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UK: Nuclear site evacuated after chemical found 

August 15, 2020 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant poses threat to region 

Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant poses threat to region  AZERNEWS, 12 August 2020, By Akbar Mammadov

Armenia poses a threat to regional security not only through its military provocations and policy of occupation but also with its outdated Metsamor nuclear power plant (NPP), which experts consider to be dangerous.

“Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant, which is located in a seismic region, poses a threat to the region,” Azerbaijani Ambassador to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Galib Israfilov has said in an interview with the weekly edition of the Nuclear Intelligence Weekly of the energy company Energy Intelligence Group.

Israfilov said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not have mechanisms to address these concerns as Armenia is unwilling to consider these issues.)
……….. despite Metsamor NPP’s risk to the region, Armenia seeks to operate this nuclear plant until 2026. The Armenian government has agreed with Russian nuclear agency Rosatom to keep the plant running beyond its original closing date of 2016.

Experts have long been voicing concerns over Metsamor’s danger to the region.

Antonia Wenisch of the Austrian Institute of Applied Ecology in Vienna has called Metsamor ‘among the most dangerous’ nuclear plants still in operation, saying that a rupture ‘would almost certainly immediately and massively fail the confinement,’ in an article published at National Geographic.

“There is an open reactor building, a core with no water in it, and accident progression with no mitigation at all”.

“It is in the midst of a strong seismic zone that stretches in a broad swath from Turkey to the Arabian Sea near India,” the article said.

Polish politician and Member of the European Parliament Anna Fotyga also raised the questions about the possible threat of the nuclear power plant to the regional security in 2017

Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in Armenia is the last of its kind outside Russia that still uses an outdated model from the 1960s. The Soviet model of using a pressurised water reactor is often cited as the most dangerous kind of nuclear power plant, as it does not meet the minimum required safety standards. In addition, Metsamor is situated in an active earthquake zone just 30 km from Yerevan, and as such poses a potential threat to the Armenian capital and the whole South Caucasus region,” Fotyga said.

MEP Fotyga noted that smuggling of nuclear and radioactive materials from Armenia was observed, thus Georgia’s security services could prevent a number of such cases such as smuggling of highly enriched uranium.

Metsamor, which was built in 1969 during the USSR and now is the only VVER 440, Model 230, operating outside of Russia, is still functioning.

It should be noted that the Metsamor nuclear plant does not have any containment vessel. Its VVER-440 reactor lacks a shell that would contain radiation in the event of an accident.

he US government has called the NPP “ageing and dangerous, while the EU envoy had called Metsamor “a danger to the entire region”. Armenian expert on energy at the UNDP Ara Marjanyan told “BBC” that “the design of our VVR-type reactors is rather old. For instance, they do not have concrete containment domes to contain possible explosion debris.”

Five years ago, the Members of the EU Parliament Heidi Hautala and Ulrike Lunacek, who served as Vice President of the EUP as well, also questioned the threat and out-of-dated design of the Metsamor NPP in a parliament session and reminded that in 2012, the parliament adopted a resolution recommending the closure of the Metsamor plant before 2016. https://www.azernews.az/aggression/167884.html

August 15, 2020 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Flooding might have damaged Bort Korea’s nuclear reactor site

August 13, 2020 Posted by | climate change, North Korea, safety | Leave a comment

Fort Worth doesn’t need dangerous nuclear waste rolling through on Tarrant rail line

 

 

August 13, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear radiation and Chernobyl’s forest fires

Twenty-five years after the disaster, Zibtsev and others predicted that if the forests in the exclusion zone were completely consumed by fire, residents in Kyiv would face an increased risk of dying from cancer and government bans would need to be imposed on foods produced as far as 90 miles away. Although such a large and intense fire is currently unlikely, recent fires have been sizable enough to create similar problems. “If Chernobyl forests burn, contaminants will migrate outside the immediate area,” says Zibtsev. “We know that.”

This April’s fires, which scorched 23 percent of the exclusion zone, were the largest burns ever recorded in the area, nearly four and a half times the size of fires in 2015. Flames torched trees less than three miles from the ruined nuclear reactor, which is now enclosed by an arch-shaped steel shroud.

Forest Fires Are Setting Chernobyl’s Radiation Free   https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/08/chernobyl-fires/615067/  

Trees now cover most of the exclusion zone, and climate change is making them more likely to burn.   Story by Jane Braxton Little  10 Aug, 20 In the clear, calm, early hours of May 15, 2003, three miles west of the hulking ruins of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Vasyl Yoschenko was bustling around a stand of Scotch pines planted 30 years earlier. The trees were spindly and closely spaced, but he was skinny enough to move easily among them, taking samples of biomass and litter. Just beyond the trees, he tinkered with the horizontal plates he had placed on the ground in a diagonal grid and covered with superfine cloth designed to absorb whatever came their way.

Yoschenko had just finished adjusting his monitoring equipment in the mid-afternoon when the first gusts of smoke billowed from the far side of the pines. Firefighters were torching the edges of an area the approximate size and shape of a football field. Wearing respirators, camouflage pants, and khaki shirts, cloth bandannas covering their heads, the men were systematically setting the woods ablaze. Flames leapt five feet up trunks, racing to the tops of some trees and sending plumes of smoke aloft.
Yoschenko, a Ukrainian radioecologist, had planned the controlled burn to study how radioactive particulates would behave in a fire, and he knew about the risks represented by the nuclear contamination swirling overhead. He prudently scooted to the edge of the forest, donned a gas mask, and began taking photographs. Was it dangerous? Yoschenko shrugs: “Not so much. We were lucky the wind didn’t change direction.”

The forest burned intensely for 90 minutes, releasing cesium-137, strontium-90, and plutonium-238, -239, and -240 in blasts of smoke and heat. In just one hour, the firefighters—and Yoschenko—could have been exposed to more than triple the annual radiation limit for Chernobyl’s nuclear workers.

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August 11, 2020 Posted by | climate change, Reference, safety, Ukraine | 2 Comments

All too often the world has narrowly avoided World War 3, due to mistales

concentrating this power within a single individual is a big risk. “It’s happened a number of times that a president has been heavily drinking, or subject to medication he’s taking. He may be suffering from a psychological disease. All of these things have happened in the past,”

ways a country’s own technologies could be used against them. As we become more and more reliant on sophisticated computers, there is growing concern that hackers, viruses or AI bots could start a nuclear war. “We believe that the chance of false alarms has gone up with the increased danger of cyber-attacks,” says Collina. For example, a control system [like Pine Gap] could be spoofed into thinking that a missile is coming, which could mean a president is tricked into launching a counter-attack.

many experts agree that by far the biggest threat comes from the very launch systems that are supposed to be protecting us.

August 11, 2020 Posted by | 2 WORLD, incidents, Reference, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear watchdog opposes any agreement that would transfer ownership of Three Mile Island Unit

Nuclear watchdog opposes any agreement that would transfer ownership of Three Mile Island Unit 2 https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/nuclear-watchdog-opposes-any-agreement-that-would-transfer-ownership-of-three-mile-island-unit-2/article_20c1bc76-d8cb-11ea-9431-97c468d34a2b.html, SEAN SAURO | Staff Writer – 10 Aug 20,

   Discussions are ongoing about a criticized plan to transfer ownership of Three Mile Island’s defunct Unit 2 reactor to a Utah-based company that would complete its dismantling.

    • And signs point to a settlement between state and federal regulators, and FirstEnergy, the power company that now owns the unit that partially melted down in 1979.

At least that’s what Dauphin County-based nuclear watchdog Eric Epstein said he suspects. Epstein said he opposes any kind of agreement that would advance the plan, which he worries could threaten radioactive disaster.

“We will not agree to allow Three Mile Island to become a radioactive waste site,” Epstein said. “An island in a river is the worst place for it.”

Spokespeople speaking on the behalf of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not provide details about the negotiations.

“Regarding a settlement, DEP is evaluating the motion and will reach a decision soon,” DEP spokesman Neil Shader said. “More information will be available once a decision is reached.”

FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said much the same.

“FirstEnergy continues to work with the DEP as well as the NRC to address questions relevant to the license transfer and decommissioning plans for TMI-2,” she said. “Details of the settlement agreement are confidential.”

Last fall, Unit 2’s owners at FirstEnergy announced they planned to transfer ownership of all related licenses and assets to a subsidiary of Utah-based EnergySolutions, which would eventually dismantle the reactor.

The transfer must be approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and it’s to that commission that Epstein of the Harrisburg-based Three Mile Island Alert raised concerns, urging that the transfer not be approved before they are addressed.

Specifically, he worried about the environmental threats of leaving radioactive waste on the island, which is situated in the Susquehanna River just north of Conoy Township near the Dauphin-Lancaster counties line. That’s in addition to fears that rate-payer funded accounts will not have enough money to cover the cost of decommissioning.

Similar concerns were included in a letter sent earlier this year from DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell to federal regulators.

But now, Epstein worries that DEP officials will settle, undermining those fears, though he admits he hasn’t been a part of ongoing discussions — a point of contention.

“I don’t know how you build public confidence by excluding the public,” he said.

Regardless of what may come from negotiations, Epstein said his organization plans to continue advocating for safety “by any legal means,” appealing decisions if necessary.

August 11, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Beirut explosion was not an atomic bomb

The Beirut explosion created a huge mushroom cloud and visible blast wave, but nuclear-weapons experts say it wasn’t an atomic bomb. Here’s why. Business Insider , DAVE MOSHER, AUG 5, 2020, 

  • An explosion at a port rocked the Lebanese capital city of Beirut on Tuesday, killing at least dozens of people.
  • As videos of the explosion spread across social-media sites, some observers likened the appearance of a mushroom cloud to that of an atomic bomb.
  • The Lebanese prime minister has said the blast came from a stockpile of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse.
  • Nuclear-weapons experts say the detonation was definitely not triggered by an atomic bomb.
  • Atomic explosions are characterised by a blinding flash of light, a pulse of searing heat, and radioactive fallout, none of which were detected………….   https://www.businessinsider.com.au/beirut-explosion-not-nuclear-bomb-despite-mushroom-cloud-no-flash-2020-8?r=US&IR=T

August 6, 2020 Posted by | incidents, MIDDLE EAST | Leave a comment

Florida’s nuclear power stations could be at risk in hurricane times

August 4, 2020 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Fire at the Belleville nuclear power plant reveals the disorganization of EDF

August 4, 2020 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Portuguese party PAN lodges complaint to U.N. about Spain’s ageing Almarez nuclear power station

Almaraz nuclear risks: PAN lodges complaint against Spain to UN   https://www.portugalresident.com/almaraz-nuclear-risks-pan-lodges-complaint-against-spain-to-un/  By

 Natasha Donn  natasha.donn@algarveresident.com-30th July 2020  PAN, the party representing people, animals and nature, has formally lodged a complaint against Spain with the United Nations, following Spain’s extension on the functioning of its ageing nuclear power station at Almaraz (click here).

The risks associated with Almaraz have been making headlines for years (click here).

So has the perceived ‘inertia’ of the Portuguese government in tackling them (click here).

As PAN’s leading MP André Silva stresses, what’s crucial at this point is a ‘transfrontier evaluation of the environmental impact” of the decision to prolong the life of the 41-year-old power station running two very old fashioned reactors beyond the 2023/ 2o24 limit previously established.

The latest approval by Spain extends the reactors’ lives to 2027 and 2028 respectively.

Says Silva: ‘We have on the one hand’ Spain that is violating two conventions, and on the other a Portuguese government and a Portuguese environment minister that does nothing about it.

Spain’s unilateral decision to further extend the lifespan of a plant that sits so close to Portuguese territory – not to mention on the banks of the river Tejo – is “an affront to Portuguese people” who, according to a study conducted by the Portuguese army, would be severely impacted in the event of any kind of serious incident (click here).

The two conventions André Silva refers to are the Espoo Convention, which requires environmental impacts in situations like these, and the Arhus Convention, which obliges Madrid to ‘inform and consult’ Portuguese counterparts before making any decisions.

Says Silva, “it is fundamental that the international community is alerted to this problem, which is not simply environmental but social and political as well”.

‘Ideally’ Almaraz should have been mothballed 10 years ago “but Spanish authorities have successively renewed its continuation”, despite the increasing risks of a nuclear accident, which as Silva stresses, would have a “disastrous impact” on Portugal.

This is in fact the second time a formal complaint has been lodged against Spain over activity at Almaraz. A bid to stop a warehouse for nuclear waste being constructed in 2017 resulted in the creation of a commission, but this has never presented any ‘material’ / findings or reports to speak of.

August 4, 2020 Posted by | politics international, safety, Spain | 1 Comment

USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to weaken safety standards for smaller nuclear reactors

 Smaller Nuclear Plants May Come With Less Stringent Safety Rules, npr, August 1, 2020
The NRC is considering whether to shrink emergency planning and evacuation zones around these newer reactors — from a 10-mile radius to, in some cases, the boundary of the plant site.

Nuclear energy critics say that would be a mistake.

“When you’re talking about a reactor that’s never been built or operated, you have to take with a big grain of salt the claims that it’s actually safer or more secure,” says Edwin Lyman at Union of Concerned Scientists.

He says the industry also wants to use weaker reactor containment shells, and in some cases they don’t want to have to keep an operator at the site.

Lyman thinks companies should build plants under current rules first. “You have to work out the kinks of these new plants,” he says. “And then over time you might be able to adjust your requirements accordingly. But you don’t do that at the get-go.”

A National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) official recently echoed some of Lyman’s concerns in comments sent to the NRC. The NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy.

Deputy Under Secretary Jay Tilden called the proposed rule a major departure from “the successful 42-year-old practice of using a 10-mile plume exposure emergency planning zone.” That existing regulation, he wrote, provides “the last layer of a defense-in-depth for low-probability, high-consequence accidents.” ………

The NRC has extended a comment period on the proposed rule to September 25th. A final rule on whether to shrink evacuation zones around plants is expected next year.

August 3, 2020 Posted by | safety, Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, USA | Leave a comment

For the nuclear industry, coronavirus is helpful, as nuclear wastes go quietly from Germany to Russia

FoE Europe 25th June 2020, Russia and Germany have taken advantage of the coronavirus crisis to resume
shipping radioactive waste to dump in the Urals and Siberia in northern
Russia.
When Russian environmental groups discovered, in autumn 2019, that
Germany was exporting radioactive waste from it’s nuclear power stations to
Russia, via the harbor of Amsterdam, they directly organized protests in
the three countries.
Those protests had success, and the transport by rail
and sea of uranium – a waste product of nuclear fuel production by Urenco
Germany – was put on hold. That was before the coronavirus crisis hit.
But
in March 2020, when Covid-19 lockdowns restricted people’s right to protest
in Russia even further, the shipments of radioactive waste were set to
resume.

http://www.foeeurope.org/covidsolidarity-russia

August 3, 2020 Posted by | Russia, safety | Leave a comment

United Arabs Emirate’s nuclear power station cut corners on safety

Al Jazeera 1st Aug 2020, Paul Dorfman, an honorary senior research fellow at the Energy Institute,
University College London and founder and chair of the Nuclear Consulting
Group, has criticised the Barakah reactors’ “cheap and cheerful” design
that he says cuts corners on safety.

Dorfman authored a report (PDF) last
year detailing key safety features Barakah’s reactors lack, such as a “core
catcher” to literally stop the core of a reactor from breaching the
containment building in the event of a meltdown. The reactors are also
missing so-called Generation III Defence-In-Depth reinforcements to the
containment building to shield against a radiological release resulting
from a missile or fighter jet attack. Both of these engineering features
are standard on new reactors built in Europe, says Dorfman.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/uae-starts-operations-arab-world-nuclear-power-plant-200801101118964.html

August 3, 2020 Posted by | safety, United Arab Emirates | Leave a comment

Who flew drones over the nuclear reactors?

August 3, 2020 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

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