Years · 2011

April 2011

20 posts

Article

Can Nuclear Deterrence Last?

Fred Charles Iklé did not leave lasting impressions during long stints in government as President Nixon and Ford’s Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and as President Reagan’s Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. In both jobs, he served…

Article

FEPC Info Sheet 4/8

Well, it looks like TEPCO may have turned a corner at Fukushima.  Ralph Vartabedian, who is one of the better  reporters on technical issues, writes in the Los Angeles Times that Administration officials on background have said that radiation levels…

Article

Mongolian SNF Depot

During the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, a senior State Department official revealed discussions between the United States and Mongolia on a 123 Agreement for nuclear cooperation. It was a thing of beauty to behold — a well-aimed indiscretion by…

Article

FEPC Info Sheet 4/7

Do other people find these information sheets useful?  I am debating about whether to keep posting them. My fascination with the events unfolding at Fukushima is slowly giving way to the fact that I still have a day job that…

Article

FEPC Info Sheet 4/6

Ben Quinn in the Guardian reports that TEPCO has stopped the leak of radioactive seawater. Today’s FEPC info sheet indicates that TEPCO is installing some sort of silt barrier to contain the leakage of radioactive water.  Cryptome has some really…

Article

Career Counseling

Once a year or so, I devote a blog post to career counseling. Aspiring wonks: this one’s for you. Those who have already been through this drill, feel free to weigh in. The best reason to pursue a career in…

Article

FEPC Info Sheet 4/3

The current problem of the moment at Fukushima is the amount of water with high levels of radioiodine flowing into the ocean from Unit 2. TEPCO tried to stop up the leak with a mixture of “polymer absorber, sawdust, and…

Article

Is Mrs. Merkel Irrational?

On Monday morning March 28, I appeared at the opening panel discussion at the 2011 Carnegie Nuclear Policy Conference, to discuss “Implications of Japan’s Nuclear Disaster,” together with two colleagues, Eli Levite, ex of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission, and former…

Article

FEPC Info Sheet 4/1

Greetings from foggy Monterey! I was traveling yesterday (and managed to irretrievably lose my iPhone), so I didn’t get around to posting the daily information sheet from FEP on the situation at Fukushima. Full-text after the jump.