Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

F6, it's a terrible story .. bits and stuff .. "fallen to "a level very close to background"." was great news!

The Japanese disaster will have economic ramifications throughout the region.

In the 2nd .. "The after quake that hit Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture Thursday created some more troubles to country’s nuclear reactors
as Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant reported water leakage from its spent fuel pool." .. put a little dent in the good feeling

3rd .. Japan’s Stricken Nuclear Reactors Spared Damage From Latest 7.1 Earthquake ..

Fingers crossed there is no structural damage .. "‘The Main Fear'"

Good .. his .. "crews [...] will continue pumping nitrogen into the No. 1 reactor to prevent hydrogen explosions" .. was new to me ..

"About 3.64 million households in six Japanese prefectures were without power following the aftershock" .. OUCH! .. about 2/3 down ..

Getting Realistic About Evacuation Zone for Nuclear Plant Disaster

Among the many obvious lessons of the ongoing nuclear power disaster at the Fukushima nuclear complex in Japan is that the 10-mile evacuation zone the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has insisted upon for nuclear plants here is a product of the pro-nuclear NRC's wishful thinking.

The U.S. government has been directing Americans within 50 miles of the Fukushima reactors to evacuate. That's a somewhat more realistic distance than a 10-mile evacuation zone.

This acknowledgement, long in coming, has special meaning to a third of the U.S. population--some 108 million Americans--who live within 50 miles of nuclear power plants."

The largest concentration is the 20 million people who live within 50 miles from the Indian Point two-nuclear plant complex in Buchanan, New York--just 28 miles north of the New York City line. .. more .. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Getting-Realistic-About-Ev-by-Karl-Grossman-110405-116.html

HOME PLATE .. ah, Helen Caldicott .. March 20, 2011 .. [long time activist, and author 'Missile Envy' is the one i know best.]

Next one .. DAMN! .. "Despite protestations from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. that the tsunami that knocked out the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was unforeseeable, noted seismologists and nuclear experts say the crisis is largely man-made. [...] the Fukushima plant lacked effective "multiple protections" at some key facilities.[...] Another [...] criticized the government for not demanding that power companies be prepared for natural disasters .. "The Fukushima No. 1 plant crisis was not caused by tsunami, but by lack of multiple safeguards," Irikura said. "The guidelines stipulate nuclear plant operators must minimize risk even from unexpected events." .. [...] .. anything but complicated. "I mean, for example, surrounding key facilities with walls and ceilings," he said. .. [...] ..

LAST .. (Reuters) - U.S. regulators privately have expressed doubts some of the nation's nuclear power plants are
prepared for a Fukushima-scale disaster ... [in] contrast with the confidence U.S. regulators and industry officials
have publicly expressed ... privately NRC senior analysts are not so sure," said Edwin Lyman, a UCS nuclear expert. [...]

""Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790"

FOR SURE. Course there will always be those that say regulations get in the way. Gotta say though it is a bit
tough when somebody has to watch the regulators. Integrity and independence from industry is obviously key.

Most importantly the people have to 'continue' to hold industry and government to account. Yep, the order is meant.

Thanks for the update, F6!