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Radiation emergency drill held near Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant

Virtually all of the eastern half of Rhode Island from Providence down to the East Bay through Warren, Bristol and Little Compton are within a 40-mile radius of Plymouth and the plant.

Emergency crews conduct radiation drill | Turn to 10, 18 Nov 10, Emergency management officials in Rhode Island and Massachusetts held a drill Wednesday to test their response to a mock radiation leak. Continue reading →

November 19, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s nuclear facilities could be attacked by Stuxnet computer worm

The Stuxnet malicious software, which was discovered in June, appears to have been designed professionally

U.S. Nuclear Plants Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks, Analysts Say,  Bloomberg, By Jeff Bliss – Nov 18, 2010 U.S. computer systems that run energy, water, nuclear and manufacturing plants are vulnerable to computer worms similar to one that infected an Iranian nuclear power facility, cyber-security analysts told a Senate panel today. Continue reading →

November 18, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Computer worm threatens world’s nuclear plants, and more

Stuxnet targets computer control systems made by German industrial giant Siemens commonly used to manage water supplies, oil rigs, power plants and other critical infrastructure.

Stuxnet a threat to critical industries worldwide: experts, Google hosted news, By Chris Lefkow (AFP) – 18 Nov 10, WASHINGTON — The Stuxnet worm that infiltrated Iran’s nuclear facilities poses a threat to critical industries worldwide such as water, power and chemical plants, cybersecurity experts warned on Wednesday. Continue reading →

November 18, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , | Leave a comment

Guangdong nuclear plant radiation leak reported

Radiation Leak Reported at Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant, Economic Observer News-, By Ruoji TangShare    By Yu Huapeng and Hua Yan, November 17, 2010,Translated by Ruoji Tang  Original Article: [Chinese] On October 23rd, during a routine inspection of the No. 1 reactor at Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, a small leak of radioactive material was discovered, the third leak detected in a Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Company plant since May this year. Yesterday, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Operations Management Ltd. Co. released a report stating that one of the heat removal pipes had been found to be defective but had since been dealt with….Radiation Leak Reported at Guangdong Nuclear Power Plant- Economic Observer News- China business, politics, law, and social issues

November 18, 2010 Posted by | China, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Possibility of terrorists launching a nuclear missile?

…..protocols have not changed since the end of the Cold War. America still keeps its missiles on launch-ready alert. In this posture, the bias is on ensuring that the missiles can be fired, rather than on making sure they are not launched accidentally. That’s a dangerous posture as we now live in an era of terrorism and cyber warfare.

Could Terrorists Launch America’s Nuclear Missiles? – TIME, Bruce Blair , 12 Nov 10, The Air Force calls the situation “Launch Facilities Down.” On Oct. 23, a Wyoming-based squadron of 50 nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) — enough firepower to kill some 20 million people — lost computer communications with their human controllers for 45 minutes. Continue reading →

November 12, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , | 1 Comment

Not needed now? Old Wisconsin nuclear plant with safety issues history

The plant was previously considered to have the most serious safety issues of all nuclear power plants in the country,……. the energy produced at Point Beach may not be necessary for the state.

Life of state’s nuclear plants to be extended Company prolongs operation of aging facility by 20 years; critics say could increase accidents, danger The Badger Herald: NewsBy Christina Spiewak , November 9, 2010

The oldest nuclear power plant in Wisconsin will reach its projected lifespan of 40 years next month, but a nuclear operating group is planning to extend its use by up to 20 years. Continue reading →

November 10, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Highly Enriched Uranium – so easy to make an atom bomb

Since the end of the Cold War the International Atomic Energy Authority, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has logged 800 incidents of radioactive material going missing or being seized by smugglers.

Mission to stop nuclear terrorism, Telegraph A multi-million dollar US programme is attempting to make safe the world’s bomb-grade uranium before terrorists can get to it. By Nick Meo in Warsaw  11 Oct 2010 “…..Intelligence agencies will not reveal their reasons for being so frightened now about what for years seemed a remote and unlikely risk. But it may be because of the deeply troubling cases of smuggling that surface from time to time in Eastern Europe, hinting at the existence of a nuclear black market. Continue reading →

November 9, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety, Uranium | , , , , | Leave a comment

16 nuclear submarine crashes, admission by UK Ministry of Defence

The incident involving HMS Astute was clearly not a one-off, and the MoD must explain why previous groundings have not been made public,…….

