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Nuclear plants at risk if flooding in Nebraska gets worse

Any new rain episode could worst the flooding, especially in Nebraska, …..

Fort Calhoun is not the only power plant that is threatened by the flooding.  Cooper Nuclear Station is in a similar position, but the risk is higher if the water’s level is rising. In the worst case, the Fukushima’s situation could repeat here. 

Nuclear danger in Nebraska because of the flooding  News In A Box by Kelley Jeanie , 22 June 11  On Tuesday, June 21st 2011   A power plant from Nebraska, Fort Calhoun, was threatened to become a new Fukushima after several dams from around it broke because of the flooding on the Missouri River. The power plant was close to be under the water after the Missouri River got at 45 centimeters around it, according to dailymail.co.uk. If the water’s level got at 274,9 meters above the sea’s level in Brownville, the officials would have been forced to close the nuclear plant that is situated at 275,2 meters. Continue reading →

June 22, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Near disaster of U.S. nuclear submarine

Nuclear sub came close to disaster off Devon The Independent By David Wilcock 22 June 11 A US nuclear submarine nearly ran aground, following an incident in which two of its crewmen died near Plymouth, a report has revealed.

The attack submarine the USS Minneapolis-St Paul was trying to leave Plymouth Sound after a visit to Devonport naval base in 2006 when it hit rocks and became stuck with consequences that could have been “catastrophic”, the Royal Navy report, released through the Freedom of Information Act, said.

Two US sailors, Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas Higgins and Petty Officer Michael Holtz, died while three others were swept into the rough seas before being rescued by nearby boats. The report said the incident was largely the fault of the vessel’s commanding officer, Commander Edwin Ruff, who was later relieved of his post.

It also criticised a lax safety culture at the naval base, the largest in western Europe, including a failure to heed warnings after a similar but non-fatal accident involving the British submarine HMS Sovereign the previous February.

“This was a severe incident with multiple loss of life. There was a very real possibility of the boat grounding in very rough seas and on an ebb tide 500 yards south of Plymouth breakwater,” the report said.

“Tragic as the loss of the lives of Holtz and Higgins was, the outcome could have been so much more catastrophic and thus must be regarded as at the less serious end of the potential spectrum of consequences….http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/nuclear-sub-came-close-to-disaster-off-devon-2300623.html

June 22, 2011 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Problems at Dominion Virginia nuclear power units

Dominion Virginia Power shuts down one of the nuclear units at Surry Power Station, Virginia Business June 21, 2011, by Paula C. Squires  Dominion Virginia Power shut down one of two nuclear reactors at Surry Power Station on Monday after cooling ducts showed indications of overheating. The ducts, said company spokesman Rick Zuercher, cool electrical conductors that provide power to the station’s main transformers. Continue reading →

June 22, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Flood crisis at Nebraska nuclear plant

12 Significant Events That the Mockingbird Media is Currently Ignoring, Benzinga, By Truth is Treason, June 20, 2011  ”…The crisis at the Fort Calhoun nuclear facility in Nebraska has received almost no attention in the national mainstream media. Back on June 7th, there was a fire at Fort Calhoun.  The official story is that the fire was in an electrical switchgear room at the plant.  The facility lost power to a pump that cools the spent fuel pool for approximately 90 minutes.  According to the Omaha Public Power District, the fire was quickly extinguished and no radioactive material was released. …….

But the crisis at Fort Calhoun is not over.  Right now, the nuclear facility at Fort Calhoun is essentially an island. It is surrounded by rising flood waters from the Missouri River. (photo from Washington Post 20 June 11)

Officials claim that there is no danger and that they are prepared for the river to rise another ten feet.The Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Nebraska is also being threatened by rising flood waters.  A “Notification of Unusual Event” was declared at Cooper Nuclear Station this morning at 4:02.  This notification was issued because the Missouri River’s water level reached 42.5 feet…….

Right now the facility is operating normally and officials don’t expect a crisis.But considering what has been going on at Fukushima, it would be nice if we could have gotten a lot more coverage of these events by the mainstream media… http://www.benzinga.com/11/06/1183421/12-significant-events-that-the-mockingbird-media-is-currently-ignoring#ixzz1PrRYnCv0

 

June 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

How USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission repeatedly weakens safety rules

the AP investigation found that with billions of dollars and 19 percent of America’s electricity supply at stake, a cozy relationship prevails between the industry and its regulator, the NRC.

All the while the NRC keeps extending licenses of dozens of reactors….

Fukushima USA? Dangerous radioactive leaks and cracked foundations go unpunished at American nuclear power plants By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 20 June 11 Safety has taken a back seat to cost-cutting at most of the nation’s nuclear power plants, sparking fears that America could be facing its own Fukushima disaster.

An investigation by the Associated Press has revealed federal regulators are repeatedly weakening – or simply failing to impose – strict rules. The constant danger of aging reactors operating without the highest standards has resulted in rising fears the NRC is significantly undermining safety. Continue reading →

June 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

IAEA Fukushima Report highlights the unsafety and diseconomics of nuclear power

To sum up, when you build a reactor you are committing to controlling the nuclear fury at its heart for half a century or more, and controlling the waste produced for many thousands of years (using methods no-one has yet developed)……

But the real lesson is that it is impossible to cover all eventualities. That means nuclear power is not safe or, given the colossal clean-up costs, cheap. Regretfully, I believe it is an illusory answer to the problem of rising greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Fukushima report shows nuclear power can never be safe and cheap,  by Damian Carrington  20 June 2011 guardian.co.uk The first “independent” review of the safety failures during Japan’s nuclear disaster reveals some chillingly obvious “lessons” to be learned

..The first “independent” review of the Fukushima nuclear disaster was published today and it does not make reassuring reading.

Japan is perhaps the most technologically advanced nation on Earth and yet, time after time, the report finds missing measures that I would have expected to already be in place. It highlights the fundamental inability for anyone to anticipate all future events and so deeply undermines the claims of the nuclear industry and its supporters that this time, with the new generation of reactors, things will be different.

I used quote marks on the word “independent” because the report comes from the International Atomic Energy Association (pdf) (IAEA) which, while independent of Japan, is far from independent from the nuclear industry it was founded to promote. But this conflict of interest only makes the findings of the IEAE’s experts more startling. Continue reading →

June 21, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | Leave a comment

USA nuclear regulators undermining public safety?

Are federal regulators undermining safety at nuclear reactors? America Blog, by Chris in Paris on 6/20/2011 Federal regulators have been working closely with the nuclear power industry to keep the nation’s aging reactors operating within safety standards by repeatedly weakening those standards, or simply failing to enforce them, an investigation by The Associated Press has found.

Time after time, officials at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission have decided that original regulations were too strict, arguing that safety margins could be eased without peril, according to records and interviews.

The result? Rising fears that these accommodations by the NRC are significantly undermining safety — and inching the reactors closer to an accident that could harm the public and jeopardize the future of nuclear power in the United States…

http://www.americablog.com/2011/06/are-federal-regulators-undermining.html

June 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Radiation – the big safety hazard for nuclear reactors themselves

Radiation bombards reactors, make them brittle, Google News By JEFF DONN, AP National Writer –20 June 11 No aging problem has been more vexing or dangerous in nuclear power plants than the tendency of reactors to grow brittle. This stubborn problem threatens the main radiation barrier at the plants: the garage-size steel vessels that cradle tons of radioactive fuel.

In certain emergencies, these vessels would flood with cooling water. If the vessel walls are too brittle, they could shatter and spew their radioactive contents into the environment. Continue reading →

June 21, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety, technology | Leave a comment

Nuclear emergency on Missouri

Federal Water Tap, June 20: Flood Effects, Nuclear Power, Dam Removal. CIRCLE OF BLUE, 20 JUNE 2011 Nuclear Emergency on the Missouri Because of snowmelt and record releases from dams managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Missouri River has surrounded two nuclear power plants in Nebraska, creating atomic islands on the floodplain. In addition to traditional safety measures, water-filled polyethylene berms are being used as a line of defense to keep the river from inundating the facilities.

On Sunday morning, the Cooper plant, 70 miles south of Omaha, filed a “notification of unusual event” with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is the lowest of four emergency classifications used by the NRC. The other plant, at Fort Calhoun, submitted such a notice two weeks ago. It has been shut down since April for refueling and won’t be restarted until the flood waters subside. The Omaha World-Herald has more details.

Nuclear Decommissioning
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed new regulations to guide the decommissioning process. The NRC is clarifying the language used in its statutes to make explicit that residual radioactivity in soil and groundwater should be accounted for in company records. These radioactivity surveys will be used to evaluate decommissioning costs. http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2011/federal-water-tap/federal-water-tap-june-20-flood-effects-nuclear-power-dam-removal/

June 21, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

South Korea urged to close Gori nuclear reactor,and to ‘leapfrog’ to safe renewable energy

Greenpeace and the Korean Federation of Environmental Movement called in a statement for the immediate closure of the Gori 1 reactor 325 kilometres (200 miles) southeast of Seoul…..South Korea had enough technological knowledge to leapfrog to clean renewable energy and provide a very safe future for the country…….

S.Korea’s oldest reactor must close: Greenpeace – Yahoo! News Jun 17,  ETSEOUL (AFP) – Greenpeace urged South Korea Friday to shut down its oldest nuclear reactor, expressing concern about its safety and drawing a parallel with a disaster-stricken reactor in Japan.The anti-nuclear environmental group is currently sailing around South Korea on its campaign ship, the Rainbow Warrior, visiting and showing solidarity for communities sited around nuclear plants. Continue reading →

June 20, 2011 Posted by | safety, South Korea | Leave a comment

Continued investigation of radiation exposure at Perry Nuclear Plant

Perry plant radiation-exposure remains under investigation Beaver County Times By Patrick O’Shea,18 June 11 After nearly two months, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission special investigation into a radiation-exposure incident at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant near Cleveland remains ongoing, and it is unclear when the review will conclude.The Painesville, Ohio, plant, which is operated by FirstEnergy Corp., the same operator as the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station, reported an incident on April 22 that involved contractors that a company official confirmed also work at the Shippingport facility.
According to a NRC release issued four days after the incident, five workers were exposed to higher levels of radiation than normal when a contractor incorrectly installed cables used to pull monitoring equipment from the reactor during a refueling, and the workers were not shielded as well as they should have been…….Perry plant radiation-exposure remains under investigation – Timesonline.com: :

June 20, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant threatened by Missouri River flooding

Missouri River Flooding Threatens Nuclear Power Plant, Concern is growing about the safety of a nuclear power plant that sits in a Missouri River flood plain. The Fort Calhoun Nuclear plant was cited for inadequate flood protection just last year and is currently a sandbagged island as the Missouri sits at 1.5 feet over flood stage and is expected to rise another five feet., Care 2, 18 June 11 by: Ann Bibby 

Nothing to Worry About

Federal regulators and officials with the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) insist there is no danger but list the status of the plant at “notification of unusual event,” which is the lowest emergency level emergency. Spokespeople for the OPPD say there has been no leaking of radioactive materials and none expected.

Conspiracy Theories

In the wake of the recent disaster at Fukushima, rumors have been flying fast across the Internet about Fort Calhoun, fueled by the FAA closing the airspace over the plant and an electrical fire, which temporarily shut down cooling pumps. But the FAA’s closing on June 6th was in response to the flooding, and company officials have stated that the plant’s spent fuel was never in any danger during the brief power outage.

Flooding Continues

The Missouri continues to rise, but officials are confident that the plant is secure. Fort Calhoun has been in cold shutdown since April 9th and will remain so until after the flood waters recede, which is not expected to happen soon. In fact, flooding is likely to remain a concern on and off for the rest of the summer for many parts of the Upper Midwest…..http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/missouri-river-flooding-threatens-nuclear-power-plant/

June 19, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Exposure of 4 workers to high radiation

4 Workers Exposed to Strong Gamma Radiation in Southern Bulgaria Novinite.com,  June 17, 2011,Four workers of the Gitava company, based near the Southern Bulgarian town of Stambolyiski, have been exposed to strong gamma radiation.

The accident happened on June 14 and a committee was subsequently assigned to investigate the matter, the Bulgarian Nuclear Regulation Agency announced.Gitava specializes in supplying and recharging gamma-ray therapeutic equipment for the treatment of cancer patients….. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=129388

June 18, 2011 Posted by | Bulgaria, safety | Leave a comment

USA Senate hearing finds nuclear safety unsatisfactory

Fukushima-Daiichi showed us that we have to consider the possibility of multiple units at a single site, perhaps multiple spent fuel pools being affected at the same time.”

Commissioners also had no answers about how to fix backup power systems that continue to cool nuclear material in the event of a major power outage…….Amidst these less-than-inspiring answers, the NRC commissioners tried to downplay the possibility of similar events happening here anyhow…..

Cold Comfort at Senate Nuclear Safety Hearing,  The Nation   17 june 11 George Zornick In the two months since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered a catastrophic breakdown during an earthquake and tsunami in Japan, what has the United States learned about nuclear safety? How are regulators working to prevent a similar disaster at one of America’s 104 nuclear power plants, about a quarter of which share the same design as Fukushima Daiichi? Continue reading →

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

Nuclear expert ‘s recommendations on risk management

“Why not consider Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima as warnings of greater catastrophes to come and avoid the inevitable by shutting them down, much like changing your diet and/or lifestyle after finding out that your cholesterol or blood pressure is elevated, rather than continuing down the same path until a heart attack or stroke strikes?”
Confessions of a Nuclear Power Safety Expert   Miller McCune 15 June 11 hen Italy decided in the mid-’70s to add nuclear power to its power portfolio, young mechanical and nuclear engineer Cesare Silvi was among those attracted to the opportunities it presented. Continue reading →

June 16, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | Leave a comment

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