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Radiation spilling into Lake Michigan from Palisades nuclear power plant

Nuclear plant spills radiation into Lake Michigan Grist, By John Upton, 9 May 13

Last summer, a leaky tank led to the shutdown of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. So plant owner Entergy patched up the leak, fired back up the reactor, and hoped for the best.

Unfortunately, the best did not materialize.

The tank began leaking again. But no worries, thought the Einsteins at Entergy, it was only leaking a gallon a day. That was OK, they figured, because the NRC had allowed it to leak up to 38 gallons a day. As of Friday, they were still doing that whole “hoping for the best” thing.

But on Saturday the leaky drip turned into a gush, and all the hoping in the world couldn’t hold back the tide of spilling radioactive water. Nearly 80 gallons of water containing small amounts of radioactive tritium and possibly trace amounts of cobalt and cesium spewed into Lake Michigan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told the AP.

Early Sunday morning, the tank was ruled inoperable and the nuclear power plant began powering down. This is reportedly the ninth time that the facility has been shut down since 2011……..

What should be of concern to regulators and the public, Jackson said, is whether any nuclear power plant has enough of a culture of safety in place. That’s especially important because of the intense pressures in the electrical power industry to keep costs low.

May 11, 2013 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear energy is neither pollutant free, nor carbon free

Nuclear power is not the answer to our energy needs  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-nuclear-industry-20130509,0,7641347.story#ixzz2Svejsjs0 Regina Minniss, 9 May 13 Dan Ervin’s commentary on lifting restrictions on U.S. companies supplying nuclear power equipment abroad is completely misleading (“A nuclear opportunity,” May 6).

Nuclear energy is not, as Mr. Ervin says, pollutant free or carbon free. Government regulations allow nuclear power plants to deliberately’ and routinely emit hundreds of thousands of curies of radioactive gases and other radioactive elements into the environment every day. Radiation cannot be seen, felt or tasted, so I’m wondering if this is why Mr. Ervin feels he can credibly say that nuclear power is pollution free.

As far as carbon dioxide-free, the energy used to create nuclear energy — to mine the uranium ore, crush, mull and enrich it, then create the concrete and steel container vessel for the reactor and store the hot radioactive nuclear waste — all comes from the consumption of fossil fuels

May 11, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Malfunction shuts down Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor

Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor shuts down, Unexplained malfunction under investigation By Timothy B. Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun, May 9, 2013

One of two reactors at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant in Southern Maryland shut down suddenly Wednesday night after an as-yet-unexplained malfunction, a Constellation spokesman said.,,,,, http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-gr-calvert-clifffs-shutdown-20130509,0,6098339.story

 

May 11, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Renewable energy report – a plus for Nevada

Nevada Renewable Energy – Good or Bad?  Oilprice.com By John Daly, 05 May 2013 Say what you will, the energy matrix driving the U.S. economy is in flux, if for no other reason than the increasing volumes of natural gas and oil produced by U.S. hydraulic fracturing efforts are beginning to have a significant impact on the U.S. economy.

While the issue of “fracking” excites legions of both proponents and detractors, the common ground that both share is a commitment to lessen America’s dependency on foreign energy exports.

That said, the energy produced by fracking is a continuation of U.S. dependency on traditional fossils fuels.

Another element, still largely marginalized in the mix, is renewable energy, and a most interesting story is now playing out in Nevada, where two recent reports present diametrically opposed image of the importance of renewable energy in the state’s future.

For the upside, view the Applied Analysis “The Economic Impact of (Nevada’s) Renewable Portfolio Standard,” written for the Las Vegas-based Clean Energy Project last month.

Cutting to the chase, the report concluded that a shift to renewable energy would positively impact the state’s employment and economic output…….http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Nevada-Renewable-Energy-Good-or-Bad.html

May 11, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

France’s ballistic missile test a flop

French ballistic missile test ends in failure http://www.marketwatch.com/story/french-ballistic-missile-test-ends-in-failure-2013-05-05?reflink=MW_news_stmp By David Pearson  5 May, PARIS—A ballistic missile test from a French nuclear submarine on Sunday ended in failure, the defense ministry said in a statement.

The M-51 missile, without its nuclear warhead, was fired from the “Vigilant” submarine as it cruised off the coast of Brittany. Technicians caused the missile to auto-destruct shortly after launch in a zone that was closed to air and sea traffic, the ministry said

May 11, 2013 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

USA could save $15 billion by buying fewer nuclear submarines

Getting a global, nuclear Navy WP, Tom Z. Collina, May 5 Walter Pincus wrote that the Navy faces a tough choice: It can buy 12 nuclear-armed submarines or it can maintain a global fleet, but not both. As a vice admiral put it, budget pressures could force the Navy down to “200 ships, at which point we may not be considered a global navy” [“Budget cuts could reshape the country’s ship supply, official says,” Fine Print, May 2].

The answer is to buy fewer nuclear subs. If the Navy buys eight Ohio-class replacement subs instead of 12, it could save $15 billion over 10 years and still deploy 1,000 nuclear warheads on submarines, as planned…… http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/getting-a-global-nuclear-navy/2013/05/05/6d1de0b0-b437-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html

May 11, 2013 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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