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Months passed before nuclear plant’s fire was reported to regulators

Browns Ferry nuclear plant had a control room fire in January, regulators took months to notify public Al.com,  July 13, 2012,    By Brian Lawson, The Huntsville Times   HUNTSVILLE, Alabama –– TVA’s Browns Ferry nuclear plant  near Athens had a fire in one its control rooms in January, but public notice of the event was not issued until this week.
The roughly 10-minute fire in the Unit 3 control room was caused by an electrical component determined to be about 34 years old, some four times older than its recommended shelf life, according to a TVA incident report.
TVA’s report on the Jan. 26 fire was submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission  on March 26. An NRC spokesman said Friday he had no explanation why the report was not made public by the NRC until July 9.
The fire was reportedly caused by a failed power supply in a panel. It burned out some plant alarms and warning lights…..  Those problems should have alerted TVA, said David Lochbaum, a former Browns Ferry engineer and director of the nuclear safety program for the Washington, D.C.-based Union of Concerned Scientists. ….. TVA reported the Unit 3 capacitors all dated back to the original construction of the unit, 34 years ago.

Browns Ferry was the site of the worst nuclear plant fire  in U.S. history in 1975. A plant employee using a candle to look for air hose leaks accidentally ignited some sealing material, the fire resulted in operators having no control over the plant for about an hour. Browns Ferry officials didn’t notify Limestone County Emergency Management officials about the fire until the following day……

July 16, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Workers exposed to airborne uranium, due to pressurised yellowcake containers

Pressurized drums create yellowcake uranium hazard, NRC says By Todd Sperry, CNN Senior Producer July 11, 2012 – Washington (CNN) — After three Canadian employees were exposed to yellowcake uranium last month when a lid blew off a pressurized 55-gallon drum, a uranium mining company has informed U.S. nuclear regulatory officials it has found additional drums possibly susceptible to the same problem, CNN has learned..

.. The NRC and
Canadian nuclear officials are investigating drums shipped from a Willow Creek, Wyoming, mining facility operated by Uranium One to an Ontario processing plant where workers opened them, including the one that ejected the powder. The three employees were overcome by a cloud of yellowcake uranium that had unexpectedly become pressurized.
The worker closest to the drum and two others in the area, who were not wearing respirators, were exposed to airborne uranium, according to the NRC..

… Yellowcake is the byproduct of uranium ore that is mined, crushed and milled until concentrated. It is a key component in manufacturing uranium fuel for nuclear reactors.
NRC officials gave Uranium One until this week to identify whether any other drums had become pressurized during manufacture or shipment…… Other drums shipped to the Canadian facility containing yellowcake were found to be bulging from internal pressure, the NRC said.

July 12, 2012 Posted by | Canada, incidents, Uranium | Leave a comment

266 fires on UK’s nuclear submarines

 “Any one of these fires could have had catastrophic consequences and the frequency of these incidents raises the most serious safety concerns.”

Nuclear submarine fire figures revealed BBC News 9 July 12, There have been 266 fires on nuclear submarines in the past 25 years, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. The incidents included 74 on ballistic missile submarines. Three happened while the vessels were in naval bases; one of these was on a ballistic missile submarine. Continue reading →

July 9, 2012 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Workers exposed to radioactive uranium

Canadian workers exposed to yellowcake http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/canadian-workers-exposed-to-yellowcake/story-fn3dxix6-1226419628561  July 07, 2012  Three workers at a uranium processing plant in Canada were exposed to radioactive yellowcake when the lid blew off of a bulging container imported from the United States, US nuclear regulatory officials say. Continue reading →

July 7, 2012 Posted by | Canada, incidents, Uranium | Leave a comment

Radiation incident at Rawatbhata atomic power station in Rajasthan

Two suffer radioactive exposure at Rawatbhata atomic power station, The Hindu, 29 June 12,  Two workers of the Rawatbhata atomic power station in Rajasthan are under observation after they were found to have been exposed to radioactive tritium vapour beyond the permissible limit.

The incident took place on June 23 at Unit 5 when a modification work was on during a routine biennial shutdown…. A report on the NPCIL website said the incident occurred due to an “inadvertent” rise in tritium levels in a localised area of the containment building of
reactor-5. “The localised increase in the tritium [in turn] occurred due to the opening of the moderator cover gas line, where welding jobs were to be performed.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3585956.ece

June 30, 2012 Posted by | incidents, India | Leave a comment

Conflicting reports about French nationals held by rebels in Central African Republic

Bakouma lawmaker Alima Diarra said the rebels seized five French nationals and two locals. But there are conflicting reports over whether the seven were hostages……French authorities are talking with local authorities and Areva about what to do next.

Foreigners not held in Central African Republic, The Telegraph June 26, 2012  By HIPPOLYTE MARBOUA — Associated Press BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC — Authorities in the Central African Republic said that rebels had released the foreigners they were holding after attacking a French uranium exploration site, even though officials with the company in France denied that the expatriates had ever been kidnapped.

A military official in Bakouma, where the site is, said that a plane was sent to pick up five French nationals and two locals to take them to the capital, Bangui. Rebels on Sunday attacked the exploration site in Bakouma, operated by French company Areva. Continue reading →

June 27, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, incidents | Leave a comment

AREVA uranium site in Central Africa attacked by gunmen

Gunmen attack French uranium plant, Times Live, Sapa-AFP | 25 June, 2012 Gunmen have attacked a uranium plant operated by French nuclear power giant Areva at Bakouma in the southeast of the Central African Republic, army and French diplomatic sources said yesterday.

“A violent clash on Sunday afternoon pitted” Central African troops against “an unidentified group of armed men attempting to launch an assault on the site of mining company Areva,” a military statementsaid…. http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2012/06/25/gunmen-attack-french-uranium-plant

June 27, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, incidents | Leave a comment

Possible sabotage, police investigate explosives at Swedish nuclear power plant

Explosives found at nuclear plant, Herald Sun,  AP June 22, 2012 SWEDEN’S nuclear power plants were on alert after a truck with explosives was discovered at one plant. Sweden raised the security alert for the country’s three nuclear power plants after explosives were found on a truck at the southwestern Ringhals atomic power station. Police said they were investigating possible sabotage. Continue reading →

June 22, 2012 Posted by | incidents, Sweden | Leave a comment

Fire at Spanish nuclear power plant

Fire Shuts Nuclear Plant in Spain , WSJ,  By ILAN BRAT, 15 June 12, An electrical fire forced a shutdown of Spain’s Almaraz I nuclear plant, the country’s nuclear safety authority said Friday. One worker was injured in the fire in electrical equipment outside the building housing the reactor in western Spain.

The Nuclear Safety Council said the fire posed no threat for the general public or the environment…. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303822204577468610332293428.html

June 16, 2012 Posted by | incidents, Spain | Leave a comment

Radiation released right after Fukushima accident was much more than first estimated

Fukushima radiation higher than first estimated,  By Kevin Krolicki TOKYO    May 24 (Reuters) – The radiation released in the first days of the Fukushima nuclear disaster was almost 2-1/2 times the amount first estimated by Japanese safety regulators, the operator of the crippled plant said in a report released on Thursday. Continue reading →

May 26, 2012 Posted by | Fukushima 2012, incidents | Leave a comment

Another radioactive spill at Point Lepreau nuclear power plant

N.B. nuclear plant reports second spill in 6 months  The Canadian Press 24, 2012 LEPREAU, N.B. — About 300 litres of radioactive heavy water spilled during a test at a New Brunswick nuclear power plant, making it the second spill at the site in less than six months.

NB Power said in a statement that the water spilled Monday at the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant, Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear facility…… In December, four to six lit res of radioactive heavy water spilled because of a leak at the plant, which prompted an evacuation. ….

….Point Lepreau has been out of service since March 2008 for a major refurbishment that’s meant to extend the life of the reactor by 25 years.

The project is about three years behind schedule and $1 billion over
the original $1.4-billion budget.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20120524/nuclear-power-plant-spill-120524/#ixzz1vsdrt7z3

May 26, 2012 Posted by | Canada, incidents | Leave a comment

Theft of uranium 235

Moldova: 3 Sentenced in Nuclear Case http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/world/europe/moldova-3-sentenced-in-nuclear-case.html By REUTERS  May 24, 2012 A Moldovan court sentenced three people on Thursday for their part in illegal trafficking of uranium-235, which can be used in making nuclear weapons. The three were part of a five-member group seized by the police in June during what was said to be an exchange of a cylinder containing the radioactive material for cash. Intelligence services from several other countries, principally the United States, Germany and Ukraine, were involved in the case, the justice authorities in Moldova said.  According to the general prosecutor’s office, a Russian woman was sentenced to three years in prison, and her accomplice got five years. A third person was fined $1,200. The group had been trying to sell about two pounds of uranium-235 for $38 million, the prosecution said. It was not clear to what degree the uranium was enriched.

May 26, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, incidents | Leave a comment

Fire on nuclear submarine

Nuclear sub catches fire in Maine Naval shipyard By Ros Krasny BOSTON May 23, 2012   (Reuters) – Fire broke out on Wednesday evening on a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine docked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine, injuring four firefighters, officials said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, but the vessel’s nuclear reactor was not involved. There were no weapons aboard the sub, which is at the shipyard for system upgrades and maintenance.

The fire started in the “forward compartment” of the U.S.S. Miami, an attack submarine docked at the Kittery, Maine, shipyard shortly before 6 p.m. ET Firefighters were still battling the blaze after 10 p.m., with equipment brought in from as far away as Boston’s Logan International Airport, about 60 miles away…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/24/us-usa-submarine-fire-idUSBRE84N04I20120524

May 24, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant shut down because of jelly-fish like salps

Salps force California nuclear plant to shut down Lorianna De Giorgio Toronto Star 20 May 12, A swarm of jellyfish-like creatures called salps forced a California nuclear plant to shut down one of its reactors last month after the odd organisms clogged up the plant’s water intake system….

Salps usually live in the open ocean — far from shore. Unlike jellyfish, they don’t sting and aren’t poisonous. But a large influx of them can clog up cooling water intake systems,
which poses a threat to nuclear reactors, say experts…. The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo, Calif., temporarily shut down its unit-two reactor April 26 to May 1 because of a large number of salps in the surrounding water. The salps were getting caught in the plant’s travelling screens, clogging the intake structure where ocean water comes into cool the plant.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1179969–salps-force-california-nuclear-plant-to-shut-down

May 21, 2012 Posted by | incidents | Leave a comment

‘Thrill-seeking’ nuclear reactor operator hijacks car

Authorities: Nuclear engineer sought ‘thrill’ in DuPage hijacking Daily Herald,  5/11/2012   A man who operates reactors at a nuclear power plant was “thrill seeking” when he put on a mask and hijacked a woman’s car at gunpoint, DuPage County authorities said Friday. Continue reading →

May 13, 2012 Posted by | incidents | 1 Comment

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