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27 years later, Chernobyl still leaking radiation, still dangerous

chernobylChornobyl, 27 years later, still dangerous http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/chornobyl-27-years-later-still-dangerous-323760.html April 26, 2013,   Ukraine — by Katya Gorchinskaya, Svitlana Tuchynska CHORNOBYL, Ukraine – A turbine hall adjoining Chornobyl’s destroyed fourth reactor has a gaping 600-square meter opening where the roof collapsed in February. The roof has not been fixed yet, letting in rainwater that mingles with radioactive dust and elements inside and oozes out.

April 26, 2013 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

USA: Jail sentence for under-reporting injuries at nuclear plants.

An American court has sentenced a former engineering safety manager to 6.5 years in prison for falsifying information about injuries at three nuclear power plant sites. Walter Cardin was convicted in November 2012by a federal grand jury of eight counts of major fraud against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), a US government corporation. The offences were committed from 2004 to 2006. Cardin was convicted of providing false information by under-reporting the number of injuries and their severity.

At the time of the offences, Shaw Group subsidiary Stone & Webster Construction had been contracted by the TVA to provide maintenance and modification services at the Browns Ferry, Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear sites, including construction work for the restart of Browns Ferry 1. False injury rates were then used by Stone & Webster to collect safety bonuses of over $2.5 million from TVA. Stone & Webster paid back US$6.2 million to the USA as part of a civil settlement over the false claims and contract fraud in early 2009. During the trial, evidence was presented covering more than 80 injuries that were not properly recorded by Cardin. Some employees testified that they had been denied or delayed proper medical treatment as a result of Cardin’s actions. (World Nuclear News, 15 April 2013, ‘Jail sentence for falsification’)

April 26, 2013 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

Fire on UK nuclear submarine

HMS Torbay nuclear submarine evacuated, BBC News Devon 25 April 13 A nuclear submarine in Devonport dockyard had to be evacuated after a fire broke out while maintenance work was being carried out.About 55 people had to leave when the fire broke out as welding was being done on the outside of the Trafalgar class submarine, said the Royal Navy.The “small fire” among protective blankets was put out within five minutes by a fire crew, it said.The Royal Navy said no-one was injured and an investigation would take place. It added the submarine had not been damaged…. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22302965

April 26, 2013 Posted by | incidents, UK | Leave a comment

Anger at USA government’s new lax radiation safety rules

safety-symbol1New radiation guidelines outrage anti-nuclear groups AprFlag-USA 18 – McClatchy-Tribune Regional News – Pam Sohn Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn. At the same time that citizens are cooling on nuclear power in Fukushima’s wake and both nuclear regulators and operators are pushing emergency preparedness for worst-case scenarios, the EPA has moved to update radiation exposure rules.

They include some health-related guidelines to help responders determine evacuation needs and short-term exposure measures for situations not previously spelled out, according to Jonathan Edwards, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency’s radiation division, and David McIntyre, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The guide is intended to be used by emergency planners.

But at least two environmental groups charge that the new guidelines, announced Monday in the Federal Register, relax existing rules.

“The new [protective action guides] eliminate requirements to evacuate people in the face of high projected thyroid, skin, or lifetime whole body doses,” according to statements from the Nuclear Information and Resource Service and the Committee to Bridge the Gap.

Daniel Hirsch, president of Committee to Bridge the Gap, said the guide also recommends dumping radioactive waste in municipal landfills not designed for such waste and proposes options for drinking water that would increase the permitted concentrations of radioactivity “by as much as 27,000 times.”….

the groups — both anti-nuclear — are outraged.

“In essence the government is now saying nuclear power accidents could produce such widespread contamination and produce such high radiation levels that the government should abandon efforts to clean it up and instead force people to live with radiation-induced cancer risks orders of magnitude higher than ever considered acceptable,” Hirsch said…….. http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/13/04/new-radiation-guidelines-outrage-anti-nuclear-groups

April 20, 2013 Posted by | politics, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Kudankulam nuclear plant has faulty technology

flag-indiaIndia’s nuclear watchdog finds faulty valves in Kudankulam plant by Pallava Bagla, Edited by Ashish Mukherjee: April 19, 2013 New Delhi: For the very first time, India’s nuclear watchdog, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), has indicated that faulty parts have been found at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. The problematic valves are being replaced, said officials.

The Department of Atomic Energy, which reports to the Prime Minister, has been insisting that the nuclear facility in coastal Tamil Nadu is safe and ready to be commissioned in weeks.

Protesters, including local fishermen and villagers who have campaigned long and hard against the nuclear plant, have repeatedly shared their concern that sub-standard equipment has been installed at the facility.
The AERB confirms that “performance of four valves of a particular type were found to be deficient”…… SP Udayakumar, leader of the anti-Kudankulam protesters, said the nuclear watchdog’s finding proves that the plant is not safe. “Not just valves, the reactor pressure vessel itself is deficient. The project should be scrapped,” he said. http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/india-s-nuclear-watchdog-finds-faulty-valves-in-kudankulam-plant-356391

April 20, 2013 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Serious worries about safety of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.

earthquakeAnother Cause for Alarm in Iran’s Nuclear Program: flag-IranEarthquakes, The Atlantic, Jill Keenan, 18 April 13,  The country’s nuclear power plant is built near tectonic plates, and reports show it may not be safe in the event of a major seismic event. On April 16, a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit southeast Iran, sending tremors across the region and causing casualties that are expected to reach into the hundreds. According to an Iranian official , it was the biggest earthquake to hit the country in 40 years. This devastation comes only one week after another earthquake hit the town of Kaki, also in southern Iran, killing at least 37 people and injuring more than 850 others. Shockwaves from both earthquakes were felt as far away as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and western Saudi Arabia. They are only the two most recent in a series of earthquakes that regularly haunt this seismically unstable country.

Most ominously, the epicenter of the April 9 earthquake’s first tremor, which measured a 6.3 on the Richter scale, was centered only 62 miles away from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

April 19, 2013 Posted by | Iran, Reference, safety | 1 Comment

Leaking nuclear power station in Kent, UK

Nuclear power station has been leaking radioactive waste ‘for months’, says Environment Agency. Dungeness B in Kent has been leaking more than agreed levels of Tritium Mail Online, By STEVE NOLAN, 18 April 2013 A nuclear power station in Kent has been leaking radioactive waste, which can increase the risk of developing cancer, for months according to the Environment Agency. Routine tests on boreholes drilled close to the Dungeness B plant found traces of tritium measuring more than seven times the agreed level……. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2311217/Nuclear-power-station-leaking-radioactive-waste-months-says-Environment-Agency.html#ixzz2QyKFyAZl

April 19, 2013 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Anxieties in the region, about safety of Iran’s nuclear reactor

Any nuclear disaster at Bushehr will have regional implications.

flag-IranIran nuclear plant: the looming danger With Bushehr becoming operational, Iran is the only nuclear power country that is not a signatory to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, Gulf News By Ali Vaez April 12. 2013    A 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook Iran’s southern shores last Tuesday, on the afternoon that the country was celebrating its National Nuclear Technology Day. Continue reading →

April 13, 2013 Posted by | Iran, safety | Leave a comment

World ignores Fukushima radiation at our peril

radiation-warningFukushima is currently releasing up to 93 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium into the ocean each day. How much radiation is that? A quick calculation shows that Chernobyl released around ten thousand times more radioactive cesium each day during the reactor fire. But the Chernobyl fire only lasted 10 days … and the Fukushima release has been ongoing for more than 2 years so far.

Indeed, Fukushima has already spewed much more radioactive cesium and iodine 131 than Chernobyl. The amount of radioactive cesium released by Fukushima was some 20-30 times higher than initially admitted.

Fukushima also pumped out huge amounts of radioactive iodine 129 – which has a half-life of 15.7 million years.
Fukushima has also dumped up to 900 trillion becquerels of radioactive strontium-90 – which is a powerful internal emitter which mimics calcium and collects in our bones – into the ocean..

Radiation Is Not On People’s Radar, Dr. Mark Sircus, Activist Post, 9 April 13,  In publishing Atomic Suicide Drs. Walter and Lao Russell united with Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s 1957 appeal to the world to end nuclear tests, and in fact any and all use of radioactive elements. In this prophetic book, the Russells explain clearly that with radioactive elements unleashed into our atmosphere, the human race is heading for catastrophe. Giving detailed scientific evidence, they warn that ‘to fail to consider the nature of radioactive elements and their consequences would be a folly for which humanity would have to pay a terrible price.’ Continue reading →

April 12, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Japan, radiation, safety | Leave a comment

NRC report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station not good enough

Sen. Boxer Blasts Report on San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station SAN DIEGO (CNS) 11 April 13,  – Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Wednesday blasted a preliminary finding by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff that restarting a unit at the idled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station would not present significant safety hazards. 

Officials with Southern California Edison, the plant’s majority owner and operator, have asked for permission to operate the plant’s Unit 2 reactor at 70 percent beginning June 1. The utility wants to run the unit at partial power for five months, then shut it down for an inspection of steam pressure tubes. 

Boxer and Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass, sent a letter to the NRC this week demanding that a comprehensive investigation of the plant be completed before any units be permitted to operate. They also said full public hearings should be held before a decision is made.  “The NRC staff proposal, which could pave the way for the restart of the San Onofre nuclear power plant before the investigation of the crippled plant are completed, is dangerous and premature,” Boxer said in response to the commission staff’s preliminary finding. “It makes absolutely no sense to even consider taking any steps to reopen San Onofre until these investigations look at every aspect of reopening the plant, given the failure of the tubes that carry radioactive water.

“In addition, the damaged plant is located in an area at risk of earthquake and tsunami,” she said. “With 8 million people living within 50 miles of this plant, the staff proposal is beyond irresponsible.” …… The NRC has promised to hold a public meeting in Southern California before any final decisions are made on a restart plan. The agency and SCE have repeatedly said they won’t restart the plant until they are sure it is safe. http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/Sen-Boxer-Blasts-Report-on-San-Onofre-Nuclear-Generating-Station-202441161.html

April 12, 2013 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Earthquake? no worries – Iran will build more nuclear reactors there

nuke-earthquakeIran says it will build more nuclear plants in area hit by earthquake : http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/04/10/iran-to-build-more-nuclear-plants-in-area-hit-by-earthquake/#ixzz2QBoycUDm April 10, 2013

FoxNews A day after an earthquake rattled the area containing Iran’s only nuclear power plant, the country announced that it plans to build more plants in the same place.

Tuesday’s magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 55 miles southeast of Bushehr, killing at least 37 and injuring more than 900, Iranian officials said.

The Russian power company that helped build the nuclear plant says its operations were unaffected. But the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization told state TV hours after the earthquake that more reactors would be built near Bushehr, Reuters reports.

Iran has repeatedly ignored safety concerns about housing a nuclear facility in the area, which is highly seismic.

Last week, a report by U.S. think tanks the Carnegie Endowment and the Federation of American Scientists said the Bushehr reactor sits at the intersection of three tectonic plates, Reuters reports.

In 2003, an earthquake in Bam, which is about 600 miles east of Bushehr, killed more than 25,000 people.

 

April 11, 2013 Posted by | Iran, safety | Leave a comment

Iran’s nuclear plant – close to recent earthquake

Strong earthquake near Iran nuclear plant kills dozens Radio Australia  10 April 2013, More than 30 people are dead after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake which hit near Iran’s only nuclear power plant. A powerful earthquake has struck close to Iran’s only nuclear power station, killing at least 37 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages.

