Another city leaves small nuclear reactor project – unanimous vote by Murray City Council, Utah
Murray City votes to withdraw from nuclear power project, Salt Lake Tribune, By Taylor Stevens– 23 Oct 20, The Murray City Council voted unanimously this week to back out of a first-of-its-kind nuclear power project that has the support of a number of Utah municipalities.
It’s the fourth Utah city to exit the small modular nuclear reactor pursuit over the last few months amid pressure from opponents who have raised concerns about environmental and financial risks of the proposed 12-module plant, which would be located at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls and produce a total 720 megawatts of electricity.
During the city’s Tuesday council meeting, Murray Power Manager Blaine Haacke outlined several advantages of the project, including the potential that it could fill the energy gap that will be left when the Hunter Power Plant in Castle Dale goes offline in the coming years.
He told the council that he expects UAMPS will carry the project forward without Murray. But he said the association’s members will meet during the first week of November to make a final decision, after they find out how many cities have exited.
USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission to effectively deregulate massive amounts of radioactive wastes
PEER 21st Oct 2020, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is finalizing a year-long drive to functionally deregulate disposal of massive amounts of radioactive waste.
NRC’s plan would allow commercial nuclear reactors to dump virtually all their radioactive waste, except spent fuel, in local garbage landfills, which are designed for household trash not rad-waste, according to commentsfiled today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
https://www.peer.org/deregulation-rad-waste-disposal-plows-ahead/
The cruel and lonely death of an American nuclear weapons scientist
And if you’re a believer that violent ends produce restless spirits, the Presidio is full up with phantoms as a result.
The most haunted place is said to be Letterman Army Hospital, once the base’s largest medical facility
In looking for Presidio ghost stories, though, we stumbled across a far stranger tale than any haunting: the real-life demise of a nuclear scientist — a chapter of the Cold War, as far as we can tell, untold since 1953.
The brain tumor presented a particular problem for the Atomic Energy Commission: It had the potential to cause erratic behavior and uncontrolled verbal outbursts. They were fearful that as he lost control of his mental faculties, Twitchell would begin spilling nuclear secrets. He knew “as much about atomic energy as any one man,” an anonymous source in the commission would later tell the Oakland Tribune.
So they built a secret ward just for Twitchell. At the cost of $100,000 — nearly $1 million today — construction began at the Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco’s Presidio for the unusual patient. Once finished, all doctors and nurses who might interact with Twitchell were given rigorous screenings for any national security issues. In the end, only one male nurse was trusted to primarily care for Twitchell. A guard stood watch outside the room at all times.
Unbeknownst to the other military patients at the hospital, a civilian lay dying in his own wing. “He was the hospital’s hush-hush case,” the San Francisco Examiner reported.
An anonymous source told the Tribune this was standard protocol to keep scientists from blabbing while “unbalanced, anesthetized or under the influence of dentists’ ‘laughing gas.'” Although expensive, it was the only way to maintain national security.
Miyagi Prefectural Assembly approves nuclear reactor restart, despite very strong public opposition
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Miyagi assembly approves restart of Onagawa nuclear reactor, HTTPS://WWW.JAPANTIMES.CO.JP/NEWS/2020/10/23/NATIONAL/MIYAGI-APPROVES-ONAGAWA-NUCLEAR-RESTART/SENDAI – The Miyagi Prefectural Assembly has adopted a petition seeking the restart of the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.’s Onagawa nuclear plant in the prefecture.The petition was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the assembly on Thursday.
It is now highly likely that Miyagi Gov. Yoshihiro Murai will agree to resuming operation of the reactor at the nuclear plant, which straddles the city of Ishinomaki and the town of Onagawa, as the governor has said he plans to respect the will of the prefectural assembly. The municipal assemblies of Ishinomaki and Onagawa have already approved the reactor’s restart. At Thursday’s prefectural assembly meeting, the petition submitted by the commerce and industry association in Onagawa was approved by 35 members and rejected by 19 members. Meanwhile, a petition opposing the proposed restart, submitted by 53 organizations, including civic groups, in their joint names, was voted down, securing the support of only 19 members. After the meeting, Murai said, “This is the first time that an assembly of a tsunami-afflicted prefecture that hosts a nuclear power plant has approved a reactor restart. “I take the judgment seriously,” Murai added. Miyagi is one of the prefectures that were severely affected by the March 2011 tsunami. The governor plans to hear opinions on the proposed restart at a meeting of heads of municipalities in the prefecture in November, and make his judgment after having discussions with the mayors of Ishinomaki and Onagawa. |
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UK’s Conservative politicians want strong action on climate change
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Business Green 20th Oct 2020, The UK’s departure from the EU provides an opportunity to establish a “much
more” ambitious climate target for 2030 that aligns with its longer-term statutory goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, Conservative backbenchers have told the government. In a letter sent this morning to Business Secretary Alok Sharma, dozens of Tory MPs urged the government to submit a strengthened climate goal – or nationally determined contribution (NDC), in the UN jargon – that follows the forthcoming recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), which is in December due to unveil its advice for meeting the UK’s emissions goals for the 2033-37 period, also known as the sixth carbon budget. Signatories to the letter include
former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers, former First Secretary of State Damian Green, and former Under Secretary of State for BEIS Lord Duncan. The UK government, meanwhile – which has not updated its UN Paris
Agreement climate pledges since adopting its 2050 net zero target last year – has said it plans to submit its enhanced, net zero-aligned NDC ahead of next year’s UN climate summit in Glasgow. And, in a bid to keep up pressure
on the government to ensure the UK’s plans are as ambitious as possible, 42 MPs and Lords in the Conservative Environment Network have signed today’s letter arguing the UK has a responsibility as host of the forthcoming COP26 climate conference to establish a world-leading national climate plan that sets an example to other member states and raises collective international ambition. |
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Many 1000s sick in USA, but government spending priority is $billions, $trillions – for nuclear missiles!
Pentagon estimates cost of new nuclear missiles at $95.8B
By ROBERT BURNS, 29 Oct 20,
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has raised to $95.8 billion the estimated cost of fielding a new fleet of land-based nuclear missiles to replace the Minuteman 3 arsenal that has operated continuously for 50 years, officials said Monday. The estimate is up about $10 billion from four years ago. The weapons, known as intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, are intended as part of a near-total replacement of the American nuclear force over the next few decades at a total cost of more than $1.2 trillion. Some, including former Defense Secretary William J. Perry, argue that U.S. national security can be ensured without ICBMs, but the Pentagon says they are vital to deterring war. The Trump administration affirmed its commitment to fielding a new generation of ICBMs in a 2018 review of nuclear policy……… The current fleet of 400 deployed Minuteman missiles, each armed with a single nuclear warhead, is based in underground silos in Montana, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Their numbers are governed in part by the 2010 New START treaty with Russia, which is due to expire in February. Russia wants to extend the treaty but the Trump administration has set conditions not accepted by Moscow. The U.S. also is building a new fleet of ballistic missile submarines to replace the current Ohio-class strategic subs; a new long-range nuclear-capable bomber to replace the B-2 stealth aircraft; a next-generation air-launched nuclear cruise missile; and a new nuclear command and communications system. It also is working on updated warheads, including an ICBM warhead replacement for an estimated $14.8 billion…….. Last month the Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $13.3 billion contract for engineering and manufacturing development of the new missiles. The total “lifecycle” cost, including operating and sustaining the missiles over their expected lifetime into the 2070s, is set at $263.9 billion. https://apnews.com/article/politics-e4b80421be5dba5c5f5a162e55ac0d94 |
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Ask pro-HB 6 lawmakers seeking reelection what they plan to do about the nuclear bailout bill
Ask pro-HB 6 lawmakers seeking reelection what they plan to do about the nuclear
bailout bill https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2020/10/ask-pro-hb-6-lawmakers-seeking-reelection-what-they-plan-to-do-about-the-nuclear-bailout-bill.html Oct 18, 2020, By Thomas Suddes, cleveland.com
House Bill 6, which Ohio’s House and Senate passed last year, requires Ohio’s electricity consumers to bail out two nuclear power plants formerly owned by FirstEnergy Corp. – Perry, in Lake County, and Davis-Besse, in Ottawa County.
HB 6 also requires electricity customers to subsidize two coal-burning power plants, one of them in Indiana. Evidently, our General Assembly has solved all Ohio’s problems and now has the time, not to mention the wisdom, to address an Indiana problem.
True, Ohio’s House and Senate usually favor utilities over consumers. That’s not news. But this was: In July, a federal grand jury indicted then-House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican from Perry County’s Glenford, and four other Statehouse figures because of an alleged racketeering conspiracy, “involving approximately $60 million,” to pass HB 6 – “a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout.” (Householder and the others are presumed innocent unless convicted.)
Oh yes, the Senate will consider repealing HB 6 – but only after the House repeals it. There’s no reason why the Senate (led by President Larry Obhof, a Medina Republican who voted “yes” on HB 6) can’t repeal HB 6 before the House does. Maybe the real reason is that GOP senators think the House will never repeal it.
About all that Ohio electricity consumers can do is ask those members of the General Assembly who voted “yes” on House Bill 6 whether they will now vote to repeal it.
These Greater Cleveland House members also voted “yes” on HB 6 and are asking voters to reelect them: Republican Reps. Thomas F. Patton, of Strongsville; Jamie Callender, of Concord Township (HB 6′s co-sponsor); Diane V. Grendell, of Chesterland (whose district includes parts of Geauga and Portage counties); Darrell Kick, of Loudonville (whose district includes Ashland County and part of Medina County); Scott Oelslager, of North Canton; Bill Roemer, of Richfield; Dick Stein of Norwalk (whose district includes part of Lorain County); and Scott Wiggam, of Wooster.
Even if legislators run unopposed, they’re still answerable to residents of their districts.
If HB 6 is such great legislation, why did it only attract 51 “yes” votes in the 99-member House – just one more “yes” vote than the 50-vote constitutional minimum?
And why did 15 of the House’s 61 Republicans – one in four – vote “no” on HB 6 even though then-GOP leader Householder wanted it passed?
Finally: Why would anybody allegedly spend $60 million in dark money to pass a bill that’s supposed to be such a great deal for Ohio electricity consumers – unless it isn’t?
French nuclear company EDF disdains the Suffolk community with its cavalier change of plans
Stop Sizewell C (Instagram) 16th Oct 2020, This morning the East Anglian Daily Times published a story about EDFwanting to change its Sizewell C proposals, and plans to hold a new 30-day
consultation. This has generated much confusion and outrage – but having
spoken to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) we have a little more
information about what this means.
looks like a 30-day consultation could be held from 16 November until 15
December during which we would be expected to send feedback to EDF.
Authority, which would then decide whether to accept these revised
proposals for examination. Whether new Relevant Representations would have
to be made, or whether the Examining Authority would decide the examination
timetable based on the ones already sent, is not totally clear to us.
cavalier treatment of people. Since it is not credible that EDF has only
just come up with these changes since 30 September (when Councils and MPs
expressed such strong concerns), EDF should have told us before 30
September that changes were coming, paused the process in order to conduct
their consultations, and then restarted it, so that everyone could make
their Relevant Representations based on up to date information.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaTm8TJ6Fw/?igshid=101p11ihmpbc2
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ReplyForward
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Sizewell nuclear project: EDF messes Suffolk communities about, with yet another public consultation, after 1200 responses already
C plans which have been submitted just days after more than 1,200
respondents gave their views on the project.
– and a 30-day public consultation is to take place next month.
materials for the massive project, with an increase in trains and
alterations to the proposed beach landing facility. It was only a few days
ago that the opportunity to comment on the project closed and the Planning
Inspectorate is still verifying each of the 1,287 submissions from people,
businesses, councils and agencies.
that people are likely now to be asked all over again to submit comments on
EDF’s revised proposals. Stop Sizewell C said it could not believe EDF
had only just realised after years of consultation that Suffolk people
didn’t want a road-led transport strategy for delivery of construction
materials that would put 1,000 HGVs on the roads.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sizewell-c-changes-provoke-frustration-from-campaigners-1-6887930
France’s nuclear company EDF promises a new design pressurised water nuclear reactor (EPR)
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EDF plans to announce new EPR nuclear reactor by mid-2021By Reuters Staff https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edf-nuclear-idUSKBN2701B8, PARIS (Reuters) 18 Oct 20, – EDF EDF.PA aims to unveil a new, cheaper-to-build version of its EPR nuclear reactor by mid-2021, the French power company said on Thursday. EDF has faced costly delays in the construction of some plants, including its Flamanville 3 nuclear project in France which is more than a decade behind schedule. The French state last year called on the company to improve its record. EDF, which is majority-owned by the government, said in a presentation that next generation EPR reactors would benefit from a reduction in necessary preparatory studies. The group said it was also planning on bringing in new oversight measures for its major projects, after a government audit last year highlighted planning deficiencies and poor coordination at some sites. EDF added in its presentation that it would introduce more of a results-driven relationship with suppliers. The government has put off a decision on whether or not to build new nuclear reactors until after the Flamanville 3 project is operating, which is now expected at the end of 2022. Other EDF projects include the planned Sizewell C nuclear plant in eastern England. EDF is already building Britain’s first new nuclear plant in more than two decades, Hinkley Point C, with backing from China’s CGN. Reporting by Benjamin Mallet, writing by Sarah White; editing by Jason Neely |
Ohio lawmakers likely to repeal the tainted nuclear bailout law, after November 3
Gov. DeWine Expects Bill to Repeal Bailout of Nuclear Power Plants to Come During Lame Duck Session, WKSU, The Statehouse News Bureau | By Jo Ingles, October 13, 2020 It’s been nearly three months since former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others connected to him were arrested on federal charges of wrongdoing associated with an energy bill signed into law last year. Gov. DeWine has said he wants that law, HB 6, repealed. But that hasn’t happened yet.The law took effect last year, and there are court challenges over the charges that ratepayers will see on their bills starting in January. And though legislation to repeal the bailout has been stymied in the Ohio Legislature so far, DeWine says he thinks Ohio lawmakers will pass the bill after the Nov. 3 election.
“We’ve certainly talked about this, about the importance of it passing and that it needs to pass. I get the impression that the lame duck session will be an interesting session, and I hope very productive,” DeWine sais. ….https://www.wksu.org/government-politics/2020-10-13/gov-dewine-expects-bill-to-repeal-bailout-of-nuclear-power-plants-to-come-during-lame-duck-session |
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800-meter-long seawall being constructed, as Japan plans to reopen damaged Onagawa nuclear complex
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Japan’s damaged nuclear reactor set to reopen https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/japan-s-damaged-nuclear-reactor-set-to-reopen/2005798, Quake-hit Onagawa nuclear complex awaits final approval by Miyagi provincial officials, Riyaz ul Khaliq |14.10.2020 ANKARAJapan’s nuclear reactor hit by a 2011 earthquake in the northeastern Miyagi province will resume operations by the end of this year, according to officials, the local media reported on Wednesday.
Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai will formally announce his consent to restart the nuclear reactors at Onagawa complex by the end of the year, the Kyodo News agency said. Early this year, the 825,000-kilowatt reactor, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company, won the approval of the country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority. All the three reactors were shut down when the massive quake and a 13-meter tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, flooding the underground floors of the No. 2 unit. Nearly 10,000 people lost their lives while over 4,000 others are still missing. Onagawa nuclear reactor is the second such disaster-ravaged complex, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, to pass stricter nuclear safety standards. The world has witnessed the worst nuclear disaster in 1986 at Chernobyl in today’s Ukraine. Unlike the Fukushima Daiichi plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, the Onagawa plant’s emergency cooling system did not fail and underwent no meltdown after hit by the earthquake and tsunami. To restart the Onagawa nuclear reactors, the consent of local government leaders is the last remaining step needed after it cleared a national safety screening in February. Tohoku aims to restart the No. 2 unit of Onagawa nuclear complex in 2022 at the earliest. Currently, a 800-meter-long seawall at the plant is under construction. The operator has already decided to scrap unit No. 1. Murai would be the first governor of a disaster-hit province to allow resumption of a damaged nuclear reactor’s operations. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear crises in Japan’s Fukushima province which caused all of Japan’s 54 reactors to halt. However, since then, nine units at five plants of the country have restarted following regulatory and local approvals. “When the plenary session [of the local assembly] shows its stance, I will make a decision upon hearing the opinions of mayors of cities, towns, and villages within the prefecture,” Murai said. |
USA starts off $3.2 billion subsidy program with $80 million each for “next generation” nuclear reactors
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US DOE awards TerraPower, X-energy $80 million each for advanced nuclear reactors, S and P Global , Joniel Cha William Freebairn , EditorDerek Sands 14 Oct 20, Washington — The US Department of Energy has awarded two companies proposing next-generation nuclear reactors $80 million each in an initial award as part of a $3.2 billion program to build two advanced reactors that can be operational within seven years, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said Oct. 13.
One award went to a group including TerraPower, a company co-founded by billionaire Bill Gates, working with a General Electric and Hitachi joint venture, while the other is X-energy, a start-up that is advancing a reactor design originally developed in Germany. The awards are part of DOE’s Advanced Nuclear Reactor Demonstration Program, and future funding is dependent on appropriations, Brouillette said. Regarding advanced reactors, which generally use a different coolant than all operating commercial reactors in the US, “We want to make them more affordable to build, and we want to make them more affordable to operate,” Brouillette said. Brouillette said “it is likely” the advanced reactors will be built in Washington state, where he said a site is available. The key criteria to select applicants included that the reactor design represent a truly advanced technology dissimilar from existing reactors, Brouillette said. A second key factor was DOE’s assessment that the management team of the winning groups be able to supply the required 50-50 match in resources and deliver the projects within seven years, he said. TerraPower partnered with GE Hitachi, engineering and construction company Bechtel, and utilities Energy Northwest, Duke Energy and Pacificorp for its Natrium sodium fast reactor. The system will be supported by a new fuel fabrication facility to supply fuel for the unit, DOE said in a statement Oct. 13. That Natrium reactor and storage system is a 345-MW net reactor system coupled with a molten-salt-based energy storage system that will provide greater operating flexibility for owners, the companies have said. The Natrium system is designed to cost under $1 billion excluding financing costs. …… Congress appropriated $230 million to start a new demonstration program for advanced reactors in the fiscal 2020 budget. DOE said in May it would award $80 million each to two projects that could be operational in the next five to seven years. Additional funding was to be made available to up to five additional projects with anticipated deployment later than the near-term time frame. The other funding awards will be made in December, DOE said in the statement. https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/101320-us-doe-awards-terrapower-x-energy-80-million-each-for-advanced-nuclear-reactors X-energy is developing an 80-MW high temperature gas-cooled reactor, the Xe-100, which has begun a vendor design review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It is working with Canadian engineering company Hatch on potential Canadian projects to deploy the Xe-100. The X-energy proposal includes four Xe-100 reactors and completion of a commercial-scale fuel fabrication facility. |
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UK: consultation with 2300 people about radioactive waste dump – only 13 people supported it.
Northern Echo 13th Oct 2020, THOUSANDS of people have written to the Environment Agency over concerns that plans to dump radioactive waste in Teesside will pose a risk to
communities. An application has been made by Augean North Ltd for a low
level radioactive waste permit at their existing Port Clarence site,
between Stockton and Billingham.
The Environment Agency, which held a
consultation which ended in January, published its report yesterday. About
2,300 people took part in the four-month exercise, with only 13 supporting
the application.
The Environment Agency is now considering these in
determining whether to grant the permit, taking into account information
submitted by Augean North. The operator has been asked to provide further
information, with a decision expected to be made by the end of January
2021.
Members of the public, as well members of Stockton on Tees Borough
Council and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council commented on the
socioeconomic impact and the general impact on the area, as well as the
potential impact on regeneration plans. Last year, Tees Valley Mayor Ben
Houchen criticised the plans, which he said were against the interests of
those living in surrounding areas. The report can be viewed by visiting
consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/north-east/port-clarence-landfill-permit-application
.S. govt funds small nuclear reactors, with $billions more tax-payer money to follow
DOE Awards $160M to TerraPower and X-Energy to Build Advanced Nuclear Plants by 2027, Greentech Media, 14 Oct 20 The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $160 million to X-energy and TerraPower with the potential for billions more in federal funding, as the companies strive to build a working model of their smaller scale, more flexible advanced nuclear reactor designs by 2027. TerraPower is partnered with the GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, a nuclear industry joint venture formed in 2007.
DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program will provide $80 million to each award winner, DOE Secretary Dan Brouillette said Tuesday. DOE intends to invest about $3.2 billion over the next seven years into advanced nuclear, subject to future congressional appropriations, he said………
Smaller reactors are critical to rejuvenate an industry that’s struggling to finance and build the massive, gigawatt-plus power plants that make up the world’s existing nuclear fleet. In the U.S., several of these have been canceled, and Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle expansion is behind schedule and over budget.
Meanwhile, existing reactors in Pennsylvania and Illinois are facing the threat of closure due to challenging energy market economics, and California’s sole remaining nuclear reactor is set to close by mid-decade…………
TerraPower’s initial plans for what it calls a traveling wave reactor drew investment from Gates and Sun Microsystems billionaire Vinod Khosla with its promise of using depleted uranium rather than enriched uranium-235. But that project was abandoned last year after the Trump administration imposed limits on U.S.-China technology transfer forced it to cancel its partnership with China National Nuclear Corp. ……..
X-energy’s advanced pebble-bed reactor…… has yet to be proven in commercial form. A 15 MW demonstration reactor in Germany operated for two decades, but a second, larger-scale version was shut down after only four years of operation. China has built a 10 MW demonstration reactor, and a 250 MW unit began construction in 2012, but plans to start operations in 2019 have been pushed back, with no new completion date announced. ……
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