#Carbon14: Another underestimated danger from #nuclear reactors

"There are a number of radionuclides released from nuclear energy facilities. This paper highlights carbon-14 for a number of reasons:

- Carbon-14 is radioactive and is released into air as #methane and #CO2

- Before 2010, carbon-14 releases from nuclear reactors were virtually ignored in the United States. Today only estimates are required and only under certain restrictive circumstances.

- There is no good accounting of releases to date, so its impact on our health, our children’s health, and that of our
#environment remains unknown, yet environmental measurement is possible, but can be challenging under certain
conditions.

- Carbon-14 has a half-life of over 5700 years and the element carbon is a basic building block for life on earth. Therefore, “it constitutes a potential health hazard, whose additional production by #anthropogenic sources of today will result in an increased #radiation exposure to many future generations.”

- Like #tritium, it can collect in the tissues of the fetus at twice the concentration of the tissues in the mother, pointing to its
disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable human lifecycle: the developing child.

The element carbon is found in all organic substances. Carbon is also a primary constituent of #GreenhouseGases that are responsible for #ClimateChange, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (#CH4). Carbon-14 (c-14) is a radioactive form of
carbon that occurs in nature and is also newly formed in nuclear power processes.

"Carbon-14 is a health concern because it is released from #NuclearPower facilities as radioactive carbon dioxide and methane, traveling readily in the local and global environment.

"Over time, carbon-14 becomes part of organic material including food, and has a half-life of approximately 5,730 years, decaying by a type of radioactive particle called a beta. Its hazardous life is 10-20 times its half-life, meaning that harmful exposure to man-made carbon-14 can last for hundreds of generations. The radioactive carbon forms as a byproduct of fissioning of uranium fuel, through a process called activation. The final step is a chemical reaction between carbon-14 and oxygen or hydrogen, which forms methane or carbon dioxide. The radioactive carbon-14 formed by this process is brand new and would not exist without nuclear fission.

"During its long hazardous life, carbon-14 could be responsible for gross physical or
mental defects, stillbirths and childhood deaths, embryonic and neonatal deaths into the many millions over the life of the isotope.

"These millions could be underestimated five times or more. Carbon-14 could also be responsible for #leukemia, bone and other #cancers."

https://beyondnuclear.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/carbon14FINAL.pdf

#NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow! #BeyondNuclear #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree

#Japan's #Fukushima #nuclear wastewater 'pose major #environmental, #HumanRights risks' - UN experts

20 May 2025

"The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the #PacificOcean.

"In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.

"In the formal communication, available publicly, UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean.

"They said 'we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond.'

" 'We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence,' the special rappoteurs write.

" 'Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan.

" 'Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood.'

"The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (#PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond.

"In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for #OceanJustice and #HumanRights'.

"The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear #contamination through #NuclearTesting is still strongly felt across the region.

"It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on.

" 'As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release,' PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said.

" 'Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations,' he added.

"Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe.

"The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence.

"This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment.

"#OceanVisionLegal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone.

" 'It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean,' she said.

" 'Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity.' "

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/561566/japan-s-fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-pose-major-environmental-human-rights-risks-un-experts

The latest from #FukushimaDiary!

Declining Interest and Zero Successful Proposals in Tritium Removal Technology for ALPS Water
Steep Decline in Tritium Removal Proposals

TEPCO’s latest report on tritium removal technologies for ALPS-treated water highlights a drastic drop in submitted proposals over time. Since the call for technologies began in May 2021, the number of proposals has plummeted:

First round (2021): 65 proposals
Eighth round (2024): 7 proposals
Ninth round (2025): 2 proposals​

This sharp decline suggests a lack of viable technical solutions or diminishing interest from researchers and industry.
Zero Cases Passed Initial Evaluation in Recent Rounds

In early recruitment phases (2021-2022), 15 proposals passed the initial evaluation and moved on to secondary feasibility studies.
However, in the fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth rounds, not a single proposal passed the initial evaluation.
In the most recent ninth round (July – December 2024), only two proposals were submitted, and both failed to meet TEPCO’s evaluation criteria​.

Why Are No Proposals Passing?

TEPCO’s report states that the submitted proposals failed due to:

Lack of technical justification for tritium separation methods
Inability to meet TEPCO’s separation criteria
Insufficient data to verify feasibility​.

The complete lack of successful proposals raises questions about whether a viable tritium removal solution exists at all. For now, it appears that controlled dilution and ocean discharge remain the only “practical approach”—despite ongoing concerns and criticism.

トリチウム除去技術の公募が低迷、成功例ゼロに
トリチウム除去技術の提案数が激減

東京電力の最新報告によると、ALPS処理水のトリチウム除去技術の公募に対する提案数が大幅に減少していることが明らかになりました。
2021年5月に公募が開始されて以来、提案数は以下のように推移しています：

第1回募集（2021年）： 65件
第8回募集（2024年）： 7件
第9回募集（2025年）： 2件​

この急激な減少は、技術的な課題の難しさや、研究機関や企業の関心の低下を示している可能性があります。
直近の募集では初期評価通過例がゼロ

2021年～2022年の初期段階では、15件の提案が一次評価を通過し、二次評価（フィージビリティスタディ）に進みました。
しかし、第4回・第5回・第7回・第8回・第9回募集では、一件も一次評価を通過せず、成功例が完全に消滅しました。
最新の第9回募集（2024年7月～12月）では、わずか2件の提案しか提出されず、両方とも基準を満たさず不合格となりました​。

https://fukushima-diary.com/2025/02/declining-interest-and-zero-successful-proposals-in-tritium-removal-technology-for-alps-water/
#ContaminatedWaterCrisis #FukushimaIsntOver #ALPSSystem #Tritium #WaterIsLife #TEPCOLies #JapanGovernmentFail

High tide for #Holtec

#Tritium dumped into #CapeCodBay will wash back onto community shores, says a new report

"The permanently closed Pilgrim nuclear power plant is now owned by Holtec, which wants to dump #RadioactiveWastewater into Cape Cod Bay. While waiting for a permit, so far denied, the company is quietly venting #tritium into the air."

by Linda Pentz Gunter, Posted on December 29, 2024

"Holtec, the company that has purchased a number of permanently closed #nuclear reactors in order to decommission them, has encountered yet another obstacle to its '#dilution is the solution to pollution' plans.

"One of the reactor sites Holtec has taken over is #PilgrimNuclearPlant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the Cape Cod Bay, which closed permanently in 2019. Holtec’s not-so-little problem there is what do with what started out as at least 1.1 million gallons of radioactively contaminated #wastewater stored at the site.

"The company first suggested it would simply release the wastewater into Cape Cod Bay, assuring residents and the immediately alarmed fishing community not to worry because (a) the wastewater isn’t dangerous anyway (b) everyone does this all the time at reactor sites and no one has gotten sick so far and (c) it would quickly disperse into the wider ocean. Holtec chose this disposal method for one reason alone: it is the cheapest.

"The proposal was vigorously fought by citizens, the state, and powerful Massachusetts Democrat, Senator Ed Markey. The state of Massachusetts effectively banned the discharge option, a decision Holtec is contesting.

"That Final Determination to Deny Application to Modify a Massachusetts Permit to Discharge Pollutants to Surface Waters was issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection [#MassDEP] Division of Watershed Management on July 18, 2024. A month later, Holtec launched its appeal to reverse the decision, something that could take months or longer to find its way to court.

"In the meantime, help has come from a new quarter in the form of an in-depth study by the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution [#WHOI], also, as it happens, based on the Massachusetts shoreline, near Falmouth.

"The study — Model-Based Study of Near-Surface Transport in and around Cape Cod Bay, Its Seasonal Variability, and Response to Wind — found that contrary to Holtec’s claims, the wastewater would not immediately disperse into the ocean, but would linger potentially for months, and wash up on the shores of area communities.

“'We found virtually no out-of-the-Bay transport in winter and fall and slightly larger, but still low, probability of some of the plume exiting the Bay in spring and summer,' said Woods Hole study leader and physical oceanographer, Irina Rypina.

"The radioactively contaminated wastewater stored at Pilgrim is contaminated with what Holtec and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health have described as 'four gamma emitters — #Manganese54, #Cobalt60, #Zinc65 and #Cesium137 along with #Tritium, a beta radiation emitter'.

"While the Woods Hole Study did not look at the health outcomes of releasing the radioactive water into Cape Cod Bay — only at the plume pathway — there are plenty of data that demonstrate the harmful effects of these #radioisotopes on human health, especially women and children.

"After acquiring the Pilgrim reactor, Holtec’s President and CEO, Kris Singh, assured surrounding communities that,
'the decommissioning of Pilgrim will replicate the superb record of public health and safety and environmental protection that typified the plant’s 47 years of operations.'

But since that acquisition, Markey observed, 'Holtec has fallen woefully short on this commitment.' He noted of the Woods Hole report that 'In light of these recent findings, I urge Holtec to develop a wastewater discharge plan that is informed and guided by scientific fact and community input.'

"Long-time #PilgrimWatch activist, #MaryLampert, welcomed the report’s initial findings and said that 'Holtec dumping Pilgrim’s radiological and chemically #contaminated wastewater into semi-enclosed CapeCod Bay is harmful to human health, the environment, and our marine economy.'

"In a handbook explaining Pilgrim’s decommissioning process on the Pilgrim Watch website, the authors note that 'Cape Cod Bay, #PlymouthBay, #DuxburyBay, and #KingstonBay are all protected #OceanSanctuaries. Cape Cod Bay is a critical habitat for right whales and other endangered or special species. Dumping this #radioactive and chemically contaminated wastewater into them would cause incalculable economic damage and would harm both the environment and public health.'

"Absent a liquid discharge permit, Holtec’s preferred solution since has been to quietly evaporate the wastewater into the air. It has done this, as revealed during a Pilgrim Nuclear Decommissioning Citizen Advisory Panel meeting, by installing submerged electric heaters to increase the plant’s ambient temperature, ostensibly in order to improve worker comfort and expedite the drying of plant components.

"But, as Markey noted in an April 30, 2024 letter to Singh, the consequence of installing the heaters in that location 'is an increased rate of wastewater evaporation above the pace at which it occurs naturally.' That 1.1 million gallons is now down to 880,000 gallons remain, according to Holtec’s own reports.

"As Lampert points out, 'Meteorology studies show 60% of winds blow offshore,' which means at least some of that evaporated wastewater is going to fall into the bay anyway.

"Under Nuclear Regulatory Commission rules, Holtec has four disposal options: liquid discharge, evaporation, storage onsite, and shipping to a licensed facility. None of them are good solutions.

"In August, Holtec filed an appeal against the state’s ban on liquid radioactive discharges, in part claiming that the decision on whether or not to allow the discharge falls under federal not state jurisdiction.

"This, argue some opponents of Holtec’s discharge plans, is a stall and a distraction while it quietly gets on with the gradual evaporation of all the wastewater.

"'They’re using the appeal to buy themselves time,' Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, told radio station WBUR. 'And what they buy themselves, with time, is the ability to continue to induce evaporation of the wastewater, so that ultimately it’s gone, at minimal cost to them.'

"Lampert agrees. 'Holtec can evaporate all the water to meet its schedule to dismantle the reactor building,' she said.

"In October, Lampert, along with other citizens representing the fishing, environmental, real estate and medical communities traveled to Boston to meet with staff in Massachusetts Governor Mary Healy’s office to demand that Healy’s administration call a halt to the evaporation.

"'There are laws on the books already that prohibit #AirbornePollution,' Diane Turco of #CapeDownwinders told the local NPR station after the Boston meeting. “And we’re asking our governor to immediately enforce those laws… She’s been very strong about no dumping in the bay. And we see this as a parallel assault on our communities,' Turco said.

"So far the governor has not taken action."

https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2024/12/29/high-tide-for-holtec/
#HoltecLies #PilgrimNuclear #NuclearPowerCorruptionAndLies #NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoRadioactiveDumping #WaterIsLife #AirIsLife #RadioactiveWaterDumping #NewEngland #BeyondNuclearInternational