nuclear-news

In early August, the U.S. Border Patrol spotted a wildfire at EnergyFuel (Mestena)’s Alta Mesa In Situ Leach Uranium Mine in South Texas. 60 acres burned before local firefighters were able to bring it under control. EnergyFuels is a Canadian Penny Stock mining company, which is trying to open uranium mines near the Grand Canyon, as well as expanding a uranium mine in the area of the proposed Bear Ears National Monument (in Utah). Will the Park Rangers be responsible for looking for fires at those uranium mines? Local firefighters, probably volunteers, were forced to battle the blaze at EnergyFuel’s uranium mine in South Texas. Will the US Forest Service have to battle fires at their other uranium mines? Or volunteers?

According to EnergyFuels’ Technical Report from last month, “The facility is fully secured with on-site and remote monitoring,” and yet they claimed to have just noticed the…

Science and Technology:

¶ A study raises questions about how much exports of Canadian liquefied natural gas would reduce carbon emissions abroad, a core justification for developing such an industry. The CD Howe Institute report said Canada’s LNG exports would likely increase emissions in most potential markets, aside from Asia. [Prince George Citizen]

LNG Carrier Galea. Photo by Wolfgang Meinhart.
CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

World:

¶ A pumped storage scheme using sea water, instead of drawing on freshwater from inland lochs, has been proposed for the Scottish island of Lewis, near a planned 30-turbine wind farm. Eishken Limited, which owns the island’s large Eisgein Estate, hopes to secure permission for the £200-million project later this year. [BBC]

¶ The UK’s energy infrastructure will need investment totaling almost £215 billion by 2030, nearly all of which will need to be earmarked for solar, wind, and…

Yesterday this blog reported a possible fire on August 23rd at Vogtle Nuclear Power Station, as seen on the USDA Forestry web site. No “event” has been reported yet by the US NRC, nor by the media. This does not mean that nothing happened, however. It could have happened and be reported later, or not at all. What other “events” have occurred at Vogtle that could look similar to the possible fire on Tuesday?

NASA location, which is the same as given on the USDA site. Links in yesterday’s post: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/possible-fire-at-vogtle-nuclear-power-station-on-the-savannah-river-in-georgia-usa-23-aug-2016/

On the 20th of December 2010 at Vogtle Nuclear Power Station:
“Smoke and sparks were identified as coming from a level 4 Control Building Normal Fuel Handling Building HVAC Heater Control Panel. The heater control panel was deenergized. The fire team was dispatched. The fire was contained in the heater control panel. Smoke removal is in progress

Possible fire at Vogtle Nuclear Power Station, which is located in Georgia, on the Savannah River, just across from South Carolina.


https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/near-real-time/firms/active-fire-data



Latitude: 33.14 Longitude: -81.764
Detection Date: 23 Aug 2016 Detection Time: 16:30 UTC
Confidence: 36 Sensor: Terra MODIS Source: GSFC
Orange box-spot fire data exported from USDA Forest Service: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/index.php
Vogtle Location exported from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogtle_Electric_Generating_Plant

Though a fire at Vogtle Nuclear Power Station remains unconfirmed, and fire locations may not be exact, it looks logical. One might speculate a spent nuclear fuel fire? Will we ever know? It is not listed yet as a US NRC “event”.

USDA Forest Service: http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/index.php

NASA issues disclaimer: https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/near-real-time/firms/active-fire-data

Opinion:

¶ “Holding Clean Energy Hostage” • Nuclear power got a much-needed lifeline in New York, at an estimated eventual cost to electricity customers of over $7 billion. Coal plants are uncompetitive. Clean energy is cheap, but electric utilities, invested in old technology, stand squarely in the way of such an energy future. [Jacobin magazine]

A coal-fired power plant in Flint Hills, Kansas. Patrick Emerson / Flickr.

World:

¶ Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water has reportedly scrapped plans to build a nuclear power plant citing cost concerns. The country had planned to obtain a licence for the project from the United Nations. The ministry said alternative energy sources like wind and solar power were more cost-effective. [Gulf Business News]

¶ A study of the UK’s offshore wind energy potential has suggested that the total amount of economically feasible installed capacity offshore might be up to…

“UK Nuclear Submarine HMS Ambush Collides With Merchant Vessel
By: Sam LaGrone, July 20, 2016 4:37 PM • Updated: July 20, 2016 7:52 PM

A U.K. Astute-class nuclear attack submarine struck a merchant vessel near Gibraltar on Wednesday at about 1:30 P.M. local time, the Royal Navy said in a statement.

HMS Ambush was submerged when it, “was involved in a glancing collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Gibraltar,” read the statement.
 “We are in contact with the merchant vessel and initial indications are that it has not sustained damage.”

Ambush suffered external damage but the boats nuclear plant was not affected and no sailors were injured. The 7,400-ton attack boat returned to a British base in Gibraltar for additional examination and an investigation is underway.

From pictures published with the Gibraltar Chronicle, the front of Ambush sail had been crumpled near the top from when the…