NUCLEAR FEAR Security scares at Sellafield nuclear waste plant raise fears of disaster ‘worse then Chernobyl’, Sun, John Siddle, 14 Jul 2019,
SECURITY scares at Sellafield raise fears of a disaster “worse than Chernobyl”, campaigners warn.
The Sun on Sunday can reveal there have been 25 safety breaches logged at the massive nuclear waste plant in the past two years. The 6km razor-wired compound stores a 140 tonne plutonium stockpile and handles radioactive waste generated by the UK’s working reactors.
The clean-up site in Cumbria has been dubbed the most hazardous place in Europe. Nuclear bosses insist safety is an “overriding priority”.
Other alerts were triggered when potentially harmful uranium powder was spilled and acid was discovered leaking from a bust pipe
Janine Smith, from the campaign group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment, said locals lived in fear of a serious incident.
‘COULD BE WORSE THAN CHERNOBYL’She said: “One safety breach is one too many. There just shouldn’t be any. Just one error could be catastrophic.
“It’s not like making a mistake inside a chocolate factory. The buildings at
Sellafield are all so close together that if something was to happen at that site it would be a disaster.
“We just keep our fingers crossed, and everything else, that we don’t ever have to witness a nuclear disaster in this country. It could be worse than Chernobyl”.
According to the logs, the bomb squad was called in October 2017 when potentially unstable chemicals sparked an emergency scare.
A month later, in a separate incident, a worker was found to have been exposed to a low level of radiation……
‘ONE ERROR COULD BE CATASTROPHIC’The Environment Agency has taken enforcement action against Sellafield ten times since September over compliance breaches.
A spokesman said: “Nuclear facility operators must adhere to the highest waste control standards.
“Where Sellafield has fallen short of these standards, the impact has generally been extremely small and we have taken firm and appropriate action.”
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) also hit Sellafield with an improvement notice this year after a high-voltage cable was sliced, causing a power loss……….https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9502371/security-fears-chernobyl-sellafield/
July 15, 2019
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Trump rejects uranium import limits, but begins nuclear fuel review S and P Global, Author William Freebairn Joniel Cha , EditorJason Lindquist , 14 July 19, Washington — President Donald Trump issued a decision late Friday rejecting a request from US uranium producers that US utilities be required to purchase a portion of their annual uranium requirements domestically, calling instead for a 90-day review of nuclear fuel issues.
The Trump administration did not take the action sought by US uranium producers, who said imports were hurting their businesses. Instead, he appeared to favor the interests of US nuclear plant operators, who said trade restrictions might cause economically challenged reactors to shut.
The US Department of Commerce, Trump said, found that uranium imports were threatening national security, but the president said he did not agree with the determination. A “fuller analysis of national security considerations with respect to the entire nuclear fuel supply chain is necessary at this time,” Trump said.
A White House working group will be established to report on all aspects of the nuclear fuel supply chain and make “recommendations to further enable domestic nuclear fuel production if needed,” Trump wrote in his memorandum Friday.
The Ad Hoc Utility Utilities Group, which represented most US nuclear plant operators on the matter, in a statement Saturday welcomed the Trump decision, as did the Nuclear Energy Institute, which represents a broad range of nuclear energy companies……… https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/071319-trump-rejects-uranium-import-limits-but-begins-nuclear-fuel-review
July 15, 2019
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Bloomberg 12th July 2019 Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond is blocking a set of government proposals to overhaul the U.K. energy industry because of the potential
spending implications for a new prime minister, people familiar with the
matter said.
The plans are included in a long-awaited energy white paper
that the business department has been working on for months, according to
the officials, who asked not to be identified because the policies
haven’t been announced.
Measures include the way nuclear power plants get funding, boosting technology to capture industrial greenhouse gas emissions for storage, accelerating the decarbonization of the power industry and efforts to make housing more energy efficient.
Greg Clark hoped to publish the proposals in July, but Hammond is reluctant to give the go-ahead to new spending before a successor to Theresa May is in place, the people said.
Whitehall officials across departments are also concerned the document is
both incomplete and too sizable a policy plan to put forward just before a
new premier takes over, according to two of the people familiar. One option
being considered is to publish more urgent sections before recess leaving
the rest for the next government to handle.
July 15, 2019
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Lawmakers quietly explore storing spent nuclear fuel. Wyo File, July 12, 2019 by Angus M. Thuermer Jr. Wyoming legislative leadership voted by email Monday to explore temporarily storing spent nuclear fuel rods in the state, a prospect one senator says could bring in $1 billion a year.
A legislative committee has appointed six of its members to investigate the idea with the U.S. Department of Energy, Sen. Jim Anderson (R-Casper) told WyoFile on Friday. Anderson is co-chairman of the Joint Minerals Business and Economic Development Committee which received approval and funding from the Legislative Management Council in an unannounced vote to study the issue before the next legislative session begins in early 2020. ………
The state is looking for other revenue options, Anderson said, and “this is a way.” The federal government could pay up to $1 billion a year for the temporary storage, he said, depending on the size and scope of a Wyoming project. That’s the amount the federal government offered last time Wyoming considered the issue about 15 years ago, he said.
Anderson couldn’t immediately name the six members who serve on the subcommittee that will engage DOE, but he said it’s unlikely the group would report at the next minerals committee meeting in August. More likely there would be a presentation in November, he said……….
The spent fuel rod casks would be temporarily stored in Wyoming on their way to a permanent storage site at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. ….
The Wyoming effort is specific regarding fuel rods only, he said. “There’s nothing here about storing nuclear waste,” Anderson said. Storage might be for 5-10 years, he said……..
The old uranium sites are out of the way, Anderson said.
“Nobody will ever see it,” he said of a storage site. “Nobody even knows where it is,” he said of the locations at Gas Hills and the Shirley Basin. “They’ll never see it and there’s no danger from the casks.”
Wyoming might have to build some infrastructure, he said, like a fence around the casks. The state could offer both the old mine sites, he said, potentially increasing revenue.
“Environmental terrorists” sure to object
Wyoming’s previous attempts to bring some types of nuclear storage to the state were blocked by environmental groups, Anderson said.
During an earlier effort to bring nuclear material to Wyoming “the environmental terrorists came out against it and stopped it in its tracks,” he said. That opposition likely remains.
“I think they’ll be back terrorizing us again,” Anderson said.
Wyoming people will likely welcome such a project, Anderson said, given the potential $1 billion or more annual revenue stream. …….
On the Management Council, Sens. Ogden Driskill (R-Devils Tower), Dan Dockstader (R-Afton), Drew Perkins (R-Casper) and Bill Landen (R-Casper) plus Reps. Greear, Albert Sommers (R-Pinedale), and Speaker of the House Steve Harshman (R-Casper) supported the minerals committee request, Obrecht wrote.
Sens. Mike Gierau (D-Jackson), Liisa Anselmi-Dalton (D-Rock Springs, Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) opposed the measure along with Reps. Eric Barlow (R-Gillette), John Freeman (D-Green River) and Kathy Connolly (D-Laramie), according to Obrecht’s email.
The Management Council vote was taken by email, Obrecht said. The motion includes funds to support the investigation, but WyoFile could not immediately ascertain how much.
Gierau outlined his opposition to the measure. “I like a billion dollars as much as the next guy, but some things are not for sale,” he told WyoFile. He pointed to efforts through the state’s Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming and other programs to diversify the state’s economy.
“Of all the things we want to do… I just don’t see this as a winning proposition, on an environmental, social or personal level,” he said.
He noted the close vote on the Management Council and said he would continue his opposition.
“I will do my best to make sure it’s not as close on the floor,” he said. https://www.wyofile.com/lawmakers-quietly-explore-storing-spent-nuclear-fuel/
July 15, 2019
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Times 14th July 2019 If all goes to plan Hinkley Point C should start powering 6m homes from
2025, earning its developers the hefty, taxpayer-backed price of £92.50
per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.
Hinkley is a rare dash of activity in a sector battered by bad news and government inactivity. This week, business and energy secretary Greg Clark will try to sketch out a
future for the new nuclear industry with a funding blueprint that will pass
some of the risks and costs on to bill-payers.
He has been spurred intoa ction by Japan’s Hitachi and Toshiba, which have both pulled the plug on new nuclear projects in Britain. Clark’s paper was meant to appear
alongside a broader revamp of energy policy, but sources suggest political
turmoil and Treasury concerns are expected to delay the full white paper
until autumn, when a new energy secretary is in post.
In a sector being upended by technological change, from electric cars to smart power grids,
every delay in devising a coherent, long-term policy further weakens the
power system and Britain’s competitiveness. For now, the industry is likely
to have to settle for Clark’s nuclear blueprint. Even if a full energy
paper emerges, it could be torn up by his successor. Many tip the current
chief secretary to the Treasury, Liz Truss. If they are right, Truss will
arrive to a full in-tray.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a8f5d97c-a589-11e9-97a3-6b6d400e533
July 15, 2019
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Yes, a nuclear freeze is the logical next step with North Korea, WP, By Michael Morell, July 14
Much discussion has occurred about a possible freeze of North Korea’s strategic weapons programs. Is it part of the Trump administration’s strategy in the hopefully soon-to-be-resumed talks with Pyongyang, or not? Is there a debate about it within the administration, or not? Is it a good idea, or not? Unnamed sources in the administration say “yes” to some or all of these questions; national security adviser John Bolton emphatically says “no” to all of them.
But, as it turns out, a freeze of North Korea’s nuclear and long-range missile programs could be a good thing — for two reasons. First, it would build trust that could lead to subsequent deals resulting in cuts and permanent limits to North Korea’s weapons programs. It is difficult to overstate the trust gap that currently exists between the two countries, making a single, one-step agreement that resolves the nuclear issue an impossibility.
Second, with each day that passes without a deal or a freeze, Pyongyang adds to its existing stockpile of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, giving it added leverage in any talks that do happen (that is, more to eventually bargain away and, therefore, to receive in return), not to mention the added security threat to the United States that more weapons would create. Indeed, this is the biggest downside of allowing North Korea to delay the march toward talks.
The Obama administration and its P5+1 negotiating partners — the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, France, Russia and China) plus Germany — successfully achieved a freeze with the Iranians during the negotiations that resulted in the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. The Iranians agreed to freeze their nuclear program from day one of those negotiations……….
What might we give in return for a freeze? Certainly, some limited sanctions relief, something to show North Korea the potential benefits of a long-term deal with the United States. Perhaps a restart of South Korea’s Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea — the use of North Korean labor to make South Korean products for export. Perhaps an opening of diplomatic interests sections in Pyongyang and Washington. …….https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/07/14/yes-nuclear-freeze-is-logical-next-step-with-north-korea/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ce59df415f08
July 15, 2019
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Science and Technology: ¶ “Climate Crisis Weekly: Weekly Disasters, Flooding Forces Moves, Climate Review Off The Table, More” • Climate crisis disasters are happening at an average rate of one per week, the UN says, giving this feature of Electrek new definition. Many “lower-impact” disasters are happening in developing countries and draw relatively little attention. […]
via July 14 Energy News — geoharvey
July 15, 2019
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