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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

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 | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , , | 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 | China, safety | , , , , , | 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 | safety, South Africa | , , , , , | 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 | safety, USA | , , , , , , , , | 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 | Italy, safety | , , , , , , , , , | 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 | China, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Inspection of mysterious shutdown of nuclear plant

Reactor shutdown prompts inspection at Surry nuclear plant. The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg Virgini,  June 12, 2010 SURRY — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has dispatched a Special Inspection Team to the Surry nuclear power plant. The team is reviewing a June 8 trip that prompted a shutdown of the reactor.According to the NRC, a Unit 1 electrical bus failed while plant employees were performing maintenance. That loss of power to some components caused the Unit 1 reactor to automatically shut down. There were several complications associated with that shutdown, including loss of power to some components, loss of some instrumentation and control room indications, and a small fire in a cabinet in the control room.

The Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg Virginia > News > Reactor shutdown prompts inspection at Surry nuclear plant

June 14, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Inida’s nukes planned for populated areas, despite poor radiation safeguards

Radiating error, THE WEEK, Mayapuri incident exposes chinks in the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s armour. By Payal Saxena, June 12 India plans to have 20,000MW of nuclear energy by 2020 and triple that by 2032—an ambition that would translate into 31 nuclear reactors in all. Most plants are planned in areas with high population density, Continue reading →

June 14, 2010 Posted by | India, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Health Dept orders closure of leaking uranium mine

(USA)  Closed uranium mine ordered to stop discharge, Google hosted news, (AP)  11 June 2010, DENVER — The owners of a closed uranium mine near Golden have been ordered by the state health department to stop discharging polluted water into a creek that flows into a Denver-area reservoir.The state health department is taking action because Cotter Corp. has been discharging pollution without a permit and uranium levels in the water are significantly exceeding the safety standard, Steve Gunderson, director of the state water quality control division, said Thursday.The agency sent the notice earlier this month. The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety has sent a separate notice to Cotter saying it believes the company is violation of several state laws.State officials are concerned about rising uranium levels in Ralston Creek, which flows into a reservoir that supplies drinking water in the Denver area.

The Associated Press: Closed uranium mine ordered to stop discharge

June 11, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Confidence in nuclear power safety falling, after oil safety failure

this story is especially pertinent now, as the nation reexamines its energy policy in the wake of the calamitous BP Gulf spill.

Nuclear Reactor Eaten by Leaky Acid, Again : TreeHugger, 9 June 2010, Back in 2002, an Ohio nuclear power plant developed a leak that allowed highly pressurized cooling water containing boric acid to seep out. That acid ate away a football-sized hole into the 6-inch steel lid to the nuclear reactor, leaving the reactor’s integrity at grave risk. The cause of the narrowly averted disaster was thought to have been fixed, but the New York Times reports that signs of even more leakage have been showing up again — Continue reading →

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

Russia did not use nuclear explosions to fix oil leaks

all these Soviet nuclear blasts  were on land and did not involve oil. Eventually, both superpowers gave up trying to use nukes for peaceful purposes, and one of the reasons was the environmental hazards.

Just Because Someone Else Did It, Doesn’t Mean It’ll Work As the New York Times pointed out, the whole idea came from something the Russians tried back in the 1960s to stop a natural gas fire. Historian and nuclear non-proliferation expert David E. Hoffman tears down the idea that “if it worked for them it’ll work for us”: But didn’t the Soviet Union once use nukes for this? Not exactly. Continue reading →

June 7, 2010 Posted by | Russia, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear bomb to solve oil spill crisis – a crazy idea, says USA

Nuclear Option on Gulf Oil Spill? No Way, U.S. Says, NYTimes.com, By WILLIAM J. BROAD : June 2, 2010 The chatter began weeks ago as armchair engineers brainstormed for ways to stop the torrent of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico: What about nuking the well?…. Stephanie Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, said that neither Energy Secretary, Steven Chu nor anyone else was thinking about a nuclear blast under the gulf. The nuclear option was not — and never had been — on the table, federal officials said. “It’s crazy,” one senior official said.

Government and private nuclear experts agreed that using a nuclear bomb would be not only risky technically, with unknown and possibly disastrous consequences from radiation, but also unwise geopolitically — it would violate arms treaties that the United States has signed and championed over the decades and do so at a time when President Obama is pushing for global nuclear disarmament.Nuclear Option on Gulf Oil Spill? No Way, U.S. Says – NYTimes.com

June 6, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Oyster Creek nuclear plant ordered to clean up radioactive water leak

N.J. orders Oyster Creek nuclear plant to beef up water monitoring after leak, NJ.com, By Brian T. Murray/The Star-LedgerJune 03, 2010, he state Department of Environmental Protection invoked the state’s “Spill Act” today, ordering the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to drill new test wells, increase monitoring on existing wells and review its data on tritium contamination around the Lacey Township plant. The tests are part of a new monitoring plan ordered by DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, who has been pushing Exelon Generation Co., the Illinois-based owner of the electrical generating facility, to expedite a cleanup of the tritium pollution discovered more than a year ago……. Continue reading →

June 5, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Vermont Yankee’s history of nuclear problems and radiation leaks

Latest leak at Vermont Yankee didn’t occur “overnight” | Vtdigger.org, by Anne Galloway on June 1, 2010, Vermont Yankee is leaking radioactive liquid again — two months after the first two leaks found at the plant in January were repaired.Larry Smith, spokesman for Vermont Yankee, made the announcement on Saturday.The original leaks of tritium, a radioactive isotope, were discovered at the 680-megawatt nuclear power plant in Vernon on Jan. 7.
The latest leak comes on the heels of other problems for the 38-year-old reactor on the banks of the Connecticut River. Continue reading →

June 5, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Terrorists seeking nuclear materials in Russia

Terrorists still trying to access nuclear materials in Russia and former-Soviet republics: Russia by : RIA Novosti , June 02 2010  PoliJAM, Terrorists have not given up their attempts to access nuclear materials in Russia and former-Soviet republics, the head  of the Russian Federal Security Service said on Wednesday.

“We have information that terrorists are continuing their attempts to access nuclear materials, as well as biological and chemical components,” Alexander Bortnikov said at a news conference after a meeting of the heads of security services from the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Breaking News, Politics, US and World News, and Entertainment – The PoliJAM Times

June 3, 2010 Posted by | Russia, safety | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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