nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Attempts by Mossad to assassinate more nuclear scientists were foiled, Iran claims

Iran: We foiled Mossad attempt to assassinate nuclear scientist http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.635269  Revolutionary Guards official says operation took place in last two years. By  | Jan. 4, 2015 An Iranian Revolutionary Guards official says the elite force foiled a Mossad attempt to assassinate one of the country’s nuclear scientists in the last two years, Iran’s Fars news agency reports.

“In the last two years, the Zionist enemy (Israel) was trying hard to assassinate an Iranian nuclear scientist, but the timely presence of the [Revolutionary Guards] security forces thwarted the terrorist operation,” Col. Ya’qoub Baqeri, deputy chief liaison officer of Flight Guards Corps, told Fars on Saturday.

The story noted that in June 2012, Iran announced it had arrested “all the elements” involved in the assasinations of five Iranian nuclear scientists that had taken place in the previous two years. Fars added that prior to those purported arrests, Iranian intelligence detected Mossad bases “within the territories of one of Iran’s Western neighbors” that trained and assisted the assassins.

Israel has never commented officially on these killings, but major Western media, quoting off-the-record Israeli intelligence sources, have attributed them to the Mossad. Last March, CBS News reported that the Obama administration was pressuring Jerusalem to halt such killings.

CBS national correspondent Dan Raviv, an expert on Israeli intelligence, reported that the Mossad “ran an assassination campaign for several years aimed at Iran’s top nuclear scientists. The purpose was to slow the progress made by Iran, which Israel feels certain is aimed at developing nuclear weapons; and to deter trained and educated Iranians from joining their country’s nuclear program.”

Raviv reported that at least five nuclear scientists had been killed, mostly by car bombs. “Remarkably, the Israeli assassins were never caught, obviously having long-established safe houses inside Iran – although several Iranians who may have helped the Mossad were arrested and executed,” the CBS report stated.

The CBS story added that even ahead of the pressure from the Obama administration, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had himself ordered the Mossad to stop the assassinations because he no longer wanted to run the risk of agents getting “captured and hanged.”

January 5, 2015 Posted by | Iran, Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Buesseler and other scientists are calling for more monitoring of Pacific Coast radiation

water-radiationhighly-recommendedScientists: Test West Coast for Fukushima radiation Tracy Loew, USA TODAY March 9, 2014 SALEM, Ore. — Very low levels of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster likely will reach ocean waters along the U.S. West Coast next month, scientists are reporting.

Current models predict that the radiation will be at extremely low levels that won’t harm humans or the environment, said Ken Buesseler, a chemical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who presented research on the issue last week.

But Buesseler and other scientists are calling for more monitoring. No federal agency currently samples Pacific Coast seawater for radiation, he said.

“I’m not trying to be alarmist,” Buesseler said. “We can make predictions, we can do models. But unless you have results, how will we know it’s safe?”……………

There are three competing models of the Fukushima radiation plume, differing in amount and timing. But all predict that the plume will reach the West Coast this summer, and the most commonly cited one estimates an April arrival, Buesseler said.

A report presented last week at a conference of the American Geophysical Union’s Ocean Sciences Section showed that some Cesium 134 has already has arrived in Canada, in the Gulf of Alaska area.

Cesium 134 serves as a fingerprint for Fukushima, Buesseler said.

“The models show it will reach north of Seattle first, then move down the coast,” Buesseler said.

By the time it gets here, the material will be so diluted as to be almost negligible, the models predict. Radiation also decays. Cesium 134, for example, has a half-life of two years, meaning it will have half its original intensity after that period.

In Oregon, state park rangers take quarterly samples of surf water and sand at three locations along the coast. The water is analyzed for Cesium 137 and iodine 131. Both of those already exist in the ocean at low levels from nuclear testing decades ago.

The monitoring began in April 2012, when tsunami debris began arriving along the Oregon coast. So far, all of the tests have shown less than “minimum detectable activity,” or the least amount that can be measured.

Results of the most recent samples, taken in mid-February, won’t be available until mid-March, Oregon Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie said.

Washington does not test ocean water for radiation.

“We have none happening now and we have none planned,” said Tim Church, communications director for the Washington State Department of Health. “Typically that would be something that would happen on the federal level.”

California regularly samples seawater around the state’s nuclear power plants to determine whether the plants are impacting the environment. Those results all are below minimum detectable activity.

Some citizens and scientists are taking sampling into their own hands. Cal State Long Beach marine biologist Steven Manley has launched “Kelp Watch 2014,” which will partner with other organizations to monitor kelp all along the West Coast for Fukushima radiation.

And Buesseler recently offered the services of his lab at Woods Hole in Massachusetts.

His project — titled “How Radioactive Is Our Ocean?” — will use crowd-sourced money and volunteers to collect water samples along the Pacific Coast, then ship them across the country to be analyzed.

So far, results are in for two locations in Washington and three in California. They show that the plume has not yet reached the coast.

Meanwhile, West Coast states are winding down their tsunami debris response efforts.

Oregon’s coastline is seeing less debris from the tsunami this winter than in the past two years, Oregon State Parks spokesman Chris Havel said.

If that doesn’t change, officials likely will disband a task force that was mobilized to deal with the debris.

Last year, Washington suspended its marine debris reporting hotline.

Loew also reports for the (Salem, Ore.) Statesman Journal http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/09/scientists-test-west-coast-for-fukushima-radiation/6213849/?utm_content=buffer51957&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

January 5, 2015 Posted by | oceans, radiation, USA | Leave a comment

Call for Japan to play its part in nuclear disarmament process

Experts urge Japan to play greater role in nuclear disarmament process, Japan Times 4 Jan 15, JIJI WASHINGTON – Ahead of August’s 70th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, some experts are calling on Japan to play a greater role in the effort toward global nuclear disarmament.

“The Japanese government could be more supportive of reductions (of nuclear arms) than it is,” said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a U.S. group aiming to create a nuclear-free world.

Cirincione, also a member of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s International Security Advisory Board, said U.S. government officials often stress that President Barack Obama needs support from U.S. allies in pushing his agenda of nuclear disarmament.

“If there was any ally who could play that role, it would be Japan,” Cirincione said. “And it would be in 2015,” he added, referring to a review conference on the Nonproliferation Treaty to be held in April and May, as well as the 70th anniversaries of the nuclear bombings……

Daryl Kimball, executive director at the Arms Control Association, a U.S. think tank, said that Japan and other U.S. allies “should be more vocal” about encouraging the U.S. and Russia to promote nuclear disarmament.

Kimball proposed a nuclear disarmament summit and said, “The year 2015 could be a very good year to start such a nuclear disarmament process,” citing the anniversaries of the atomic bombings. “Japan would be a very logical host country.” http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/04/national/politics-diplomacy/experts-urge-japan-play-greater-role-nuclear-disarmament-process/#.VKrhOdLF8nk

January 5, 2015 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

Falling oil prices will not be a handicap to renewable eneergy

Renewables need not fear falling oil prices, The National Business,  January 4, 2015 “The use of solar energy has not been opened up because the oil industry does not own the sun,” said the US consumer advocate Ralph Nader and one-time presidential candidate back in 1980. Now, falling prices for both oil and solar panels may put his theory to the test.

Brent oil prices reached US$56 per barrel on Friday. By comparison, Acwa Power’s astonishingly low bid for the second phase of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid solar park in Dubai would equate to a conventional power plant burning oil priced at less than $20 per barrel.

Renewable energy in the right locations – solar power in the Middle East, and onshore wind in north-west Europe, the United States’ Midwest or the Red Sea coast – has already won the cost competition with oil. So the falling oil price makes no difference to the uptake of renewable energy. Indeed, if a lower oil price spurs economic growth, it might even lead to more installation of renewable energy, in absolute if not relative terms.

Oil produces less than 5 per cent of electricity globally, a share that is rapidly falling. Even at current prices, oil is simply too expensive to burn for power – compared to coal and gas. Those other two fossil fuels are the real alternatives to renewable energy………

the real impact of cheap oil and gas on the viability of renewable energy is psychological. ……..

Now, it is clear that we do not need renewable energy urgently to compensate for resource depletion, but the environmental need – to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – is more pressing than ever.

Instead of seeing falling fossil fuel prices as an excuse to cut back on renewables support, it may actually be an opportunity to make renewable targets more aggressive, without raising overall costs to consumers. But renewables subsidies need to be targeted away from deploying mature systems that are already commercial, and towards encouraging new technologies.

So what do renewable energy developers have to do to stay competitive in a world of falling fossil fuel prices? Continuing to bring down costs is the obvious key, especially for less favourable locations such as offshore wind, low-wind locations, and less sunny regions.

To make further inroads into fossil fuel markets, renewable energy needs to move into providing heat for homes and industrial processes, cooling and water desalination, either directly or via electricity.

Oil remains uniquely valuable in transport, which is why it still commands a premium price. There is as yet no realistic alternative to oil for aviation, and large-scale use of biofuels is environmentally problematic. The development of a truly competitive electric car would allow renewable energy ultimately to power ground transport.

Even without owning the sun, the oil and gas industry is laying down a new economic and psychological challenge. But, unlike after 1980, lower oil prices should not mean another lost decade for renewable energy.

Robin Mills is head of consulting at Manaar Energy, and author of The Myth of the Oil Crisis. http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/renewables-need-not-fear-falling-oil-prices

January 5, 2015 Posted by | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

China’s distributed power grid will revolutionise renewable energy

flag-ChinaChina as a model renewable energy economy Ft.com By Li Hejun, China New Energy Chamber of Commerce and Hanergy Holding Group  31 Dec 14  “……..Even more exciting than falling costs are the new ways in which China will use and transmit power. China is now intent on developing a distributed power grid that will rely on the interconnection of thousands of rooftop and building-integrated solar installations generating power close to the point of consumption. This is a drastic departure from the current centralised power system that relies on goliath, coal-burning power plants and costly, inefficient power transmission over hundreds, or even thousands of kilometres. This new, smart grid will help eliminate pollution, slash costs, and increase reliability.

smart-grid

In addition to making the distributed grid possible, new forms of solar technology are ushering in an era of mobile energy in which customers can take power with them wherever they go.

At present, around 90 per cent of the world’s solar power output is geared towards first-generation crystalline silicon panels, which for a long time were the most efficient technology available. But traditional silicon panels are hard, opaque and heavy, while thin film solar technology can be can be lightweight, flexible, and translucent, making it ideal for a wide variety of applications, from curved automobile rooftops and building integration to consumer clothing and portable power stations.

In recent years, thin-film technology has caught up with, and even surpassed, crystalline silicon in terms of both conversion efficiency and cost. Furthermore, producing thin-film cells requires just a fraction of the material and energy necessary to make crystalline silicon, conserving resources, cutting costs, and reducing pollution.

In the coming years, technologies will continue to improve, and prices will continue to fall. Two of the most promising technologies now are solar cells made from CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) and those from GaAs (Gallium-Arsenide), with maximum conversion efficiencies topping 20 percent, and 30 percent, respectively. As these are further developed and brought to market on a mass scale, solar panels will transform into something capable of being integrated into nearly every fabric, product, and structure at a reasonable cost……..

Li Hejun is Director of the China New Energy Chamber of Commerce, and CEO of multinational clean energy company Hanergy Holding Group. http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/12/31/guest-post-china-as-a-model-renewable-energy-economy/

January 5, 2015 Posted by | China, decentralised | Leave a comment

Oil leaking into Lake Michigan from Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman

Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman has been leaking oil into Lake Michigan. MLive By Julie Mack | jmack1@mlive.com on January 04, 2015 BRIDGMAN, MI — Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant in Bridgman has leaked an estimated 2,000 gallons of oil into Lake Michigan since Oct. 25, according to an event notification posted on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission website.

Plant officials notified the NRC, plus state and local officials, on Dec. 20 about the leak, which is from the Unit 2 main turbine lube oil cooler. …….

It wasn’t until Dec. 16 that it was determined a leak might exist and on Dec. 19, it was traced to one of four heat-exchange tanks, where hot oil runs through hundreds of tubes and is cooled by lake water in the tank……

The estimate of 2,000 gallons of oil leakage overall is based on a calculation that the leak began Oct. 26…..

In August, plant officials issued a report that 8,700 gallons of diesel fuel were suspected to have been released from a buried fuel oil tank, but later said there was no leak and the report resulted from “instrumentation error.”

The plant is located near Bridgman, 11 miles south of St. Joseph along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Unit 2 went into operation in 1978.

The plant is owned by American Electric Power and operated by Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP subsidiary.

Julie Mack covers K-12 education and writes a column for Kalamazoo Gazette. Email her at jmack1@mlive.com, call her at 269-350-0277 or follow her on Twitter at @kzjuliemack. http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/01/cook_nuclear_plant_in_bridgman.html

January 5, 2015 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

    Next Entries »