KAPP-TV, Mar. 4, 2014 (emphasis added): It’s been almost a week since workers at the Wanapum Dam made a startling discovery. A 65 foot crack along one of the spillways underwater […] The utility district says the crack poses no immediate threat to people living downstream.
NPR, , Mar. 4, 2014: A photo posted by the utility [right] shows what the county employee saw last week: a pronounced curve in a conduit and part of the concrete, just below the guardrail
One Newss (Columbia Basin), Mar. 4, 2014: “It’s something that we’re taking very seriously,” [PUD spokesman Chuck Allen] said. […] [Dawn Woodward, PUD hydro director] told the commissioners it’sunknown what caused the crack and how deep it is. The lower water level ensures asudden release of water from the dam will fit into the river’s existing channel, Allen said. The utility and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continue to monitor the dam to see if anything else occurs with the structure. The utility has closedthe boat launches and docks at Wanapum and Priest Rapids[“near the Hanford nuclear reservation”] dams for safety precautions and because of the drop in the water elevation. It remains unknown how the crack can be fixed. Allen said. […]
KHQ, Mar. 3, 2014: As dozens of engineers and technical experts continue to inspect a 65-foot crack found Thursday in one of the 12 spillways of the Wanapum Dam, inspectors believe the risk of public danger is low, but they are preparing for the worst-case scenario.
Stephanie Vigil, KHQ anchor: Is the Wanapum Dam aticking time bomb? […] There was a hidden danger no one knew about until a few days ago.
KHQ,, Mar. 3, 2014: ‘The Next 24-48 Hours Are Critical’
Kelsey Watts, KHQ reporter: Federal officials, dozens of engineers and technical staff are on the ground with the top priority of stabilizing that compromised section.
Thomas Stredwick, Grant County PUD spokesperson: “It’s something that we haven’t faced before – and there are very few hydroelectric plants that have faced this before.”
Watts: Despite this 65 foot crack being discovered — one of the largest engineers are aware of here at one of the dams they operate –They say the risk to the public tonight is still very low. However they are monitoring this very closely in the coming days and weeks to determine what danger may exist for the people in this area.
According to GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association’s (SEIA) Solar Market Insight Year in Review 2013, solar panel installations increased 41 percent in 2013 over 2012 to reach 4,751 megawatts (MW). Additionally, 410 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) was made operational.
By the end of last year, more than 440,000 solar power systems were operating in the U.S.; totaling over 12,000 MW of PV and 918 MW of CSP. The market value of all PV installations completed last year has been estimated at $13.7 billion.
“2013 offered the U.S. solar market the first real glimpse of its path toward mainstream status,” said Shayle Kann, Senior Vice President at GTM Research.
California – 2745.8MW
Arizona – 700.7MW
North Carolina – 335.4MW
Massachusetts – 237.2MW
New Jersey – 235.6MW
Hawaii – 15-.6MW
Georgia – 90.9MW
Texas – 75.2MW
New York – 69.4MW
Colorado – 55.9MW
Solar represented 29% of all new electricity generation capacity in 2013; making it the second-largest source of new generating capacity behind natural gas.
GTM Research forecasts 26 percent PV installation growth in 2014, with installations reaching nearly 6 GW. The sector to grow most rapidly will be the residential market.
Further detail from the U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2013 report can be viewed here.
Solar power, the most rapidly growing source of renewable energy in America, is now generating enough electricity to power more than 2.2 million homes.
The final quarter of last year was the biggest quarter ever for PV installations in the USA; with 2,106 MW of capacity brought online, up 60 percent over the next best quarter (Q4 2012).
The 2013 top 10 solar states; based on the amount of capacity installed last year:
Fukushima Fallout: Japanese Scientists Develop World’s First Radiation Baby ScannerInternational Business Times,By Mary-Ann Russon , March 4, 2014 University of Tokyo scientists have built the world’s first whole body scanner capable of accurately measuring internal radiation exposure in babies and children living in the Fukushima Prefecture. The aim is to ease the worries of concerned parents.
BABYSCAN iABYSCAN is a whole body scanner specially designed so that children can lie down and play or read a book while being scanned, and the machine is able to detect up to 50 Becquerels per body.
Due to their lower body mass, the radiation intake of a child, which would be an equilibrium level of 60 Becquerels, wouldn’t be picked up by the nuclear industry-grade whole body scanners currently deployed by the Japanese government, which are programmed to detect adult equilibrium levels of 250 Becquerels per body.
BABYSCAN is so sensitive that it can evenABYSCAN is a whole body scanner specially designed so that children can lie down and play or read a book while being scanned, and the machine is able to detect up to 50 Becquerels per body.
Due to their lower body mass, the radiation intake of a child, which would be an equilibrium level of 60 Becquerels, wouldn’t be picked up by the nuclear industry-grade whole body scanners currently deployed by the Japanese government, which are programmed to detect adult equilibrium levels of 250 Becquerels per body.
BABYSCAN is a whole body scanner specially designed so that children can lie down and play or read a book while being scanned, and the machine is able to detect up to 50 Becquerels per body.
Due to their lower body mass, the radiation intake of a child, which would be an equilibrium level of 60 Becquerels, wouldn’t be picked up by the nuclear industry-grade whole body scanners currently deployed by the Japanese government, which are programmed to detect adult equilibrium levels of 250 Becquerels per body.
Report: Aging nuclear power plants in Europe pose increased risk Aljazeera, by Peter Moskowitz @ptrmsk March 5, 2014 A Greenpeace-commissioned report says Europe’s reliance on nuclear means plants often operate beyond life expectancy A new report says Europe’s fleet of nuclear power plants pose an increasing risk to millions of Europeans as the facilities age, and as governments decide to extend the operation of plants beyond their originally intended lifetimes.
The nearly 150-page report, commissioned by Greenpeace, synthesizes the research of eight European nuclear energy experts. It concludes that because of Europe’s heavy dependence on nuclear energy, governments are likely to extend plant operations 20 years or more past their designed limits, and recommends that European Union policies be changed to incentivize repairs and discourage the construction of new plants.
As is the case with most nuclear plants worldwide, European reactors were built with a 40-year expected lifetime. As they age, operators usually have two options: shut down or make repairs in order to extend operations 20 years or more into the future. While many critics would prefer the plants be shut down, it seems regulators in Europe — where nuclear energy accounts for about 15 percent of total energy production, and much more in some countries — are increasingly going with the second option.
he average age of a nuclear plant in Europe is 29 years, according to the Greenpeace report. Nearly half are more than 30 years old and several are already over 40 years old. But the report found that only a few of those older plants are scheduled to be shut down, and many have already had their operating licenses extended another 20 years, which experts say poses an increased safety risk for all of Europe.
Despite these perceived risks, the experts that crafted the report say European policies that cap liability for nuclear accidents are disincentivizing plant operators from making much-needed repairs as the plants age. The report found that each nuclear power plant’s legal liability is 100 to 1000 times lower than the cost of a potential disaster.
A similar structure exists in the United States, where nuclear industry liability has been capped at low levels since 1957 by the Price-Anderson Act.
“The whole problem is you’re not liable for the full damage … and as a result of that, plants are able to externalize the damage,” said Michael Faure, a professor of international environmental law at Maastricht University and one of the authors of the report. “Because it’s the states that would pay, (nuclear operators’) incentives for prevention aren’t so great.”……
There’s one silver lining for the nuclear energy naysayers: building and repairing plants is getting more expensive. Stephen Thomas, a professor of business and energy policy at the University of Greenwich and another author of the Greenpeace report, said building new plants costs about three times as much today as it would have 40 years ago.
Those increased costs are already proving problematic. Several planned plants in France, Finland, England and elsewhere have struggled with cost overruns, extensive delays, and safety issues. That gives hope to some experts that despite Europe’s current reliance on nuclear energy, its heyday may be waning.
