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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Wear and tear problem on tubes carrying radioactive water

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, more than a third of the wall had been worn away in two tubes at Unit 2, which will require them to be plugged and taken out of service. At least 20 percent of the tube wall was worn away in 69 other tubes, and in more than 800, the thinning was at least 10 percent.

Inspectors find ‘unusual’ wear on new tubes carrying radioactive water at Calif. nuclear plant  Washington Post, By Associated Press, : February 2 LOS ANGELES — Unusual wear has been found on hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water at Southern California’s San Onofre Unit 2 nuclear plant, raising questions about the integrity of equipment the company installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009.

The disclosure came two days after a tube leak at the plant’s other unit prompted operators to shut down the reactor as a precaution. The problems at Unit 2 were discovered during inspections of a steam generator, after the plant 45 miles north of San Diego was taken off-line for maintenance and refueling. The two huge steam generators at Unit 2, each containing 9,700 tubes, were replaced in fall 2009, and a year later in its twin plant, Unit 3, as part of a $670 million overhaul. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

USA’s failed plutonium plant and the USA insider deals with AREVA

But the good news for Areva is the tax paid contract is still bringing in the big bucks with no end in sight.

 the waste from these processes all add to the huge amount of waste already stored in leaking tanks at SRS.

Abraham, like so many others in Washington, sells his influence…. And Abraham does not sell influence only in the United States. He sells himself to the entire world.

When is enough, enough? How much money do former government officials have to make before they go home and give back to their communities rather than take money to influence their friends in Washington? 

Spencer Abraham Cashes In, DC Bureau,  By ,  February 2nd, 2012   In  January 30 was former U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham’s last day as the non-executive chairman of Areva Enterprises Inc, the French atomic power firm’s American operation. This marked the end of a very lucrative arrangement for both Abraham and the French government own nuclear company – mostly at U.S. taxpayers’ expense.

It all began in the 1990s when the United States’ response to disposing of 34 metric tons of plutonium from shuttered nuclear weapons programs was a proposed mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. When Abraham became Energy Secretary in 2001, Areva was a key contractor for the MOX plant. According to his DOE calendars, among his first trips were to France to visit their nuclear officials and operations. Abraham maintained a close relationship with the then head of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon. In turn, not long after he left the Energy Department, Abraham cashed in and went to work for Areva and “Atomic Annie,” as she was known. In 2007, DOE broke ground on the MOX plant.
Today, the DOE’s MOX fuel plant is still under construction. It has cost billions of dollars, is over budget and behind schedule. But Spencer Abraham will never be held responsible for the cost overruns and delays. In fact, he has been handsomely rewarded.

Despite spending billions of dollars on the MOX plant, DOE has yet to line up a single customer even with massive government subsidies being offered to buy the fuel. No utility will touch it. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, Reference, reprocessing, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Shroud of secrecy around USA’s nuclear loan guarantee program

Vogtle Loan Guarantee Update: Nuclear Power Secrecy Continues Clean Energy Footprints,  February 2nd, 2012 Sara Barczak ›After nearly two years of stonewalling by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) continues to press ahead with our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation so that U.S. taxpayers can learn the full extent of the risks to which they are exposed in the massive commitment of $8.33 billion in conditional federal loan guarantees to Southern Company and their utility partners for two proposed new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia.

Of particular concern: the amount of taxpayer-backed obligations for the proposed Vogtle reactors is more than a dozen times greater than the failed Solyndra loan guarantee, which has received extensive Congressional scrutiny including an audit report of the troubled Department of Energy loan guarantee program that was recently delivered to the Obama Administration. Given the higher price tag and troubled history of nuclear reactor construction, the Vogtle project poses a much greater risk to taxpayers if default occurs. Find our February press release here. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear power plans on the back burner in Southeast Asia

In Malaysia, the government has quietly put a proposal to build two 1,000 MW nuclear power plants “on the back burner,” said a senior government source.
The decision came after environmentalists targeted a plan by Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp to commission a processing plant in central Malaysia that would have to dispose of radioactive waste….

Analysis: Southeast Asia goes slow on nuclear, Reuters,  By John Ruwitch HANOI  Feb 2, 2012  ”…..Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore are among some 35 countries considering going down the nuclear path, likely doubling the number of operational reactors in the next few decades, according to Lloyds Register.

But even the most ambitious plans will run up against barriers and constraints. In most Southeast Asian countries where there is interest in nuclear power, politics are holding it back. Indonesia’s National Atomic Energy Agency has been researching reactors for more than four decades and preparing the human resources, but the political will is lacking. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | ASIA, Malaysia, politics | Leave a comment

Malaysia facing radioactive threat from Australian rare earths company Lynas

Malaysian group to file suit to challenge approval for Aussie rare earth plant  Washington Post, : February 2 LAWSUIT PLANNED: A Malaysian group representing villagers and civil groups will file a legal challenge to the government’s decision to approve a $230 million rare earths plant by Australian miner Lynas Corp., a lawmaker said Thursday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/malaysian-group-to-file-suit-to-challenge-approval-for-aussie-rare-earth-plant/2012/02/02/gIQAmIwDlQ_story.html

Key victory, but battle is not over yet BY: ROWAN CALLICK,  : The Australian February03, 2012  ”….Environmental concerns have been driving greater political involvement in Malaysia as the population becomes better educated.

Growing ecological awareness has provided a common cause for middle-class activists of the three races — Malays, Chinese and Indians — who have tended otherwise to be divided by the country’s political parties…. The plant approval intensifies the need for Lynas to operate it impeccably and to build its community relations, because an election is almost certain to be called in Malaysia later this year.    Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has already warned that his three-party coalition would scrap the plant if it wins the election.

Fuziah says Lynas plant will scare off other investors, The Malaysian Insider, By Shannon Teoh January 31, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR,  — Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh has hit back at Lynas Corp, insisting that the presence of the Australian miner’s RM2.5 billion rare earth plant would deter investors from Pahang.

 Earlier today, Lynas executive chairman Nicholas Curtis warned against any move by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to shut the company’s refinery, which has raised fears of radiation pollution, saying such action would deter foreign investors.

Fuziah, who has led protests by locals and environmentalists against the plant, said yesterday the federal opposition would shut down the plant if it won a general election that must be called by May next year.

“Would any foreign investor want to site their operations right beside a rare earth plant? Would companies like Siemens want to set up near Lynas?

“This is not a strategic investment in terms of risk versus benefit. We don’t need rare earth to be high-tech. Germany doesn’t have rare earth,” she told The Malaysian Insider……

“(PAS spiritual leader) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has said if you want to close down Lynas, vote for Pakatan. (Opposition Leader) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has also said the same.

“I am not just anybody. I am PKR vice president and a member of the Pakatan leadership council,” she said.

The Australian miner said last week it expects the start of operations to be delayed to the second quarter from the first quarter of this year.

The plant was due to start operations in September last year but Putrajaya bowed to public pressure last April after sustained opposition from local residents and environmentalists and put the project on ice pending the review by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In July 2011, the government agency adopted 11 recommendations set out by the review of the refinery and said it would not allow Lynas to begin operations or import rare earth ore until all conditions, which include a comprehensive, long-term and detailed plan for managing radioactive waste, are met.

However, AELB has said Lynas Corp failed to meet any of the conditions in its first proposals…. http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/fuziah-says-lynas-plant-will-scare-off-other-investors

February 3, 2012 Posted by | Malaysia, politics, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear power has huge, ? insuperable problems

Disadvantages of nuclear energy, Biofuelswatch, by Max Rutherford, February 1st 2012  Nuclear Waste The biggest problem with nuclear power plants is the waste created during the generation of energy as an unwanted and dangerous byproduct. All waste products from a nuclear power plant are radioactive and thus they are detrimental to almost all kinds of living beings. What is even more hazardous is the fact that they remain radioactive and dangerous for thousands of years, which makes them virtually a permanent hazard. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Birds and radiation fallout

not sure of the reliability of this one

Bird life badly hit by nuclear fallout in Japan The Irish Times –  February 3, 2012, DAVID McNEILL in Tokyo RESEARCHERS WORKING in the irradiated zone around the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

USA govt does not want monitoring of radiation near Savannah River Nuclear Site

U.S. Department of Energy won’t help Georgia monitor radiation near Savannah River Nuclear Site The Augusta Chronicle By Rob Pavey Feb. 2, 2012 The U.S. Department of Energy will not honor its 2010 offer to help Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division restore a program to monitor radiation levels in Georgia counties near Savannah River Site…..

The intent of the monitoring, which includes analysis of water, soil, vegetation and air, is to determine off-site effects from SRS – and to provide independent data to compare with
extensive sampling already conducted by DOE on both sides of the Savannah River.

Anti-nuclear activists who lobbied for the restoration of the Georgia program said the Department of Energy’s about-face is disturbing. “The DOE’s obstruction to environmental monitoring in Georgia is a gross example of environmental injustice,” said Bobbie Paul, the
director of Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions. “Radiation does
not acknowledge state boundaries.” In 2010, then DOE Assistant Secretary Ines Triay pledged that monitoring would be restored to Georgia with a five-year contract independent of any restrictions from SRS.
“The money was never sent and in July 2011, DOE reported they would only fund $300,000 annually, less than half of what the program received annually when the its funding was cut in 2003,” Paul said. “Now, the offer is off the table.”
Giusti said SRS has a half century of experience at monitoring programs, which will remain intact to protect health and the environment. http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2012-02-02/us-department-energy-wont-help-monitor-georgia-radiation-near-savannah?v=1328205850

February 3, 2012 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Indian Point nuclear plant was refused exemptions from fire safety regulations

NRC won’t grant exemptions to nuclear plant, Legal News Line BY BRYAN COHEN, 2 Feb 12, NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Wednesday that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has sided with his office by rejecting Indian Point’s request for more than 100 exemptions from major fire safety requirements.

Schneiderman filed a petition in March over what he says is Indian Point’s continual failure to comply with federal regulations for fire safety that were established to keep nuclear plants safe in an emergency. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Hawaii’s smart grid will show the way to efficient renewable energy

Smart Grid Program Will Help Integrate More Renewable Energy Onto Hawaii’s Grid North American Wind Power,   02 February 2012 Honeywell and Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO) have launched a pilot program that aims to demonstrate how smart grid technology can help integrate more intermittent renewable energy – such as wind power and solar energy – onto the electric grid.

During the two-year program, the utility will connect with commercial and industrial customers to temporarily reduce the need for electricity – which the companies say is critical to maintaining gridreliability as Hawaii reduces its dependence on fossil fuels….
http://nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.9328

February 3, 2012 Posted by | renewable, USA | Leave a comment

A rather murderous nuclear weapons cult – Aum Shinrikyo

Aum Shinrikyo In Pursuit Of Nuclear Weapons – Analysis, Eurasia Review  by:  February 2, 2012  Aum Shinrikyo has an apocalyptic belief structure where the world is divided into two opposing forces, good and evil. Shoko Asahara, who is leader of the cult, firmly believes that they will prevail after the apocalypse and are motivated to trigger the apocalypse because their own salvation depends upon fighting the final fight and eliminating the enemy. The prospect of nuclear war shaped Shoko Asahara’s concerns to preach that Aum followers would be the only survivors of a coming Armageddon.

It has been reported that Asahara’s obsession with nuclear weapons formed the foundation for all of his actions related to these weapons. He published several ‘symposia’ during his time as leader in which he made statements about surviving a nuclear holocaust….. Asahara began viewing Japanese and Western society as the enemy and advocated pursuing violent means to bring about Armageddon…. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Religion and ethics, weapons and war | Leave a comment