Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Night's Black Bird Ad Infinitum: Chornobyl Disaster Anniversary Plus Nineteen Days

TOKYO (AP) -- "About 105 gallons of coolant water containing radioactive material leaked from an inactive nuclear power reactor in western Japan, but there was no danger of radiation escaping from the plant, its operator said Tuesday.

The leak was discovered by a worker who rushed to the scene after an alarm went off at Reactor No. 3 of the Mihama nuclear power plant, about 200 miles west of Tokyo, according to Kansai Electric Power Co. spokesman Hiroshi Toshikiyo.

The water, which contained traces of radiation, spilled from the primary coolant tank into a catchment area, and about seven gallons then spilled onto the surrounding floor.

No radiation leaked outside the compound, and no one was harmed by radiation, Toshikiyo said.

The cause of the leak was under investigation, but it appeared water spilled out after workers failed to properly attach a hose leading to the tank, he said.

The reactor has been closed since August 2004 after a corroded pipe ruptured and sprayed plant workers with boiling water and steam, killing five and injuring six others in the country's worst-ever nuclear plant accident. There was no radiation leak at that time.

The government in December said Kansai Electric could restart the reactor, saying the pipe had been repaired in line with government safety standards. The energy company has been carrying out checks since then, but the plant has yet to resume operations.

Resource-poor Japan is heavily dependent on its nuclear program, with the country's 52 active nuclear reactors supplying 35 percent of its electricity." ...

Associated Press "Radioactive Water Leaks From Japan Plant" May 16, 2006 via nytimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Japan-Nuclear-Leak.html














A relative or an attendant assists a victim of Minamata methylmercury poisoning in Japan. Both Japan and Belarus are nations sharing birth defect legacies of nuclear bombing, nuclear radiation, and heavy metal (methylmercury) exposures. Japan has given to Belarus a "peace bell" in recognition of the suffering of those exposed to the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster on April 26, 1986.

Japan's animist, Shinto, and Buddhist-based civilization has been racked over the past sixty-one years by nuclear destruction, heavy metal (methylmercury) poisoning, and low level nuclear poisoning.

Japan Ministry of Environment National Institute for Minamata Disease

http://www.nimd.go.jp/english/

Photo credit: Via Healthandenergy.com With thanks.

http://healthandenergy.com/images/mercury_minamata.jpg

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Chernobyl Children's Project International:

http://www.ccp-intl.org/chernobyl_heart.html

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