A blind Japanese sailor completed his non-stop Pacific voyage on Saturday, local media reported, becoming the first sightless person on record to navigate a vessel across the vast ocean.

Mitsuhiro Iwamoto arrived at port in Fukushima in his 12-metre sailboat on Saturday morning, around two months after he left California.

Iwamoto, a 52-year-old San Diego resident, sailed from the US city on February 24 with Doug Smith, an American navigator who verbally helped him by offering information such as wind directions.

This was his second attempt after his initial voyage was cut short six years ago when his yacht hit a whale and sank.

"I'm home. Thank you," Iwamoto told the welcoming party after his yacht sailed into Fukushima, ending a journey of some 14,000 kilometres.

"I didn't give up and I made a dream come true," Iwamoto was quoted by Japan's Kyodo News as saying.

It was the first Pacific crossing by a blind sailor, Kyodo News said.

Iwamoto, who lost his sight at the age of 16, made the voyage to raise funds for charity, including efforts to prevent blinding diseases, according to his website.

A blind Japanese sailor completed his non-stop Pacific voyage on Saturday, local media reported, becoming the first sightless person on record to navigate a vessel across the vast ocean.

A blind Japanese sailor completed his non-stop Pacific voyage on Saturday, local media reported, becoming the first sightless person on record to navigate a vessel across the vast ocean. Mitsuhiro Iwamoto arrived at port in Fukushima in his 12-metre sailboat on Saturday morning, around two months after he left California. Iwamoto, a 52-year-old San Diego resident, sailed from the US city on February 24 with Doug Smith, an American navigator who verbally helped him by offering information such as wind directions. This was his second attempt after his initial voyage was cut short six years ago when his yacht hit a whale and sank. "I'm home. Thank you," Iwamoto told the welcoming party after his yacht sailed into Fukushima, ending a journey of some 14,000 kilometres. "I didn't give up and I made a dream come true," Iwamoto was quoted by Japan's Kyodo News as saying. It was the first Pacific crossing by a blind sailor, Kyodo News said. Iwamoto, who lost his sight at the age of 16, made the voyage to raise funds for charity, including efforts to prevent blinding diseases, according to his website.

Blind Japanese sailor completes non-stop Pacific voyage

The operator of Japan's crippled<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-japan-scientists-study-radioactive-fukushima-particles-202064&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiYwLat6dHhAhVIinAKHXXPAQ0QFggFMAA&amp;client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;usg=AOvVaw3YDfnblUJqPHzqdkzIOBS2"> Fukushima</a> power plant on Monday began removing atomic fuel from inside a building housing one of the reactors that melted down in 2011.

The delicate operation represents the first time the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has pulled out fuel rods from inside a highly contaminated building containing the melted-down reactor and comes four years behind schedule.

Due to high radiation levels, technicians used remote-controlled equipment to haul fuel from a "storage pool" inside the building.

Operations were briefly suspended early Monday afternoon after a problem with the equipment removing the fuel but resumed shortly afterwards.

"We finally started this work. We will spend two years removing 566 units of fuel from reactor three," said Takahiro Kimoto, a TEPCO spokesman.

TEPCO removed four units as planned on Monday, with workers continuing to remove debris that has fallen inside the pool and other areas, Kimoto told reporters.

"Factors such as removal of debris and various troubles have caused delays, which we realise have caused significant worries to people in the region and others," Kimoto said.

"Putting safety as our priority, we will carefully continue this work," he promised.

Engineers have had to contend with clearing earthquake debris inside the building and an array of other technical challenges, said TEPCO spokeswoman Yuka Matsubara.

"We had to proceed carefully (to remove debris), and we needed to take measures as dust would waft up and increase radiation readings," she told AFP.

TEPCO engineers will not yet attempt to extract molten nuclear fuel that remains deep inside the mangled reactor. This is considered the most difficult part of the massive clean-up operation and is not expected to begin until 2021.

'Reconstruction plan'&nbsp;

In February, TEPCO sent a remote-controlled probe to pick up pebble-sized pieces of the melted fuel in a bid to find out whether the material could be moved.&nbsp;

The next step in that painstaking process will be to remove some of the fuel as a sample, which is scheduled to happen by March 2020.

The company also faces other difficult challenges, including working out how to dispose of large quantities of contaminated water stored in containers at the plant site.

In the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, reactors one, two and three at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant melted down after a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011.

The tsunami killed around 18,000 people and caused widespread devastation, and the nuclear meltdown forced the evacuation of areas near the plant.

Reactors four through six were offline at the time of the disaster for inspections and did not suffer meltdowns, through reactor four was damaged by an explosion in the days after the tsunami.

In December 2014, TEPCO finished removing all 1,535 units of nuclear fuel kept inside the storage pool at reactor four.

The company aims to conduct the same operations for the buildings for reactor one and two by 2023 as part of a four-decade plan to dismantle the entire Fukushima plant.

Japan's government has pushed a reconstruction plan for the surrounding region that includes decontaminating affected areas and removing topsoil.

This month, an evacuation order was lifted for part of Okuma, one of two towns where the nuclear plant is located.

But regions affected by the disaster have struggled to attract back residents who fled in the wake of the meltdown, with many still concerned about radiation despite government assurances.

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima power plant on Monday began removing atomic fuel from inside a building housing one of the reactors that melted down in 2011.

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima power plant on Monday began removing atomic fuel from inside a building housing one of the reactors that melted down in 2011. The delicate operation represents the first time the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has pulled out fuel rods from inside a highly contaminated building containing the melted-down reactor and comes four years behind schedule. Due to high radiation levels, technicians used remote-controlled equipment to haul fuel from a "storage pool" inside the building. Operations were briefly suspended early Monday afternoon after a problem with the equipment removing the fuel but resumed shortly afterwards. "We finally started this work. We will spend two years removing 566 units of fuel from reactor three," said Takahiro Kimoto, a TEPCO spokesman. TEPCO removed four units as planned on Monday, with workers continuing to remove debris that has fallen inside the pool and other areas, Kimoto told reporters. "Factors such as removal of debris and various troubles have caused delays, which we realise have caused significant worries to people in the region and others," Kimoto said. "Putting safety as our priority, we will carefully continue this work," he promised. Engineers have had to contend with clearing earthquake debris inside the building and an array of other technical challenges, said TEPCO spokeswoman Yuka Matsubara. "We had to proceed carefully (to remove debris), and we needed to take measures as dust would waft up and increase radiation readings," she told AFP. TEPCO engineers will not yet attempt to extract molten nuclear fuel that remains deep inside the mangled reactor. This is considered the most difficult part of the massive clean-up operation and is not expected to begin until 2021. 'Reconstruction plan' In February, TEPCO sent a remote-controlled probe to pick up pebble-sized pieces of the melted fuel in a bid to find out whether the material could be moved. The next step in that painstaking process will be to remove some of the fuel as a sample, which is scheduled to happen by March 2020. The company also faces other difficult challenges, including working out how to dispose of large quantities of contaminated water stored in containers at the plant site. In the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, reactors one, two and three at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant melted down after a deadly earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. The tsunami killed around 18,000 people and caused widespread devastation, and the nuclear meltdown forced the evacuation of areas near the plant. Reactors four through six were offline at the time of the disaster for inspections and did not suffer meltdowns, through reactor four was damaged by an explosion in the days after the tsunami. In December 2014, TEPCO finished removing all 1,535 units of nuclear fuel kept inside the storage pool at reactor four. The company aims to conduct the same operations for the buildings for reactor one and two by 2023 as part of a four-decade plan to dismantle the entire Fukushima plant. Japan's government has pushed a reconstruction plan for the surrounding region that includes decontaminating affected areas and removing topsoil. This month, an evacuation order was lifted for part of Okuma, one of two towns where the nuclear plant is located. But regions affected by the disaster have struggled to attract back residents who fled in the wake of the meltdown, with many still concerned about radiation despite government assurances.

Nuclear fuel removed from crippled Japan plant

Eight years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, radioactive particles collected from the site are undergoing new forensic investigation in Britain in an effort to understand the exact sequence of events.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, off the Japanese coast, triggering a tsunami that killed some 18,000 people and the world`s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. Meltdowns at three of the Fukushima Daiichi plant`s six reactors spewed radiation into the air, soil and ocean, forcing over 100,000 residents to flee. Many have still not returned.

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is currently collaborating with British researchers to learn more about the state of the radioactive particles created by the meltdown.

Dr Yukihiko Satou from the JAEA oversaw the transportation of particles collected from within the restricted zone, very close to the disaster site, to Britain. 
"The particles were fundamentally extracted from those attached to soil, dust and debris," Satou told Reuters.

Encased in protective tape, the samples were brought to the Diamond Light Source, Britain`s national synchrotron, or cyclic particle accelerator, near Oxford.&nbsp;

Here electrons are accelerated to near light speeds until they emit light 10 billion times brighter than the sun, then directed into laboratories in `beamlines` which allow scientists to study minute specimens in extreme detail.

Researchers have created a 3D map of a radioactive sample using the synchrotron, allowing them to see the distribution of elements within the sample. 
Understanding the current state of these particles and how they behave in the environment could ultimately determine if and when the area could be declared safe for people to return.

The head of the team leading the analysis, Tom Scott of Bristol University, said the particles have a structure like a pumice, a very light, porous volcanic rock.

"Studying... this glassy matrix tells us how available within the environment they are," he said.

The British and Japanese governments have awarded funding to the research team to examine larger particles closer to the site of the meltdown at Fukushima to better define radiation risk in the surrounding area.

The research could have significance beyond nuclear accidents, the team said, because the techniques employed could also be used to image particles in air pollution to better understand the risk they pose to human health.

Eight years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, radioactive particles collected from the site are undergoing new forensic investigation in Britain in an effort to understand the exact sequence of events.

Eight years after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, radioactive particles collected from the site are undergoing new forensic investigation in Britain in an effort to understand the exact sequence of events. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck on March 11, 2011, off the Japanese coast, triggering a tsunami that killed some 18,000 people and the world`s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. Meltdowns at three of the Fukushima Daiichi plant`s six reactors spewed radiation into the air, soil and ocean, forcing over 100,000 residents to flee. Many have still not returned. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is currently collaborating with British researchers to learn more about the state of the radioactive particles created by the meltdown. Dr Yukihiko Satou from the JAEA oversaw the transportation of particles collected from within the restricted zone, very close to the disaster site, to Britain. "The particles were fundamentally extracted from those attached to soil, dust and debris," Satou told Reuters. Encased in protective tape, the samples were brought to the Diamond Light Source, Britain`s national synchrotron, or cyclic particle accelerator, near Oxford. Here electrons are accelerated to near light speeds until they emit light 10 billion times brighter than the sun, then directed into laboratories in `beamlines` which allow scientists to study minute specimens in extreme detail. Researchers have created a 3D map of a radioactive sample using the synchrotron, allowing them to see the distribution of elements within the sample. Understanding the current state of these particles and how they behave in the environment could ultimately determine if and when the area could be declared safe for people to return. The head of the team leading the analysis, Tom Scott of Bristol University, said the particles have a structure like a pumice, a very light, porous volcanic rock. "Studying... this glassy matrix tells us how available within the environment they are," he said. The British and Japanese governments have awarded funding to the research team to examine larger particles closer to the site of the meltdown at Fukushima to better define radiation risk in the surrounding area. The research could have significance beyond nuclear accidents, the team said, because the techniques employed could also be used to image particles in air pollution to better understand the risk they pose to human health.

UK, Japan scientists study radioactive Fukushima particles

A Tokyo court has ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to pay $10 million in fresh damages to residents who fled their homes after the disaster, the plaintiffs&#39; attorney said today.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was instructed to pay a total of 1.1 billion yen to 318 former residents of the Odaka district in Fukushima, around 20 kilometres from the plant.

The sum is a tenth of what the plaintiffs had demanded, citing the financial hardship and psychological impact they suffered after the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima that was triggered by a deadly earthquake and tsunami.

TEPCO had already agreed to pay each of the plaintiffs 8.5 million yen, but the ruling requires it to pay an additional 3.3 million yen to each of those affected, according to Isamu Oki, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs.

Residents are technically free to return to Odaka, which the government has certified as decontaminated, but only a few dozen have gone home because of financial and health concerns, Oki said.

&quot;Especially those with small children are worried... while elderly people are unable to come back without any supporting family,&quot; he added.

Junichiro Hironaka, who heads the legal team representing the residents, said Wednesday that the court&#39;s decision showed it recognised &quot;compensation for a lost hometown&quot;.

But he said the additional damages awarded by the court were insufficient, suggesting the plaintiffs might appeal.

TEPCO said it was reviewing the ruling before deciding how it would proceed.

Around 12,000 people who fled their homes for fear of radiation have filed dozens of lawsuits against the government and TEPCO.

In March 2017, a court in the eastern city of Maebashi ruled that both the government and TEPCO were responsible.

A massive undersea earthquake on March 11, 2011, sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan&#39;s northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing and sparking the Fukushima crisis, the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

In June 2017, three former TEPCO executives went on trial, the only people ever to face a criminal court in connection with the disaster. The hearing is continuing.

A Tokyo court has ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to pay $10 million in fresh damages to residents who fled their homes after the disaster

A Tokyo court has ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to pay $10 million in fresh damages to residents who fled their homes after the disaster, the plaintiffs' attorney said today. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) was instructed to pay a total of 1.1 billion yen to 318 former residents of the Odaka district in Fukushima, around 20 kilometres from the plant. The sum is a tenth of what the plaintiffs had demanded, citing the financial hardship and psychological impact they suffered after the March 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima that was triggered by a deadly earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO had already agreed to pay each of the plaintiffs 8.5 million yen, but the ruling requires it to pay an additional 3.3 million yen to each of those affected, according to Isamu Oki, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. Residents are technically free to return to Odaka, which the government has certified as decontaminated, but only a few dozen have gone home because of financial and health concerns, Oki said. "Especially those with small children are worried... while elderly people are unable to come back without any supporting family," he added. Junichiro Hironaka, who heads the legal team representing the residents, said Wednesday that the court's decision showed it recognised "compensation for a lost hometown". But he said the additional damages awarded by the court were insufficient, suggesting the plaintiffs might appeal. TEPCO said it was reviewing the ruling before deciding how it would proceed. Around 12,000 people who fled their homes for fear of radiation have filed dozens of lawsuits against the government and TEPCO. In March 2017, a court in the eastern city of Maebashi ruled that both the government and TEPCO were responsible. A massive undersea earthquake on March 11, 2011, sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing and sparking the Fukushima crisis, the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986. In June 2017, three former TEPCO executives went on trial, the only people ever to face a criminal court in connection with the disaster. The hearing is continuing.

Fukushima operator ordered to pay $10 million in new damages

Japan restarted a nuclear reactor on Friday despite a court challenge by local residents, in a boost for Tokyo&#39;s faltering post-Fukushima push to bring back atomic power. 
 
Operator Shikoku Electric Power said it switched on the No. 3 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime prefecture, about 700 kilometres (430 miles) southwest of Tokyo. 
 
The reactor, huttered along with dozens of others across Japan in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima accident , was expected to be fully operational by August 22. 
 
The prefecture&#39;s governor and the mayor of the plant&#39;s host town agreed on the restart in October, in the face of opposition from some local residents who filed a lawsuit to halt the refiring. 
 
Japan&#39;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and utility companies have been pushing to get reactors back in operation after a huge earthquake and tsunami caused a disastrous meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. 
 
The accident forced all of Japan&#39;s dozens of reactors offline in the face of public worries over the safety of nuclear power and fears about radiation exposure, forcing a move to pricey fossil fuels. 
 
Opposition to nuclear power has seen communities across the country file lawsuits to prevent restarts, marking a serious challenge for Abe&#39;s pro-nuclear stance.&nbsp; 
 
In April, a court ruled that Japan&#39;s only two working nuclear reactors could remain online, rejecting an appeal by residents who said tougher post-Fukushima safety rules were still inadequate. 
 
Two other reactors in central Japan had also been restarted before a court in March ordered them offline in response to a legal challenge. 
Including the reactor restarting on Friday, Japan will have just three operating reactors, and furious local residents vowed to fight on. 
 
&quot;We protest this restart of the Ikata nuclear reactor and are extremely angry,&quot; the residents&#39; group said in a statement Friday, adding that the reactor&#39;s use of a plutonium-uranium MOX fuel made it especially dangerous. 
 
&quot;We can&#39;t have another Fukushima.&quot; 
 
The utility said it would make &quot;ceaseless efforts&quot; to ensure the plant was safe and to keep residents informed about key details of the restart. 
 
(AFP)

Opposition to nuclear power however has seen communities across the country file lawsuits to prevent restarts

Japan restarted a nuclear reactor on Friday despite a court challenge by local residents, in a boost for Tokyo's faltering post-Fukushima push to bring back atomic power. Operator Shikoku Electric Power said it switched on the No. 3 reactor at its Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime prefecture, about 700 kilometres (430 miles) southwest of Tokyo. The reactor, huttered along with dozens of others across Japan in the wake of the March 2011 Fukushima accident , was expected to be fully operational by August 22. The prefecture's governor and the mayor of the plant's host town agreed on the restart in October, in the face of opposition from some local residents who filed a lawsuit to halt the refiring. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and utility companies have been pushing to get reactors back in operation after a huge earthquake and tsunami caused a disastrous meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. The accident forced all of Japan's dozens of reactors offline in the face of public worries over the safety of nuclear power and fears about radiation exposure, forcing a move to pricey fossil fuels. Opposition to nuclear power has seen communities across the country file lawsuits to prevent restarts, marking a serious challenge for Abe's pro-nuclear stance. In April, a court ruled that Japan's only two working nuclear reactors could remain online, rejecting an appeal by residents who said tougher post-Fukushima safety rules were still inadequate. Two other reactors in central Japan had also been restarted before a court in March ordered them offline in response to a legal challenge. Including the reactor restarting on Friday, Japan will have just three operating reactors, and furious local residents vowed to fight on. "We protest this restart of the Ikata nuclear reactor and are extremely angry," the residents' group said in a statement Friday, adding that the reactor's use of a plutonium-uranium MOX fuel made it especially dangerous. "We can't have another Fukushima." The utility said it would make "ceaseless efforts" to ensure the plant was safe and to keep residents informed about key details of the restart. (AFP)

Japan nuclear reactor restarts in post-Fukushima effort to bring back atomic power

The new No. 6 reactor at Russia&#39;s Novovoronezh atomic power station is not just about generating power, but relaunching Russia&#39;s ambitions to become a major player in the nuclear industry. 
 
The new design comes 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine dealt a body blow to the reputation of the Soviet Union&#39;s nuclear industry, and five years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan sowed fresh doubts over safety. 
 
Russia&#39;s nuclear power corporation Rosatom is presenting the new VVER-1200 reactor that is entering service here as not only the most powerful in the world, but the safest. 
 
The 1,200 megawatt reactor with a service life of 60 years includes innovative security features that operate equally well on commands from the staff or without human action, including cooling systems that work without electricity, it says. 
 
&quot;With these reactors, the Fukushima accident would not have happened,&quot; said Vladimir Lobanov, director of the training centre at the Novovoronezh power station, where staff rehearse disaster scenarios. 
 
In the 2011 Fukushima accident, the reactors automatically shut down when the magnitude 9 earthquake struck, but the tsunami overwhelmed the power generator used for cooling the reactors, leading to meltdowns that released radiation in the most dangerous nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. 
 
The power station&#39;s director Vladimir Povarov insists that the VVER-1200 can withstand a 9 magnitude earthquake or a plane crash. 
 
The launch of operations at reactor No. 6, which has been working at a minimal level since May 20 for testing before becoming fully operational by the end of the year, also puts Rosatom in front of the global competition in launching a third-generation technology reactor. 
 
Rosatom first 
 
France&#39;s Areva has suffered delays and mounting costs, including manufacturing errors for its EPR reactor. US company Westinghouse is testing out its AP1000 reactor in China at a less advanced stage, and Beijing is also developing its own model known as the Hualong. 
 
&quot;All the big companies in the sector have such solutions, but it is Rosatom which succeeded in launching it first,&quot; said Alexey Khokhlov, a partner at PwC&#39;s consultancy Strategy&amp;. 
 
With not all nations halting nuclear projects after the Fukushima disaster, Novovoronezh &quot;is an important message from Rosatom and other suppliers: a new stage has been reached in view of re-establishing the reputation of the sector&quot;, added Khokhlov. 
 
Russia hopes Novovoronezh, where two VVER-1200 reactors have been built, will be a commercial success, as well as help ensure its commercial success abroad. 
 
Despite the continued hangover of Chernobyl and Fukushima, Rosatom is currently using its know-how to build eight reactors on its own soil and 34 abroad. 
 
On a global scale, more than half the reactors now being built are under Rosatom, notably in China, Finland and Vietnam. 
 
And Russia hopes to benefit from growth expected in the sector: the World Nuclear Association says 173 new reactors are planned from now to 2030, while 65 are currently under construction, mainly in developing countries. 
 
Over the past ten years, Rosatom has signed contracts worth more than $100 billion. 
 
&quot;Between 20 and 25 per cent of the nuclear power stations under construction in the world will be Russian ones,&quot; Rosatom&#39;s deputy chief Kirill Komarov told Russian television at the AtomExpo conference which gathered delegates from almost 50 countries in Moscow in late May. 
 
Lithuania opts out 
 
Rosatom has come in for criticism from Greenpeace, which in a 2014 report condemned &quot;safety violations&quot; and the &quot;absence of adequate quality controls&quot;. 
 
Most damningly, it talked of &quot;pervasive corruption within the company that casts serious doubts on the ability of the Russian government to ensure such gross violations do not occur again&quot;. 
 
Neighbouring Belarus is also building two VVER-1200 reactors with a $10 billion loan from Russia, close to its northwestern border with EU member Lithuania and its capital Vilnius. 
 
The small country will find itself with a surplus of electricity from 2020 that it wants to sell to its neighbour Lithuania. 
 
But Vilnius, which is connecting its grid to that of the European Union, has already said it is not interested. 
 
&quot;Nuclear power is neither a long-term nor environmentally friendly nor safe type of energy,&quot; Lithuanian Green MP Linas Balsys said while visiting the construction site in April. 
 
&quot;I do not lose hope that it is possible to stop this project and prevent the risk that our capital Vilnius will have to be evacuated.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The new design comes five years after the disaster in Japan sowed fresh doubts over nuclear energy safety

The new No. 6 reactor at Russia's Novovoronezh atomic power station is not just about generating power, but relaunching Russia's ambitions to become a major player in the nuclear industry. The new design comes 30 years after the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet republic of Ukraine dealt a body blow to the reputation of the Soviet Union's nuclear industry, and five years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan sowed fresh doubts over safety. Russia's nuclear power corporation Rosatom is presenting the new VVER-1200 reactor that is entering service here as not only the most powerful in the world, but the safest. The 1,200 megawatt reactor with a service life of 60 years includes innovative security features that operate equally well on commands from the staff or without human action, including cooling systems that work without electricity, it says. "With these reactors, the Fukushima accident would not have happened," said Vladimir Lobanov, director of the training centre at the Novovoronezh power station, where staff rehearse disaster scenarios. In the 2011 Fukushima accident, the reactors automatically shut down when the magnitude 9 earthquake struck, but the tsunami overwhelmed the power generator used for cooling the reactors, leading to meltdowns that released radiation in the most dangerous nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The power station's director Vladimir Povarov insists that the VVER-1200 can withstand a 9 magnitude earthquake or a plane crash. The launch of operations at reactor No. 6, which has been working at a minimal level since May 20 for testing before becoming fully operational by the end of the year, also puts Rosatom in front of the global competition in launching a third-generation technology reactor. Rosatom first France's Areva has suffered delays and mounting costs, including manufacturing errors for its EPR reactor. US company Westinghouse is testing out its AP1000 reactor in China at a less advanced stage, and Beijing is also developing its own model known as the Hualong. "All the big companies in the sector have such solutions, but it is Rosatom which succeeded in launching it first," said Alexey Khokhlov, a partner at PwC's consultancy Strategy&. With not all nations halting nuclear projects after the Fukushima disaster, Novovoronezh "is an important message from Rosatom and other suppliers: a new stage has been reached in view of re-establishing the reputation of the sector", added Khokhlov. Russia hopes Novovoronezh, where two VVER-1200 reactors have been built, will be a commercial success, as well as help ensure its commercial success abroad. Despite the continued hangover of Chernobyl and Fukushima, Rosatom is currently using its know-how to build eight reactors on its own soil and 34 abroad. On a global scale, more than half the reactors now being built are under Rosatom, notably in China, Finland and Vietnam. And Russia hopes to benefit from growth expected in the sector: the World Nuclear Association says 173 new reactors are planned from now to 2030, while 65 are currently under construction, mainly in developing countries. Over the past ten years, Rosatom has signed contracts worth more than $100 billion. "Between 20 and 25 per cent of the nuclear power stations under construction in the world will be Russian ones," Rosatom's deputy chief Kirill Komarov told Russian television at the AtomExpo conference which gathered delegates from almost 50 countries in Moscow in late May. Lithuania opts out Rosatom has come in for criticism from Greenpeace, which in a 2014 report condemned "safety violations" and the "absence of adequate quality controls". Most damningly, it talked of "pervasive corruption within the company that casts serious doubts on the ability of the Russian government to ensure such gross violations do not occur again". Neighbouring Belarus is also building two VVER-1200 reactors with a $10 billion loan from Russia, close to its northwestern border with EU member Lithuania and its capital Vilnius. The small country will find itself with a surplus of electricity from 2020 that it wants to sell to its neighbour Lithuania. But Vilnius, which is connecting its grid to that of the European Union, has already said it is not interested. "Nuclear power is neither a long-term nor environmentally friendly nor safe type of energy," Lithuanian Green MP Linas Balsys said while visiting the construction site in April. "I do not lose hope that it is possible to stop this project and prevent the risk that our capital Vilnius will have to be evacuated." (AFP)

Reactor fuels Russia's bid for post-Fukushima atomic lead

fukushima

Fukushima, News on Fukushima, stories on Fukushima, articles on Fukushima, Fukushima stories at Wion, Fukushima news, Fukushima latest news