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Davis Besse nuclear reactor – more cracks found

FirstEnergy Finds More Cracks at Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant,  By Julie Johnsson Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) –– FirstEnergy Corp. said an investigation of damage to the concrete outer shell of its Davis-Besse nuclear power plant unearthed additional hairline cracks….. FirstEnergy shut the plant to install a new reactor vessel head three years earlier than previously planned. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2005 imposed a $5.45 million fine, its largest ever, for FirstEnergy’s failure to discover corrosion had eaten a hole in a prior vessel head.

Contractors found the newest cracks on the shield building, a 30-inch-thick (76 centimeters) reinforced concrete structure that protects the reactor’s containment building from wind and tornadoes. FirstEnergy previously discovered a hairline crack measuring about 30 feet (9 meters) on Oct. 10 after it cut a hole in the side of building to allow for installation of the new vessel head.
The commission said last week it was sending a concrete material expert to the plant, located 21 miles (34 kilometers) southeast of Toledo, after the Oct. 10 report of cracks…..FirstEnergy is seeking regulatory permission to extend its operating license for Davis-Besse, which has been in service since 1977, by another 20 years. The commission is scheduled to issue its decision on the application next year.

November 1, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

The danger of dismantling nuclear submarines in a city

It is the magnitude of the consequences of a nuclear accident that make it unacceptable to locate such a facility in the middle of a city of 250,000 people….

 Devonport is not immune from accidents. There have been nine radioactive leaks since 1997.   The impact of a significant accident in the dockyard would be devastating. It would not remain confined behind its walls but would affect a much wider area.

Should N-subs be dismantled in city? Plymouth Herald, October 28, 2011 ONE of the most controversial proposals to affect Plymouth in generations is set to be thrust firmly into the public domain from today.

The Ministry of Defence has today begun a 16-week consultation exercise exploring the options for dismantling decommissioned nuclear-powered submarines. The consultation aims to find a permanent home for The Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) – either in Plymouth, or Scotland. Continue reading →

October 29, 2011 Posted by | decommission reactor, safety, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear power safety problems are getting worse

Admitting problems, the federal Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has said there could be a delay in the two projects.
Meanwhile, the state government of West Bengal state has refused permission to a proposed 6000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host six Russian reactors. ..

 activists and experts have called for an audit by an independent body. They say that given the non-transparent nature of India’s state-controlled nuclear energy sector – there is no way to estimate whether safety issues will be carefully followed

India’s Rising Nuclear safety Concerns , Asia Sentinel, Siddharth Srivastava, 27 Oct 11, Concerns about safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs) are threateningIndia’s massive investment plans in the sector..

Post the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan populations around proposed Indian NPP sites have launched protests that are now finding resonance around the country, raising questions about atomic energy as a clean and safe alternative to fossil fuels. Continue reading →

October 28, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

China waking up to the danger of its nuclear program

Nuclear-safety risks rising in China, warns minister, Economic Times, 27 OCT, 2011, BEIJING: China is facing increasing safety risks from its nuclear power plants as existing facilities age and a large number of new reactors go into operation, the country’s environmental minister said in comments published on Wednesday. “The safety standards of China’s early-phase nuclear facilities are relatively low, operation times are long, some facilities are obsolete and the safety risks are increasing ,” said Zhou Shengxian in a speech published on the website of China’s parliament, the National People’sCongress. Zhou told legislators that the scale and pace of nuclear construction had accelerated, a larger range of technologies had been introduced, and potential sources of radiation had become more widespread, making it harder to monitor safety .

China has 13 nuclear reactors in operation and another 28 under construction, but it has suspended all new project approvals in the wake of the tsunami in northeast Japan, which left the Fukushima Daiichi reactor on the brink of meltdown. After the suspension, Beijing launched a nationwide inspection of all nuclear sites, including reactors already operating and those under construction, and is drawing up comprehensive new industry guidelines.. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/nuclear-safety-risks-rising-in-china-warns-minister/articleshow/10503077.cms

October 27, 2011 Posted by | China, safety | Leave a comment

Tokai village – the first to get nuclear power, the first to renounce it?

“Nuclear power plants bring in money before they’re even built,” he says, noting their financial lure. “We can’t allow a government policy that mocks the countryside (by trying to win them over with money.) It’s an evil policy, the same as colonialism.

Mayor of Japan’s home of nuclear power hoping to make village a different kind of ‘first’, Mainichi Daily News, Japan October 23, 2011 Amid the ongoing disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the mayor of the Ibaraki Prefecture village of Tokai, the birthplace of Japanese nuclear power, is calling for the village’s nuclear reactors to be decommissioned. Continue reading →

October 25, 2011 Posted by | incidents | Leave a comment

Security violations at facility for testing laser uranium enrichment technology

NRC fines GE-Hitachi $45K over NC nuke test site, October 21, 2011 Bloomberg By EMERY P. DALESIO,  RALEIGH, N.C. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has fined GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy $45,000 for multiple security violations at a North Carolina facility using classified technology to test whether lasers can be used to enrich uranium. Continue reading →

October 24, 2011 Posted by | safety, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Firecauses shutdown of Swedish nuclear reactor

Nuclear reactor stopped at NPP in Sweden due to fire, Voice of Russia, 23 Oct 11, A nuclear reactor at the nuclear power plant in the Swedish city of Oscarshamn has been temporarily shut down due to a fire, local mass media report Sunday.

The fire broke out on the night from Saturday to Sunday in machine unit of the second reactor but was quickly extinguished. According to preliminary data, the fire was caused by the leakage of lubricant.

It is not clear when the reactor will be relaunched.    http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/23/59211079.html

October 24, 2011 Posted by | incidents, Sweden | Leave a comment

leak from nuclear reactors in Pakistan

Leak at Pakistani nuclear plant, no radiation damage reported yet, National Post,   Oct 20, 2011 By Faisal Aziz  KARACHI — A Pakistani nuclear power plant imposed a seven-hour emergency after heavy water leaked from a feeder pipe to the reactor, but no radiation or damage has been reported, an official said on Thursday. Continue reading →

October 23, 2011 Posted by | incidents, Pakistan | Leave a comment

Hanford nuclear plant on an earthquake fault line?

Washington’s Hanford Reservation and nuclear plant may lie on faults, High Country News, 18 oct 11,  “…….Until now, the extensive seismic hazards of western Washington were treated separately from those east of the Cascades, which were thought to be smaller and farther from population centers. But the fault Sherrod is seeking appears to be part of an interconnected system underlying the Cascades, from Puget Sound to Umtanum Ridge and Rattlesnake Mountain, which loom above Hanford NuclearReservation and the Northwest’s only commercial nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station. Should it span the mountains, it could mean emergency planners have significantly underestimated eastern Washington’s earthquake risks. Longer fault systems — and this would be a long one — generally produce larger quakes, though they don’t always rupture along their entire length……. http://www.hcn.org/issues/43.17/washingtons-hanford-reservation-and-nuclear-plant-may-lie-on-faults

October 18, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Video: Why Indian Point nuclear plant should be closed

VIDEO   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/indian-point-nuclear-nrdc-report_n_1015377.html

 Indian Point Nuclear Plant Should Be Closed, Report Says, Huffington Post 10/17/11  A report released Monday says southern New York State’s Indian Point Energy Center should be closed, despite pressure to keep it open.

The Indian Point Energy Center is located along the banks of the Hudson River in Westchester County, less than 40 miles north of New York City. The report, commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Riverkeeper, suggests that the plant can and should be closed, in favor of readily available alternative energy options, Continue reading →

October 18, 2011 Posted by | Resources -audiovicual, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Costly cracks in Davis-Besse nuclear reactor

FirstEnergy finds cracks at Ohio nuclear reactor,

* Davis-Besse shut to replace reactor vessel head

* Small cracks found in concrete shield building

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – FirstEnergy said it discovered small cracks in the concrete shield building surrounding the containment structure at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant in Ohio, which was shut for another reactor vessel head replacement, a spokesman for the Ohio-based energy company said Monday…..

Crystal River has been shut since September 2009 after workers discovered a gap in the concrete containment dome after they cut through the structure to replace the plant’s aging steam generators. The plant is not expected to return until at least 2014….

This is Davis-Besse’s third reactor vessel head.

It cost the company about $600 million to replace the first vessel head ($300 million) and buy replacement power ($300 million) after workers in 2002 discovered borated water, which acts as the reactor coolant, leaked from a control rod drive mechanism and ate a six inch hole in the first vessel head. The plant did not return to service until 2004.

In 2010 during a scheduled refueling outage, the company found small cracks in the control rod nozzels and decided to replace the second vessel head. Schneider said this head replacement project would cost about $115 million…..

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/17/utilities-operations-firstenergy-davis-idUSN1E79G0KR20111017

October 18, 2011 Posted by | incidents, USA | Leave a comment

Big price fall for First Energy due to crack in Davis-Besse nuclear plant.

FirstEnergy Falls After Report of Nuclear Reactor Cracks Bloomberg By Julie Johnsson and Mark Chediak – Oct 13, 2011  FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) fell after a report that engineers discovered cracks in the concrete shell of its Davis-Besse nuclear plant.

FirstEnergy fell 2.8 percent to $43.76 at the close in New York. The Akron, Ohio-based power company had earlier dropped 5 percent, its biggest intraday decline since Aug. 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg…..

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is investigating the structural damage to the concrete building that protects the reactor from tornadoes and other hazards, said Viktoria Mitlyng, spokeswoman for the nuclear agency, in a telephone interview.

Previous Problems  Davis-Besse was shuttered for more than three months in 2010 after workers discovered cooling water leaking through cracks in some reactor-head nozzles, steel casings that hold fuel and control rods.

Leaks and reactor corrosion prompted FirstEnergy to close the plant for two years, from 2002 to 2004, while the company retrained or replaced workers who ignored signs of damage, and eventually replaced the reactor head.

The leaks found last year at the 900-megawatt plant prompted the Union of Concerned Scientists in April 2010 to demand that the plant remain closed until its owners established better controls to maintain health and safety standards.

October 14, 2011 Posted by | incidents | Leave a comment

At last, France reveals, and questions, the safety of its nuclear industry

institutions are showing greater boldness in convicting nuclear operators guilty of negligence or issuing reprimands and demanding immediate corrective measures from giants like EDF or Areva..

With accusing fingers increasingly pointing towards the nuclear industry, a hesitant debate is beginning to open up in France. Socialist leader Segolene Royal who was defeated by Nicolas Sarkozy in France’s last presidential poll but hopes once again to be her party’s candidate, said she would close down the EPR under construction at Flamanville and completely abandon the EPR technology being pushed by Areva.

Post-Fukushima, France breaks silence on nuclear safety, The Hindu VAIJUNARAVANE, 11 Oct 11 “…….Doubts have been raised about the benefits of the EPR reactor, of which India plans to buy six.    For a country as given to debate and argument as France, there has been a deafening silence surrounding the choice of nuclear as the prime source of energy. With a population of 62 million, France boasts 59 nuclear reactors — the highest per capita in the world, with over 75 per cent of its electricity coming from the power of the atom.

In the post-Fukushima period, however, that tacit silence is being broken with increasing frequency not just by anti-nuclear associations or candidates hoping to win elections but by French courts and the Nuclear Safety Authority. Continue reading →

October 11, 2011 Posted by | France, Reference, safety | Leave a comment

Shanghai’s radiation security scanners potentially dangerous, and illegal

Metro’s X-ray machines are ‘illegal’ English east Day.com, from Shanghai News, 11 Oct 11 ALL 528 X-ray security inspection machines in Shanghai’s Metro stations are “illegal devices” operating without radiation safety licenses, officials with the city’s environmental protection bureau said yesterday. Continue reading →

October 11, 2011 Posted by | China, safety | 2 Comments

Delays, defects, and “social dumping” in France’s Flamanville nuclear reactor

Post-Fukushima, France breaks silence on nuclear safety The Hindu VAIJU NARAVANE, 11 Oct 11“…….Construction of the Flamanville EPR reactor which began in 2007 is experiencing significant delays with a large number of accidents including two fatalities. The EPR reactor, of which India plans to buy six, will now not be completed before 2016 at the earliest and its price tag has climbed to an estimated €7 billion per reactor of 1,650MWe capacity. Not a single EPR is as yet operational.

Of the four currently under construction, (one each in France and Finland, two in China) the Finnish reactor (construction began in August1985) is now slated to go on stream in 2013 but costs have risen from €3 billion to over €7 billion and the Finnish utility TVO is locked in costly arbitration (€2.7 billion) with Areva….. Continue reading →

October 11, 2011 Posted by | France, Reference, safety | Leave a comment

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