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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

a SILEX facility could make it much easier for a rogue state to clandestinely enrich weapons grade uranium to create nuclear bombs

SILEX could become America’s proliferation Fukushima,

Controversial nuclear technology alarms watchdogs  http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/controversial-nuclear-technology-alarms-watchdogs/18138  By David Worthington | July 30, 2012 A controversial nuclear technology is raising alarms bells among critics who claim it may be better suited for making nuclear weapons than lowering the cost of nuclear power and could lead to a nonproliferation “Fukushima” for the United States. Continue reading →

July 31, 2012 Posted by | Reference, safety, technology, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

NRC alerts nuclear operators to possible design flaw July 27   Jul 28, 2012   (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday alerted nuclear power plant operators to a potential design vulnerability that could affect key safety equipment and requested additional information about power system designs.

The regulator’s notice comes after Exelon Corp’s 1,136-megawatt unit 2
at Byron nuclear power station automatically shut on Jan. 30 due to
unbalanced voltage entering the plant’s power system from the
transmission network……. Loss of offsite power was identified by
the NRC as an important issue to be addressed in the wake of the
devastating earthquake and tsunami that led to the meltdown of
reactors at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant in March 2011.

The NRC will use the information it receives to determine if further
regulatory action is needed.

The NRC issued a notice March 1 to inform licensees of recent
experience involving loss of one of three phases of the offsite power
circuit, including the Byron event.

Operators have to provide information on their electric system designs
within 90 days. Both operating commercial power reactors and the four
combined licenses for new reactors issued earlier this year must
respond, the NRC said .
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/27/utilities-operations-nrc-idINL2E8IR7EL20120727

July 29, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Mihama reactor 2 turns 40 years; future uncertain, Japan Times, Kyodo TSURUGA, Fukui Pref. 27 July 12 — Reactor 2 at the Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture marked its 40th year in operation Wednesday, while the government weighs allowing the now-idled unit to keep running longer than originally planned.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency last week approved changes in safety regulations to permit reactors to keep running for more than 40 years.

All but two of Japan’s 50 commercial nuclear reactors are now shut down due to safety concerns in the wake of the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 plant in March 2011. Before they can be restarted, the reactors must pass “stress tests” to check their ability to withstand
earthquakes and tsunami.

The 500,000-kw reactor 2 at the Mihama plant, operated by Kansai Electric Power Co., is the third-oldest commercially run reactor in Japan. The two older are reactor 1 at Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tsuruga plant, also in Fukui, and reactor 1 at the Mihama plant….. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120726a9.html

July 29, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, safety | Leave a comment

Scientists not happy with dangerous pool storage of spent nuclear fuel

An accident or terrorist attack resulting in a rapid loss of cooling water from a pool could lead to a self-sustaining fire and release of a massive quantity of highly radioactive Cesium-137 into the environment.  

NRC Report States That Storing Spent Nuclear Fuel In Wet Pools Is ‘Adequate’ To Protect Public http://www.ucsusa.org/news/media_alerts/nrc-report-adequate-not-enough-0380.html

Transferring It to Dry Casks Would Be Significantly Safer, Science Group Says Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Corrosion at Hamaoka nuclear power station

Corrosion confirmed at Japan nuke plant — Seawater flowed into reactor pressure vessel — Years before prospects will be known http://enenews.com/corrosion-confirmed-at-japan-nuke-plant-seawater-flowed-into-reactor-years-before-prospects-for-reactor-will-be-known
 July 26th, 2012 By ENENews  In a fresh development adding to local worries, Chubu
Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that many parts of reactor 5 at its Hamaoka nuclear power station in Shizuoka Prefecture have been confirmed corroded. Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

NHK: International nuclear experts turning attention to Onagawa nuke plant — Intensity of 3/11 quake exceeded maximum limit (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/nhk-nuclear-experts-turning-attention-to-onagawa-nuclear-plant-intensity-of-311-quake-exceeded-maximum-limit-video  July 26th, 2012  
By ENENews  Title: IAEA to assess quake resistance at Onagawa plant Source: NHK World
Data at some nuclear plants in northern and eastern Japan show that the intensity of the quake exceeded the maximum level assumed by the plants’ designers.

Officials from the IAEA and foreign experts will visit the Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture on Monday for an on-site assessment.

Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the team will enter the plant’s No.1 through No.3 reactors to examine piping and the cooling system. They will also check the condition of the nuclear fuel pools.

But this is the first time since last year’s disaster that it will assess quake resistance at a nuclear plant in Japan.

July 29, 2012 Posted by | general, Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear Regulatory Commission to refuse licensing for Calvert Cliffs nuclear reactor

Experts: NRC Licensing Board Expected Friday To Strike Down Calvert
Cliffs Nuclear Reactor Project, Market Watch,  WASHINGTON, July 26, 2012  — End to Former “Flagships” of Sputtering U.S. “Nuclear Renaissance”: Foreign Ownership Rules to Block Licensing of Calvert Cliffs 3 in MD, Nine Mile Point 3 in NY, and South Texas Project. Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Suspicious geological faults http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120727a1.html  27 July 12, The trade and industry ministry’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) on July 18 ordered Kansai Electric Power Co. (Kepco) and Hokuriku Electric Power Co. to carry out geological surveys, including boring, at the Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture and the
Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, respectively.

This is because of suspicions having been raised that fault crushing belts running through the Oi plant site and a fault running through the Shika plant site are active faults. Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Radiation exposure to over 40 Indian nuclear power plant workers

40 India nuclear plant workers contaminated: Firm  Economic Times, 24 JUL, 2012,   JAIPUR: More than 40 workers at a nuclear power station have been exposed to tritium radiation in two separate leaks in the past five weeks, company managers said on Tuesday.

The first accident occurred on June 23 when 38 people were exposed during maintenance work on a coolant channel at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata, senior plant manager Vinod Kumar told AFP.

Two of them received radiation doses equivalent to the annual permissible limit, he said, but all those involved have returned to work.

In a second incident last Thursday, another four maintenance workers at the plant were exposed to tritium radiation while they were repairing a faulty seal on a pipe.

India is on a nuclear power drive, with a host of plants based on Russian, Japanese, American and French technology under consideration or construction. … environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often under-staffed and under-funded…..

No explanation was immediately available as to why the first incident at the plant took a month to emerge.

In May 2011, four labourers were exposed to low levels of radiation at the Kakrapur Atomic Power Station in eastern Gujarat state.

In November 2009, workers at a nuclear plant in southern Karnataka state fell ill after radioactive water contaminated their drinking water. …  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/40-india-nuclear-plant-workers-contaminated-firm/articleshow/15119386.cms

July 25, 2012 Posted by | incidents, India | Leave a comment

A worker set fire to a nuclear submarine

A Guy Started A Fire On A Nuclear Submarine To Leave Work Early http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/07/a-guy-started-a-fire-on-a-nuclear-submarine-to-leave-work-early/ CASEY CHAN 23 July 12, Here’s a friendly reminder for everyone who wants to leave work early: don’t ever set fire to your workplace. Especially if you work on a million nuclear submarine. Continue reading →

July 25, 2012 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Japan not able to find truly independent nuclear power regulators

  Japan Struggles to Find New Nuclear Regulators WSJ, By MARI IWATA TOKYO   July 24, 2012,—Racing against a legislative deadline, the Japanese government
is trying to find regulators who understand nuclear technology—but aren’t close to the nuclear industry.

Cronyism has been widely blamed for contributing to the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. following the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March 2011. In a scathing investigation commissioned by parliament, a panel concluded: “The Tepco Fukushima nuclear-power-plant accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and Tepco.” Continue reading →

July 25, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

4 exposed to radiation at Rajasthan n-plant  Express news service : Jaipur,  Jul 24 2012 In the second such incident in a month, four workers at Rawatbhata Atomic Power Station in Rajasthan were exposed to harmful doses of leaked tritium radiationon July 19. Two persons were exposed to similar radiation on June 29.http://www.indianexpress.com/news/4-exposed-to-radiation-at-rajasthan-nplant/978569/

July 24, 2012 Posted by | incidents, India | Leave a comment

New government inquiry finds that Japan’s nuclear reactors are still unsafe

Japan nuclear plants ‘still not safe’ Report from independent panel delivers damning assessment of country’s nuclear regulator and Fukushima plant operator. Aljazeera 23 Jul 2012 A government-appointed inquiry has delivered a damning assessment of Japanese nuclear regulators and the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, raising further fears that despite new rules, the country’s nuclear sector still does not meet safety requirements.

The 450-page report by a 10-member panel of independent experts was released on Monday, and comes as anti-nuclear activists continue a vociferous campaign against the restarting of two nuclear reactors in the country.

The government is currently readying a new energy policy, due next month. Continue reading →

July 23, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Radioactive danger of Chernobyl forest fires

Chernobyl’s radioactive trees and the forest fire risk BBC News 7 July.  (this article also describes the heroism of Ukraine’s firefighters.) By Patrick Evans Chernobyl, Ukraine   Much of the 30km exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear plant is pine forest, and some of it so badly contaminated that a forest fire could create a devastating radioactive smoke cloud.

Heading north from Kiev in Ukraine, Continue reading →

July 21, 2012 Posted by | safety, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Stolen vehicle contained radioactive material

Nuclear material on stolen ute TVNZ July 21, 2012  Police fear radioactive material could be released from a nuclear density metre on a utility stolen in Christchurch. Continue reading →

July 21, 2012 Posted by | incidents, New Zealand | Leave a comment

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