Dr. Haruki Madarame, who is resigning as the head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, is remembered by me as having spoke the universal truth when he said "It's all about money, isn't it?" when it comes to nuclear waste.
Here's an ex-minister in Australia, which has been spared with any contamination from Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident, wanting to bring in the contaminated soil and debris from Fukushima to Australia and stored it for the Japanese, in return for the future sales of uranium to Japan and more funding from Japan for the construction projects in western Australia.
The former sports minister now works for a law firm in Tokyo. He also happens to be the chairman of a junior miner. Talk about conflict of interest. And he is proposing to put the contaminated soil and debris on western and southern Australian deserts.
(On second thoughts... It may be better than having the debris burned all over Japan...)
From The Australian (3/15/2012):
Australia 'ideal' for Fukushima soil
Rick Wallace
A HOWARD government minister has entered the nuclear-waste debate by arguing that Australia should accept radioactive debris from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Former sports minister Andrew Thomson said the move would help break a deadlock in Japan that is jeopardising recovery efforts from last year's March 11 tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
His comments come after the Senate's approval of the Muckaty Station site in Northern Territory as a nuclear waste dump -- and new Foreign Minister Bob Carr's remarks backing atomic energy in Australia -- reignited debate on the issue.
Because of a last-minute Greens amendment, the Muckaty site cannot accept waste from abroad, but Mr Thomson said the vast deserts of Western Australia and South Australia were perfect spots for the Fukushima waste.
In Japan, no prefecture has agreed to house the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste from the world's second-worst nuclear tragedy and it is piling up in temporary storage sites obstructing reconstruction efforts.
Most of the waste consists of contaminated soil and debris removed during clean-up efforts from areas just outside the 20km exclusion zone around the plant and is only mildly radioactive.
Mr Thomson, who now works for law firm Minter Ellison in Tokyo, said Australia could offer "ideal places to dispose of this debris and store it safely".
"This stuff is only mildly radioactive, it's not going to harm anyone, but the last place you want to store it is Japan -- it's just too crowded," he said.
"Western Australia has benefited greatly from Japanese demand for iron ore and base metals and South Australia is launching a major uranium export industry. It's only fair and reasonable if we propose to sell more uranium to Japan in future that we should offer such help now when Japan really needs it."
Mr Thomson told The Australian his proposal related only to the debris, not the spent fuel or other nuclear waste from Fukushima or any other plant.
The former minister said that, in return for storing the Fukushima waste, Australia should receive more funding from Japan to ensure the construction of the troubled Oakajee port and rail project in WA, thereby unlocking the mid-west iron region.
The former minister and chairman of junior miner Athena Resources acknowledged he had a vested interest as Athena may one day use the port, which has hit problems with cost overruns but may be rescued by Mitsubishi.
"Most of the waste consists of contaminated soil and debris removed during clean-up efforts from areas just outside the 20km exclusion zone around the plant and is only mildly radioactive", writes Mr. Rick Wallace.
Well, since when has the soil with over 3 million becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium ("black dust" of Minami Soma), or even the soil in Watari District in Fukushima City with more than 200,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium become "only mildly radioactive"?
(H/T anon reader who's fleeing Japan to Australia)
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62 comments:
I am mixed on this as a lot of the fuel used in the reactors probably came from Australia (Canada and others). Send it back to where it came from?
Yet another self-serving individual misrepresenting the situation in Tohoku for personal gain.
Yup. Trying to profit from the nuclear disaster like so many others.
When I read these kinds of ideas I always wonder who's going to pay for the transportation. It's not like Australia is located next to Japan...
"I am mixed on this as a lot of the fuel used in the reactors probably came from Australia (Canada and others). Send it back to where it came from?"
Unfortunately, whereas the members of the 1% who are responsible for the decisions to mine uranium in Australia live in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and other major cities, the actual uranium comes from the land of impoverished Aboriginal people. We can also be certain that any waste dumps in Australia will not be located in up scale areas of Sydney or Melbourne such as Double Bay, Vaucluse or Toorak, but again close to Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.
@Exskf - my twitter account has already been suspended. Is it because I started tweeting pictures today? Please advise.
It seems the greed has no borders.
Anon at 5:41,
The same situation in the US.
Apparently, a lot of those locations where mining is carried out were viewed as holy spots by Native Americans (i.e. you are definitely NOT supposed to dig there and disturb the place). For instance, the Black Hills, sacred to the Lakhota people (aka the "Sioux").
That's also relevant to the Southwest. The Navaho (aka Dine) agreed to work as miners of radioactive materials. The Pueblos refused for religious reasons. Guess which communities got heavily affected by health problems.
I'm from southern Europe, but this really really hurts me. It's insane, vile and racist -- hurting people on the mining end and destroying others through DU shells and other bombs. :(
And that's not even talking about Fukushima. Shit.
"Apparently, a lot of those locations where mining is carried out were viewed as holy spots by Native Americans (i.e. you are definitely NOT supposed to dig there and disturb the place). For instance, the Black Hills, sacred to the Lakhota people."
Same situation in Australia. The Aboriginal people were well aware of what lay beneath their land:
"Our ancestors knew of the uranium," he said, "They called the places (of uranium deposit) 'Poison Country.' It meant: 'Don't go there to hunt. Don't go there to collect food. Don't go there.'"
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120219x3.html
Thank you for the link. I am between tears and rage.
Certainly Watts is not the one who should be apologizing, but the fact that he does honors him even more.
PS The scientific explanation for the knowledge of native peoples about those areas is that apparently thunder strikes at those locations more frequently than elsewhere.
So because Japan is TOO populated, send the radioactive debris to a country without enough people..and contaminate THAT country as well. IF radiation would stay safely in one location, then why not just pile it in the contaminated areas of Japan?? Seems easy. OR..if it can spread and contaminate--then don't ask to make other innocent people sick...less population does not mean NO population! One Australian is as important as any Japanese citizen...or this becoming a new standard??
Humans seem to think that they can get rid of radioactive materials by dumping them somewhere else on the planet.
Nobody ever asks, "will the radiation be gone by the time we run out of space?"
@Unknown March 18, 2012 1:56 AM:
You don't understand, transportation is an opportunity. See, you won't use new ships anyway, as they would be contaminated after several runs. Just use the old clunckers, let them run till they are to contaminated to get a landing permit. On the last run a fire will break out at a very deep location, luckily a ship nearby will rescue the seaman, the ship will sink and can't be recovered afterwards. Win-win-win situation, you got rid of the old cluncker, got rid of the load and you can claim the insurance money. Boy o boy, there are so many neglected freight ships available all over the world, as we have an overcapcity since the economy slowed down...
I have a better idea. How about we dump it all in Andrew Thomson's back yard?
The USA nuked Japan twice in WWII, now they've done the job properly for themselves.
Get over it Australia will become the nuclear dump site for the World - it's what Howard dreamed of to serve his US Masters. All the required legislation has been secretly prepared and is moving quietly along to fruition. Gillard has jumped in so as to out reach Abbott;
And, you can take that to the Bank (where all that shit belongs)
The meltdown already dropped it back in Canada thanks!
I think its a great idea to sent radioactive waste to Australia.... providing Andrew Thomson and his family live in the middle of it. If the CEO's of Fukushima power plant had to live right beside it, I bet they would have built better safeguards.
PISS OFF WITH YOUR RADIOACTIVE WASTE, WE ARE NOT A DUMPING GROUND, OR TEST PLACE FOR WEAPONS, AND I DONT AGREE WITH URANIUM MINING EITHER JUST PISS OFF
when people get mad enough and start sabotaging these nuke plants, then they decide to close them. We don't need them but people make billions with them. Just grow hemp and close the nuke plants. Close them now and not wait for them to screw up another county.nbnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnbmmnbmnb
Here is a non-religious view of just what nuclear power is. Remember, there are many things in the World that WE do not fully understand....
Scattered all around the Globe is the most dangerous material on the Earth. It was scattered for reasons that we do not know. Man, has decided to collect this material in a big way.
He processes, purifies, and enriches this material to make it pure as possible. Then he combines it in mass. Now it is continuous, never-ending, and a mass of death.
The only thing that can control it (if you call it controlled,) is what we are 90% made of...water. Now, EVERYTHING this material touches becomes like it is....dead or deadly.
We have just created a building block of Hell. It acts like a piece of Hell, looks like a piece of Hell, and it kills like a piece of Hell. Man, a very simple-minded creature, boils water with it or, makes weapons of mass destruction with it. So, when the block of Hell escapes, it either turns molten or blows into particles and disperses killing and burning everything that touches it.
Now, creating a block of pure Hell is, pure evil to do so. Man believes he has great power because he "controls" this type of material. Man is only guaranteeing his total extinction by assembling this building block of Hell.
Satan is the great deceiver. Man is deceived to think that building a piece of Satan's Domain is a way to better life on Earth. Only insane fools would believe and do such things....
"PISS OFF WITH YOUR RADIOACTIVE WASTE, WE ARE NOT A DUMPING GROUND, OR TEST PLACE FOR WEAPONS, AND I DONT AGREE WITH URANIUM MINING EITHER JUST PISS OFF"
I have lived in Australia for about fifteen years and still know of few things as asinine and grating as Australian national chauvinism. As exporters of nuclear fuels to Japan, Australian corporations are implicated in the Fukushima disaster almost to the same extent as is TEPCO. The Australian government and military have been eager participants in the murderous depleted uranium wars that the US has waged over decades in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Australia today promotes the expansion of the nuclear industry and an arms race in South Asia. Yet, apart from the few honourable exceptions, Australian citizens rarely think or speak about these crimes that their ruling class participates in against the planet and the rest of humanity.
Every major industrial disaster started with invested self interest from major stake holders. This prat is not only a corporate lawyer, but an ex poli as well. I wouldn't, buy a car from the slime let alone trust him with life threatening, potential nation destroying contamination storage!
This outrages me, how dare the scam of the earth think they can walk over Australia like that, we don't need that rubbish damp on us. Send it to the Elites who rule this world with their war games and their greed, who making everyone life hell on Earth.
As a West Australian citizen I object profusely to this idiotic proposal. This so called Australian should immediately be charged with treason. Also the conflict of interest should be a chargeable offence. Mr Bob Carr is no less a traitor. Australia has escaped, so far, from these nuclear debacles and here we have people who supposedly have common sense trying to reverse this situation.
This has got to be the most stupid idea i have heard. All because the leaders of this country are obsessed with money. Screw the money, Id rather be poor then ruin this country for thousands of generations to come. Australia does not force anyone to use uranium or tell them what they should use it for. I do not condone any form of nuclear power or nuclear weapons because no matter where it is used and what measures you take there will always be waste that is radioactive for hundreds of thousand of years. Like one of the comments says from an anonymous person above..... Nobody ever asks, "will the radiation be gone by the time we run out of space?". You crazy idiots are going to destroy this planet the way you are headed. Japan is already contaminated so it would make no difference whether they move some of the waste or not. That will just spread the problem. Chernobyl was evacuated because the radiation will be in the soil and all living things for thousands of years to come. As bad as it may seem to Japan they should do the same thing. Better to move the people of Japan to Australia and abandon the area now ruined by the idiots who made a nuclear plant in the first place.
leave the nuclear waste... move the japanese people to austraila...
funny thing...we aussies wont allow nuke plants here cos we waited to see what disasters were likely. we got enough evidence.
we were used by the poms as a test ground and now most of our servicemen they involved died of cancers related to it the poms now say its too long ago and WE dont matter.
then we had the french letting bombs off in our pacific areas.
we have and will cop fallout from Fuku as well.
we cop flack for using coal which is processed and keeps our nation running and we have had stringent laws to keep the pollutants from it pretty low.
the rest of the world pushed us to mine uranium because we have a lot and we are(or were till the Liar got in) a stable nation, unlikely to have wars and make the mines a risk to everyone.
GE supplied cruddy old tech chep, japans govt wanted it.
if? they use our uranium thats their choice, its also their problem to hold/dispose of it.
we dont need more crap dumped on us and we simply dont have the infrastructure to intake many japanese people either, we are already being inundated with leaky boats from asia, full of mid east refugees who provide little use and a big drain on our economy and social structure.
this Idiot should decide to apply for japanese citizenship cos he wont be welcome back here!
You might want to ask the see eye ay, about the suppressed nuclear remediation technologies buried a-w-a-y.
A Dr. Kumar invented a tech back in the late 70's that worked very well. They offered him about 5 million bucks for "hush $$$"....
I later cured my cancer with bicarbonate of soda (4 less than $5.00!), so, I'm SURE his tech probably worked so well, it would be a "threat", to the industry.
This world is owned by the globalists. If they want to move this waste from Country A to Country B it will happen. It is all about the money. Speaking of money, I am willing to bet that all or most of the costs will be borne by the Japanese taxpayers and not TEPCO. More of the globalist fascist modus operandi. Too bad the Aussies gave up their gun rights. Now their voices don't count for shit.
Its not the worlds 2nd largest nuclear disarster it's 'the' worst. Nice bit of spin, aka lying your ass off.
Dump it on Mr Thompson's Head.
Fukushima has made Mankind into nothing more than a bunch of ants pushing boric acid around until they die.
Just when I was thinking of emigrating to Australia.
Hey Guys and Gals and anyone else that cares to listen. We as a race need to help all on the planet with all our hearts and souls. However. I think Mr Thompson's Idea is only going to spread more radiation through the southern hemisphere.
Here's a positive thought though: since the Japanese govt or "powers to be" have decided to burn or incinerate everything....
There was a guy called Yul Brown who developed "Browns Gas" and patented it,. He was murdered for his efforts. In saying that "browns gas" is made by seperating the hydrogen and oxygen out of water using electolysis and making a flamablegas from it.
Mr Brown demonstrated to the critters in the then Atomic energy commission, way back, that by bombarding used rods with browns gas for a short period (15mins) they became safe. Why the fuck doesn't someone wake up in japan and develop "Brown's gas incinerators to experiment with this concept. We have to do something. or at least study it? If you go to U'tube their may be old footage of this man and his vision, unless the spooks took it down. Anyhow lets putvthis idea out there and try and get someone with a set of testicles to give it a shot.
With Love and Gratitude
It is not about money. It is about contaminating the planet with nuclear waste in order to create a public outcry to shut down the Nuclear energy. This is a part of problem-reaction-solution approach. By shutting down nuclear energy the NWO crooks will accomplish their plan of consumption reduction and Zero Growth. You can’t manufacture anything without electricity, can you?
If it is to be dumped in Australia, dump it right in the middle of Parliament House, with all the other filth!
Pity WW11 wasn't on ,we could try ,convict and hang Mr.Thomson like the traitorous scum he is.Japan tried bombing us in preparation for invasion 70 years ago, and after that didn't work are now using a traitor as a mouth piece to facilitate dumping their poisonous radioactive crap here .I hear you Lord Haw Haw Thomson .
I'd rather not have Australia as a nuclear waste dump. So what if some mining company sold it to them from Australia. We the people of Australia didn't see those profits, only the rich scum bsgs that sell that crap. You only have nuclear power if you want nuclear weapons. We have enough coal and gas to last us forever. By then hopefully the greedy oil and nuclear companies will give up the free energy patents they hide away because of the loss of control and profits from the people. We could be living in the perfect world but suppression of technology so a
few scumbags can retain global power is why we all suffer. We take out the bankers and military then no more wars. No more mass deaths for fake terror and fake war on drugs. Mabey the military can go back to protecting the people and not invading and stealing resources for the rich and then pretending it's because of bs terrorists.
I saw the bali terrorists and it made me think
of cia entrapment as we see in the states, they groome a muslim and give him bombs then bust him and then justify the war on terror through these entrapments and grooming procedures. I assume the bali bombers were also the same except they were allowed to go ahead. Now they must be growing a conscience or they are afraid of being exposed as the real terrorists.
The bottom line is nuclear waste is deadly wherever it goes! Thorium based nuclear plants may stop future melt-downs but nuclear's hardly Green. If we obey our god, Carbon Tax, government will still neglect myriad Green issues, from invasion of GE crops and pollution of air and water, to planned obselescence in Chinese goods (boosted, once we kill our own manufacturing base by Carbon Tax). Too ironic!
Andrew Thomson, what an believable fuckwit!
Mr Thomson, if you'll agree to letting your backyard and your neighbours' backyards out to store some of this waste, we'll agree to take it back and bury it in the same places in Western Australia and Northern Territory where the original uranium came from.
But if any of your neighbours refuses, then the deal is off and you'll have to find another place to put it.
The country belongs to the people, not the government or the major corporations. What possible benefit could it be to the people of Australia to import radioactive waste for storage? It would be high treason for any elected government to agree to such a proposal which is so obviously against the best interests of the people of their country.
Fight the Nuclear industry where you live. Tell them to stop mining uranium (Wake up Australia). Leave the poison in the ground so we don't have to spread it all over the surface of the earth. If you have children or grandchildren you need to act NOW!
"...It would be high treason for any elected government to agree to such a proposal which is so obviously against the best interests of the people of their country..."
100% correct. The ONLY reason this clown has said what he has - is that HE stands to benefit.
This is just talk any Australian govt. that accepted one once of radioactive waste would be voted out at the next election and never get into Parliament again. The Japanese refined the yellow cake into danger uranium so its their problem. If Japan exported chemicals to Canada & Canada made them more dangerous would Japan accept them back? I don't think so!
Given that scenario and the dangerous chemicals had the potential to contaminate the earths surface you would hope they would stop exporting more chemicals. Therefore Australia should stop selling more uranium. National and WA surveys show that more Australians oppose uranium mining than support it. Yet the government we elected is still allowing the mining and sale of it.
The comments by Australians above, plus this article on the plan of the Australian government to create radioactive dumps on Aboriginal lands, tells one all one needs to know about the mentality there:
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/radioactive-dump--with-10-days-notice-court-told-20120328-1vxdz.html
Look how billions of people are helpless. If we were to vote I bet 90% of the people would say close all nuclear power plants and even with that there would be hundreds of millions of gallons of nuclear waste. If there was another meltdown in the United States at a nuclear plant and it destroyed a city, then the citizens would not remain calm and they would demand the plants close. This is how it works we only get what we want when we won't stand for the government nonsense anymore.
Just dump the shite in the ocean. The whales, sharks and fish don't mind. Just dump it like they've been dumping nuclear waste for a long time. The oceans might turn black, but we'll worry when we cross that bridge. I would dump it in Israel since they created that technology. I think what they should do is get the people out of Japan and dump the stuff in the middle of the island. Then cover the nuclear plant with concrete and just leave the place. Japan is finished and they know it. Yeah it's a bitch to just leave your country. But if Japan is lost it will be a lot easier to close other plants.
Yes the taxpayers will have to pay for this. It's the same with our ball parks. Billinaires get the luxury of the tax payer stuck with the bill, but the billionaire makes the money on the tickets. If the radiation is in America it's saturated Japan and they should close the island.
How about since Australia makes so much money selling Uranium they have to take in the junk when there are disasters? Maybe you should quit mining the stuff. They are probably talking about 100,000 barge loads of material. Look at the cost of loading, transporting and then unloading and then transporting to the interior of Australia. ONe more expense in the nuke process. I think it makes a lot more sense instead of spreading the stuff around to just close off Japan. I mean they might end up it gets worse there.
What did the corporations like the oil copanies do years ago when someone invented something that would affect their oil profits? They would make threats against them. What if someone does something the government really frowns upon. That person might end up shot. What has happen to so many politicians in Europe and the United States when they did something the Jews didn't like? Many ended up suicided.
This man is proposing to dump nuke waste on your country. All you need is one person to step forward and let it be known it might not be good for their health for such a proposal. He'll get the message. I've had so many people taken care of like Ron Brown, personal bodyguards, Vince Foster, and the black prostitute I had the child with. The Mahoney girl in the Washingtonn coffee shop and Webster Hubble and scores of others.
In response to love and gratitude,
You and a billion other decent citizens would mayne do what's right. To not wreck the environment. But so many people have been killed who invented free electricity. People invented cars that got 100 mph decades ago. The person who invented the solar panels you put on your home was told sell the patent to the oil companies or else. He got the message. This was in the 70's. So you see this deal about conserving energy is a farce.
Because for just a small amount of materials you can produce free electricity that will run the lights and small appliances and you wouldn't have to shut anything off. It's free from the air around you. Tesla and Edison were just two.
If the citizens made the decisions they would do away with the nuclear power plants and grow hemp and feed the boilers this wood type plant and it would burn clean. Dry shredded wood will burn smoke free. But like I said that is if the citizens were allowed to vote, but we elect politicians and they'll do what we want done and what's best for us, right?
Is there any organization in Australia that is against uranium mining? Or don't they care?
I just found out why Japan is such a good customer of uranium from Australia (and probably anywhere else, too). They pay huge, huge premium over the market price on a long-term contract.
Why would Japan do that? Because the higher the cost the higher the utility fee they can charge to customers, and the higher the profit, as the profit is percentage of the cost.
From http://nccnsw.org.au/content/your-letter-can-help-stop-uranium-mining-in-nsw
So please take a couple of minutes now to write your letter, put it in an envelope and get it in the post. The more people who write, the greater the impact will be.
Where to send your letters
Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, MLC
Parliament House
Macquarie Street
Sydney NSW 2000
The Hon. Paul Green, MLC
Parliament House
Macquarie Street
Sydney NSW 2000
12 reasons we need to stop uranium mining in NSW
1. Uranium mining is dirty and dangerous. Uranium remains radioactive for thousands of years, and is known to cause cancer and birth defects.
2. Uranium is linked to the production of some of the world's most toxic and long-lasting waste and the proliferation of the worlds most destructive wepons.
3. Premier O’Farrell has no mandate for overturning the 26 year ban on uranium exploration in NSW. He did not take this policy to the election, and as recently as six months ago claimed that he had no plans to allow uranium exploration in our state.
4. The NSW Parliament must – at a minimum – commit to holding a far-reaching, open and transparent parliamentary inquiry into the risks of uranium mining in our state.
5. We cannot afford to be complacent. Only four years after the newly elected Barnett government lifted the ban on uranium exploration and mining in Western Australia, there are now three uranium mine proposals currently undergoing environmental assessment, with two more in the pipeline.
6. Uranium mines in South Australia and the Northern Territory have a well documented history of leaks, safety breaches and failed rehabilitation.
7. Every ounce of uranium mined in our state will need to be transported to a port for export, placing local communities and transport workers at risk.
8. Uranium mined in our state will inevitably end up as nuclear waste, and will contribute to the risk of nuclear disasters like Fukushima.
9. Recent revelations about heavy metal contamination from coal seam gas exploration in the Pilliga raise very real questions about the government’s capacity to effectively manage toxic risk from the uranium industry.
10. Nuclear power is not the solution to climate change. Each step in the nuclear fuel cycle – including mining, milling and enrichment of uranium, construction of nuclear power plants and treatment and storage of nuclear waste – is highly energy intensive, with most of the energy coming from polluting fossil fuels.
11. Renewable energy will create far more jobs for Australian workers than uranium, without the terrible health and environmental risks involved in uranium.
12. Have our political leaders forgotten Chernobyl? Don’t they realise that countries like Germany are getting out of nuclear power in favour of renewable energy?
They have to load that soil on trucks. Then carry to a barge and unload. Then sail to Australia. TYhen unload onto trucks and then drive the trucks one thousand miles and dump the load. If they took one foot of top soil from 20 miles around that plant if might take 250,000 trucks. The cost is too high. They should just close Japan. Just close it off and leave it alone.
Seems the best country in Europe are doing the right thing. Take notice people Germany must have decent leaders. Germany can be saved.
I just figured it would tale 80 trucks to take 12 inches of top soil off one acres. When you go out ten miles and remove the soil you are talking about 150 million trucks. Too much money. Close Japan
But you would have 300 mile radius off limits to Australians and maybe they don'[t want ot do it. The Aussies need to vote.
Mistakes in Australia too.
Radiation leak at Sydney's Lucas Heights as four workmen contaminated.
From http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/radiation-leak-fear-in-sydney/story-e6freuzi-1226326493993
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