2012 February 15 « nuclear-news

Fukushima in danger of new big earthquakes

Big quake risk said greater at Fukushima Outcome Magazine, TOKYO, Feb. 14 (UPI) — The risk of strong earthquakes at the Fukushima nuclear plant increased after the magnitude-9 tremor that hit Japan last March, scientists report.

A study using data from more than 6,000 earthquakes shows the March 11, 2011, tremor caused a seismic fault close to the nuclear plant to reactivate, a release from the European Geosciences Union said Tuesday. “There are a few active faults in the nuclear power plant area, and our results show the existence of similar structural anomalies under both the Iwaki and the Fukushima Daiichi areas,” study leader Dapeng Zhao, a geophysics professor at Japan’s Tohoku University, said.

The number of earthquakes in Iwaki increased greatly after the March earthquake, he said. “Given that a large earthquake occurred in Iwaki not long ago, we think it is possible for a similarly strong earthquake to happen in Fukushima,” Zhao said…. http://outcomemag.com/world/2012/02/14/big-quake-risk-said-greater-at-fukushima/

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation puts medical specialists at risk of rare brain cancer

‘Cardiologists exposed to radiation susceptible to tumors’, Jerusalem Post, By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH02/15/2012 Israelis publish evidence of brain cancer as occupational hazard for certain medical specialists.

Interventional cardiologists around the world have expressed concern over the findings of an Israeli colleague’s medical journal report suggesting aggressive brain cancer – especially on the left side of the head – may be an occupationalhazard from their exposure to ionizing radiation. Continue reading →

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Reference, USA | Leave a comment

USA’s Energy Secretary Chu’s trip to promote nuclear power to Georgia

OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Chu to tout nuclear in Georgia The Hill, By Andrew Restuccia and Ben Geman – 02/14/12 State of play: Energy Secretary Steven Chu will tout the Obama administration’s support for nuclear energy Wednesday at a Georgia power plant whose owner recently won approval to build the first new U.S. reactors in more than 30 years.

Chu will tour the Vogtle nuclear power plant near Waynesboro, Ga., and “highlight steps the Obama Administration is taking to restart America’s nuclear energy industry,” according to the Energy Department…… Chu will meet with Southern Co. President Thomas Fanning and Georgia Power President W. Paul Bowers. Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co., owns the Vogtle plant….

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.)has called on President Obama to hold off on finalizing the loan guarantee until the Energy Department makes improvements to its loan program, recommended in a White House-mandated report released last week…… http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/210651-overnight-energy

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | marketing, USA | Leave a comment

USA taxpayers up for huge costs as NRC approves 2 new and unsafe nuclear reactors

The safety of the reactor design has been challenged over many years. An engineering study commissioned by Friends of the Earth and other groups opposed to the project identified seven key safety areas, including failure risks for the reactor containment, cooling functions and spent fuel pool integrity

Feds Approve Unsafe New Nuclear Reactors Requiring Billions Of Taxpayer Dollars ENews Park Forest, Washington, D.C.—(ENEWSPF)—February 14, 2012. Despite the opposition of its chair, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last Thursday approved the first new construction of a new design of nuclear reactor since the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in 1979. Friends of the Earth stated today that the decision to give the green light to building two nuclear reactors at Vogtle, Georgia raises fundamental safety and economic concerns.

The NRC ruling, the first such approval in the U.S. in more than 30 years, will saddle Georgians with higher electricity rates and leave American taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars — all for a dangerous energy source with a long history of construction delays, cost overruns and safety lapses. Continue reading →

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Japan: push for a referendum on nuclear power

The anti-nuclear side has won all three referendums already held.

Japan group seeks local referendum on nuclear power * Osaka city assembly to decide on nuclear plebiscite

* Osaka mayor anti-nuclear but lukewarm on referendum

* Activists battle apathy a year after Fukushima crisis

By Yoko Kubota TOKYO, Feb 14 (Reuters) – A group of Japanese activists submitted a petition to the western city of Osaka on Tuesday seeking a referendum on scrapping atomic power, a step some hope will boost a campaign that appears to be flagging a year after the Fukushima disaster….. Plebiscites are rare in Japan Continue reading →

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Upfront costs for nuclear reactors, even if they’re never built

Critic: Proposed MidAmerican nuclear plant is “socialism” Des Moines Register 14 Feb 12, A steady critic of MidAmerican Energy’s proposed nuclear plant in Iowa said legislation backing the project amounts to “socialism” and would cost average ratepayer more than $800 a year.

Iowa lawmakers are considering a bill, House File 561, backed by MidAmerican, that would allow the investor owned utility to charge ratepayers for up front costs for the project, even if the reactors are never built.

That bill stalled last year in the Iowa Senate, where it now is before the Commerce Committee and has substantial support.

Mark Cooper, senior fellow at Vermont Law School’s Institute for Energy and the Environment, said the legislation amounts to “nuclear socialism.” “Building new nuclear reactors is entirely uneconomic,” Cooper said. “Nuclear reactors cannot compete with a range of alternatives on price. Construction is so risky, the capital market has said they won’t fund them at normal rates.”

“Under normal market conditions, this power wouldn’t be supplied. The utilities recognize that,so they are pushing for special treatment,” Cooper said. “They want suspension o fmarket forces and suspension of consumer protection.”…. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120214/NEWS/120214020/1007/NEWS05

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Obama administration considering deep cuts to nuclear weapons deployed

US weighing steep nuclear arms cuts (AP) WASHINGTON , CBS News, Robert Burns, February 14, 2012— The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned.

Even the most modest option now under consideration would be an historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Barack Obama’s 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. Continue reading →

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Palisades and Browns Ferry nuclear reactors rated at the bottom for safety

Michigan Nuclear Plant Downgraded Over Safety, WSJ, FEBRUARY 14, 2012, COVERT TOWNSHIP, Mich.—Federal regulators said Tuesday that safety violations at the Palisades nuclear-power plant in southwestern Michigan had led them to downgrade the plant to a status held by just two others in the U.S.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission assigns the more than 100 nuclear reactors in the U.S. to one of five categories based on their safety performance. Most are in the top-performing group. Palisades was bumped to the No. 2 category last month and now will join two others
in the third category: the Perry Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 1 generator near Cleveland and the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 1 generator in Berwick, Pa.

The only reactor that ranks lower is Browns Ferry Unit 1 near Athens, Ala., which is in the fourth category….. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204883304577223561511417868.html

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Dramatic loss and share price fall for Paladin Uranium

Paladin’s annus horribilis worsens, The Age, Peter Ker February 15, 2012 URANIUM miner Paladin Energy has managed to underwhelm the market yet again, despite the worst aspects of yesterday’s $US120.2 million loss being known for several months.
Investors wiped more than 5 per cent off the value of the stock … The loss was largely due to a $US133 million write-down on the value of Paladin’s Kayelekera mine in Malawi. Paladin revealed the write-down to the market late last year. …

the market was not impressed. Analysts at Goldman Sachs said the result was worse than expected, and by the close of trading 10¢ had been shaved off Paladin’s share price, taking it to $1.70 – dramatically lower than the $5.40 it was fetching less than a year
ago.
Some of the negativity appeared to be linked to ballooning expenses, despite chief executive John Borshoff cutting his own pay by 25 per cent and reducing exploration in an effort to rein in costs.
From $US31 a pound in the first half of 2010, Paladin’s costs rose to $US34 a pound in the six months to December 31, and costs at the Kayelekera mine were as high as $US46 a pound in the final quarter of last year. http://www.theage.com.au/business/paladins-annus-horribilis-worsens-20120214-1t45b.html#ixzz1mVWU3qJN

February 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment