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After 9/11, terrorists see nuclear plants as nice targets

The NRC has now dithered for a decade while suicidal terrorists have eye balled U.S reactors and their radioactive wastes as “nice targets.”

Ten years after 9-11: Nuclear Plants and Their Deadly Wastes Still Vulnerable, Greenpeace by Jim Riccio – September 9, 2011  A decade ago, nineteen suicidal terrorists hijacked airliners and turned them into weapons by flying them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Since those horrific attacks, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the nuclear industry have repeatedly claimed that nuclear plants were not vulnerable to a similar attack.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons now an incentive to terrorism , says Dick Cheney

Cheney: Nuclear Terrorism Is ‘Most Dangerous Threat’ We Face, The American, By Bridget Johnson, September 9, 2011, Former Vice President Dick Cheney said that the “most dangerous threat” we face is nuclear materials falling into the hands of terrorists.

“Nuclear weapons will no longer be a deterrent; they’ll be an incentive,” he said at AEI today

September 10, 2011 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Fukushima radiation into sea at least 3 times greater than previously estimated

Sea radiation ‘3 times higher than thought’, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 10 Sept 11, The total amount of radioactive substances released into the sea as a result of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is believed to have been three times the initial estimate by the plant’s operator, according to the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

A team led by senior researcher Takuya Kobayashi estimated the actual quantity at 15,000 terabecquerels, including substances in polluted water and substances released into the air that eventually fell into the sea. Tera means one trillion.

The figure is more than triple the estimate by Tokyo Electric Power Co. Also, the new estimate does not include cesium-134, meaning the actual total could be even larger. The research team will announce its findings at a conference of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan scheduled to start in Kitakyushu on Sept. 19….. http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110909005415.htm

September 10, 2011 Posted by | Japan, oceans | Leave a comment

Former Japanese Prime Minister insisted on emergency action at Fukushima

Former Japan PM ‘prevented nuclear plant pullout’, Google News, (AFP) – 9 Sept 11, TOKYO — Former premier Naoto Kan prevented the operator of a stricken Japanese nuclear plant from abandoning it after the March tsunami and forced its older employees onto the frontline, a newspaper reported Friday.

People who were then in senior government positions have said executives at Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) sought to withdraw from the Fukushima Daiichi plant on March 15 after it had been hit by a series of explosions. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Uncertain future as radiation leak continues from Fukushima nuclear plant

Fukushima Radiation expert says outcome of nuke crisis hard to predict, warns of further dangers, Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog(Mainichi Japan) September 9,2011 http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110909p2a00m0na016000c.html  by Hiroaki Koide “.……. At present, I believe that there is a possibility that massive amounts of radioactive materials will be released into the environment again. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Germany’s competitive advantage with 21st Century energy technology

closure of Germany’s NNP installations, previously scheduled to be shuttered as late as 2036, would give Germany a competitive advantage in the development of renewable energy, 

Germany’s renewable energy sources surge after Fukushima crisis, ARAB NEWS, By JOHN C. K. DALY, Sep 9, 2011  The worldwide implications for nuclear power advocates in light of the 11 March disaster at Japan’s Daichi Fukushima nuclear complex, battered first by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, are slowly unfolding.

Nations committed to nuclear power are being subjected to a relentless PR barrage by nuclear construction firms, who stand to lose billions if current contracts are suspended or, even worse, canceled. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | Germany, renewable | 1 Comment

Japan’s nuclear refugees – six months later

Six Months: The Nuclear Refugees, WSJ, 9 Sept 11, Since becoming self-appointed “nuclear refugees” in early July, Minako Ishigooka and her 14-month-old son have been living in a single room in a hostel in Naha, the prefectural seat of the southern island chain of Okinawa.

Just a few blocks away, the city’s main commercial strip is bustling with vacationers, but Ms. Ishigoooka’s days are spent on mundane tasks like making meals for her son and taking him out for walks. After he goes down for the night, she sits at the inn’s communal computer until 2 a.m. to gather news about radiation on Twitter.

She and her son have been to the beach only once but that doesn’t bother her. “At least here, I can let him play outside,” the 35-year-old mother from Tokyo says.

Fears of flare-ups in the nuclear situation or worries about radiation contamination of food have driven some residents of cities hundreds of kilometers from the disaster-struck Fukushima Daiichi plant to seek new homes. Many of them are mothers with young children like Ms. Ishigooka — the group most vulnerable to the potential effects of radiation……

One thing that makes the life rewarding for the nuclear refugees is the warm welcome from the local residents. Ms. Tatsuno says the nuclear evacuees have one thing in common with the Okinawans, who have long felt they were made to shoulder the burden of hosting U.S. bases to protect the entire nation: Deep mistrust of the government in Tokyo.

“They understand that whenever the government uses the word ‘safe’,  you have to take it with a pinch of  salt,” she says…. http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/09/09/six-months-the-nuclear-refugees/

September 10, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant not designed to stand such an earthquake

Quake-rattled nuclear plant puts NRC in unprecedented spot, By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY, 9 Sept 11 As the six-month anniversary of Japan’s near meltdown of a nuclear plant looms Sunday, the commercial nuclear industry in the United States is facing its own unprecedented challenge.

For the fist time, on Aug. 23, a U.S. nuclear plant was shaken more by an earthquake than it was designed to handle. So when is it safe to restart the Virginia plant shuttered by the 5.8-magnitude quake? This is the question now bedeviling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

At a public hearing Thursday, a senior NRC official told Dominion, the plant’s operator, that it will likely face a series of meetings and many questions before it gets the NRC’s approval to restart the North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va…..

Executives of Richmond-based Dominion acknowledge the historic nature of the event. “This is the first time a U.S. plant has exceeded design basis,” Eugune Grecheck, vice president of nuclear development, told reporters after the three-hour public meeting at NRC’s headquarters in Rockville, Md….. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2011/09/quake-rattled-nuclear-plant-puts-nrc-in-unprecedented-spot/1

September 10, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

Warning on earthquakes and multiple hazards to nuclear plants

“Any thought that we have eliminated accidents” is “hopefully vanquished from anybody’s mind who works in this industry,”

Nuke Plants Need Quake Review Each Decade: Jaczko, Bloombeg, By Brian Wingfield – Sep 7, 2011  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should for the first time require plant owners to review earthquake hazards at least once a decade, Chairman Gregory Jaczko said, backing a proposal opposed by industry….. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Stuxnet computer worm could target nuclear warheads

Nuclear warheads could be next Stuxnet target: Check Point, Code in Stuxnet worm can be modified with right skills, says security expert, CIO Hamish Barwick (Computerworld), 09 September, 2011, Due to the complexity and sophistication of the code contained within the Stuxnet worm, the possibility of it being used to take control of a nuclear warhead is high, according to a security expert.

At Check Point’s Sydney conference this week, Check Point Israel security evangelist, Tomer Teller, said he analysed the code of the Stuxnet worm, which was used to take control of a nuclear facility in Iran in June, 2009. “This is a huge file, it’s 1 megabyte [MB] of code and I respect the skill required to engineer that code as it is very complex,” he said.

Teller confirmed the code in Stuxnet could be modified to launch new SCADA attacks. “Nuclear warheads are controlled by computers so if someone managed to slip a worm inside a facility that will reach the warhead component, they could launch it and than aim it back at the country’s facility,” he said.

“Stuxnet is the first cyber weapon that could cause major disruption.”…..According to Teller, Stuxnet is a blueprint for future SCADA attacks, and he is aware that people have downloaded and modified the worm. “Stuxnet may have been deployed already but we don’t know about it because some companies won’t disclose breaches,” he said. https://mail.google.com/mail/?hl=en&tab=wm#compose

September 10, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety, technology | Leave a comment

No quick restart for Virginia nuclear plant

NRC rejects quick restart at Virginia nuclear plant, HOUSTON,   Sep 9, 2011  (Reuters) by Eileen O’Grady; Editing by Marguerita Choy– Nuclear regulators shot down an ambitious five-week timeline proposed to restart Dominion’s (D.N) two North Anna reactors in Virginia during a public meeting on Thursday to discuss the Aug. 23 earthquake that knocked the station offline.

The 1,806-megawatt station has remained shut since it automatically tripped last month after the unusually strong 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck roughly 12 miles (19 km) from the plant in Mineral, Virginia…..

Dominion officials said it now appears the reactors shut when the earthquake caused a problem inside the cores at both units rather than from the loss of outside power to the plant as initially reported. “It looks like the (fuel) rods were going into the core prior to the transformer opening,” possibly from a relay problem, a Dominion executive said.

Dominion is still working to understand the “root cause” of the plant shutdown as multiple automatic trip signals from various indicators were received within seconds of the quake.    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/09/utilities-operations-dominion-northanna-idUSN1E78724S20110909

September 10, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

India’s government will weaken its nuclear safeguards

Government plans nuclear watchdog with limited power, India Today, 10 Sept 11 A new Bill introduced in Parliament for setting up a Nuclear SafetyRegulatory Authority (NSRA) could result in a regulatory system much weaker than the existing one. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

NASA hoping to overcome ionising radiation so people can live in space

My question is, who in their right mind would want to live in space, rather than on this beautiful, and less irradiated Earth? – Christina Macpherson

NASA Awards Space Radiobiology Research Grants,The Sacramento Bee, By NASA    WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2011 — NASA is funding nine proposals from eight states to investigate space radiation’s effect on human explorers. The proposals from researchers in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Texas have a total value of approximately $12 million.

The ground-based studies will work to better understand and mitigate risk of damage to the heart and central nervous system from cosmic rays. The studies also will assess cancer risks and how genetics affect space radiation risks.

“These studies will pave the way for new approaches to better prepare astronauts for living in space,” http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/09/3897143/nasa-awards-space-radiobiology.html

September 10, 2011 Posted by | spinbuster, technology, USA | 1 Comment

Nuclear materials illegally transferred to Pakistan

Pakistani pleads guilty in U.S. nuclear export case WASHINGTON by James Vicini, Editing by Sandra Maler Sep 9, 2011 (Reuters) – A Pakistani national pleaded guilty on Friday in a U.S. court to conspiring to commit export violations in a scheme to illegally transfer nuclear-related materials to his home country from the United States…. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Yucca nuclear waste plan pretty much finished off

Nuke regulators bring Yucca Mountain waste plan closer to death, THE HILL, By Ben Geman – 09/09/11  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) acted Friday to end review of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, handing a victory to the Obama administration in its ongoing effort to kill the project. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

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