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UK Protest rally against nuclear power station mud dump

Hundreds protest against nuclear power station mud dump, BBC News 27 August 2018 

Hundreds of campaigners have gathered outside the Senedd over plans to move mud dredged from alongside a new nuclear power plant to near Cardiff.

Developers want to dump 300,000 tonnes of mud off Cardiff Bay from Somerset’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power site.

Protesters want more tests before the move can happen and the licence granted by Natural Resources Wales revoked……….campaigners claim it could be contaminated by discharges from the old Hinkley Point A and B and argue the mud has not been adequately tested……..

Labour AM Mike Hedges said the mud samples and data should be made available to “external” experts while David Melding, a Conservative, said he was “satisfied that [the samples] do meet the standards as set by international law”. ….https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-45322712

August 29, 2018 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

Should Santee Cooper executives have told investors about V.C. Summer nuclear plant project failing?

During nuclear audit, Santee Cooper executives faced a question: ‘Disclose or not’

  • By Thad Moore tmoore@postandcourier.com
  • Two years before their nuclear ambitions foundered, Santee Cooper’s top executives and lawyers got on the phone to talk about a top-to-bottom study of their $9 billion plant project, one that would later cast serious doubts about its viability.
  • They hadn’t gotten results yet, but the utility wasn’t expecting a positive review: They had demanded an audit by the engineering and construction giant Bechtel Corp. to show just how far off track the V.C. Summer nuclear plant project had gone. They wanted to use it as leverage to get their partner, South Carolina Electric & Gas, to hire professional help.
  • But while they waited for the audit’s findings, someone asked a pivotal question, one that would come to define the fallout from the project’s failure:
  • Do we need to tell our investors about this?
  • Their conversation is just one piece of evidence that federal investigators will consider as they sift through tens of thousands of subpoenaed records, probing South Carolina’s nuclear debacle for potential criminal wrongdoing. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, The Post and Courier obtained the trove of documents that Santee Cooper handed over to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including handwritten notes about the phone call………. https://www.postandcourier.com/business/during-nuclear-audit-santee-cooper-executives-faced-a-question-disclose/article_ee13b992-a7de-11e8-87d7-2ba1c923965f.html

August 29, 2018 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Japan – Nuclear waste briefings in coastal areas 

Nuclear waste briefings in coastal areas  https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180827_27/ Japanese energy agency officials say they will continue to hold public briefing sessions on the disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

The government last year released a map showing which parts of the country may be scientifically suited to hosting an underground disposal site.

The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy has so far invited residents to 55 briefing sessions. Most have taken place in prefectural capitals.

On Monday, the agency held a meeting in Tokyo to explain the sessions to regional officials.

Agency officials said participants tend to question whether highly contaminated nuclear waste can safely be stored in earthquake-prone Japan. They also express concerns over how local people’s opinions may be reflected.

The agency plans to hold further briefings, mainly in coastal areas that are considered to be relatively suitable for underground waste storage.

The districts cover about 900 municipalities.

The officials say they will decide on where to hold the briefing sessions after discussions with the municipalities.

August 29, 2018 Posted by | Japan, wastes | Leave a comment

Japan revises guidelines for earthquake probabilities

New earthquake probability scale https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20180828_18/ Japanese government officials have revised the chances for earthquakes linked to marine trenches in order to avoid misleading the public. The government’s task force for earthquake research released its assessment of quakes that may hit Japan, along with their probabilities of occurring within 30 years.

Currently, the chances of quakes linked to marine trenches are given in percentages.

But experts fear that such descriptions could cause misunderstandings. People might feel safe living in an area with a small quake possibility figure, such as 0.1 percent or less.

The task force said it has introduced a new 4-rank scale to describe quake probabilities.

The highest rank of 3 means having the biggest chance of a large-scale quake within 30 years– a chance of 26 percent or more. Rank 2 is for areas with the chance of a quake between 3 and 26 percent. The rank of 1 suggests quake probabilities of less than 3 percent. Another rank of X suggests the chances of a quake cannot be calculated due to a lack of data, but an imminent quake cannot be ruled out.

Under the new classification system, possible mega quakes, including along the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast from central through western Japan, are ranked 3.

August 29, 2018 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

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