nuclear-news

Nuclear plants in South Carolina and Virginia had “near misses”

Nuclear watchdog group says Duke Energy plant among 2011 “near misses” Observer.com  by johnmurawski on 02/28/2012   “……According to UCS, the situation at Duke Energy’s Oconee nuclear plant in South Carolina involved a glitch in the backup reactor core cooling system that would have rendered the system useless during an accident.

The backup system was installed in 1983 and the plant’s workers didn’t discover the problem until 2011.

Another plant mentioned in the UCS report was the North Anna plant in Virginia which lost offsite power after experiencing an earthquake which was more severe than the plant was designed for……” http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/nuclear-watchdog-group-says-duke-energy-plant-among-2011-near-misses

February 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Wear and tear problem on tubes carrying radioactive water

According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, more than a third of the wall had been worn away in two tubes at Unit 2, which will require them to be plugged and taken out of service. At least 20 percent of the tube wall was worn away in 69 other tubes, and in more than 800, the thinning was at least 10 percent.

Inspectors find ‘unusual’ wear on new tubes carrying radioactive water at Calif. nuclear plant  Washington Post, By Associated Press, : February 2 LOS ANGELES — Unusual wear has been found on hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water at Southern California’s San Onofre Unit 2 nuclear plant, raising questions about the integrity of equipment the company installed in a multimillion-dollar makeover in 2009.

The disclosure came two days after a tube leak at the plant’s other unit prompted operators to shut down the reactor as a precaution. The problems at Unit 2 were discovered during inspections of a steam generator, after the plant 45 miles north of San Diego was taken off-line for maintenance and refueling. The two huge steam generators at Unit 2, each containing 9,700 tubes, were replaced in fall 2009, and a year later in its twin plant, Unit 3, as part of a $670 million overhaul. Continue reading →

February 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

USA radioactive leaks from nuclear reactors

 the regulations in place for American facilities are actually more lax than one would expect.

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has repeatedly weakened safety requirements for facilities, regularly allowing antiquated plants to continue operating by making it easier to pass
tests in lieu of actually upgrading the facility.

California nuclear plant shut down over radioactive leaks, RT Question More,  01 February, 2012,  A leak at a Southern California nuclear facility that regularly provides power to roughly 1.4 million households has caused the plant to shut down a reactor.
Despite officials insisting that everything will be perfectly alright at the San Onofre nuclear site, this is not the first time as of late that power plants have raised serious questions about their safety in America. Continue reading →

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

Illinois nuclear reactor shut down

Reactor shuts down, releases steam at Illinois nuclear plant after losing outside power  Washington Post, Associated Press,   January 30 BYRON, Ill. — A nuclear reactor at a northern Illinois plant shut down Monday after losing power, and steam was being vented to reduce pressure, according to officials from Exelon Nuclear and federal regulators.

Unit 2 at Byron Generating Station shut down around 10:18 a.m., after losing power from an off-site source, Exelon officials said. Diesel generators began supplying power to the plant equipment and operators began releasing steam from the non-nuclear side of the plant to help
cool the reactor, officials said.

Even though the turbine is not turning to produce electricity, “you still need to cool the equipment.” said U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokeswoman Viktoria Mitlyng. Releasing steam helps “take away some of that energy still being produced by nuclear reaction but that doesn’t have anywhere to go now.”

The steam contains low levels of radioactive tritium, but the levels are safe for workers and the public, federal and plant officials said….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/reactor-shuts-down-releases-steam-at-illinois-nuclear-plant-after-losing-outside-power/2012/01/30/gIQALf13cQ_story.html

February 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear personnel asleep at Oak Ridge National Laboratory?

Vulnerable U.S. Nuclear Weapons Site Faces Allegations of Snoozing Security Guard Potential Pattern of Fatigue Among Wackenhut Nuclear Personnel
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) 25 Jan 12, By MIA STEINLE
The security contractor for the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee is investigating reports that one of its security guards was sleeping and had also been using an unauthorized cell phone while they were supposed to be guarding a sensitive nuclear facility with bomb-grade material.

Photos of the alleged incident were sent to Wackenhut Security Inc.’s (WSI) Oak Ridge unit, the Energy Department, and the Knoxville News Sentinel, which broke the story Tuesday.
The photos were allegedly taken inside Building 3019, which raises “the additional issue of who took photographs inside a high-security nuclear installation,” according to the News Sentinel. Building 3019 stores about a half-ton of uranium-233, which POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton said today in a statement is roughly the amount needed for 250 improvised nuclear detonations.

“Perhaps the most egregious part of all this is that the Energy Department is allowing Wackenhut to investigate the latest security lapse itself,” Stockton said. “This is too important to leave up to Wackenhut.” WSI is commonly known as Wackenhut. In 2002, the Florida company was acquired by a Danish corporation and is now officially known in the U.S. as G4S Secure Solutions.

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