Dr Helen Caldicott – Fukushima Nuclear Disaster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ITrXVJMKeQ
Nuclear Facts you’d be more comfortable not knowing from a very clued up professional who will not be bought or intimidated into silence: Dr Helen Caldicott, true to style, tells it as it is/as she sees it/like you wont usually hear it.
IEEE Spectrum (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Eliza Strickland, Feb 28, 2014:
[Japan’s nuclear experts] have only the vaguest idea of where the melted fuel ended up
Damaged reactor cores continue to glow with infernal heat
Containment vessels are riddled with holes
Reactors are kept in check only by ceaseless vigilance
To placate the furious Japanese public, [TEPCO must] remove every trace of the facility
TEPCO officials have admitted frankly that they don’t yet know how to accomplish the tasks
“At Fukushima you have wrecked infrastructure, three melted cores, and you have some core on the floor, ex-vessel,” [TEPCO adviser Lake] Barrett says
Nothing like Fukushima, [Barrett] declares, has ever happened before
There is no guarantee that this epic project can be accomplished — But faced with the wrath of the Japanese people, TEPCO has no choice but to try
Explosions […] sprayed radioactive materials throughout the buildings
Many of the leaks are thought to be in the suppression chambers, doughnut-shaped structures that ring the containment vessel
Rooms that surround them are now filled with water […] no easy way to spot the ruptures
TEPCO may [end up] pouring concrete into the suppression chamber
As long as that melted fuel glows inside reactors 1, 2, and 3, Fukushima Daiichi will remain Japan’s ongoing nightmare
Melted fuel may also have a lavalike consistency, with a hard crust on top but softer materials inside
In another article for IEEE Spectrum, the author of the report highlighted above wrote, “The calamity will undoubtedly improve nuclear plant design. True, the antinuclear forces will find plenty in the Fukushima saga to bolster their arguments.”
Also, IEEE appears on a Tepco document revealing a select group of entities that are “working together” with Tepco to “disseminate” Fukushima-related information.
…….Based on information provided by the U.S. Department of Energy to date, there is no indication that waste from AY-102 has reached the environment. The state fully expects the federal government to provide all details about this leak as their investigation continues,” wrote Bellon in a statement to KING 5.
But Hanford sources who have firsthand knowledge of Tank AY-102 say the USDOE has yet to finish the testing needed to prove the nuclear waste has not breached the outer containment of the tank. The leak detection system connected to the AY-102 has indicated the waste has entered the environment…..
RICHLAND, Wash. — Workers have found more waste leaking between the walls of a nuclear storage tank on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
The waste was found in a new place between the walls of one of the 28 double shell tanks at the site. The US Dept. of Energy, which owns Hanford, says the waste is covering an area of 7 feet by 21 inches. The double shell tanks were built to be the most robust tanks at Hanford. They were constructed with the intent to be able to safely store the dangerous wastes until the technology to permanently dispose of the liquids is developed. A leak in a double shell tank is seen as one of the biggest setbacks to the cleanup program at Hanford in the last decade.
Workers tell KING they first saw signs of the new leak location on February 24 and confirmed it with a video inspection on March 3. This is the third identified leak location in the massive 1 million gallon underground storage tank known as AY-102.
……In addition to the billions being contributed to various bodies within the U.N. system, the United States provides 22 percent of the U.N.’s operating budget, more than twice as much as the No. 2 contributor, Japan (10.8 percent)….
……“It’s disturbing that no one, including our ambassador to the United Nations, knows exactly how much money we send the U.N. every year,” Enzi said in a statement.
“With a national debt exceeding $17 trillion, we need to be able to account for every dime we spend, including what we send to the U.N.”…..
…… 24 May 2013 – (The date of submission was JUST before the last meeeting so as to stop any challenges to the Japanese BAD SCIENCE)……
…Deborah H. Oughton, a radioecologist at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. And more work is needed to learn how radiationand other stressors, such as the tsunami itself, affected wildlife in the area, she says….
Environment: Researchers estimate that radiation exposure from the 2011 nuclear disaster mostly remains below harmful levels for organisms
Radioactive material released during Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, which unfolded in March 2011 as the result of a powerful earthquake and devastating tsunami, probably caused little long-term harm to wildlife within 100 km of the power plant, a new study suggests.
A team of scientists modeled radiation exposure caused by the crippled nuclear plant and found that the doses weren’t high enough to prevent populations of plants and animals from reproducing and surviving (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2014, DOI: 10.1021/ez500019j).
The work challenges previous studies that suggested Fukushima would lead to serious effects on wildlife, says Kathryn A. Higley, a radioecologist at Oregon State University. One such study reported a link between elevated radiation levels and abnormalities in insects (Sci. Rep. 2012, DOI: 10.1038/srep00570).
Fukushima ’caused mutant butterflies’ in Japan
Genetic mutations have been found in three generations of butterflies from near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, scientists said on Tuesday, raising fears radiation could affect other species.
But the new study’s use of more accurate modeling methods to estimate organisms’ radiation doses has allowed a better assessment of the radiation effects, says Higley, who wasn’t involved in either study.
After a tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, three of its reactors melted down, causing radioactive nuclides to spew into the air and spread to nearby areas. Since the start of the incident, scientists have tried to estimate whether wildlife had been exposed to radiation levels that might hurt the ability of populations to reproduce and survive. [And poop – Arclight2011]
Using the Hagan-Poiseuille-equation for dynamic pressure, they determined that the pressure needed to project the poop depended on the viscosity of said poop. Observe Figure 2 (below), which illustrates the dependence of pooping pressure on viscosity.
This necessitated that the authors measure the penguin poop’s viscosity with a high-performance viscosimeter (not one of those cheap-o low-performance viscosimeters!). However, the readings were inconsistent due to all the fishbones and shrimp shells in the poop, but their best estimate was that the poop’s viscosity matched somewhere around that of olive oil. (Ew ew.) After this final value was obtained, they were able to complete the equation and estimate that the power of a penguin’s fart was somewhere in the range of 10kPa to 60 kPa.
Most previous studies relied on dosimeters that measure only external dosage to wildlife. In the new study, Justin E. Brown of the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority and his colleagues used a model to estimate doses organisms received internally from ingesting radioactive material, which they say is a more accurate way to assess long-term risks.
Finnish nuclear plant already vastly over budget and overdue has slowed almost to a halt, embroiled in dispute and with no end in sight; it augurs badly for UK’s bloated nuclear ambition.
When the Finnish government agreed in 2005 to the construction of a new reactor on the Olkiluoto site in the far north of the country, this was the first nuclear power plant to be ordered in Western Europe for 15 years. Supporters of nuclear energy greeted it as the start of a ‘nuclear renaissance’. But things have not worked out as hoped. Olkuiluoto 3 was supposed to cost €3.2 bn and is now expected to cost almost three times as much. It was supposed to be in operation by 2009 but the date keeps being put forward. And relations between the Finnish power consortium Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and the French construction firm Areva have been described by Areva’s Chief Operating Officer as one of the biggest conflicts in the history of the construction sector [1].
From bad to worse
Things now seem to be going from bad to worse. According to Kauppalehti, the largest financial newspaper in Finland, far from activity on the site being pressed forward so as to get the job done, it is actually being run down [2]. There are fewer workers on the site than before, and the contracts of the foremen, which are typically for a year at a time and should be renewed by the end of March, are being allowed to lapse. Some of the less technically demanding work can continue without them, but most of the construction will have to stop and expert staff that leave and get other jobs will be hard to replace. One worker on the site, who preferred to remain anonymous, estimated that every month lost at this stage will add three months to the time to completion. Areva, in charge of building the plant, has not issued a new timetable, so we do not know when they now expect to complete their work. It seems certain that Olkiluoto 3 will not be operational before 2016, and sometime between 2018 and 2020 is probably a better guess
Geoff Read is a British artist who teaches the subject. He is married to a Japanese woman, and they have a son. In 2009, Geoff and his family decided to move to Japan. To Fukishima to be precise. Geoff tells @jenntracey what happened on 11 March 2011 when the nuclear disaster happened, 80 miles from where they were living.
The image is taken from the Strong Children Japan website http://strongchildrenjapan.blogspot.com/
Former engineer and journalist, Takashi Hirose warns about nuclear dangers and its industry in numerous publications. In Japan everyone knows his name and several of his works became best-sellers like “the time bomb”.
Interview conducted by Keiko Courdy for Au-delà du Nuage °Yonaoshi 3.11_ Japan
Saturday 15 March: Solidarity March & Rally in London
Tuesday 11 March: Candlelit Vigil
Monday 10 March; Public Meeting in LondonJoin us to march in London, to mark the 3rd anniversary of the ongoing Fukushima disaster, in international solidarity with people in Japan and for a nuclear-free world.We, Japanese expats and UK citizens, are speaking with one voice as world citizens. We want all the governments to abolish nuclear power generation, to prevent the further release and spread of radioactive materials, to implement policies to protect people’s health and lives and to uphold citizens’ rights to engage in social activities and free speech.We are deeply concerned that radioactive contamination from the nuclear catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that started on March 11 2011, has been spreading across Japan.The nuclear tragedies in Chernobyl and Fukushima have taught us that despite the guise of ‘peaceful use’, the destruction caused by a nuclear power disaster would be similar to nuclear war. Japan is the most earthquake prone country in the world and, currently, is in a very active seismic phase.Nuclear catastrophe in Japan would lead to long-term worldwide radioactive contamination. There is no safe method to dispose of nuclear waste. Using nuclear power means passing a burden to our children and their descendants. In addition, throughout the nuclear fuel cycle from uranium mining to decommission and waste storage, nuclear energy relies heavily on the sacrifice of workers who are exposed to radiation as they carry out these tasks. Given the deadly long-term toxicity of radiation released to the environment through use of nuclear energy, it must be said that nuclear power is both extremely dangerous and irresponsible. Nuclear power is not welcome in Japan, in the UK, and anywhere in the world.
Japanese Against Nuclear, Kick nuclear and CND are calling all the people in the UK to join the march, vigil, and the public meeting explained below:
** Saturday 9 March: SOLIDARITY MARCH
Assemble 12.30 at Hyde Park Corner for solidarity March to Parliament
with rally there, in Palace Yard, at 2.30pm
** Monday 11 March: Candle-lit Vigil
6.00-800 PM, opposite the Japanese Embassy
(101 Piccadilly, London, W1J 7JT)
(nearest tube: Green Park)
** Monday 10 March: Public Meeting
7.00 – 9.00PM, in the House of Commons
“Fukushima 3 Years On & Implications for UK Nuclear Power Plans” Chair:Jeremy Corbyn MP, vice-chair CND; Introduction by Kate Hudson, General Secretary, CND
Speakers:• Dr. Paul Dorfman• Dr. David Lowry: “Nuclear’s insecurity of supply” and “The truth about evacuation zones as a lesson from Fukushima.”• Speaker from Green Cross Switzerland: “Japan’s nuclear phase-out following Fukushima.”• Rik, a member of Kick Nuclear “Fukushima: What’s been happening the last few years.”• Geoff Read and Kevin Allwright, Fukushima refugees
Followed by: questions from the floor and discussion. Please give yourself half an hour to get through security. For further info contact London Region CND on 020-7607-2302
VIGIL Tuesday March 11, from 6-8 pm opposite JAPANESE EMBASSY, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT Candle-Lit Vigil in support of families and people of all ages continuing to suffer the effects of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Organized by：Japanese Against Nuclear UK (JAN UK), Kick Nuclear, and CND
Comment and report of Parliamentary session by P Hammond MP at 21.15 to 12.45 pm 6/3/2014
Posted to nuclear-news.net
Philip Hammond MP was speaking today at the Houses of Parliament concerning the PWR2 nuclear prototype reactor that is used in nuclear submarine fleet such as in the Vanguard class nuclear submarines. Problems have been found in a prototype reactor with the same design based at Dounreay nuclear site in Scotland.
The prototype reactor has been running at a higher rate than in service reactors and damage to the fuel cladding is reported to be the problem.
P Hammond MP said that there was no safety issues even though radiation has been found circulating with the cooling system.
The reactor was restarted after a service schedule in 2012 and is expected to run until 2015.
Vernon Coaker MP commented on the problem with the reactor and asked why is the house being told today after missed opportunities in the last 4 years. He also said that transparency is important. It is now on maintenance cycle but if the reactor is run as scheduled, it would take 3 more years before the cladding can be assessed, is that not too long?
The fuel bundles are the same design as the new PWR3 generation reactors for the new class submarine and may be needed to replace the existing vanguard class fuel rods . The cost of just one refuel is 120 million pounds sterling each or about 200 million dollars extra on top of the massive existing funding for these schemes.
Andrew Miller MP asked “that even if it was a “level zero event”, why werent at least local stakeholders informed of the issues?”
This is highlighting a staggering lack of transparency and co-operation with stakeholders such as the recent issue with the stakeholder group from Bradwell, and other anti nuclear Stakeholders, who were sidelined and ignored earlier this year, concerning their decommissioning fears, by the Department of the Environment and Climate Change (DECC). DECC released the final draft of their choice on the Gov.org website whilst they were attending stakeholder meetings, without notifying the stakeholders.
P Hammond mentioned that “core burn” on the prototype PWR2 core exceeds by far the normal submarine operational reactors. He mentioned that the fuel rod cladding had likely developed a “pin hole” leak into the cooling system causing some contamination. P Hammond was unsure if the reactor might be stopped now so in 3 years the cladding and reactor surfaces can be analysed though he wanted to keep to the planned running schedule.
“The PWR3 reactor program will not need a prototype reactor” P Hammond said. This has not been included in previous government cost disclosures. The government hope to rely on computer programing software to map out any issues. However, the recent flaw in the PWR2 prototype was not found by software programing and the fault can not be confirmed until 3 years after the reactor stops running at the earliest.
The chief scientific advisor has been asked to look into the viability of making a prototype test reactor for the PWR3 Astute fleet it was confirmed by P. Hammond MP later in the debate.
P Hammond refused to detail the actual “burn up rate” as propriety knowledge of the nuclear companies and therefore a secret.
EDF have been pulled up by regulators in France for running their civil reactor fleet for longer causing the fuel rod cladding to get dangerously thin and similar problems are reported in the USA because of using high burnup techniques. This is to increase electricity output in a competitive electricity market place and to maximise profits from the very expensive fuel rod bundles. More frequent fuel replacements have been advocated that will cause rising costs for all nuclear reactors as well as reduced performance.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had been informed but only key Scottish ministers have been informed. SEPA did not feel the Scottish Parliament needed to know of the situation P Hammond said.
The decisions on the new PWR3 driven reactor submarine fleet will be finally decided in 2016.
Rolls Royce were commended for being the lead technical authority and manufacturer of these reactor cores. 80 reactor cores have been supplied since 1963 by Rolls Royce who is a leading provider of military reactor cores.
AUDIO: Scottish Ministers Demand Meeting Over Secret Higland Nuclear Incident
A row’s erupted between the Scottish and UK governments over secrecy surrounding a nuclear incident in the Highlands.
Yesterday the Ministry of Defence admitted to Parliament it had kept quiet about a problem with the Dounreay reactor.
The revelation came two years after radioactivity was detected where it shouldn’t have been.
Scottish Minister Keith Brown’s written a letter to London ‘seeking an early meeting’: “Why were we not told? It would simply take a phone call from Defence Secretary Philip Hammond or one of his ministers to a minister in the Scottish Government, and let us know.
“If it was not serious, as has been said, why not just let us know?
“It’s appalling that the UK Government has treated with such contempt both Scotland’s government and the people of Scotland.
“It shows the arrogance which has been demonstrated on a number of other defence issues.”
Ageing nuclear submarines could put sailors and public at… August 04, 2013 Britain’s ageing hunter-killer nuclear submarines are suffering mounting technical problems that could endanger the safety of sailors and the public, a report from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has warned. Five Trafalgar-class submarines, between 22 and 29 years old, are running into reliability issues with the reactors that power them, increasing the risk of cracks, pipe failures and…
Major nuclear incident at Britain’s Royal Navy submarine… October 07, 2013 The failure of both the primary and secondary power sources of coolant for nuclear reactors at the Devonport dockyard in Plymouth on 29 July last year followed warnings in previous years of just such a situation. Experts yesterday compared the crisis at the naval base, operated by the Ministry of Defence and government engineering contractors Babcock Marine, with the Fukushima Daiichi…
Government Has Been Covering up Meltdowns of Nuclear Power Plants for 55 Years
The entire idea of safe nuclear energy has arguably been a cover for nuclear weapons production … at the expense of our health and the environment.
Moreover, governments have been covering up meltdowns for more than 50 years.
Santa Susana
As a History Chanel special notes, a nuclear meltdown occurred at the world’s first commercial reactor only 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, and only 7 miles from the community of Canoga Park and the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Specifically, in 1959, there was a meltdown of one-third of the nuclear reactors at the Santa Susana field laboratory operated by Rocketdyne, releasing – according to some scientists’ estimates – 240 times as much radiation as Three Mile Island.
But the Atomic Energy Commission lied and said only there was only 1 partially damaged rod, and no real problems. In fact, the AEC kept the meltdown a state secret for 20 years.
There were other major accidents at that reactor facility, which the AEC and Nuclear Regulatory Commission covered up as well. See this.
Kyshtm
Two years earlier, a Russian government reactor at Kyshtm melted down in an accident which some claim was even worse than Chernobyl.
The Soviet government hid the accident, pretending that it was creating a new “nature reserve” to keep people out of the huge swath of contaminated land.
Journalist Anna Gyorgy alleges that the results of a freedom of information act request show that the CIA knew about the accident at the time, but kept it secret to prevent adverse consequences for the fledgling American nuclear industry.
1980s Studies and Hearings
In 1982, the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs received a secret report received from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission called “Calculation of Reactor Accident Consequences 2″.
In that report and other reports by the NRC in the 1980s, it was estimated that there was a 50% chance of a nuclear meltdown within the next 20 years which would be so large that it would contaminate an area the size of the State of Pennsylvania, which would result in huge numbers of a fatalities, and which would cause damage in the hundreds of billions of dollars (in 1980s dollars).
Those reports were kept secret for decades.
Other Evidence
Well-known writer Alvin Toffler pointed out in Powershift (page 156):
At least thirty times between 1957 and 1985—more than once a year—the Savannah River nuclear weapons plant near Aiken, South Carolina, experienced what a scientist subsequently termed “reactor incidents of greatest significance.” These included widespread leakage of radioactivity and a meltdown of nuclear fuel. But not one of these was reported to local residents or to the public generally. Nor was action taken when the scientist submitted an internal memorandum about these “incidents.” The story did not come to light until exposed in a Congressional hearing in 1988. The plant was operated by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company for the U.S. government, and Du Pont was accused of covering up the facts. The company immediately issued a denial, pointing out that it had routinely reported the accidents to the Department of Energy.
At this point, the DoE, as it is known, accepted the blame for keeping the news secret.
And former soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said on camera for a Discovery Network special (the must-watch “The Battle of Chernobyl“) that the Soviets and Americans have each hidden a number of nuclear accidents from the public:
Government Has Been Covering up Radiation Danger for 69 Years
The U.S. tried to cover up the destructive nature of radiation produced by nuclear weapons 71 years ago. As Democracy Now reports:
nuclear-news 