishermen have opposed the proposal.

The findings in one of four wells dug by TEPCO at Fukushima since May 24, 2013, come just days after new safety rules came into force designed to avoid a repeat of the disaster and allow Japan to restart it nuclear power stations.

At present only two of Japan’s 50 reactors are connected to the grid, but the government is forging ahead with plans to reopen them, in the face of a skeptical public and rising imported fossil fuel bills to run conventional power stations.

“Some of the units are projected to [restart] one year from now, though I don’t know how many,” Kenzo Oshima a commissioner at Japan’s Nuclear Radiation Authority, told Reuters.


RT

World’s first floating nuclear power plant to begin operating in Russia in 2016

In three years, Russia will have the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, capable of providing energy and heat to hard-to-get areas as well as drinking water to arid regions.

The unique vessel should be operational by 2016, the general director of Russia’s biggest shipbuilders, the Baltic Plant, Aleksandr Voznesensky told reporters at the 6th International Naval Show in St. Petersburg.

The Akademik Lomonosov is to become the spearhead of a series of floating nuclear power plants, which Russia plans to put into mass-production.

The floating power-generating unit, aimed at providing energy to large industrial enterprises, port cities and offshore gas and oil-extracting platforms, was designed on the basis of nuclear reactors which are equipped on the icebreakers ships. The technology has proved itself for over 50 years of successful operation in extreme Arctic conditions.  

The floating power plant is a vessel with a displacement of 21,500 tons and a crew of 69 people. It’s non-self-propelled and therefore has to be towed to the desired destination.

Each ship will have two modified KLT-40 naval propulsion reactors together providing up to 70 MW of electricity or 300 MW of heat, which is enough for a city with a population of 200,000 people.

The floating nuclear power plants are expected to be used in remote regions of Russia’s high north and Far East, which currently see economic growth suffering from a lack of energy.

For export purposes, the floating power plant can also be modified as a desalination plant able to produce 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water on a daily basis.

15 countries, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Namibia, Cape Verde and Argentina, have previously expressed interest in acquiring such power stations.

The manufacturer stresses that the process of fuel enrichment on the vessels complies with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) dealing with nonproliferation of nuclear arms.

Like every atomic station the floating power plant is designed with a safety margin, exceeding any possible threats, which makes the reactors invulnerable to tsunami waves or crashes with other ships or on-land structures.  

The power-generating unit is to be replaced by a new one after 40 years, with the used reactor returned to a specialized facility for re-utilization.

The vessels are said to be safe for the environment as they don’t release any hazardous substances during operation.

The construction of the maiden floating nuclear power station, Akademik Lomonosov, began in 2007 at the Sevmash Submarine-Building Plant in Severodvinsk.

A year later it was transferred to the Baltic Plant, but was stalled for the last two years due to a lack of financing.  

The new deal to finalize the construction of a floating power unit for the floating nuclear power plant was signed between the Baltic plant and the Russiam state Rosenergoatom company in December 2012.


RT
Images from www.okbm.nnov.ru

60,000 in Tokyo protest government plans to restart nuclear power

Approximately 60,000 people rallied in Japan’s capital of Tokyo on Sunday, June 2nd in order to protest recent government plans to restart the country’s idled nuclear reactors. 

People gathered in Shiba Park and later marched towards the parliament building. Among the organizers was Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel literature laureate, who called on the Japanese government to leave the nuclear power plants in suspension out of fears for safety.

The Japanese government has previously stated that it will most likely allow those reactors to return to power which have been approved by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), whose new safety guidelines are scheduled to be adopted in July. One of Japan’s largest-ever protests saw 170,000 people gather in a similar fashion in July 2012, around the same time that then-Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided on the first two reactor restarts since the March 2011 Fukushima disaster. As of now, the anti-nuclear protestors say they have collected over 8 million signatures of those opposed to reactor restarts.

As they marched through the streets, the protestors carried signs and banners that had messages such as “No Nukes! Unevolved Apes Want Nukes!” As of today, the two reactors that were restarted last summer, located in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, are the only ones out the country’s 50 that have returned to operation. While Sunday’s rally was organized between three different groups, Kyodo news reported that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had put the number of protesters between 20,000 and 30,000.


Adam Westlake

Holy Fukushima – Radiation From Japan Is Already Killing North Americans

Radioactive isotopes of the type released from Fukushima have a half-life of 30,000 years.  This means that we must permanently change the way we prepare our food.

 If you live on the west coast of Canada or the United States, you’re pretty much already screwed at this point thanks to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011.  Radiation levels are already increasing in the food and water, babies born with thyroid issues linked to radiation are rising quickly and governments in Canada and the United States are raising the “acceptable levels” of certain toxic substances in the food being shipped in from Japan.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory, this is happening and it’s happening right now.

The fancy little picture at the top of the article isn’t showing you the flow of happy fun time thoughts from Japan back in March of 2012, it’s showing you the flow of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011.  Yes, that sharp pain you just felt in your chest is the sudden realization that the image shows the radiation reaching almost past Hawaii more than a year ago.

Do the math – If that radiation screamed across the Pacific Ocean that far in one year, just how far do you think it has gotten since then?  Look at what World Truth TV is saying and then you decide.

Samples of milk taken across the United States have shown radiation at levels 2000 percent higher than EPA maximums.  The reason that milk is so significant is that it is representative of the entire food supply.  According to an article published on Natural News, “Cows consume grass and are exposed to the same elements as food crops and water supplies. In other words, when cows’ milk starts testing positive for high levels of radioactive elements, this is indicative of radioactive contamination of the entire food supply.”

The  Food and Drug  Administration and the Environmental Deception Protection Agency, instead of refusing to prohibit the sale of tainted foods and mandatory testing of foods produced and harvested from the Pacific Coast, have simply raised the “acceptable levels”  of radioactive material in foods.
If that doesn’t scare the ever-living crap out of you, then take a look at the list of foods you are now supposed to be wary of, you know, for only the next 30,000 years.

How can we protect ourselves? First, be aware of what items are likely to be highly tainted.

1.)  SEAFOOD:  Question the origin of ALL seafood.  Fish and crustaceans from the Pacific Ocean should all be considered to be poisoned with radiation.

2.)  WATER:  The rainfall and snowfall are all radiated.  Do not drink any water that has not been filtered.   The tap water that flows from your faucet has NOT been treated to rid it of radioactive particles. A recent report from the NY Times stated, “A rooftop water monitoring program managed by UC Berkeley’s Department of Nuclear Engineering detected substantial spikes in rain-borne iodine-131 during torrential downpours …

3.) DAIRY PRODUCTS:  Milk and milk products from the West Coast states currently have the highest levels of radiation in North America.

4.)  PRODUCE:  Leafy Vegetables, Wines, Tomatoes, Strawberries….all produce from California or any other West Coast State are also likely to be tainted.

5.)  MEAT:  If an animal eats any leafy vegetable all along the West Coast, that animal has consumed radiation, and is poisoned.  This is any animal from cows, pigs, goats, sheep to wild deer and other game.

If you eat the above foods from areas with high radiation levels, you are eating radiation and feeding it to your children. Slowly the radiation levels within your body will build up.  This is PERMANENT.

Infant mortality rates across the United States have increased by more than 35% since the nuclear disaster, according to a court statement by Dr. Sherman with independent scientist Leuren Moret, MA, PhD.  A study published in The International Journal of Medicine indicates that more than 20,000 deaths right here in North America can be directly attributed to the release of radioactive material from Fukushima.

Radioactive isotopes of the type released from Fukushima have a half-life of 30,000 years.  This means that we must permanently change the way we prepare our food.

• Wash your food with soap and rinse it in filtered water. 
• Be aware of the origins of your vegetables, fish, game and seafood.
• Keep abreast of radiation levels to help monitor where your food is acquired.
• Use only filtered water for drinking, cooking and ice.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but that one way trip to colonize Mars is looking pretty damn attractive right now.

Jeromie Williams

China, India, Pakistan boost nuclear arsenals: study

Three of the world's nuclear powers -- China, India and Pakistan -- have increased their arsenals over the past year, while the other five have cut their strength or kept it stable, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said Monday.

China now has 250 nuclear warheads against 240 in 2012, while Pakistan has increased its warheads by about 10 to between 100 and 120 and India has also added roughly 10 for a total of 90 to 110, SIPRI said in its annual report.

According to SIPRI, the arms race is all the more disturbing because of what the institute called a "fragile" peace in Asia, characterised by growing tensions since 2008 between India and Pakistan, China and Japan, and the two Koreas, among others.

"While states have avoided direct conflict with each other and have stopped supporting insurgent movements on each other's territory, decades-old suspicions linger and economic integration has not been followed up with political integration," SIPRI said.

Only the two old superpowers have cut their warheads, Russia reducing its number from 10,000 to 8,500, and the United States scaling back from 8,000 to 7,700.

The warheads controlled by France stayed at 300, while Britain's remained at 225, and Israel's at 80.

SIPRI acknowledged that the figures were to a large extent estimates, as the nuclear powers aren't equally transparent, China being totally opaque, and Russia gradually becoming less open.

SIPRI does not count North Korea and Iran as nuclear powers yet, as their respective programmes are still considered in their early stages.

While the global total of warheads was down, SIPRI said it did not translate into a significantly diminished nuclear threat.

"Once again there was little to inspire hope that the nuclear weapon-possessing states are genuinely willing to give up their nuclear arsenals. The long-term modernisation programmes under way in these states suggest that nuclear weapons are still a marker of international status and power," said SIPRI Senior Researcher Shannon Kile.

Efforts to reduce arsenals of chemical and biological weapons have also been slow, according to SIPRI, a long-time advocate of abolishing weapons of mass destruction.

The United States and Russia have not destroyed all their chemical weapons in 2012 as promised, and Syria has said it is prepared to use them in the case of foreign attack.

SIPRI figures also show that the number of peacekeepers deployed around the world fell by more than 10 percent in 2012, reflecting partly the beginning withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

SIPRI noted an increase in recent years in the number of intrastate conflicts that are internationalised, as outside states have supported one side or another.

"Such involvement often has the effect of increasing casualty rates and prolonging conflicts," SIPRI said in its report.

SIPRI's annual report also contains data already published, including figures showing a decline in global arms spending in 2012 of 0.5 percent, the first drop since 1998.

The report also said China has overtaken Britain as the world's fifth largest arms exporter after the United States, Russia, Germany and France.


AFP

Cracks in Iran’s nuclear reactor facility following quakes – diplomats

A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 1,200 km (746 miles) south of Tehran.(Reuters / Mohammad Babaie)

Iran’s only power producing nuclear reactor in Bushehr was damaged by earthquakes which struck Iran over April and May, diplomats told AP. 

Cracks have reportedly appeared in at least one section of the structure.

Cracks of several meters long have appeared in one concrete section of the facility, claimed diplomats from countries monitoring Iran’s nuclear program. Cracks however were not visible around the highly-radioactive reactor core, they said. 

Tehran did not deny or confirm the report with Iran’s chief delegate to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, telling AP: “I know nothing about Bushehr.” 

The safety of the plant was thrown into question following the April quakes, one of which was 7.7, and a subsequent moderate quake in early May. Their severity caused concerns that protective vessels which contain the radioactive material inside the reactors could be cracked. Intense earthquakes can also knock out power and disable cooling systems that prevent overheating and possible meltdown. 

Following the tremors, Iran stated that the plant is technically sound and was built to withstand quakes up to magnitude 8. 

Russian nuclear specialists examined the facility after the April quake that caused much damage in the neighboring Pakistan killing around 40 and wounded hundreds. 

"The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor, personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," an official with Atomstroyexport, the Russian company which built the facility, told RIA Novosti. 

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said at the time that Iran reported that earthquake caused no damage to the facility. 

“Iran has informed [the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Center] of the event, reporting that there has been no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation,” the agency said in a statement, according to Reuters. 

A doll lies on the rubble of a destroyed house as Iranian residents inspect the damage in the town of Shonbeh, southeast of Bushehr, on April 10, 2013.(AFP Photo / STR)

May’s quake was 6.2 on the Richter scale, and was followed by a 5.6 tremor the following morning. Its epicenter was 85 kilometers (52 miles) southeast of the town of Minab, located in the southern Hormuzgan Province off the Strait of Hormuz. 

“What I can say about this is that the center of the earthquake was away from the Bushehr reactor which was designed and built in the 1970s ... in a way that qualifies it to withstand an earthquake of that magnitude,” General Director of International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano told the Bahrain News Agency after the quake.   

Iran's environmental protection chief also indicated that the country's nuclear facilities were well protected. 

Construction of the plant began in 1975 by German companies, work stopped in 1979. Iran and the Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy signed a contract for its completion in 1995, when Atomstroyexport was named as the main contractor, which was tasked with incorporating a pressurized water reactor into the existing Bushehr building.  

RT

Update:

Nuclear Event in Iran on Wednesday, 12 June, 2013 at 03:25 (03:25 AM) UTC.

Iran's Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant has suffered a malfunction in its main generator, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow said on Monday. Mahmoud Reza Sadjadi did not specify the nature of the malfunction or make clear whether it has caused the plant's shutdown, Russia's state Itar-TASS news agency reported. But he stressed that this fault was not caused by the series of earthquakes that shook Iran in recent weeks. "In close cooperation, our and Russian specialists are undertaking efforts to fix the malfunction," Sadjadi was quoted as saying. He added that the fault "was linked to the work of the generator" and had occurred some time ago, but provided no other details. Bushehr is Iran's only nuclear power plant and is located on the Gulf in the southern section of the country. The plant was officially opened in September 2011. Its initial construction was begun by Germany in the 1975 before being dropped because of Iran's Islamic revolution.

source  

Fukushima’s Catastrophic Aftermath: The Dangers of Worldwide Nuclear Radiation

In her book titled “No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth,” nuclear power/environmental health expert Rosalie Bertell (1929 – 2012) said:

“Should the public discover the true health cost(s) of nuclear pollution, a cry would rise from all parts of the world and people would refuse to cooperate passively with their own death.”

In her article titled “Radioactivity: No Immediate Danger,” she coined a new word. “Omnicide” describes the ultimate human rejection of life. It’s “difficult to comprehend,” but it’s happening, she said.

She called industrial radioactive pollution “cumulatively greater than Chernobyl. We are now in a no-win situation with radioactive materials, where (it’s) acceptable to have cancer deaths, deformed children and miscarriages.”

Industry propaganda falsely claims nuclear power is clean and green. The nuclear fuel cycle discharges significant amounts of greenhouse gases.

It’s also responsible for hundreds of thousands of curies of deadly radioactive gases and elements in the environment annually.

“Claiming nuclear production of energy is ‘clean,’ ” said Bertell, “is like dieting but stuffing yourself with food between meals.”

Separately, she said:

“There is no such thing as a radiation exposure that will not do damage. There is a hundred per cent possibility that there will be damage to cells. The next question is: which damage do you care about?”

All toxic hazards are serious, she explained. Nuclear radiation is worst of all. It threatens all human life. “Our present path is headed toward species death – whether fast with nuclear war or technological disaster, or slow, by poison.”

Global suicide is certain. Continued nuclear proliferation and Fukushima accelerated it.

March 11 marked its second anniversary. It’s perhaps the worst ever environmental disaster. Reliable experts call large parts of Japan unsafe. They’re too hazardous to live in.

According to Professor Hiroaki Koide, Tokyo’s as contaminated as Fukushima. Thousands of city residents protested. They oppose nuclear power. They want safe energy sources replacing it.

Radiation contamination is widespread. East Asia, North America, Europe and other areas are affected.

Hazardous air, water and land readings across many areas globally are many multiples too high. Future epidemic cancer levels are certain. It occurs when body cells divide and spread uncontrollably. If untreated, it metastasizes and kills.

Michel Chossudovsky calls Fukushima “a nuclear war without a war.” It’s an “unspoken crisis of worldwide nuclear contamination.”

Tens of thousands of children have confirmed thyroid abnormalities. They reflect the tip of the iceberg. Children are especially vulnerable. No radiation dose is safe.

Karl Grossman wants planet earth made a “nuclear free zone.” We barely made it through the last century without a “major nuclear weapons exchange,” he said.

Nuclear energy in all forms is unsafe. Safe, clean, renewable solar, wind, geothermal, and other energy sources are readily available.

Admiral Hyman Rickover (1900 – 1986) was the father of America’s nuclear navy. In January 1982, he told a congressional committee that until a few billion years ago, “it was impossible to have any life on earth.”

“There was so much radiation on earth you couldn’t have any life, fish or anything.” Gradually the amount subsided. “Now, we are creating something which nature tried to destroy to make life possible.”

“Every time you produce radiation, (a) horrible force” is unleashed. “In some cases (it’s) for billions of years, and I think the human race is going to wreck itself.”

“I am talking about humanity. The most important thing we could do is start having an international meeting where we first outlaw nuclear weapons to start off with. Then we outlaw nuclear reactors, too.”

“The lesson for history is when a war starts, every nation will ultimately use whatever weapons are available. That is the lesson learned time and again.” ”

“Therefore, we must expect, if another war, a serious war breaks out, we will use nuclear energy in some form. We will probably destroy ourselves.” Widespread contamination acts in slow motion.

Disturbing reports explain. In early April, around 120 tons of contaminated water leaked from Fukushima’s No. 1′s underground storage tank. It contained an estimated 710 billion becquerels of radioactivity.

Water around the affected tank is highly radioactive. It’s about 800 meters from the Pacific. Government and Tokyo Electric (Tepco) claimed it won’t likely reach it. Numerous previous reports suggest otherwise.

Tepco general manager Masayuki Ono said “(w)e cannot deny the fact that our faith in the underwater tanks is being lost.”

In November 2012, Nature.com headlined “Ocean still suffering from Fukushima fallout,” saying:

“Radioactivity is persisting in the ocean waters close to Japan’s ruined nuclear power plant at Fukushima Daiichi.”

New data show high contamination levels. “The Fukushima disaster caused by far the largest discharge of radioactivity into the ocean ever seen.”

Radiation levels aren’t dropping. “The implications are serious for the fishing industry.”

On December 26, CleanEnergy.org headlined “Japan Continues Struggle with Aftermath from the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster,” saying:

“….an estimated 160,000 (Japanese) citizens still have not returned home. Reports of illness in humans and livestock continue to underscore the far reaching and difficult to predict impacts that a nuclear accident can cause.”

In July 2012, 36% of Japanese children screened had abnormal thyroid growths. Months later an illness called the “Fukushima syndrome” was killing cattle throughout Fukushima Prefecture.

Mutations were found in butterflies and other insects. Their shorter life cycles allow genetic disruptions to show up sooner than in humans or other mammals.

On April 11, Bloomberg.com headlined “Tepco Faces Decision to Dump Radioactive Water in Pacific,” saying:

“Leaks were found in three of seven pits in the past week….” Options for moving contaminated water are limited.

“With Japan’s rainy season approaching, contaminated water levels are likely to increase…”

“Yesterday, Tepco reported another leak of radiated water, this time from a pipe.”

“Pacific bluefin tuna caught off San Diego in August 2011 was found to contain radioactive cesium 10 times higher than fish seized in previous years….” Perhaps its much higher now.

On April 15, Science Daily headlined “The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Power Plant Accident: Two Years On, the Fallout Continues,” saying:

“….(S)cientists are still trying to quantify the extent of the damage.” Most important is “determining just how much hazardous material escaped into the atmosphere….”

Japan Atomic Energy Agency researchers now say previously estimated “137C and 131l” release rates were too low.

On March 11, 2013, nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen said “(t)here’s definitely a large crack, perhaps five inches in diameter, in Fukushima reactor 2.”

Containment is sorely lacking. Pacific Ocean leakage continues.

On April 24, Natural News headlined “Massive, uncontained leak at Fukushima is pouring over 710 billion becquerels of radioactive materials into atmosphere,” saying:

It’s the largest ever plant leakage. Fukushima’s disaster never ends. It “keeps on giving.”

“(N)ew reports indicate that a wealth of new radioactive materials have been spewed into the atmosphere.”

It’s spreading globally. Nuclear radiation is forever. It doesn’t dissipate or disappear. No safe level exists. Every dose is an overdose. Bertell was right. “Omnicide” threatens everyone.


Stephen Lendman

lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs Fridays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour

http://www.dailycensored.com/fukushimas-catastrophic-aftermath-continues

Obama Approves Raising Permissible Levels of Nuclear Radiation in Drinking Water

Civilian Cancer Deaths Expected to Skyrocket Following Radiological Incidents

The White House has given final approval for dramatically raising permissible radioactive levels in drinking water and soil following “radiological incidents,” such as nuclear power-plant accidents and dirty bombs. The final version, slated for Federal Register publication as soon as today, is a win for the nuclear industry which seeks what its proponents call a “new normal” for radiation exposure among the U.S population, according Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

Issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, the radiation guides (called Protective Action Guides or PAGs) allow cleanup many times more lax than anything EPA has ever before accepted. These guides govern evacuations, shelter-in-place orders, food restrictions and other actions following a wide range of “radiological emergencies.” The Obama administration blocked a version of these PAGs from going into effect during its first days in office. The version given approval late last Friday is substantially similar to those proposed under Bush but duck some of the most controversial aspects:

