Written by
Christine McCann, Greenpeace Nuclear Blog – on the on-going situation at Fukushima: “TEPCO admitted this week that a water circulation fuel pump, responsible for keeping the spent fuel pool cool at the Fukushima Daiichi reactor #4, failed, allowing water in the pool to rise from 34ºC on Tuesday to 42ºC on Wednesday. McCann writes that, “A backup pump was used by also failed. One of the pumps was eventually restarted; the utility hopes the water will cool back down over the course of the week.”
One-third of lawmakers belonging to Prime Minister Noda’s own political party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), are urging him to hold off on restarting the nuclear reactors at the Oi power plant, out of concerns about safety. (All of Japan’s nuclear reactors are currently offline). Their petition states, “It is clear from surveys that the majority of the people think that we can survive this summer by conserving energy and transferring electricity among regions. We urge you to consider the fact that there is insufficient agreement within the party and among the people and the feelings of the 160,000 victims of the disaster, and be all the more cautious about a decision to restart the reactors.”
McCann reports that 117 lawmakers, including two former prime ministers, one former party leader, and two current cabinet members, point out that Noda has failed to meet five safety conditions for the Oi reactors outlined this spring by the DPJ, and no evacuation plans are in place. One member stated that, “In the first place, the causes of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have not been specified.” McCann states that public opposition in Japan to the restarts continues to rise.
Fukushima Nuclear Crisis Update for June 5th, by Christine McCann, Greenpeace, June 7th, 2012 – http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/fukushima-nuclear-crisis-update-for-june-5th-/blog/40865/
