wiredinUSA August 2013

Reuters reports that Japan's nuclear regulator has expressed growing alarm at contamination at the seafront of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, and has urged the plants operators to take protective measures. Fukushimas operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, has acknowledged that problems are mounting at the plant, the site of theworld's worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The company said radiation levels in groundwater had soared, suggesting highly toxic materials from the plant were getting closer to the Pacific more than two years after three meltdowns triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami. Shunichi Tanaka, head of the new nuclear regulation authority, told reporters he believed contamination of the sea had been continuing since the March 2011 catastrophe. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was unaware of reports of contamination leaking into the Pacific, but an official at South Korea's fisheries ministry said regular tests were run on fish caught off the countrys coast and any with contamination exceeding permitted levels banned from sale. Fukushima contamination alarm

Tidal energy power station approved

The West Australian Government has approved plans to build Western Australia’s first tidal energy power station. Tidal Energy Australia proposes to build the new station at Doctor’s Creek, near Derby in West Kimberley. Derby-West Kimberley shire president Elsia Archer says she is excited about the extra jobs and power it will bring to West Kimberley. However, the member for Mining and Pastoral Region, Robin Chapple, says he does not see how the project could be environmentally or financially viable. By harnessing the energy in the extreme tidal movements, the facility is expected to generate 40MW of electricity – enough to power up to 15,000 homes. Albert Jacob, the environment minister, has approved the project subject to conditions.

wiredInUSA - August 2013

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