Hillary Clinton's Emails About Fukushima -- Then Kissinger's Advice To Buy Japan's Radioactive Food

I only have a few takeaways from the review of several thousand emails to and from Hillary Clinton in 2011 Spring.

But first the skeleton in the closet.   Clinton had almost daily email communications on Fukushima, then 2 aids or handlers implored her to go to Japan even though she was really tired from so much travel.    After that second email imploring her to go to Japan, ALL HER FUKUSHIMA  EMAIL STOPPED---well at least it was not disclosed in the email disclosure.

Of course setting up a trip to Japan to discuss Fukushima would need lots of logistics, talking points, points of contacts, meetings.    She did make that infamous trip.    So basically Clinton did not supply these!!!    60 top secret email were released to the FBI, BUT the coverup of the Fukushima story was so important that Clinton and her group committed a felony but removing these from the record.     It is the only story that makes sense.


Here is the chronology of events/emails to make it simple to see how the emails just STOPPED.

Here is a whitehouse petition to unredact all the Fukushima related emails, and to provide the rest of the emails.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/release-hillary-clinton-e-mails-full-2011-concerning-japan-after-3-11

Here is the official government source of the emails that I grinded through
https://foia.state.gov/Learn/New.aspx
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1) She was well advised as to what the risks were, and what precautions should be taken.

2) These powers that be understand false arguments, how to spot them, and how to use them

3) In the emails released, most exchanges were pretty professional, after the Reactor 4 explosion it had gone too far, and they decided that the event just needed to be censored.   After the initial emergency they focused their concern on economic impact and impact to the nuclear industry.

4) Around this time, researchers warned the powers that be that social media would lead to a reduction in their power if left unchecked and not monitored.

5) Hillary's  crew responds back with "Heck Ya we are monitoring social media and twitter to make sure our communications are resulting in change we can believe."

6) Hillary's handlers pushed her to go to Japan with some goals in mind, and that it was PR, but would be very powerful.   They pushed her even though all kind of other events were occurring and lots of travel and she was tired.   That's why I call it her handlers.

7) Once that first and second email urging the trip happened....then a complete blackout on the emails related to a major trip to a major world power for 3 weeks at least, that's all I checked.    No other issue got this blackout.  

8) This blackout of the Fukushima related trip to Japan was so important, it required committing a crime to not provide these emails under subpoena.     Of this $400B dollar a year industry (nuclear), how much do you think they funneled to Hillary or some Super-Pac?

I am dumping these screen captures of all the Fukushima emails that I reviewed.   I have all the PDFs downloaded and stored and backed up.

But I want to get this out there now, so you can view.

First off, she knew of the dangers of Fukushima, and the precautions that should have been taken, the next 3 graphics are from 1 email, March 12, 2011

HIllary first press conference to address her illegal email methods. She starts lying about this at 2:55 in the video
Hillary lying for 13 minutes

Fukushima, Proof It Was NOT a Hydrogen Explosion, Photo and Video Proof of Explosive Trajectory

This is breaking some new ground folks, hard to believe after almost 5 years. Pulling truth out of a vacuum.

This shows clearly that the explosions involved point sources, not an explosion through a whole reactor building filled with hydrogen which would not have a "directed explosive effect".

This pilot and videotographer took heavy heavy doses, they didn't even know enough to not fly through the obvious radioactive steam, you can see how the radiation just overwhelms their video.


This video is really odd, they spend 80% of the time viewing a shiny rod shaped object in the rubble, with a few views that show water in some kind of pool, agitated, perhaps boiling. But the odd thing is the rod, this one has a flared end.

The Simplest Answer Is Often The Reality -- Of Course Japan Already Has Nuclear Weapons

See the story below, it exposes an illegal clandenstine program of the USA supplying Japan with Plutonium for bombs.

And related to the next article, about high risk for the big quake in Japan, this week, is the fact that Japan has built it's infrastructure VERY STRONG.    I am an expert in materials and structures, and from traveling all over Japan I have come to the conclusion that Japan has built everything so strong, to not just minimize citizen death in a 9.5 earthquake, but to have enough systems still fully functional that even after a 9.5, that China could not send 500,000 "aid workers" which are actually military and take over their country.   