In soil, the PAGs allow long-term public exposure to radiation in amounts as high as 2,000 millirems. This would, in effect, increase a longstanding 1 in 10,000 person cancer rate to a rate of 1 in 23 persons exposed over a 30-year period;

-In water, the PAGs punt on an exact new standard and EPA “continues to seek input on this.” But the thrust of the PAGs is to give on-site authorities much greater “flexibility” in setting aside established limits; and

-Resolves an internal fight inside EPA between nuclear versus public health specialists in favor of the former. The PAGs are the product of Gina McCarthy, the assistant administrator for air and radiation whose nomination to serve as EPA Administrator is taken up this week by the Senate.

-Despite the years-long internal fight, this is the first public official display of these guides. This takes place as Japan grapples with these same issues in the two years following its Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“This is a public health policy only Dr. Strangelove could embrace. If this typifies the environmental leadership we can expect from Ms. McCarthy, then EPA is in for a long, dirty slog,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that the EPA package lacks a cogent rationale, is largely impenetrable and hinges on a series of euphemistic “weasel words.”

“No compelling justification is offered for increasing the cancer deaths of Americans innocently exposed to corporate miscalculations several hundred-fold.”

Reportedly, the PAGs had been approved last fall but their publication was held until after the presidential election. The rationale for timing their release right before McCarthy’s confirmation hearing is unclear.

Since the PAGs guide agency decision-making and do not formally set standards or repeal statutory requirements, such as the Safe Drinking Water Act and Superfund, they will go into full effect following a short public comment period. Nonetheless, the PAGs will likely determine what actions take place on the ground in the days, weeks, months and, in some cases, years following a radiological emergency.


 Helen Caldicott

North Korea says 'Prepare for War' after latest sanctions

Dictator Kim Jong Un has cancelled the nonaggression pact and closed its shared border with the South, in the latest sign of rising tensions, according to CBS News.

 The Daily Mail also reported this morning that the dictator told his troops to "prepare for war" and to make the first strike if tensions "boil over."

The shared border is a small office building on the demilitarized zone where leaders can cross the border with immunity to conduct talks. It's also a symbol of each side's willingness to sit down and talk.

"This surge in provocative rhetoric is particularly dangerous," Michael Auslin of the American Enterprise Institute told CNN's Jethro Mullen. "South Korea's new president (Park Geun Hye) can't be seen to back down in the face of the North's threats, while Kim Jong Un may feel that his successful missile and nuclear tests give him the ability to keep pressuring Seoul. The two may wind up talking themselves into conflict."

Analysts say that the North is furious over new harsh sanctions, signed in the U.N. yesterday, and supported even by North Korea's ally, China. The sanctions take aim at cash transfers, luxury items, financial institutions and technology acquisitions that may aid weapons development.

The first set of sanctions against North Korea, following their rocket launch last year, took aim at food aid from the U.S. Withholding U.S. food aid from the country could lead to 3 million deaths by starvation, according to the U.N.

But the latest set of sanctions have evidently ruffled feathers of North Korea's leaders,, eliciting a litany of harsh rhetoric.

North and South Korea have exchanged a large number of incidents, some resulting in deaths, since the armistice was signed by both countries in 1953 — and this one in particular was easy to see coming, some analysts say.

As noted by CNN's Jethro Mullen, research from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies showed that Pyongyang has carried out "a military provocation of some form within weeks of every South Korean presidential inauguration dating back to 1992."

The dictator also threatened "thermonuclear war" against America, which the U.S. quickly dismissed, saying the North didn't seem capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. Other reports said that if the North could deliver one, they would be able to at least hit two of America's allies, South Korea and Japan.

Were that to happen, the international community would undoubtedly respond with reciprocal actions.

source

Interesting:

Unusual geological event in North Korea on Tuesday, 12 February, 2013 at 04:00 (04:00 AM) UTC 

Nuclear missiles deactivated by ufo's

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have become a common phenomenon worldwide. Odds are that eight out of ten people you ask about UFOs have a general idea that something is going on in our skies that was previously unnoticed. 

So why are UFOs getting so much attention within the past few years? One reason is because all of the sightings that happen daily all over the world. Millions, if not billions of people were starting to notice strange objects in the skies to the point where they started asking questions. Obviously, truth can’t be hidden forever and this mass awakening has forced dozens of governments, military and intelligence agencies to release official documentation proving the existence of UFOs. Documents indicate that UFOs are constantly tracked on radar, travelling at high speeds and performing maneuvers like suddenly stopping, hovering, and going the opposite direction. Military agencies even scramble jets so the pilots can take a closer look. UFOs gained so much attention that CNN even held a press conference in September 2010 about it, part of it included UFOs at nuclear missile sites.

One of many  previously classified reports (out of thousands) that is now available in the public domain is the intrusion at Minot Air Force Base, in North Dakota, on August 24, 1966. Air Force personnel were concerned about a light in the sky. A team went to to check it out and confirmed the object, then saw a second white object while doing so. The object was tracked on radar and moved vertical  several times; each time it descended, an air force officer in charge of a missile crew found his radio transmission interrupted by static. The object eventually descended to ground level, and  the Air Force sent a team to check it out. They saw the object either on the ground or hovering very low. According to the official report:
“When the team was about ten miles from the landing site, static disrupted radio contact with them. Five to eight minutes later, the glow diminished, and the UFO took off. Another UFO was visually sighted and confirmed by radar. The one that was first sighted passed beneath the second. Radar also confirmed this. The first made for altitude toward the north, and the second seemed to disappear with the glow of red.”

The incident lasted nearly four hours and was confirmed by three different missile sites. The Minot Air Force Base incursion, among many others worldwide, is well known in the UFO community. UFO researchers are able to petition and receive thousands of previously classified documents. It makes you wonder, most of these documents are over 30 years old, what type of information remains classified to this day?

Why are UFOs Deactivating Our Nuclear Missiles?

Atomic weapons are something Earth and those who reside upon it don’t need. They are useless, pointless and provide nothing for the human race. Maybe deactivating nuclear missiles is a message to us, that we are playing with something we don’t need to play with. If UFOs deactivating nuclear missiles was something to worry about, something else would have already happened as they have been deactivating nuclear weapons since we invented them. Many UFOs started coming around when we were testing atomic weapons. Many of us are fearful about the thought of extraterrestrial life, i’m not surprised given a large majority of movies like to depict ET’s in a fearful manner. Is it not equally possible that some extraterrestrial beings might be concerned for the planet and the well being of the human race? Something to think about, when it comes to the topic of life on other planets, our perception has already been given to us. Hollywood has some strange connections, usually when the elite don’t want us to know something for so long, it’s because that ‘something’ could help us grow and move forward as a human race. Many examples of this exist, through suppression of clean energy technologies, patents, cancer treatments and more, is it not possible that the existence of extraterrestrial life is a good thing?


Former U.S. Air Force personnel claim they experienced UFO activity near nuclear sites at which they worked.

The UFO-Nukes Connection is now remarkably well-documented. U.S. Air Force, FBI, and CIA files declassified via the Freedom of Information Act establish a convincing, ongoing pattern of UFO activity at American nuclear weapons sites extending back to December 1948.

Moreover, these mysterious incursions are not ancient history, so to speak, occurring only during the Cold War era. Indeed, evidence suggests that multiple, ongoing incidents have taken place near ICBM sites operated by Malmstrom AFB, Montana, as recently as October 2012.

For nearly 40 years, noted researcher Robert Hastings has sought out and interviewed former and retired U.S. Air Force personnel regarding their direct or indirect involvement in nuclear weapons-related UFO incidents. These individuals—ranging from retired colonels to former airmen—report extraordinary encounters which have obvious national security implications. In fact, taken to their logical conclusion, these cases have planetary implications, given the horrific consequences that would result from a full-scale, global nuclear war.

Significantly, the UFO activity occasionally transcends mere surveillance and involves direct and unambiguous interference with our strategic weapons systems. Numerous cases include reports of mysterious malfunctions of large numbers of nuclear missiles just as one or more UFOs hovered nearby. (Declassified Soviet Ministry of Defense documents confirm that such incidents also occurred in the former USSR.)

To date, Hastings has interviewed more than 130 military veterans who were involved in various UFO-related incidents at U.S. missile sites, weapons storage facilities, and nuclear bomb test ranges. The events described by these individuals leave little doubt that the U.S. nuclear weapons program is an ongoing source of interest to someone possessing vastly superior technology.

The witnesses said that they felt compelled to speak out about the reality of UFO activity at nuclear weapons sites and urged the U.S. government to finally reveal the facts to the American people and the rest of the world.

Since 1981, Hastings has presented his research findings at more than 500 colleges and universities nationwide, and possesses hundreds of highly favorable letters of recommendation from sponsors. "I am not condemning any government agency for its policy of secrecy regarding UFOs", says Hastings, "but I believe that the public should be given the facts."

Hastings believes that UFOs are piloted by visitors from elsewhere in the universe who, for whatever reason, have taken an interest in our long-term survival. He contends that these beings are occasionally disrupting our nukes to send a message to the American and Soviet/Russian governments that their possession and potential large-scale use of nuclear weapons threatens the future of humanity and the environmental integrity of the planet. In short, Washington and Moscow are being warned that they are "playing with fire."

To suggest that this scenario is the only explanation for widespread UFO sightings during the modern era would be presumptuous, simplistic, and undoubtedly inaccurate. Nevertheless, Hastings believes that the now well-documented nuclear weapons-related incidents are integral to an understanding of the mystery that confronts us.

 Larry Manross wrote,
"Robert, you are right on. As a launch crew commander at Minot AFB from 1966-1970, I will tell you that there were UFO incidents. In one [during which I was present] the security team upstairs went into a defensive posture with lights turned out. They had called in a UFO sighting to the base and radar was tracking it. All of a sudden it buzzed the launch control center and that was when they cut the lights and took a defensive position."
During 1967 or 1968, I was a 1st Lieutenant and a junior officer in the capsule. The security team kept us informed of their concerns; especially the buzzing of the Launch Control Center. I wish I had been upstairs when the incident took place, but as you know the launch crews were down in the capsules for 24 hour uninterrupted stretches. But Base Ops did confirm that they were tracking an unidentified object on radar.

Manross was asked to elaborate on these statements. He responded,

"As a missile launch officer we had numerous UFO incidents that seemed to be all around us." I was in the 742nd Strategic Missile Squadron, and we manned Kilo, Lima, Motel, November, and Oscar. I was primarily assigned to Kilo or Lima with the commanders Capt. John Deresky and later Capt. Charles Brickley. Neither of them was with me that night. Later I moved up to the commander role. I was attempting to sleep while the commander was dealing with security upstairs and the base headquarters regarding some unidentified [flying] object. It was when his board lit up like a Christmas tree for a moment that he got scared and asked for back-up. The lit-up board signals that the missiles have launched. It was a false signal but correlated with the incident taking place upstairs. It all happened quite fast. Then things returned to normal.

[Anyway,] that was when I became engaged. The commander was rattled and so was the security team upstairs. The security team reported that something had buzzed the LCF and that they had gone into a defensive posture, turning out the lights and drawing their weapons. They indicated it was very bright and traveling at a high rate of speed. They did not describe any shape, etc., other than it was bright. [Then] base headquarters reported that the unidentified object was no longer on radar and that was the last we heard of it.
There was no debriefing—nada. Just another day pulling an alert at Minot. I do remember the senior officer saying something about how I should not talk about the incident without getting authorization. [In spite of that,] all the officers talked about UFOs and what was going on. As you can imagine there was quite a range of opinions. The common assumption among many [officers] was that the objects were somehow drawing power from the missile warheads. A security team was stationed at one of the missile launchers because the radar surveillance was out. A UFO hovered over the launch pad and they discharged their weapons and claim they heard plinks as the bullets hit the object. Every security team I worked with said it was a true story and had taken place at Minot AFB. The number of UFO incidents at the time, during 1966-'70, were so frequent, that in the summer the security team sometimes would put chairs in front of the building, or on the roof of the building, to watch for UFOs. Can you believe it?

I had heard nearly identical stories from other former or retired USAF personnel who had been stationed at Ellsworth, F.E. Warren, and Malmstrom AFBs during that era. This particular side show is almost humorous: Nuclear missile security guards sitting outside Minuteman Launch Control Facilities at night looking for UFOs because the objects appeared above the missile field so frequently! If only the American media had been given that story at the time. But almost no information leaked out to the press or public."

On September 27, 2010 Hastings hosted the UFO-Nukes Connection press conference at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., during which seven U.S. Air Force veterans discussed UFO incursions at nuclear weapons sites during the Cold War era: