Created: 11/24/2013 11:59 AM
By: Mike Anderson, KOB Eyewitness News 4
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – A watchdog group has filed a lawsuit seeking the release of nuclear safety records for Sandia National Laboratories.
The suit filed Friday in federal court in Albuquerque alleges the National Nuclear Security Administration has withheld documents and work papers for more than two years about whether nuclear reactors at Sandia have experienced shutdowns, accidents or violated safety regulations.
It also alleges a continuing pattern and practice of wrongful delay by the NNSA to violate the Freedom of Information Act.
The executive director for Citizen Action New Mexico, Dave McCoy, claims Sandia deliberately withheld the documents during the federal Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board’s investigation of Sandia’s nuclear reactors and during a period of high public concern about the Fukushima reactor meltdowns.
NNSA officials say they can’t comment on pending litigation.
A little kown fact concerning ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. here
Accident Revealed After 29 Years : H-Bomb Fell Near Albuquerque in 1957
…Wind, solar, and tidal power are being actively pursued in the country and installed capacity from these sources increased in recent years to over 4 GW in 2011, up from 0.8 GW in 2004. However, these sources continue to account for a relatively small share of generation at this time. Most of the growth of renewables in the past year has occurred in solar energy as a result of heavy investment for large-scale PV units. METI is considering 21 additional geothermal projects in addition to the 17 facilities containing 520 MW of capacity that currently exist. The potential for geothermal power is significant because the country has the third largest reserves in the world…
Japan is the world’s largest liquefied natural gas importer, second largest coal importer, and third largest net oil importer.
Japan has limited domestic energy resources. It meets less than 15% of its own total primary energy use from domestic sources. It is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world behind the United States and China. Furthermore, it ranks as the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and second largest importer of coal behind China.
In light of the country’s lack of sufficient domestic hydrocarbon resources, Japanese energy companies have actively pursued participation in upstream oil and natural gas projects overseas and provide engineering, construction, financial, and project management services for energy projects around the world. Japan is one of the major exporters of energy-sector capital equipment, and has a strong energy research and development (R&D) program supported by the government. This program pursues energy efficiency measures domestically in order to increase the country’s energy security and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
In March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sendai, Japan, triggering a large tsunami. The damage to Japan’s resulted in an immediate shutdown of about 10 GW of nuclear electric generating capacity. Between the 2011 Fukushima disaster and May 2012, Japan lost all of its nuclear capacity as a result of scheduled maintenance and lack of government approvals to return to operation. Two nuclear reactors were re-commissioned in July 2012 and represented the only source of nuclear power in the country for more than one year. However, these two reactors were removed from service again in September 2013, eliminating the country’s nuclear capacity for a second time in more than 40 years.
Nuclear generation in Japan represented about 26% of the power generation prior to the 2011 earthquake and was one of the country’s least expensive forms of power supply. Japan replaced the significant loss of nuclear power with generation from imported natural gas, low-sulfur crude oil, fuel oil, and coal that caused a higher price of electricity for its government, utilities, and consumers. Fuel import cost increases have resulted in Japan’s top 10 utilities losing over $30 billion in the past two years. Japan spent $250 billion on total fuel imports in 2012, a third of the country’s total import charge. Despite strength in export markets, the yen’s depreciation and soaring natural gas and oil import costs from a greater reliance on fossil fuels continued to deepen Japan’s recent trade deficit throughout 2013.
Japan’s current government wants to resume using nuclear energy with necessary safety measures. The government believes that the use of nuclear energy is necessary to reduce current energy supply strains and high energy prices faced by Japan’s industries and end-users. This effort occurs in the context of the government’s focus on reversing two decades of economic stagnation in Japan and providing economic revitalization through public infrastructure spending, monetary easing, labor market reform, and business investment.
Map of Japan
Source: CIA, World Factbook
Total primary energy consumption
In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear incident, Japan’s energy fuel mix has shifted as natural gas, oil, and renewable energy provide larger shares and supplant some of the nuclear fuel. Oil remains the largest source of primary energy in Japan, although its share of total energy consumption has declined from about 80% in the 1970s to 43% in 2011. The decline in oil use occurred as a result of increased energy efficiency and the expanded use of nuclear power and natural gas. Coal continues to account for a significant share of total energy consumption, although natural gas is increasingly important as a fuel source and is currently the preferred fuel of choice to replace the nuclear shortfall. Natural gas rose from 18% in 2010 to 22% of total primary consumption in 2011. Before the 2011 earthquake, Japan was the third largest consumer of nuclear power in the world, after the United States and France, and nuclear power accounted for about 13% of the country’s total energy in 2010. In 2011, the nuclear energy share fell to 7% of the total energy consumption. Hydroelectric power and other renewable energy comprise a relatively small percentage of total energy consumption in the country, although renewable energy is becoming increasingly significant as a fuel source.
Japan total energy consumption, 2011
Oil
Because Japan’s oil resources are very limited, the country relies almost solely on imports to meet its oil consumption needs.
Published: November 24th, 2013 at 7:07 pm ET
By ENENews
The Santa Barbara Independent, Nov. 7, 2013: Doctor Talks Dangers of Fukushima Fallout; Stephen Hosea Expounds on the Problems with Nuclear Power […] The Santa Barbara physician discussed the dangers of nuclear power plants at a lunchtime conference packed with health-care professionals at Cottage Hospital […]
Dr. Hosea’s background is discussed in this Santa Barbara News-Press article: “He is just a phenomenal doctor, as well as just a wonderful guy,” said Dr. Elliot Schulman, health officer and Santa Barbara County Public Health director. “Everyone concurs,” said Peter MacDougall, past president of the Cottage Hospital board of directors. “Not only does he have tremendously strong technical competencies, but his personal modalities with patients, his caring, the deep sensitivity he shows represent just a terrific model for new doctors.” “He’s as close to a model physician as you could ask for,” Mr. MacDougall said. “We are, frankly, blessed to have a man of his talents.” […] Government officials consider him a go-to guy, regularly seeking his advice […]
Should an event occur [during attempt to remove fuel from Unit 4], all of the radioactivity is going to go straight up into the air. We saw where it went the last time that that occurred. This is happening in the next two weeks. This is a possibility that could happen to each and every one of us. And I can tell you, it wasn’t until I started looking into this that I realized this was a possibility to happen. I certainly haven’t taken any preparations for this. I’m not exactly sure what the preparations are, but I think we ought to know so we can at least take whatever preparations we want to take. I may have to make a visit back to Boston during this period of time to protect myself from this.
At 37:15 in
In summary, radioactive water continues to leak into the Pacific Ocean. Radioactive materials at Fukushima are in an unstable, potentially explosive situation. The potential effect on the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we eat are at best speculative. Immediate information and action are necessary as soon as possible. […] The problem we face at Fukushima is absolutely huge.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking public comments about its plan to reopen a nuclear testing facility at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho.
The agency says that the Transient Reactor Test Facility last operated in 1994. The facility since then has remained on standby status.
The facility uses tests to analyze radiation effects on fuel. The agency says new testing now would help improve the next generation of nuclear reactors.
The agency recently released a draft environmental assessment that has its preferred location for the tests in Idaho.
Another option would start the testing at Sandia National Laboratories’ Annular Core Research Reactor facility in New Mexico.
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