Japan:
¶ Questions are arising about how the radioactive low-level waste from the Fukushima Disaster is being handled. In some places, it has been being bagged and put in parks, where it was covered over with fresh soil. Now grass grows on the soil, and children play on the grass. [Alaska Dispatch]
¶ The inability of safety experts to agree on whether the fault under the Ohi plant is active raises questions about whether the plant is safe. [The Daily Yomiuri]
World:
¶ British Prim Minister David Cameron put his weight into an internal government debate over wind farms, saying that the UK needs more wind turbines to power the electric cars of the future. [Telegraph.co.uk]
¶ South Korea is extending a probe into falsification of safety documents for parts at nuclear plants. Two nuclear plants have been shut down so far, and there is already some question about whether sufficient capacity remains to cover demand. [Reuters]
¶ Renewable sources provided 26% of the electric power in Germany in the first nine months of 2012. The share provided by solar PVs went from 4.1% to 6.1%. [Platts]
¶ Jordan is requiring all new residences to have solar hot water. [SBWire]
US:
¶ Extended outages of four nuclear reactors reduced overall output of the nuclear industry for 2012. [The FINANCIAL]
¶ Problems with safety of the nuclear industry were highlighted by Hurricane Sandy. [CleanTechnica]
¶ Campbell’s will be using waste from food processing to generate bio-gas to help power a soup plant. [Toledo Blade]
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