safety « nuclear-news

Depleted uranium on passenger flight!

FAA fines two India cos. For uranium cargo – BostonHerald.com By Donna Goodison , July 1, 2010 The Federal Aviation Administration has fined two Indian companies $422,500 for sending a radioactive shipment of depleted uranium as cargo on a passenger-carrying British Airways flight from Mumbai to Logan International Airport in 2008

The FAA alleges that IIS & Allied Services and its freight forwarder, Gallant Freight & Travels, failed to declare the hazardous nature of the shipment, which wasn’t properly packaged or labeled.Radioactive materials are not allowed to be shipped as cargo aboard passenger aircraft, with some exceptions. The depleted uranium was destined for QSA Global Inc. in Burlington….. FAA fines two India cos. For uranium cargo – BostonHerald.com

July 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | Leave a comment

Non existent nuclear security for USA’s railroads and coastlines

DHS Effort to Counter Nuclear Terrorism Leaves Huge Gaps, Expert Says | Security Debrief -1 July 2010, The Department of Homeland Security office responsible for protecting the nation against nuclear terrorism grew so distracted over efforts to develop next-generation radiation detectors that it failed to draft a strategic plan to coordinate interagency counterterrorism efforts, a government expert told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The absence of a plan has led to a major security gap, Eugene E. Aloise, director of the GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment Division, said. Because it has focused on improving equipment to detect nuclear materials entering U.S. seaports and border stations, which already have monitors, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) neglected to build capacity along international railroads and the coastline, where defenses don’t exist, he said.

DHS Effort to Counter Nuclear Terrorism Leaves Huge Gaps, Expert Says | Security Debrief – a blog of homeland security news and analysis

July 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

BP oil spill puts safety of nuclear plants at risk

A May 12 situation report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability acknowledged the potential for problems.
“If water supply for these facilities becomes contaminated with oil, cooling water systems could be damaged,” it said.

Gulf Coast nuclear plants at risk from BP oil spill, FACING SOUTH, 1 July 2010, Watchdog groups are warning about the BP oil spill’s potential damage to Gulf and Atlantic coast nuclear power plants that use seawater to cool pumps and other safety equipment. Earlier this month, representatives of the nuclear watchdog groups Beyond Nuclear, Three Mile Island Alert and Unplug Salem wrote a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking details on oil plume monitoring efforts to guard against damage to plants’ safety systems. The letter was copied to the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Cracks at Texas nuclear waste site

No room for error at radioactive waste site Dallas Morning News, 1 july 2010 Cracked asphalt provides a stark reminder of the nonexistent margin for error at a controversial radioactive waste dump in West Texas. When state inspectors visited the site in Andrews County, they found cracks up to an inch wide in asphalt near canisters of radioactive material. While cracked asphalt is fairly inconsequential – and pretty much par for the course – when it comes to our city streets, it can be a dangerous proposition at a radioactive waste dump.

A spokesman for Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates the low-level radioactive waste site, dismissed the cracks as superficial and said they have been repaired. But as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has noted, that asphalt pad is an important safeguard against ground contamination…..

Editorial: No room for error at radioactive waste site | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Editorials

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Move to weaken U.S. nuclear security regulation, despite oil spill disaster

Certain nuclear energy supporters are trying to weaken regulation of new nuclear reactors in any proposed climate and energy or energy-only legislation.

Did the Nuclear Industry and Politicians Learn Anything from the BP Oil Spill? : CleanTechnica, by Zachary Strachan, 24 June 2010, A major factor causing the BP oil spill to be the disaster that it is turning out to be is deregulation of the oil industry. You would think that if people, especially politicians, learned one thing from this disaster, it would be that we need strong government oversight of risky technologies.It seems right now that some in the nuclear industry and Congress have missed that completely or just haven’t heard the news about the BP oil spill at all. Continue reading →

June 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, reactors, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear Suppliers’ Cartel anxious about Pakistan

Nuclear proliferation in South Asia The power of nightmares, The Economist, 24 June 2010, China’s proposed sale of nuclear reactors to Pakistan will intensify nuclear rivalry with India. But the damage will go far wider Continue reading →

June 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant’s flood warning emergency

Neb. N-plant declares low-level emergency state, Google hosted news, (AP) 23 June 2010, oBROWNVILLE, Neb. — A nuclear power plant near Brownville in southeast Nebraska notified public and federal regulators early Tuesday that it was in a low-level emergency state because of flooding from the rising Missouri River nearby…….NPPD said it could continue generating power at Cooper until the river hits 45.5 feet. Then it would be taken offline as a safety precaution.The National Weather Service said in a flood warning posted at 3:16 Tuesday morning that the river was at 42.5 feet, 10.5 feet above flood stage, and was headed to near 42.9 feet later in the day. Then it was expected to fall.