Revealed: MoD admits to 16 nuclear submarine crashes – Herald Scotland Rob Edwards,  7 Nov 2010 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been accused of a “catalogue of blunders” after admitting there have been 16 crashes involving British nuclear-powered submarines since 1988. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by | safety, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

UK nuclear powered submarine ran into rescue vessel

U.K.’s Stricken Nuclear Submarine HMS Astute Collided With Rescue Vessel, Bloomberg, By Chris Spillane – Nov 5, 2010 HMS Astute, the British nuclear- powered submarine that ran aground off Scotland’s Isle of Skye last month, collided with one of the vessels charged with its rescue, the defense ministry said……Astute, which was commissioned into the Royal Navy on Aug. 27, is “the U.K.’s most powerful attack submarine,” the ministry said on its website. Built by BAE Systems Plc, it is quieter than other submarines in the fleet, even though it is 50 percent bigger, and can circumnavigate the world without surfacing…… U.K.’s Stricken Nuclear Submarine HMS Astute Collided With Rescue Vessel – Bloomberg

November 6, 2010 Posted by | safety, UK | , , , , | Leave a comment

Dangers, weapons spread, and mounting unsolved problem of nuclear wastes

Recent scientific publication from U.S. Department of Energy, states: “It is estimated that by 2015, the country will face a total disposal problem of more than 100,000 tonnes of high-level military and civilian nuclear waste.”….

Nuclear Power Industry: Promise Or Peril? 03 November 2010 Nigerian Compass, “………Among the area of concern of the safety of environment is the fear that the reactor core of nuclear plants may melt down. If the coolant system suddenly fails, this could lead to the release of dangerous levels of radioactive nuclides and radiation into the atmosphere. Continue reading →

November 3, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , | Leave a comment

Glitches in nuclear weapons systems are cause for alarm

“It is yet another indication of the risk associated with having these types of weapons around,”

Missile Mishap Revives Alarm Over Nuclear Arsenal, AOL News, Joseph Schuman, (Oct. 27) — Computer glitches, hardware failures and unexplained communication outages happen all the time. But when the affected systems control nuclear-armed missiles, it gets a little scary. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US nuclear missiles shut down by power failure

Power Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles,  The Atlantic, Oct 26 2010, President Obama was briefed this morning on a power failure at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming that took 50 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), one-ninth of the U.S. missile stockpile, temporarily offline on Saturday.

The base is a main locus of the United States’ strategic nuclear forces. The 90th Missile Wing, headquartered there, controls 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles. They’re on full-time alert and are housed in a variety of bunkers across the base……. Power Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles – Marc Ambinder – Politics – The Atlantic

October 26, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , | Leave a comment

Aging nuclear reactors, like Indian Point, raise safety fears

He believes that the NRC does not enforce nuclear safety strictly enough, and he is especially concerned with the degradation of older reactors like the ones at Indian Point.

Concerns Raised Over Pipeline Near Indian Point : NPR, 25 Oct 10, A former utility executive and nuclear opponent is raising concerns about the presence of two large underground natural gas pipelines that cross within a few hundred feet of the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, N Y Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Previous nuclear submarine incident off treacherous coast

(UK) Previous submarine incident off Skye in 2002 Nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar hit the seabed while taking part in a military exercise.  STV News, 22 October 2010 Shortly before 8am on Wednesday November 6, 2002, nuclear submarine HMS Trafalgar hit the seabed off the coast of the island while taking part in a military exercise.Following the incident a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said there was no danger to the public as a result of the accident and that the reactor was fine.Like the Astute class submarines, Trafalgar class vessels are nuclear powered, but do not carry nuclear weapons…..HMS Trafalgar was decommissioned on the December 4 2009, the Trafalgar class submarines being replaced by the new Astute class vessels. But while the new submarines make use of the latest technology, it seems that the rocky coastline of Skye remains a difficulty for  the Royal Navy’s submarine service….. Previous submarine incident off Skye in 2002 | Highlands & Islands | STV News

October 22, 2010 Posted by | safety, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

Revelation about lost nuclear codes

…the episode showed that no system could be entirely safe from human error,….Retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel Robert Patterson wrote that Mr Clinton, and not an aide, allegedly lost track of the codes.

Nuclear codes ‘went missing’ during Clinton presidency ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 22 Oct 10 Special codes that allow the US president to order a nuclear attack went missing “for months” during Bill Clinton’s time at the White House, Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , | Leave a comment

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