You may forward Planet Waves Monsanto Eco to your friends. They can sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Dear Friend and Reader: Removal of fuel assemblies from the Unit 4 reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has been temporarily suspended for three months, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) stated on its website June 30. According to TEPCO, the removal of fuel assemblies will cease temporarily from July 1 to early September due to an "annual crane checkup." TEPCO has not stated why an annual inspection should take three months.
Following the earthquake and tsunami that struck the eastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, the Unit 4 reactor building was damaged by an explosion in one of the other reactors that sustained a core meltdown. Unit 4 did not experience a meltdown, which is why it's possible for the fuel rods to be removed from it now. The compromised structural integrity of the building and fuel pool prompted TEPCO to remove the fuel assemblies, a process that carries considerable risk -- as does anything involving nuclear power. Note also that Planet Waves is aware that TEPCO was forced to shut off a water cooling system in the Unit 5 spent fuel pool at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, reported by RT July 6. We will continue tracking this latest development and will report any news here as we learn more. Mishandled Kitty Litter a Factor In New Mexico Nuke Mishap Investigations into the leak at a New Mexico underground nuclear waste dump reveal faulty lab procedures, according to an Associated Press report on July 3. The state's Environmental Department discovered the Los Alamos National Laboratory violated safety procedures while packing nuclear waste with organic kitty litter at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, possibly contributing to a barrel explosion that contaminated 22 workers and emitted radioactive particles into the atmosphere on Feb. 22. Director Terry Wallace said the investigation "identified certain conditions that might potentially cause an exothermic reaction inside a drum. The low pH findings should have prompted a pause in work to ensure appropriate technical and regulatory reviews of next steps."
In yet more nuclear news, workers exposed to radioactive materials at the Hanford site in Washington state may have access to on-site medical care, but there is no guarantee they will be told the truth about the dangers they face, according to an investigative report on June 23 by Seattle's KING-TV 5, an NBC affiliate. The "pattern of deception" dates back to the 1940s, when plutonium leftovers were stored in huge holding tanks that have vented toxic vapors intermittently for decades. Despite studies warning of radiation exposure, the employees were kept uninformed by medical experts. "We were totally unaware of this -- it was buried," said Bob Alvarez, a former adviser on nuclear waste policy. "When you have a study that basically is saying that workers are maybe experiencing a phenomenally high risk of latent disease as a result of exposure to these toxic vapors, this is sort of a real strong signal that you've got to drop what you're doing and fix this problem." Gee, you don't say. Almost 40 Hanford workers have reported illness from chemical exposure since March of this year. 'Dark Snow' Hastening Glacial Melting Industrial deposits of dust and soil are settling on snow and ice, causing faster glacial melting, according to a new study cited Saturday in The Guardian.
The paper's abstract, published at Nature.com, says the phenomenon "could induce an acceleration of Greenland's mass loss twice as large as over the past two decades." Geologist Ulyana Horodyskyj, who is studying the same problem in the Himalayas, told The Guardian that the source of the detritus is "mostly manmade pollution." Oklahoma: Land of Fracking Earthquakes and Solar Penalties Speaking of manmade pollution, hundreds of earthquakes across Oklahoma were caused by fracking wastewater wells, The Guardian reported July 3. The source research, published in Science, examined the sharp increase in seismic activity of magnitude 3.0 or higher, and found that approximately one-fifth of the quakes that occurred from 2008 to 2013 originated from only four wells at a distance of up to 40 kilometers.
The same article featured a spokesman for oil and gas company New Dominion saying the report was "premised on certain false assumptions" and that legal advice would be sought. Note that Oklahoma is the same state where lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry succeeded in pushing a bill into law in April that will allow electricity utilities to charge residents who install rooftop solar and small wind turbines a higher base customer charge. The official reason for the fee, which takes effect in November, is to recover the infrastructure costs of sending excess electricity back to the grid. In other words, oil and gas companies see the handwriting on the wall and want to scare consumers away from energy self-sufficiency. (See more extensive coverage at ThinkProgress.org.) That the fossil fuel industry in Oklahoma is running scared is a good sign -- but it also means we need to be on our toes and proactively watch for sneaky energy legislation in our own communities. Solar Power Surges In Oz For inspiration, consider this: coal-powered electricity is going the way of the dinosaurs in Australia, thanks to the proliferation of rooftop solar arrays, The Guardian reported last week.
That usually happens at night, not during peak usage hours, when coal-fired generators will pay other energy providers to pick up their excess output rather than switch off. But with 1,100 Megawatts of solar energy being produced on more than 350,000 buildings in Queensland alone (3,400MW on 1.2 million buildings across Australia), hardly any coal producers in Oz are making a profit this year in a country where coal is considered ‘cheap'. One market forecast for Western Australia foresees that 75% of detached and semi-detached dwellings, and 90% of commercial businesses, could have rooftop solar by 2023-24. Parkinson writes, "Network operators in Queensland, realising the pent up demand for rooftop solar, are now allowing customers to install as much as they want, on the condition that they don't export surplus electricity back to the grid." That may sound like a bum deal, but it actually could spur more households to install battery storage, thereby further upping their energy self-sufficiency. Here comes the Sun. Yours & truly,  Amanda Painter and the ECO editorial team You may forward Planet Waves Monsanto Eco to your friends. They can sign up for this free environmental newsletter from Planet Waves. Planet Waves Monsanto Watch (ISSN 1933-9135) is published each Tuesday evening in Kingston, New York by Planet Waves, Inc. Editor and Publisher: Eric Francis Coppolino. Business Manager: Chelsea Bottinelli. Web Developer: Anatoly Ryzhenko. Research, Writing and Editing: Planet Waves Monsanto Watch is produced by a team consisting of Elizabeth Michaud, Amanda Moreno, Amanda Painter, Amy Elliott, Carol van Strum, Len Wallick and Chad Woodward.  Good as Gold: The Planet Waves Midyear Reading If you have not already noticed, 2014 is really two years in one, with version 2.0 beginning right about now. With all of the inner planets direct, Jupiter entering a fire sign and Mars coming home to its native Scorpio, a whole new concept of life and of astrology is reaching out to us. I will be unfolding this brand new aspect pattern for all 12 signs and rising signs in my midyear reading, called Good as Gold.
I will provide ideas, strategies, motivational rants (my specialty) and ideas I've learned in therapy to get the blocks out of the way, access your courage, and invoke your vision for yourself. How do you manage the transition out of something old that is not really working and into something new, with the simultaneous demands of a learning curve, balancing yourself financially and staying inspired? These and other things are what I will be exploring. Good as Gold is available for pre-order now. We're introducing this at $39.95 for all 12 signs. As usual, we start with the lowest price for all 12, gradually raise the price, then sell one reading for about what we were initially asking for all 12. The first price increase will be Friday. So now is the time to get the best rate on the whole package, so you can listen to your Sun, Moon and rising signs, and check in with the readings for your collaborators. Here is that link Lovingly,  To unsubscribe, click here e Wiki | Friends | Editors | Contact Us Copyright © 2013 by Planet Waves, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Other copyrights may apply. Some images used under Fair Use or Share Alike attribution. |
