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Sri Lanka will raise safety objections to India’s Koodankulam and other nuclear reactors

Sri Lanka concerned over radiation from India’s nuclear plants, Economic Times,  9 APR, 2012,   COLOMBO: Sri Lanka today expressed concern over possible impact of radiation from India’s nuclear power plants located in the southern region, as it prepares to raise the issue with global atomic watchdog IAEA.

The official raising of concern with the International Atomic Energy is to be made in September, the power and energy minister Champika Ranawaka said. “We respect the right of India to have nuclear power stations. But our concerns are on the possible radiation affects they could have on Sri Lanka. We have already written a letter”, Ranawaka said…… Sri Lankan energy officials say at least three nuclear plants are located on the southern coast of Tamil Nadu which is separated from the island by a narrow strip of sea…… Koodankulam nuclear plant in India’s Southern coast is just 250 km from Sri Lanka’s northwest coastal town of Mannar.

Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority does not possess adequate facilities to face a threat of nuclear accident. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/sri-lanka-concerned-over-radiation-from-indias-nuclear-plants/articleshow/12594324.cms

April 11, 2012 Posted by | ASIA, India, politics international, safety | Leave a comment

Palisades Nuclear Power Plant shut down after safety violations

Troubled Michigan nuclear plant shut down for maintenance,By Todd Sperry, CNN Senior Producer April 9, 2012 – Washington  — A troubled Michigan nuclear power plant cited for safety violations has been taken off line for maintenance and refueling, the plant’s owner said Monday.
Palisades Power Plant, a 39-year-old facility located near Kalamazoo, has been under increased scrutiny from inspectors after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cited the plant for three safety violations. The plant is currently owned and operated by Entergy Corporation…….
Violations at the plant included a September 25, 2011, incident in which half of the control room indicators were lost because of an electrical fault “caused by personnel at the site,” according to the NRC. A special inspection “determined the plant failed to have adequate work procedures for the electrical panel maintenance work to ensure the job was done successfully,” the NRC report said. Additionally, the NRC cited Palisades and Entergy for an October 2010 incident in which an operator left his post unattended in the nuclear
reactor’s control room without permission.
The Palisades spokesman declined to provide a timetable for when the work will be completed….. The news of a shutdown at Palisades came just days after Friday’s report that California’s San Onofre nuclear plant would remain shut down indefinitely until the source of problems with two of its generators can be determined. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/09/us/michigan-nuclear-plant/

April 11, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Fire at Fort Calhoun nuclear plant was a major danger

Feds confirm Neb. nuke plant fire was major threat OMAHA, Tulsa’s Channel 8,  Neb. (AP) – Federal regulators on Tuesday confirmed their preliminary finding that a fire at an idled Nebraska nuclear plant last June presented a serious safety threat.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its final determination that the small fire at the Fort Calhoun plant 19 miles north of Omaha was of “high safety significance.” The finding mirrored the commission’s preliminary conclusion announced March 12.

“This finding has high safety significance because it affected multiple safety systems and consequently warrants actions to prevent recurrence,” said the NRC’s regional administrator, Elmo Collins…… http://www.ktul.com/story/17375718/feds-confirm-neb-nuke-plant-fire-was-major-threat

April 11, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Far from being over, Japan’s government fears worse to come from Fukushima

Such an event would cause widespread nuclear fallout throughout the region and force the government to evacuate the nearly 10 million residents of Tokyo and surrounding areas, a scenario which government emergency planners are now taking into serious consideration.

It’s Not Over: Government Plans for the Worst: Forced Evacuation of Tokyo. Mac Slavo SHTF Plan.com, April 3rd, 2012  While it has for the most part disappeared from mainstream view, the Fukushima nuclear disaster is anything but over. In fact, the situation in Japan has gone from bad to worse.

Bottom line: There is no way to contain the radiation.

Even more alarming is that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and other agencies have warned that the nuclear storage pools (the containment units that are being used to cool the nuclear fuel) have been damaged and may collapse under their own weight. Continue reading →

April 6, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear plant not ‘under control’ as radioactive water spills

Tons of radioactive water spill from Fukushima nuclear plant http://rt.com/news/fukushima-nuclear-water-leak-378/  05 April, 2012, Officials at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which acts as the operator of the crippled nuclear
facility, say there is reason to believe some of the 12 tons of radioactive water has flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
A leak was found in a pipe attached to a temporary decontamination system. The water, once it has been used to cool the reactors, contains massive amounts of radioactive substances and is put into the water-processing facility so it can be recycled for use as a coolant.
“Our officials confirmed that cooling water leaked at a joint in the pipes,” a TEPCO spokesman told reporters, adding that “it is possible that some of the water may have flowed outside the facility and pouredinto the ocean.”

This accident is the latest of several leaks of radioactive water at the plant, undermining the government’s claim that the shuttered  reactors were now under control.

Just last month, about 120 tons of radioactive water leaked at the plant’s water decontamination system and about 80 liters (21 gallons) seeped into the ocean, according to TEPCO. The plant, which is just north-east of Tokyo, was crippled by
meltdowns and explosions caused by Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami

April 6, 2012 Posted by | incidents, Japan | Leave a comment

Safety worries continue at Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant

“It’s unsettling to live just a few miles from the plant,” ….. Regulators also found flaws in the utility’s analysis of how the plant would withstand different accident conditions such as earthquakes, tornadoes or loss of coolant.

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant Unlikely To Restart Before Fall (includes video) HUFFINGTON POST 04/ 4/2012 BLAIR, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators said Wednesday it’s unlikely the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant will restart before fall because of the extensive inspections and repairs needed. Continue reading →

April 6, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

France’s nuclear plant leaks after 2 small fires

Leak Found in French Nuclear Plant http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304072004577326322716346232.html?mod=googlenews_wsj By NADYA MASIDLOVER WSJ, 6 April 12, PARIS—French state-controlled utility Electricité de France SA said late Thursday that a leak was detected at one of its nuclear reactors in northwestern France, after two small fires were extinguished at the site earlier in the day.

France’s nuclear regulator said it had provisionally ranked the leak as a low-level incident and had returned to normal management of the situation after shifting to crisis mode earlier in the day. In a statement, EDF said that a faulty joint on a pump used to cool the reactor had caused a leak inside the reactor building of its nuclear power station in Penly, Normandy. The water from the leak is currently collected in circuits which exist for this use, the company said.

The reactor, which automatically halted after the fire, continues to be cooled normally and the plant teams are working to reduce the pressure and the temperature of the water in the circuit, according to EDF.

Even after a reactor is halted, the nuclear fuel continues to generate heat and must be cooled continuously.

French nuclear safety body, Autorité de Sureté Nucléaire, said it continues to analyze the situation and follow its evolution. The regulator said the incidents had no consequence on the environment.

Earlier in the evening, a spokeswoman for EDF said that lubricant from one of the reactor’s cooling pumps had leaked on the floor, generating smoke and small flames inside the reactor building. The two small fires were extinguished Thursday afternoon.

April 6, 2012 Posted by | France, incidents | Leave a comment

Japan postponing decision on restarting nuclear reactors

Japan holds off on decision to restart reactors   
* PM wants Fukushima accident taken into account on safety standard
* Safety concerns run deep, local govts want new measures 
By Risa Maeda, TOKYO, April 3 (Reuters) – Japan needs more time to decide whether to restart two offline nuclear reactors, the trade minister said on Tuesday, as concerns about a summer power crunch vie with safety worries in the wake of last year’s Fukushima crisis.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will not make any immediate decision on a restart date, Continue reading →

April 4, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

USA military has had to stall plans for nuclear powered drones

Several drones are lost both in testing and in combat areas every year after the radio connection between controller and drone was broken. Most famously, a CIA-operated version of America’s most-advancedproduction UAV, the RQ-170 Sentinel crashed 140 miles inside Iran after the operators reportedly lost the radio signal that allowed them to control it….

U.S. decides against making crash-prone drones run on nukes Look, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s 1,000 pounds of fissionable nuclear material falling this way!  IT World, By Kevin Fogarty  April 02, 2012,   — The U.S. military has apparently shelved the idea of developing a nuclear-powered drone aircraft that would be capable of staying in the air for months, but would pose so great a risk of those it might crash on that it was canceled due to “political conditions.” Continue reading →

April 4, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Japan struggling with the idea of nuclear regulation independent of nuclear promotion

‘Obviously, having promoters and regulators under the same roof is not desirable’

Previous investigations into the Fukushima accident have found evidence of lax supervision by NISA, cozy relations with utilities and delays in upgrading safety measures.

Japan’s new nuclear regulatory agency delayed Bloomberg, By MARI YAMAGUCHI   2 April 12,  Japan’s government has failed to create a revamped nuclear regulatory agency by the promised date, April 1, amid political infighting, raising questions about its commitment to bolstering oversight in the wake of last year’s nuclear crisis. Continue reading →

April 4, 2012 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Seoul: agreements on non-nuclear medical isotopes the only bright spot

waste and spent fuel which are stored on an interim basis in pools of water or in casks are of the greatest concern 

agreement between the U.S., France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was made to produce medical isotopes without the use of HEU by 2015.

Korea’s Nuclear Summit a Damp Squib, Asia Sentinel  by Lee Byong-chul, 30 MARCH 2012 Little of significance despite the presence of the world’s most powerful leaders The Nuclear Security Summit held on March 26-27 in Seoul, has turned out to be a half-baked extravaganza that produced little of significance except for proclaiming the lofty goal of a nuclear-free world vision – while one of the world’s nuclear outlaws lurked just 65 km to the north, rattling rockets in the face of the world’s most powerful leaders. Continue reading →

March 31, 2012 Posted by | safety, South Korea | Leave a comment

Japanese govt losing credibility, as Fukushima not anywhere near safe

The spent fuel rods stored at the No. 4 reactor pose a particular threat, experts say, because they lie unprotected outside the unit’s containment vessel. Tokyo Electric has been racing to fortify the crumpled outer shell of the reactor, and to keep the tank fed with water. But should a problem also arise with cooling the spent fuel, the plant could run the risk of another colossal radiation leak, experts say.

“The plant is still in a precarious state,” 

Japan Admits Nuclear Plant Still Poses Dangers By HIROKO TABUCHI NYT,  March 29, 2012, TOKYO — The damage to the core of at least one of the meltdown-stricken reactors at Fukushima could be far worse than previously thought, raising fresh concerns over the plant’s stability and gravely complicating the post-disaster cleanup, a recent internal investigation has shown.

The results of the inquiry, released this week by the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, also cast doubt over the Japanese government’s declaration three months ago that the ravaged site is now under control. Continue reading →

March 30, 2012 Posted by | Japan, Reference, safety | Leave a comment

The world’s dangerous complacency about nuclear terrorism

the summit in Seoul called only for further voluntary reductions by the end of 2013. That is a weak commitment: the International Panel on Fissile Material estimates world stocks of HEU at 1,300 tonnes, plus 450 tonnes of separated plutonium. 

Nuclear security, Threat multiplier Dangerous complacency about nuclear terrorism The Economist, Mar 31st 2012 | SEOUL NUCLEAR mayhem can come from rogue states or badly run power stations. That fact escapes nobody in South Korea, just a mountain range away from rocket-mad North Korea, and with Japan’s stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi plant across the sea.

But it was a third threat—terrorism—that brought leaders from 53 countries to a summit in Seoul on March 26th-27th. Continue reading →

March 30, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | 1 Comment

Radiation so high, even robots cannot approach Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactor

Reactor 2 radiation too high for access March 29, 2012 73 sieverts laid to low water; level will even cripple robots By MINORU MATSUTANI Radiation inside the reactor 2 containment vessel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has reached a lethal 73 sieverts per hour and any attempt to send robots in to accurately gauge the situation will require them to have greater resistance than currently available, experts said Wednesday.

Exposure to 73 sieverts for a minute would cause nausea and seven minutes would cause death within amonth, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The experts said the high radiation level is due to the shallow level of coolant water — 60 cm — in the containment vessel, which Tepco said in January was believed to be 4 meters deep. Tepco has only peeked inside the reactor 2 containment vessel. It has few clues as to the status of reactors 1 and 3, which also suffered meltdowns, because
there is no access to their insides.

The utility said the radiation level in the reactor 2 containment vessel is too high for robots, endoscopes and other devices to function properly. Spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said it will be necessary to develop devices resistant to high radiation.

High radiation can damage the circuitry of computer chips and degrade camera-captured images. For example, a series of Quince tracked robots designed to gather data inside reactors can properly function for only two or three hours during exposure to 73 sieverts, said Eiji Koyanagi, chief developer and vice director of the Future Robotics Technology
Center of Chiba Institute of Technology. That is unlikely to be enough for them to move around and collect
video data and water samples, reactor experts said. ”Two or three hours would be too short. At least five or six hours would be necessary,” said Tsuyoshi Misawa, a reactor physics and engineering professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute.

The high radiation level can be explained by the low water level. Water acts to block radiation. ”The shallowness of the water level is a surprise . . . the radiation level is awfully high,” Misawa said. While the water temperature is considered in a safe zone at about 50 degrees, it is unknown if the melted fuel is fully submerged, but Tepco said in November that computer simulations suggested the height of the melted fuel in reactor 2′s containment vessel is probably 20 to
40 cm, Tepco spokeswoman Ai Tanaka said.

Tepco has inserted an endoscope and a radiation meter, but not a robot, in the containment vessel. It is way too early to know how long Tepco will need to operate robots in the vessel because it is unknown what the devices will have to do, Tanaka said.

According to experts, even though high radiation in the containment vessel means additional trouble, it is not expected to further delay the decommissioning the three crippled reactors, a process Tepco said will take 40 years.

The experts noted, however, that removing the melted nuclear fuel from the bottom of the containment vessels will be extremely difficult….
Tepco has not been able to gauge the water depths and radiation levels of the containment vessels for reactors 1 and 3, as, unlike unit 2, there is no access. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120329a1.html

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

Fukushima nuclear plant is far from safe

 Still critical: radiation levels at Fukushima can kill in minutes Latest readings from tsunami-stricken nuclear plant overturn claims that reactors have been made safe The Independent, DAVID MCNEILL   TOKYO  THURSDAY 29 MARCH 2012      A lethal level of radiation has been detected inside one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, throwing fresh doubts over the operator’s claims that the disabled complex is under control. Continue reading →

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

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