NRC permits Emergency staff to be reduced at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant: questions remain
Emergency staff to be reduced at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant Sentinel Source, By Susan Smallheer Rutland Herald 6 Feb 15
Staff members from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission took to the web Thursday to try to answer dozens of questions about decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
During two webinars attended by about 125 people, the NRC staff members repeatedly dodged questions about the financing behind the decommissioning, saying the NRC’s decommissioning financial expert would be at a Feb. 19 NRC meeting in Brattleboro. The two NRC officials, Bruce Watson and Marc Ferdas, said Entergy Nuclear, the plant’s owner, is responsible financially for the plant’s decommissioning under the terms of its federal license to operate Vermont Yankee. But they didn’t give specifics on how a company would be held liable 60 years in the future if there were additional costs.
Vermont Yankee shut down Dec. 29 after more than 40 years in operation.
In a separate action, a directive approved Wednesday by the NRC gives permission for Vermont Yankee to reduce its emergency staffing from 13 to five.
With all the fuel rods removed from the reactor to the spent fuel pool, the NRC deemed it safe to cover emergency staffing with one shift manager, one certified fuel handler, one radiation protection technician and three non-certified operators, according to a news release from the NRC……..
, Entergy and the administration disagree over which activities will be financed by the decommissioning fund. The biggest and most expensive disagreement is how to pay for the handling and storage of spent nuclear fuel…….The NRC public meeting on Feb. 19 is from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Quality Inn in Brattleboro. It is open to the public. http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/emergency-staff-to-be-reduced-at-vermont-yankee-nuclear-plant/article_e7e5de73-1ee5-5b2a-bc8c-fff250fe725e.html
USA gets Europe to water down proposals for tougher nuclear power safety standards

Nuclear safety push to be softened after U.S. objections BY SHADIA NASRALLA VIENNA Fri Jan 30, 2015 (Reuters) – The United States looks set to succeed in watering down a proposal for tougher legal standards aimed at boosting global nuclear safety, according to senior diplomats.
Diplomatic wrangling will come to a head at a 77-nation meeting in Vienna next month that threatens to expose divisions over required safety standards and the cost of meeting them, four years after the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Switzerland has put forward a proposal to amend the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), arguing stricter standards could help avoid a repeat of Fukushima, where an earthquake and tsunami sparked triple nuclear meltdowns, forced more than 160,000 people to flee nearby towns and contaminated water, food and air.
“If the convention is already perfect, why did Fukushima happen?” said one senior diplomat involved in the matter.
But Russia and the United States have opposed such a change, the diplomats say. A reform of the CNS would increase industry costs, as existing nuclear plants, especially older ones, would have to be refitted. The United Nations atomic watchdog says there are 439 nuclear power reactors currently in operation globally, with 69 under construction.
Mark Hibbs, proliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment think-tank, said those in favor of the amendment argue their opponents are motivated by protecting the nuclear industry and electric utility companies……..
“I think the United States government is afraid of any principle that would even suggest that current reactors need to be retrofitted to meet modern standards,” said Edwin Lyman of the Washington-based Union of Concerned Scientists.
“We have many plants (that face) hazards far greater than those they were originally designed to withstand decades ago… A declaration… would allow signatories to avoid even the obligation to discuss the matter in their reports.”…….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/30/us-nuclear-safety-idUSKBN0L31KO20150130
Oyster Creek nuclear power facility deteriorating: urgent safety need to close it

EDITORIAL: Time isn’t on Oyster Creek’s side AsburyPark January 29, 2015 To the surprise of no one, the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey continues to deteriorate and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission continues to document the decline of the oldest nuclear power plant in the country. The NRC released a report this week that indicated the plant, which came online in 1969 and is set to close in 2019, had rectified problems that led to four unplanned shutdowns, or scrams, in a 10-month period between October 2013 and July. Joint failures, metal fatigue and leaks were among the problems causing the shutdowns.
As expected, a spokesperson for power plant owner Exelon said the shutdowns never posed any risk to the safety of the plant, its employees or the public.
What the public should be hearing from Exelon are its specific plans for decommissioning the reactor, its timetable for doing so, and what it intends to do with the property once the plant is shut down. And the industry’s lapdog, the NRC, must come up with specific decommissioning requirements — many of the details are left to the plan operators — and address the questions surrounding the disposal of the spent fuel rods and making the sites suitable for other purposes……..
What is absolutely certain is that the dangers posed by Oyster Creek will not vanish in 2019. It will pose a continuing threat to the environment and public safety well into the future. The sooner that Oyster Creek is dismantled and its spent fuel rods can be safely moved out of overcrowded pools and into dry casks the better.
Oyster Creek has moved into its dotage, when breakdowns become the new normal. It is beyond the stage where duct tape and gauze bandage are going to fix it.
Exelon, the NRC and the state Department of Environmental Protection all need to be forthcoming about the timetables, tasks and costs ahead, and move with all deliberate speed to close Oyster Creek and keep us safe. It is ready for whatever the scrapheap of reactors looks like. Time is not on the side of safety. http://www.app.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/01/29/editorial-time-oyster-creeks-side/22517265/
A most dangerous autopsy – the prost-mortem on radioactively poisoned Alexander Litvinenko

Alexander Litvinenko inquiry: Post-mortem on poisoned former KGB spy ‘one of most dangerous ever’ Radio Australia 29 January 2015, Europe correspondent Barbara Miller, wires
The autopsy on the body of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has been described as one of the most dangerous ever undertaken, on day two of an inquiry into his death. Mr Litvinenko died in a London hospital on November 23, 2006, three weeks after drinking tea infused with deadly polonium-210 at a luxury hotel in the city’s Mayfair district.
The London inquiry was told “an inspired hunch” by police led them to bring in atomic scientists, who found Mr Litvinenko tested positive for alpha radiation poisoning two days before he died.
Lead pathologist Nathaniel Cary said without that finding, the cause of death would not have been discovered in a post-mortem.
He added he was unaware of any other case of someone being poisoned with alpha radiation in Britain, and probably the world.
“It has been described as the most dangerous post-mortem examination ever undertaken in the Western world and I think that is probably right,” he told the inquiry.
Those involved had needed to wear two white protective suits with specialised hoods fed with filtered air……….The British government long opposed the public inquiry but agreed last year amid worsening relations with Moscow.
The inquiry is expected to last two months. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-01-29/alexander-litvinenko-inquiry-postmortem-on-poisoned-former-kgb-spy-one-of-most-dangerous-ever/1410551
Los Alamos scientist had plan to build nuclear weapons, and to bomb New York
In the recordings, Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni tells an agent posing as a Venezuelan official that the bombs would prevent the United States from invading the oil-rich nation and brags to his wife that the passing of secrets would make him wealthy.
“I’m going to be the boss with money and power,” the naturalized US citizen from Argentina is heard saying. “I’m not an American anymore. This is it.”
Mascheroni said his New York bomb wouldn’t kill anyone but would disable the city’s electrical system and help Venezuela become a nuclear superpower. It was not known how realistic his New York bombing idea was.
But he suggested that once Venezuela obtained a bomb, the country should explode it “to let the world know what we’ve got,” according to the recordings….The US government did not allege Venezuela sought US secrets…..http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/29/us-nuclear-scientist-secretly-taped-by-fbi-claiming-he-could-bomb-new-york
Fatal accidents cause TEPCO to suspend decommissioning at Fukushima No. 1 power plant
Tepco suspends Fukushima No. 1 cleanup to probe fatal accidents Japan Times STAFF WRITER JAN 23, 2015 Tokyo Electric Power Co. has said it will suspend decommissioning work at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 power plant until it completes safety checks related to two fatal accidents at its facilities in the prefecture this week……http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/01/23/national/tepco-suspends-fukushima-no-1-cleanup-to-probe-fatal-accidents/#.VMWMHtKUcnm
Nuclear danger predictions for Japan in 2004: they are the same today
Japan’s deadly game of nuclear roulette, Japan Times, BY LEUREN MORET MAY 23 2004 Of all the places in all the world where no one in their right mind would build scores of nuclear power plants, Japan would be pretty near the top of the list.
The Japanese archipelago is located on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, a large active volcanic and tectonic zone ringing North and South America, Asia and island arcs in Southeast Asia. The major earthquakes and active volcanoes occurring there are caused by the westward movement of the Pacific tectonic plate and other plates leading to subduction under Asia.
Japan sits on top of four tectonic plates, at the edge of the subduction zone, and is in one of the most tectonically active regions of the world. It was extreme pressures and temperatures, resulting from the violent plate movements beneath the seafloor, that created the beautiful islands and volcanoes of Japan.
Nonetheless, like many countries around the world — where General Electric and Westinghouse designs are used in 85 percent of all commercial reactors — Japan has turned to nuclear power as a major energy source.
In fact the three top nuclear-energy countries are the United States, where the existence of 118 reactors was acknowledged by the Department of Energy in 2000, France with 72 and Japan, where 52 active reactors were cited in a December 2003 Cabinet White Paper.
The 52 reactors in Japan — which generate a little over 30 percent of its electricity — are located in an area the size of California, many within 150 km of each other and almost all built along the coast where seawater is available to cool them.
However, many of those reactors have been negligently sited on active faults, particularly in the subduction zone along the Pacific coast, where major earthquakes of magnitude 7-8 or more on the Richter scale occur frequently. The periodicity of major earthquakes in Japan is less than 10 years. There is almost no geologic setting in the world more dangerous for nuclear power than Japan — the third-ranked country in the world for nuclear reactors.
“I think the situation right now is very scary,” says Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a seismologist and professor at Kobe University. “It’s like a kamikaze terrorist wrapped in bombs just waiting to explode.”……..
Yoichi Kikuchi, a Japanese nuclear engineer who also became a whistle-blower, has told me personally of many safety problems at Japan’s nuclear power plants, such as cracks in pipes in the cooling system from vibrations in the reactor. He said the electric companies are “gambling in a dangerous game to increase profits and decrease government oversight.”
Sugaoka agreed, saying, “The scariest thing, on top of all the other problems, is that all nuclear power plants are aging, causing a deterioration of piping and joints which are always exposed to strong radiation and heat.”
Like most whistle-blowers, Sugaoka and Kikuchi are citizen heroes, but are now unemployed…….
It is not a question of whether or not a nuclear disaster will occur in Japan; it is a question of when it will occur. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2004/05/23/to-be-sorted/japans-deadly-game-of-nuclear-roulette/#.VMMMH9KUcnk
Fissures in earth not far from 7 nuclear reactors
Official: Fissures in earth now suspected under dam upstream of nuke plants — “There’s plenty of rumors… We’re considering all possibilities… Leak is actually in embankment, that’s where all the focus is” — Speculation that problem to go on for years — New drone footage shows excavation in progress (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/officials-fissures-suspected-dam-multiple-nuclear-reactors-downstream-considering-all-possibilities-leak-actually-embankment-all-focus-plenty-rumors-speculation-repair-project-could-years-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29
Follow-up to: ‘Sinkhole develops under dam in US — 7 nuclear reactors downstream — NRC notified of ‘stability issues’, plants begin evaluating potential flood impacts‘ and ‘Muddy seepage coming up near foundation of Boone Dam — Officials working around clock, using submarines and ground-penetrating radar
Bristol Herald Courier, Jan 14, 2015 (emphasis added): Water is still seeping at Boone Dam and the cause has yet to be determined… Boone Dam has two portions, a concrete portion [and] an earthen embankment. “The leak is actually in the embankment, that’s where all the focus is,” Travis Brickey, a spokesman for TVA, said Monday… TVA is currently drilling around the area where the units discharge water… Though there is no clear timeline on how long the investigation will take, Brickey said that it’s safe to say that there will be a project at the dam. But he’s not sure… how long the project will last or how it will impact the reservoir.
WJHL, Jan 12, 2015: TVA… says it plans to make an announcement about… water seeping out of a nearby riverbank near Boone Dam [after] what’s now being described as a “prolonged analysis” to find the source of the water moving underground… [TVA spokesman Travis Brickey] confirmed TVA engineers now suspect water is moving through fissures in rock under the earth-filled section of Boone Dam… TVA has lowered Boone Lake [to reduce] pressure on the dam [and] stopped passing water through its power-generating turbines at Boone Dam as a safety precaution… That’s forced TVA to release water [which is] shooting into the air… a highly visible water release that seems to have fired speculation about what’s going on at Boone Dam… TVA is non-committal about its plans to refill the lake in the spring. “It’s too soon to tell,” Brickey said.
TVA spokesman Travis Brickey, Jan 12, 2015: “We are considering all possibilities and continue to analyze the data… We’ve installed additional monitoring equipment along with anextensive core drilling campaign… We’re aware that there are plenty of rumors… Our engineers are working to develop next steps.”
More from Brickey: “We’re doing a lot of engineering work and looking at repair options and what that might entail… I assure you there are a lot of people working on this.”
WCYB, Dec 29. 2014: People who visit Boone Lake won’t be seeing normal water levels any time soon… Brickey says that TVA is reviewing repair options on Boone Dam… But, the longer it takes for TVA to announce the plans, the more concerned many marina owners are becoming.
Kingsport Times-News, Dec 29, 2014:“It’s all speculation,” Brickey said of rumors that the lake’s drawdown could last two years or longer… TVA’s most recent press [said] “reservoir levels could be lowered further if conditions change… The duration of the drawdown will depend on the results of the ongoing analysis.”
22 Fukushima-style reactors still operating in USA
Japan closing 5 reactors but U.S. still running its Fukushimas, Beyond Nuclear 17 Jan 15 The Japanese nuclear industry has announced it will permanently close five more of its remaining 48 “operable” nuclear reactors by March 2015, leaving the country with 43 reactors “operable” but still not actually “operating.” Two of the plants to be decommissioned are the same GE Mark I boiling water reactors identical to Fukushima. Despite the political landscape in Japan still promoting nuclear power, the anti-nuclear movement there continues to campaign to keep all of Japan’s reactors closed indeifinitely.
When a B-52 crashed due to turbulence – carrying 2 nuclear bombs!
the weapons are found. Not entirely safe, but “…relatively intact…” according to the Air Force. It’s a scary sounding moderation to describe radioactive A-bombs lying around in the woods of the Eastern U.S. unattended.
[Read also: On this day in 1968 a B-52 crashed in Greenland with 4 hydrogen bombs]
The nuclear nightmare of Savage Mountain: when a B-52 crashed due to turbulence. With two nukes, The Aviationist, Jan 15 2015 By Tom Demerly
This is true. And it’s terrifying. It reads like an Ian Fleming or Tom Clancy thriller. But it’s real. Continue reading
France’s government on high alert due to UFO’s over nuclear facilities
UFOs spotted over nuclear plants in France and Belgium Open Minds Alejandro Rojas January 15, 2015
The French government is on high alert due to a large amount of UFO sightings over nuclear power plants since October, 2014. The latest sighting in France was just last week, and witnesses in Belgium spotted one in December. Most media outlets suspect that the objects are drones, but not all of the witnesses are convinced. If they are drones, the authorities say they do not know who they belong to. According to Austrian news site ORF.at, there were 18 separate occasions UFOs were seen flying over nuclear power plants in France between early October and early November. They say authorities suspect it is the coordinated effort of an unknown group.
ORF.at says the sightings have sparked a debate over nuclear power plant security. Greenpeace has accused the French government of downplaying the danger of these unknown over flights.
The latest incident was announced on January 3, 2015. The nuclear power plant in Nogent-sur-Seine, southeast of Paris, says two security guards saw “two flying objects.” In late December, an object flew over a nuclear power plant in Belgium. The power plant is in Doel, about 10 miles from Antwerp. The news site Spiegel Online, says that plant had been shut down four months ago reportedly due to sabotage. No further details have been released.
According to Speigel Online, Greenpeace again raised concerns that the plants “are not adequately protected from attacks by drones.”……….http://www.openminds.tv/ufos-spotted-nuclear-plants-france-belgium/31709
Sellafield Catch Up 2015

Unsafe, unreliable- Vladimir Slivyak’s verdict on Russian nuclear reactors

Reactors from Russia are unsafe and unreliable, India shouldn’t buy them: Russian environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak DiaNuke.org, 9 Jan 15 “………….Over a dozen incidents and failures have already occurred at the newly built VVER at Kalinin NPP, including one involving a hydrogen explosion.
The Russian fast breeder reactor – the only commercial unit of this type in the world – has in its over 30 years of operation experienced almost as many various accidents, including fires involving radioactive substances and coolant leaks.
Further development of the breeder technology planned by Rosatom in Russia includes experiments with plutonium fuel. VVER-1200s are also designed to operate with plutonium fuel. Introducing this nuclear material into electricity generation on an industrial scale will likely lead to new accidents that will result in plutonium contamination.
Additionally, eleven old RBMK units – all variations on the Chernobyl design – still remain in operation in Russia.
Rosatom continues to reprocess spent nuclear fuel at the disastrous Mayak facility. Not only is the stockpile of extracted plutonium growing, but there is also a constant significant increase in volumes of radioactive waste resulting from reprocessing. The Mayak nuclear facility in Chelyabinsk Region was a place of a devastating nuclear accident of 1957, which caused widespread radioactive contamination and led to the resettlement of about 20,000 of local residents in the subsequent years.
Unfortuntely, several thousands of local residents still have to live in contaminated area because Rosatom doesn’t take responsibility for their resettlement and people themselves are too poor to move away. That’s best illustration of what is safety culture and social responsibility in understanding of the Russian nuclear industry.
Russia has no realistic and viable plan for the disposal of radioactive waste. The risk of radioactive leaks from the aging radioactive waste storage facilities is increasing. Rosatom’s attempts to build new disposal sites for radioactive waste in several regions of Russia have been met by harsh opposition from local populations and environmental groups. But even if such sites were ultimately built, their capacity would be enough to take care of only a small fraction of the waste accumulated over many decades.
How strong is the nuclear safety regulation in Russia? What have been post-Fukushima changes?
Unfortunately, it’s far from strong. In 1990s we had special safety regulator, Gosatomnadzor (or GAN). It was reporting directly to the president of country and was able to confront Rosatom on the most important safety issues. I mean there is certain difference in mandates of operator and regulator, and they must be in confrontation to improve the safety. When regulator becomes a friend to operator we are getting into Japanese situation which in the end bring us to another Fukushima sort of disaster. But that’s not the way it went in Russia. Rosatom successfully lobbied for dissolving of independent GAN. And finally it became just the department inside of another bigger structure, without any ability to control. After Fukushima, regulator proposed to close several old reactors down but that was easily ignored by Rosatom who said Russian reactors are best in the world and Fukushima would never happen in Russia. Something like that was said by Western industry after Chernobyl and all wanted to believe in it until Western-designed Fukushima exploded several times.
The Russian nuclear giant, Atomsroyeport, has been clearly unwilling to abide by the Indian liability law which has a clause on supliers liability in case of an accident. What does it say on their claims of safety?
It just confirms old fact that there is no 100% safe reactors. Which means, sooner or later, new Chernobyl or new Fukushima (or both) will happen again somewhere in the world. Russian industry knows very well that their reactors have vulnerabilities. And they don’t want to pay in case of another Chernobyl which they know is possible. Just like the owner of Fukushima is not paying to Japanese people……….http://www.dianuke.org/russian-reactors-are-unsafe-and-unreliable-india-shouldnt-buy-them-russian-environmentalist-vladimir-slivyak/
Danger of transporting nuclear weapons through Glasgow, especially in extreme weather

Ministry of Defence blasted for transporting nuclear weapons through Glasgow city centre during extreme weather by Scottish CND and SNP Daily Record, Jan 13, 2015 By Joe McGuire
A CONVOY believed to be carrying city-destroying warheads drove through the middle of Glasgow on the M74 and M8 on Sunday night and crossed the Erskine Bridge during high winds. THE Ministry of Defence has come under fire from anti-nuclear campaigners and politicians after reports that a convoy carrying nuclear weapons travelled through the centre of Glasgow despite weather warnings.
The convoy drove through the middle of Glasgow on the M74 and M8 between 11.35pm and 11.55 pm on Sunday night and crossed the Erskine Bridge during high winds.
While the Scottish CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) maintain the convoys, which transport nuclear warheads between the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire to the UK’s fleet of nuclear-armed submarines at Faslane, are always unsafe, the campaigners condemned moving the weapons during extreme weather as reckless……….
SNP MSP for Glasgow Anniesland and co-president of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament Bill Kidd added: “This practice is deeply worrying and poses an unacceptable risk to the people of Glasgow. The idea that weapons of mass destruction are being transported through our city while we sleep is absolutely chilling – and shows the utter folly of basing nuclear weapons just 30 miles from our biggest population centre.
“The impact of any safety breach during one of these convoys does not bear thinking about. It’s time that these immoral and unsafe weapons were removed from Scotland for good.”
Glasgow Now has reached out to the Ministry of Defence for comment. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/ministry-defence-blasted-transporting-nuclear-4970433
India’s Koodankulam reactor no 1 not really functioning, repeated shutdowns
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Reactors from Russia are unsafe and unreliable, India shouldn’t buy them: Russian environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak DiaNuke.org, 9 Jan 15 “……..The Koodankulam reactor no 1, despite its commissioning with much fanfare last year, is not really functioning and has seen repeated shut-downs. The people’s movement in Koodankulam says its because of the sub-standard equipments from Russia and it is unsafe. What do you think?
Bad quality of equipment and reactor components coming from Russia is not a secret anymore. It was noticed in China as well. Under current management, Rosatom became deeply corrupted which resulted in regular public scandals and arrests. In last 3 years several deputy directors of Rosatom were arrested on corruption charges, and in total about 300 people were fired from Rosatom’ organizations for the same reason. Very huge scandal happened with Zio-Podolsk producing steam-generators for nuclear plants – people there used cheap metal for manufacturing, instead of expensive one required by technology. Difference in price of cheap and expensive metals was going into pockets of top-management. Another scandal was about stealing money for radioactive waste treatment, and another one about bribes and procurement, etc.
Bad quality of reactor components, you are likely dealing with in case of Kudankulam, is a direct consequence of corruption. You can read more on corruption issue in the special report on Russian nuclear industry published in December (can be downloaded here)…….http://www.dianuke.org/russian-reactors-are-unsafe-and-unreliable-india-shouldnt-buy-them-russian-environmentalist-vladimir-slivyak/
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