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What is the Relationship of Nuclear Energy Plants and Nuclear Weapons?

français | 日本語訳

It is my important discovery from the Fukushima nuclear power accident that we failed to understand radiation from nuclear bombs and the radiation from the nuclear accident are little different in terms of the risk for human life. We have long accepted the dangers of attacks by state actors with nuclear weapons, and now we understand the threat of human error and natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes on nuclear power plants. It seems that we have missed one key piece. What about attacks on nuclear power plants? Above all, I am concerned with terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants in volatile countries.

I have met eminent opinion leaders who are against nuclear weapons but support nuclear energy because it greatly contributes to reduce carbon dioxide. Both opinions might have valid arguments but it seems to me that both have lost sight of the long term risk and consequences.

I have asked Dr. Scott Jones, an International Advisory Council (IAC) member of the Nuclear Emergency Action Alliance (NEAA), to write on the relationship of nuclear energy plants and nuclear weapons. Dr. Scott Jones was a career naval officer with extensive nuclear weapon experience. He was a qualified nuclear weapons delivery pilot, and in intelligence assignments, a Nuclear Weapons Deployment Officer, and created Nuclear Weapon Target Annexes for U.S. European Command War Plans. Following this he became special assistant to Senator Claiborne Pell He wrote an article entitled : Fading Memories and Lessons Learned.

– Akio Matsumura

 

 

  What is the Relationship of Nuclear Energy Plants and Nuclear Weapons?… Continue reading

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In Defense of the Public Interest: Connecting and Amplifying Independent Voices around Nuclear Accidents

français | 日本語訳

Akio Matsumura

Excerpts from the Asahi Shimbun Editorial on Nov 23, 2016:

For planet Earth, the passage of five years and eight months represents nothing but a flash. 

The Magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck eastern Japan on November 22, 2016, believed to an aftershock of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, served as a wake up-up call, for us humans whose memories are woefully short. 

This time, many people became alarmed when they learned of the temporary failure of the cooling water pump for the spent nuclear fuel pool at the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO). In the immediate aftermath of the March 2011 disaster, however, the shutdown of the cooling water pump at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant presented a serious threat to the spent nuclear fuel. A possible massive release of radioactive substances was feared.

We are concerned that this particular lesson from the 2011 disaster may have already been forgotten. 

We must all learn humbly from each disaster. It is up to all of society--individuals and corporations alike--to keep planning viable countermeasures steadily and surely. 

Ultimately, that is the only way to prepare for the next disaster, which may strike even today.

Japan’s government and the Tokyo Metropolitan government flood the news with promotions of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. With this excitement in the foreground, we take little notice of the fact that there is little to no news of how repairs proceed, whether the crews face difficulty, and how many areas cannot even be entered at Fukushima’s nuclear site.… Continue reading

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A New Digital Youth Corps for America

français  | 日本語訳

Akio Matsumura

Only recently have our politicians begun to get the hang of social media. President Obama and Hillary Clinton have both appeared on the comedy show Between Two Ferns to sell their policies and boost their image with young people. Donald Trump is prolific with his tweets.  But “having a good take on popular culture” is not taking full advantage of the power of digital networks in our world. (UPDATE: Of course, President Obama has led the United States through many developments in cybersecurity and other digital innovations, including the US Digital Service. He is helping start a conversation on artificial intelligence this week in Pittsburgh and recently guest-edited WIRED magazine.)

And powerful these networks are. How quickly cyber attacks and theft have moved front and center into foreign policy. (The US election, still more than a month away, appears to have already been hacked.) What’s more, the connectedness the internet affords allows ideas to cross spaces either geographically distant or previously blocked or just not uncovered– from educational videos from Khan Academy, to discussion threads from a white-power hate group, to the attractive messages from ISIL recruiters.

In order to counter ISIL’s online recruiting tactics, the US State Department has created its own digital division to identify and silence or add context to the alternatives offered by a now embattled ISIL. The secret work of the FBI, NSA, Cyber Command and others aside, this is one of few public steps the United States has taken to engage and compete in a new sphere of the web.… Continue reading

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Obama’s Visit to Hiroshima: Nobel Peace Prize for Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s Global Survivors

français  |  日本語訳

Akio Matsumura

I announced the creation of the Nuclear Emergency Action Alliance (NEAA) on March 22, 2016. That same day, we witnessed the tragedy of a terrorist attack in Brussels. People began to contemplate the reality of increasing risk of terrorist attack on one of the 430 nuclear plants in 31 countries.

The Fukushima accident taught me that a nuclear power plant accident can have an unimaginable impact over human life for centuries. The accident has caused untold harm to those whose lives were disrupted by the plant. If things had gone worse, we don’t know how we would have calculated the cost of 24,000 years of environmental harm on future generations. It is my important discovery that we failed to understand the radiation from the nuclear bombs and the radiation from the nuclear accident are little different in terms of the risk for human life.

There are two strong different opinions in regard to the nuclear bomb and the economic necessity of the nuclear power plants. Japan, of course, is a country that has seen the downside of both technologies. When President Obama visited Hiroshima, he painted “a future in which Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known not as the dawn of atomic warfare, but as the start of our own moral awakening.”

I believe this message was appreciated by hibakusha, the world’s younger generations, and the people of Japan. To some, President Obama’s trip was controversial; would President Obama apologize to the hibakusha? Should he?… Continue reading

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Introducing the Nuclear Emergency Action Alliance: Taking the first steps after nuclear disaster

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Akio Matsumura

On the occasion of the 5th year of the Fukushima nuclear accident, I wrote an article entitled ”Our Lessons from Fukushima: New Concerns for the Future.” It was a pleasure to receive so many positive responses from friends and other readers.

Many readers also indicated their frustrations with the reality that many unsolved issues continue: 400 tons of contaminated water from the Fukushima plant run into the sea every day; no repository sites have been designated for radiation waste materials; and no scientific solutions regarding clean-up of the melted reactors are expected for at least 40 years. Readers have also appreciated my concern about the high probability of terrorists’ attacks upon the many nuclear power plants around the world and the need to establish some mechanisms and strategies to tackle the situation following such attacks – post-event planning and interventions. It was gratifying to learn that the organizations Physicians for Social Responsibility/International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (PSR/IPPNW Switzerland) published this article in English and French. (IPPNW was award the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.)

We have learned that even one mishap or mistake from any one of the many hundreds of nuclear power plants would cause a tremendous human and environmental loss for many decades, if not centuries. Damage incurred from a nuclear attack or a “dirty bomb” would be so large it would prove hard to calculate, but the costs are sure to be much larger than development and implementation of alternative energy sources.… Continue reading

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Our Lessons from Fukushima: New Concerns for the Future

français | 日本語訳

Akio Matsumura

This week people across the world are commemorating the fifth anniversary of the worst nuclear power accident in history, which occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant in Japan on March 11, 2011.

Many aspects of the crisis continue to affect human and environmental safety. There are still 178,000 evacuees in total (99,750 at Fukushima) who do not know when they can return home. 400 tons of contaminated water run into the sea every day. Frequent torrential rains wash away radioactive materials remaining at the site into the sea. 814,782 tons of contaminated water are stored at about 1,000 tanks, with more tanks built every month. The 7,000 workers at the site undertake dangerous tasks every day. The dedicated workers have solved many problems so far, but many continue to perplex managers and cleanup crews. No one approaches reactors 1, 2, and 3 due to strong radiation, and no scientific solution is expected for at least forty years. Unfortunately, future disruption cannot be discounted – the possibility of another strong earthquake in forty years is non-zero.

Since the Fukushima accident, we were fortunate to quickly receive opinions and recommendations across many fields. Nuclear scientists, medical doctors, military personnel, seismologists, biologists, oceanographers, volcanologists, journalists, spiritual leaders, parliamentarians, students and grass-root organizations, and public opinion leaders all weighed in. The horizontal perspective that emerged offered a different view than was possible from any single discipline, no matter how expert the practitioner. The Japanese benefited from these messages that cut through the confusion that pervaded the media at the time.… Continue reading

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The Tunisian Nobel Prize: Dialogue as a Political Virtue

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The refugee crisis will no doubt reshape the geopolitical, cultural , global economic policies  and challenge the core principles of the Europe Union. The Syria crisis will not only continue to drive the refugee crisis but also potentially trigger revolution in Syria and other Middle East countries. We would like to share a mosaic view of these complicated issues. France has historical ties with Syria, North Africa and the Middle East,and in general, the French have a rich knowledge about the issues in the region. I was fortunate to be introduced to Patrice Barrat, founder  of Bridge Initiative International, by my good friends Byron Janis and his wife, Maria Cooper Janis.**

Patrice has worked at the grass-roots level for many years on his concept to build the bridge to transcend traditional barriers of culture and ideology.  In recent years, he lived in Tunisia to promote his mission at the fount of the Arab Spring and witness the activities of the Quartet, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates. I am very pleased to introduce his noble work.

(**Byron Janis, the world famous concert pianist, composed the Global Forum theme song “One World “ – with lyrics by the four time Oscar winner Sammy Cahn and sung by John Denver. Maria Cooper Janis is the daughter of the renowned actor Gary Cooper.)

— Akio Matsumura

The Tunisian Nobel Prize

Dialogue as a Political Virtue

It seemed so simple. They were here, on stage, all together for the first time since the news came from Oslo – on October 9, 2015, a week earlier – that the union of their forces in the summer of 2013 had earned them the Nobel Peace Prize.… Continue reading

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Refugees and Responsibility

日本語訳 |  français

by Akio Matsumura

In his welcoming remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon drew attention to the plight of refugees fleeing Syria and the political and humanitarian challenges of and responsibilities for Europe’s leaders and citizens as more and more people seek safe haven. More than 4 million have fled Syria since 2011, and that number grows as you include those from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries where it is safer to flee than stay put.

Southern and Eastern Europe — Greece, Italy, Hungary, Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia,  Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Poland, Germany – the countries who bear the large share of the burden on the receiving end, are no strangers to conflict, revolution, or dramatic change.

A September New York Times editorial asks Eastern Europe to remember its own past:

Even as Europe’s greatest refugee emergency since World War II grew more acute, prompting Germany and some other nations to temporarily shut their borders, European Union interior ministers failed on Monday to agree on even a limited mandatory distribution of refugees for resettlement among member states.

That tragic reaction was all the more shameful because those most adamantly opposed to quotas were some Eastern European countries that recently basked in and richly benefited from the embrace of their Western neighbors.

The Central and Eastern Europeans were not alone in their resistance, and there are explanations for their reaction. Most of the countries that were liberated from the Soviet yoke 25 years ago are still poorer than their neighbors and have not shed a sense of victimhood; many have never had large numbers of people from distant parts of the world on their lands; and many have only a limited familiarity with the crises of the Middle East.
… Continue reading
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Understanding the Nuclear Challenge and Three Other Security Threats

français

Akio Matsumura

The way we wage war is changing. Cyber war’s secret infiltrations. The Islamic State’s conquering of vast swaths of land and resources. The UN and the other political entities we developed in the 20th century were not meant to handle such problems and will likely fail to do so. The incremental reforms have not kept up with the pace of changes led by technology and unsatisfied young people. Indeed, these new problems require new approaches. There is a mismatch between the potential consequences of the security problems we face today and the architecture we have to address them.

Four problems loom more menacing than the rest. Each challenges the security architecture on which we’ve depended for 25 years and threatens to spill over into a flood we cannot stem.

  1. Middle East: The region is hitting a low point. Civil War in Syria, expanding war against the Islamic State in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, conflicts between Sunnis and Shias in the region, and nuclear negotiations with Iran.
  2. Pakistan: One neighborhood over, Pakistan has nuclear weapons, tribal conflicts, and a rivalry with India pushed to the brink by state-sponsored terrorism.
  3. Eastern Ukraine: President Putin’s slow creep at the border is getting more dangerous.
  4. China: A huge overinvestment in real estate has left a bubble waiting to collapse. The resulting many ghost towns might cause uprisings and threaten the nation’s stability to a degree we haven’t seen. Especially tightly wound are the autonomous regions of Xinjian and Tibet.

Among the four ongoing conflicts, the potential global risk of the Middle East conflicts is far above the other three cases.… Continue reading

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New Type of Confrontation and the 25th Anniversary of the Moscow Global Forum

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The violent attacks in Paris that resulted in seventeen deaths last week and prompted millions to march for unity in the Paris streets are symptomatic of the new type of confrontation that has disrupted lives, politics, and economic systems. Stark differences in religion, culture, and the way we seek to live our lives has caused many around the world to perceive their lives at odds with others, with strict adherence to ideology playing a role for all involved. Fear, pessimism and a lack of trust describe daily interactions in many parts of the world as well as our international politics as well.

When it began 25 years ago today, the Global Forum for Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders in Moscow symbolized the beginning in a new era of openness and optimism as much as it closed a dark period of distrust and disagreement. The Berlin Wall had fallen only two months before, and the Soviet Union and the United States were seeking a way to cooperate after the Cold War. President Gorbachev, leading the opening of the Soviet Union, agreed to host more than one thousand religious and political leaders at the Kremlin for a multi-day dialogue on the pressing global issues of the times. In contrast with today, leaders were seeking new ways forward, making inroads with new conversation rather than closing off avenues of dialogue.

People chose to trust and engage across cultural and political divides.… Continue reading