safety « nuclear-news

Safety, cost, wastes, – nuclear industry fast losing credibility

The reactor relapse takes 3 hits to the head
by Harvey Wasserman November 12, 2009

The much-hyped “Renaissance” of atomic power has taken three devastating hits with potentially fatal consequences.

The usually supine Nuclear Regulatory Commission has told Toshiba’s Westinghouse Corporation that its “standardized” AP-1000 design might not withstand hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes. Continue reading →

November 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radioactive, wastes | Leave a comment

Are modern nuclear reactors safe?

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The economic downside to nuclear energy GREEN>BLORGE by Susan Wilson 10 Nov 09

“……….Are new modern nuclear reactors safe?” The difficulty in this question is finding a nuclear reactor that has been built within the last 10 years. According to Der Spiegel there aren’t any new reactors built within the last ten years that are up and running. Current projects in Finland and France are experiencing severe problems with the construction and the design. Continue reading →

November 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors, wastes | Leave a comment

Are nuclear plants safe from terrorist attack?

The threat of nuclear meltdown. The government says that nuclear power is safe, but others say an airplane hit or frontal assault would be big trouble. CNN Money BySteve Hargreaves

November 12, 2009: “……………….critics say the plants are vulnerable to attack, and that the government is not taking the measures necessary to protect the public. ……… there is an urgent need to address safety. Continue reading →

November 13, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Japan’s fast breeder nuclear reactor plans are dangerous

Japan must take cautious approach toward use of nuclear fuel (Mainichi Daily News, editorial, Japan) November 6, 2009 At the present moment, the unresolved problems surrounding the nuclear fuel cycle touted by the Japanese government as a major pillar of its nuclear energy policy far outweigh its benefits. Continue reading →

November 7, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, Japan, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant (thing) Everything 3 Nov 09 “………… the plant did have many technical problems, which both made it expensive to keep running, and also added to the public relations problem. It was also discovered that the plant was built over a fault line, and Portland General Electric finally decided to decommission the plant. The reactor core was shipped by barge to be buried in Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and the cooling tower was destroyed by an explosion.

Trojan Nuclear Power Plant (thing)@Everything2.com

November 7, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Germany’s old scrap metal nuclear reactors still going

German nuclear policy skirts a taboo Reuters Nov 5, 2009 Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new center-right government last week kept nuclear energy alive but stressed that would only be until renewable energies are fully viable. Popular opposition to nuclear is strong and visceral. Continue reading →

November 6, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

France supplies dangerous plutonium fuel to Japanese nuclear reactor

Controversial MOX fuel in use at Japanese reactor NTI Global Security NewsWire Nov. 5, 2009

A Japanese nuclear power reactor today began using French-made mixed-oxide fuel, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 17). Continue reading →

November 6, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Crisis of confidence in French nuclear industry

France tries to calm nuclear reactor fears FT.com By Peggy Hollinger in Paris November 4 2009 France was trying to avert a crisis of confidence yesterday over its new-generation EPR nuclear reactor after regulators in three countries raised questions over control and safety systems. Continue reading →

November 4, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, France, safety | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Hazardous nuclear plant near Hudson River

Reactor shutdown at nuclear plant in NYC suburbs Google News (AP) 4 Nov 09 BUCHANAN, N.Y. — A nuclear power reactor in the New York City suburbs has been shut down because of an electrical fault, federal regulators said Tuesday. Continue reading →

November 4, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Risky nuclear plant problem not detected for 19 months

Diablo had an undetected problem for 19 months New Times BY ROBERT A. McDONALD Two switches had been misaligned for 19 months at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, tests revealed last week. The error could have made it difficult for operators to cool the reactor had there had been a reactor emergency, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said.

The misaligned switches could have prevented a back-up cooling pump from being turned on from the control room, said Michael Peck, the NRC senior regulatory inspector at the plant. Workers would have been forced to switch on the pump manually, a step that would have delayed the operation of the cooling pump during an emergency. The misaligned switches could have diminished the ability of the critical backup cooling system to replace coolant during a breach of the reactor vessel.

October 30, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Critical build-up of plutonium in France’s nuclear plant

The French Connection: plutonium problems in France linked to Duke’s Catawba reactor & the Savannah River Site MOX plant The New Liberator Tom Clement, 28 Oct 09 “…………..a serious problem at a plutonium facility in Cadarche, France, which is under the control of the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA, French Atomic Energy Commission). This facility, the Atelier de Technologie du Plutonium (ATPu), produced plutonium fuel (MOX) and is being cleaned out and decommissioned. Due to poor accounting methods of the plutonium in the facility, it was discovered that the build-up of plutonium had reached amounts of concern for a nuclear criticality incident, which has been big news in France.

The French Connection: plutonium problems in France linked to Duke’s Catawba reactor & the Savannah River Site MOX plant « The New Liberator

October 29, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, France, safety | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Yankee nuclear plant safety in doubt

Report raises new questions about Yankee reliability By Nancy Remsen, Burlington Free Press Staff Writer • October 21, 2009 A consultant’s first report to the Legislature raised new concerns about the reliability of the 37-year-old Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee in light of its owner’s desire to re-license and operate the nuclear power plant for another 20 years.Arnold Gundersen of Fairewinds Associates nc. raised five concerns in his first report: Continue reading →

October 22, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium, wastes | 1 Comment

Safety , cost, problems, as nuclear reactors age

Special Report: Energy The Dilemma of Aging Nuclear Plants The New York Times by PATRICIA BRETT October 19, 2009 “……….

A large part of the world’s installed nuclear power capacity is now coming to the end of that designed life span. Continue reading →

October 20, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, 2 WORLD, business and costs, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

India’s unhealthy nuclear industry

The New nation 19 Oct 09 “……………….In India, health hazards from nuclear power plants have always been swept under the carpet. In 2007, physicist V Pugazhendhi of the Doctors for Safer Environment released a study on the incidence of autoimmune thyroid disease among women in and around Kalpakkam, where the prototype fast reactor is under construction. It showed the disease affected 24 per cent women within a radius of 5 km from the plant. Continue reading →

October 19, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry stalled in all safety-conscious countries

SPIEGEL ONLINE By Dinah Deckstein, Frank Dohmen and Cordula Meyer Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan. 15 Oct 09

Global Renaissance off to a Slow Start

The French state-owned company isn’t the only one having trouble building new nuclear power plants. Last year, for the first time since the beginning of the nuclear age, not a single new reactor went into service worldwide. Continue reading →

October 16, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | 1 Comment