The district provides power to about 1 million Nebraskans through retail service to about 80 communities and wholesale service to 52 towns and 25 rural districts and cooperatives. The Associated Press: Neb. N-plant declares low-level emergency state

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, climate change | Leave a comment

Nuclear company’s violations of waste storage regulations

FPL fined $70,000 for nuclear waste storage problem, SunSentinel.com, by Julie Patel on June 22, 2010The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that it will fine Florida Power & Light Co. $70,000 for three violations related to its waste storage at its Turkey Point plant near Miami.In December, NRC officials said they found the amount of Boraflex in a nuclear waste storage pool at Turkey Point was lower than it should be. (Boroflex panels in the pool absorbs neutrons so there isn’t a mini-reaction as the nuclear waste is being cooled.)…………The Commission will hold informal information meetings in July on FPL’s proposal to build two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear terrorism’s close shave: plutonium store still at risk

Pelindaba was also the site of an incredible break-in in the end of 2007.

Palindaba Uranium Facility Assult Was Nearly Successful OverTheLimit June 21, 2010 Pelindaba is a nuclear power plant tucked back in the bush of South Africa. While it may seem like an ordinary plant, Pelinadaba was used as a secret weapons facility by the previous Apartheid government. Here they created weapons grade uranium, and it is here that that same plutonium is stored now that the new government has control and the weapons manufacturing has stopped. Continue reading →

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, South Africa | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuclear accidents, like black swans – rare, but do happen

A Nuclear Secret, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Craig K. Comstock, June 20, 2010 :”……..The point for today is that, when nuclear weapons are involved, we are one step away from irreparable consequences…………….In financial analysis, “black swans” have become a popular metaphor for dangers that are very high in negative consequences, even if they seem vanishingly low in probability. Continue reading →

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, reactors | Leave a comment

China needs to improve nuclear safety

Monitoring of nuclear safety needs attention, China Daily, BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhaunet) — “……..China needs to invest more in monitoring nuclear safety at civilian nuclear power projects,…China adopted its nuclear power industry standards from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Yu Zusheng, a member of the experts committee with State Nuclear Power Technology Corp (SNPTC). “They are among China’s first group of standards which are in line with international markets.”…………
Chinese expenditure on monitoring nuclear safety at the 11 operating nuclear power plants totals around 40 million yuan ($6 million) per year. In comparison, in the United States, which has around 100 nuclear power plants, the country’s total budget for monitoring nuclear safety is $700 million annually.

Monitoring of nuclear safety needs attention

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors | Leave a comment

Terrorist danger in enriched uranium storage

VIDEO
Nuke Facility Raid An Inside Job? – 60 Minutes – CBS News Eyewitness Talks To 60 Minutes About Brazen Assault On South African Nuclear Facility CBS) This story was first published on Nov. 28, 2008. It was updated on June 15, 2010.

When President Obama invited 47 world leaders to Washington for a nuclear security summit in April, the assault on Pelindaba was exactly the kind of scenario they were working to prevent. Continue reading →

June 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, South Africa | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation | Leave a comment

Just like oil, nuclear ‘safety reviews’ rubber-stamped industry analyses

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Inspector General reported in 2006 that NRC staff “safety reviews” of atomic reactor 20 year license extension applications were regularly “cut and pasted” directly from nuclear utility analyses, sometimes verbatim. NRC has thus far rubberstamped approval for every single one of the over 50 license extension requests it has recieved, with many more awaiting approval.

House hearing ion Gulf catastrophe should serve as a warning on reactor risks, Beyond Nuclear 18 June 2010, The grilling of BP and other oil company executives at a June 15, 2010 U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the BP Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe should serve as a warning that very similar risks exist in the nuclear power industry, albeit radiological rather than petrol. Continue reading →

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Italy’s terrorist danger from nuclear waste dumps, and neighbouring reactors

Terrorism report warns of ‘dirty bomb’ risks, says Italy’s nuclear waste deposits vulnerable, The Canadian Press:By The Associated Press (CP) – 15 June 2010, ROME — Italy’s dumps of nuclear waste and other radioactive material are vulnerable to terrorists and should be kept under strict security, a terrorism report released Monday said. Continue reading →

June 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Italy, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Radiation leak at Chinese nuclear plant

Small leak at Daya Bay nuclear plant RTHK, 15 June 2010, It has been revealed that there has been what is described as a “very small leakage” at a fuel rod at the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station.

Small leak at Daya Bay nuclear plant

June 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment