Seoul restarts aged nuclear reactor despite safety concerns
Korea Times, 7 Aug 12 The government decided Monday to restart an aged nuclear reactor that recently underwent months-long scrutiny over its safety, amid looming signs of a power shortage due to a record heat wave.
Operation of the Reactor-1 at Gori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan was
resumed earlier in the day with the reactor expected to reach its full
generation capacity on Friday, according to the Ministry of Knowledge
Economy….. The 578-megawatt reactor, located some 450 kilometers
southeast of Seoul, was manually shut down on March 12 after the Hydro
& Nuclear Power Co. belatedly reported a major safety breach during a
regular maintenance check the previous month, when the reactor, along
with its backup generator, temporarily lost power….. the reactor had
remained shut down amid widespread public concerns over safety of the
reactor whose initial 30-year lifespan ran out but was extended by 10
years in 2008….
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/08/123_116740.html
Heat danger, even when nuclear reactors are shut down
For Nuclear Power This Summer, It’s Too Darn Hot, Truth Out, 05 August 2012 By Gregg Levine, ”……when it comes to nuclear power, as global temperatures continue to rise and water levels in rivers and lakes continue to drop, an even more disconcerting threat emerges.
When a coal plant is forced to shut down because of a lack of cool intake water, it can, in short order, basically get turned off. With no coal burning, the cooling needs of the facility quickly downgrade to zero.
A nuclear reactor, however, is never really “off.”
When a boiling water reactor or pressurized water reactor (BWR and PWR respectively, the two types that make up the total of the US commercial reactor fleet) is “shutdown” (be it in an orderly fashion or an abrupt “scram”), control rods are inserted amongst the fuel rods inside the reactor. The control rods absorb free neutrons, decreasing the number of heavy atoms getting hit and split in the fuel rods. It is that split, that fission, that provides the energy that heats the water in the reactor and produces the steam that drives the electricity-generating turbines. Generally, the more collisions, the more heat generated. An increase in heat means more steam to spin a turbine; fewer reactions means less heat, less steam and less electrical output. But it doesn’t mean no heat.
The water that drives the turbines also cools the fuel rods. It needs to circulate and somehow get cooled down when it is away from the reactor core. Even with control rods inserted, there are still reactions generating heat, and that heat needs to be extracted from the reactor or all kinds of trouble ensues–from too-high pressure breaching containment to melting the cladding on fuel rods, fires, and hydrogen explosions. This is why the term LOCA–a loss of coolant accident–is a scary one to nuclear watchdogs (and, theoretically, to nuclear regulators, too).
So, even when they are not producing electricity, nuclear reactors still need cooling. They still need a power source to make that cooling happen, and they still need a coolant, which, all across the United States and most of the rest of the world, means water. http://truth-out.org/news/item/10707-for-nuclear-power-this-summer-its-too-darn-hot
Radioactive water leaked from Vermont nuclear plant
Vermont Yankee employees allow water to drain from spent fuel pool http://www.commonsnews.org/site/site05/story.php?articleno=5817&page=1 The Commons August 1, 2012 By Anne Galloway/vtdigger.org VERNON—About 2,700 gallons of water from the spent fuel pool at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant drained into a wastewater system on July 22.
The 300,000 gallon pool contains 2,500 spent fuel assemblies removed from the reactor core. The spent fuel assemblies are submerged below more than 20 feet of water.
The water drained about six inches over the course of about 30 minutes when employees who were working on the fuel pool cleanup system left drain valves open. Operators in the control room discovered the problem after an alarm system went off, according to Rob Williams, spokesman for the plant.
The radioactive water drained into a wastewater collection tank….
Arnie Gundersen, a nuclear engineer and former member of a Vermont Yankee oversight panel, said several steps in a procedure were skipped by employees. He is concerned about oversight and employee training at the plant as older workers retire. Procedures, he said, must be much more specific.
“It’s a big deal, it’s a safety-related system, we’re not talking about mowing the lawn at VY,” Gundersen said. “There’s 300,000 gallons in the pool, and it lost 1 percent of the water in 30 minutes. It is radioactive water, it’s not like what you put in a water cooler.”
Serious security breach at Oak Ridge nuclear weapons plant
the activists had passed through four fences and walked for “over two hours” before reaching the uranium storage building, on which they hung banners and strung crime-scene tape.
“It is unbelievable this could happen,” Stockton said. “The significance is outrageous. If they were terrorists, they could have blown open the door and got inside.” Stockton said the security breach was the “worst we’ve ever seen.”
Oak Ridge uranium plant shut after protesters breach 4 fences, reach building By Mark Hosenball, Reuters NBCNews US, 2 Aug 12, The U.S. government’s only facility for handling, processing and storing weapons-grade uranium has been temporarily shut after anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, breached security fences, government officials said on Thursday. Continue reading
Concern growing about poor safety of South Korea’s nuclear reactors
Nuclear reactor shut down for safety reasons, Aug.1,2012 Incident at Younggwang plant the latest in a long string of nuclear troubles, The Hanyoreh, By Noh Hyung-woong, staff reporter Reactor 6 at Younggwang Nuclear Power Plant in South Jeolla province was shut down again on July 30 due to a malfunctioning reactor rod….
The repeated problems with Younggwang reactor 6 have residents in the area nervous. Reactor 6 first broke down during a 2002 trial run. Since then, it has gone out of action 9 times in past 10 years.
Among those cases, some were trivial, due to lightning strikes and a mistake on operation. But in Dec. 2008, the reactor was stopped because warning signals appeared, indicating the reactor rod was in the wrong position.
Yang-yi Won-young director of Common Action for Nuke Free Society said, “The reactor rod is the last line of defense against a serious accident. It was fortunate that the reactor was shut down in time. If it hadn‘t been, it would have created a terrible disaster.”
Some brought up the problem of Korean-style pressurized light water reactors, citing their frequent breakdowns. “The reactors that recently broke down, including reactor 6 at the Younggwang plant, are localized as Korean style,” said Professor Suh Kune-yull at the
Nuclear Engineering Dept. of Seoul National University. “It seems that their electronic circuits and other components fail frequently.”…..
more and more people raised the questions of the safety of nuclear power plants. In particular, the Younggwang accident happened while MKE has been moving to restart Kori Nuclear reactor No.1…… http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_business/545178.html
Oi reactors will be idled if fault under them is active, new nuclear safety chief warns, Japan Times, 1 Aug 12, Kyodo The man nominated to head the new atomic regulatory authority said Wednesday he expects the two reactors at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture to halt operations should there be any active fault found underneath them. Continue reading
The major security concern about Russia’s secret nuclear cities
Closed Cities & Nuclear Entrepreneurship In Russia JULY 30, 2012 by EDWARD PERELLO Faced with a dearth of opportunity, the aged nuclear scientist would not need much imagination, nor would he have to look far, to find a buyer interested in an exchange that would provide him with a hefty retirement package with which to live out his remaining
years….
.Russia’s ten nuclear cities contain the former Soviet Union’s principal nuclear weapons research, design and production facilities, and to the ordinary citizen, they weren’t really there. Nuclear cities were not officially recognised as existing until 1992 as they were amongst the Soviet unions many “closed cities” that were involved in certain sensitive activities. Located in remote regions around the country, closed cities were not labelled on any
publicly-available map and were isolated from the world. Continue reading
Danger and expense in relicensing aging nuclear reactor
relicensing this aging nuclear plant simply makes no sense. If the true costs are included, the energy produced is extremely expensive, and the toxic wastes produced pose an unacceptable health risk.
Columbia Generating Station: Why relicense a nuclear power plant 10 years early? http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/07/columbia_generating_station_wh.html, July 30, 2012, By John Pearson In May, 10 years earlier than required, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the license of the Columbia Generating Station, the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant, to 2043.
Located along the Columbia River within Washington’s Hanford Nuclear Reservation, the Columbia Generating Station is now 30 years old. It was formerly known as Washington Public Power Supply System Nuclear Plant No. 2 — the only nuclear plant completed by Washington public power utilities out of five under construction, leading to what was at
the time the largest municipal bond default in U.S. history. Continue reading
Kyodo: Alarm sounds at MOX reactor in Japan, no “actual leakage” detected — Nuclear fuel loaded inside July 30th, 2012 By ENENews (Subscription Only) Title: Monju alarm on sodium leakage malfunctions Source: Kyodo
Japan Atomic Energy Agency said an alarm was activated early Monday morning indicating a sodium coolant leakage at its Monju prototype fast breeder reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture. Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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