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Concise account of nine nuclear accidents

This article gives a concise account of 9 nuclear accidents – BBC News – Timeline: Nuclear plant accidents

Timeline: Nuclear plant accidents. BBC News, 12 April 2011 The nuclear crisis in Japan has revived fears over the safety of nuclear power and the potential danger posed to public health when things go wrong.There have been a number of serious nuclear incidents since the 1950s. Below are details of the most serious: Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Not all nuclear accidents have been rated on the scale

Some of the events on this list predate the scale and do not appear to have been rated. They are listed by Mr. Cochran in chronological order.

Keeping Score on Nuclear Accidents – NYTimes.com, Matthew Wald 12 April 11, Now that Japan has raised its assessment of the Fukushima accident to a 7 on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s scale, equal to the 1986 accident at Chernobyl, it may be time to review past accidents. Thomas B. Cochran, a physicist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, just did that in preparing to testify on Tuesday afternoon before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Volcanoes, earthquakes, corruption, but Indonesia still wants nuclear power

concerns over Indonesia’s geological vulnerability – such as its ill-fated position atop the “ring of fire” – in addition to Indonesia’s history of inefficiently coordinated responses to disaster…..
Then there’s the pervasive culture of corruption in Indonesia.

Fukushima crisis fails to dampen Indonesia’s nuclear ambitions   guardian.co.uk, 13 April 11, Gillian Terzis “……The government is talking up the country’s nuclear future…….the reverberations of the crises at Fukushima have scarcely cast a ripple in Indonesia‘s political quarters. Two weeks after Japan’s nuclear crisis, the Indonesian government stated that it will continue to pursue an ambitious nuclear power programme of its own that will triple the country’s electricity output by 2025…… Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by | Indonesia, safety | Leave a comment

India’s ramshackle infrastructure a danger for nuclear safety

Japan crisis fuels India nuclear safety concerns, Daily Times. 11 April 11,  “…….experts say the government has not properly addressed a crisis scenario, given India’s ramshackle infrastructure and largely untested emergency procedures. The Department of Atomic Energy has “cavalierly minimised” the potential of an accident, said Balaram’s letter, which was also signed by Gopalakrishnan and former power secretary E.A.S. Sharma.The Japanese crisis has focused domestic attention on India’s plans to construct what would be one of the world’s largest nuclear plants at Jaitapur in a seismically sensitive region of Maharashtra state.French company Areva has signed a $9.3 billion deal to supply the first two of Jaitapur’s six planned third-generation pressurised water reactors.But the region has experienced 92 earthquakes since 1985, including one measuring 6.2, according to environmental group Greenpeace.“The dangers have been swept under the carpet,” Greenpeace spokesman Hofeza Merchant said.
“With our corrupt and poor quality practices inherent in the system, it is very dangerous to meddle with such high-risk projects,” said B. Ramakrishnam Raju, convenor of the National Alliance of People’s Movements.
Daily Times – Leading News Resource of Pakistan – Japan crisis fuels India nuclear safety concerns

April 11, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Five USA nuclear plants at earthquake risk

Five U.S. nuclear reactors in earthquake zones – USATODAY.com,By Steve Sternberg, 11 April 11, At least five U.S. nuclear reactors are located in earthquake-prone seismic zones, potentially exposing them to the forces that damaged the Fukushima plant in Japan, a new analysis shows. The at-risk reactors are the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California; the South Texas Project near the Gulf Coast; the Waterford Steam Electric Station in Louisiana and the Brunswick Steam Electric Plant in North Carolina…..Five U.S. nuclear reactors in earthquake zones – USATODAY.com

April 11, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Florida and 30 other US States endangered by nuclear cooling ponds

“It would be hard to manage this hazard (more) foolishly. The federal government’s ineptitude in disposing of spent fuel has left Americans across the country exposed to elevated and undue risks,”

Japan’s crisis adds fuel to Florida nuclear fears. The Palm Beach Post, 11 April 11, Once, the thousands of 12-foot-long rods now being stored in 40-foot-deep pools of water at Florida Power & Light Co.’s two South Florida nuclear plants helped power the state’s electric grid.Their job is done. However, the used, or “spent,” fuel rods have not gone anywhere. Continue reading →

April 11, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

IAEA rates nuclear accidents, does not include late cancers

this Japanese incident will be assigned a final numerical rating according to a scale devised by the IAEA.  The scale, called INES (for International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale), breaks down the severity of nuclear events into bloodless, regimented categories.  Each event ultimately gets a ranking from 1 to 7.

The anomalies, incidents, and accidents of our nuclear world, CNNMoney.com, 11 April 11 From simple leaks to sudden deaths, Fukushima to Pennsylvania, our world’s brief history of nuclear power is rife with mishaps and tragedy.  By Shelley DuBois, reporter Continue reading →

April 11, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | Leave a comment

One officer killed on nuclear submarine – it could have been much worse

Officer killed in shooting on British nuclear submarine, Asia ONe News, 9 April 11, LONDON, ENGLAND – A Royal Navy officer was killed and another seriously injured in a shooting on a British nuclear-powered submarine, police said, which was only halted when a visiting politician tackled the gunman.
Another member of the navy was arrested on suspicion of murder following the incident on Friday in the southern English port of Southampton, officials said, stressing that the shooting was not “terrorist-related”. Continue reading →

April 9, 2011 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Earthquake prone Diablo a test case for risky nuclear license extension

Diablo is drawing particular scrutiny because of its location in one of the country’s most seismically active areas and its long, troubled history of trying to deal with the risk of a major quake.

Nuclear Crisis Fuels Duel at Diablo, WSJ.com, 8 April 11, By BEN CASSELMAN In Earthquake-Prone California, License Extension Sought for Reactors Poses Major Test for Nation’s Atomic-Power Industry  Japan’s unfolding reactor crisis is fueling a battle over nuclear power across the Pacific, in earthquake-prone California. Continue reading →

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

Radioactive spill after earthquake at Onagawa nuclear plant

The 7.1-magnitude quake that hit offshore late yesterday resulted in water flowing from containers onto the floor in all three reactor buildings at the Onagawa plant,

Japan quake makes radioactive water spill at nuclear plant  Herald Sun, : AAP * April 08, 2011 A POWERFUL aftershock in northeast Japan rocked a nuclear plant, causing a small amount of radioactive water to spill, officials say, but the operator says there is no immediate danger. Continue reading →

April 8, 2011 Posted by | safety | Leave a comment

Tighter radiation checks at European ports

European Ports Tighten Radiation Checks as Japan Ships Approach, Bloomberg, By Niklas Magnusson – Apr 8, 2011 European ports including Rotterdam and Antwerp are tightening safety checks as they prepare to unload the first ships from Japan since last month’s earthquake led to radioactive discharges from a damaged nuclear plant.

Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest container port, will screen for radiation while ships are still at sea. Antwerp, the No. 2, will make similar checks aboard vessels for which Japan was one of the last 10 ports of call, with any abnormal readings triggering an inspection by Belgium’s Federal Agency for Nuclear Control……European Ports Tighten Radiation Checks as Japan Ships Approach – Bloomberg

April 8, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

NRC report shows up danger of USA nuclear plants

“When a major earthquake, flood or fire was assumed to knock out all of the power of a nuclear reactor that is the same design as Fukushima and stands less than 40 miles from Baltimore — well within the contamination zone the US called for in Japan — that plant came less than an hour away from partial nuclear meltdown” in the NRC simulation,

US unprepared for Japan-style nuke accident: lawmaker, Google News, (AFP) – 8 April 11, WASHINGTON — A US nuclear reactor near Baltimore would come dangerously close to meltdown within two days of a disaster on the scale of what happened in Japan three weeks ago, a lawmaker said, citing a draft report by the US nuclear watchdog. Continue reading →

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

Dirty bomb or nuclear accident would catch US health system unprepared

U.S. health-care system unprepared for major nuclear emergency, officials say   The Washington Post, By Sheri Fink, Thursday, April 7, U.S. officials say the nation’s health system is ill-prepared to cope with a catastrophic release of radiation, despite years of focus on the possibility of a terrorist “dirty bomb” or an improvised nuclear device attack.

A blunt assessment circulating among American officials says, “Current capabilities can only handle a few radiation injuries at any one time.” That assessment, prepared by the Department of Homeland Security in 2010 and stamped “for official use only,’’ says “there is no strategy for notifying the public in real time of recommendations on shelter or evacuation priorities.”

The Homeland Security report, plus several other reports and interviews with almost two dozen experts inside and outside the government, reveal other gaps that might increase the risks posed by a nuclear accident or terrorist attack…..

President Obama’s proposed budget would cut funding for a federal hospital preparedness program by about 10 percent. The release of proposed federal regulations that would require hospitals to meet emergency management standards has been delayed…..U.S. health-care system unprepared for major nuclear emergency, officials say – The Washington Post

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

Inadequate radiation monitoring in USA

.. elevated levels of iodine-131 in rain “a red flag” for public health and said that he is concerned that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has less stringent radiation exposure guidelines, has superseded the EPA in US response activities……

Adequacy of EPA radiation monitoring system called into question | Michigan Messenger, 6 April 11, Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s network of radiation monitors does not reach the public quickly and some monitors are not functional, critics say. Continue reading →

April 7, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

concerns about USA nuclear plants safety

UPDATE 3-Democrats probe worst fears for U.S. nuclear power WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) By Roberta Rampton and Ayesha Rascoe– Democratic lawmakers raisedconcerns on Wednesday about whether regulators and the nuclear power industry are doing enough to ensure U.S. reactors can withstand worst-case scenarios in the wake of Japan’s crisis. Continue reading →

April 7, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

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