Report: Japanese seeking out nuclear shelters, air purifiers over North Korean threat https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/04/24/japanese-seeking-nuclear-shelters-air-purifiers-north-korea-threat/22053701 As North Korea ratchets up international tensions with missile tests and aggressive rhetoric, some residents of a neighboring country are reportedly taking actions to protect themselves in advance.
Reuters is reporting that “sales of nuclear shelters and radiation-blocking air purifiers have surged in Japan in recent weeks…”
One company, Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, appears to be doing particularly well, receiving eight orders for nuclear shelters in April and selling all 50 of its $5,000-a-piece, poison gas filtering air purifiers.
According to Newsweek, the buying activity may have been prompted, at least in part, by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent warning to other Japanese government officials that “there is a possibility that North Korea already has a capability to put sarin on warheads to strike the ground.”
Meanwhile, the Japan Times reported last month that Oga, a Japanese city in Akita Prefecture, conducted the country’s first evacuation drill “on the premise of a ballistic missile falling into Japanese waters off Akita, [and] was aimed at promptly relaying information while facilitating the swift and safe evacuation of residents.” The media outlet further notes that the drill included participation by an elementary school, among others.
In addition to these protective measures, Japan has been working with the U.S. and its neighbor South Korea to detect and possibly intercept approaching missiles.
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Japan, safety, weapons and war |
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What is the Gotham Shield? Nuclear bomb drill in NJ this week, New jersey 101.5 By Dan Alexander April 24, 2017 NEW YORK — An emergency response drill that has caught the attention of conspiracy theorists begins in New Jersey on Monday night.
“Gotham Shield” is the name given to a multi-agency, real-time drill that starts Monday night and runs all week, involving a number of law enforcement and rescue agencies from New Jersey and the Northeast, according to NJ.com.
The “notional” drill will be based on the explosion of a nuclear device in West New York. A response center will be set up at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday, according to the report, in which rescue teams and equipment will be set up to respond to respond to casualties, but will not involve actual “actors” playing victims.
FEMA spokeswoman Lauren Lefebvre told NJ.com on Sunday the purpose of the exercise is “to expand the ability at local and national levels to coordinate in effect a large-scale response and recovery to an event like this.”
According to the website snopes.com, which researches internet rumors, the drill first became known to the public last week with on a number of websites which believed the plan was in response to heightened tensions with North Korea, and could actually lead to a real disaster………http://nj1015.com/what-is-the-gotham-shield-its-only-a-test/
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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This is a test – nuclear threat focus of exercise in Ottawa and Nova Scotia http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/this-is-a-test-nuclear-threat-focus-of-exercise-in-ottawa-and-nova-scotia DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN, 25 Apr 17, Canada and the U.S. are in the midst of conducting an exercise that tests the ability of both countries to respond to a nuclear threat.
Over the last week, hundreds of public servants across the government of Canada, including military and emergency response officials, have been participating in a series of exercises under that common scenario.
Exercise STAUNCH MAPLE 17 is a command post exercise representing the Canadian Forces’ support to this scenario.
It started on April 20 and will run until April 28. The exercise, based in Ottawa and Nova Scotia, trains “consequence management capabilities with a focus on staff processes and leadership,” according to the Department of National Defence.
STAUNCH MAPLE 17 is part of a series of bi-national, government exercises aimed at enhancing interagency protocols and communication in case of a significant threat to Canada.
STAUNCH MAPLE 17 brings together hundreds of public servants from several departments and agencies, including:
| · Public Safety· Health Canada
· Transport Canada
· Government Operations Centre
· Royal Canadian Mounted Police
· Natural Resources Canada
· Public Health Agency of Canada
· Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
· Industry Science and Economic Development Canada |
· Defence Research and Development Canada· Canadian Border Services Agency
· Nova Scotia Emergency Management Office
· Halifax Regional Municipality
· Halifax Harbour Bridges
· Halifax Port Authority
· Halifax Regional Police |
Some participants in the exercise are involved in a concurrent exercise, PROMINENT HUNT 17-01. That exercises U.S. assistance to the Canadian government to support the investigation of the simulated nuclear threat. Participants from the U.S. and Canada will collect simulated evidentiary samples of debris at various locations in Nova Scotia.
Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopters, an RCMP ASTAR-350 helicopter, and American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters will be conducting low-level aerial survey flights for that scenario.
