29 October 2012
The US nuclear industry is preparing for future emergencies byestablishing two regional centres that should operate from mid-2014. Vital equipment to maintain safety in an extreme event will be able to reach any of the USA’s nuclear plants within 24 hours.
All of the USA’s nuclear operators have approved a contract to establish centres at Memphis, Tennessee and Phoenix, Arizona, which will be managed by Pooled Equipment Inventory Co. Materials and equipment supplied from the centres will supplement the additional on-site portable equipment purchased at all of the country’s 64 nuclear energy facilities under an initiative announced in February 2012. Together, the equipment should enable plants to manage situations involving a loss of electrical power or supply of cooling water, or both.
“All plants have flood protection above the predicted storm surge, and key components and systems are housed in watertight buildings capable of withstanding hurricane-force winds and flooding,” the NRC said in a statement earlier today.
WITH MANY THANKS TO ENENEWS FOR CRITICAL AND UP TO DATE INFORMATION ON THIS DISASTER
see more here…. Maps
Naval Staff Today
29 October 2012
http://navaltoday.com/2012/10/29/usa-gdeb-lands-usd-17-5-million-nuclear-submarines-contract/
INNOVATION FOR AMERICA’S ENERGY, ECONOMIC, AND NATIONAL SECURITY
February 2012
Extract
In his State of the Union address, President Obama said that America faces “our generation’s Sputnik moment” and that we need to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world to capture the jobs of the 21st century. “In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make our living.”
By Helen Ku / Staff reporter, with CNA
Taipai Times
The legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday passed a non-binding resolution demanding that state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) transform the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), into a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant.
The resolution, initiated by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to change the plant into a natural gas plant.
Taking lessons from the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the US and last year’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster in Japan, Ting said the power plant should be changed into a thermal power plant as was done to the William H. Zimmer nuclear plant in Moscow, Ohio, in 1991.
Since the plant is only 20km to 30km away from Taipei, Ting emphasized that a nuclear disaster would devastate the nation’s densely populated north.
The controversial nuclear plant has been under construction since 1997 and is a financial burden on the country, Ting said, adding that the government has already poured more than NT$100 billion (US$3.41 billion) into it.
11:42 a.m. EDT, October 29, 2012
The Palisades nuclear plant is in Covert, Van Buren County. The Federal Emergency Management drills will be held at emergency operating centers in Van Buren and Berrien counties Monday.
Monday morning’s drill was scheduled to start at 8 a.m. and another is planned for Tuesday.
The plant has shut down several times in the last few months due to leaks and other safety-related issues. Since then, it’s been working to shed the bad rating from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Chennai: Hundreds of anti-nuclear activists and leaders of different political outfits were detained today when they attempted to lay siege to the State Assembly demanding scrapping of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.
MDMK Leader Vaiko, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader and MP Thol Thirumavalavan, pro-Tamil leader P Nedumaran along with hundreds of activists and fishermen were detained by a heavy posse of police when they tried to take out a march towards the Secretariat.
Strongly opposing the Indo-Russian project, Vaiko alleged that India had secretly agreed to provide power to Sri Lanka from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
Vaiko. PTI
Thirumavalavan said not only Kudankulam, Kalpakkam and all nuclear power stations in the country should be closed. He said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa should not stand on prestige and instead make efforts to close the project.
Russia Hopes To Go Nuclear In The UK
Russia’s state-owned nuclear power companies are hoping to convince U.K. legislators to allow them to build nuclear power plants, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Monday.
The U.K. has 16 nuclear reactors at nine nuclear power plants, generating about one sixth of the United Kingdom’s electricity. In October 2010, the British government gave the green light to building up to eight new nuclear power plants in the country, a year and a half after the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant owned byTokyo Electric Power caused much of the world to turn on the controversial clean burning super fuel.
Last year, Russia and Bangladesh signed an to build that country’s first nuclear power plant by Russian nuclear power company Rosatam. Russia also supplies the fuel, so Bangladesh is not enriching uranium.
As of July 2012, there were 435 nuclear power plants in operation around the world. The U.S. has the most with 104. Russia is third with 33 and the U.K. has 13. Japan is number two with 50 nuclear power stations in operation.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/10/29/russia-hopes-to-go-nuclear-in-the-uk/
Oct. 29, 2012
A preliminary state spending plan calls for Russia to spend nearly $3.2 billion on its atomic arsenal before 2015 concludes, Russian Duma defense panel head Vladimir Komoedov said in a statement reported by Vedomosti on Thursday.
Posted on : Oct.29,2012 14:03 KST
The Hankyoreh
According to Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, the breakdown at Uljin had nothing to do with the reactor’s safety, and the reactor is scheduled to go back on line once the broken equipment has been replaced, following approval from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. This is a canned response that we’ve heard every time there has been a problem, but it is an increasingly worrying one for the public. The Shinkori and Yeonggwang reactors that broke down early this month recently went back on line after an inspection, only to suffer further problems. This clearly shows that the problem doesn’t just go away when the broken parts are replaced.
October 29, 2012 9:07 pm
Hitachi agrees UK nuclear purchase
By Guy Chazan and Jim Pickard
Hitachi Ltd is to buy the Horizon nuclear project for about £700m from its German owners , whose decision to put the joint venture up for sale in March threw Britain’s nuclear expansion plans into disarray.
The price offered by the Japanese technology group, which beat a rival bid by Westinghouse Electric Co, was more than double what most analysts had expected …….. The Horizon venture is little more than a start-up, with land at two sites – Oldbury in Gloucestershire and Wylfa on Anglesey – and the rights to build new reactors there.
“In the end, Thailand’s nuclear ambitions were for now pushed to 2026 after heavy criticism in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. “We hope that until then Thailand will not go the nuclear route,” says Senator Rosana at the end of the week-long delegation trip.”
WANNAPA KHAOPA
THE NATION October 30, 2012 1:00 am
“Thailand should have another nuclear reactor. I’ll do my best to start the project again,” Plodprasob said when he presided over the opening of the 2nd Asian Symposium on Material Testing Reactors.
The event coincided with an open house at the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (TINT) held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country’s sole nuclear research reactor.
A bid to build a new reactor in Ongkharak in Nakhon Nayok has been put on hold due to a lawsuit. But Plodprasob said he would not wait till the lawsuit goes through the courts – he would seek to restart the project.
“Probably, we can buy a new 10-megawatt reactor with better technology,” he said.
“I, myself, as Deputy Prime Minister will push forward this project. I will propose it to the Cabinet.”
Plodprasop was promoted in the latest reshuffle. Previously he was science and technology minister.
“The Korea Federation of Environmental Movements issued a statement saying, “Until this accident, the Wolseong No. 1 reactor has recorded 51 malfunctions over 30 years due to flaws in machinery and components, including radiation leaks, coolant leaks, and reactor shutdowns……”
|
Nuclear Power Plant Reactor in Gyeongju Shuts Down OCT 30, 2012 |
| A nuclear power generator at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Korea’s southeastern city of Gyeongju automatically shut down on Monday evening. The state-run operator, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, says Reactor number 1 stopped generating at around 9:40PM after a turbine stop signal. No radiation leak has been reported. The operator says it is looking into the exact cause of the shutdown, but added the nuclear reactor is in a safe condition. The reactor has been operational since 1983,and its 30-year life span is scheduled to end next month.
Malfunctioning Korean Nuclear Reactor Worrying Local Residents |
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13 January 2012
The 680,000kW No. 1 reactor at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do has been shut down due to a malfunctioning component. The reactor, the design life of which expires on November 30 this year, malfunctioned just six months after comprehensive maintenance that lasted two years and three months, prompting controversy over its safety.
” A report by India’s auditor-general has found serious problems with safety regulations within India’s nuclear facilities. Australia has just agreed to supply uranium to India.”
“But environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often understaffed and underfunded”2
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Daily Times -pakistan
* Inspectors will examine working practices, safety procedures as well as condition of equipment
JAIPUR: A team from the UN’s nuclear watchdog began a safety inspection on Monday at a power plant in northern India where dozens of workers were exposed to radiation in separate leaks earlier this year.
The inspectors were touring the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station to “review the programmes and activities essential to plant operation based on the IAEA safety standards and on proven good practices”, said a statement by the watchdog.
pm, Mon Oct 29, 2012.
Associated Press |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Additional inspectors are being sent to nuclear power plants in five states as Hurricane Sandy approaches the East Coast.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says its headquarters and Northeast regional office are both closed, except for emergency personnel.
“In the meantime, we are pressing ahead with the design and development work,” Mr Hammond said.
By Tim Ross, Political Correspondent
2:35PM GMT 29 Oct 2012
Mr Hammond, the Defence Secretary, announced £350 million to design a replacement to the Trident missile programme in what he claimed was a demonstration of the government’s “very clear” commitment to Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
However, the Deputy Prime Minister warned that the Tories had promised there would be no decision on whether to build a new generation of submarines to carry nuclear weapons until 2016.
The Liberal Democrats have launched a government review into whether a “credible” alternative plan could provide a nuclear deterrent at a lower cost than the estimated £20 billion bill for a new submarine capability.[…]
Mr Clegg dismissed the idea of simply ordering a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines as outdated and expensive.
“The idea of a like-for-like, entirely unchanged replacement of Trident is basically saying we will spend billions and billions and billions of pounds on a nuclear missile system designed with the sole strategic purpose of flattening Moscow at the press of a button,” he said. “I think some people are jumping the gun on this Trident decision.
Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:45pm GMT
PJM is the biggest power grid in the United States serving more than 60 million people in 13 U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states and the District of Columbia
* PSEG Salem and Hope Creek reactors likely to shut
* Reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland could shut
By Scott DiSavino
Oct 29 (Reuters) - At least two major New Jersey nuclear
power plants are likely to shut o n M onday as Hurricane Sandy
makes landfall as a Category 1 storm, and more plants could
reduce power as the storm triggers precautionary safety
measures.
Sandy, centered over the Atlantic Ocean about 310 miles (505
km) southeast of New York City, was expected to hit near
Delaware and south New Jersey in about 12 hours as a Category 1
hurricane with winds of up to 90 miles per hour (144 kph).
The nuclear reactors in Sandy's current path include units
at Public Service Enterprise Group Inc's 2,332-megawatt
(MW) Salem and 1,161-MW Hope Creek plants in New Jersey, which
were likely to bear the brunt of the storm before it moves
inland. Those plants combined would account for about 19 percent
of the state's total electricity capacity, although New Jersey
also draws supplies from the whole Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Maryland (PJM) power region.
PJM is the biggest power grid in the United States serving
more than 60 million people in 13 U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Midwest
states and the District of Columbia.
Electricity traders said if Sandy continues on her expected
path it was likely PSEG would have to shut the Salem and Hope
Creek reactors later Monday, but they were mixed on whether the
storm's winds would still be strong enough to force the shutdown
reactors in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
PSEG spokesman Joe Delmar said the company would take the
Salem and Hope Creek reactors offline if wind speeds reach
greater than 74 miles per hour (119 kph) onsite for more than 15
minutes or the river water level reaches 100 feet (30 meters).
Sandy's maximum winds were at 85 mph (136 kph) earlier on
Monday.
Continue reading
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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