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EDF Energy hit with £120m bill over cracks in Hunterston B nuclear reactor in Scotland

Cracks in nuclear reactor will hit EDF Energy with £120m bill, Guardian,  Adam Vaughan , 7 May 18  Problems at Hunterston B in Scotland trigger doubts over six other 1970s and 80s plants 

The six month closure of one of Britain’s oldest nuclear reactors will burn a £120m hole in the revenues of owner EDF Energy and has raised questions over the reliability of the country’s ageing nuclear fleet.

EDF said this week that it was taking reactor 3 of Hunterston B in Scotland offline for half a year, after inspections found more cracks than expected in the graphite bricks at the reactor’s core.

cracks EDF maintains that the prospect of more old reactors having a sustained outage is highly unlikely, but experts said it would pose a significant challenge to power supplies if they did…….https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/06/cracks-nuclear-reactor-threaten-uk-energy-policy-hunsterston

 

May 9, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, safety | Leave a comment

Swizerland’s Health Office recalls jewellery contaminated with radioactive thorium and uranium

Radioactive jewellery recalled in Switzerland  swissinfo, 7 May 18 A Swiss company has sold esoteric “negative-ion” jewellery containing high levels of uranium and thorium. The Federal Office of Public Health has written to people who have bought the jewellery, telling them to send it to the health office.

Health office spokesman Daniel Dauwalder on Monday confirmed media reports that an unnamed company had imported rock powder from China with levels of the two radioactive substances that were harmful for skin cells and the outer skin layer.

The health office said if the bracelets, necklaces and earrings were worn for several hours a day over a year, the skin’s dose threshold of 50 millisieverts could be exceeded. In the long term, the risk of skin cancer would increase, it added.

….The radioactive rock powder was discovered by German customs guards, who informed the Federal Office of Public Health.

Dauwalder said the office had already received many items of jewellery, which would be disposed of accordingly. The jewellery must not end up in the normal rubbish, the office said.https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/uranium-earrings_radioactive-jewellery-recalled-in-switzerland/44101980

 

May 9, 2018 Posted by | health, Switzerland, thorium | Leave a comment

There’s money in monitoring ionising radiation

Radiation Detection, Monitoring & Safety Market Worth 2.26 Billion USD by 2022  PUNE, India, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ —

According to a new market research report “Radiation Detection, Monitoring, & Safety Market by Product (Detection & Monitoring, Safety), Composition (Gas-filled detectors, Scintillator, Solid-state detector), Application (Healthcare, Homeland Security & Defence, Industrial) – Global Forecast to 2022“, published by MarketsandMarkets™, the global market is expected to reach USD 2.26 Billion by 2022 from USD 1.71 Billion in 2017, at a CAGR of 5.7% during the forecast period (2017-2022).

The key factors propelling the growth of Radiation Detection, Monitoring and Safety Market are growing security threats, growing prevalence of cancer worldwide, increasing safety awareness among people working in radiation-prone environments, growing safety concerns post the Fukushima disaster, growing security budgets of global sporting events, growth in the number of PET/CT scans, increasing usage of nuclear medicine and radiation therapy for diagnosis and treatment, and use of drones for radiation monitoring.

….The healthcare segment dominated the market on the basis of applications in 2017 

The Radiation Detection, Monitoring and Safety Market is segmented on the basis of applications into healthcare, homeland security and defense, industrial applications, nuclear power plants, and other applications (environmental monitoring and academic research). In 2017, the healthcare segment accounted for the largest share of the global market. Factors such as the growth in the number of PET/CT scans and increasing usage of nuclear medicine and radiation therapy for diagnosis and treatment, increasing research activities, and growing incidence of cancer are driving the growth of this segment.

North America held the largest share of the market in 2017 

In 2017, North America accounted for the largest share of the Radiation Detection, Monitoring and Safety Market, followed by Europe. Factors such as favorable government initiatives, increasing number of nuclear power plants, rising prevalence of cancer, and increasing awareness of radiation safety are contributing to the large share of this geographical segment………https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/radiation-detection-monitoring–safety-market-worth-226-billion-usd-by-2022-682063101.html
 

May 9, 2018 Posted by | business and costs, radiation | Leave a comment

U.S. Department of Energy sending helicopters to measure radiation levels

UF flyovers part of DOE radiation study http://www.gainesville.com/news/20180508/uf-flyovers-part-of-doe-radiation-study

The flyovers are part of a research project measuring baseline levels of radiation in the environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration says the public shouldn’t be alarmed by a low-flying helicopter near the University of Florida.

It’s a part of a routine procedure, officials say.

According to a Department of Energy press release, the public might see a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter flying at about 150 feet or higher around UF and in Gainesville until early Wednesday evening.

The helicopter is operated by the Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measuring System from Joint Base Andrews in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and is equipped with radiation-sensing technology.

The manned helicopter will fly in a grid pattern over the area at about 80 miles per hour, the release says.

The flyovers are part of a research project measuring baseline levels of radiation in the environment.

May 9, 2018 Posted by | radiation, USA | Leave a comment

Flamanville nuclear power plant: 150 padlocks stolen

150 padlocks disappear from ‘cursed’ French nuclear plant, Times UK,    Adam Sage, Paris, 8 May 18,  The French nuclear plant touted as a model for Britain’s new reactors was under scrutiny yesterday after 150 of the padlocks protecting its command-control computers disappeared.

Electricity of France (EDF), the state electricity group, filed a criminal lawsuit over the disappearance of the padlocks from cabinets containing the computer system at the plant under construction at Flamanville in northern France.

EDF is leading the £19.5 billion project to build two similar reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset, which are expected to supply 7 per cent of Britain’s electricity.

The company said police were investigating the incident and that it had started an internal audit. None of the computers had been tampered with.

The reactor itself had a separate system, EDF said, which remained under lock… https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/150-padlocks-disappear-from-cursed-french-nuclear-plant-htshx8gwf

May 9, 2018 Posted by | France, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

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