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Canada, safety, USA |
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Man guilty of bomb threats against nuclear plant in Florida | 19 April 2017 | A north Florida man has pleaded guilty to sending bomb threats to a nuclear power plant, a school and other government and private facilities. Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow said in a news release that 25-year-old David Wayne Willmott Jr. pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court to three counts of making threats to use an explosive device. Federal prosecutors say Willmott emailed bomb threats in 2014 and 2015 to the nuclear plant as well as two courthouses, two airports and a sheriff’s office.
April 26, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
incidents, Legal, USA |
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Sec. John Kelly: Terrorism on US Planes Keeps Me ‘Awake at Night, http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/john-kelly-terrorism-us-planes-keeps-me-awake/2017/04/23/id/785878/, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Sunday a terrorist plot against American planes “keeps me literally awake at night,” calling the threat “something that is very real.”
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Kelly said a successful strike at a U.S. plane would kill “hundreds and hundreds of people in one fell swoop.” “The … thing that keeps me literally awake at night is the threat against aviation,” he said. “We know that would be the Super Bowl for the terrorists to knock down an air plane in flight, particularly if it was full of Americans.
“There are a number of plots that we’re watching very, very closely— very sophisticated, very threatening, and the number-one thing in my mind is to protect the American people,” he added, calling the “aviation threat… something that is very real.”
On the issue of North Korea’s threat to the nation, Kelly said “as long as they’re on the other side of the world without a missile and a nuclear weapon to deliver against the United States, they’re not much threat right now— except in the world of cyber. They’re pretty aggressive when they want to be in cyber,.”
“The instant they get a missile that can reach the United States, and they have a weaponized atomic device, nuclear device on it, we’re at grave risk as a nation,” he warned.
April 24, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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The greatest threat to the future of mankind? http://www.manilatimes.net/greatest-threat-future-mankind/323418/ BY JAIME J.YAMBAO ON APRIL 22, 2017 UNLESS rebuffed by the US Congress like it did with his repeal of Obamacare, President Trump’s proposal to boost the budget for nuclear weapons production could make him the greatest threat to the future of mankind. Not climate change. Not terrorism.
Already America’s 5,500 strategic nuclear weapons possess enough destructive power to destroy Planet Earth at least five times over; some experts estimate up to 50 times over.
The US and Russia own 95 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads, with Russia slightly ahead. But the two powers have been reducing their stockpiles under the US- Russia Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). Obviously not a candidate for the Nobel Peace prize, Trump has announced his wish to renegotiate the new START and be at the top of the nuclear heap, not only numerically but also in lethalness.
Trump’s desire to be absolutely No. 1 could conceivably trigger a new nuclear arms race among the nuclear powers today. This could also encourage new aspirants for the exclusive nuclear circle as the race further accentuates the basic flaw of the Non-Proliferation Treaty: its discriminatory nature. The nuclear powers as of July1968, the time of signing of the NPT, are exempt from the ban the treaty imposes.
Sanctions have not prevented states from violating the NPT. India with an economy large enough to go autarkic considered the sanctions imposed on it after its nuclear tests “meaningless.” Sanctions against Pakistan were dropped as soon as its cooperation was deemed essential by the US in the latter’s Afghan wars. For all the sanctions slapped on it, North Korea has so far conducted nuclear and missile tests at relentlessly short intervals that the risk of a nuclear detonation being made either by the US or North Korea today is considered the highest since the Cold War.
Small wonder that the world has not been too happy and content with the NPT. In accordance with the decision of the majority last year, the UN General Assembly a few days ago launched a conference to negotiate a new legally binding treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in line with previous treaties prohibiting chemical and biological weapons, landmines and cluster munitions.
Customary international law makes no mention of nuclear weapons because they are of a later invention. But as their immediate and longer term effects were demonstrated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons clearly fall under the weapons prohibited by customary international law—weapons which are of a nature to strike at military objectives and civilians without distinction.
It was the monitoring of the effects of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that showed how a single nuclear bomb detonated over a large city could kill millions of people, bring unimaginable suffering to survivors and their future generations, and cause catastrophic and long-term damage to the environment. The use of tens or hundreds of nuclear bombs would be cataclysmic, severely disrupting the global climate and causing widespread famine. The UN conference serves to negotiate a treaty that would for the first time explicitly and universally prohibit nuclear weapons. The ban would include the five permanent members of the Security Council.
For all its defects, the NPT by the number of countries subscribing to it manifests the desire of the vast majority of countries around the world (almost 200) to ban nuclear weapons. One hundred fifteen countries are also part of nuclear weapons-free zones which cover Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the South Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa. While a majority of UN members are participating in the conference. The United States and its allies have boycotted it, calling it an unrealistic exercise. One US ally, the Philippines is not in that boycott. Its own Constitution bans nuclear weapons.
Given Trump’s pledge to make America great again in nuclear weapons and given the ongoing efforts in the United Nations to negotiate a ban, it appears that the world is at a historic juncture. To ban or not to ban.
With the US boycotting the conference, one cannot be sanguine about what any resulting treaty can amount to. The colossal nuclear stockpile of the US will be outside the ban. Would a label or reputation as a rogue leader matter to Trump? Probably not. The United States anyway has a history of not ratifying landmark treaties and not learning any lesson from the disastrous consequences of its non-ratification.
Trump is one damn determined fellow. This is shown by the fact that to make a significant increase in his defense and nuclear weapons budget, he has to make drastic cuts in components of the federal budget that contribute significantly to national security. Trump is also one narrow-minded fool. Said a New York Times
“[T]he armed forces are a vital component of the national security tool kit, but so are diplomacy, economic engagement, and post-conflict reconstruction. The use of military force should always be a last resort, and the balanced application of other, less costly tools of national power helps prevent wars and crises from arising in the first place.”
The reason the US gave for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing millions of civilians, was to stop the war and prevent further US military casualties.
The nuclear bomb has been associated to this day with caring for the lives of America’s soldiers. It has been noted that Trump counts on the customary popularity of defense with legislators to get his budget passed. Trump may get the additional more powerful nuclear bombs that he wants.
What makes people nervous about this prospect is that in the few weeks he has been in the White House, Trump has done little to dispel the notion engendered by the election campaign that his short-fuse temperament may willy-nilly unleash a nuclear cataclysm. His issuance of orders without much consultation with appropriate agencies, his all-bluster-and-wind assaults on mass and social media grounded on “alternative facts” are far from reassuring of a man close to the nuclear button.
It seems that under the protocol concerned, the US President, contrary to the popular imagery, does not actually press his finger on the button. He issues an order to a War Room in the Pentagon where officials are bound by law to execute the order. There is an anecdote related in the Internet of one such top brass fired for asking whether he should follow an order to release nuclear bombs coming from an insane President. The US President has the sole authority to use nuclear weapons. The Pentagon must simply obey his command. Theirs not to question why…
Jaime J. Yambao is a retired Ambassador of the Philippines
April 22, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics international, safety, USA |
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Climate Change is a global threat to international security, John Pratt 21 Apr 17, https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/17124327/posts/1428211610 Terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram have been dominating the headlines since 2013.
Both groups have gained international notoriety for their ruthless brutality and their rise is posing new challenges for national, regional and international security.
Such non-state armed groups (NSAG) are not a new phenomenon.
Today, however, we can observe an increasingly complex landscape of violent actors with a range of hybrid organisational structures, different agendas and different levels of engagement with society that set them apart from ‘traditional’ non-state actors and result in new patterns of violence.
At the same time, there has been increasing acknowledgement within the academic literature and among the policy community of the relationship between climate change and security.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underlined in its latest report from 2014 that human security will be progressively threatened as the climate changes.
Analysing its impacts on fragility, an independent report for the G7 Foreign Ministers concluded that climate change is a global threat to international security.
As the ultimate threat multiplier, it aggravates already fragile situations and may contribute to social upheaval and even violent con ict (Rüttinger et al. 2015). …….
Today the UN, the EU, the G7 and an increasing number of states have classified climate change as a threat to global and/or national security (American Security Project 2014; European Commission 2008; UN Security Council 2011).
However, the links between climate change, conflict and fragility are not simple and linear.
The increasing impacts of climate change do not automatically lead to more fragility and conflict.
Rather, climate change acts as a threat multiplier. It interacts and converges with other existing risks and pressures in a given context and can increase the likelihood of fragility or violent conflict.