That is how much they hate the thought of being subjects to the Chinese, and how much they rightfully distrust China.   And vice-versa.


stock here:

I kinda sorta knew that USA was supplying plutonium to Japan.    And that Japan had a secret nuclear weapons program.   And why not do those programs at a nuke plant, since the radiation could be confounded with  that of the nuke plant, and you got

Japan and China fighting for thousands of years, plenty of war crimes on both sides.   USA wants Japan to have nuke bombs so any skirmish or full on war between Japan and China could be handled between the two of them.    

A war between USA and China would probably be a world ending event, but a war between China and Japan would be devastating but not USA ending.

If China makes a serious threat against Japan or a capture of one of their small islands, or even starts drilling for oil or minerals too close to Japan, Japan can simply say....oh BTW, you know that 70 tons of plutonium we had, well now we have 300 nuclear bombs, so pull your oil rig out or we will nuke it.    Or give us our island back or we nuke Shanghai.   

Of course this is the truth, what other truth could there be?  
pretty high security already. 

https://www.dcbureau.org/201204097128/national-security-news-service/united-states-circumvented-laws-to-help-japan-accumulate-tons-of-plutonium.html

Quake Watch Update - Odds of Large Earthquake Increased Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia

I look at 3 time periods three years apart:  January 24 to 31 in 2014, 2015, 2016

Here is what you need to know....after a series of earthquakes along a fault system, there are stresses release by a particular quake, but it also puts stresses on nearby areas.

They tend to "fill in" so that stress is relieved along the entire fault, look at 2014 and 2015, immediately below.    Then look at 2016, some large quakes, but even after a week, there are large areas which are not filled in, the stress is still there and building.

This increases the likelihood of a large earthquake and volcanic eruptions.   There is no better time than now to get prepared.

As with USA many of the recent earthquakes have been directly at volcanic formation, so eruptions at volcanoes are also possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------to test the theory, I went back in the records to come up with 1 week spans from prior years to see what the earthquake distribution looked like.

Mostly, the fault lines are fairly well filled in in a one week span.    I did all for March 3 to March 10, and the year is listed in the chart

 

One week before 311, aka March 11, 2011 here is what is looked like

 Lets review 2016, now.   Which year does it look like the most....looks like 2013 a little bit, but not really.   

In this close up you can see how poorly the fault lines were filled in, and the 9.0

After that huge release, other areas had to move to get used to the new normal

Adding More Whales to the Dead Whale Count -- Feb 2

These are 2 whale cameras in Hawaii.    I don't see any, the whales are super late.

http://mauisands.com/mauisands/maui_webcam/
http://www.jupiterfoundation.org/live-whales-web-cam.shtml 

Here is a resource for Hawaii whale counts
For Oahu, Kauai, Big Island
http://www.sanctuaryoceancount.org/resources/

The Maui Whale Foundation is a for profit tour company, and they try to emphasize education, but I bet they aren't telling anyone about the other whale UME's and Fukushima Bio-Accumulation Concentration Factor

I can't even seem to find a web site for them, and it appears per a last year announcement that they  are counting only on Feb 27, 2016.    Maui is the lions share of the whole count.   They love those shallow areas between the 3 islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and also bordered by Kaho'olawe.

Another report on whales here
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/09/killer-whales-die-off-along-pacific.html

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Eight dead sperm whales found on German beach

The eight whales found near the northern town of Friedrichskoog were young bulls, around the same age as the animals discovered three weeks ago at various North Sea spots.

• Posted 02 Feb 2016 01:51

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3414438/Tragic-pictures-three-dead-sperm-whales-washed-UK-beach-hours-caught-low-tide-died.html

My fear is not that high levels of radiation are killing these animals directly, my fear is that radiation and heavy metals have mutated one or several critical components of the bottom of the food chain like plankton and krill.     What do you think?

Some in the world are waking up?    Will enough wake up to tip it towards the good?

