Low-flying choppers monitoring radiation https://wtkr.com/2019/01/27/low-flying-choppers-monitoring-radiation/JANUARY 27, 2019, BY CNN WIRE ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) – If you’re in downtown Atlanta or around Buckhead for the Super Bowl Experience or regular business, you might see some low-flying helicopters over the area.
The choppers are from the U.S. Department of Energy and are serving a specific purpose.
The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, is conducting the low-altitude flights as part of security operations for Super Bowl LIII. The choppers will measure naturally occurring background radiation, according to the NNSA.
The measurement of naturally occurring radiation will establish baseline levels and is considered a normal part of security and emergency preparedness, according to the NNSA. The agency said it was making the public aware of the flights to avoid any panic or alarm.
The helicopters, Bell 412 choppers, will fly in a grid pattern over the areas at 150 feet or higher at a speed of approximately 80 miles per hour, according to the Department of Energy. Flyovers will occur only during daylight hours and should take roughly three hours to complete per area scanned.
February 2, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
Leave a comment
Here’s what could happen in a nuclear disaster in Washtenaw County, By Ryan Stanton | ryanstanton@mlive.com ANN ARBOR, MI , 1 Feb 19, – As Ann Arbor considers calling on the state and federal governments to better prepare for nuclear disaster, county officials note there already are some emergency plans in place.
Washtenaw County does not stockpile potassium iodide as some city officials are calling for in a proposed resolution, said Dave Halteman, the county’s emergency services director.
But in the event of an incident such as a meltdown at the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in southeast Michigan, the county would reach out to the state’s Emergency Operations Center to initiate access to a national pharmaceutical stockpile through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This plan has been in place for many years and the CDC stockpiles these pharmaceuticals in strategic locations all over the country,” Halteman said.
“However, given the potential time lapse in getting access to the national stockpile, I will continue to monitor Ann Arbor’s initiative to see how it might work on a county level.”
City Council will consider a resolution Monday, Feb. 4 calling for strengthening local emergency planning by stockpiling nonprescription potassium iodide in communities within 50 miles of the Fermi 2 plant, which is roughly 30 miles from Ann Arbor along Lake Erie.
The resolution would direct the city’s lobbying team to advocate to the state and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to provide the same level of KI protection to residents here as Canadian authorities provide to Ontario residents within 50 miles of the Fermi 2 plant.
The American Thyroid Association has called for pre-distribution of potassium iodide, also known as KI, to households within a 10-mile radius of nuclear power plants such as Fermi 2, and stockpiling it in public facilities such as schools, hospitals, clinics, post offices and police and fire stations in up to a 50-mile radius.
Timely ingestion of KI can reduce the effects of radiation and help prevent thyroid cancer in the event of a nuclear fallout, notes the resolution sponsored by Council Members Anne Bannister, D-1st Ward, and Chip Smith, D-5th Ward.
Without a local stockpile, it could take eight to 12 hours for CDC supplies to arrive, depending on the event, said Cindra James, the county’s public health preparedness administrator.
In some cases, it could be sooner based on local supplies, James said, noting the federal government has caches stockpiled “at various unknown locations that we aren’t privy to,” but those supplies can be accessed depending on need.
As far as potential evacuation of the county if there was a nuclear disaster, there’s no specific plan, but the county would coordinate with the state police and local law enforcement to close roads leading toward any hazard and redirect traffic away from the affected area, Halteman said.
The county’s outdoor warning sirens also would be activated followed by an emergency alert system message to inform the public via the media of the hazard and what actions to take, he said.
“We would also reach out to our transportation partners here in Washtenaw County to assist moving those without transportation,” he said, noting that could include the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority and local school bus systems.
“Certainly the response would be scaled up or down to accommodate the size of the evacuation area,” Halteman said…….. https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2019/02/heres-what-could-happen-in-a-nuclear-disaster-in-washtenaw-county.html
February 2, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
Leave a comment
The Pentagon Wants a Nuclear Reactor That Fits in a Transport Jet, Foxtrot Alpha , Kyle Mizokami 30 Jan 19, The Department of Defense wants a portable nuclear reactor the size of a main battle tank that’s capable of being lifted to overseas hot spots. The reactor would provide megawatts of power for U.S. forces, providing juice for everything from Xboxes to directed energy weapons. A mobile reactor would also make the military less reliant on diesel fuel for electrical generators, which in some cases must be sent along dangerous resupply lines.
January 31, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, weapons and war |
Leave a comment
Nuclear programmes of India, Pakistan increase risk of security incident in South Asia: US spymaster, Economic Times, Jan 30, 2019 WASHINGTON: There is an increased risk of a nuclear security incident in South Asia due to continued growth and development of Pakistan and India’s nuclear weapons programmes, America’s top spymaster told lawmakers on Tuesday.
The remarks of National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats is part of US intelligence community’s assessment of worldwide threats in the year 2019.
While Pakistan continues to develop new types of nuclear weapons, including short-range tactical weapons, sea-based cruise missiles, air-launched cruise missiles, and longer range ballistic missiles, India this year has conducted its first deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine armed with nuclear missiles, he said.
“The continued growth and development of Pakistan and India’s nuclear weapons programmes increase the risk of a nuclear security incident in South Asia, and the new types .. ……..
January 31, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
India, Pakistan, safety, weapons and war |
Leave a comment
Official: Man killed at nuclear site failed to drop object https://news3lv.com/news/local/official-man-killed-at-nuclear-site-failed-to-drop-object by The Associated Press MERCURY, Nev. (AP) 30 Jan 19, — An aggressive man was killed by officers at a U.S. nuclear security site in Nevada after refusing orders to drop a cylindrical object, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators declined immediate comment on whether the object was a weapon.
The incident began when the unidentified man failed to stop Monday evening at the security gate at the Nevada National Security Site, located 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of Las Vegas, according to Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Morgan said the trespasser drove 8 miles (13 kilometers) with officers in pursuit before he parked and approached them with the object in his hand. Deputies and site officers fired at him when he ignored their verbal commands, Morgan said.
The man died at the property formerly known as the Nevada Test Site.
The FBI has been notified and no additional information has been released, Nye County sheriff’s Lt. David Boruchowitz said.
Nevada is currently involved in a legal battle with the U.S. Energy Department to block the shipment of a metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium to the site from South Carolina.
Government scientists conduct tests simulating nuclear explosions at the 1,360-square mile (3,522-square kilometer) site in Nevada that is larger than the state of Rhode Island.
January 31, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
incidents, USA |
1 Comment
Republicans at U.S. nuclear regulator pass stripped down safety rule, CNBC , JAN 24 2019
Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Republicans on the U.S. nuclear power regulator approved a stripped down safety rule on Thursday that removes the need for nuclear plants to take extra measures based on recent science to protect against hazards such as floods and earthquakes.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, a board of three Republicans and two Democrats, approved the rule on a 3-2 vote along party lines. Dissents are rare on the NRC and the two Democrats strongly disagreed with the approval.
They said the Republican decision could allow plants to avoid protections against risks of natural disasters that have become apparent with science methods that have evolved since most plants were built about 40 years ago. …….
Commissioner Jeff Baran, a Democrat, said NRC staff had included the extra safety measures in the draft after years of work, but Republicans had jettisoned them.
“Instead of requiring nuclear power plants to be prepared for the actual flooding and earthquake hazards that could occur at their sites, the NRC will allow them to be prepared only for the old out-of-date hazards typically calculated decades ago when the science of seismology and hydrology was far less advanced than it is today.”
NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki, a Republican, said after the vote that the commission’s work since 2011 has resulted in “tangible safety improvements at every U.S. nuclear power plant.” ……..
A nuclear power safety advocate said new information showed that plants may experience bigger floods and earthquakes than they are now required to withstand, and that it is possible the commission will not require nuclear plants that face greater hazards to make upgrades.
“Nuclear plants must be protected against the most severe natural disasters they could face today – not those estimated 40 years ago,” when many plants were built, Edwin Lyman, acting director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner Editing by Susan Thomas) https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/reuters-america-republicans-at-u-s-nuclear-regulator-pass-stripped-down-safety-rule.html
January 26, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
Leave a comment
Feds agree to delay relicensing New Hampshire’s Seabrook nuclear power plant
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday agreed to temporarily delay issuing a new operating license for Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, a massive 1,244-megawatt generator owned by NextEra.
In a notice, the NRC said it would delay relicensing the coastal New Hampshire plant through 2050 until the commission meets with the public.
Last week, congressional delegates from Massachusetts and New Hampshire wrote to the NRC seeking a delay until a hearing can be held this summer on problems with the plant’s structural concrete.
The concrete suffers from alkali-silica reaction, or ASR. The swelling and cracking was identified by plant operators in 2009. NextEra developed a plan to manage and monitor the deformation, a plan that the federal commission has accepted.
A hearing on the concrete problems, to be held before a panel of administrative judges, is set for this summer. A nuclear watchdog group, the C-10 Research & Education Foundation, plans to challenge NextEra’s plan for managing the ASR……..
Last week, Massachusetts Sens. Edward J. Markey and Elizabeth Warren joined U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton to ask that licensing be stayed until the ASR hearing can be held. From New Hampshire, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Sen. Margaret Wood Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas also wrote to the NRC, saying more public involvement was needed. ……..https://www.masslive.com/politics/2019/01/feds_agree_to_delay_relicensin.html
January 26, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
Leave a comment
24 years ago today, the world came disturbingly close to ending, The Russian military mistook a research rocket launched by scientists for a US missile attack. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/25/18196416/nuclear-war-boris-yeltsin-1995-norway-rocket By Dylan Matthews@dylanmattdylan@vox.com Jan 25, 2019, Today, January 25, 2019, marks the 24th anniversary of the time that I (and many millions of others) came closest in my lifetime to getting nuked to death.
That day, a group of American and Norwegian researchers launched a Black Brant XII sounding rocket from the Arctic Circle island of Andøya in an effort to study aurora borealis (the northern lights).
The scientists had warned Russia, the US, and 28 other countries that they were planning a launch, as they knew there was a chance that the rocket would be mistaken for a nuclear first strike.
But someone forgot to tell Russian radar technicians. The technicians sent an alert to Moscow suggesting that an American first strike might be incoming.
Within minutes, President Boris Yeltsin was brought his black nuclear-command suitcase. For several tense minutes, while Yeltsin spoke with his defense minister by telephone, confusion reigned,” the Washington Post’s David Hoffman reported a few years after the incident. “Little is known about what Yeltsin said, but these may have been some of the most dangerous moments of the nuclear age.”
It was, Hoffman reported, the first time a Russian or Soviet leader had used a nuclear briefcase in response to an actual alert. Yeltsin concluded that it was not actually a first strike and did not retaliate.
For that, I thank him; I don’t know if a Russian second strike would have sent enough warheads to kill 4-year-old Dylan all the way up in New Hampshire, but I’m also glad we didn’t have to find out.
But, of course, the 1995 incident was hardly the only time in the nuclear area we came close to an accidental nuclear exchange.
On October 27, 1962, Vasili Arkhipov, a Soviet navy officer, was in a nuclear submarine near Cuba when US naval forces started dropping depth charges (a mild explosive meant to signal for the submarine to identify itself). Two senior officers on the submarine thought that a nuclear war had already begun and wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo at a US vessel. But all three senior officers had to agree for the missile to fire, and Arkhipov dissented, preventing a nuclear exchange.
On September 26, 1983, Soviet Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov was watching the Soviet Union’s missile attack early warning system when it displayed, in large red letters, the word “LAUNCH”; Petrov’s computer terminal gradually indicated that one, then two, then three, and eventually a total of five American missiles were incoming. Petrov declined to report the strike, knowing that if he did, the likely response would be a full nuclear retaliation. And it was good he did, because the Minuteman missiles the detection system thought it saw were actually just the sun’s reflection off clouds.
Oh, and while we’re at it: The Air Force lost a nuclear bomb off the coast of Georgia in 1958, where it remains today. There’s also a nuclear weapon stuck in a field in Faro, North Carolina, because of another time the Air Force screwed up; that bomb came extremely close to detonating.
Also, in 1980, an intercontinental ballistic missile exploded in Damascus, Arkansas, while it had a 9-megaton nuclear warhead — with three times more explosive power than all the bombs of World War II combined — on top of it. The warhead didn’t detonate; if it did, Arkansas wouldn’t exist and you never would have heard of Bill or Hillary Clinton.
We can live safely in the knowledge that much or all of humankind won’t suddenly vanish due to a miscalculation by a radar officer in Russia or the US, and that people near missile sites won’t find themselves incinerated accidentally due to technician error. Or we can continue to have nuclear weapons. But we have to choose.
January 26, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
history, incidents, Russia |
Leave a comment
Nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine in near-miss with ferry ITV News 21 Jan 19, A nuclear-powered Royal Navy submarine was involved in a near-miss with a large passenger ferry, it has emerged.
An investigation has been launched into the previously unreported incident, which occurred in the Irish Sea on November 6.
The ferry was Stena Superfast VII, which operates between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
It has a capacity for 1,300 passengers and 660 cars.
The submarine was submerged at the depth needed to extend its periscope above the surface of the water.
The Royal Navy would not confirm which of its 10 submarines was involved. They are all nuclear-powered but only four carry Trident nuclear missiles……… https://www.itv.com/news/2019-01-21/royal-navy-submarine-in-near-miss-with-ferry/
January 22, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, UK |
Leave a comment
Historic nuclear accident dashed Swiss atomic dreams https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/radioactive_historic-nuclear-accident-dashed-swiss-atomic-dreams/44696398 JAN 21, 2019
Fifty years ago today, a nuclear meltdown occurred in Switzerland’s first experimental nuclear power station. Built in an underground chamber in Lucens in the western part of the country, it was the site of the worst nuclear accident in Swiss history.
The plant was opened in 1962, with the aim of not only producing energy, but also allowing Switzerland to develop a reactor bearing the “Made in Switzerland” label and enabling experiments with nuclear energy.
But these plans were pushed aside when disaster struck in the plant’s reactor cavity on January 21, 1969. A pressure tube burst which created a power surge leading to the reactor malfunctioning and an explosion. Luckily, a member of staff who was scheduled to be working on the reactor at the time was found safe and sound elsewhere. The plant’s underground design also prevented people and the environment from being harmed.
The accident’s severity registered at 5 out of a possible 7. The concentration of leaked cooling gas that was behind the door of the reactor cavity was lethal. It wasn’t even possible to measure the radioactivity because it was above the maximum level on the measuring instruments.
But the reactor cavern was not completely sealed: the radioactivity spread to the control room 100 metres away. In the machine cavern closest to the reactor, a team involved in shutting down the turbine had been exposed to radiation. A witness report said that since the decontamination showers had been out of order, the workers had to shower in a temporary facility without hot water.
The government ordered an inquiry into the incident and a report was eventually published ten years later. The Swiss Association for Atomic Energy found there had been no major negligence on the part of the plant’s managers. The cause of the incident was corrosion in a pressure tube, brought about by humidity.
January 22, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
history, incidents, Switzerland |
Leave a comment
Reuters 21st Jan 2019 French state-owned power company EDF said it would make further tests next
month on faulty weldings at its Flamanville nuclear reactor plant, which
has been plagued by technical problems. “EDF actively continues to
implement the action plan on welds of the main secondary system announced
on 25 July 2018. The ‘hot tests’ are now scheduled to commence during
the second half of February,” EDF said in a statement. EDF said it would
keep the targeted construction costs for Flamanville at 10.9 billion euros
($12.4 billion).
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-edf-flamanville/french-utility-edf-to-make-further-tests-on-faulty-flamanville-weldings-idUKKCN1PF0JB?rpc=401&
January 22, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
France, safety |
Leave a comment
Seabrook nuclear power plant license to be extended NRC planning to allow an additional 20 years, The Eagle Tribune, By Jack Shea Staff Writer, 20 Jan 19, SEABROOK — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is set to extend the operating license for the Seabrook nuclear power plant for an additional 20 years, despite an ongoing proceeding related to the plant’s degraded concrete.For several years, NextEra Energy, the plant’s owner, has been seeking a 20-year extension of its current license, which expires in 2030. The plant went online in 1990. Since 2016, NextEra has also been seeking an amendment to the license to express how it plans to deal with concrete degradation caused by alkali-silica reaction, which causes tiny cracks in concrete.
The NRC announced this week that it planned to issue a final no significant hazards consideration determination and license amendment to NextEra “on or about January 22.” The federal commission also said it plans to issue a renewed operating license for Seabrook “on or about January 30.”
………Last year, the local watchdog organization C-10 was granted the right to intervene in an Atomic Safety Licensing Board hearing on concrete degradation at the plant, which is set for this summer. C-10 Executive Director Natalie Hildt Treat expressed frustration this week with the NRC’s decision to approve the license extension before the hearing.
“For the NRC to grant the license amendment — and then approve a license extension out to 2050 – before the public hearing that the ASLB granted on the concrete is just crazy,” Treat said in a press release. “What’s the hurry? Seabrook still has 11 more years on its current operating license. We believe these actions could undermine the safety of the American citizens that NRC is charged with protecting.”
Chris Nord, a Newbury resident and C-10 board member, added, “The unprecedented concrete testing and monitoring methodologies that underpin the license amendment request should be subject to independent peer review prior to their adoption. This is not just good science, but in the case of the deteriorating concrete at Seabrook, this is essential to ensure public safety.” ……. https://www.eagletribune.com/news/seabrook-nuclear-power-plant-license-to-be-extended/article_ada1b3f4-00a0-5944-961b-ec39e27dec6f.html
January 21, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
Leave a comment
China’s Guangdong to have 26 nuclear reactors, Indigenous Hualong reactors to be built at new megaplant in Huizhou, By ASIA TIMES STAFF JANUARY 17, 2019 China’s southern Guangdong province is on a spree constructing nuclear power plants, with the latest addition to the province’s nuclear plant cluster in the city of Huizhou, 90 kilometers northeast of Hong Kong…..
The 120 billion yuan (US$17.74 billion) megaproject, to be run by the state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp (CGN), will bring the total number of nuclear reactors in Guangdong, a manufacturing powerhouse and China’s largest provincial economy, to 26.
CGN’s ultimate plan is to boost that number to 46, spanning 11 plants, to power Guangdong’s booming economy, whose gross domestic product in 2018 is tipped to hit the 10-trillion-yuan mark and surpass South Korea and Canada.
The new reactors in Huizhou, already given the go-ahead by China’s environmental watchdog, will be built around China’s indigenous, third generation Hualong (China Dragon) pressurized water nuclear reactor ……..
The first Hualong reactor went live in Fujian province in 2017.
Still, concerns are being raised about the safety of so many nuclear plants, including Daya Bay, Ling’ao, Taishan, Lufeng, Yangjiang and Huizhou, within a radius of about 100 km from Hong Kong and Macau.
Guangdong’s aggressive plans to harness nuclear energy have long stoked fears about safe operations and the disposal of spent fuel rods.
CGN has sought to allay misgivings by promising more transparent consultation, reactor management and notification of incidents, but the company has given scant information about the Huizhou plant, the built-in safety infrastructure and contingency plans.
The company told Xinhua that the National Nuclear Safety Administration would conduct a further assessment of the plant’s design and safety facilities and decide the start of its construction. http://www.atimes.com/article/chinas-guangdong-to-have-26-nuclear-reactors/
January 19, 2019
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
China, safety |
Leave a comment
nuclear-news 