nuclear-news

Appeal against Utah nuclear reactor being granted water rights

Enviro Groups Challenge Nuke Plant Water Rights, City Weekly, by Sarah Kramer, 16 Feb 12,   The path to a commercial nuclear reactor in Utah has met an unexpected roadblock in the form of an appeal of State Engineer Kent Jones’ Jan. 20 decision granting water rights to Blue Castle Holdings for the project.-

The appeal, announced Feb. 9, was filed by environmental-advocacy and nuclear-watchdog group HEAL Utah along with over 20 other groups. The decision to file a request for reconsideration was the direct result of another blow to theBlue Castle Project: The revelation that LeadDog Capital, LLC, the hedge fund that had offered to put up $30 million to fund the project, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for falsely inflating the company’s assets and concealing from investors potential conflicts of interest. A second request was also filed by Moab-based environmental groups..

… The State Engineer cannot approve water-rights applications for speculative projects. …. The requests for reconsideration also challenge the State Engineer’s assertions that the Green River’s flow is able to support the diversion of 53,600 acre-feet for the Blue Castle Project, and call into question Blue Castle’s ability to bring the plant to fruition with no prior experience in the nuclear-energy industry. http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-9594-7120-enviro-groups-challenge-nuke-plant-water-rights.html

February 16, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Radioactive leakage to water, in normal operations of nuclear reactors

February 11, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Uranium company’s bribes to law-makers can backfire

Lawmaker: Trip to France dissuaded him on uranium mining, Pilot Online.com. 7 Feb 12, “……..The bulk of the largesse directed at Cosgrove was the $12,449 spent by Virginia Uranium, the company lobbying to establish a uranium mine in Pittsylvania County. The
company sent Cosgrove and several other lawmakers to visit a mine site in France.The purpose of the trip, Cosgrove said, was to reassure the Virginia legislators that uranium could be mined safely with no chance of contaminating Lake Gaston, a major source of Hampton Roads’ drinking water that lies downstream from the proposed mine site.

But the trip persuaded him of the exact opposite, Cosgrove said. “They never showed us beyond any doubt that there couldn’t be some catastrophic effect on our drinking water,” he said. As a result, “I came back thinking that uranium mining is probably not in the best
interest of Hampton Roads.”… http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/lawmaker-trip-france-dissuaded-him-uranium-mining

February 8, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Radioactive drinking water risk for 11 million people

New York nuclear plant threatens drinking water for 11M people, (philstar.com)   February 01, 2012 NEW YORK –– The drinking water for more than 11.3 million people could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, located in Buchanan, New York, said a new study released on Tuesday.

According to the report by Environment New York, the state environmental advocacy organization, the drinking water intakes for 11.3 million people in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are within 50 miles of Indian Point — the distance the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses to measure risk to food and water supplies.

The report also showed that the Indian Point Nuclear Plant threatens drinking water supplies for more than twice as many people compared to any other nuclear facility in the United States.

Environment New York is urging the state to deny the plant relicensing and to move toward a future with no nuclear power and use clean, renewable energy such as wind and solar power. The Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which is 80-minute ride from New York City, has a long history of leaks and accidental releases of radioactive material. One of its nuclear reactors was recently shut down to repair a pump, which was leaking radioactive coolant.  http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=773362&publicationSubCategoryId=200

February 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Over 2 million Californians risk radioactive water pollution in proximity to nuclear reactors

Nuclear Power Plants Threaten Drinking Water for 2.3 Million Californians
San Diego is the 6th Largest Region in the Country to Have Drinking Water Sources Located Within 50 Miles of a Nuclear Plant YubaNet.com  Jan 24, 2012   By: CALPIRG  San Diego, CA January 24, 2012 – The drinking water for 2.3 million people in California could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at a local nuclear power plant, says a new study released today by the California Public Interest Research Group Education Fund and Environment California Research and Policy Center.

“The danger of nuclear power is too close to home. Here in California, the drinking water for 2.3 million people is too close to an active nuclear power plant,” said Emily Rusch, CALPIRG Education Fund State Director. “An accident or a leak could spew cancer-causing radioactive waste into our drinking water.” Continue reading →

January 26, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Nuclear power and water rights in Utah

“the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is notorious for cozying up to the nuclear industry and basically never says no,” 

“approval of the application doesn’t actually guarantee there will be enough water to operate the plant.”

Water Rights Approved for Nuclear Plant 01.22.2012 by Whittney Evans, (KCPW News) Utah State Engineer Kent Jones has approved water rights from the Green River for Blue Castle Holdings’ proposed nuclear power plant in Emery County, much to the dismay of environmental groups.
Matt Pacenza, Policy Director of the anti-nuclear group HEAL Utah, says the decision was the only opportunity for a Utah official to reject the plan. He says the company now faces two hurdles, the easier of which will be getting permission from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“Although the process will take several years and will cost them quite a bit of money, the NRC is notorious for cozying up to the nuclear industry and basically never says no,” he says. “So one imagines that they will fairly easily convince Washington bureaucrats that it’s okay to put a nuclear reactor in Utah.”

Pacenza says the bigger hurdle is finding investors and customers for the power. Rob Mrowka with the Center for Biological Diversity says taking almost 54,000 acre-feet of water a year from the Green River would impact rare fish, among other problems. “…to the point of perhaps driving those already listed for protection to the point of extinction and necessitating the addition of the other three to the endangered species act list of protected species,” says Mrowka.

A call to the state engineer’s office was not returned. In a news release, he said concerns raised about the water rights application were considered, adding that an application must be approved by law if the water is available, it won’t interfere with existing water rights, and it would not be detrimental to the public welfare. And approval of the application doesn’t actually guarantee there will be enough wate rto operate the plant.
http://kcpw.org/blog/local-news/2012-01-22/water-rights-approved-for-nuclear-plant/

January 24, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment

Oyster Creek nuclear plant will close, despite pro nuclear court ruling about Vermont

jurisdictional issues over safety and water quality mean the Vermont Yankee ruling has little impact on the agreement to close Oyster Creek. 

Every day Oyster Creek strains 1.4 billion gallons of bay water through its cooling system, he said. The bay only has 60 billion gallons of water. The strain Oyster Creek puts on the bay is equivalent to 2.4 percent of the bay’s water each day and 800 percent each year.

“It’s just a gargantuan death machine as far as fish eggs and plant larva,” 

Oyster Creek Stands By Closure Plan Despite Federal Court Ruling ‘No similarities’ between Vermont ruling and Lacey nuclear plant’s planned shutdown, DEP says Lacey Patch, By Elaine Piniat, 23 Jan 12,  Oyster Creek will stick to the plan to close in 2019 after a federal judge ruled that the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant could remain open beyond its scheduled shutdown date, plant spokesperson Suzanne D’Ambrosio said.

“We made a commitment to our regulators and to the public,” she said. “Our commitment and our plan is to retire Oyster Creek in 2019. That’s the plan.”
A U.S. district judge in Brattelboro, Vt., ruled Thursday that the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant could remain open beyond its scheduled shutdown date this year, the Washington Post reported. The state had originally ruled against Vermont Yankee’s federal operating license, which gives the plant 20 more years to operate.

January 24, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | Leave a comment