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Japan’s most dangerous nuclear power plant

 Hamaoka, Japan’s Most Infamous Nuclear Plant? WSJ May 6, 2011, The Hamaoka nuclear power plant may not be as well known around the world as Fukushima Daichi, crippled by the March 11 disasters. But the complex that Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered closed down Friday is extremely well known in Japan. In fact, it’s infamous.

The plant, operated by Chubu Electric Power Co., is sited on Japan’s east coast, about 200 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, by Omaezaki city in Shizuoka prefecture. Omaezaki is known for its fishing and its green tea. And also for being sited pretty much, some say, on the fault line in the area that would be hit by the next, historically overdue “Tokai earthquake” – a long-feared “Big One” that could wreak havoc in the Kanto region that includes the capital…..Hamaoka, Japan’s Most Infamous Nuclear Plant? – Japan Real Time – WSJ

May 8, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Entergy Nuclear Company – Nonchalant About Safety

It’s frightening that Entergy has such a cavalier attitude toward the safety of their nuclear power plants.  Especially, given the fact that Indian Point and Pilgrim rank as the top two reactors with the highest risk of an earthquake causing core damage.  What would it mean to have a Chernobyl or Fukushima scale accident at Indian Point? 

VIDEO Will Entergy learn anything from the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan?   Greenpeace USA by Jarred Cobb – May 6, 2011 Entergy, the company trying to continue running dangerous old nuclear plants like Vermont Yankee, Indian Point in New York, and Pilgrim in Massachsusetts, is holding their annual shareholder meeting today. We sent them a letter highlighting the risks of these old plants, and questioning if the company has learned anything from the nuclear disaster in Japan. Continue reading →

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

New plutonium nuclear fuel plant, costly, delayed, and unsafe, too?

More than a decade later, the mixed oxide fuel [2] (MOX) plant is running into mounting troubles [3], including long delays, soaring costs and the lack of utilities committed to use the new fuel in their reactors

But there’s another aspect of the story that has received little attention…

Safety Reviewers Raise Questions about Construction of New Nuclear Fuel Plant, ProPublica   By Donna Deedy, w ith Michael Grabell,   May 5, 2011, . In the late 1990s, U.S. policymakers approved a plan to turn plutonium from nuclear weapons into fuel for commercial reactors. The first-of-its kind plant [1], now being built in South Carolina, was intended to reduce the Cold War stockpile and the threat of nuclear material theft while supplying the country’s energy needs. Continue reading →

May 6, 2011 Posted by | - plutonium, safety, USA | Leave a comment

Russian nuclear powered ice-breaker has radiation leak

Radioactivity leak reported on Russian icebreaker, Moscow – Monsters and Critics May 5, 2011, Moscow – A small amount of radiation escaped from a Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker, officials said Thursday. …Radioactivity leak reported on Russian icebreaker – Monsters and Critics

May 6, 2011 Posted by | Russia, safety | Leave a comment

Afghanistan anxious about security of Pakistan’e nuclear weapons

Afghanistan questions safety of nuclear neighbour, Scotsman.com, : 05 May 2011, By Hamid Shalizi Pakistan’s spy agency should have known Osama bin Laden was hiding not far from the country’s capital, Afghanistan’s defence ministry has said, the first direct comment from Kabul about its neighbour’s apparent inability to track the al-Qaeda leader.

Defence ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said the case raised questions about Pakistan’s ability to adequately protect its nuclear weapons….. http://www.scotsman.com/news/Afghanistan-questions-safety-of-nuclear.6762700.jp

May 5, 2011 Posted by | Pakistan, safety | Leave a comment

France and Britain want to water down new nuclear safety requirements

 France and Britain have been pushing for the tests to be as watered-down as possible. As Europe’s most prolific nuclear power producers, these countries are said to be concerned that the plane-related stress tests could force the closure of plants 

EU nuclear stress tests could prove less strenuous than expected, Deutsche Welle, By Mark Hallam, May 4 Europe is preparing new stress tests designed to put nuclear power stations through their paces. It’s a response primarily to the problems at Japan’s Fukushima plant. But will the tests be as rigorous as promised? Continue reading →

May 5, 2011 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | Leave a comment

Wikileaks revealed details of Al Qaeda’s nuclear threats

Abu al-Libi, al Qaeda’s third in command and “operational chief” before he was captured in 2005, reportedly said the nuclear device was “located in Europe” and would be used in retaliation over bin Laden’s death, according to the leaked files. 

WikiLeaks docs: Nuclear reprisals if bin Laden killed, Privacy Inc, by Declan McCullagh, 3 May 11, Recently-released WikiLeaks documents show that detained al Qaeda members have predicted nuclear reprisals if Osama bin Laden were captured or killed.

The classified Defense Department files, obtained from detainee interviews at the Guantanamo Bay prison, were released by the document-sharing Web site a week before the raid in Pakistan that resulted in bin Laden’s demise. Continue reading →

May 4, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety, Wikileaks | Leave a comment

Suspected terrorists arrested at Sellafield nuclear plant

TERROR ALERT: FIVE ARRESTED AT SELLAFIELD NUCLEAR PLANT Express co, UK  May 4 2011 by Paul Jeeves and John Twomey, ANTI-TERROR police were questioning five men last night amid fears of an Al Qaeda-inspired plot to attack the Sellafield nuclear plant.

The suspects, in their 20s and believed to be of Bangladeshi origin, were caught filming at the highly sensitive site in Cumbria – 250 miles from their homes in London.Armed police arrested the men on bank holiday Monday only hours after Osama Bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan.

