UNDTE !!! May 4, 2012 - Associated Press - As Japan Shuts Down Nuclear Power, Emissions Rise - The Fukushima crisis is eroding years of Japanese efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, as power plants running on oil and natural gas fill the electricity gap left by now-shuttered nuclear reactors. Before last year's devastating tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, Japan had planned to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets on the assumption that it would rely on nuclear power, long considered a steady, low-emissions source of energy. But now it's unclear to what extent nuclear energy will even be part of the electricity mix. Japan will be free of atomic power for the first time since 1966 on Saturday, when the last of its 50 usable reactors is switched off for regular inspections. The central government would like to restart them at some point, but it is running into strong opposition from local citizens and governments. With the loss of nuclear energy, the Ministry of Environment projects that Japan will produce about 15 percent more greenhouse gas emissions this fiscal year than it did in 1990, the baseline year for measuring progress in reducing emissions. In fiscal 2010, Japan's actual emissions were close to 1990 levels. It also raises doubts about whether it will be able to meet a pledge made in Copenhagen in 2009 to slash emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
May 4, 2012 - Albany Times-Union - Dr. Dale’s Anti-Radiation Protection Protocol in the Forefront - Dr. Theresa Dale PhD, CCN, NP, of the Wellness Center for Research and Education, reacts to risk expressed in recent news articles indicating there may be a major widespread nuclear radiation exposure occurring due to Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011 (https://www.enenews.com, a world Energy News and archive site). Dr. Theresa Dale, PhD, CCN, NP, determined that certain nutrients in foods play a major role against the damaging effects of ionizing radiation. Her research led Dr. Dale to developing a protocol for supporting the body when exposed to ionizing radiation. As a Clinical Nutritionist, Dr. Dale advocates that Americans reconsider their lifestyle, diet and choice of supplementation to naturally support the immune system, strengthening it to better protect itself from ionizing radiation. A diet which includes increased amounts of whole plant foods can improve detoxification of nuclides or radioactive elements. Non-contaminated micro algae and seaweed foods would be the recommended anti-radiation diet of choice, such as Miso soup (not made in Japan); Dulse or any other type of sea veggie (from the U.S., preferably Maine); high beta carotene vegetables; beans and lentils; potassium calcium and mineral rich foods; high nucleotide content foods to assist in cellular repair including spirulina, chlorella, algae, sardines, anchovies and mackerel; olive oil for drizzling on foods, not for cooking; avoiding all sugars, sweets and wheat.
May 4, 2012 - ABC 4 News - Dangerous level of radon gas in 34.5% of Utah homes - Our ABC 4 news investigates report is exposing a silent killer seeping into thousands of Utah homes. It's a clear and odorless gas called radon. We mailed 16 radon test kits to homes across Utah. Six of the nine test kits, mailed to a lab for results before this story aired, uncovered dangerous levels of radon in the homes. Connie Nordgren's home in Sandy tested the highest at 26.2, which is alarming. The EPA strongly recommends homeowners take action if a test kit finds a level of four or higher. "That really concerns me. All of my loved ones have been in the basement," she said. Experts say radon is a problem in Utah because of our unique geography. Uranium is pushed closer to the earth's surface by our mountains and when it decomposes that uranium produces radon gas.
May 4, 2012 - Long Beach Press-Telegram - Rohrabacher says San Onofre nuclear plant won't go online until it's safe - Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Palos Verdes Peninsula, said he came away from a tour of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station Thursday convinced officials will not let it go back online unless it is completely safe. Southern California Edison officials who led the tour for Rohrabacher told him that they expect the power plant to be working again by the end of next month, he said. Rohrabacher's 46th District includes the Palos Verdes Peninsula and portions of San Pedro and Long Beach. "But they reiterated that only unless they were absolutely convinced of the safety of what they were doing," Rohrabacher told City News Service. "They all have families near the plant, so they're not going not going to do anything to put the public at risk." Rohrabacher, who is a senior member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said he was at a seminar led by law enforcement several weeks ago when the topic of the San Onofre plant came up. "One of the things we were talking about was some of these people (entering the country illegally) are terrorists coming in, not just illegals and drug dealers," Rohrabacher said. "You wonder what their target would be. It would be the nuclear plant. And I realized I have not been down there to make sure they're taking security seriously."
May 4, 2012 - Denver Post - CU-Boulder researcher looks for radioactive dust in snow from San Miguel County - The walk-in freezer at University of Colorado researcher Mark Williams' lab is filled with 3,000 pounds of western Colorado snow. The snow -- trucked across the state in 24 gargantuan coolers -- contains dust particles that settled out onto the snow over the winter, and Williams believes that some of those dust particles, once tested, may be radioactive. The goal of gathering the snow-encased dust from San Miguel County -- near the towns of Ophir and Telluride -- is to determine what the background levels of radionuclides are in the dust that settles onto the snow in the area before a new uranium mill is built nearby. The mill, which was given a permit last summer by the state, is the first new uranium milling operation to earn a permit in the United States in more than two decades. Williams originally got involved in the project after concerned residents and government officials asked him to take a look at the plans for the mill when the project was first proposed. Now that a permit has been issued, Williams is working with locals to get a baseline measurement, which he expects will show the presence of some radionuclides from past mining and milling activities.
May 4, 2012 - Orange County Register - Utility aims for June restart at San Onofre plant - The utility that operates the San Onofre nuclear plant is looking at a possible June restart, while costs related to the shutdown could climb over $100 million, a senior executive said Thursday. Southern California Edison is drafting a plan under which the twin reactors would run at lower power, at least for several months. Engineers believe that will solve a problem with vibration that has been causing unusual wear in tubing within the plant's massive steam generators. "By operating at lower power ... the vibration does not occur," executive vice president Stephen Pickett said. The plant has been offline since late January, and federal regulators would have to approve a restart. The trouble at San Onofre began to unfold in late January, when the Unit 3 reactor was shut down as a precaution after a break in a steam generator tube carrying radioactive water. Traces of radiation escaped, but officials said there was no danger. Unit 2 had been taken offline earlier that month for routine maintenance, but investigators later found unusual wear on tubing in both units. Hundreds of tubes that were heavily damaged will be taken out of service at the two reactors, well within the margin to allow them to keep operating. Unit 1 was decommissioned in 1992