The magnitude 6.3 quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it.

Many houses in rural parts of the province are made of mud bricks, which have been known to crumble easily in quake-prone Iran.

The death toll is expected to climb, as the stricken area is home to some 12,000 inhabitants.

Across the Gulf, offices in Qatar and Bahrain were evacuated after the quake. Its epicentre was 89 km south-east of the port of Bushehr, according to the US Geological Survey.

The early afternoon shock was also felt in financial hub Dubai, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates

The Russian company that built the nuclear power station, 18km south of Bushehr, said the plant was unaffected….. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-04-10/strong-earthquake-near-iran-nuclear-plant-kills-dozens/1113782

April 11, 2013 Posted by | Iran, safety | Leave a comment

Government Accountability Office find USA nuclear evacuation plans inadequate

Feds sound alarm on nuclear evacuations, NJ.com 11 April 13,  By The Associated Press  Regulators and congressional investigators clashed today over a new report warning that in the event of an accident at a nuclear plant, panicking residents from outside the official evacuation zone might jam the roads and prevent others from escaping.

The report by the Government Accountability Office, which acts as the investigative arm of Congress, challenges a three-decade-old fundamental of emergency planning around American nuclear power plants: that preparations for evacuation should focus on people who live within 10 miles of the site.

The GAO found that people living beyond the official 10-mile evacuation zone might be so frightened by the prospect of spreading radiation that they would flee of their own accord, clog roads, and delay the escape of others. The investigators said regulators have never properly studied how many people beyond 10 miles would make their own decisions to take flight, prompting what is called a “shadow evacuation.”

As a result, the GAO report says, “evacuation time estimates may not accurately consider the impact of shadow evacuations.”……

The investigation was requested by four U.S. senators: Democrats Barbara Boxer of California, Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and independent Bernard Sanders of Vermont. They asked for the report in 2011 in response to an Associated Press investigative series reporting weaknesses in community planning for nuclear accidents, including the likelihood of surprisingly large shadow evacuations…… http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/feds_sound_alarm_on_nuclear_ev.html

April 11, 2013 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Japan’s oversight of Fukushima radiation too lax: public concern about food

Japan nuclear safety plans too lax for crowded, quake-prone nation, say nuclear experts The Star,  By: Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press,  Apr 08 2013 TOKYO—Experts who investigated Japan’s nuclear crisis said Monday that government oversight of the crippled plant’s operator is still too lax, as public concern has grown over recent safety problems.

A power failure last month caused by a rat that short-circuited a switchboard left the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant’s fuel storage pools without cooling water for more than a day. Last Friday another cooling failure occurred, and hours later the operator reported a large leak of radioactive water from underground tanks.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., revealed Saturday that up to 120 tons of highly contaminated water escaped from a temporary underground tank and a smaller amount from another tank. TEPCO said it believes the water has not flowed into the ocean.

Regulators asked TEPCO on Monday to determine the cause and contain the problem quickly.

But the investigators told parliament on Monday that the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is merely rubber-stamping TEPCO’s work at the plant, Continue reading →

April 9, 2013 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Failure of Fukushima cooling system due to rat risk

rat-chewing-cable“We were installing wire nets to keep the rats out. But the end of one of the wires may have momentarily come into contact with a live terminal,” said Masayuki Ono, general manager at Tepco’s Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division. “The next moment, there were sirens.”

Rat Chase Again Bedevils Fukushima Nuclear Plant http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/world/asia/rat-chase-again-bedevils-fukushima-nuclear-plant.html?_r=0   By HIROKO TABUCHI April 5, 2013 TOKYO — Workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant who were installing wire nets Friday to keep rats away from a vital cooling system instead tripped up that system, causing it to fail for the second time in weeks. The spent-fuel pool at the site’s No. 3 reactor went without fresh cooling water for almost three hours on Friday afternoon, said the plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco. Continue reading →

April 6, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013, safety | Leave a comment

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