States experiencing fragility or conflict are particularly affected, but seemingly stable states can also be overburdened by the combined pressures of climate change, population growth, urbanization, environmental degradation and rising socio-economic inequalities (Carius et al. 2008; WBGU 2007, CNA 2007, Rüttinger et al. 2015).
In 2015, the report “A New Climate for Peace” (Rüttinger et al. 2015), commissioned by the G7 Foreign Ministries, identified seven compound climate-fragility risks that pose a serious threat to the stability of states and societies.
Local resource competition: As the pressure on natural resources increases, competition can lead to instability and even violent conflict in the absence of effective dispute resolution.
Livelihood insecurity and migration: Climate change will increase the human insecurity of people who depend on natural resources for their livelihoods, which could push them to migrate or turn to more informal or illegal sources of income.
Extreme weather events and disasters will exacerbate fragility challenges and can increase people’s vulnerability and grievances, especially in conflict-affected situations.
Volatile food prices and provision: Climate change is highly likely to disrupt food production in many regions, increasing prices and market volatility, and heightening the risk of protests, rioting, and civil conflict.
Transboundary water management is frequently a source of tension; as demand grows and climate impacts affect availability and quality, competition over water use will likely increase the pressure on existing governance structures.
Sea-level rise and coastal degradation: Rising sea levels will threaten the viability of low-lying areas even before they are submerged, leading to social disruption, displacement, and migration, while disagreements over maritime boundaries and ocean resources may increase.
Unintended effects of climate policies: As climate change adaptation and mitigation policies are more broadly implemented, the risks of unintended negative effects – particularly in fragile contexts – will also increase.
“A New Climate for Peace” is an independent report commissioned by the G7 Member States.
The report was prepared by an independent consortium of leading research institutions, headed by adelphi, with International Alert, the Wilson Center, and the EU Institute for Security Studies, and was submitted to the G7 in April 2015.
Press link for more: Report
April 22, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
2 WORLD, climate change, safety |
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Citizens confront Nuclear Fuel Services regulator over environmental, public health concerns JESSICA FULLER 21 Apr 17 jfuller@johnsoncitypress.com ERWIN — A biennial safety performance review that concluded Erwin’s Nuclear Fuel Services is continuing to operate safely brought out concerned citizens who questioned the report’s conclusion.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reviewed the report which spanned from Jan. 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2016, and included several enforcement issues in the presentation, including two instances of failure to treat mixed waste and failure to maintain records of maintenance and inspection testing of the facility’s fire protection systems.
The NRC ruled that NFS doesn’t need to improve any areas in its safety culture based on the two-year investigation period.
“An absence of areas needing improvement does not mean that performance in functional areas that we inspect does not have to be improved or enhanced,” NRC representative Charlie Stancil said. “Early detection with comprehensive corrective actions to address these performance issues are key to sustaining safe and secure operations and performance as we go forward.”……
After the presentations, the public was allowed to speak, and commenters had nothing but concern and distrust to hand to the board of NRC inspectors and company representatives. While some inquirers cited specific events listed in the violation reports for comment, others had other bones to pick with the NRC on issues such as public health and environmental safety. A recurring topic brought up by audience members was the discontinuation of an $8 million cancer study that was canceled in 2015.
Jonesborough citizen Linda Modica was questioned the representatives with documentation in her hands. She asked about the levels of plutonium that showed up in the reports, and NRS representative Kevin Ramey said those trace amounts have a dose limit set at 100 milligrams, which he went on to explain means is the limit that a person could ingest either by air or water for an entire year.
“I understand your concern that there’s stuff there you’d rather not be exposed to,” Ramey said. “The commission has made a decision that the regulations we have are protective of the public, and that’s something that we can’t change, that’s something only the commission can change.”
Modica, a two-time cancer survivor, said it is personal issue to her, and said that wasn’t good enough.
“We need the government to reduce the risk of cancer by eliminating these radioactive toxins that are being put in our air and water,” Modica said. “Those numbers need to be zero.”
Email Jessica Fuller at jfuller@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Jessica on Twitter @fullerjf91. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jfullerJCP. http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Business/2017/04/20/Citizens-confront.html?ci=stream&lp=1&p=
April 22, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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Russia’s Secretive Floating Nuclear Power Plant Making Waves In St. Petersburg, Radio Free Europe, 20 Apr 17, ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Ecologists in Russia’s northern capital are raising the alarm over government plans to fuel a floating nuclear power plant just 2 kilometers from the heart of the city.
Officials have been saying since December that they are nearly ready to begin fueling the Akademik Lomonosov, the country’s first-ever ship-borne nuclear-power station, which is scheduled to be deployed at Vilyuchinsk on the Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula in 2019. Because the process is shrouded in secrecy and the government has ignored requests for information, it is unclear what the status of the fueling process currently is.
“From this floating nuclear power plant to the city’s mining institute [for example] is probably only about 500 meters,” Rashid Alimov, director of energy programs for Greenpeace Russia, told RFE/RL. “The historical center is densely populated. We have to exclude even the thought of an accident. That is why we have written to the governor. … According to the law, carrying out such operations at the Baltic Shipyard must be approved by the city, evacuation plans have to be drawn up. We have asked the municipal authorities about this.”……..
Independent nuclear-energy analyst Aleksei Shchukin, who spent more than 30 years working on nuclear-powered icebreakers, told RFE/RL that the fueling operation presents risks. Although the reactors are based on designs developed in the 1960s, the configuration on the Akademik Lomonosov is unique and untested.
“That is why I think there is no point in taking a risk and fueling the reactors in the center of a huge city,” Shchukin said. “This is very dangerous. They could take the vessel to Murmansk or Arkhangelsk, where there are bases for repairing and refueling nuclear vessels. That would be much safer.”
Authorities have ignored requests to find out why they insist on conducting the refueling — and possibly other testing — in St. Petersburg, a UNESCO-protected World Heritage Site with a population of just under 5 million.
Previous Incidents……..
April 21, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Russia, safety |
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Hong Kong-based watchdog reports six minor incidents at Guangdong power suppliers last year, including accumulation of 3mm shrimps around water pipe at Ling Ao station, South China Morning Post, Ernest Kaoernest.kao@scmp.com Wednesday, 19 April, 2017 Operators of a nuclear power plant in Shenzhen have surrounded water intake pipes with gill nets to prevent the accumulation of shrimp that caused a minor safety incident last year.
April 21, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
China, incidents |
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How will the federal government protect nuclear safety in an anti-regulatory climate?, https://theconversation.com/how-will-the-federal-government-protect-nuclear-safety-in-an-anti-regulatory-climate-75680 The Conversation, William J. Kinsella Professor, Department of Communication, North Carolina State UniversityApril 18, 2017 , The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have undertaken a wide-ranging effort to shrink the federal government’s regulatory footprint. Much attention has focused on high-profile targets, such as the Environmental Protection Agency. But this trend also has major implications for other agencies.
One example is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees safety across a complex, privately owned network of nuclear power plants, used fuel storage facilities and other sites related to civilian uses of nuclear energy.
As a researcher studying communication in energy and environmental settings, I have followed the NRC’s work with particular interest since 2011. The agency and the system it regulates exemplify what some scholars call a “high reliability organization” – one that cannot be allowed to fail, because the consequences would be grave.
As studies have shown, failures of external oversight were key factors in the disasters at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011. Those examples show that there is good reason to assess how today’s anti-regulatory climate could affect the NRC and nuclear safety in the United States.
An industry in flux
The NRC conducts risk-related research and develops and enforces rules for the design and operation of nuclear facilities nationwide. Today it is grappling with major challenges that will shape the future of nuclear power in the United States.
The U.S. nuclear industry is struggling economically to compete with renewable energy and cheap natural gas. Older plants are nearing the end of their 40-year licensed operating lifetimes, while at least 15 reactor construction projects have been canceled or suspended since 2010. The four still in progress have been delayed, and now face possible cancellation.
In response, the industry is relying on 20-year license renewals for existing reactors, which allow them to operate for up to 60 years. As of December 2016, the NRC had approved 87 renewal applications.
Now the agency is preparing to consider applications for “subsequent license renewals” that would extend reactor lifetimes to 80 years. This prospect poses new challenges. Notably, the NRC needs to analyze the safety implications of operating geriatric plants and develop regulatory rules to manage issues such as structural and operational risks.
At the same time, the industry is promoting new reactor designs, which advocates say will be safer and more cost-efficient than current plants. The NRC is building a framework for reviewing and licensing these untested new technologies – an enormous and safety-critical task.
Highly radioactive used nuclear fuel, which is accumulating at reactor sites across the nation, poses additional challenges. As onsite storage capacity fills up, two private companies have applied for licenses to develop “consolidated interim storage facilities” in Texas and New Mexico that could hold used nuclear fuel for up to 40 years.
Authorizing such facilities would require changes to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which currently allows only permanent disposal of used nuclear fuel. Nevertheless, the NRC is already engaged in new risk analysis and public communication issues related to these projects.
Used fuel now held at power plants would need to be packaged and moved long distances, secured safely for decades and ultimately moved again to its final disposal site. Communities are also concerned about whether current or interim sites could end up as long-term locations for “stranded” nuclear waste.
Meanwhile, the administration’s 2018 budget blueprint proposes reopening the licensing process for a permanent nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. President Obama ended work on licensing Yucca Mountain in 2010, so the NRC would need to reorganize its staffing and resources to resume work on the project.
Anti-regulatory challenges
The current anti-regulatory climate could affect the NRC in multiple ways. Broader executive and legislative developments, and a recent agency leadership change, provide early clues. For example, an executive order issued in January requires federal agencies to eliminate two rules for every new rule they create.
Because the NRC is formally designated as an independent regulatory agency, it might be exempt from this order. However, asked in March about that possibility, NRC Chair Kristine Svinicki responded ambiguously that although the agency is “in some ways beyond the reach” of such orders, she wants to “look to the spirit and intent” they express. It is hard to see how the NRC can develop new regulations for so many emerging activities and keep the U.S. nuclear industry operating safely while slashing existing rules.
Meanwhile, in Congress, Republicans have sought since 2011 to pass the “Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny” (REINS) Act. This measure would require agencies to get congressional approval for “major rules” with substantial economic impacts.
When the House passed the latest version of the bill in January, New York Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler sought to exempt the NRC due to its safety-critical role, but his amendment was defeated.
Leadership transitions
Three days after the presidential inauguration, the role of NRC chairman was transferred to Commissioner Svinicki, a nuclear engineer and former Senate staff member regarded by some critics as particularly friendly to the nuclear industry. Although nuclear insiders learned of the transition quickly, the usual public press release was absent.
The new chairman, who serves as the agency’s sole official spokesperson (working through staff), has espoused a commitment to public transparency but has not always acted accordingly. For example, although up-to-date archives of speeches and testimony by the other commissioners are provided with their NRC website biographies, a recent look at the link for Commissioner Svinicki showed none more recent than 2012.
Svinicki’s appointment will expire on June 30, and the NRC cannot normally operate without a three-member quorum, so action on her reappointment or replacement will soon be needed. Two additional seats on the five-member commission remain open. This will be an important time to look closely at the backgrounds and qualifications of nominees.
To regulate the industry effectively, commissioners must have a firm grasp of the technical and administrative complexities of nuclear safety. Watchdog groups have called on the NRC to enforce safety regulations more aggressively and to promote greater confidence that staff members can bring problematic issues to light.
Perhaps most importantly, commissioners must demonstrate a firm commitment to regulatory independence and openness. Avoiding “recreancy” or “capture” by the regulated industry is crucial for effectiveness and public legitimacy.
In this context, the Trump team’s approach to filling key positions in science and technology agencies and the broad funding cuts proposed for those agencies are troubling. Many nominees have deep ties to regulated industries such as energy, finance and pharmaceuticals.
An essential regulatory mission
As a specialized agency working in a highly technical area, the NRC does not usually receive much public or media attention – except when nuclear failures occur at home or abroad. Although there have been more close calls in the United States than is generally understood, NRC oversight has been crucial to the industry’s overall positive safety record.
A high reliability organization is not automatically a highly reliable organization. Reliability is an ongoing accomplishment involving continuous learning, sustained vigilance and a strong system of checks and balances. Moving forward in an anti-regulatory climate, with so many complex challenges facing the agency, it is essential to ensure independent leadership, public transparency and adequate resources to support the NRC’s mission.
April 19, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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Nuclear Plant Exempted From Regulations As Shutdown Nears http://www.chem.info/news/2017/04/nuclear-plant-exempted-regulations-shutdown-nears PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The only nuclear power plant in Massachusetts won’t have to comply with certain safety requirements as it prepares to shut down, getting a pass on precautions put in place after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, says that Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station won’t have to upgrade its vent system before it closes in 2019, despite not meeting all standards. It will also be exempted from seismic and flooding regulations established after the Fukushima meltdowns.
An NRC spokesman says the plant doesn’t have time to complete necessary upgrades and they wouldn’t meaningfully improve safety.
Earlier this month, federal regulators said the plant is safe to operate despite some “performance deficiencies.”
Democratic Senator Edward J. Markey says the decision undermines the safety of people living nearby.
April 19, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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https://homelandprepnews.com/stories/21961-new-radiation-detection-system-begins-operations-port-los-angeles/ Wednesday, April 12, 2017 by HPN News Desk The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that a new radiation detection system recently began operations at the Trans Pacific Container Service Corporation (TraPac) terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.
While all incoming cargo into the port is scanned by radiation detecting equipment, the new system automates the process to expedite trade and provide a needed layer of nuclear protection. Approximately two million containers pass through the TraPac terminal every single year.
The new process begins as rail-bound cargo is placed on conveyers by automated carriers. The system then transports the cargo through a radiation portal monitor for detection. If all cargo passes the security check, the cargo is then transported to rail carriers for transportation to its final destination.
TraPac originally envisioned the system as part of a move to automate scanning processes. At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection needed a new means to scan ship-to-rail containers for radioactive materials. DHS then worked with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to test, evaluate, and approve the new system for live rail operations.
DHS said the new system offers a more efficient approach to preventing illicit radioactive materials from entering the country.
April 14, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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Skagit Valley Herald, Apr 13, 2017 RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — A shipment of nuclear waste from a commercial power plant located on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state was improperly labeled when it was trucked to a commercial disposal site, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
As a result, Energy Northwest, the consortium that operates the Columbia Generating Station nuclear plant, has been temporarily barred by state regulators from sending waste to the US Ecology disposal site located on leased Hanford land, the Tri-City Herald (http://bit.ly/2pyWwWi ) reported Thursday.
The Energy Northwest plant makes electricity and is located on the sprawling Hanford site, which is half the size of Rhode Island. Energy Northwest is separate from Hanford’s past mission of creating plutonium for the nation’s nuclear weapons, which ended in the 1980s. Plutonium production left Hanford with the nation’s largest collection of radioactive waste.
April 14, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
incidents, USA |
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Why you’ll hear nuclear emergency sirens sounding in N.J., Del. http://www.nj.com/salem/index.ssf/2017/04/why_youll_hear_nuclear_emergency_sirens_sounding_i.html By Bill Gallo Jr. | For NJ.com April 11, 2017 LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK TWP. — The 70-plus emergency sirens around the Artificial Island nuclear generating complex will be tested Tuesday night, officials say.
The sirens located within the 10-mile radius of the three reactors operated by PSEG Nuclear, are scheduled to sound at 7:20 p.m., according to company spokesman Joe Delmar.
The sirens — 34 in New Jersey and 37 in Delaware –will sound for three minutes. They are part of the alert system that would inform those living near the Artificial Island complex in case of an emergency at one of the nuclear plants.
Parts of Salem and Cumberland counties in New Jersey and in New Castle and Kent counties in Delaware all fall within the 10-mile radius of the plants.
During the siren tests residents are not required to do anything. n an emergency, such as the accidental release of a large amount of radiation, the sirens would alert those living near the generating complex to tune to radio stations WENJ-FM 97.3 or Marine Channel 16 in New Jersey for official information on what steps they should take.
The stations in Delaware include WKNZ-FM 88.7, WDEL-AM 1150, WDDE-FM 91.1, WSUX-AM 1280, WDSD-FM 94.7, WWTX-AM 1290, WSTW-FM 93.7, WDOV-AM 1410, WRDX-FM 92.9, WILM-AM 1450, WJBR-FM 99.5 and Marine Channel 16.
These radio stations are part of the Emergency Alert System.
Depending on the emergency, residents in the 10-mile zone could be directed to shelter in place or evacuate.
Information about what to do in an emergency is also available online. he three reactors operated by PSEG Nuclear at Artificial Island make up the second-largest commercial nuclear complex in the U.S. in terms of power output. Only the Palo Verde complex in Arizona produces more electricity.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com.
April 12, 2017
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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