No whales on the whale cam in Hawaii

Epiphany -- Decomissioning Nuke is Huge Economic Boon

Epiphany--

1. Decommissioning, including dry casking, will be a huge economic boon. 
2. Far more people will be needed to take these apart than needed to run them. 
3. And certainly some of the people that are running them can transition into the decomm process. --------------------------------------------------------- 

Reality- Companies only have $300M to $600M to decomm their plants, but it costs in current year dollars, $1B to $2B. So they want to pretend that their trust fund can earn 7% per year, ignoring risks of investment.

The propaganda word "SafStor" is how they sell the idea of just let the plant sit for 60 years, and then take it apart. But we want this land back sooner.

1. We want the mess processed sooner. 
2. We want to tie in our solar PV farms at the same primary substation infrastructure that already exists. 

--------------------------------------------------------------

Solution, have the government assume control of the existing trust funds, the gov can watch those funds grow over time. And now, gov fronts all the money necessary to do the decommissioning now. Creating a huge shot in the arm to the REAL ECONOMY, and spending money on something we need to do.

Sure I want smaller government, and it will be after we don't have the NRC anymore. And this won't in the near term increase the size of government, it will be primarily subcontracted services getting everything done, getting money into the hands of real people that are doing a necessary task.

The Aliso Canyon Methane Leak -- A Great Article

The second biggest storage facility for methane gas in the US, it's 61 years old.

They removed the shutoff valve decades ago because it was leaking, and did not replace it to save money.

Methane is agreed upon by 99.7% of all scientists to be a cause of global warming.

They "lost" this well.    The greed, the negligence, the lack of accountability.
This first article, pulls everything together, nicely, along with good graphics

http://themillenniumreport.com/2016/01/a-special-report-on-the-socalgas-natural-gas-leak-at-aliso-canyon/
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More articles linked at the bottom

Thousands of Californians Are Fleeing an Enormous Methane Leak. Here Are 8 Things You Need to Know.

Catastrophic California Gas Leak Could Take More Than Three Months To Fix

Why One of the Biggest Disasters in US History Won’t Be Contained Any Time Soon

Uncontrollable California Gas Leak: This environmental disaster is serious!
California methane leak impact zone doubles in size

LA gas well has ‘destabilized’, large crater develops in area

Breaking: They may have “entirely lost control of entire field” involved in LA gas disaster”

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Published on Jan 23, 2016

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a famed environmental attorney and activist who joined our panel of experts to speak to the residents of Porter Ranch at our town hall meeting on January 22. His work for the environment has earned him recognition from Time magazine as one of the “Heroes of the Planet.”

During his portion of the town hall meeting, Mr. Kennedy illuminated the audience as to who is really responsible for the disaster in Porter Ranch. Well versed in how large corporations and government interact, Mr. Kennedy revealed how SoCalGas and government agencies have been working behind the scenes, and whose best interest they’re putting first. His compelling presentation was extremely informative, and we highly recommend watching it.

For more informative content on the situation in Porter Ranch visit http://www.porterranchlawsuit.com.


https://twitter.com/SoCalGasLeak
https://www.facebook.com/PorterRanchL...

Morgan & Morgan
20 N Orange Ave, Suite 1600
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 420-1414

US Nuclear Plants Having a Cascade of Failures Mechanical, Electrical, and Control All At Once

Aloha folks, please drop a comment, or add other plant problems in the comments and I will add to main body of the article. 

These old nuke plants, many past their design life, and with for profit corporations skimping on maintenance whilst their industry is under pressure from cheap gas and cheap solar, well, they are getting seriously dangerous.

Each instance below shows 4 major, multiple system failures, in 4 days since Jan 29.   A component fails, and then a backup system or other system also fails, then the outside power trips out.  

Many do not know, but without outside power, nuclear plants are at risk of melting down.    They usually have 2 or 3 EDG Emergency Diesel Generators, but they also have problems, and they are NEVER tested in a full load simulated outage test.  

It' time to shut these plants down, which the NRC could do, if they were not captured by the industry they are meant to regulate.    Without nuclear, the need for the NRC itself would go away.

