Ruptured pipeline leaks radioactive water from old uranium mill
Pipeline blamed for spill at former uranium plant in Colorado http://trib.com/business/energy/pipeline-blamed-for-spill-at-former-uranium-plant-in-colorado/article_de1c924f-92ae-5df5-b0d8-e5be8d2282da.html By the Associated Press, 25 Nov 13, CANON CITY, Colo. — A pipeline rupture led to a spill of an estimated 4,000 to 9,000 gallons of contaminated water spilled at a former uranium mill near Canon City, but an on-site collection system contained the spill, officials told residents.
A joint on the underground pipeline broke Nov. 5, unleashing the spill at the defunct Cotter Corp. mill, Jennifer Opila, a radioactive materials monitor for the state health department, told the Thursday meeting. The pipe was repaired and operable by Nov. 6, Opila said.
Cotter safety officer Jim Cain said between 4,000 and 9,000 gallons of water spilled. A sample showed traces of uranium and molybdenum were found, Cain said.
John Hamrick, vice president of Cotter Mill operations, said there have been three leaks “in three different years, all for different reasons.”
Cotter once processed uranium for weapons and fuel at the mill. Federal authorities placed the mill on a national list for Superfund cleanups in the 1980s after radioactive materials traced to the mill were found to have contaminated the soil and groundwater. Part of the neighboring Lincoln Park community also is a Superfund site.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eventually turned oversight of cleanup work to state officials.
Uranium hasn’t been processed at the mill since 2006. The state requires mill sites that are being decommissioned to be thoroughly cleaned up and restored at the operator’s expense. It’s expected to be a multimillion-dollar effort.
Nuclear reactor shut down by clogging seaweed
Seaweed shuts down Scottish nuclear reactor Seawater cooling system of Torness in East Lothian has become clogged with seaweed for the second time this year Rob Edwards theguardian.com, Friday 22 November 2013 A nuclear reactor near Edinburgh shut down on Thursday because its seawater cooling system became clogged with seaweed. This is the second time this year that reactors at Torness in East Lothianhave been forced to close because of excessive seaweed. In 2011 it was closed by a swarm of jellyfish. Continue reading
Stolen uranium seized in Durban
Durban uranium stash sparks nuclear alert 2013-11-19 Rowan Philip and Jonathan Erasmus, The Witness Durban – A shopping bag filled with stolen uranium has been seized in a sting operation in Durban, triggering alarm among local and international nuclear watchdog agencies.
The kilogram of the radioactive material confiscated is believed to be a mere sample from a much larger batch, for which police are now hunting.
In a joint operation involving the Durban organised crime unit, crime intelligence and the department of minerals and energy, two men were arrested in their car opposite a shopping centre on the Bluff, following an informant’s tip-off…..
Cotter uranium mill -closed, but still spilling radioactive water
Defunct Cañon City uranium mill discharges tainted water The Gazette, The Associated Press November 13, 2013 CANON CITY — A ruptured underground pipe discharged contaminated water from the defunct Cotter Corp. uranium mill near Cañon City.
The Denver Post reports that the contaminated water spill is the third in the last four years (http://bit.ly/HLG5jd).
The spill was reported Nov. 5. It was five to 10 times larger than previous discharges.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment says the company reported 4,000 to 9,000 gallons of water tainted with uranium and molybdenum spilled onto the ground…… http://gazette.com/defunct-caon-city-uranium-mill-discharges-tainted-water/article/1509264
Oconee Nuclear Station – one reactor shut down
1 reactor shut down at Oconee Nuclear Station The Tribune, : October 25, 2013 By JEFFREY COLLINS — Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Oconee Nuclear Station near Seneca had to shut down one of its three reactors after a problem in the water system that helps generate electricity, federal regulators said.
Unit 3 at the plant was manually shut down by Duke Energy around 6 a.m. Thursday, about four minutes after the problem was detected, Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Roger Hannah said.
A control valve in the plant’s water system started causing changes in the flow of water that generates steam to turn the turbines and create power. Engineers shut down the reactor before it was automatically turned off, and there was no danger to the public, Hannah said……. The shutdown did come in the same month the Government Accountability Office released a report about nuclear plant safety. Since 2000, the Oconee Nuclear Station reported the most safety violations of any nuclear plant in the Southeast.
The plant reported 163 lower-level violations and 14 higher-level violations. Lower-level violations pose very low risk, such as improper upkeep of a transformer, while higher-level violations range in significance, such as an electrical system that caused a fire…….. The Browns Ferry plant in Decatur, Ala., reported 135 lower-level violations and six higher-level violations, while the Palo Verde plant in Wintersburg, Ariz., reported 299 lower-level violations and five higher-level violations since 2000. http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2013/10/25/2749832/1-reactor-shut-down-at-oconee.html
2 holes leaked radioactive water from bottom of Fukushima tank
[Photo] 2 holes found in the bottom of 300m3 leakage tank / Entirely deteriorated http://fukushima-diary.com/2013/10/photo-2-holes-found-in-the-bottom-of-300m3-leakage-tank-entirely-deteriorated/ by Mochizuki on October 8th, 2013
Tepco has been dismantling the tank since yesterday that experienced the 300m3 of leakage. The structural flaw may cause other tanks of the same type to leak commonly. Tepco is investigating the potential leaking points.
From their inspection, they found 2 holes around the bolt parts, which are 3mm × 11mm and 3mm × 22mm.
The flange parts were rusting inside and outside. The bottom parts of the tank were found severely deteriorated.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2013/images/handouts_131008_03-j.pdf
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2013/201310-j/131008-01j.html
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PHOTOS: broken support braces on 400-foot tower near Fukushima reactors
New report shows support braces completely severed on 400-foot tower near Fukushima reactors (PHOTOS) http://enenews.com/new-report-shows-support-braces-completely-severed-on-400-foot-tower-near-fukushima-reactors-photos
Title: (Systran Translation) Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant — Safety appraisal for the component damage of the machine chimney
Source: Tepco
Date: Oct. 7, 2013
h/t Fukushima Diary
Radiation exposure to 6 Fukushima workers following pipe incident
6 Fukushima workers exposed to radiation after pipe incident Rt.com October 09, 2013 Six people working at the site of crippled Fukushima power plant have been exposed to radiation after one of them mistakenly removed a pipe connected to a contaminated water treatment system. It’s the second incident at Fukushima in three days.
The accidental pipe detachment on Wednesday resulted in the leak of several tons of water, which Fukushima operator TEPCO uses to cool the reactors. ……http://rt.com/news/fukushima-leak-radiation-workers-919/
Iran prevents latest nuclear sabotage plan
Iran foils nuclear plant sabotage plot http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=912635 Sunday October 6, 2013 Iran has arrested four people suspected of attempting to sabotage one of its nuclear plants, Atomic Energy Organisation chief Ali Akbar Salehi says. ‘Some time ago, we uncovered sabotage activities by several people at a nuclear plant,’ Salehi said in comments carried by the Mehr news agency on Sunday.
‘We let them continue their activities so that we could gather more intelligence. ‘We arrested them at the appropriate moment and their interrogation is ongoing.’ Salehi did not specify which of Iran’s nuclear plants was targeted.
In August last year, saboteurs blew up power lines supplying Iran’s underground uranium enrichment plant at Fardo outside the central city of Qom.
In 2010, a US cyber-attack, reportedly carried out in collaboration with Israel, hit Iran’s nuclear facilities. The Stuxnet virus was tailored specifically to target uranium enrichment facilities. ‘There are still viruses out there but we have taken the necessary measures,’ Salehi said.
‘Since we uncovered the Stuxnet virus, we have reinforced our protection systems and a special unit has been set up.’ In recent years, Iran has detained a number of alleged US or Israeli agents accused of spying on, or attempting to sabotage, its nuclear program. Several Iranian nuclear engineers have also been killed in what Tehran says were assassinations by foreign intelligence services.
Nuclear chief involved in illegal gambling?
American nuclear chief investigated over casino cheating Navy Vice Admiral Timothy Giardina is accused of using counterfeit poker chips at an Iowa casino The Independent TIM WALKER SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2013 Apparently, the US military would prefer the officers in charge of its nukes not be the gambling sort. Over the weekend it emerged that Navy Vice Admiral Timothy Giardina, the second-in-command of the US nuclear arsenal, is the subject of an illegal gambling investigation into the use of counterfeit poker chips at an Iowa casino. Admiral Giardina, who has not been arrested or charged, was suspended from his duties on 3 September, officials said on Saturday…….
5 drums of radioactive trash fell off a truck at Hanford
In brief: Hanford drums fall from flatbed truck Spokesman Review, 24 Sept 13 RICHLAND – A Department of Energy contractor said five drums holding low-level radioactive waste fell off a flatbed truck in the center of Hanford on Monday but no contaminated material was released.
The drums were among 74 on the truck that were being shipped from a treatment facility at Hanford to a nearby plant, the Tri-City Herald reported.CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. said the truck was in an area where the public is not allowed. It stopped at a railroad crossing and the drums fell off. Radiological surveys showed that none of the drums broke.
The company was working Monday to determine what caused the drums to fall.
The treatment facility receives contaminated wastewater from Hanford activities, and the material in the drums was solid waste left from the water treatment. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/sep/24/in-brief-hanford-drums-fall-from-flatbed-truck/
What if USA’s nuclear bombs dropped in North Carolina HAD detonated?
The Potential Nuclear Fallout in North Carolina, Mapped Atlantic Wire CONNOR SIMPSON 21 Sept 13 You’ve probably heard by now that the U.S. military nearly committed the biggest “oopsie daisy!” in history when they accidentally dropped two nuclear bombs near Goldsboro, North Carolina. But what if they did? Thankfully they didn’t detonate, but let’s imagine, just for a split second, that they did. This isn’t you typical Saturday morning exercise. There’s a certain macabre aspect to it investigation that can be hard to get over. Thousands of people would be dead, but it’s hard not to be at least a little curious to know how much of the U.S. would have been affected had the bombs gone off………
it would have been bad.
How bad, you ask? Well, by using the handy NukeMap3D created by Alex Wellerstein, we can determine how much destruction would have followed at least one atomic bomb dropping in North Carolina. The blast could have reached, with the wind blowing in the right direction, as far up the coast as New York City. Philadelphia and Washington would likely have been affected. This map is calculated with a 15 mile an hour wind and 100 percent fission:
That’s a lot of the east coast. The fallout would likely not fall in such a straight line. And depending on the weather, could bend in many directions and possibly stretch even further. This is all speculative, of course. Most importantly, thankfully, the bombs never detonated in real life.
We know about this ultimate close call thanks to investigate journalist Eric Schlosser. He unearthed this declassified document that details the incident in question through a Freedom of Information Act request while researching his new book, Command and Control, about the nuclear arms race. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/09/potential-nuclear-fallout-north-carolina-mapped/69701/
Radioactive water sprayed out on Fukushima workers, from tank leak
Fukushima Worker: People showered with highly radioactive water at plant — Leaking tanks spraying out contamination http://enenews.com/fukushima-worker-people-showered-highly-radioactive-water-plant-leaking-tanks-spraying-contamination
Title: People working at, living near Fukushima plant say Abe is in the dark
Source: Asahi Shimbun
Authors: Takuro Negishi and Shinichi Fujiwara
Date: September 20, 2013
[…] one man who has helped assemble the tanks from which contaminated water has leaked said, “I wonder if [Prime Minister Shinzo abe] is using words like ‘blocked’ and ‘control’ after really understanding what is going on at the site.”
The man recalls that one day he saw contaminated water spraying out of a tank. An employee of an affiliated company to TEPCO wore a raincoat over protective clothing to tighten a bolt on the tank, even as he was being showered with leaking water.
The man witnessed a similar scene on another day. However, TEPCO made no announcement about the two incidents.
“The affiliated company probably did not want to get on the bad side of TEPCO, so it stopped the leak and concealed the defect in the tank,” the man said. […]
Again, cracks found at Davis-Besse nuclear power plant
More cracks found at Davis-Besse nuclear plant NRC says they pose no threat Columbus Despatch September 22, 2013 TOLEDO (AP) — The operator of an Ohio nuclear plant along Lake Erie has found several more cracks in the concrete building housing the nuclear reactor and says some cracks found earlier have grown a bit…….http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/09/22/more-cracks-found-at-plant.html
Fukushima rocked by earthquake
Earthquake rocks Japan’s Fukushima http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=907741 20 Sept 13, A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has rocked Japan’s Fukushima prefecture.
The epicentre of the earthquake was 22km below the ground, according to the US Geological Survey.
It struck 20km west of the city of Iwaki, bordering the Pacific Ocean, at 2.25am (3.25am AEST) on Friday.
The epicentre was about 50km southwest of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, which was crippled by the major quake and tsunami in March, 2011.
The Japan Meteorological Agency, which put the quake at magnitude 5.8, said no tsunami warning had been issued.
The tremor caused buildings to shake in the capital Tokyo, 175km away, an AFP reporter there said.
It came just hours after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toured the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, ordering its operator Tokyo Electric Power to fix radioactive water leaks there.
TEPCO said in a statement to Kyodo news agency that no abnormalities in radiation or equipment were observed at the plant after the quake.
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