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India’s government will weaken its nuclear safeguards

Government plans nuclear watchdog with limited power, India Today, 10 Sept 11 A new Bill introduced in Parliament for setting up a Nuclear SafetyRegulatory Authority (NSRA) could result in a regulatory system much weaker than the existing one. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Nuclear materials illegally transferred to Pakistan

Pakistani pleads guilty in U.S. nuclear export case WASHINGTON by James Vicini, Editing by Sandra Maler Sep 9, 2011 (Reuters) – A Pakistani national pleaded guilty on Friday in a U.S. court to conspiring to commit export violations in a scheme to illegally transfer nuclear-related materials to his home country from the United States…. Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Some nuclear nations keen to keep weak safeguards

IAEA Nations Divided Over Nuclear Reforms After Japan Crisis, NTI, Sept. 9, 2011 A faction of International Atomic Energy Agency member nations appears set to succeed in striking legal mandates from atomic accident prevention reforms proposed by the agency’s chief amid the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported on Friday (see GSN, Aug. 26). Continue reading →

September 10, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | Leave a comment

Radiation technician falsified tests at nuclear plant

Ex-tech admits falsifying tests at NY nuke plant, WSJ, SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Federal prosecutors say a former radiation protection technician at the James A. Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant on Lake Ontario has pleaded guilty to violating the Atomic Energy Act.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Michael McCarrick of Oswego admitted he falsified “qualitative fit test” records relating to 32 workers at the nuclear plant in Scriba (SKREYE’-buh), 35 miles northwest of Syracuse. Fit tests are designed to establish a proper respirator seal, but he didn’t perform the tests.

Respirators are protective devices given to employees for use during emergencies, such as a chemical release resulting in fumes that could otherwise endanger worker health…. http://online.wsj.com/article/APd05c4a90d9124978abca596509040e68.html

September 9, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

TVA’s Browns Ferry nuclear reactors has safety issues

TVA’s Browns Ferry reactor needs ‘highest level of attention,’ NRC says, September 07, 2011,  ByBudd McLaughlin, The Huntsville Times,  HUNTSVILLE, Alabama –– The Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is among two reactors in the country that require the “highest level of attention” from regulators, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission assessment.

The agency said Tuesday it’s giving Browns Ferry supplemental inspection because of a problem that was discovered with a valve on a cooling system last fall. The increased oversight will include reviews of a number of issues at the Tennessee Valley Authority-operated plant, including its safety culture.

Omaha (Neb.) Public Power’s Fort Calhoun reactor is the other among 104 U.S. reactors, that needs additional inspections to ensure that safety concerns are met, the NRC said in a statement…..

September 8, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Still no way to monitor radiation in Mayapuri scrap market

No radiation detectors still in Mayapuri scrap market – Hindustan Times, 6 Sept 11, Even 16 months after it was hit by radiation, leaving one person dead and eight seriously injured, the Mayapuri market in west Delhi, the biggest scrap market in India, still does not have a regulatory body. In April 2010, radioactive Cobalt 60 from a Delhi University (DU) laboratory thatwas auctioned off found its way to the market.

Although six professors were charge sheeted by the Delhi Police on Friday, the scrap dealers are still on the edge, as there is no mechanism to detect hazardous materials.

“The market is not equipped with detectors, even though it is common practice in steel recycling factories in other countries. The presence of toxic heavy metals and harmful chemicals threatens people living in the area,” said Deepak Jain, who suffered radiation injuries in the crisis last April.

Sharad Sinha, a scrap dealer, said, “We have been facing an acute shortage of workers after the incident. Ever since the incident, no one wants to come and work here.”  No radiation detectors still in Mayapuri scrap market – Hindustan Times

September 6, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Poor radiation safety at Indian university

Atomic energy regulator shuts down radiotherapy machines at Safdarjung – Indian Express, 3 Sept 11, In line for its first MCI inspection after being brought under the Indraprastha University (IP), the radiotherapy department of Safdarjung hospital and Vardhaman Medical College, faces risk of derecognition. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the apex body monitoring radiation safety standards in hospitals, has already directed the department to shut down two cobalt and one brachytherapy machines due to a dearth of radiation safety norms and inadequate posts of radiation safety officers. ..Atomic energy regulator shuts down radiotherapy machines at Safdarjung – Indian Express

September 5, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Huge concrete containers of nuclear waste shifted during earthquake

“This indicates that reactors that have these dry casks in these earthquake-prone areas, they’re going to have to do more to protect them from ground motion,”

Quake shifted nuclear storage containers at Virginia plant – The Washington Post, By Brian Vastag,   September 1 Last week’s central Virginia earthquake jolted huge concrete containers holding spent nuclear fuel at the North Anna power plant in Louisa County, Continue reading →

September 2, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | 1 Comment

Radioactive uranium drums found on beach in Namibia

There are a number of reasons why the latest incident is of great concern:

• it puts into question the level of security at Namibian uranium mining operations, with the worry being that radioactive uranium oxide could get into the “wrong hands”….

Drums of radioactive uranium found on beach, Care 2 by , August 30,  Last week, Namibian authorities discovered four unguarded barrels of radioactive uranium oxide on a beach near the coastal town of Swakopmund.

Continue reading →

September 2, 2011 Posted by | Namibia, safety, Uranium | Leave a comment

Risk of active geological faults near 14 Japanese nuclear power plants

14 locations near nuclear plants could become active faults, agency warns, Mainichi Daily News, 1 Sept 11  Some 14 locations near nuclear facilities in Japan have been found to have the possibility of turning into active faults in the future, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) has announced.

NISA said on Aug. 30 that it has confirmed a total of 14 faults and other locations whose possibility of turning into active faults in the future cannot be ruled out near the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants and Japan Atomic Power Co.’s Tokai No. 2 Power Station in Ibaraki Prefecture.

NISA had instructed plant operators to re-evaluate those locations after aftershocks following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake triggered the Yunotake fault in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, to slip even though it had been believed to be inactive.

As a result of the re-evaluation, it emerged that five locations near the Fukushima nuclear plant, including the Yunotake fault, have a possibility of moving in the future due to crustal twists and increased seismic activity in the wake of the March 11 quake. A total of nine locations near the Tokai No. 2 Power Station and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s Tokai nuclear fuel reprocessing plant were also revaluated….http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110831p2a00m0na024000c.html

September 1, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

New Jersey nuclear plants powered down due to floods

Flooding causes 2 NJ nuke reactors to power down, The Sacramento Bee, 1 Sept 2011, The Associated Press LOWER ALLOWAYS CREEK, N.J. — Two of the three nuclear reactors in a southern New Jersey county have powered partway down because debris from Hurricane Irene is blocking cooling water intakes.

PSEG Nuclear spokesman Joe Delmar said Wednesday that the Salem I and Salem II units in Salem County are getting unusual amounts of grass and trash at the screen where water is taken in from the Delaware River. …. Delmar says it’s unclear when the plants will return to full power…….. http://www.sacbee.com/2011/08/31/3875617/flooding-causes-2-nj-nuke-reactors.html#ixzz1WjCDaQI8

 

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

Aging, deteriorating nuclear reactors in Japan to seek extensions

Extensions for aging reactors loom, Japan Times, By YURIY HUMBER and MASATSUGU HORIE. Bloomberg 30 Aug 11,  More than a third of Japan’s nuclear reactors will have to apply for license extensions within five years or face decommissioning at a time when the industry’s safety record is in tatters.

The country’s 54 reactors were originally licensed for 30 years and operators can apply for 10-year extensions up to a maximum of six times. Twenty-one reactors will soon require license extensions, according to data from power companies and the World Nuclear Association. Of those, seven will enter their fifth decade if extensions are granted — which should be avoided, according to a metallurgy professor.

“Nuclear reactors shouldn’t be in operation for more than 40 years,” said Hiromitsu Ino at the University of Tokyo. “You can renew electrical wiring and other parts but you can’t do anything with their pressure vessels. They just get old and deteriorate, increasing the risk of accidents….http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110830n1.html

August 30, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Theft of nuclear materials in Namibia

Namibia arrests four in suspected nuclear theft, Aug 29, 2011 11. WINDHOEK (Reuters) – Namibian authorities have arrested four people they suspect of stealing drums of radioactive material from a mine in the country that is a major exporter of uranium, officials said on Monday.

The four were arrested on Friday in the coastal town of Swakopmund, the drums have been recovered and the material is thought to have come from Areva’s Trekkopje mine, they said.Axel Tibinyane, regulator of the Atomic Energy Board of Namibia, said the contents of the drums are radioactive….

Areva’s Trekkopje is one of the few mines in Namibia that has processing facilities for yellow cake — a form of uranium ore that can be enriched for nuclear fuel or, if enriched to a much higher level, for use in weapons.The four suspects were expected to appear in court later on Monday.http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE77S0F520110829?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

August 30, 2011 Posted by | Namibia, safety | Leave a comment

Precautions and shutdowns of nuclear reactors due to Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene shuts down US nuclear reactors, Maryland plant damaged by hurricane winds as other US nuclear sites take precautionary measures, , US environment correspondent, guardian.co.uk,  28 August 2011. A nuclear reactor in Maryland has been shut down because of wind damage, while others were either taken offline or operating at reduced capacity as precautionary measures before the arrival of hurricane Irene on Sunday…….

In addition to the two shutdowns, some plants powered down as a safety measure – which also contributed to widespread power cuts. Progress Energy powered down its reactors in Brunswick, North Carolina, and Dominion Resources cut production at one reactor at its Millstone plant in New London, Connecticut, by 70%. Another Dominion plant in Virginia, which had gone down because of last week’s earthquake, remained offline for Irene….http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/28/hurricane-iren-shuts-nuclear-reactor

August 29, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Hurricane Irene poses problem of electricity supply to nuclear reactors

Overall, hurricanes have prompted less cause for concern at nuclear plants than other issues, such as the NRC’s delay in assessing the risk from earthquakes near the nation’s reactors and recurring fires that could trigger a series of cataclysmic events — again, for instance, because of the loss of electricial connections or dependable switches.
Industry watchdogs concerned about power supplies – to reactors, not just homes, iWatch, 28 Aug 11, By Corbin Hiar As Hurricane Irene bore down on the East Coast, the nuclear industry assured the public that the storm wouldn’t damage the dozens of reactors in its path. The industry’s watchdogs also expressed less concern about the hurricane’s potential impact on nuclear reactors than about the vulnerability of the exposed connections between them and the rest of the world. Continue reading →

August 28, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

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