International reaction to Fukushima I nuclear accidents
Encyclopedia
The international reaction to the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster has been diverse and widespread. Many inter-governmental agencies are responding to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
, often on an ad hoc basis. Responders include International Atomic Energy Agency
, World Meteorological Organization
and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which has radiation detection equipment deployed around the world.
Many countries have advised their nationals to leave Tokyo, citing the risk associated with the nuclear plants' ongoing accident. International experts have said that a workforce in the hundreds or even thousands would take years or decades to clean up the area. Stock prices of many energy companies reliant on nuclear sources have dropped, while renewable energy companies
have increased dramatically in value.
There has been a significant re-evaluation of existing nuclear power programs in many countries. What had been growing acceptance of nuclear power in the United States was eroded sharply following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
. World-wide, a study by UBS, reported on 12 April 2011, suggests that around 30 nuclear plants may be closed as a result of Fukushima, with those located in seismic zones or close to national boundaries being the most likely to shut. Events at Fukushima "cast doubt on the idea that even an advanced economy can master nuclear safety
". Increased anti-nuclear
sentiment has been evident in India, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.
's Southeast Asia and Oceania director, Selena Ng, Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster is "a huge wake-up call for a nuclear industry that hasn't always been sufficiently transparent about safety issues". She said "There was a sort of complacency before Fukushima and I don't think we can afford to have that complacency now".
In September 2011, German engineering giant Siemens
announced it will withdraw entirely from the nuclear industry, as a response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and said that it would no longer build nuclear power plants anywhere in the world. The company’s chairman, Peter Löscher, said that "Siemens was ending plans to cooperate with Rosatom, the Russian state-controlled nuclear power company, in the construction of dozens of nuclear plants throughout Russia over the coming two decades". Siemens is to boost its work in the renewable energy
sector.
, World Meteorological Organization
and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which has radiation detection equipment deployed around the world.
Some scientists say that the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
have revealed that the nuclear industry lacks sufficient oversight, leading to renewed calls to redefine the mandate of the IAEA so that it can better police nuclear power plants worldwide. There are several problems with the IAEA says Najmedin Meshkati of University of Southern California:
The journal Nature has reported that the IAEA response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan was "sluggish and sometimes confusing", drawing calls for the agency to "take a more proactive role in nuclear safety". But nuclear experts say that the agency's complicated mandate and the constraints imposed by its member states mean that reforms will not happen quickly or easily, although its INES "emergency scale is very likely to be revisited" given the confusing way in which it was used in Japan.
Russian nuclear accident specialist Iouli Andreev is critical of the response to Fukushima, and says that the IAEA did not learn from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
. He has accused the IAEA and corporations of "wilfully ignoring lessons from the world's worst nuclear accident 25 years ago to protect the industry's expansion". The IAEA’s role "as an advocate for nuclear power has made it a target for protests".
One of the IAEA statutory functions is to establish safety standards to protect the health, life and property in the use of nuclear power. When reports of the damaged nuclear power plants at Fukushima emerged, many countries looked immediately to the IAEA for more information. But its initial reports provided scant and at times contradictory information from Japanese sources and it took a week for the IAEA to dispatch a team to Japan to gather more facts on the ground. While the IAEA has stated that it was hampered by lack of official information from Japan, this "has nonetheless prompted analysts to question the efficacy of the Agency". Olli Heinonen has said that "Fukushima should be a wake-up call to re-evaluate and strengthen the role of the IAEA in boosting nuclear safety, including its response mechanism".
On 28 March 2011, at a special briefing on the Fukshima nuclear accidents held for IAEA Member States, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano
announced that a high-level IAEA Conference on Nuclear Safety should take place in Vienna.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency
, Japan "underestimated the danger of tsunamis and failed to prepare adequate backup systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant". This repeated a widely held criticism in Japan that "collusive ties between regulators and industry led to weak oversight and a failure to ensure adequate safety levels at the plant". The IAEA also said that the Fukushima disaster exposed the lack of adequate backup systems at the plant. Once power was completely lost, critical functions like the cooling system shut down. Three of the reactors "quickly overheated, causing meltdowns that eventually led to explosions, which hurled large amounts of radioactive material into the air".
On 30 March, Denis Flory, IAEA deputy director general and head of the agency's nuclear safety and security department, said readings from soil samples collected in Iitate indicate that one of the IAEA operational criteria for evacuation is exceeded there. On 31 March, In response to the IAEA, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday the government may implement measures, if necessary, such as urging people living in the area to evacuate, if it is found that the contaminated soil will have a long-term effect on human health. Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a press conference in the afternoon that the agency's rough estimates have shown there is no need for people in Iitate to evacuate immediately under criteria set by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan. The Japanese government declined recommendation of IAEA.
In April 2011, representatives from dozens of countries met in Austria to scrutinize safety at each other's power plants with the aim of avoiding accidents such as the Japanese nuclear crisis. The meeting was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency and focused on the Convention on Nuclear Safety that came into being in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident
and Chernobyl disaster
.
On April 12, 2011, the IAEA reported that the nuclear accident at Fukushima I is now rated as a Level 7 “major accident” on the INES
scale. Level 7 is the most serious level on INES and is used to describe an event consisting of “a major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.” Over the previous month, some scientists in the United States and the head of France’s Nuclear Safety Authority argued that the accident was, at that time, already worse than the 1979 Three Mile Island accident
in Pennsylvania, which was rated a 5.
Following the Fukushima I accidents, the International Energy Agency
halved its estimate of additional nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.
In September 2011, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said the Japanese nuclear disaster "caused deep public anxiety throughout the world and damaged confidence in nuclear power".
issued a "Statement on the Japanese Nuclear Disaster" on March 29, 2011, supported by many Right Livelihood Award
Laureates. It said that the disaster in Japan has demonstrated the limits of human capability to keep dangerous technologies free from accidents with catastrophic results:
Citing the Fukushima I nuclear accidents, environmental activists at a U.N. meeting in April 2011 "urged bolder steps to tap renewable energy
so the world doesn't have to choose between the dangers of nuclear power and the ravages of climate change".
Some shipping lines restricted their ships from calling on the Tokyo Bay
ports of Tokyo
and Yokohama
over radiation concerns. Vessels risk facing extra delays for checks at subsequent destinations if they pick up even trace contamination.
s have dropped, while renewable energy companies have increased dramatically in value. In Germany, demand for renewable energy has increased among private consumers.
Funds that invested in companies tied to renewable energy
, clean technology
, the oil industry and other natural resources rose 13.7% in the first three months of 2011, "benefiting from turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East and the anti-nuclear
sentiment after the accident in Japan".
Embassies of other countries, including UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Kenya, Israel repeated similar advice in the following days.
German, Austrian, Finnish and Bulgarian embassies were temporarily relocated in southern parts of Japan. Russian authorities were reported on 15 March to be ready to evacuate the Kuril Islands
and Sakhalin
, if needed. On April 12, the Philippines
government announced that they would pay for the repatriation
of any Filipinos living in the evacuation zone.
tablets as a precautionary measure to their citizens and immediate family members. On 20 March, Swedish citizens in Tokyo were recommended to begin taking potassium iodide
as a precautionary measure. This recommendation was lifted on 29 March.
Due to a run on potassium iodide
tablets in pharmacies in Western Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
, issued statements on 15 March of reassurance that Canada was not at risk from the fallout, and that taking the iodine
tablets was unnecessary. British Columbia
's health officer Dr. Perry Kendall, urged residents not to stockpile the tablets.
On 17 March, the United States newsmagazine
Time
reported on the Southern Californian residents reaction to the risk from the fallout, and the run on iodine
tablets. On 18 March, France was reported to be shipping iodide
tablets to French Polynesia
as a preventative measure, in light of the fallout cloud drifting across the Pacific.
to provide technical assistance in the process of removing radioactive water from the nuclear power facility.
On 16 March, Korea was reported to be sending boron
for the production of boric acid
to dampen fission reactions.
A Ukrainian group of specialists who were involved in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
proposed liquid metal cooling with a low-melting and chemically neutral metal, such as tin, to cool the fuel rods even if they are molten or damaged. A team of Ukrainian nuclear specialists was reported on 17 March to be ready to fly out to realize this.
