nuclear-news

India’s nuclear power chief wants projects to hurry up

Big ticket nuclear projects have to be operational fast: AEC head Shekhar Basu, Economic Times, By IANS | 25 Oct, 2015 By Venkatachari Jagannathan  CHENNAI: The new chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Sekhar Basu seems to be a man with a mission and also in a hurry to achieve this.

“There are some projects that need speeding up so that they restart or go on stream fast. We have to have Indian uranium as much as possible for our reactors. We have to increase production of uranium and work has started towards that,” Basu, 63, told IANS in an interview over the phone. Queried about the delay in restarting of the first 1,000 MW unit at KNPP he said: “The unit was shut down for the first time for annual maintenance after it was commissioned. I will now study the issues faced by Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) and see how the issues could be set right.”

A Padma Shri awardee, Basu said lots of checking has to be done and some components have to be replaced.

While he did not say he is impatient, Basu insisted: “I want the unit to restart  operations at the earliest.”

Basu is also on the board of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) that is building two 1,000 MW reactors at KNPP with Russian equipment.

He said as per the current indications, the first KNPP unit is expected to restart later this year and the second unit would go on stream some time next year.

The KNPP unit that was connected to the southern grid in December 2014 was shut down this June for annual maintenance. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49526271.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

October 26, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Investigation into AREVA’s financial history

An Investigation of Areva Inc. Huge Financial Loss in the Aftermath of Fukushima Nuclear DisasterMohajeryami, Saeed and Moghadasi, Seyedmahdi and Rahimi, Kaveh (2015):

October 26, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Close relationship between the state of Nevada and radioactive waste company

Nuclear repository fire shines light on Nevada’s waste, Las Vegas Sun,  By Kyle Roerink (contact), Oct. 23, 2015 A fire at a nuclear waste dump in Beatty did more than just snarl traffic — it shone a light on the close relationship between the state of Nevada and the company that runs the low-level repository.

The state, which leases 80 acres to US Ecology, charges the company a fee for every shipment of waste to the waste and treatment facility. Over the last five years, fees have totaled more than $10 million, said JoAnn Kittrell, spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The hazardous materials storage site is almost full and the company may lease more land from the state. An agreement is in the works that would increase the site by 400 acres and extend the facility’s lifespan by at least 20 years, said David Crumrine, a spokesman for US Ecology.

Environmental Protection Agency documents from 2012 showed the company was allowed to store up to 87,400 gallons of chemicals in tanks and containers and treat 137,000 gallons of chemical waste every day. It also disposed of at least 808 million gallons of waste there………Beatty has a close relationship with US Ecology, which has donated money to the town’s senior center, volunteer fire department and Chamber of Commerce. ……http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/oct/23/nuclear-repository-fire-shines-light-on-nevadas-wa/

October 26, 2015 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment