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New York State and Germany have similar energy goals, but completely opposite on nuclear power policy

As Cuomo moves to bailout nuclear plants, Germany turns its reactors off  BY , December 19, 2016

 New York State and Germany are poised to give billions to nuclear power companies — but for completely opposite reasons.

While Gov. Cuomo wants to bail out three upstate nuclear facilities, saying they are vital to his clean energy agenda, Germany’s constitutional court earlier this month ruled the country must compensate energy companies as Germany shuts down its nuclear plants.

The phaseout there is rooted in an anti-nuclear power movement that arose after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The meltdown and spread of harmful material into the atmosphere mobilized Germans.

 

“It’s technology of the past,” said Katharina Umpfenbach of the nonprofit Ecologic Institute in Berlin………

Other than their approaches to nuclear power, New York State and Germany have similar energy goals.

Other than their approaches to nuclear power, New York State and Germany have similar energy goals…….. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cuomo-moves-bailout-nuclear-plants-germany-phases-tech-article-1.2916051?cid=bitly

 

December 30, 2016 Posted by | general | Leave a comment

First Energy likely to soon close Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station

reactor-Davis-Besse-near-Lake-ErieFlag-USADavis-Besse Nuclear Power Station Could Soon be Closed or Sold by FirstEnergy , CleverScene,  on Thu, Dec 29, 2016 USA Today reports that the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station might soon be shuttered or sold by FirstEnergy Corp.

 FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones said in an industry conference that due to cheap energy sources like natural gas, and the state of Ohio’s unwillingness to set energy prices above market rate, operating some power plants is no longer profitable. Davis-Besse is one of several plant in Ohio and Pennsylvania potentially on the chopping block…….
Davis-Besse, which was Ohio’s first nuclear power plant, and has the generating capacity to power 1 million homes, also has a frightening history of structural deficiencies. It underwent a $600 million infrastructural overhaul in 2014.  http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2016/12/29/davis-besse-nuclear-power-station-could-soon-be-closed-or-sold-by-firstenergy

December 30, 2016 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Files released show orders to shoot nuclear intruders at Faslane in 1990

Cabinet files reveal plan to shoot nuclear intruders By Nick Higham, BBC News, 30 Dec 16  Sentries at Faslane naval base were ordered to shoot suspected intruders after three people broke into a nuclear submarine, cabinet papers show.

PM Margaret Thatcher, who was told of the order, said she was “horrified” that the intrusion had succeeded.

The papers are among records filed in 1989 and 1990 and released on Friday……..

‘Grave danger’ at Faslane

Three anti-nuclear demonstrators successfully cut through the perimeter fence at Faslane, on the Clyde, in the early hours of 10 October 1988. The demonstrators went through an open submarine hatch to reach the control room of HMS Repulse, a ballistic missile submarine, where they sprayed anti-nuclear slogans before being arrested.

A fourth demonstrator attempted to swim into the base, but was caught…….

Since the Eighties, anti-nuclear protesters have peacefully camped outsideFaslane, which is now the home of Trident nuclear weapons…….http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38369742

December 30, 2016 Posted by | history, safety, UK | Leave a comment

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission blasts General Atomics on inadequate safety features

safety-symbol-SmFlag-USAGeneral Atomics has some explaining to do http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/dec/28/radar-general-atomics-hot-potato/#  GA’s hot potato By , Dec. 28, 2016 La Jolla–based military contractor General Atomics, maker of the Predator drone and other lucrative pieces of battle-ready hardware, also provides radiation monitoring systems for atomic reactors. The company’s latest installation came in July of this year at Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee, “the first new U.S. nuclear power plant scheduled to be put into operation since 1996,” says a news release by the firm. “Since 1965, we’ve maintained a solid reputation for designing and manufacturing the highest quality, most reliable safety-related products, and for continually supporting our products and our customers throughout a plant’s lifecycle,” executive Scott Forney was quoted as saying.

 But the story is different in a November 29 Notice of Nonconformance, sent to the company’s Electromagnetic Systems Group here by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That document says the quality of the detection devices is questionable, leading to potentially mistaken radiation readings. Among other omissions listed in the 38-page document, General Atomics “did not perform periodic testing of the chemical composition of the [detectors’] coating material…nor did [General Atomics] verify the shelf life of the coating material.” In addition, the company failed to “verify the adequacy of the calibration services…which could adversely affect the accuracy of [radiation monitoring system’s] detectors.” On top of that, inspectors witnessed “staff adding and removing lead shields from the stack of lead bricks below the platform without documenting the change in configuration.”

Per the report, “staff were unaware of the amount of scattered radiation in the area, and the effect of adding and removing lead from the cart on the amount of scattered radiation.” Said the notice, “verification of the material-critical characteristics specified [for use] in safety-related applications was not performed and the connector was not adequately dedicated for operation in harsh environments.”

Concludes the document, “Please provide a written statement or explanation within 30 days from the date of this letter in accordance with the instructions specified in the enclosed Notice of Nonconformance. The NRC will consider extending the response time if you show good cause for the agency to do so.”

December 30, 2016 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Complete annals of the 2016 BNTV court case with Final Judgement

unbalanced-scale
For anyone interested I have managed to get copies of all the court proceedings of the British Nuclear Test Veterans case from the High Court that occurred in the summer of 2016. To search through these lengthy documents for Keywords, press CTRL F when the PDF is in your browser and enter the search term in the bottom Left of the screen where the search option opens up. You can also do the same thing with the downloaded copy. Here is a list of the PDF n the daily running order beginning with the;
Final Court Judgement
Day1
Day2
Day3
Day4
Day5
Day6
Day7
Day8
Day9
Day10
Day11
Day12
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B02LyyfgLliMaTVqQjlsVjFqREk/view?usp=sharing
For a brief review on the Judgement by Shaun McGee aka Arclight see here;

UK Nuclear Test Veterans scrooged at Christmas by MOD and courts 2016

UK Nuclear Test Veterans scrooged at Christmas by MOD and courts 2016

And  here is an interview that describes the complexities of the court case from February 2016 as Chris Busby was preparing for the court case;

Challenging the ICRP Dose Model with Chris Busby Court Update

December 30, 2016 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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