nuclear-news

“Microorganisms have been detected in TRU wastes, Pu-contaminated soils, low-level radioactive wastes, backfill materials, natural analog sites, and waste-repository sites slated for high-level wastes. Seventy percent of the TRU waste consists of cellulose and other biodegradable organic compounds. Biodegradation of cellulose under the hypersaline conditions such as in the WIPP repository can produce CO2 and methane gas, as well as affect the solubility of actinides. Microbially produced gases could have significant ramifications for the long-term stability of the repository (up to 10,000 years).” (A. J. Francis, Brookhaven National Lab, 2003)

A decade later, WIPP in May of 2014 at around 15 years…

Transuranic elements, such as plutonium, are radioactive metals and are subject to both corrosion and reactions with other metals, as well as changes due to radioactive disintegrations. Microbial corrosion is an important part of the reason that radioactive waste cannot be buried and facilities cannot be…

World:

¶ The failure of monsoon last year led to declining water levels at dams across the river Kali in the Indian state of Karnataka. If there is no rain by June, the reservoirs are likely to dry up, with effects on power generation at both hydro-electric and nuclear power plants. [Times of India]

Kali River in Karnataka. Photo by solarisgirl from pune, india.
CC BY-SA 2.0 generic. Wikimedia Commons.

¶ Saudi Arabia’s veteran oil minister has been removed in a broad government overhaul. He has been replaced by former a health minister. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest crude exporter, but the country has unveiled major economic reforms aimed at ending its dependence on oil. [BBC]

¶ Zambian President Edgar Lungu has commissioned construction works for the $1.2 billion first ever solar power station plants in Lusaka. The two solar plants, which will have…

Opinion:

¶ “The fire in Canada looks a lot like climate change – and that should scare you” • It’s impossible for scientists to say global warming caused this specific fire, of course, but polluting the atmosphere is creating conditions that make such disasters more likely, bigger and costlier. [CNN]

Traffic at a standstill as evacuees flee Fort McMurray, May 4.

World:

¶ The only land convoy evacuating people trapped by a huge wildfire in the Canadian state of Alberta has been suspended after 200-ft (60-meter) flames flanked the road, officials say. There is also concern about oil facilities, particularly near Nexen’s Long Lake oil extraction site. [BBC]

¶ Installed wind power capacity in China will more than treble from about 149 GW in 2015 to over 495 GW by 2030, a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9%, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData. China…