The nuclear plant has been placed on high alert following Al Qaeda threats to unleash a “nuclear hellstorm” in revenge for the terror chief’s death. Last night police seized a small container of “suspicious material” at one of the suspects homes……http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/244616/Terror-Alert-Five-arrested-at-Sellafield-nuclear-plantTerror-Alert-Five-arrested-at-Sellafield-nuclear-plant#ixzz1LRTP0QrS

May 4, 2011 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Threat of nuclear revenge of Bin Laden’s death

9/11 Mastermind Reportedly Warned of ‘Nuclear Hellstorm’ if Bin Laden Killed, May 02, 2011,  FoxNews.com The self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/1l terror plot told interrogators at Guantanamo Bay that Al Qaeda has a nuclear bomb somewhere in Europe and would detonate it if Usama bin Laden was ever captured or killed, The Daily Telegraph reported, citing WikiLeaks’ cables.

Continue reading →

May 3, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | 1 Comment

Suspected radioactive leak in Tsuruga nuclear plant, Japan

Another radiation leak suspected in Japan, NZ Herald, 3 May 11, A radioactive substance leak from fuel rods is suspected to have occurred at another nuclear power plant in Japan, Kyodo News is reporting today.It’s occurred in Tsuruga, the Fukui prefectural government said, citing a rise in the level of radioactive substances in coolant water.

The operator, Japan Atomic Power Co, says it will manually shut down the No. 2 reactor of the plant on the Sea of Japan coast and examine its primary cooling system…..http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10723121

May 3, 2011 Posted by | Japan, safety | Leave a comment

30,000 tons of Chernobyl radioactive waste to last thousands of years

there is no long-term plan for dealing with a radioactive legacy that will remain for several millennia…..no one knows where the radioactive wreckage of the ruined reactor and the roughly 30,000 tons of material containing fuel are to be stored…the water problem remains unresolved.

Beyond the Sarcophagus, The Overwhelming Challenge of Containing Chernobyl, Spiegel Online, By Benjamin Bidder, 1 May 11,   Work on the new sarcophagus meant to contain Chernobyl’s reactor 4 is a decade behind schedule. But significant problems will remain even once it is complete. For one, it is only meant to last for 100 years. For another, no one knows what to do with the vast quantities of radioactive waste left behind. Continue reading →

May 2, 2011 Posted by | safety, wastes | Leave a comment

Fukushima care worker exposed to internal radiation emitter

the worker in question, who is in her 40s, was found to have suffered more internal than external radiation exposure, with the internal exposure reaching 6.71 millisieverts.

She was providing care to workers who had become sick at a building on site that was being used as the operation center for the crisis, the utility known as Tepco said.

Second woman over legally set limit, Worker found overexposed to radiation, Japan Times, 2 May 11,  Kyodo, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday that a woman at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant has been overexposed to radiation, making her the second at the plant to be subjected to more than the legal limit. Continue reading →

May 2, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, safety | Leave a comment

Storm shuts nuclear plant for weeks, in Alabama

Alabama Nuclear Power Goes Down During Storm, on Backup Power, Epoch Times By Jack Phillips, 29 April 11,   A nuclear power plant in Alabama went without power on Wednesday when massive storms hit the South but officials say that it will be weeks before it goes back online. The plant was able to prevent a partialmeltdown due to its backup power systems….. The agency said that it is closely monitoring the situation at the power plant, which went down when power lines were severed during the storm.

“Severe storms in the South last night provided a stark reminder that we are not immune to the effects of natural events,” NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko cautioned. He noted that the plant’s three units went offline and had to be shut down…..http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/united-states/alabama-nuclear-power-goes-down-during-storm-on-backup-power-55507.html

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

Safety violations at US nuclear plants

News 2 investigates violations at SC nuclear power plants, News 2, 29 April 11,  “……..Since 1990, the Catawba Nuclear Station in York, SC has 8 Severity Level 3 violations, resulting in a total of $250,000 in fines.

The Oconee Nuclear Station in Seneca had 9 Severity Level 3 violations, and 2 Severity Level 2 violations totaling $765,000.

The H.B. Robinson plant in Hartsville had 10 Severity Level 3 violations and 1 Severity Level  2 violation totaling $443,000.

The V.C. Summer plant in Jenkensville had 3 Severity Level 3 violations, with no associated fines.

When it comes to violations and fines, Knight says that not all issues are associated with the danger ofradiation exposure to employees or the public, but “Many such violations, points to a culture of maybe a lack of concern and that’s where I say vigilance and having that safety culture is so critical.”

A further study of the Severity Level 2 violations shows that in 1997 at the Oconee plant there was problem with a 2 pumps over-heating for failing to correctly measure water levels.

In 1998 Oconee had a second Severity Level 2 violation due to faulty instrument calibration which the NRCcalled “a very significant regulatory concern.”….http://www2.counton2.com/news/2011/apr/28/6/news-2-investigates-violations-sc-nuclear-power-pl-ar-1775561/

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

Plutonium danger in Los Alamos nuclear plan

In the event of an earthquake and inadequate safety features, highly carcinogenic plutonium smoke could escape the building, rendering the land beneath the plume too contaminated for use.

“It would be like a dirty bomb,” Mello said. 

Nuclear watchdog groups slam New Mexico plan, By Zelie Pollon, Santa Fe, New Mexico | Wed Apr 27, 2011 (Reuters) – The U.S. government should rethink plans for a multi-billion dollar plutonium complex at Los Alamos after the recent nuclear catastrophe in Japan and the discovery of increased seismic risk in New Mexico, nuclear watchdog groups said. Continue reading →

April 28, 2011 Posted by | safety, technology, USA | Leave a comment

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