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Hurricane Dorian 8 AM Advisory & Predicted Track Mapped with Nuclear Power Stations — Mining Awareness +

Predicted Track mapped with Nuclear Power Stations (Skulls) after satellite pictures and St. Lucie NPS image. Forecast further below. Hurricane Dorian at 7.21 AM EDT, Sept 2, 2019 Hurricane Dorian at 8.51 AM EDT, Sept 2, 2019 St. Lucie Nuclear Power Station. Yes, it’s really sitting out there on the Atlantic on a barrier island. […]

via Hurricane Dorian 8 AM Advisory & Predicted Track Mapped with Nuclear Power Stations — Mining Awareness +

September 2, 2019 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

This week’s nuclear and climate news

It’s not that climate change is getting any better – it’s just that there were fewer news articles about it this week. There was a pretty desperate call from Pope Francis for governments to act.

One weather news item that is getting a lot of coverage is Hurricane Dorian -. not necessarily caused by climate change, but exacerbated by it. It’s of particular interest because of the St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear power stations on alert in Florida, potentially in its path. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YERxqsFXRQ0

August, the month when we remember the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,– has been an ominous month for bringing us all closer to World War 3. Donald Trump moved to trash all the nuclear arms agreements, that might put the brakes on international conflict.  Pentagon experts recommended Artificial Intelligence to control nuclear weapons. There have been at least 3 occasions when the imagination and intuition of a human being has just narrowly saved the world from a nuclear holocaust. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGsrO3klcAs

A bit of good news. Spanish group gives summer holidays to kids from Chernobyl’s polluted region.

Climate change is destabilising the Earth’s marine environment. ‘12 Years to Act on Climate Change’ – what does this really mean?

Nuclear winter – the global threat to life.   A freezing and deathly aftermath would follow a US-Russian nuclear war.

They are trying to break Julian Assange “physically and psychologically”. Injustices to Julian Assange in British prison. (Why is Australia making a huge fuss about an Australian detained in China, but ignoring Assange?)

BRAZIL. International calls for urgent action on climate, as new fires rage in Amazon forests.

JAPAN. Nearly 17 Tons of Radioactive Materials Detected in Japanese Food Imports. The danger of sourcing food and material from the Fukushima region.  Radioactive sushi: Japan-South Korea spat extends to Olympic cuisine.  South Korea concerned over food safety at Olympics with events slated for Fukushima.

Fukushima tragedy: The day of black snow. Japan says no specific decision yet on disposal of Fukushima radioactive water.  New tactics from TEPCO to get Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP reopening approval.

USA. 

UK. Expert on birds warns of environmental catastrophe if UK’s planned Sizewell nuclear station goes ahead. A report corrects Sellafield nuclear damage to Ireland scenario from the UK.

INDIA. Tensions between India and Pakistan, as India contemplates abandoning its No First Use policy on nuclear weapons.

FRANCE.  France’s plan for a Generation IV nuclear reactor bites the dust.  France’s sodium-cooled fast Nuclear reactor turns out to be a dud. Cancelled.  The rocketing costs of Jules Horowitz materials testing reactor (JHR) hastened the demise of the Astrid fast nuclear reactor project.  The Flamanville EPR nuclear reactor – a nightmare site for EDF. “Chernobyl on the Seine” – Marie curie’s radioactive legacy.

IRAN. Iran’s President Rouhani talks with Emmanuel Macron, warning on reducing nuclear commitments.

RUSSIA. U.S. intelligence assessment – Russia’s Mystery Nuclear Explosion Occurred During Missile Recovery at Sea.  Trump’s friendliness with Putin makes it hard for NATO to do anything about Russia’s weapons tests and radioactive explosion. Examining the radioactive isotopes from Russia’s mystery explosion. Russia Spreads Influence in Africa Using Nuclear Power.

NORWAY. Nuclear Norway: Halden spiralling costs and no home for the radioactive waste.

CANADA. Canada didn’t sign the UN nuclear ban treaty, but can still take up its humanitarian provisions .

September 2, 2019 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear power stations on alert for Hurricane Dorian

Hurricane warnings issued across Florida

Florida Nuclear Plants Ready to Shut Down as Dorian Threat Looms   https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-31/florida-nuclear-plants-ready-to-shut-down-as-dorian-threat-looms

By David R Baker, August 31, 2019,
  •  Closure to begin if hurricane-force winds predicted at sites
  •  State has two plants, St. Lucie and Turkey Point, owned by FPL

Florida’s two nuclear plants are ready to shut down if forecasts show hurricane-force winds hitting the facilities when Dorian finally moves on shore.

Both plants — St. Lucie, north of Palm Beach, and Turkey Point, south of Miami — sit on Florida’s Atlantic coast, and both lie within the possible path of the storm.

Their owner, NextEra Energy Inc.’s Florida Power & Light, has been preparing since Monday for the possibility of shutting down the plants, said spokesman Peter Robbins. It’s poised to do so once forecasts predict hurricane-force wind speeds at the sites, he said.

“We do it in advance,” Robbins said. “We don’t wait.”

Dorian’s path, however, remained uncertain enough Friday that FPL hadn’t yet made the decision to power down. “We’ve seen the path and intensity of the storm change a lot,” Robbins said. “Like most hurricanes, it’s got some tricks up its sleeve.”

The company, Florida’s largest utility, temporarily closed both facilities in 2017 as Hurricane Irma bore down on the state. Should FPL shut down the plants for Dorian, they would remain offline until the storm had passed and the facilities had been inspected, Robbins said. The company also would consult with local and federal officials before restarting operations.

“It’s a coordinated thing,” Robbins said. “We don’t make the decision by ourselves.”

September 2, 2019 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment

The Golden Rule of nuclear economics

Jim Green 2 September 19, The Golden Rule of nuclear economics: Add a zero to nuclear industry cost estimates and your figure will be more accurate than the industry’s.

The Golden Rule works perfectly for AP1000 reactors in the US. In 2006, Westinghouse said it could build an AP1000 reactor for as little as US$1.4 billion (A$2.0 billion) ‒ 10 times lower than the current estimate for the Vogtle project in Georgia.

The Golden Rule holds for EPR reactors under construction in the UK. A decade ago, the estimated construction cost for one EPR reactor in the UK was £2.0 billion (A$3.7 billion) ‒ current estimates for the Hinkley project are seven times higher.

The Golden Rule applies to the small modular reactor under construction in Argentina, with current cost estimates 21 times higher than 2004 estimates.

Admittedly, there are exceptions to the Golden Rule. For example, cost estimates for small modular reactors in China and Russia increased two-fold and four-fold, respectively, but they have not been subject to order-of-magnitude increases. Initial cost estimates for EPR reactors in France and Finland (around A$5 billion) have increased by more than A$10 billion (to around A$17 billion) but that ‘only’ amounts to a three-fold to four-fold increase.

September 2, 2019 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | Leave a comment