You can see the power production status of all US reactors here
 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/reactor-status/ps.html

Here you can see the scheduled outages, so if a plant is less than 100% and it is not in a scheduled outage, then you can assume there is a real problem

https://www.roadtechs.com/nukeout.htm

stock out
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Feb 1: US_NPP Davis Besse 1 (OH) AUTOMATIC REACTOR TRIP DUE TO REACTOR PROTECTION SYSTEM ACTUATION

 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2016/20160201en.html#en51696

"At 1322 EST, with the unit operating at approximately 100% full power, an automatic reactor trip occurred due to actuation of Reactor Protection System (RPS) Channel 4. The cause of the RPS actuation is being investigated at this time. Nuclear Instrumentation calibration for RPS Channel 2 was in progress at the time of the trip, with Channel 2 in bypass and Channel 1 in trip. All control rods fully inserted. Immediately post trip, the Steam Feedwater Rupture Control System actuated due to high Steam Generator 1 level due to unknown causes. The Main Steam Isolation Valves closed and Auxiliary Feedwater started as expected. Secondary side relief valves lifted in response to the trip, with two of the relief valves (one on each header) not properly reseating until operators manually lowered Main Steam Header pressure. The Bayshore 345 kV Offsite Electrical Distribution Circuit automatically isolated at the time of the unit trip. This was unexpected. The remaining offsite circuits remain in service.
"The unit is currently in Mode 3 (Hot Standby) and stable, at approximately 550 degrees F and 2155 psig. Steam is being discharged through the Atmospheric Vent Valves for decay heat removal. There is no known primary to secondary leakage, and all safety systems functioned as expected…


FEB 1: US_NPP Davis Besse UNANTICIPATED SFRCS ACTUATION WHILE RESTORING MAIN FEEDWATER TO STEAM GENERATORS

 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2016/20160201en.html#en51702

"At 0123 EST, with the unit shutdown in Mode 3 (Hot Standby), during the performance of procedure DB-OP-06910, 'Trip Recovery,' while attempting to restore main feedwater to the Steam Generators, Davis-Besse received a Steam Feedwater Rupture Control System (SFRCS) 'reverse delta pressure' signal to the Auxiliary Feedwater System (AFW). The Auxiliary Feedwater System was operating at the time, feeding the Steam Generators.
"The SFRCS signal did result in actuation/closure [of] several valves in the Main Steam System, as the SFRCS signal is designed to do. This SFRCS signal/valve actuation was not anticipated.
"The unit remained in Mode 3 and is stable. This actuation did not have any negative impact to the AFW system and the ability to feed the steam generators

Quote
There is no known primary to secondary leakage, and all safety systems functioned as expected…

stock here
BALD FACED LIE

1. 2 Steam valves didn't close
2. Offsite power tripped out
3. Other valves were activated, and worked as intended, BUT it was due to a false signal from a control system.

Jan 29---US_NPP Riverbend 1 (LA) SPECIFIED SYSTEM ACTUATION AFTER LOSS OF ONE OFFSITE POWER SOURCE

 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2016/20160201en.html#en51701

"On January 29, 2016, at 1518 CST, with the plant in cold shutdown, power was lost on reserve station service (RSS) line no. 1. This is one of two sources of offsite power required by Technical Specifications. The power loss de-energized the Division 1 onsite AC safety-related switchgear, causing an automatic start of the Division 1 emergency diesel generator (EDG). The Division 1 reactor protection system (RPS) bus was also de-energized, causing a half-scram signal. Approximately 8 minutes later, a full actuation of the RPS occurred due to a high water level condition in the control rod drive hydraulic system scram discharge volume header. All reactor control rods were already fully inserted.

"The loss of Division 1 RPS also caused the actuation of the Division 1 primary containment isolation logic. The Division 1 isolation valves in the balance-of-plant systems closed as designed. Both trains of the standby gas treatment system actuated.

"The loss of RSS no. 1 occurred during post-modification testing on relays at the local 230kV switchyard. The exact cause of the event is under investigation. This event is being reported in accordance with 10 CFR 50.72(b)(3)(iv)(A).

"The unit remains in cold shutdown with 1 source of offsite power and all 3 [EDG] available.

Jan 29 ----US_NPP Duane Arnold 1 (IA) OFFSITE POWER DECLARED INOPERABLE DUE TO LOWERING GENERATOR VOLTAGE
 http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/event-status/event/2016/20160201en.html#en51697

"At 0920 CST on 1/29/16, while performing main generator voltage adjustments at the direction of the transmission operator, Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) switchyard voltage lowered to the calculated point where offsite sources were considered inoperable. During this event, both onsite emergency diesel generators were fully operable and capable of performing their intended safety function.

"While no safety concerns arose, Technical Specification (TS) Limiting Condition for Operability (LCO) 3.8.1.a Condition C was entered due to two offsite electric power circuits being inoperable. Immediate actions were taken to adjust main generator voltage to restore switchyard voltage. In less than 10 minutes, both offsite circuits were declared operable and LCO 3.8.1.a Condition C was exited. This resulted in a reportable event pursuant to 10CFR50.72(b)(3)(v)(D).

"During the time of reduced grid voltage, no bus low-voltage alarms nor any equipment issues occurred. The cause of this event is under investigation, and there are not any current operability concerns with the offsite power circuits."

 TS REQUIRED SHUTDOWN DUE TO UNIDENTIFIED LEAKAGE IN DRYWELL

"At 2100 hours [EST], on January 23, 2016, the Perry Nuclear Power Plant commenced a reactor shutdown due to unidentified leakage in the drywell. At 2122 hours, drywell unidentified leakage exceeded the Technical Specification 3.4.5.d limit of 'less than or equal to 2 gpm increase in unidentified LEAKAGE within the previous 24 hour period in Mode 1.' The unidentified leakage increased to approximately 3.8 gpm at 2122 hours. Current unidentified leakage is 3.02 gpm.

"Technical Specification 3.4.5 actions allow 4 hours to reduce the leakage within limits or be in Mode 3 within 12 hours and Mode 4 within 36 hours. The plant is required to be in Mode 3 by 1322 hours on January 24, 2016 and Mode 4 by 1322 hours on January 25, 2016.

"A drywell entry will be made in Mode 3 to identify the leak source.

"This notification is being made due to an expected inability to restore the leakage within limits prior to exceeding the LCO action time.

"Follow up question from NRC: Event times do not match (2100 versus 2122) - explained downpower was commenced at 2100 with leakage less than TS limit. When Reactor Core flow was reduced, un-identified leakage increased above the TS limit."

The Licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector.

* * * UPDATE FROM MIKE DOTY TO DANIEL MILLS AT 1123 EST ON 1/24/16 * * *

"At 1007 hours, on January 24, 2016 with the plant at 8% power during a feedwater shift to place the motor feed pump in service, reactor level rose to the level 8 scram set point and the Reactor Protection System (RPS) initiated, scramming the reactor. During the scram, all rods fully inserted into the core. Decay heat is being removed via turbine bypass valves to the main condenser. Reactor level control is currently being maintained via feedwater. The plant is stable with cool down and depressurization to Mode 4 to follow. The cause of the rise in feedwater level is under investigation. This notification is being made under 50.72(b)(2)(iv)(B) for a RPS initiation while critical."

All safety shutdown systems are available. The electric plant is in its normal shutdown alignment being supplied by offsite power.

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R3DO (Cameron). NRR (Morris) and IRD (Gott) were notified via email.

* * * UPDATE FROM DAVID O'DONNELL TO HOWIE CROUCH AT 1915 EST ON 1/24/16 * * *

"Following a shutdown required by plant Technical Specifications a small leak was identified coming from the Reactor Recirculation Loop A Pump Discharge Valve vent line. The Recirculation Loop is part of the reactor coolant system making this reportable under 50.72(b)(3)(ii)(A) as a degraded condition. It was subsequently determined to require a plant cool down in accordance with Technical Specification 3.4.5, Action C which requires the plant to be in MODE 4 within 36 hours. Technical Specification 3.4.5 was previously entered for increased unidentified leakage in the drywell. The plant is required to be in Mode 4 by 1322 hours on January 25, 2016."

The licensee has notified the NRC Resident Inspector. Notified R3DO (Cameron). NRR (Morris) and IRD (Gott) were notified via email.

San Onofre - Shut Down, But Still Reeks of Corruption and Ripping Off the Ratepayer, Now They Want to Store the Waste on the Ocean for 50 Years.

This letter from CaptD and Ace Hoffman

From: Ace Hoffman <rhoffman@animatedsoftware.com>
Date: January 31, 2016 at 4:46:32 PM PST
To: Recipient list suppressed:;
Subject: San Onofre Nuclear Waste Generating Station shut down permanently four years ago today

Dear Readers,

Four years ago today San Onofre Nuclear Waste Generating Station shut down forever.

Nobody had any idea it would be forever the day it happened: The public was told it was a "small" leak in one of the new replacement steam generators, that forced operators to quickly decide to drop the control rods, that brought the reactor safely to a stop.  That didn't put out the lights anywhere.  The nuclear plant was never started again, and it turns out we never needed it after all!

Of course, nothing "small" ever happens at a nuclear power plant.  Highly radioactive coolant which had just flowed through the reactor was GUSHING out of the primary coolant loop, flashing to steam into the secondary coolant loop.  When that loop's steam was condensed by the cool ocean water of the tertiary coolant loop, radioactive nitrogen was released.  Nitrogen does not condense and remains a gas, so it bubbled out and was detected by sensors inside the Unit 3 reactor turbine building.  The radioactive gas was then released to the atmosphere -- to the public -- through the building's venting system.  This author does not know the estimated quantity of radioactive nitrogen that was released, but with a half-life of only about 8 minutes, someone driving by on the highway nearby might have gotten a dose, but it presumably would have been quite small.  I doubt anyone would even have experienced a metallic taste in their mouth (a classic symptom of breathing in a medium or high dose of radiation).

The leak occurred in a thin metal tube, with wall thicknesses thinner than a dime. One tube leaked, out of over 19,000 such tubes in each nuclear reactor, which are inside of the replacement steam generators (9,727 tubes per steam generator, four steam generators for two reactors (two each)).  The primary coolant came gushing out at about 2200 pounds per square inch of pressure into the secondary coolant loop, which was at about 1000 pounds per square inch lower pressure.  The primary coolant immediately flashed to steam, and if the operators had waited much longer to shut the reactor down, the steam could have created both a bigger hole in the tube it was leaking out of, and/or a hole in an adjacent tube.

Worse yet, all the tubes in that area were vibrating back and forth in the "in-plane" direction, vibrating together in a coordinated pattern that was only going to stop when something broke -- not just leaked, but actually broke off.  That didn't happen, the reactor was shut down first -- but we came very close.

One tube breaking off could have caused a second tube to break off just by banging into it, especially because the nearby tubes were already worn and weakened.  Or the jet impingement of the steam from the leaking tube could have caused one or more nearby tubes to break off.  There's only so much water available before more is leaking out than can be pumped in -- two tubes breaking away might well be more than enough (regulations are imprecise), three tubes certainly would be too many.  These tubes are only about the diameter of a human finger, but the pressures are tremendous.

To prevent a meltdown, the operators had to recognize that a serious event was occurring, not just a simple leak (some leaking steam generator tubes eventually clog up with crud and stop leaking.  This leak kept getting bigger).  Then they have to shut down the reactor, but if the leak is bad enough that won't be enough.  They would also have to isolate the steam generator.  Most Pressurized Water Reactors have three or four steam generators, but San Onofre only has two massive steam generators per reactor.

But isolating a leaking steam generator can fail:  The massive valve used to isolate the steam generator can stick, for example.  That's why three tube failures with a concurrent isolation valve failure can cause a meltdown with a magnitude like that of Chernobyl or Fukushima.  Both Chernobyl and Fukushima were different designs from San Onofre with their own set of failure points, but all designs have 100+ tons of nuclear fuel which can overheat, meltdown, or even explode in a massively violent steam explosion.  Such an explosion could be far worse than the hydrogen explosions at Fukushima, a steam explosion of a nuclear reactor can throw the reactor pressure vessel head (which weighs some 20,000 pounds) half a mile into the air! (Calculations were done by Dr. Richard Webb.)

So it's great that San Onofre is permanently closed.

But we're left with a terrible mess, that is still capable of wiping out all of southern California!  There is a large committee, with nearly two dozen members, known as the Community Engagement Panel, that is pretending to try to deal with the waste that San Onofre Nuclear Waste Generating Station left behind.  But it consists of hand-picked (by Southern California Edison) "volunteers" (mostly local government wonks with a few pro-nuclear industry "environmentalists" thrown in) who have no desire to go up against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, or even Southern California Edison, who provides them with contacts in the industry who confirm the various standard nuclear lies, and media contacts, who have dutifully reported SCE's press releases for years, and dinner before the show, which occurs every three months (the next one is March 24, 2016 to be held on the hard seats in Oceanside, once again).

But before talking about what to do with the waste, let's talk about how we got here.

In reality, it wasn't so small a leak.  In fact, southern California had avoided a Fukushima-size nuclear catastrophe -- or bigger -- by literally a hair's breadth.

Thousands of steam generator tubes -- vital parts of the barrier layer between the "hot" radioactive primary coolant side of the reactor and the secondary side -- had worn away as much as 99% of their wall thickness when one of those tubes started to leak, four years ago today.

The replacement steam generators in that reactor (Unit 3) had been in service less than a year.  The old steam generators had been replaced at a cost to the ratepayer of well over a billion dollars when the additional cost of other replacement projects is added in.  In the process of the steam-generator replacement, SCE also replaced many other parts, such as new reactor pressure vessel heads, new turbines and turbine blades, and many miles of new pipes and wires (but not nearly enough of either).  None of these replacements would have been needed if the plant had not been blithely relicensed for another 20 years by the NRC, a crude lap-dog regulator.  By "crude" I mean they don't actually understand their own industry.  They regulate cranes, but have no knowledge of how cranes can be misused.  They regulate waste, but have no idea how to store it for the hundreds of thousands of years it needs to be contained.  They regulate steam generators, but don't check the thermodynamic calculations of the pressurized water reactors when those steam generators are replaced.  They approve cement "islands" of nuclear waste in earthquake zones that can experience 7+, or even 8+ level earthquakes, without any understanding of the problems of inspecting that cement island for 5, 10, 50... let alone, the full 300 years they expect to use them.  They fantasize that a permanent repository for nuclear waste is just a few years away.  Almost everyone on SCE's CEP fantasizes that, too.

This author has been tracking the Yucca Mountain project for decades.  Currently, Yucca Mountain has some 300 technical, scientific, legally-admissible contentions, and there's no guarantee more aren't coming (in fact, it's a sure bet even in Las Vegas that more ARE coming!).   So far only one of the contentions has been resolved.  The Department of Energy held a couple of hearings on water contamination issues regarding Yucca Mountain late last year.  The problems certainly run deep!  These were tribal lands that tribal history tells were once fertile, and that may become wet again what with global warming and its changes in weather patterns.  There are earthquake issues, volcanic eruption concerns, titanium drip shield design problems, and perhaps most of all: Transportation concerns.

Some of the stainless steel casks that are being used at San Onofre can be transported "as is" by placing them inside special transport casks to reduce the radiation dose to workers (including guards and drivers) and to the public during transport, and to enhance protection from accidents or attacks.

But it's one thing for a government agency to say that a dry cask is "safe from all foreseeable accidents" and another for the casks to actually BE safe.  The government defines "safe" by whether or not a cask can meet certain test conditions: Immersion in fire for a certain length of time, a drop onto a pedestal of some sort from a certain height, an impact into a brick wall at a certain speed.

The problem is that none of these tests are extraordinary accidents: A Baltimore Tunnel Fire type of event, a bridge falling on the cask, a tall bridge collapsing.  Rolling down a 10-foot embankment might be included, but rolling across the George Washington Bridge at the moment Al Q blows it up is certainly NOT included.  Neither is someone flying a modern jumbo jet into the cask while it's crossing the open plains -- a rather easy aerial maneuver, which would spread death and destruction as far as 500 miles away, depending on the wind currents.  Actually, it would spread death and destruction globally, but it's been estimated by experts that you could get statistically significant deaths (instead of just random deaths in large populations) 500 miles from a spent fuel accident.

So people don't want nuclear waste transported THROUGH their communities, and they don't want it stored IN their communities.  So the net result is that the communities that have it -- can't get rid of it.

This is the most crucial issue people living near operating reactors need to face: Do we want to have MORE of this waste problem or do we want to stop making more waste?

California currently has two reactors that need to close, both located at Diablo Canyon, a Nuclear Waste Generating Station near San Luis Obispo.  The lesson from San Onofre, four years after we escaped a massive accident by the skin of our teeth, is this:  Shut down before meltdown.  The lap-dog NRC will relicense anything, any old bucket of bolts, at any time.  The California Public Utilities Commission was corrupted decades ago and has yet to be completely cleaned up.  Perhaps public outcry is the only thing that is left, but by all means, don't settle for thin stainless steel casks!  Thin metal has been the nuclear industry's downfall here at San Onofre once already.  Let's not make that mistake again.

Ace Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA

The author has attended more than 100 Nuclear Regulatory Commission hearings, either in person or via phone or web connection, as well as dozens of CPUC, CEC, CCC, DOE and local hearings on San Onofre, Yucca Mountain, and other nuclear issues.  He has interviewed numerous experts and whistleblowers as well as veteran nuclear workers.  He has a collection of over 500 books and videos on nuclear power and nuclear weapons.  Ace lives about 20 miles from the San Onofre Nuclear Waste Dump.

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Quotes collected by Ace Hoffman:
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"Nuclear war must be the most carefully avoided topic of general significance in the contemporary world. People are not curious about the details." -- Paul Brians (author; quote is from: Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction)
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“When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” -- Sinclair Lewis (first American Nobel Prize winner in Literature, 2.7.1885 - 1.10.1951)
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"There is no such thing as a pro-nuclear environmentalist." -- Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa, 1992)
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"Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories."  -- Sun Tzu (Chinese general b.500 BC)
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“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.” -- Margaret Atwood (Canadian poet/novelest/environmentalist/etc.)
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“The sun shows up every day and produces ridiculous amounts of power.” -- Elon Musk (5.1.2015)
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"The most intolerable reactor of all may be one which comes successfully to the end of its planned life having produced mountains of radioactive waste for which there is no disposal safe from earthquake damage or sabotage." -- A. Stanley Thompson (a pioneer nuclear physicist who later realized the whole situation)
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"Any dose is an overdose." -- Dr. John W. Gofman (another pioneer nuclear physicist who saw the light (9.21.1918 - 8.15.2007))
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"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery." -- Octavia Butler (science fiction writer, 7.22.1947 - 2.24.2006)
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"If you want real welfare reform, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job.

If you want to reduce poverty, you focus on a good education, good healthcare, and a good job.

If you want a stable middle class, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job.

If you want to have citizens who can participate in democracy, you focus on a good education, good health care, and a good job.

And if you want to end the violence, you could build a million new prisons and you could fill them up, but you never end this cycle of violence unless you invest in the health and the skill and the intellect and the character of our children.  You focus on a good education, good health care and a good job.

And other than that, I don't feel strongly about anything."

-- Paul Wellstone (US Senator, D-Minnesota, 7.21.1944 - 10.25.2002)
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"There are no warlike peoples - just warlike leaders." -- Ralph Bunche (8.7.1903 - 12.9.1971)
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In the execution room, Troy [Davis] used his last words to proclaim his innocence one final time. He then made a call for his movement -- all of our movement -- to bring about [an] end of the death penalty for good. And then, in his final breath, he asked God’s mercy upon those about to kill him.
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"Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God." -- Thomas Jefferson
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"Officials from the San Onofre nuclear reactor said the warning siren that went off yesterday was just a malfunction and no one should worry. Hey, I worry, if they can't even get the siren to work right, what the hell are they doing with the reactor??" Jay Leno 1/20/10
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"Please send this to everyone you know!" -- Ace Hoffman (original collector of the above quotes)
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This email was sent by:
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Ace Hoffman
Author, The Code Killers:
An Expose of the Nuclear Industry
Free download:  acehoffman.org
Blog: acehoffman.blogspot.com
YouTube: youtube.com/user/AceHoffman
phone: (800) 551-2726;  (760) 720-7261
address: PO Box 1936, Carlsbad, CA 92018
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