nuclear-news

Dangerous MOX nuclear plant planned, close to highly populated area

About 35,000 people live within 10 miles of the plant. That’s no place for TVA and DOE to be running an experiment with radioactive material in an aging nuclear plant under increased supervision because of major safety problems.

Alabama.com OUR VIEW: Next door, nuclear research, September 09, 2012,  By Mike Hollis, The Huntsville Times   The Tennessee Valley Authority says it’s willing to consider using a blend of uranium and weapons-grade plutonium as reactor fuel at its Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Athens. That’s surprising, given the plant’s safety record.

Part of the problem, critics say, is that this mix of uranium and plutonium oxide fuel, called MOX, makes reactors harder to control, may increase the risk of some types of accidents and raises the threat to public health if an accident results in a major radioactive release.

The U.S. Department of Energy is proposing use of the fuel blend to
meet the terms of an agreement between the U.S. and Russia to reduce
their nuclear warhead stockpiles.
The public will get a chance to comment on the idea in a meeting that
will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Aerospace Center at Calhoun
Community College in Decatur…..
The fuel blend might indeed produce savings because taxpayers will
pick up a lot of the cost of making it at a plant under construction
at the DOE’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
So far, TVA hasn’t said just how much this might save its customers,
and it’s too early for even an educated guess. TVA and DOE have not
negotiated a price for the fuel. But cheaper fuel shouldn’t be a
consideration until after safety questions at Browns Ferry are
resolved.
And the NRC has found Browns Ferry’s safety seriously lacking……
This would be the first time MOX made from weapons-grade plutonium
has been used in a boiling water reactor like the three at Browns
Ferry, which have been licensed for more than 35 years.
Another point is that there are no circumstances requiring TVA to use
this fuel in the first place.
About 35,000 people live within 10 miles of the plant. That’s no place for TVA and DOE to be running an experiment with radioactive material in an aging nuclear plant under increased supervision because of major safety problems.
http://blog.al.com/times-views/2012/09/our_view_next_door_nuclear_res.html

September 10, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | reprocessing, USA