The United States launched Operation Tomodachi
to assist the Japanese in their recovery. On 16 March, Voice of America
reported that the US Embassy in Tokyo had advised Americans to evacuate to at least 80 km from the plant, or to stay indoors. US officials have concluded that the Japanese warnings have been insufficient, and that, deliberately or not, they have understated the potential threat of what is taking place inside the nuclear facility, according to The New York Times. Gregory Jaczko
, the chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
, earlier said he believed that all the water in the spent fuel pool at Unit 4 had boiled dry, leaving fuel rods stored there exposed. "We believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," he told a Congressional committee. United States government officials moved to allay fears of nuclear fallout
, stating that people do not need to take or stockpile potassium iodide
pills, after a spike in calls from the West Coast to health hotlines, and runs at pharmacies with people buying the iodine
tablets on the Pacific Coast.
, has said:
on 12 March urging to avoid all travel. The alert came in addition to the red outbound travel alert for the rest of Japan.
On 19 March 2011, Indonesia began screening passengers and luggage on direct flights from Japan for radiation. No radiation has been detected.
On 16 March, Swedish citizens were advised to avoid staying within 80 km of the Fukushima nuclear power plants, and all travel to Japan was advised against. On 29 March the travel advice eased to only apply to non-necessary travel.
on March 20, and some 3,800 French and Germans demonstrated for the closure of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
on April 8; a larger demonstration is expected on April 25. Opinion polls on the topic indicated that 55% of the population were in favour of nuclear power in the days following Fukushima, but 57% against by the end of March.
After Japan's nuclear disaster, there was a all time best state election result
for the anti-nuclear
Green Party in Germany in the Baden-Württemberg
election on March 27, 2011. However, the Greens' rise in popularity, which began October 2010 in the polls, has also been attributed to the unanimous opposition to Stuttgart 21
.
Under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany has had the most spectacular reaction to the Fukushima disaster:
turned violent. Although protests have been ongoing for some years, they have gained greater prominence and support since Fukushima.
A further Italian nuclear power referendum was held on the 13th June 2011 and the No vote won, leading to cancellation of future nuclear power plants planned during the previous years, and due to the Italian nuclear power referendum turn out being over 50%+1 of the Italian population creates a legally binding cancellation of future plants.
, the oldest in Switzerland, which started operating 40 years ago.
Days after the anti-nuclear rally, Cabinet decided to ban the building of new nuclear power reactors. The country’s five existing reactors would be allowed to continue operating, but "would not be replaced at the end of their life span".
Amid Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis, nuclear energy is emerging as a contentious issue for next year's presidential election
in Taiwan, as opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen
declared her intention to abandon nuclear power by 2025 if elected. Taiwan is on the West Pacific Rim earthquake zone, like Japan.
George Hsu, a professor of applied economics at National Chung Hsing University in central Taiwan, said nuclear power plants in quake-prone areas need to be redesigned to make them more resistant, an investment that would reduce their original cost advantage.
In May 2011, 5,000 people joined an anti-nuclear protest in Taipei City, which was characterized by a carnival-like atmosphere, with protesters holding yellow banners and clutching sunflowers. This was part of a nationwide “No Nuke Action” protest, urging the government to stop construction of a Fourth Nuclear Plant and pursue a more sustainable energy
policy.
On the eve of World Environment Day in June 2011, environmental groups demonstrated against Taiwan's nuclear power policy. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, together with 13 environmental groups and legislators, gathered in Taipei with banners that read: "I love Taiwan, not nuclear disasters". They protested against the nation’s three operating nuclear power plants and the construction of a fourth plant. They also called for "all nuclear power plants to be thoroughly re-evaluated and shut down immediately if they fail to pass safety inspections". According to Wang To-far, economics professor at National Taipei University
, "if a level-seven nuclear crisis were to happen in Taiwan, it would destroy the nation".
, with public support for building nuclear power plants in the U.S. dropping slightly lower than it was immediately after the Three Mile Island accident
in 1979, according to a CBS News poll. Only 43 percent of those polled after the Fukushima nuclear emergency said they would approve building new power plants in the United States.
Activists who were involved in the U.S. anti-nuclear movement’s emergence (such as Graham Nash
and Paul Gunter
), suggest that Japan’s nuclear crisis may rekindle an interest in the movement in the United States. The aim, they say, is "not just to block the Obama administration’s push for new nuclear construction, but to convince Americans that existing plants pose dangers".
In March 2011, 600 people gathered for a weekend protest outside the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The demonstration was held to show support for the thousands of Japanese people who are endangered by possible radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
The New England region has a long history of anti-nuclear
activism and 75 people held a State House rally on April 6, 2011, to "protest the region’s aging nuclear plants and the increasing stockpile of radioactive spent fuel rods at them". The protest was held shortly before a State House hearing where legislators were scheduled to hear representatives of the region’s three nuclear plants – Pilgrim in Plymouth, Vermont Yankee in Vernon, and Seabrook in New Hampshire—talk about the safety of their reactors in the light of the Japanese nuclear crisis. Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim have designs similar to the crippled Japanese nuclear plant.
The nuclear disaster in Japan is likely to have major effects on US energy policy, according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett
. Buffet said that the "United States was poised to move ahead with nuclear plans here, but the events in Japan derailed that".
In April 2011, Rochelle Becker, executive director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility said that the United States should review its nuclear accident liability limits, in the light of the economic impacts of the Fukushima I nuclear disaster.
China—nuclear power’s largest prospective market—suspended approvals of new reactor construction while conducting a lengthy nuclear-safety review. Neighboring India, another potential nuclear boom market, has encountered effective local opposition, growing national wariness about foreign nuclear reactors, and a nuclear liability controversy that threatens to prevent new reactor imports. There have been mass protests against the French-backed 9900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
in Maharashtra and the 2000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
in Tamil Nadu. The state government of West Bengal state has also refused permission to a proposed 6000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host six Russian reactors.
In the United States, new-reactor construction has also suffered—not because of public opposition but because of economics and tougher, yet-to-be-determined, safety regulations. In 2007, U.S. utilities applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build 28 nuclear-power plants before 2020; now, if more than three come online before the end of the decade, it will be a major accomplishment.
France is, per capita, the world’s most nuclear-powered state. Frequently heralded as a nuclear commercial model for the world, today it’s locked in a national debate over a partial nuclear phaseout. President Nicolas Sarkozy is still backing nuclear power, but his Socialist opponent, François Hollande, now well ahead in the polls, has proposed cutting nuclear power’s electricity contribution by more than a third by 2025.
in Pickering, Ontario
, situated east of Toronto
, was leaking demineralized water into Lake Ontario
. While the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
declared that the leak, caused by a pump seal failure, did not pose any threat to human health, many Canadians questioned the safety of nuclear power plants in Canada. Gordon Edwards
, Canadian physicist and founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, claimed that the leak "shows the potential for more significant nuclear contamination of Lake Ontario [compared to that of Japan's disaster]". He added that the source of the Pickering plant's leak was the same as that of the incident at Fukushima I and that the leak must not be taken lightly. The Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
near Bécancour, Quebec
, is the only Canadian nuclear power plant near a fault line. Quebec Premier Jean Charest
issued statements that the Gentilly-2 reactor was safe, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission declared it could withstand earthquakes.
Chile – In Chile, Emol reported on 16 March there has been much controversy over the installation of nuclear power plants, following the Chilean Government report that is was ready to sign a cooperation agreement with the United States Government on Nuclear Energy. The opposition urged a meeting on the plans with the Minister of Mines and Energy, Laurence Golborne.
United States – U.S. President Obama and aides for former Senator Domenici publicly supported continued development of new U.S. nuclear power facilities. The influential The New York Times stated in an editorial on 14 March that "the unfolding Japanese tragedy also should prompt Americans to closely study our own plans for coping with natural disasters and with potential nuclear plant accidents to make sure they are, indeed, strong enough". A more definitive expression of the impact of the accidents in the United States was the decision by NRG Energy
, Inc. to abandon already started construction on two new nuclear power plants in Texas. Analysts attributed the abandonment of the project to the financial situation of the plant-partner TEPCO, the inability raise other construction financing, the current low cost of electricity in Texas, and expected additional permitting delays.
Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
announced a halt to freeze all nuclear power development projects for peaceful means, which included design of a nuclear power plant for which a contract had been made with Russia.
, stated in Melbourne, "I don't see nuclear energy as part of our future. We are blessed with abundant sources of renewable energy, of clean energy, of solar, wind, tide, hot rocks. That's our future, not nuclear..." per a Reuters report of 22 March 2011. Australia has no nuclear power stations.
China – ZSR reported on 14 March that During a News Conference of the Annual Meeting of National People’s Congress of China, the Deputy Chief of Environmental Protection Authority of China, Mr Lijun Zhang had said: "We are concerned about the damage of the Nuclear Facility of Japan, concerned about the further development of this issue, we will learn from it, and will take it into account when we make strategic planning for the nuclear energy development in the future. However, our decision on development of more nuclear power plants and current arrangement on nuclear energy development will not be changed." On 16 March, China froze nuclear plant approvals. On 28 March, the Chinese government revised nuclear power targets, which would likely result "in a reduction of about 10 gigawatts in nuclear generating capacity from the 90 gigawatts previously expected to be built by 2020."
India – The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh
, ordered the Nuclear Power Corporation of India
to review the safety systems and designs of all the nuclear power reactors on 15 March. The Government of India was reported on 15 March to also be looking to put in place additional environmental safeguards to ensure safety of newly proposed nuclear reactors. Nuclear Power Corporation of India said on 14 March that the nuclear power stations in India survived the earthquake of Bhuj
in 2001 and the 2004 Asian tsunami but there was "no room for complacency".
Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
stated on 17 March 2011, that Israel was now unlikely to pursue civil nuclear energy.
North Korea – The Korean Central News Agency
reported on 31 March that dissatisfaction with the Naoto Kan administration has risen concerning the accident response in Japan. Also, Rodong Sinmun
reported, "The situation of the nuclear plant accident get worse and worse every day, and made the international society worry greatly".
Pakistan– The Government of Pakistan ordered the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
(PAEC) to check and review the power plants security, system, and designs of all the atomic power reactors in the country. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
(PNRA) issued safety guidelines in plants, and ordered to re-evaluate the designs of KANUPP-II
and Chashman nuclear power complex
in Chashman city, Pakistan today reported on 16 March 2011. The PAEC is continuously monitoring the flow of events in nuclear plants in Japan in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami there, APP
concluded on 16 March 2011. According to the Jang News, Pakistan offered Japan to provide technical assistance to control to their nuclear radiation. On March 20, 2011, Jang News reported that scientists from PNRA
and PAEC
are ready to leave for Japan as soon as IAEA
gives an approval. Japanese officials have accepted the Pakistan's offer, however, due to IAEA laws, both countries needs an approval from IAEA for such cooperation. According to the Foreign Office
of Pakistan, Pakistani scientists are ready to leave for Japan as soon as IAEA gives an approval for such technical assistance.
Taiwan has ordered the suspension of its plans to expand nuclear power until a full safety review is complete.
Turkey – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
reaffirmed his commitment of building Turkey's first nuclear plant at Akkuyu, Mersin Province
.
, Austrian Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich
said that he would enter a request at the environmental meeting in Brussels on 14 March 2011 for a review of reactor safety. He emphasized both coolant and containment and compared these measures to reviews of the financial system after the banking crisis of 2008.
France – In a letter dated March 23, Prime Minister Francois Fillon
asked the Nuclear Safety Authority
to carry out an 'open and transparent' audit each of its nuclear installations, looking at the risks of flood, earthquake, loss of power and cooling, and accident management processes, in order to identify any improvements that should be made in the light of lessons learned from Fukushima. The initial conclusions are expected by the end of 2011. France conducted a more limited review following flooding at its Blayais Nuclear Power Plant
in 1999. President Nicolas Sarkozy
has stressed the need for dialogue but said that France had chosen nuclear power for reasons of energy security
and to counter greenhouse gas
emissions. However pressure to permanently close the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
, the oldest in France, is growing within France and in neighbouring Switzerland and Germany.
Germany – During the chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder
, the social democratic
-green
government had decreed Germany's final retreat from using nuclear power by 2022, but the phase-out plan was delayed in late 2010, when during the chancellorship of Angela Merkel
the conservative-liberal
government decreed a 12-year delay of the schedule. This delay provoked protests, including a human chain
of 50,000 from Stuttgart
to the nearby nuclear plant in Neckarwestheim. This protest had long been scheduled for 12 March, which now happened to be the day of the explosion of reactor block 1. Anti-nuclear
demonstrations on 12 March attracted 100 000 across Germany. On 14 March 2011, in response to the renewed concern about the use of nuclear energy the Fukushima incident raised in the German public and in light of upcoming elections in three German states
, Merkel declared a 3-months moratorium on the reactor lifespan extension passed in 2010. On 15 March, the German government announced that it would temporarily shut down 7 of its 17 reactors, i.e. all reactors that went online before 1981. Former proponents of nuclear energy such as Angela Merkel
, Guido Westerwelle
, Stefan Mappus
have changed their positions, yet 71% of the population believe that to be a tactical manoeuvre related to upcoming state
elections. In the largest anti-nuclear demonstration
ever held in Germany, some 250,000 people protested on 26 March under the slogan "heed Fukushima - shut off all nuclear plants."
Italy – A moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants was approved on 24 March by the Council of Ministers of Italy for a period of 1 year. A further Italian nuclear power referendum was held on the 13th June 2011 and the No vote won, leading to cancellation of future nuclear power plants planned during the previous years, and due to the Italian nuclear power referendum turn out being over 50%+1 of the Italian population creates a legally binding cancellation of future plants.
Netherlands – Maxime Verhagen
, Minister of Energy, Agriculture and Innovation, wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives that the experience of Japan would be taken into account in the definition of the requirements for a new nuclear power plant to be built in 2015. Prime minister Mark Rutte
indicated on 18 March there were no plans to change operations at Borssele nuclear power plant
and called the German moratorium 'curious' .
Slovakia – The Slovak republic said in the week after the accidents it would continue with the construction of two new VVER 440/V-213 reactors (PWR) at the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant
. All blocks at the Mochovce plant, existing and under construction, shall be updated and modernised to withstand higher earthquakes than the current limit.
Russia – On 15 March, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered officials to check Russian nuclear facilities and to review the country's ambitious plans to develop atomic energy amid Japan's nuclear crisis.
Spain – Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
ordered on 16 March a review of his country's nuclear power plants.
Switzerland – Swiss Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard
announced on 14 March a freeze in the authorisation procedures for three new nuclear power plants, and ordered a safety review of the country's plants.
United Kingdom – On March 12, British Energy Minister Chris Huhne
wrote to Dr Mike Weightman, head of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate, asking for a report 'on the implications of the situation and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry. The report is to be delivered within 6 months, with an interim report by mid-May, 'prepared in close cooperation with the International nuclear community and other nuclear safety regulators'. On March 15, Huhne expressed regret that that some European politicians were 'rushing to judgement' before assessments had been carried out, and said that it was too early to determine whether the willingness of the private sector to invest in new nuclear plants would be affected.Dr Weightman visited Japan in May with an IAEA team.
, an economics professor, has said that the biggest positive result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster could be renewed public support for the commercialization of renewable energy technologies
.
In 2011, London-based bank HSBC said: "With Three Mile Island and Fukushima as a backdrop, the US public may find it difficult to support major nuclear new build and we expect that no new plant extensions will be granted either. Thus we expect the clean energy standard under discussion in US legislative chambers will see a far greater emphasis on gas and renewables
plus efficiency
".
In 2011, Deutsche Bank
analysts concluded that "the global impact of the Fukushima accident is a fundamental shift in public perception with regard to how a nation prioritizes and values its populations health, safety, security, and natural environment when determining its current and future energy pathways". As a consequence, "renewable energy
will be a clear long-term winner in most energy systems, a conclusion supported by many voter surveys conducted over the past few weeks. At the same time, we consider natural gas
to be, at the very least, an important transition fuel, especially in those regions where it is considered secure".
In September 2011, Mycle Schneider
said that the Fukushima disaster can be understood as a unique chance "to get it right" on energy policy
. "Germany -- with its nuclear phase-out decision based on a highly successful renewable energy program -- and Japan -- having suffered a painful shock but possessing unique technical capacities and societal discipline -- can be at the forefront of an authentic paradigm shift toward a truly sustainable, low-carbon and nuclear-free energy policy".
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
, often on an ad hoc basis. Responders include International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
, World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which has radiation detection equipment deployed around the world.
Many countries have advised their nationals to leave Tokyo, citing the risk associated with the nuclear plants' ongoing accident. International experts have said that a workforce in the hundreds or even thousands would take years or decades to clean up the area. Stock prices of many energy companies reliant on nuclear sources have dropped, while renewable energy companies
Renewable energy commercialization
Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...
have increased dramatically in value.
There has been a significant re-evaluation of existing nuclear power programs in many countries. What had been growing acceptance of nuclear power in the United States was eroded sharply following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
This is a list of articles describing aspects of the nuclear shut-downs, failures, and nuclear meltdowns triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.-Fukushima nuclear power plants:* Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant...
. World-wide, a study by UBS, reported on 12 April 2011, suggests that around 30 nuclear plants may be closed as a result of Fukushima, with those located in seismic zones or close to national boundaries being the most likely to shut. Events at Fukushima "cast doubt on the idea that even an advanced economy can master nuclear safety
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
". Increased anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
sentiment has been evident in India, Italy, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United States.
Nuclear industry
According to ArevaAreva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
's Southeast Asia and Oceania director, Selena Ng, Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster is "a huge wake-up call for a nuclear industry that hasn't always been sufficiently transparent about safety issues". She said "There was a sort of complacency before Fukushima and I don't think we can afford to have that complacency now".
In September 2011, German engineering giant Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
announced it will withdraw entirely from the nuclear industry, as a response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, and said that it would no longer build nuclear power plants anywhere in the world. The company’s chairman, Peter Löscher, said that "Siemens was ending plans to cooperate with Rosatom, the Russian state-controlled nuclear power company, in the construction of dozens of nuclear plants throughout Russia over the coming two decades". Siemens is to boost its work in the renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
sector.
Regulatory agencies
Many inter-governmental agencies are responding, often on an ad hoc basis. Responders include International Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
, World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which has radiation detection equipment deployed around the world.
Some scientists say that the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
This is a list of articles describing aspects of the nuclear shut-downs, failures, and nuclear meltdowns triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.-Fukushima nuclear power plants:* Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant...
have revealed that the nuclear industry lacks sufficient oversight, leading to renewed calls to redefine the mandate of the IAEA so that it can better police nuclear power plants worldwide. There are several problems with the IAEA says Najmedin Meshkati of University of Southern California:
It recommends safety standards, but member states are not required to comply; it promotes nuclear energy, but it also monitors nuclear use; it is the sole global organization overseeing the nuclear energy industry, yet it is also weighed down by checking compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The journal Nature has reported that the IAEA response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan was "sluggish and sometimes confusing", drawing calls for the agency to "take a more proactive role in nuclear safety". But nuclear experts say that the agency's complicated mandate and the constraints imposed by its member states mean that reforms will not happen quickly or easily, although its INES "emergency scale is very likely to be revisited" given the confusing way in which it was used in Japan.
Russian nuclear accident specialist Iouli Andreev is critical of the response to Fukushima, and says that the IAEA did not learn from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. He has accused the IAEA and corporations of "wilfully ignoring lessons from the world's worst nuclear accident 25 years ago to protect the industry's expansion". The IAEA’s role "as an advocate for nuclear power has made it a target for protests".
One of the IAEA statutory functions is to establish safety standards to protect the health, life and property in the use of nuclear power. When reports of the damaged nuclear power plants at Fukushima emerged, many countries looked immediately to the IAEA for more information. But its initial reports provided scant and at times contradictory information from Japanese sources and it took a week for the IAEA to dispatch a team to Japan to gather more facts on the ground. While the IAEA has stated that it was hampered by lack of official information from Japan, this "has nonetheless prompted analysts to question the efficacy of the Agency". Olli Heinonen has said that "Fukushima should be a wake-up call to re-evaluate and strengthen the role of the IAEA in boosting nuclear safety, including its response mechanism".
On 28 March 2011, at a special briefing on the Fukshima nuclear accidents held for IAEA Member States, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano
Yukiya Amano
is the current Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency , having been elected to the position in July 2009. Amano previously served as a Japanese diplomat and international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions....
announced that a high-level IAEA Conference on Nuclear Safety should take place in Vienna.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
, Japan "underestimated the danger of tsunamis and failed to prepare adequate backup systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant". This repeated a widely held criticism in Japan that "collusive ties between regulators and industry led to weak oversight and a failure to ensure adequate safety levels at the plant". The IAEA also said that the Fukushima disaster exposed the lack of adequate backup systems at the plant. Once power was completely lost, critical functions like the cooling system shut down. Three of the reactors "quickly overheated, causing meltdowns that eventually led to explosions, which hurled large amounts of radioactive material into the air".
On 30 March, Denis Flory, IAEA deputy director general and head of the agency's nuclear safety and security department, said readings from soil samples collected in Iitate indicate that one of the IAEA operational criteria for evacuation is exceeded there. On 31 March, In response to the IAEA, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Thursday the government may implement measures, if necessary, such as urging people living in the area to evacuate, if it is found that the contaminated soil will have a long-term effect on human health. Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a press conference in the afternoon that the agency's rough estimates have shown there is no need for people in Iitate to evacuate immediately under criteria set by the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan. The Japanese government declined recommendation of IAEA.
In April 2011, representatives from dozens of countries met in Austria to scrutinize safety at each other's power plants with the aim of avoiding accidents such as the Japanese nuclear crisis. The meeting was hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency and focused on the Convention on Nuclear Safety that came into being in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
and Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
.
On April 12, 2011, the IAEA reported that the nuclear accident at Fukushima I is now rated as a Level 7 “major accident” on the INES
Ines
Ines is a variation of the name Agnes.Ines may also refer to:* Inès, French variation of the name* Saint Ines * Inés Sainz Ines is a variation of the name Agnes.Ines may also refer to:* Inès, French variation of the name* Saint Ines (c. 291 – c. 304)* Inés Sainz Ines is a variation of the name...
scale. Level 7 is the most serious level on INES and is used to describe an event consisting of “a major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.” Over the previous month, some scientists in the United States and the head of France’s Nuclear Safety Authority argued that the accident was, at that time, already worse than the 1979 Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
in Pennsylvania, which was rated a 5.
Following the Fukushima I accidents, the International Energy Agency
International Energy Agency
The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...
halved its estimate of additional nuclear generating capacity to be built by 2035.
In September 2011, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said the Japanese nuclear disaster "caused deep public anxiety throughout the world and damaged confidence in nuclear power".
Non-government organizations
The World Future CouncilWorld Future Council
The World Future Council is an independent body formally founded in Hamburg, Germany on 10 May 2007. "Formed to speak on behalf of policy solutions that serve the interests of future generations", it includes members active in governmental bodies, civil society, business, science and the arts...
issued a "Statement on the Japanese Nuclear Disaster" on March 29, 2011, supported by many Right Livelihood Award
Right Livelihood Award
The Right Livelihood Award, also referred to as the "Alternative Nobel Prize", is a prestigious international award to honour those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". The prize was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is...
Laureates. It said that the disaster in Japan has demonstrated the limits of human capability to keep dangerous technologies free from accidents with catastrophic results:
The conclusion we draw from the nuclear power plant accident in Japan is that the human community, acting for itself and as trustees for future generations, must exercise a far higher level of care globally in dealing with technologies capable of causing mass annihilation, and should phase out, abolish and replace such technologies with alternatives that do not threaten present and future generations. This applies to nuclear weapons as well as to nuclear power reactors.
Citing the Fukushima I nuclear accidents, environmental activists at a U.N. meeting in April 2011 "urged bolder steps to tap renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
so the world doesn't have to choose between the dangers of nuclear power and the ravages of climate change".
Some shipping lines restricted their ships from calling on the Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Bay
is a bay in the southern Kantō region of Japan. Its old name was .-Geography:Tokyo Bay is surrounded by the Bōsō Peninsula to the east and the Miura Peninsula to the west. In a narrow sense, Tokyo Bay is the area north of the straight line formed by the on the Miura Peninsula on one end and on...
ports of Tokyo
Port of Tokyo
Port of Tokyo is one of the largest Japanese seaports and one of the largest seaports in the Pacific Ocean basin having an annual traffic capacity of around 100 million tonnes of cargo and 4,500,000 TEU's....
and Yokohama
Port of Yokohama
The is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27.–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the north, the ports of Kawasaki and Tokyo.-Facilities:Yokohama Port...
over radiation concerns. Vessels risk facing extra delays for checks at subsequent destinations if they pick up even trace contamination.
Financial markets
As a result of the accidents, stock prices of many energy companies reliant on nuclear sources and listed on stock exchangeStock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
s have dropped, while renewable energy companies have increased dramatically in value. In Germany, demand for renewable energy has increased among private consumers.
Funds that invested in companies tied to renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
, clean technology
Clean technology
Clean technology includes recycling, renewable energy , information technology, green transportation, electric motors, green chemistry, lighting, Greywater, and many other appliances that are now more energy efficient. It is a means to create electricity and fuels, with a smaller environmental...
, the oil industry and other natural resources rose 13.7% in the first three months of 2011, "benefiting from turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East and the anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
sentiment after the accident in Japan".
Evacuation from Tokyo and Japan
On 14 March, France became the first country to advise its nationals to leave Tokyo, citing a probable large aftershock in the Kanto area and the risk associated with the nuclear plants' ongoing accidents.Embassies of other countries, including UK, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Kenya, Israel repeated similar advice in the following days.
German, Austrian, Finnish and Bulgarian embassies were temporarily relocated in southern parts of Japan. Russian authorities were reported on 15 March to be ready to evacuate the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
and Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
, if needed. On April 12, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
government announced that they would pay for the repatriation
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
of any Filipinos living in the evacuation zone.
Potassium Iodide
A number of embassies in Tokyo, including Australia, France, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States issued potassium iodidePotassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
tablets as a precautionary measure to their citizens and immediate family members. On 20 March, Swedish citizens in Tokyo were recommended to begin taking potassium iodide
Potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
as a precautionary measure. This recommendation was lifted on 29 March.
Due to a run on potassium iodide
Potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
tablets in pharmacies in Western Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
, issued statements on 15 March of reassurance that Canada was not at risk from the fallout, and that taking the iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
tablets was unnecessary. British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's health officer Dr. Perry Kendall, urged residents not to stockpile the tablets.
On 17 March, the United States newsmagazine
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
reported on the Southern Californian residents reaction to the risk from the fallout, and the run on iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
tablets. On 18 March, France was reported to be shipping iodide
Iodide
An iodide ion is the ion I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. This page is for the iodide ion and its salts. For information on organoiodides, see organohalides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt,...
tablets to French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
as a preventative measure, in light of the fallout cloud drifting across the Pacific.
Requests and offers for help
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric asked France's ArevaAreva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
to provide technical assistance in the process of removing radioactive water from the nuclear power facility.
On 16 March, Korea was reported to be sending boron
Boron
Boron is the chemical element with atomic number 5 and the chemical symbol B. Boron is a metalloid. Because boron is not produced by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in both the solar system and the Earth's crust. However, boron is concentrated on Earth by the...
for the production of boric acid
Boric acid
Boric acid, also called hydrogen borate or boracic acid or orthoboric acid or acidum boricum, is a weak acid of boron often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor of other chemical compounds. It exists in the form of colorless crystals or a...
to dampen fission reactions.
A Ukrainian group of specialists who were involved in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
proposed liquid metal cooling with a low-melting and chemically neutral metal, such as tin, to cool the fuel rods even if they are molten or damaged. A team of Ukrainian nuclear specialists was reported on 17 March to be ready to fly out to realize this.
The United States launched Operation Tomodachi
Operation Tomodachi
is a United States Armed Forces assistance operation to support Japan in disaster relief following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. As of March 22, 2011, twenty U.S. naval ships, 140 aircraft, and 19,703 Marines and Sailors were involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief...
to assist the Japanese in their recovery. On 16 March, Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
reported that the US Embassy in Tokyo had advised Americans to evacuate to at least 80 km from the plant, or to stay indoors. US officials have concluded that the Japanese warnings have been insufficient, and that, deliberately or not, they have understated the potential threat of what is taking place inside the nuclear facility, according to The New York Times. Gregory Jaczko
Gregory Jaczko
Gregory B. Jaczko is the Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission .-Early life and education:Jaczko was raised in Albany, New York. He studied physics and philosophy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and earned a bachelor in the two disciplines, there, in 1993...
, the chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
, earlier said he believed that all the water in the spent fuel pool at Unit 4 had boiled dry, leaving fuel rods stored there exposed. "We believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," he told a Congressional committee. United States government officials moved to allay fears of nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
, stating that people do not need to take or stockpile potassium iodide
Potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
pills, after a spike in calls from the West Coast to health hotlines, and runs at pharmacies with people buying the iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
tablets on the Pacific Coast.
Cleanup
International experts have said that a workforce in the hundreds or even thousands would take years or decades to clean up the area. John Price, a former member of the Safety Policy Unit at the UK's National Nuclear Corporation, has said that it "might be 100 years before melting fuel rods can be safely removed from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant". Edward Morse, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, has said:
...there would be at least six months of emergency stabilisation, about two years of temporary remediation and up to 30 years of full-scale clean-up. Furthermore, the high levels of ground contamination at the site are raising concerns about the viability of individuals to work at the site in coming decades.
Other reactions
The Hong Kong Government issued a black outbound travel alert for Fukushima prefectureFukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
on 12 March urging to avoid all travel. The alert came in addition to the red outbound travel alert for the rest of Japan.
On 19 March 2011, Indonesia began screening passengers and luggage on direct flights from Japan for radiation. No radiation has been detected.
On 16 March, Swedish citizens were advised to avoid staying within 80 km of the Fukushima nuclear power plants, and all travel to Japan was advised against. On 29 March the travel advice eased to only apply to non-necessary travel.
France
In France around 1,000 people took part in a protest against nuclear power in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on March 20, and some 3,800 French and Germans demonstrated for the closure of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
The Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Fessenheim commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France, north east of the Mulhouse urban area, within of the border with Germany, and approximately from Switzerland...
on April 8; a larger demonstration is expected on April 25. Opinion polls on the topic indicated that 55% of the population were in favour of nuclear power in the days following Fukushima, but 57% against by the end of March.
Germany
In March 2011, more than 200,000 people took part in anti-nuclear protests in four large German cities, on the eve of state elections. Organisers called it the biggest anti-nuclear demonstration the country has seen, with police estimating that 100,000 people turned out in Berlin alone. Hamburg, Munich and Cologne also saw big demonstrations. The New York Times reported that "most Germans have a deep-seated aversion to nuclear power, and the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan has galvanized opposition".After Japan's nuclear disaster, there was a all time best state election result
Baden-Württemberg state election, 2011
The Baden-Württemberg state election 2011, was held on March 27, 2011, to elect members to Baden-Württemberg's State diet, the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart. It was the 14th state election since the foundation of Baden-Württemberg in 1952...
for the anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
Green Party in Germany in the Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
election on March 27, 2011. However, the Greens' rise in popularity, which began October 2010 in the polls, has also been attributed to the unanimous opposition to Stuttgart 21
Stuttgart 21
Stuttgart 21 is an urban development and under construction transport project in Stuttgart as part of the Stuttgart–Augsburg new and upgraded railway project in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany. It consists of the replacement of the tracks and platforms of Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, the city's...
.
Under Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany has had the most spectacular reaction to the Fukushima disaster:
A physicist by training and a former environment minister, Merkel understood what Fukushima meant. Germany has 17 reactors, providing 23 percent of the power in the country and making it the sixth largest nuclear electricity producer in the world. The eight oldest reactors were taken off the grid within days of 3/11 and will not return to operation. In record time, what once was the most pro-nuclear German government in decades prepared comprehensive legislation to phase out the remaining nine reactors by 2022 at the latest, starting in 2015. In June, parliament overwhelmingly passed the law (513 in favor, 79 against, 8 abstentions).
India
In India, there has been rapid growth in energy use and there are plans to build the world's largest nuclear plant in Jaitapur, but anti-nuclear protests have intensified following the Fukushima crisis. On April 18 one man was shot and killed by police and eight were injured after protests against the planned Jaitapur Nuclear Power ProjectJaitapur nuclear power project
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is a proposed 9900 MW power project of Nuclear Power Corporation of India at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra...
turned violent. Although protests have been ongoing for some years, they have gained greater prominence and support since Fukushima.
Italy
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced in 2009 that Italy would go nuclear again after its four atomic power plants were shut down following a 1987 nationwide referendum. But in the wake of the Fukushima crisis, antinuclear rallies drawing thousands have erupted in Italy, and the Italian government has "decided on a one-year moratorium on its plans to revive nuclear power".A further Italian nuclear power referendum was held on the 13th June 2011 and the No vote won, leading to cancellation of future nuclear power plants planned during the previous years, and due to the Italian nuclear power referendum turn out being over 50%+1 of the Italian population creates a legally binding cancellation of future plants.
Spain
In March 2011, hundreds of people took part in protests held across Spain to demand the closure of the country's six nuclear power stations, after Japan's nuclear accidents. Demonstrators, many with signs that read "No nuclear power, neither here nor in Japan", gathered in small groups in more than 30 cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.Sweden
A 2011 poll suggests that scepticism over nuclear power is growing in Sweden following Japan's nuclear crisis. 36 percent of respondents want to phase-out nuclear power, up from 15 percent in a similar survey two years ago.Switzerland
Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster "has entirely changed the energy debate in Switzerland". In May 2011, some 20,000 people turned out for Switzerland's largest anti-nuclear power demonstration in 25 years. Demonstrators marched peacefully near the Beznau Nuclear Power PlantBeznau Nuclear Power Plant
The Beznau Nuclear Power Plant is located in the municipality Döttingen on an artificial island in the Aar river...
, the oldest in Switzerland, which started operating 40 years ago.
Days after the anti-nuclear rally, Cabinet decided to ban the building of new nuclear power reactors. The country’s five existing reactors would be allowed to continue operating, but "would not be replaced at the end of their life span".
Taiwan
In March 2011, around 2,000 anti-nuclear protesters demonstrated in Taiwan for an immediate halt to the construction of the island's fourth nuclear power plant. The protesters were also opposed to plans to extend the lifespan of three existing nuclear plants.Amid Japan's ongoing nuclear crisis, nuclear energy is emerging as a contentious issue for next year's presidential election
Republic of China presidential election, 2012
The election for the 13th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China will be held in the Free Area of the Republic of China on January 14, 2012. The election will be held together with legislative elections...
in Taiwan, as opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen
Tsai Ing-wen is the current chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan. Studying in Taiwan, the U.S and the U.K. Tsai earned an LL.B. from National Taiwan University, an LL.M. from Cornell University Law School and a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics....
declared her intention to abandon nuclear power by 2025 if elected. Taiwan is on the West Pacific Rim earthquake zone, like Japan.
George Hsu, a professor of applied economics at National Chung Hsing University in central Taiwan, said nuclear power plants in quake-prone areas need to be redesigned to make them more resistant, an investment that would reduce their original cost advantage.
In May 2011, 5,000 people joined an anti-nuclear protest in Taipei City, which was characterized by a carnival-like atmosphere, with protesters holding yellow banners and clutching sunflowers. This was part of a nationwide “No Nuke Action” protest, urging the government to stop construction of a Fourth Nuclear Plant and pursue a more sustainable energy
Sustainable energy
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
policy.
On the eve of World Environment Day in June 2011, environmental groups demonstrated against Taiwan's nuclear power policy. The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union, together with 13 environmental groups and legislators, gathered in Taipei with banners that read: "I love Taiwan, not nuclear disasters". They protested against the nation’s three operating nuclear power plants and the construction of a fourth plant. They also called for "all nuclear power plants to be thoroughly re-evaluated and shut down immediately if they fail to pass safety inspections". According to Wang To-far, economics professor at National Taipei University
National Taipei University
National Taipei University is a public university in New Taipei, Taiwan , founded in 1949. Before 2000, the University was named the College of Law and Business, National Chung Hsing University . The University main campus is in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, Taiwan...
, "if a level-seven nuclear crisis were to happen in Taiwan, it would destroy the nation".
United States
What had been growing acceptance of nuclear power in the United States was eroded sharply following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
This is a list of articles describing aspects of the nuclear shut-downs, failures, and nuclear meltdowns triggered by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.-Fukushima nuclear power plants:* Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant...
, with public support for building nuclear power plants in the U.S. dropping slightly lower than it was immediately after the Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
in 1979, according to a CBS News poll. Only 43 percent of those polled after the Fukushima nuclear emergency said they would approve building new power plants in the United States.
Activists who were involved in the U.S. anti-nuclear movement’s emergence (such as Graham Nash
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash, OBE is an English singer-songwriter known for his light tenor vocals and for his songwriting contributions with the British pop group The Hollies, and with the folk-rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nash is a photography collector and a published photographer...
and Paul Gunter
Paul Gunter
Paul Gunter is a co-founder of the Clamshell Alliance anti-nuclear group, who was arrested at Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant for non-violent civil disobedience on several occasions. An energy policy analyst and activist, he has been a vocal critic of nuclear power for more than 30 years...
), suggest that Japan’s nuclear crisis may rekindle an interest in the movement in the United States. The aim, they say, is "not just to block the Obama administration’s push for new nuclear construction, but to convince Americans that existing plants pose dangers".
In March 2011, 600 people gathered for a weekend protest outside the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant. The demonstration was held to show support for the thousands of Japanese people who are endangered by possible radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.
The New England region has a long history of anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
activism and 75 people held a State House rally on April 6, 2011, to "protest the region’s aging nuclear plants and the increasing stockpile of radioactive spent fuel rods at them". The protest was held shortly before a State House hearing where legislators were scheduled to hear representatives of the region’s three nuclear plants – Pilgrim in Plymouth, Vermont Yankee in Vernon, and Seabrook in New Hampshire—talk about the safety of their reactors in the light of the Japanese nuclear crisis. Vermont Yankee and Pilgrim have designs similar to the crippled Japanese nuclear plant.
The nuclear disaster in Japan is likely to have major effects on US energy policy, according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
. Buffet said that the "United States was poised to move ahead with nuclear plans here, but the events in Japan derailed that".
In April 2011, Rochelle Becker, executive director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility said that the United States should review its nuclear accident liability limits, in the light of the economic impacts of the Fukushima I nuclear disaster.
Overview
Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its reactors and pledged to close the rest by 2022. The Italians have voted overwhelmingly to keep their country non-nuclear. Switzerland and Spain have banned the construction of new reactors. Japan’s prime minster has called for a dramatic reduction in Japan’s reliance on nuclear power. Taiwan’s president did the same. Mexico has sidelined construction of 10 reactors in favor of developing natural-gas-fired plants. Belgium is considering phasing out its nuclear plants, perhaps as early as 2015.China—nuclear power’s largest prospective market—suspended approvals of new reactor construction while conducting a lengthy nuclear-safety review. Neighboring India, another potential nuclear boom market, has encountered effective local opposition, growing national wariness about foreign nuclear reactors, and a nuclear liability controversy that threatens to prevent new reactor imports. There have been mass protests against the French-backed 9900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project
Jaitapur nuclear power project
Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is a proposed 9900 MW power project of Nuclear Power Corporation of India at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra...
in Maharashtra and the 2000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power station currently under construction in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
in Tamil Nadu. The state government of West Bengal state has also refused permission to a proposed 6000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host six Russian reactors.
In the United States, new-reactor construction has also suffered—not because of public opposition but because of economics and tougher, yet-to-be-determined, safety regulations. In 2007, U.S. utilities applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build 28 nuclear-power plants before 2020; now, if more than three come online before the end of the decade, it will be a major accomplishment.
France is, per capita, the world’s most nuclear-powered state. Frequently heralded as a nuclear commercial model for the world, today it’s locked in a national debate over a partial nuclear phaseout. President Nicolas Sarkozy is still backing nuclear power, but his Socialist opponent, François Hollande, now well ahead in the polls, has proposed cutting nuclear power’s electricity contribution by more than a third by 2025.
Americas
Canada – On 16 March 2011, five days after the Fukushima I nuclear incident began, it was found that the Pickering Nuclear Generating StationPickering Nuclear Generating Station
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Pickering, Ontario. The facility derives its name from the City of Pickering in which it is located....
in Pickering, Ontario
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
, situated east of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, was leaking demineralized water into Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. While the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission , previously known as the Atomic Energy Control Board , is the governmental nuclear power and materials watchdog in Canada...
declared that the leak, caused by a pump seal failure, did not pose any threat to human health, many Canadians questioned the safety of nuclear power plants in Canada. Gordon Edwards
Gordon Edwards
Gordon Edwards was born in Canada in 1940, and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1961 with a gold medal in Mathematics and Physics and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. In 1972, he obtained a Ph.D...
, Canadian physicist and founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, claimed that the leak "shows the potential for more significant nuclear contamination of Lake Ontario [compared to that of Japan's disaster]". He added that the source of the Pickering plant's leak was the same as that of the incident at Fukushima I and that the leak must not be taken lightly. The Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station
Gentilly Nuclear Generating Station is a Canadian nuclear power station located near Bécancour, Quebec. The facility derives its name from the Gentilly suburb of the city of Bécancour, in which it is located...
near Bécancour, Quebec
Bécancour, Quebec
Bécancour is a town in the Centre-du-Québec region of Québec, Canada; it is the seat of the Bécancour Regional County Municipality. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Bécancour River, opposite Trois-Rivières.Wôlinak, an Abenaki Indian reserve, is...
, is the only Canadian nuclear power plant near a fault line. Quebec Premier Jean Charest
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest, PC, MNA is a Canadian politician who has been the 29th Premier of Quebec since 2003. He was leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998 and has been leader of the Quebec Liberal Party since 1998....
issued statements that the Gentilly-2 reactor was safe, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission declared it could withstand earthquakes.
Chile – In Chile, Emol reported on 16 March there has been much controversy over the installation of nuclear power plants, following the Chilean Government report that is was ready to sign a cooperation agreement with the United States Government on Nuclear Energy. The opposition urged a meeting on the plans with the Minister of Mines and Energy, Laurence Golborne.
United States – U.S. President Obama and aides for former Senator Domenici publicly supported continued development of new U.S. nuclear power facilities. The influential The New York Times stated in an editorial on 14 March that "the unfolding Japanese tragedy also should prompt Americans to closely study our own plans for coping with natural disasters and with potential nuclear plant accidents to make sure they are, indeed, strong enough". A more definitive expression of the impact of the accidents in the United States was the decision by NRG Energy
NRG Energy
NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company headquartered in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, near Princeton.-Electrical Power Generation Operations:...
, Inc. to abandon already started construction on two new nuclear power plants in Texas. Analysts attributed the abandonment of the project to the financial situation of the plant-partner TEPCO, the inability raise other construction financing, the current low cost of electricity in Texas, and expected additional permitting delays.
Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
announced a halt to freeze all nuclear power development projects for peaceful means, which included design of a nuclear power plant for which a contract had been made with Russia.
Asia & Pacific
Australia – The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia GillardJulia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
, stated in Melbourne, "I don't see nuclear energy as part of our future. We are blessed with abundant sources of renewable energy, of clean energy, of solar, wind, tide, hot rocks. That's our future, not nuclear..." per a Reuters report of 22 March 2011. Australia has no nuclear power stations.
China – ZSR reported on 14 March that During a News Conference of the Annual Meeting of National People’s Congress of China, the Deputy Chief of Environmental Protection Authority of China, Mr Lijun Zhang had said: "We are concerned about the damage of the Nuclear Facility of Japan, concerned about the further development of this issue, we will learn from it, and will take it into account when we make strategic planning for the nuclear energy development in the future. However, our decision on development of more nuclear power plants and current arrangement on nuclear energy development will not be changed." On 16 March, China froze nuclear plant approvals. On 28 March, the Chinese government revised nuclear power targets, which would likely result "in a reduction of about 10 gigawatts in nuclear generating capacity from the 90 gigawatts previously expected to be built by 2020."
India – The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
, ordered the Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Nuclear Power Corporation of India
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is a government-owned corporation of India based in Mumbai. One of the public sector undertakings, it is wholly owned by the Union Government and is responsible for the generation of nuclear power for electricity. NPCIL is administered by the...
to review the safety systems and designs of all the nuclear power reactors on 15 March. The Government of India was reported on 15 March to also be looking to put in place additional environmental safeguards to ensure safety of newly proposed nuclear reactors. Nuclear Power Corporation of India said on 14 March that the nuclear power stations in India survived the earthquake of Bhuj
Bhuj
Bhuj is a city and a municipality in Kachchh district in the state of Gujarat, India.-History:It was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the state capital by Rao Khengarji I in 1549. Its foundation stone as state capital laid formally on Vikram Samvat 1604 Maagha 5th...
in 2001 and the 2004 Asian tsunami but there was "no room for complacency".
Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.Netanyahu is the first and, to...
stated on 17 March 2011, that Israel was now unlikely to pursue civil nuclear energy.
North Korea – The Korean Central News Agency
Korean Central News Agency
The Korean Central News Agency is the state news agency of North Korea and has existed since December 5, 1946. KCNA is headquartered in the capital city of Pyongyang...
reported on 31 March that dissatisfaction with the Naoto Kan administration has risen concerning the accident response in Japan. Also, Rodong Sinmun
Rodong Sinmun
Rodong Sinmun is a North Korean newspaper and the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, published by the Rodong News Agency. It is the most widely read newspaper in the country...
reported, "The situation of the nuclear plant accident get worse and worse every day, and made the international society worry greatly".
Pakistan– The Government of Pakistan ordered the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
(PAEC) to check and review the power plants security, system, and designs of all the atomic power reactors in the country. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority , is the Pakistan's federal government agency which is based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority was established to ensure safe operation of nuclear facilities and to protect radiation workers, general public and the...
(PNRA) issued safety guidelines in plants, and ordered to re-evaluate the designs of KANUPP-II
Karachi Nuclear Power Complex
Karachi Nuclear Power Complex or KNPC is located in Paradise Point, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It consists of Karachi Nuclear Power Plant and CIAL KARACHI. A new governmental power project "KANUPP-2" which is under construction is also included in this complex...
and Chashman nuclear power complex
Chashma Nuclear Power Complex
The Chashma Nuclear Power Complex near Chashma city, Punjab, Pakistan, is a commercial nuclear power generation complex, consisting of Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-I and Chashma Nuclear Power Plant-II with CHASNUPP-III and CHASNUPP-IV are in the planning stages...
in Chashman city, Pakistan today reported on 16 March 2011. The PAEC is continuously monitoring the flow of events in nuclear plants in Japan in the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami there, APP
Associated Press of Pakistan
Associated Press of Pakistan is a government-operated national news agency of Pakistan. It is not associated with the Associated Press agency .-Lack of financial resources:...
concluded on 16 March 2011. According to the Jang News, Pakistan offered Japan to provide technical assistance to control to their nuclear radiation. On March 20, 2011, Jang News reported that scientists from PNRA
Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority
The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority , is the Pakistan's federal government agency which is based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority was established to ensure safe operation of nuclear facilities and to protect radiation workers, general public and the...
and PAEC
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission
The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, , is an administrative governmental and autonomous science and technology governmental department of Pakistan, responsible for development of nuclear energy and development of nuclear power sector in Pakistan...
are ready to leave for Japan as soon as IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
gives an approval. Japanese officials have accepted the Pakistan's offer, however, due to IAEA laws, both countries needs an approval from IAEA for such cooperation. According to the Foreign Office
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also known as Foreign Ministry, is a Government of Pakistan's federal and executive Ministry which is responsible for international and Foreign Affairs. The ministry was created in 1947, and was one of the first ministries to be established...
of Pakistan, Pakistani scientists are ready to leave for Japan as soon as IAEA gives an approval for such technical assistance.
Taiwan has ordered the suspension of its plans to expand nuclear power until a full safety review is complete.
Turkey – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
reaffirmed his commitment of building Turkey's first nuclear plant at Akkuyu, Mersin Province
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
.
Europe
European Union – In an interview on ORF2ORF2
ORF2 is an Austrian television channel owned by ORF.ORF2 was launched on 11 September 1961 as a technical test programme. Since 1970, ORF2 broadcasts on seven days a week. Today it is one of the three public TV channels in Austria.Where as ORF1 focuses on tv series and movies, ORF2 broadcasts...
, Austrian Environment Minister Nikolaus Berlakovich
Faymann cabinet
The government of Werner Faymann was sworn in on December 2, 2008. Following the resignation of Vice Chancellor and ÖVP party chairman Josef Pröll from all political functions, a cabinet reshuffle took place, the new government members sworn in by the President of Austria on 21 April 2011.-...
said that he would enter a request at the environmental meeting in Brussels on 14 March 2011 for a review of reactor safety. He emphasized both coolant and containment and compared these measures to reviews of the financial system after the banking crisis of 2008.
- Connie HedegaardConnie HedegaardConnie Hedegaard is a Danish politician and public intellectual who has been European Commissioner for Climate Action in the European Commission since 10 February 2010....
, the European Commissioner for Climate ActionEuropean Commissioner for Climate ActionThe Commissioner for Cimate Action is a new post in the European Commission. It was created in 2010, being split from the environmental portfolio to focus on fighting climate change. The current Commissioner is Connie Hedegaard....
stated on 17 March that generating energy from wind turbines at sea would be cheaper than building new atomic power plants.
- On 23 March a European Union-wide stress test was announced after an emergency meeting of the European Council of Ministers on Energy. All 143 nuclear power plants in the Union were planned to be subject to an assessment and it was also hoped plants of neighbouring countries were taken into account. The evaluation would include "vulnerability to seismic events, their exposure to flooding, as well as man-made disasters (such as power cuts and terrorism), with special attention being paid to cooling and back-up systemsNuclear safety systemsThe three primary objectives of nuclear reactor safety systems as defined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are to shut down the reactor, maintain it in a shutdown condition, and prevent the release of radioactive material during events and accidents...
."
France – In a letter dated March 23, Prime Minister Francois Fillon
François Fillon
François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...
asked the Nuclear Safety Authority
Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire is an independent French administrative authority set up by law 2006-686 of 13 June 2006 concerning nuclear transparency and safety. Its task, on behalf of the State, is to regulate nuclear safety and radiation protection in order to protect workers, patients, the...
to carry out an 'open and transparent' audit each of its nuclear installations, looking at the risks of flood, earthquake, loss of power and cooling, and accident management processes, in order to identify any improvements that should be made in the light of lessons learned from Fukushima. The initial conclusions are expected by the end of 2011. France conducted a more limited review following flooding at its Blayais Nuclear Power Plant
1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood
The 1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood was a flood that took place on the evening of December 27, 1999. It was caused when a combination of the tide and high winds led to the sea walls of the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant in France being overwhelmed...
in 1999. President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
has stressed the need for dialogue but said that France had chosen nuclear power for reasons of energy security
Energy security
Energy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
and to counter greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions. However pressure to permanently close the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant
The Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant is located in the Fessenheim commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France, north east of the Mulhouse urban area, within of the border with Germany, and approximately from Switzerland...
, the oldest in France, is growing within France and in neighbouring Switzerland and Germany.
Germany – During the chancellorship of Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, the social democratic
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
-green
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
government had decreed Germany's final retreat from using nuclear power by 2022, but the phase-out plan was delayed in late 2010, when during the chancellorship of Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
the conservative-liberal
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
government decreed a 12-year delay of the schedule. This delay provoked protests, including a human chain
Human chain
A human chain is a form of demonstration in which people link their arms as a show of political solidarity.The number of demonstrators involved in a human chain is often disputed; the organizers of the human chain often report higher numbers than governmental authorities.Notable human chains, in...
of 50,000 from Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
to the nearby nuclear plant in Neckarwestheim. This protest had long been scheduled for 12 March, which now happened to be the day of the explosion of reactor block 1. Anti-nuclear
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
demonstrations on 12 March attracted 100 000 across Germany. On 14 March 2011, in response to the renewed concern about the use of nuclear energy the Fukushima incident raised in the German public and in light of upcoming elections in three German states
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
, Merkel declared a 3-months moratorium on the reactor lifespan extension passed in 2010. On 15 March, the German government announced that it would temporarily shut down 7 of its 17 reactors, i.e. all reactors that went online before 1981. Former proponents of nuclear energy such as Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
, Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle [] is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has been serving as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions...
, Stefan Mappus
Stefan Mappus
Stefan Mappus is a former German politician from the Christian Democratic Union . He was Minister-President of the state of Baden-Württemberg since 2010 and chairman of the CDU Baden-Württemberg since 2009....
have changed their positions, yet 71% of the population believe that to be a tactical manoeuvre related to upcoming state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
elections. In the largest anti-nuclear demonstration
Anti-nuclear movement in Germany
The anti-nuclear movement in Germany has a long history dating back to the early 1970s, when large demonstrations prevented the construction of a nuclear plant at Wyhl. The Whyl protests were an example of a local community challenging the nuclear industry through a strategy of direct action and...
ever held in Germany, some 250,000 people protested on 26 March under the slogan "heed Fukushima - shut off all nuclear plants."
Italy – A moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants was approved on 24 March by the Council of Ministers of Italy for a period of 1 year. A further Italian nuclear power referendum was held on the 13th June 2011 and the No vote won, leading to cancellation of future nuclear power plants planned during the previous years, and due to the Italian nuclear power referendum turn out being over 50%+1 of the Italian population creates a legally binding cancellation of future plants.
Netherlands – Maxime Verhagen
Maxime Verhagen
Maxime Jacques Marcel Verhagen is a Dutch politician in the Christian Democratic Appeal party. He is the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and Deputy Prime Minister since October 14, 2010 in the Cabinet Rutte.He previously served as a Member of the European Parliament for...
, Minister of Energy, Agriculture and Innovation, wrote in a letter to the House of Representatives that the experience of Japan would be taken into account in the definition of the requirements for a new nuclear power plant to be built in 2015. Prime minister Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte
Mark Rutte is a Dutch politician who has been Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 14 October 2010, as well as Minister of General Affairs in the Rutte cabinet...
indicated on 18 March there were no plans to change operations at Borssele nuclear power plant
Borssele nuclear power plant
The Borssele Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant in the Dutch town of Borssele. It has a pressurised water reactor . Borssele is the only nuclear power plant still operational for electricity production in the Netherlands...
and called the German moratorium 'curious' .
Slovakia – The Slovak republic said in the week after the accidents it would continue with the construction of two new VVER 440/V-213 reactors (PWR) at the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant
Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant
The Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant located between the towns of Nitra and Levice, on the site of the former village of Mochovce. Two up-rated 470 MW reactors are presently in operation, with two further reactors of the same type under construction...
. All blocks at the Mochovce plant, existing and under construction, shall be updated and modernised to withstand higher earthquakes than the current limit.
Russia – On 15 March, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered officials to check Russian nuclear facilities and to review the country's ambitious plans to develop atomic energy amid Japan's nuclear crisis.
Spain – Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
ordered on 16 March a review of his country's nuclear power plants.
Switzerland – Swiss Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard
Doris Leuthard
Doris Leuthard is a Swiss politician and lawyer. Since 1 August 2006, she has been a member of the Swiss Federal Council. From 1 August 2006 till 31 October 2010 she was head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs...
announced on 14 March a freeze in the authorisation procedures for three new nuclear power plants, and ordered a safety review of the country's plants.
United Kingdom – On March 12, British Energy Minister Chris Huhne
Chris Huhne
Christopher Murray Paul-Huhne, generally known as Chris Huhne is a British politician and cabinet minister, who is the current Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the Eastleigh constituency in Hampshire...
wrote to Dr Mike Weightman, head of the HSE's Nuclear Directorate, asking for a report 'on the implications of the situation and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry. The report is to be delivered within 6 months, with an interim report by mid-May, 'prepared in close cooperation with the International nuclear community and other nuclear safety regulators'. On March 15, Huhne expressed regret that that some European politicians were 'rushing to judgement' before assessments had been carried out, and said that it was too early to determine whether the willingness of the private sector to invest in new nuclear plants would be affected.Dr Weightman visited Japan in May with an IAEA team.
Renewable energy
Nancy FolbreNancy Folbre
Nancy Folbre is a feminist economist who focuses on economics and the family, non-market work and the economics of care.She is currently an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst....
, an economics professor, has said that the biggest positive result of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster could be renewed public support for the commercialization of renewable energy technologies
Renewable energy commercialization
Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...
.
In 2011, London-based bank HSBC said: "With Three Mile Island and Fukushima as a backdrop, the US public may find it difficult to support major nuclear new build and we expect that no new plant extensions will be granted either. Thus we expect the clean energy standard under discussion in US legislative chambers will see a far greater emphasis on gas and renewables
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
plus efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
".
In 2011, Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
analysts concluded that "the global impact of the Fukushima accident is a fundamental shift in public perception with regard to how a nation prioritizes and values its populations health, safety, security, and natural environment when determining its current and future energy pathways". As a consequence, "renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
will be a clear long-term winner in most energy systems, a conclusion supported by many voter surveys conducted over the past few weeks. At the same time, we consider natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
to be, at the very least, an important transition fuel, especially in those regions where it is considered secure".
In September 2011, Mycle Schneider
Mycle Schneider
Mycle Schneider is a nuclear energy consultant based in Paris, and lead author of The World Nuclear Industry Status Reports...
said that the Fukushima disaster can be understood as a unique chance "to get it right" on energy policy
Energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
. "Germany -- with its nuclear phase-out decision based on a highly successful renewable energy program -- and Japan -- having suffered a painful shock but possessing unique technical capacities and societal discipline -- can be at the forefront of an authentic paradigm shift toward a truly sustainable, low-carbon and nuclear-free energy policy".
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement
- Anti-nuclear protestsAnti-nuclear protestsAnti-nuclear protests first emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the United Kingdom, the first Aldermaston March, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, took place in 1958. In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, about 50,000 women brought together by Women Strike for Peace...
- Humanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiHumanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiFollowing the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan received messages of condolence and offers of assistance from a range of international leaders. According to Japan's foreign ministry, 116 countries and 28 international organizations had offered assistance to Japan...
- Japanese reaction to Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
- Nuclear energy policyNuclear energy policyNuclear energy policy is a national and international policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy, such as mining for nuclear fuel, extraction and processing of nuclear fuel from the ore, generating electricity by nuclear power, enriching and storing spent nuclear fuel and nuclear fuel...
- Nuclear power debateNuclear power debateThe nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes...
- Nuclear renaissanceNuclear renaissanceSince about 2001 the term nuclear renaissance has been used to refer to a possible nuclear power industry revival, driven by rising fossil fuel prices and new concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emission limits. At the same time, various barriers to a nuclear renaissance have been identified...
- Timeline of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster