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Call to Japan’s nuclear regulator to investigate potentially flawed Kobe Steel products in the Japanese nuclear industry

Greenpeace 25th Oct 2017, Japan’s nuclear regulator must take urgent action to launch a
comprehensive investigation into the supply and widespread use of
potentially flawed Kobe Steel products in the Japanese nuclear industry,
Greenpeace and five other NGOs demanded today.

The groups submittedanalysis of Kobe Steel’s supply chain to the nuclear industry together
with a demand letter to The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) commissioner
Toyoshi Fuketa on 24 October.
http://www.greenpeace.org/japan/ja/news/press/2017/pr201710251/

October 27, 2017 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Concern over condition of France’s aging nuclear reactors: 20 of the 58 currently shut down

Reporterre 23rd Oct 2017, [Machine Translation] To date, 20 reactors out of 58 of the French nuclear fleet are shut down. Many are expected to restart by the end of November, but their aging and general condition is worrying.

Reporterre takes stock with a map detailing the situation of each plant. Winter will be tough for
French nuclear power plants. This Monday, October 23, 20 of their reactors are stopped. Of these, at least 8 were put to rest because of a malfunction or a safety problem. On the others, many are currently undergoing maintenance that also seek to repair the anomalies that accumulate in recent years.

A situation highlighted by Reporterre in a map detailing the central location by central. Last malfunction, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) unveiled in mid-October that the cooling pumps of 29 nuclear reactors were affected by significant corrosion. In case of earthquake or flood, the
pipes could yield. This is one of the causes of the Fukushima accident. According to the ASN, the renovation of the ducts was started immediately on all the reactors, but these will require more complete repairs before being totally secure.
https://reporterre.net/CARTE-EXCLUSIVE-Les-deux-tiers-du-parc-nucleaire-francais-en-panne-ou-a-l-arret

October 25, 2017 Posted by | France, safety | Leave a comment

With North Korean missiles, Japan’s nuclear sites form a terrible danger, of possible accident

Nuclear plants, the Achilles heel in missile tests, remain exposed, By HIROYUKI KAWAI/   The Asahi Shimbun October 24, 2017 North Korea’s missile launches have prompted the government to issue alerts on TV and mobile phones, urging people to take cover in case something goes wrong.

But one puzzling question is why the government has not addressed the risks of keeping nuclear power plants in operation even when missiles are flying over Japan.

North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles 15 times last year and 13 so far this year.

In August, Pyongyang announced plans to fire intercontinental ballistic missiles over the prefectures of Shimane, Hiroshima and Kochi before they splash down in waters around the U.S. territory of Guam.

Instead, North Korea’s latest missile, fired on Aug. 29, flew over Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, and fell into the western Pacific Ocean………

The Japanese government has issued orders to intercept North Korea’s missiles, citing the need to safeguard people’s lives and assets against projectiles falling on Japanese territory. The government is on alert around the clock to issue such orders.

Evacuation drills have been staged in many regions.

When the J-Alert warning was issued soon after North Korea’s missile launches to urge people to take precautions, subway and Shinkansen bullet train services were suspended in some regions.

However, despite this state of high alert, nuclear power plants remain online.

While stressing the missile threat from North Korea, the government has made no mention of the danger to nuclear power plants.

An attack against a nuclear power plant could bring catastrophic consequences.

Experts say the operation of a single reactor for one year produces a level of radioactive material equivalent to 1,000 of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

The destruction of a nuclear plant in a missile strike could put the nation’s very survival at stake.

That is why nuclear power plants are likened to nuclear warheads for potential adversaries……..

Even if a nuclear reactor completes an emergency shutdown after a missile launch is confirmed, the nuclear facility’s safety is not guaranteed.

The collapse of other nuclear plant components by a missile would present a formidable challenge for plant operators in dealing with decaying heat from nuclear fuel in the reactor. Averting a meltdown would be almost impossible under these circumstances as was demonstrated by the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

If a missile directly hit a nuclear reactor, we would all know what to expect.

The vulnerability of nuclear plants in light of a possible missile attack has been pointed out in a lawsuit demanding the suspension of operations at a nuclear facility.

When the presiding judge asked the utility the reason for not halting the plant, the company could not provide an immediate response.

North Korea is fully aware that Japan’s Achilles heel in national defense is its nuclear power plants…… If there exists even a 1 percent risk of conflict, nuclear power plants should be taken off-line as a safeguard measure. That is about ensuring the nation’s security…. http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201710240001.html 

October 25, 2017 Posted by | Japan, safety | 1 Comment

Call to get rid of radioactive redundant nuclear submarines from Scottish dockyard

Dundee Courier 24th Oct 2017,Radiation levels around Rosyth dockyard increased last year according to
the latest monitoring report. Levels across the UK were well within dose
limits, said the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) following
the publication of its Radioactivity in Food and the Environment (RIFE 22)
Report.

However, local SNP MSP Douglas Chapman has made a renewed call for
the “excruciatingly slow” timescale for dismantling Rosyth’s seven
redundant nuclear submarines to be hastened. Mr Chapman, said: “It’s
encouraging that SEPA’s latest report shows radioactivity doses are well
within limits.

“However, Rosyth should not be a sanctuary for toxic
submarines and this is something I have raised in Parliament as
constituents are fed-up with the subs rotting in their own backyard. Yes,
they are to be dismantled and removed, but the timescale is excruciatingly
slow. “‘I’m encouraging SEPA to progress its work with the MoD to
manage the area effectively and help rid Rosyth of the subs so that the
space in the dockyard basin can be used for more economically productive
uses.”

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/530843/calls-made-to-speed-up-excrutiatingly-slow-nuclear-submarine-dismantling-process-at-rosyth

October 25, 2017 Posted by | safety, UK, wastes | Leave a comment

Stresses on North Korea’s nuclear test mountain – becoming unstable?

After six tests, the mountain hosting North Korea’s nuclear blasts may be exhausted, SMH, Anna Fifield, 21 Oct 17 Tokyo: Have North Korea’s nuclear tests become so big that they’ve altered the geological structure of the land?

Some analysts now see signs that Mount Mantap, the 2200-metre-high peak under which North Korea detonates its nuclear bombs, is suffering from “tired mountain syndrome”.

The mountain visibly shifted during the last nuclear test, an enormous detonation that was recorded as a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in North Korea’s northeast. Since then, the area, which is not known for natural seismic activity, has had three more quakes.

“What we are seeing from North Korea looks like some kind of stress in the ground,” said Paul G Richards, a seismologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

“In that part of the world, there were stresses in the ground but the explosions have shaken them up.”

Chinese scientists have already warned that further nuclear tests could cause the mountain to collapse and release the radiation from the blast.

North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006, all of them in tunnels burrowed deep under Mount Mantap at a site known as the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility. Intelligence analysts and experts alike use satellite imagery to keep close track on movement at the three entrances to the tunnels for signals that a test might be coming.

After the latest nuclear test, on September 3, Kim Jong Un’s regime claimed that it had set off a hydrogen bomb and that it had been a “perfect success”.

After the latest nuclear test, on September 3, Kim Jong Un’s regime claimed that it had set off a hydrogen bomb and that it had been a “perfect success”.

Images captured by Airbus, a space technology company that makes earth observation satellites, showed the mountain literally moving during the test. An 85-acre area on the peak of Mount Mantap visibly subsided during the explosion, an indication of both the size of the blast and the weakness of the mountain.

Since that day, there have been three much smaller quakes at the site, in the 2 to 3 magnitude range, each of them setting fears that North Korea had conducted another nuclear test that had perhaps gone wrong. But they all turned out to be natural.

If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things.

Wang Naiyan, former chairman of the China Nuclear Society

That has analysts Frank V. Pabian and Jack Liu wondering if Mount Mantap is suffering from “tired mountain syndrome”, a diagnosis previously applied to the Soviet Union’s atomic test sites.

“The underground detonation of nuclear explosions considerably alters the properties of the rock mass,” Vitaly V. Adushkin and William Leith wrote in a report on the Soviet tests for the United States Geological Survey in 2001. This leads to fracturing and rocks breaking, and changes along tectonic faults.

Earthquakes also occurred at the US’ nuclear test site in Nevada after detonations there.

“The experience we had from the Nevada test site and decades of monitoring the Soviet Union’s major test sites in Kazakhstan showed that after a very large nuclear explosion, several other significant things can happen,” Richards said. This included cavities collapsing hours or even months later, he said.

Pabian and Liu said the North Korean test site also seemed to be suffering.

“Based on the severity of the initial blast, the post-test tremors, and the extent of observable surface disturbances, we have to assume that there must have been substantial damage to the existing tunnel network under Mount Mantap,” they wrote in a report for the specialist North Korea website 38 North.

But the degradation of the mountain does not necessarily mean that it would be abandoned as a test site – just as the United States did not abandon the Nevada test site after earthquakes there, they said. Instead, the US kept using the site until a nuclear test moratorium took effect in 1992.

For that reason, analysts will continue to keep a close eye on the Punggye-ri test site to see if North Korea starts excavating there again – a sign of possible preparations for another test.

The previous tests took place through the north portal to the underground tunnels, but even if those tunnels had collapsed, North Korea’s nuclear scientists might still use tunnel complexes linked to the south and west portals, Pabian and Liu said.

Chinese scientists have warned that another test under the mountain could lead to an environmental disaster. If the whole mountain caved in on itself, radiation could escape and drift across the region, said Wang Naiyan, the former chairman of the China Nuclear Society and senior researcher on China’s nuclear weapons programme.

“We call it ‘taking the roof off’. If the mountain collapses and the hole is exposed, it will let out many bad things,” Wang told the South China Morning Post last month……http://www.smh.com.au/world/after-six-tests-the-mountain-hosting-north-koreas-nuclear-blasts-may-be-exhausted-20171021-gz5ixm.html

October 23, 2017 Posted by | environment, North Korea, safety, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Sellafield authorities play down the seriousness on chemical emergency at nuclear reprocessing site

Times 22nd Oct 2017, The emergency removal of unstable chemicals from Sellafield yesterday hasraised fresh concerns over safety at the nuclear site.

Army bomb disposal specialists were called to the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Cumbria
after a routine audit found canisters of potentially explosive solventsdating back to the early 1990s.

Officials sought to reassure the public that it was “not a radiological event” and that the solvents had been
safely destroyed in two controlled explosions. However, one expert who
spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that although the solvents were not
radioactive they had been kept in the main laboratory near far more
dangerous materials. “This substance was in a dangerous oxidised state and
if it had exploded in that location it had the potential to distribute
radioactive material over the site and beyond,” the engineer said.
“Sellafield appears to be downplaying the severity of it to the public.”

The chemicals are understood to include tetrahydrofuran, an organic solvent
that can become unstable when exposed to air. Sellafield Ltd, part of the
government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, said that after the
disposal the site was “working as it would be on any other Saturday“.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/sellafield-chemicals-scare-defused-by-army-98pkzxcln

October 23, 2017 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Cyberattacks targeting nuclear facilities, an increasing threat

U.S. says cyberattacks have targeted nuclear, energy, aviation, water and critical manufacturing industries, Japan Times, 21 Oct 17  REUTERS TORONTO/HOUSTON – The U.S. government issued a rare public warning that sophisticated hackers are targeting energy and industrial firms, the latest sign that cyberattacks present an increasing threat to the power industry and other public infrastructure.

The Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation warned in a report distributed by email late on Friday that the nuclear, energy, aviation, water and critical manufacturing industries have been targeted along with government entities in attacks dating back to at least May.

 The agencies warned that hackers had succeeded in compromising some targeted networks, but did not identify specific victims or describe any cases of sabotage.

The objective of the attackers is to compromise organizational networks with malicious emails and tainted websites to obtain credentials for accessing computer networks of their targets, the report said.

U.S. authorities have been monitoring the activity for months, which they initially detailed in a confidential June report first reported by Reuters. That document, which was privately distributed to firms at risk of attacks, described a narrower set of activity focusing on the nuclear, energy and critical manufacturing sectors……..

The report said the attacker was the same as one described by Symantec in a September report that warned advanced hackers had penetrated the systems controlling operations of some U.S. and European energy companies……https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/10/22/world/u-s-says-cyberattacks-targeted-nuclear-energy-aviation-water-critical-manufacturing-industries/#.We0JJI-CzGg

October 23, 2017 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Danger of military explosives, depleted uranium weaponry flying in and out of Ireland airport

US Military Cargo, Explosives, Depleted Uranium Weaponry Transit through Ireland’s Shannon Airport https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-military-cargo-explosives-depleted-uranium-weaponry-transit-through-irelands-shannon-airport/5613597

By Shannonwatch
Global Research, October 21, 2017 Recent discussions about the safety or otherwise of having the US military flying in and out of Shannon Airport gave us reason to recall an incident in March 2008 in which a Murray Air aircraft was involved in an emergency landing at Shannon. This was after it was seen flying over Askeaton, which is across the River Shannon estuary from the airport, with flames coming from one of its engines. Residents of the County Limerick town described their windows rattling and houses shaking as the cargo plane flew low over a housing estate in the town.

At the time there was a discussion about the incident on the RTE Radio’s Joe Duffy Show. During the discussion Tracey Bell, Director of Administration for Murray Air, admitted that explosives had been brought through Shannon by the airline on previous occasions. She was asked about this by the presenter Joe Duffy:

Joe Duffy – Murray Air could carry explosives through Shannon?

Tracey Bell – I can confirm that, yes sir.

Joe Duffy – Have you carried explosives through Shannon?

Tracey Bell – I believe so, yes sir.

Joe Duffy – … for the American Army?

Tracey Bell – Yes sir.

Edward Horgan of Shannonwatch who contacted the programme and spoke on air asked if Murray Air had carried depleted uranium (DU) through Shannon. Ms Bell said she didn’t know, but when pressed confirmed that their license allowed for them to carry this lethal radioactive substance.

The consequence of it not being declared to the Irish authorities, or of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport giving permission for it to be taken through Shannon are frightening. What if a plane carrying DU was involved in an accident at Shannon, or as it was taking off?

The consequence of using DU munitions are even more devastating in war zones. We know that the US used them in the Gulf and Iraq Wars. A 2006 report by Dr. Souad N. Al-Azzawi on Harvard University’s website confirms this:

“Depleted Uranium (DU) weaponry has been used against Iraq for the first time in the history of recent wars. The magnitude of the complications and damage related to the use of such radioactive and toxic weapons on the environment and the human population mostly results from the intended concealment, denial and misleading information released by the Pentagon about the quantities, characteristics and the area’s in Iraq, in which these weapons have been used.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera reporter Dahr Jamail, Democracy Now! reported that the US invasion has left behind a legacy of cancer and birth defects suspected of being caused by their extensive use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus. This is not surprising, given that they fired hundreds of thousands of rounds of DU munitions there. Democracy Now! wrote:

“Noting the birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Jamail says: ‘They’re extremely hard to bear witness to. But it’s something that we all need to pay attention to … What this has generated is, from 2004 up to this day, we are seeing a rate of congenital malformations in the city of Fallujah that has surpassed even that in the wake of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear bombs were dropped on at the end of World War II.’”

The US has also used DU in Syria, for example in two high-profile raids on oil trucks in late 2015. These air assaults were the first confirmed use of this armament since the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Because of its high density, DU can also be used in tank armor, sandwiched between sheets of steel armor plate.

Murray Air’s Tracey Bell confirmed that the airline had a license to transport DU. They and other carriers may well have taken it through Shannon with or without the knowledge of the Irish governnment or the authorities. The people charged with ensuring the safety and security of Shannon refuse to search US military and military contracted planes likely to be carrying DU. Instead they follow orders from a government that relies on worthless diplomatic assurances from the US authorities. These “assurances” state that they not taking hazardous and lethal material like DU through Shannon. And the Irish government take them at face value.

Its unlikely that the US authorities would tell the Irish government if they were taking DU through Shannon. If they are lying, it presents a very grave rish to people in places like Askeaton that the military and military contracted planes pass over as they are taking off and landing. And it makes Shannon Airport a very dangerous place to work in or travel through.

The safest thing to do – and the right thing to do – is to stop all US military and military contracted planes from landing at Shannon. The risk is too great.

October 23, 2017 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Chemical incident at UK’s Sellafield nuclear station: plutonium kept in degrading plastic bottles

Evacuations after emergency at UK nuclear plant, explosives experts rush to scene, BOMB disposal specialist have been called to the Sellafield nuclear plant to deal with a chemical incident. Sunday Express, By SIMON OSBORNE, Oct 21, 2017 “…….Initial reports suggest the incident involved five bottles containing a number of non-nuclear chemicals. …..”An operational decision will be taken in due course on how best to dispose of the material.”
Sellafield reprocesses and stores nearly all of Britain’s nuclear waste.

There have been safety concerns at the plant after a tip-off from a whistleblower, including allegations of inadequate staffing levels and poor maintenance.

The programme discovered that liquid containing plutonium and uranium has been kept in thousands of plastic bottles for years. The bottles were only intended for temporary storage and some of them are degrading.

Researchers were was also told that parts of the facility are dangerously rundown.

Sellafield insisted the site in Cumbria is safe and has been improved with significant investment in recent years. http://www.express.co. uk/news/uk/869238/sellafield- nuclear-reprocessing-plant- chemical-alert-bomb-disposal- experts

October 23, 2017 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Seaweed clogging up cooling system of EDF’s Hunterston B nuclear station in Scotland

Largs and Millport News 20th Oct 2017, A seaweed solution is being sought by EDF Energy to prevent cooling water being clogged up with seaweed. Hunterston B has made an application to
Marine Scotland to remove seaweed from the seabed next to the cooling water
intake jetty to help to reduce the amount of seaweed entering the cooling
water system. The consultation period on the application has ended,
responses have been received and the station is awaiting a license decision
from Marine Scotland.

Two years ago, a reactor at the nuclear power station
had to be taken offline due to high levels of seaweed in the waters around
the plant. The plant relies on water taken from the sea for cooling. Back
in 2015, in a letter to stakeholders, station director Colin Weir said:
“Hunterston B power station’s reactor 3 was manually shut down at 18.40
on Monday 1 June due to severe seaweed ingress, accompanied by strong winds
and storm surges. “This was done as a precautionary measure when it was
clear that the seaweed levels weren’t reducing. “Reactor 4 was also
reduced in power and remains operating at a reduced power.”

Mr Weir said staff at the station were monitoring the weather and seaweed levels would
begin the return to normal service when it was determined conditions were
“in a stable state”. At the time, cooling to the reactor was maintained
at all times and there were no health, safety or environmental impacts.
http://www.largsandmillportnews.com/news/15607469.Seaweed_solution_sought_for_Hunterston_B/

October 23, 2017 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board – (nuisance to the nuclear industry) to be got rid of?

Efforts underway to remove ‘redundant’ nuclear safety board, Santa fe – New Mexican , By Rebecca Moss | The New Mexican, Oct 19, 2017 

Efforts have been underway to defund and dismantle an independent board charged with overseeing safety and security at nuclear weapons sites, and much of that work has been spearheaded by the board’s own Republican chairman, according to an investigative report released Thursday.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a five-person panel appointed by the U.S. president, has been charged for three decades with conducting independent safety reviews at Los Alamos National Laboratory and other nuclear sites, as well as with advising the U.S. energy secretary and informing Congress about potential health and safety risks to workers and communities, accidents and contamination events at the sites, and efforts to remedy problems.

The board’s recommendations do not require action by the labs or the Energy Department but have led to more intense scrutiny of labs — including Los Alamos, which has had a poor safety record in recent years, with several serious breaches — and more stringent regulations.

 In June, Sean Sullivan, a Republican member of the nuclear safety board who was appointed chairman by the Trump administration, proposed in a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget that the board be eliminated. He called it a Cold War legacy that is no longer relevant and said it creates “myriad unnecessary costs for the Department of Energy.”……

The efforts to disband the board and undermine its independence come amid increasing questions about the safety culture at a number of national labs, but particularly at Los Alamos.

In the past year, Los Alamos has faced a federal investigation for improperly shipping nuclear materials out of state and violated nuclear safety protocol in August at its plutonium facility. A small fire there in April also caused one worker to suffer second-degree burns.

Most of these issues were made public by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, which posts its weekly reports online.

Earlier this year, the safety board voiced concerns to Congress about Los Alamos’ ability to handle nuclear materials and raised questions about whether the lab’s nuclear facilities are structurally sound.

In early June, the board held a hearing in Santa Fe to question lab and Energy Department officials about whether the lab would be prepared to manage increasing quantities of nuclear material as ramped-up production of plutonium pits — the grapefruit-sized triggers inside nuclear bombs — begins as part of a plan to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Given the protracted and ongoing safety issues at Los Alamos, a number of safety board members and lawmakers have objected to any relaxed oversight at the lab.

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., told the Center for Public Integrity that repeated safety issues, “including the two [labs] in New Mexico, are among the reasons for strengthening — not eliminating the outside oversight board.

“These incidents have demonstrated that there is a need for a strong watchdog that does not have a direct financial or political stake in the success of the labs,” Udall added………http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/efforts-underway-to-remove-redundant-nuclear-safety-board/article_73572fa5-362a-53dc-ba80-640b03e52f2b.html   Contact Rebecca Moss at 505-986-3011 or rmoss@sfnewmexican.com.

October 21, 2017 Posted by | politics, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Dangerous Whitehaven coal mine plan – CLOSE TO RADIOACTOVE SELLAFIELD SITE !

Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole, Crowd Justice,    https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/keep-cumbrian-coal-in-the-hole/  20 Oct 17 , by Keep Cumbrian Coal in the Hole Group of Cumbrians opposed to the first deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years. 

OLD KING COAL RESURRECTED?

There is a statue in Whitehaven, a poignant memorial to coal miners who lost their lives.

“End of an Era” …..Only apparently it isnt!

Now there is a plan to expand the dangerous Whitehaven mines with undersea coal mining. There has been lots of greenwashing heaped on the plan by West Cumbria Mining to reopen Whitehaven coal mine, the most gaseous, dangerous pit in the Kingdom.  In 1815, Sir Humphrey Davy’s invention of the miner’s safety lamp was first tested in Whitehaven Coking Coal Mine because of its reputation for “firedamp” (methane) and fatal explosions.

That was in the pre atomic age.  Now in the same area, just 8km away we have the most dangerous nuclear site in the world, Sellafield.   “Windscale – later renamed Sellafield, 8km away is too close”

What People are Saying:

“We are particularly concerned in regard to the potential impact upon the wider marine and coastal environment of the discharge of water into the sea, which has been pumped from the flooded anhydrite mine.” National Trust

“ The application site is in proximity (Solway Firth 1.5km) to a European designated site (also commonly referred to as Natura 2000 sites), and therefore has the potential to affect its interest features.”Natural England

“The impact of any level of subsidence upon the terrestrial or marine heritage assets and designated sites and landscapes could be significant and permanent, therefore having a detrimental impact ..The history of contamination of watercourses in the areas raises concerns for some local residents in relation to the impact of the development on the complex hydrology of the area.” Colourful Coast Partnership

“Our position is to object to the proposed development on the grounds of the adverse impact on groundwater, surface water and biodiversity.”Environment Agency

“It is clear that this is a very large mine, with a very long life span…of 20-50 years and a peak of 2.8 million tonnes a year. Assuming a 40 year life (following construction), and an average of 2 million tonnes a year, that is a total production of 80 million tonnes, which will emit around 175 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. The level of emissions and proposed life-time of the mine is of major concern….We would also query whether or not there has been robust enough analysis of the potential for seismicity (and subsidence) relating to well-known nuclear facilities in the wider area, including Sellafield and proposed new facility at Moorside? What potential is there for seismicity to effect these and other facilities (including the low level waste repository at Drigg) and the possible high level waste radioactive waste facility which has been proposed in West Cumbria for some time.” Friends of the Earth

“The application should be rejected because it is not in the national interest. From reviewing the documents submitted by West Cumbria Mining it is clear that the intention is to export the coal to Europe and Asia…The application to mine is too close to the Sellafield nuclear site and the proposal for another nuclear power station at Moorside. Underground mining can have a significant impact on the surrounding areas, recently a coking coal mine in Russia triggered an earthquake.” Coal Action Network

Just some of the “Star Species” found in this Heritage Coast and Marine Conservation Zone are listed by the RSPB as: Fulmar, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Kittiwake, Razorbill and so many more that would be impacted on by the plan for a new coal mine with possible subsidence of the Irish Sea bed impacting on food sources such as sandeels (and not to mention disturbing decades of Sellafield discharges which have settled there).

There are so many reasons to oppose this coal mine plan.  That is why we are campaigning hard to stop the plan.

TAKE ACTION

 Specialist law firm, Leigh Day have agreed to help which is amazing.  So we are raising funds for the cost for counsel to provide a written Opinion on Potential Grounds for Judicial Review.   This is to ensure that we will still have a chance of stopping the coal mine plan should Cumbria County Council ignore the advice of Natural England, the National Trust, Coal Action Network, the Environment Agency, Colourful Coast Partnership, Friends of the Earth and others and rubberstamp the plan.
People can get involved in many ways. You can write to the leader of Cumbria County Council and let him know you oppose the plan
by West Cumbria Mining for the new Woodhouse Colliery (planning application number 4/17/9007 )
Cumbria County Council is scheduled to be making a decision on the 24th of January, 2018.  The decision will be taken by the Development Control Committee.  Their contact details are here .  The more letters they get the better.   If you feel you can speak in opposition to the plan on the 24th of January then please do, whether as an individual or as a member of a group.  The meeting is open to public participation and you can register to speak by contacting Cumbria County Council.
We need to stop this diabolic plan for a new coal mine dangerously near Sellafield, if you can help in ANY way either by donation or by action then the better chance we have.
If you can help, you will be making history in the battle to stop the first deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years.  All donations no matter how small will be used directly to challenge West Cumbria Mining’s diabolic plan.  https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/keep-cumbrian-coal-in-the-hole/

October 21, 2017 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

£1.3bn Chernobyl New Safe Confinement planned for completion this year

BBC 17th Oct 2017, A manufacturer from Torfaen is helping to dismantle the remains of the
Chernobyl nuclear power station. A concrete and steel arch will cover the
reactor which was destroyed in the 1986 disaster. Pontypool-based
manufacturer Flamgard Calidair has developed fire and shut off dampers for
the project, known as the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement. The £1.3bn
(€1.5bn) building is set to be completed before Christmas 2017.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-41654257

October 20, 2017 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

100 employees evacuated from office of French nuclear station , due to mysterious package found

Valeurs 17th Oct 2017,[Machine Translation] Security. According to information from France Bleu,
around a hundred employees were evacuated on Monday 16 October after the
discovery of a suspect package at one of the offices of the Cruas-Meysse
nuclear power plant in the Ardèche.
https://www.valeursactuelles.com/societe/ardeche-une-centrale-nucleaire-evacuee-en-urgence-89799

October 20, 2017 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

America’s nuclear industry wants to ‘self assess’ for safety, efficiency: that’s not a good idea

Why NRC Nuclear Safety Inspections are Necessary: Columbia Generating Station, UCS,  DAVE LOCHBAUM, DIRECTOR, NUCLEAR SAFETY PROJECT | OCTOBER 17, 2017 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) adopted its Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) in 2000. The ROP is far superior to the oversight processes previously employed by the NRC. Among its many virtues, the NRC treats the ROP as a work in progress, meaning that agency routinely re-assesses the ROP and makes necessary adjustments.

Earlier this year, the NRC initiated a formal review of its engineering inspections with the goal of making them more efficient and more effective. During a public meeting on October 11, 2017, the NRC working group conducting the review outlined some changes to the engineering inspections that would essentially cover the same ground but with an estimated 8 to 15 percent reduction in person-hours (the engineering inspections and suggested revisions are listed on slide 7 of the NRC’s presentation). Basically, the NRC working group suggested repackaging the inspections so as to be able to examine the same number of items, but in fewer inspection trips.

The nuclear industry sees a different way to accomplish the efficiency and effectiveness gains sought by the NRC’s review effort—they propose to eliminate the NRC’s engineering inspections and replace them with self-assessments. The industry would mail the results from the self-assessments to the NRC for their reading pleasure.

UCS is wary of self-assessments by industry in lieu of NRC inspections. On one hand, statistics might show that self-assessments increase safety just as a community firing all its law enforcement officers would see a statistical decrease in arrests, suggesting a lower crime rate. I have been researching the records publicly available in ADAMS to compare the industry’s track record for finding latent safety problems with the NRC’s track record to see whether replacing NRC’s inspections with industry self-assessments could cause nuclear safety to go off-track.

This commentary is the first in a series that convinces us that the NRC’s engineering inspections are necessary for nuclear safety and that public health and safety will be compromised by replacing them with self-assessments by industry.

Columbia Generating Station: Not so Cool Safety Moves………

UCS Perspective

Under the Atomic Energy Act as amended, the NRC is tasked with establishing and enforcing regulations to protect workers and the public from the inherent hazards from nuclear power reactor operation.

Owners are responsible for conforming with applicable regulatory requirements. In this case, the owner made a series of changes that resulted in the plant not conforming with applicable regulatory requirements for the air temperature within the control room. But there’s no evidence suggesting that the owner knew that the changes were illegal yet made them anyway hoping not to get caught. Nevertheless, ignorance of the law is still not a valid excuse. The public is not adequately protected when safety regulations are not met, regardless of whether the violations are intentional or inadvertent.

This case study illustrates the vital role that NRC’s enforcement efforts plays in nuclear safety. The soundest safety regulation in the world serves little use unless owners abide by it. The NRCs inspection efforts either verify that owners are abiding by safety regulations or identify shortfalls. Self-assessments by owners are more likely to sustain mis-interpretations and misunderstandings than to flush out safety problems.

The NRC’s ROP is the public’s best protection against hazards caused by aging nuclear power reactors, shrinking maintenance budgets, and emerging sabotage threats. Replacing the NRC’s engineering inspections with self-assessments by the owners would lessen the effectiveness of that protective shield.

The NRC must continue to protect the public to the best of its ability. Delegating safety checks to owners is inconsistent with that important mission. http://allthingsnuclear.org/dlochbaum/why-nrc-inspections-are-necessary-columbia

October 18, 2017 Posted by | politics, safety, spinbuster, USA | Leave a comment

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