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155 miles from Fukushima – radioactive sediment found

With internal exposure at high concentrations, strontium-90 can accumulate in the bones and is “one of the more hazardous constituents of nuclear wastes,” according to the EPA.

The findings come after a travel alert issued by the U.S. government last week,

Radioactive sediment found miles from Japan nuclear crisis zone, CNN Oct 12 Officials in Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city, are investigating soil samples after a radioactive substance was found in sediment atop an apartment building about 155 miles (250 kilometers)  from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, according to news reports. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

“New Generation” Olkiluoto 3 nuclear plant delayed yet again, as nuke companies squabblee

Olkiluoto 3 nuke plant may be delayed further –TVO Oct 12, 2011

* TVO says Olkiluoto 3 may start in 2014

* Areva says plans fuel load by end 2012

* Both blame each other for delays

HELSINKI/PARIS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Finnish utility firm Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) blamed supplier Areva for further delays to the construction of its Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant which may further push back operations to 2014.

The 1,600 megawatt plant Olkiluoto 3, Finland’s fifth nuclear reactor, was originally scheduled to start operations in 2009 but delays and soaring costs meant TVO revised its start date to 2013.

TVO said its plant supplier, a consortium originally formed by France’s Areva and Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE), had informed it of delays in building the reactor’s automation system and in installing piping and electrical systems.

TVO and Areva-Siemens disagree over who is responsible for the delays and have taken a dispute over payment to the International Chamber of Commerce. Siemens has withdrawn from the consortium….http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/12/finland-nuclear-idUSL5E7LC0M620111012

October 13, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, Finland | Leave a comment

In water-scarce Australia, uranium miner BHP guzzles it for free

Public resources for private profit: free water for the largest open-pit mine in the world Coober Pedy Regional Times, by: Nectaria Calan, 13 Oct 11 In August mining giant BHP Billiton announced record financial results for the 2011 financial year, recording a total net profit of US$23.95 billion, nearly double its 2010 figure of US$13.01 billion.
Despite its profits more than tripling in the last three years, BHP has never paid a cent for the water used at its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine. The mine currently takes
an average of 37 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). Under the Roxby Downs Indenture Act BHP is not required to pay for this water usage. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, Uranium, water | Leave a comment

Keep moratorium on uranium mining at Virginia Beach, say officials

Virginia Beach officials want uranium mine ban extended, By Julian Walker The Virginian-Pilot, October 13, 2011 VIRGINIA BEACH Concerned that a proposed uranium mining operation could taint the city’s water supply, Virginia Beach officials want the state to maintain an existing moratorium on that activity for at least another year.

In a letter this week, the city’s water task force asked Mayor Will Sessoms and the City Council to urge the General Assembly to keep Virginia’s long-standing mining ban in place until at least 2013 and to delay related regulatory action. City officials are already on record opposing mining until they’re satisfied it won’t threaten Lake Gaston, a key drinking water source.

Some studies have said flooding near the mine could wash radioactive contaminants into tributaries that feed Lake Gaston, though a pro-mining analysis concluded that is highly unlikely. Forces for and against lifting the nearly three decade-old ban are bracing for a battle on the subject as early at the 2012 state legislative session. A National Academy of Sciences study on mining should be publicly released by then.

Virginia Uranium, the company that wants to extract ore from a Pittsylvania County uranium deposit, has actively lobbied officials as it pursues permission to mine, sending some to foreign countries to observe mines there. http://hamptonroads.com/2011/10/virginia-beach-officials-want-uranium-mine-ban-extended

October 13, 2011 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Southern California meeting- warm reception for nuclear whistleblower Arnie Gunderson

REGION: Anti-nuclear sentiment strong at San Clemente meeting, NC Times , 12 Oct 11  An anti-government, don’t-believe-what-you’re-told message about the potential dangers of nuclear power seemed to resonate with about 200 Southern California residents who came to a San Clemente meeting hall Tuesday night.
The crowd applauded a presentation by former nuclear executive and whistle-blower Arnold “Arnie” Gundersen and from others who gave presentations outlining the dangers of radiation emitting from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which had a severe accident this spring after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami inundated the coastal power plant.

Tuesday’s meeting was hosted by the San Clemente City Council and was organized by local environmental group San Clemente Green, which has taken an aggressive anti-nuclear energy stance in recent years.

The meeting follows a previous gathering on Sept. 28 where the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and representatives from Southern California Edison presented the council and public with reassurances that Edison’s San Onofre nuclear plant would be able to withstand the worst earthquake and tsunami that local conditions are likely to throw at the region.

At Tuesday’s meeting, however, speakers like Gundersen, a nuclear engineer, took exception with some often-cited statements made by the government and the utility.

Gunderson told the crowd that the real battle for the future of nuclear energy in California is over the “design basis” of existing nuclear plants. He said that the computer programs that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses to calculate the cost and benefit of using nuclear power instead of other sources of energy production are set up to favor utilities.

Gundersen urged the local public to hold regulators’ feet to the fire when they calculate the true risk of earthquakes and tsunamis to San Onofre, especially when it comes time to re-license the plant.

“Unless citizens’ groups force that program to be used properly, it will be distorted by the agency as it has (been) in the past,” he said.    http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_9f265564-21ce-592c-80d0-e8752b114806.html#ixzz1ahySLekw

October 13, 2011 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Japan: the psychological impact of Fukushima nuclear catastrophe

For Japanese, Fukushima spells fear, MARK MACKINNON,TOKYO—Globe and Mail, Oct. 12, 2011 The Fukushima fallout has now spread well beyond what can be measured with a Geiger counter. In the minds of many consumers, Fukushima prefecture – which, at almost 14,000 square kilometres is bigger than Lebanon or Jamaica – and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are one and the same. Though the Japanese government has evacuated only a 20-kilometre radius around the plant, many inside and outside Japan treat the entire region as though it’s contaminated, unsure of what to make of shifting official assessments of the situation. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Experts find USA radiological labs not prepared for nuclear disasters

U.S. Labs Not Equipped to Handle Radiation Disasters, By Shalmali Pal, MedPage Today October 12, 2011 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The U.S. state-based public health community is not ready to address a large-scale radiological event such as the one at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, according to recent survey results.

The “serious gaps in U.S. radiological preparedness,” include a shortage of appropriate personnel and a lack of federal certification to conduct sample testing, wrote Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, and colleagues, from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in Silver Spring, Md., in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

APHL is the national professional organization representing state and local government labs. The authors analyzed data from two inhouse surveys, the 2009 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey and the 2011 Radiation Capabilities Survey, which were sent to public health labs in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico…..

The authors called for several initiatives to better prepare public health labs for a radiological event.These plans include funding for the national Laboratory Response Network to continue identifying potential agents of biological and chemical terrorism and funding to develop more advanced lab methods to test radiological specimens…..http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/EnvironmentalHealth/29005

October 13, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

UK Royal Society calls for a plan for long term disposal of nuclear wastes

Group wants long-term nuclear plans, Belfast Telegraph 13 Oct 11, The Government must establish long-term plans for a new generation of nuclear power plants so future generations are not left dealing with its legacy, experts have urged. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

DOE can’t manage cold war’s nuclear wastes (let alone today’s)

“Many of the excess facilities awaiting deactivation and decommissioning are one-of-a-kind or unique to the DOE, with unprecedented scope and complexity,” said the authors. “In many cases, the necessary technologies are not yet developed or, if developed, they require significant re-engineering to fit DOE needs.”

Cold War’s nuclear wastes pose challenges to science, engineering, society Eureka Alert 13 Oct 11 Seven papers published in the current issue of Technology and Innovation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Inventors ™ report on efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure continued safe and secure storage and disposition of 50 years worth of spent nuclear fuel, surplus nuclear materials, and high-level wastes at DOE facilities. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment