Nuclear fission reactions are happening at Chernobyl again
Nuclear Fission Reactions Are Happening at Chernobyl Again
Scientists are scrambling to neutralize the threat. Popular Mechanics, BY CAROLINE DELBERT, MAY 10, 2021
- A melted amalgam of nuclear fuel at Chernobyl is beginning to react.
- The issue is rainwater, which has activated materials buried deep within the closed plant.
- The reaction could burn out naturally, but it could also require human intervention.
On April 26, 1986, Reactor No. 4 exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, causing the worst nuclear accident in history. Now, thirty-five years later, smoldering nuclear “embers” are still buried within Chernobyl site, raising questions about just what might happen there—and what’s at stake.
Ukrainian scientists recently realized that leftover nuclear fission fuel made of uranium has begun reacting again in an “inaccessible room” deep within a damaged area of the shuttered plant. The telltale sign is increased readings of neutron activity—a measurable byproduct of nuclear fission, according to the scientists from Institute for Safety Problems of Nuclear Power Plants (ISPNPP) in Kyiv, Ukraine, who held discussions about dismantling the reactor last month, according to Science magazine.
- Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is surrounded by a massive megastructure called Chernobyl New Safe Confinement (NSC). At NSC, there are hundreds of sensors working around the clock to monitor factors like air quality, and the sensors have detected increased neutron activity near the fallen reactor hall where the “embers” are.
- Some zones within the NSC are fully sealed off in their own sarcophagus-like structure called the Shelter—including the reactor hall where scientists have noticed the increasing neutrons. That means tough questions about what the best course of action is.Inside the reactor hall, everything is a dangerous mess.
- Science’s Richard Stone reports:
- “When [the] reactor’s core melted down, uranium fuel rods, their zirconium cladding, graphite control rods, and sand dumped on the core to try to extinguish the fire melted together into a lava. It flowed into the reactor hall’s basement rooms and hardened into formations called fuel-containing materials (FCMs), which are laden with about 170 tons of irradiated uranium—95 [percent] of the original fuel.”
It’s important to note that experts don’t fear a second Chernobyl disaster, as there isn’t enough viable material or surrounding collateral for that kind of threat or damage. But the right kind of small nuclear activity could bring down the Shelter itself, which is 34 years old and “rickety.”
Scientists believe rainwater leakage has caused similar higher neutron readings in the past, and they’ve since installed special chemical sprinklers that can stanch neutrons in most of the interior of the Shelter. But some basement rooms are just out of reach even for the sprinklers………. https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a36364988/chernobyl-nuclear-reactions/
20 tonne space rocket out of control, but luckily landed in the Indian Ocean, rather than on land.
Out-of-control Chinese rocket finally lands in Indian Ocean near the Maldives, https://www.9news.com.au/world/chinese-rocket-expected-to-crash-into-earth-this-weekend/4b39859c-cfc4-4f3c-b9e2-f294e1bb65f4 By CNNJoe Attanasio May 9, 2021 A large Chinese rocket that was orbiting earth out of control has finally made impact, landing in the Indian Ocean close to the Maldives and drawing sharp criticism from NASA.
According to China Manned Space Engineering Office, the rocket made impact about 12.24pm AEST, roughly two hours earlier than predicted.Most of the remnants of the vessel burned up during re-entry to earth’s atmosphere, officials said, putting to bed week-long fears over the potential damage the rocket could have caused if it struck land.What was left of the spacecraft landed at open sea, at 72.47 degrees east longitude and 2.65 degrees north latitude.The Long March 5B rocket, which was around 30 metres tall and weighed 20 tonnes, entered earth’s low orbit earlier this morning.
It travelled at more than 30,000 kilometres an hour, was more than 10 stories tall, and weighed roughly the same as a full garbage truck, causing many to raise concerns about the impact its landing could have hadThe rocket launched a piece of the new Chinese space station into orbit on April 29 but then was left to hurtle through space uncontrolled until Earth’s gravity began pulling it back to the ground.
That approach is a break with what officials call “best practice” compared with what other space agencies do.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticised China over the re-entry, saying spacefaring nations needed to minimise risk and maximise transparency in such situations.”It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris,” he said, in a statement.”It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities.”Despite recent efforts to better regulate and mitigate space debris, Earth’s orbit is littered with hundreds of thousands of pieces of uncontrolled junk, most of which are smaller than 10 centimetres.Objects are constantly falling out of orbit, though most of them burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere before they have a chance to make an impact on the surface.
Fire breaks out in port city near Iranian nuclear plant
A fire at the same port in 2020 damaged seven ships, . https://www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/05/08/fire-breaks-out-in-port-city-near-iranian-nuclear-plant.htmlBy PTI May 08, 2021 Just four weeks after a blackout hit Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, which the country attributed to Israel as an act of “nuclear terrorism”, a fire has broken out near the Bushehr Port, just 12km south of the country’s sole functioning nuclear plant.
Visuals of the blaze were shared on social media. According to local reports, it was located on a local naval base.
The fire raged overnight, following which another fire made headlines on the other side of the country, at a chemical plant in Qasvin.
World powers held the fourth round of high-level talks on Friday in Austria aimed at bringing the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran, with both sides signalling a willingness to work out the major stumbling blocks.
Pakistan expresses deep concern over the seizure of nuclear explosive material in India
Pakistan Expresses Deep Concern Over The Seizure Of Nuclear Explosive Material In India, https://eurasiantimes.com/pakistan-expresses-deep-concern-over-the-seizure-of-nuclear-explosive-material-in-india/ ByEurAsian Times DeskMay 8, 2021
Pakistan has expressed deep concern over the seizure of natural uranium in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Uranium is used in several areas, including nuclear explosives.
A tweet by Pakistan’s Foreign Office read – We have noted with serious concern reports about the seizure of more than 7 Kg natural uranium from unauthorized persons in India. Security of nuclear materials should be the top priority for all countries, and there is a need for a thorough investigation of the matter.
Earlier, Indian authorities seized around seven kilograms of natural uranium and arrested two people in Maharashtra (the capital of India’s financial hub – Mumbai) for “illegally possessing” the highly radioactive substance.
“We had received information that one person identified as Jigar Pandya was going to illegally sell pieces of Uranium substance, a trap was laid and he was arrested,” the Maharashtra police said. “Investigation into the case revealed that another person identified as Abu Tahir gave him these pieces of Uranium.”
The police said a huge quantity of substance was recovered when Tahir was apprehended.
The case was registered after a report from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai authenticated the seized material is highly radioactive. “A report was received that the substance is natural uranium. It’s highly radioactive and dangerous to human life,” the police said.
It is the second time in India that such a highly radioactive material has been seized by police in recent years. In 2016, police seized around nine kg of depleted uranium in the Thane area of Maharashtra.
A number of cases of unauthorized access have occurred at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant since January 2018
Another security breach at Tepco nuclear plant uncovered, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/05/09/national/tepco-nuclear-power-plant-security-breach/ A further case of unauthorized access at a nuclear power plant on the Sea of Japan coast run by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. occurred in 2015, it was revealed Sunday.
The operator of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has admitted to Kyodo News that a worker mistakenly used the identification card of his father, who was working at the same facility, in the morning of Aug. 21 of that year and was about to enter a protected area near its Nos. 6 and 7 reactors.
The utility, also known as Tepco, called local police after an alarm was set off at the reactor building’s gate, but the operator did not disclose the incident saying it was handled in accordance with nuclear safety rules.
A number of cases of unauthorized access have occurred at the plant since January 2018, with the country’s nuclear regulator last month effectively banning Tepco from restarting the plant until corrective actions are taken.
The cases included an incident in which an employee used a colleague’s ID last September to enter the central control room without authorization.
The 2015 incident indicates that Tepco’s security preparedness at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant was inadequate for many years.
The card used by the worker had a sticker only stating the surname and security checks at one of the gates, where identification is required before approaching the protected area, were insufficient, according to Tepco, also the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Radioactive leakage from nuclear waste containers near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
ECNS 30th April 2021, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan’s northeast said last week a container holding radioactive waste at the site of the plant may have leaked, Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported Friday last week. The TEPCO said some gel-like blocks with large amount of radiation were found last month at the site where the containers were kept, and the situation is under investigation, according to the newspaper. The containers have been stacked in three layers, and the top container has become rusted and corroded, causing liquid accumulation, said the company. The sides of the two lower containers have been contaminated with radioactive materials, and it is believed that the liquid leaking from the top container may have made its way to the ground through the containers below, according to the company. The relevant containers have been moved to an indoor storage facility. The concentration of radioactive materials that emit beta rays in the gel-like blocks was 230,000 becquerels per gram, according to the report. http://www.ecns.cn/m/news/society/2021-04-30/detail-ihakynqm6148318.shtml |
Feds: Underground nuclear waste tank at Hanford Nuclear Reservation may be leaking
Feds: Nuclear waste tank at Hanford Nuclear Reservation may be leaking, Statesman Journal NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, 30 Apr 21, Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — An underground nuclear waste storage tank in Washington state that dates to World War II appears to be leaking contaminated liquid into the ground, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday.
It’s the second tank believed to be leaking waste left from the production of plutonium for nuclear weapons at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The first was discovered in 2013. Many more of the 149 single-walled storage tanks at the site are suspected of leaking.
Tank B-109, the latest suspected of leaking, holds 123,000 gallons of radioactive waste. The giant tank was constructed during the Manhattan Project and received waste from Hanford operations between 1946 to 1976.
The Hanford site near Richland in the southeastern part of the state produced about two-thirds of the plutonium for the nation’s nuclear arsenal, including the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, and now is the most contaminated radioactive waste site in the nation.
A multi-billion dollar environmental cleanup has been underway for decades at the sprawling Hanford site.
The Washington state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were notified Thursday that the tank was likely leaking…….
The leak from Tank B-109 was first suspected in March 2019, when there appeared to be a small drop in the level of its liquid waste. Monthly checks showed the level stable until July 2020, when another drop was detected, and the DOE launched an investigation. https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2021/04/29/feds-nuclear-waste-tank-hanford-nuclear-reservation-may-leaking/7401579002/
Chernobyl disaster and the U.N. response – a global matter
‘Disasters know no borders’ says Guterres, 35 years on from Chernobyl nuclear accident, https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/04/1090602In his message for Chernobyl International Remembrance Day on Monday, the UN chief reminded that “disasters know no borders”.
A 20-second shut down of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986, created a surge that led to a chemical explosion, which released nearly 520 dangerous radionuclides into the atmosphere. As a result, large parts of the former Soviet Union were contaminated; territory which now lies within the borders of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, according to the UN.
Marking the 35th anniversary of the accident, Secretary-General António Guterres said that together, “we can work to prevent and contain [disasters]… support all those in need, and build a strong recovery”
Never forget
As one of the most serious nuclear accidents in history, nearly 8.4 million people in the three countries were exposed to radiation, according to the UN.
Some 350,000 were forced to leave their homes in severely contaminated areas, which left a deeply traumatic and lasting impact on their lives: “Their suffering must not be forgotten”, said the top UN official.
He also pointed to the anniversary as an occasion to recognize the recovery efforts led by the three governments as well as the work of “scientists who sifted through the evidence” to provide important analysis that has informed emergency planning and reduced risks.
A legacy of assistance
While the Organization had helped the people in the areas surrounding Chernobyl at the onset, four years after the accident the Soviet Government acknowledged the need for international assistance.
That same year, 1990, the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for “international cooperation to address and mitigate the consequences at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant”. This began the UN’s participation in the recovery effort.
And in 2019, a new safety casing over the old shelter was completed and given to the Government of Ukraine. It was achieved with €2.2 billion in donations from over 45 nations.
The UN said the milestone one of the largest ever seen projects in terms of international cooperation in the field of nuclear safety.
Working for ‘the common good’
UN country teams – working with civil society, international partners and donors – first supported emergency and humanitarian aid, then recovery and finally social and economic development, Mr. Guterres noted, adding that “our joint efforts have enjoyed some success”.
He cited that the number of small and medium-sized businesses operating in areas directly affected by the disaster has risen from 2,000 in 2002 to 37,000 today.
And thousands of residents, community leaders and doctors have been trained on health risks and promoting healthy lifestyles.
The Chernobyl disaster was contained by governments working with academics, civil society and others, “for the common good”, the UN chief said.
“It holds important lessons for today’s efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic”, he concluded.
Sri Lanka expels ship carrying nuclear material for China
Sri Lanka expels ship carrying nuclear material for China, Channel News Asia, 22 Apr 21, COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday (Apr 21) expelled an Antigua-registered ship that entered the island’s territory without declaring a radioactive cargo bound for China.
The country’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Council said the MV BBC Naples was asked to leave after it was found to be in the Chinese-run port of Hambantota on Tuesday night carrying uranium hexafluoride.
“The ship failed to declare its dangerous cargo – uranium hexafluoride – and we decided to order it to leave our waters immediately,” council director general Anil Ranjith told AFP.
The ship had come from Rotterdam but authorities did not say where in China it was headed.
Ranjith said it was an offence to enter a port without declaring the material, which is used to enrich uranium, the fuel for nuclear power stations and weapons.
Sri Lanka’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa demanded an investigation into the incident, describing it as a serious safety threat……
The entry of two Chinese submarines into Colombo in 2014 angered neighbouring India, the traditional regional power which is competing with Beijing for influence in the Indian Ocean.
Since then, Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarine visits. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/sri-lanka-expels-ship-carrying-nuclear-material-for-china-14666510
Iran has named a suspect for the recent attack on its nuclear facility.
Independent 17th April 2021, Iran has named a suspect it alleges is responsible for the attack on the
country’s nuclear facility in Natanz. The incident at the country’s
main uranium enrichment facility last week – which Tehran quickly blamed
on Israel – cast a shadow over vital ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at
salvaging the international deal intended to block Iran’s route to
creating a nuclear arsenal.
Accident at Iran’s Natanz nuclear station
Guardian 11th April 2021, A spokesman for Iran’s civilian nuclear programme said an “accident”
struck the electrical distribution grid of the Natanz nuclear facility, a
day after the government announced it was starting up new uranium
enrichment centrifuges.
Behrouz Kamalvandi announced the accident on
Sunday, saying there were no injuries and no pollution. A mysterious
explosion in July 2020 damaged Natanz’s advanced centrifuge facility,
with Iran later calling the incident sabotage. Iran had announced on
Saturday that it had started up advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges at
Natanz, in a breach of its undertakings under the 2015 nuclear deal, days
after the start of talks on rescuing the accord.
France24 11th April 2021
Iran says it has begun mechanical tests on its newest advanced nuclear
centrifuges, even as the five world powers that remain in a foundering 2015
nuclear deal with Iran attempt to bring the U.S. back into the agreement.
Independent 10th April 2021
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/iran-nuclear-centrifuge-us-talks-b1829564.html
Alarming safety lapse at Hunterston nuclear site
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Concerns over nuclear safety ‘lapse’ at Hunterston, The Ferret , Rob Edwards-March 22, 2021
The discovery of a highly radioactive nuclear fuel element at Hunterston in North Ayrshire has sparked concerns about an “alarming safety lapse”. The site’s local stakeholder group says this is “something that should not have happened” and is demanding answers from nuclear safety regulators. Campaigners claim it’s a “dangerous situation”………. The UK Government company that runs the site promises the fuel element is “in a safe and controlled environment”. Its discovery was “completely expected” and more old fuel may be found, it says. A fuel element is a long, thin metallic tube containing pellets of uranium. When burnt — or irradiated – in a reactor, it produces dozens of different radioactive materials, including plutonium, and becomes intensely radioactive. Fuel elements burnt in the now defunct Hunterson A nuclear power station should have been sent to the Sellafield nuclear complex in Cumbria. There, they would have been processed and separated into low-level, medium-level and high-level radioactive waste, as well as plutonium. But on 3 March 2021 workers emptying an old storage vault at Hunterston discovered an entire 64-centimetre fuel element amongst other radioactive waste. The find was reported to the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and the local site stakeholder group. Hunterston A was a first generation Magnox nuclear station with two reactors that operated from 1964 to 1990 and is currently being decommissioned. It is on the Firth of Clyde adjacent to the Hunterston B nuclear station, whose two reactors are due to close down by January 2022 after the discovery of hundreds of cracks in their graphite cores. The Hunterston site stakeholders group, which represents local community interests, said it had been informed of the find on 8 March. The fuel element was discovered in the last of five old vaults being emptied of medium-level radioactive waste, it said. “For a complete fuel rod to have found its way there, instead of into the cooling pond and on to Sellafield, is something, that should not have happened,” said a joint statement from the group’s chair, Rita Holmes, and vice-chair, Stuart McGhie. “We have contacted the Office of Nuclear Regulation and asked several questions. They have assured us that they will be in touch by the 13 April. Till then, one can only speculate.”………… The 50-strong group of UK nuclear-free authorities called for a full investigation. “This incident appears to be an alarming safety lapse that has not been resolved in the way it should have been,” said the group Scottish convenor, Glasgow SNP councillor, Feargal Dalton. “Highly radioactive spent fuel, containing the likes of plutonium, should not be dumped in a vault at Hunterston A, but rather be sent to Sellafield where the appropriate waste management processes are in place.” Dalton pointed out that The Ferret reported in 2020 that radioactive waste had been detected in a supposed empty fuel flask sent from Sellafield to the Hunterston B plant. “The Office for Nuclear Regulation needs to fully investigate this concerning safety breach,” he added. The Edinburgh based nuclear consultant and critic, Pete Roche, said: “This dangerous situation illustrates that, when it comes to dealing with nuclear waste, human error is always going to be a potential problem. “Thank goodness successive Scottish governments have decided to eschew building new reactors and make the most of our plentiful renewable resources instead. Dealing with our legacy nuclear waste is going to be difficult enough without creating yet more as the Westminster government is doing.”………… According to the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the fuel element was likely to date back many years and was classed as “higher activity waste”. ONR had also been notified of the find by Magnox……….. https://theferret.scot/concerns-nuclear-safety-lapse-hunterston/ |
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Serious security lapse at a Japanese nuclear plant
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Serious security lapse at nuclear plant in Niigata https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20210316_26/
Japanese nuclear regulators have assessed a security lapse at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture as being at the most serious level in terms of anti-terror measures. The Nuclear Regulation Authority was notified by the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, in January that a worker accidentally damaged sensor equipment for detecting intruders. On Tuesday, the result of an investigation of the plant was reported at an NRA closed-door meeting. The probe found that other sensor equipment may have remained broken since March of last year, making the plant vulnerable to intruders for months. The NRA revealed that TEPCO employees in charge of security did nothing despite knowing that alternative measures taken were ineffective. The NRA’s provisional assessment of the security lapse was that it was the most serious on a four-level scale of risks in safeguarding nuclear material. The authority members plan to consider punishment for the utility as soon as the assessment is finalized. Last September, another problem took place at the plant. An employee entered the plant’s central control room illegally, using another employee’s ID card. |
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Safety breaches at Sellafield have raised fears of a Chernobyl-style disaster.
Fears of Chernobyl-style disaster after 25 safety breaches at Sellafield nuclear plant There have been burst pipes, unstable chemicals, radiation leaks, a cooling tower failure and two plant evacuations in less two years at the site in Cumbria. Mirror John Siddle, 13 MAR 2021
Safety breaches at Sellafield have raised fears of a Chernobyl-style disaster.
Campaigners worry that incidents at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Cumbria could lead to a blast bigger than the 1986 Ukraine horror.
An official report logs 25 breaches in less than two years, including burst pipes, unstable chemicals, radiation leaks, a cooling tower failure and two plant evacuations.
The bomb squad was called in last August after chemicals “changed state”.
Janine Allis-Smith, of a local anti-nuke group, says campaigners “fear an explosion that would make Chernobyl look like a tea party”.
Sellafield – which now splits spent nuclear fuel into plutonium, uranium and waste – said incident reports were published to reassure the public….
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fears-chernobyl-style-disaster-after-23709599
Significant safety incident at EDF nuclear power plant in Flamanville
La Presse de la Manche 19th Feb 2021, The EDF power plant in Flamanville (Manche) declared, on Friday February 19, 2021, a level 1 event concerning the diesel of production unit n ° 1, still at a standstill. The management of the Flamanville 1-2 nuclear power plant (Manche) declared, on Friday February 19, 2021, a significant safety event at level 1 of the INES scale, with the Nuclear Safety Authority .
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